"Umbrella Company?"
Tsunade, who had just woken up and hadn't fully shaken off her drowsiness, blinked in confusion when she heard the term from Shizune.
"Yes." Shizune said, placing a cup of tea in front of her. "I heard it was a confidential meeting organized by the top brass. Only the core leadership of the village was allowed to attend. The main agenda was to secretly establish an company called the Umbrella Company."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes and leaned back on the futon, still trying to process the information. "What in the world is Namikaze Mirai planning now?"
First, he had accepted Yamato as his disciple, an unexpected move given the boy's mysterious roots and unusual power. Now, barely a few days after assuming the role of Hokage, he was already initiating something as strange as founding a company?
It wasn't that Tsunade had ever been particularly interested in the development or governance of Konoha—especially after all that had happened—but something about Namikaze Mirai was different. He had always been different. Even back when Minato had been Hokage, Mirai had constantly come up with unorthodox ideas and initiatives that shook the traditional norms of the shinobi world.
And now, with Minato gone and Mirai sitting in the Hokage's seat, it seemed his eccentric innovations were only accelerating.
Her curiosity finally won over her fatigue.
With a sigh, Tsunade stood up and stretched lazily. "I'll go ask him myself."
…
Hokage Room.
Namikaze Mirai leaned back in his chair, gazing calmly out the window. From this angle, one could see the towering Hokage Rock on the opposite cliff.
Just below the cliff's edge, a team of craftsmen were hard at work. Scaffolding wrapped around the mountain face, and dozens of stonecutters were meticulously carving out the contours of a new Hokage's face—his face.
Right beside his own slowly forming visage stood the already completed head of his elder brother, Namikaze Minato.
And that was the problem.
The similarities between their appearances were so striking that it left the craftsmen in a state of constant agony. If they didn't get Mirai's carving just right—differentiated in subtle but impactful ways—they risked ridicule from the villagers, who held Minato and Mirai in divine reverence.
Mirai smirked as he watched the anxious artisans. Their meticulousness amused him.
Just then, the heavy door to the Hokage Room creaked open with some effort.
"...Why did you get a new door?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow at the solid, reinforced structure.
"It gives a better sense of security. Also, the old one was kicked down three times last month." Mirai replied casually without turning.
"Hmph. Who would've thought Konoha's little princess would find the time to pay a visit to me?" he added with a teasing smile.
"Don't flatter yourself." Tsunade replied with a scowl. "I came because I'm genuinely confused. You're recruiting Yamato as your disciple, and now you're establishing some 'Umbrella Company' behind closed doors. Just what kind of schemes are you planning?"
Mirai chuckled softly. "Yamato's talent is... unique. I think he might bring revolutionary changes in a certain field."
Tsunade crossed her arms skeptically. "What field?"
"Agriculture."
She blinked. "...You think Yamato is a farmer?"
Mirai gave her a flat look. "You do remember what Wood-style is capable of, right?"
Of course, she did. Yamato was the only ninja since the First Hokage to possess Wood-style. Although it was artificially engineered through Hashirama's cells, it was still powerful and rare.
"Agricultural development is the backbone of civilization, Tsunade. If Yamato can control growth and manipulate terrain, he could easily turn barren lands fertile. Imagine rice and grain production that could feed entire nations. Who knows—maybe in the future, the textbooks will call him 'Yamato, the Father of Hybrid Rice'. Maybe he'll save millions of lives."
"...You sure know how to romanticize planting crops." Tsunade muttered, but a reluctant smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She hadn't thought of it that way.
Being a shinobi was often synonymous with killing, espionage, and bloodshed. Yet Mirai was redirecting those talents toward preserving life instead of taking it.
"And what about this Umbrella Company?" she asked again.
Mirai's gaze turned distant, his expression thoughtful.
"I said it before—the shinobi world has stagnated for too long. This company will be the wind that disrupts the still air. It might create waves, or it might collapse entirely. But it will change things."
"If Yamato represents an agricultural revolution, then the Umbrella Company represents a technological revolution."
He stood up and walked to the window, his back facing her.
"This world runs on chakra, but no one has ever tried to seriously harness it as an energy source beyond jutsu. I've already experimented with converting chakra into electricity, thermal energy, and mechanical power. It's frighteningly efficient. Chakra is practically weightless, endlessly renewable, and completely clean."
Tsunade's eyes widened slightly.
"If the rest of the world discovers how to harness chakra as energy." he continued, "It would be like discovering this power all over again—only better. The real industrial revolution in the shinobi world might start here, in Konoha."
He turned and looked at her with piercing blue eyes. "And that's why I want you to stay."
Tsunade faltered. "But… what role can I play in all this?"
"You'll be the chairperson of the Red Cross Relief Society." Mirai said seriously. "No one else fits the role better."
"The Red Cross?"
"Yes. An organization dedicated to humanitarian aid. We'll send relief during natural disasters, wars, or outbreaks. It's also the public face of the Umbrella Company's medical division. With your reputation and skill, we'll be able to bring credibility and hope to people across all nations."
Tsunade was speechless. No one—not even her grandfather, the First Hokage—had ever considered such a noble institution for the shinobi world. To treat the wounded regardless of nation, to promote healing over destruction...
Namikaze Mirai wasn't just thinking outside the box. He was thinking beyond the very framework of what it meant to be a shinobi.
In that moment, her image of him completely transformed.
He wasn't just Minato's younger brother or a powerful shinobi. He was a visionary.
"...Alright." she whispered, her voice steady but emotional. "I'll do it."
Mirai smiled, that warm, soft smile only he could wear.
"Welcome aboard, Chairwoman Tsunade."
*****
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