Sakai Kyoko, the executive director of Umbrella Medical Company, found the Fourth Raikage's almost fantastical idea difficult to comprehend.
Ostensibly, they were a newly rising industrial company.
In reality, they were a monopoly enterprise secretly supported by Konoha, dominating the medical market through medical dumping.
For the medical products produced by Umbrella Medical Company, Konoha itself had better alternatives; what they sold externally were only second-rate products.
Even so, they were far superior to the products circulating on the market.
With such an advantage, Umbrella Medical Company quickly established itself and gained a reputation in the shinobi world.
The profits obtained from dumping medical products, after deducting a small amount for company expenses, were mostly funnelled back to Konoha through various channels.
This was also why Konoha had the confidence to completely take down the Daimyō.
Possessing such a vast industrial pillar, Konoha simply didn't care about the Daimyō's meager financial allocations.
Now, the Raikage of Kumogakure came to acquire Umbrella Medical Company. What expression would he show if he knew the true background of this enterprise?
Kyoko's expression was peculiar.
Even within the medical company, only she and a very few high-level executives knew the true controller of this company.
Moreover, each of them had been implanted with a special cursed seal, preventing them from revealing any information related to Konoha.
Kyoko was certain that the Raikage could not know the inside story.
It seemed this acquisition attempt was the result of a wild imagination.
"But… Perhaps we can bite off a piece of Kumogakure."
Kyoko was not a ninja, but to be chosen by Mirai to serve as the medical company's director, her foresight and courage far surpassed ordinary people.
After clarifying the situation, she made a decision that best served Konoha's interests.
A letter was quietly sent to Konoha, informing him of what had happened here, attaching her own thoughts, and requesting his instructions.
After receiving the reply and seeing the content of the letter, Kyoko was full of confidence.
This time, they were going to bite off a large chunk from Kumogakure.
Unaware of everything happening here, Raikage Ai, who was rushing from the Land of Lightning, was still dreaming of acquiring the company and getting revenge on Konoha.
Three days later.
Ai finally arrived at the headquarters of the medical company in the Land of Waterfalls.
To show his sincerity, as the Raikage, he chose to visit in person to facilitate the acquisition.
Led by Kyoko, as soon as Ai entered the company, he saw an endless array of medical industry production lines.
Clean, tidy, and orderly.
He was greatly shocked.
"Raikage-dono, this is our company's production line. Every medicine produced here undergoes three inspections, and only after passing all of them can it enter the market."
Kyoko, leading the tour, explained with a smile.
As the person in charge, she was only thirty years old this year, with a beautiful appearance, making her perfectly suitable to lead the Raikage's tour.
Compared to her confident composure, Ai was like a country bumpkin entering the city, stunned speechless by the scene before him, frozen in place.
As one of the Five Kage, he had seen a lot.
But he had never seen such a sophisticated and massive production line.
Mabui, who followed behind him, had sweat oozing from her palms, which held a silver briefcase, and she rubbed them uneasily.
It's over! With such a large production line, it would be terrible if they didn't bring enough money!
The briefcase contained the funds they brought for this acquisition, and now it seemed it was far from enough.
Kyoko showed a professional smile, taking in their embarrassment, but her expression remained unchanged.
A perfect show of dominance had been achieved.
Even if he was one of the Five Kage, so what?
This was her territory.
"Cough, cough!" Clenching his fist and placing it under his chin, the Raikage coughed, signalling Mabui with his eyes.
Don't be nervous, wasn't he still there?
"Sakai..."
"Just call me Kyoko."
"Alright, Kyoko-san, we have generally understood your company's production model and intend to acquire your company."
Ai gestured with his eyes.
Mabui understood, stepped forward, and opened the briefcase she had been carrying, revealing a stack of neatly arranged banknotes.
"Kyoko-dono, here are three billion ryō. How about this as the amount for acquiring your company?"
"Not enough."
Kyoko still maintained her smiling demeanour.
The Raikage offering this amount showed no sincerity for acquisition.
"Hahaha." Ai gave an awkward laugh, clearly aware that three billion was a bit unreasonable.
"I forgot to mention, this three billion is just the deposit for the acquisition. Once the contract is initially signed, Kumogakure will pay an additional ten billion ryō in one lump sum. How about it, Kyoko-san, is this amount enough?"
