"Is that so?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi closed the crystal ball on his desk, looking at the kneeling ANBU before him. His brows furrowed slightly as he fell into thought.
"Danzo was originally adamant about blocking all goods from Sunagakure, worried they were hiding some scheme. So why has he suddenly changed his stance and chosen to cooperate with them?"
"This… I don't know either," the masked ANBU replied, shaking his head in a serious tone. "Shall I dispatch a team to shut down the shop? Or issue an order banning Uzumaki Naruto from entering it?"
"..."
Hiruzen paused at the serious suggestion. He took a drag from his pipe and remained in silent contemplation.
This matter had always been Danzo's responsibility—keeping people away from the jinchūriki and ensuring no one with ill intentions could exploit Naruto to endanger Konoha or the shinobi world.
Originally, the plan had been to shape Naruto into Konoha's weapon. A living deterrent.
Of course, Hiruzen had disagreed with that. No matter what, Naruto was Minato's child—how could he possibly bear to see Minato's son turned into a mere tool?
But… the arm couldn't wrestle the thigh. All the higher-ups had backed Danzo's decision. They believed that raising Naruto in isolation would obscure his true identity, keeping him safe from Minato's enemies, and thereby allowing him to grow up healthy and happy. Learn proactively. Grow strong.
And so, the only thing Hiruzen could do… was try his best to ensure Naruto's heart could still feel a shred of warmth.
He sighed, shaking his head.
"Just keep an eye on him. Make sure he's safe. Don't let anyone bully him. I'll speak with Danzo personally later."
"Yes, sir."
With that, the ANBU disappeared in a flicker, off to carry out the order.
"Danzo…" Hiruzen muttered after the ANBU vanished, brows furrowed again as he took another puff from his pipe. "Just what are you planning?"
...
"Lord Danzo."
"Hm."
Danzo was seated high on his chair, face stern as ever, staring down at the masked Root operative before him.
"The revenue from the last cycle has been reported?"
"Yes, my lord."
The Root ninja didn't say much. Head bowed, he took a file from his cloak and handed it to Danzo.
"Good."
Danzo glanced briefly at the numbers and gave a satisfied nod. With business stabilizing, his personal income had increased significantly, and his posture had become noticeably more upright.
No longer did he need to threaten—cough cough—negotiate cordially with Koharu and Homura every time funds were tight. Nor did he have to constantly send Root shinobi out to perform the most dangerous and unseemly missions. With more personnel freed up… he could accomplish much more.
Especially now that several towns and villages around Konoha had already welcomed branch stores. He expected next quarter's earnings to rise even further.
Danzo frowned slightly in thought. "Which towns in the Land of Fire haven't opened branches yet?"
"They're being scheduled. But Sunagakure's manpower is stretched thin. We may need to wait until they've staffed other areas, or until we've trained our own personnel, before we can expand further."
"Manpower issues? That Sunagakure…" Danzo sighed with a trace of disappointment, still frowning as he looked at the dutiful operative. Ninja doing business… especially Root ninja…
That just won't do.
He shook his head. "Start training them now."
He… might need to develop his own merchant team.
"Yes, Lord Danzo. However, for this upcoming event organized by Sunagakure, because of the new 4WD cars, ninjas will be able to control them using chakra. The event will be split into three groups: ninja, civilians, and children," the Root ninja reported. "And across the entire Land of Fire…"
There were just too many towns and villages.
"We'll need to hold qualifying rounds. It'll cost us a lot of time and money."
"What's Sunagakure's view?"
"They believe not many people can afford or modify a four-wheel-drive car, and if needed, they're willing to send extra staff to help us organize."
"..."
Danzo thought about it for a moment longer and nodded.
"Very well. But the number of Sunagakure personnel entering the Land of Fire must be tightly controlled—and subject to Konoha surveillance!"
"Understood."
"Anything else?" Danzo narrowed his eyes at the ninja who still hadn't left. "Spit it all out."
"That kid signed up too. Should we remove him? Ban him from the competition?"
"Who?"
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"..."
...
"That's right. Starting from here, we'll need to build two race tracks," Rasa said, pointing across the vast desert. "One for ninja, one for civilians."
The civilian track would have a shorter child's segment in front, with the rest designed for adults.
"The ninja track should be complex, dynamic—set more traps. Even basic ninjutsu-based obstacles are fine. As for the civilian track… just make it decently challenging."
"This…" Ebizō frowned slightly as he looked at the wind-themed design plans. He seemed to be calculating something in his head. "Constructing such a massive, intricate track in the desert won't be easy. And… isn't this a bit of a waste of money?"
The village had made a good amount of profit lately, but still, they couldn't just throw it around.
"And such a large-scale event… can it really be pulled off?"
"We've already finished the simplified versions of the tracks," Rasa said with a confident smile, arms crossed behind his back like everything was going according to plan. "They'll be distributed to various towns soon."
As for the cost?
Well, anyone able to travel all the way here to Sunagakure's Great Desert for a race likely had some money to burn.
Besides… things being pricier in the desert was perfectly normal, right?
It's not like their village was some money-grubbing rip-off operation.
"First prize is one hundred million. Second, fifty million. Third place… a luxury 4WD gift set worth ten million!"
There were three divisions: ninja, civilians, and children. In the children's group, first prize would be ten million, second five million, and third… a premium set worth one million.
For Sunagakure's current economy, this was nothing.
Well… ever since a certain unnamed lady in the Land of Fire went bankrupt, their income from that region had taken a hit. That part still stung.
After all… she was a big client.
"Money's secondary. We, the shinobi of Sunagakure, aren't greedy," Rasa said, clapping Ebizō on the shoulder with heartfelt emotion. "Right now, what matters is building our brand—attracting more people to come."
"So don't be so obsessed with the bottom line, old man."
"I'm not that kind of person!" Ebizō huffed, glaring at Rasa. But after a moment, he sighed and nodded. "Fine. But it'll take a long time to build."
"Exactly why I need you for this," Rasa said, giving Ebizō a flattering slap on the back. "I wouldn't trust anyone else."
"You've got this. I believe in you!"
"..."
Ebizō rolled his eyes. "If I've accepted the job, I'll see it through. But—"
"???"
"We're still short on ninja for the underground waterways…"
"..."
Rasa gave him a helpless look.
"You're bargaining with me again?"
After a long pause, Rasa nodded reluctantly.
"Fine… I'll go talk to it later."
"Talk to who? Konoha?"
Was he planning to borrow manpower from the Leaf?
"No. Shukaku."
Rasa gave Ebizō a sidelong glance, his tone casual.
"When it comes to digging tunnels… it's more experienced."