Kyoko still gently shook her head.
Ai's expression stiffened slightly.
He had already shown his sincerity.
"Kyoko-san, as the Raikage, the leader of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, your expression is a bit disrespectful to me, isn't it?"
"Raikage-dono, you misunderstand. It's just that the terms you offered are not sufficient to acquire Umbrella Medical Company."
"Hmph! Then how much do you want?"
"Fifty billion!"
"Wha-? How much?"
"Fifty billion."
Kyoko responded with a polite smile.
Ai's expression turned ugly, and his voice carried a hint of coldness.
"Kyoko-san, your appetite is a bit too large."
Fifty billion ryō, Kumogakure's annual fiscal revenue was only ten billion ryō.
Fifty billion ryō was already five years of Kumogakure's fiscal revenue.
"Raikage-dono, the price I'm offering is very fair. If you don't believe me, I can go to Konoha; I'm sure they would be very happy."
"Wait!"
Hearing the word Konoha, Ai was like a rat whose tail had been stepped on, panicking.
Konoha?
How could such a thing involve Konoha!
Konoha was already strong enough; if Umbrella Medical Company were added, wouldn't they take off?
"Fifty billion is not a small number, Kyoko-san. You must understand that even for the Five Great Ninja Villages, this is an extremely large sum."
Ai naturally couldn't really acquire a medical company for fifty billion ryō; his absolute bottom price was ten billion ryō. His previous promise to pay an additional ten billion ryō later was merely a way to stabilize Kyoko.
In his original plan, after paying the three billion ryō deposit, when the subsequent amount would be paid was entirely up to him.
He hadn't expected Kyoko to directly hit his soft spot by mentioning Konoha.
He couldn't acquire it for fifty billion ryō, nor could he watch Kyoko hand the opportunity over to Konoha.
Konoha was his greatest enemy.
Taking in Ai's predicament, Kyoko's eyes held a faint smile.
If Ai knew that Umbrella Company was secretly backed by Konoha, would he still show such an expression?
There was no need for Konoha to acquire it, because they were already one and the same.
"Kyoko-san, how about twenty-five billion? The Land of Waterfalls is not very far from the Land of Lightning. I imagine, Kyoko-san, you wouldn't want to damage the friendship with Kumogakure, would you?"
"Is Raikage-dono threatening me? My reporter friends and chamber of commerce directors would surely be happy to get a report on this matter."
"No, no, no, Kyoko-san, please don't misunderstand, I didn't mean that."
Damn it!
He was completely being led by the nose!
Ai suppressed the anger in his heart, looking at Kyoko's unchanging signature smile from beginning to end, wishing he could just punch her.
But he knew he absolutely couldn't do that.
Otherwise, tomorrow's headline would probably be: Kumogakure's Raikage Fails to Acquire Company, Angrily Attacks Ordinary Person.
Times were different now. Ai was not only the Raikage of Kumogakure but also one of the four leaders of the Four Nations Alliance. Creating international public opinion at this time would be very troublesome.
Moreover, how could such an acquisition be openly exposed?
Mabui, who was half a step behind him, watched Ai's demeanour, and a few drops of cold sweat seeped from her forehead.
'Raikage-sama is completely being controlled by the other party.'
Just as the negotiation reached an impasse.
"Raikage-dono, how about this? We'll accept this three billion ryō as a deposit, but not for acquiring the company, rather as a reserved amount for purchasing medical products."
"In return, you will automatically be promoted to our company's VIP client, enjoying priority purchase rights for all medical products, becoming our most esteemed client. All products from the pharmaceutical company will be preferentially available to Kumogakure."
'In short, a big sucker.'
Kyoko smiled.
'VIP client?'
Ai fell into contemplation.
It seemed there was no better option now.
Becoming a VIP client and having priority purchase rights, to a certain extent, was also monopolizing Umbrella Medical Company.
Having been cornered by Kyoko, with no way out, Ai, after much thought, chose to agree with Kyoko's proposal.
"In that case, Kyoko-san, let's go with that."
Mabui behind him wanted to say something more, but seeing the Raikage's resolute demeanour, she didn't know how to speak.
"Pleasure doing business."
Kyoko extended her hand.
"Pleasure doing business."
Ai extended his hand and shook hers.
After the contract was signed, Kyoko looked at the stacks of banknotes in the briefcase and Ai's retreating figure, a scornful smile playing on her lips.
So, what if he was one of the Five Kage? He had the battle power of a Kage but not the matching intellect. The entire negotiation process, he was completely led by the nose.
Even if the woman named Mabui behind him had taken his place, the outcome would probably have been different.
With three billion ryō in hand, and with the VIP 'big sucker' status, they could continuously extract funds from Kumogakure.
'What a perfect fat sheep!'
'Raikage-sama, you truly sent me a huge gift.'
'I must send the news back to Konoha quickly. He will surely be satisfied after knowing this!'
After leaving Umbrella Medical Company, Mabui, carrying an empty briefcase, recalled the negotiation process. The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was amiss.
Looking at Ai's back in front of her, she finally couldn't help but speak.
"Raikage-sama, weren't you a bit hasty?"
Three billion ryō, even for Kumogakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi villages, was a huge sum.
It was spent so vaguely.
Was a VIP client status really worth such an expenditure for Kumogakure?
"What do you know? It seems like I bought VIP client status, but in reality, I bought a monopolistic relationship in the medical industry."
Ai was full of confidence in his decision.
Umbrella Medical Company was a leading enterprise in the shinobi world's medical industry. Establishing a long-term cooperative relationship with such an enterprise was definitely a profitable venture.
First step, every step first.
With such an advantage, Kumogakure could completely widen the gap in the arms race with the other four Great Shinobi villages and rapidly enhance its strength.
"Is that really the case..."
Mabui looked at the confident Ai, unsure what to think of it.
…
Konoha, Hokage Office.
Looking at the letter report sent from the Land of Waterfalls, even Mirai, a well-informed person with excellent psychological fortitude, was shocked by Raikage Ai's series of bizarre actions.
He wanted to acquire a medical enterprise with three billion ryō, and when the acquisition failed, he was talked into buying a VIP client status by Kyoko.
What was the difference between this behaviour and those who went to a bathhouse, consumed services, and were talked into buying an annual membership?
"It really is something the Raikage would do."
Thinking of Ai's bulging muscles, roaring and slaughtering in a crowd, Mirai was no longer surprised by Ai's actions.
After all, for Kumogakure, thoughtlessness and impulsiveness were almost inherent traits everyone associated with them.
As Kumogakure ninjas who trained their muscles to the extreme, what was most commendable was that they also trained these muscles into their brains.
Three billion ryō was just the down payment. Subsequently, this VIP client status would bring continuous benefits to Konoha.
"Ai, you truly are a good man."
Mirai recalled that the last time, it seemed Kumogakure had also recently stockpiled new types of medicines, contributing greatly to Konoha's economic growth.
Ai, who always regarded Konoha as his greatest enemy and mortal foe, probably never would have imagined that he had unknowingly made such a significant contribution to Konoha's development.
This was the advantage of having an alias.
Using an alias to harvest the wealth of the shinobi world without revealing Konoha's identity was not only remarkably effective but might also produce some unexpected results.
Mirai turned to look out the Hokage Office window. From this vantage point, he could see the thriving village outside.
To call it a village was no longer appropriate.
After he ascended to the position of Hokage, he diligently worked towards good governance, vigorously developed, reformed the Land of Fire's system, and seized both political and military power.
The forests around Konoha were cut down to construct new buildings, and previously desolate land was covered by houses. Konoha's territory was continuously expanding.
In the center of the village, modern high-rise buildings rose from the ground, and new, technologically advanced products flowed through the streets and alleys. Enjoying the benefits of technology and development, the faces of the villagers coming and going beamed with enthusiastic smiles.
Konoha had broken free from the shackles of being a 'village'.
To describe it as a city was not an exaggeration at all.
The former capital of the Land of Fire could not compare to the current Konoha.
Standing by the window, looking at the Konoha he had single-handedly built, Mirai felt a surge of pride.
"The new term at the Ninja Academy is also about to begin."
The new generation, enjoying the benefits of Konoha's great development and embracing the wind of the new era.
What kind of stories would they bring?
Mirai was very much looking forward to it.
*****
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