Akatsuki Ninja Village.
Uchiha Makoto finished his day's work as usual.
Having worked hard all day, he stood up from his chair and stretched his back.
Then, Makoto rested in his office for a while and gave the Two-Tailed Cat a thorough "doting."
"Little kitty, you were born to be eaten by humans."
"Surrender obediently!"
"Don't even think about resisting me... Hahaha!!"
Amidst the cat's sounds of protest, such resistance was useless.
In the end, the Two-Tailed Cat could not escape Uchiha Makoto's demonic claws; its little paws flailed a couple of times before it gave up the struggle.
Right now, it was really no different from an ordinary kitten.
The sealing jutsu personally applied by Senju Hashirama was not so easily broken, and the jar also contained a slight amount of Wood Style chakra.
Of course, this "slight" was only in comparison to the total amount of chakra in Senju Hashirama's body. In reality... if no one actively undid the seal on the jar, even if the Two-Tailed Cat tried to break through with all its might, it would take a very long time, at least a month.
The Two-Tailed Cat longed for freedom in its heart, but Uchiha Makoto had threatened it. If it dared to act up, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama would descend from the heavens to teach it a lesson.
The thought of that nightmarish afternoon.
—Susanoo Clad Giant Buddha, a combination ultimate technique that sent it flying into the sky.
The Two-Tailed Cat naturally gave up on that idea.
At least, life in the Akatsuki Ninja Village wasn't too bad at the moment.
Although it was sealed, it hadn't lost too much of its freedom.
Every day, it would leisurely lie on the windowsill of Uchiha Makoto's office, basking in the sun for most of the day.
And this Lord Kōkage, Uchiha Makoto, even had to serve it with carefully prepared catnip every day.
Wasn't this a great fortune?
Of course, this did not come without a price.
Uchiha Makoto was currently getting his cat fix from the Two-Tailed Cat. After a session of cat-cuddling, he was finally satisfied. He then got up, took two cans of 99% pure catnip from a drawer, and tossed them to the belly-up Two-Tailed Cat.
This was considered the Two-Tailed Cat's payment for its service today.
"Kitty, stay in the office for a while. No running around."
"Got it."
After agreeing, the Two-Tailed Cat eagerly opened the can of 99% pure catnip and began its daily enjoyment.
—Meow, I endure humiliation every day just for this moment!
Uchiha Makoto walked out of the Kōkage's office.
He didn't immediately go home to spend time with Uzumaki Tsubaki but instead went to a secret research and experimental base in the Akatsuki Ninja Village.
As soon as he entered the research base.
Uchiha Makoto saw various strange sealing formulas carved on the surrounding walls. In the center of the spacious base was a huge, dark red sealing array. It looked exceptionally old, dim, and ancient.
According to the Uzumaki clan's sealing jutsu design, this central core sealing array would connect with the surrounding sealing formulas. Once activated, it would form layers of seals, creating a complete sealing system. Even a Kage-level expert, if they were to wander in by mistake, would be trapped and killed here.
"Shinji, how much longer until this grand project is completed?"
"The Two-Tails' chakra can regenerate. Every day we delay is a loss of a lot of chakra..."
"Makoto, soon, soon... at most another month or two."
"We're already working around the clock. The nesting of the sealing jutsu must be perfectly seamless, without the slightest error. Otherwise, the Two-Tails might find a loophole and break the seal."
"You don't want the Two-Tails to go on a rampage in the Akatsuki Ninja Village, do you?"
Uzumaki Shinji replied with a standard Japanese-style statement, and Uchiha Makoto couldn't press him further.
A month or two was not something he couldn't wait for.
Safety first!
The kitty was a Tailed Beast, after all. They were getting along well now, but that was because Uchiha Makoto hadn't started siphoning its chakra yet.
When the pump started running, who knew how the Two-Tailed Cat would react.
To ensure safety and prevent accidents, this research base was located on the very outskirts of the Akatsuki Ninja Village, a considerable distance from the main headquarters.
The Sealing Team and patrol squads would guard this place at all times. Even if an accident occurred, it would be enough to give Uchiha Makoto time to react.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"I'll treat you all to a late-night snack tonight!"
With that, Uchiha Makoto turned and walked out.
—Oh, Two-Tailed Cat, your good days are numbered.
...
After a few days of leisurely travel.
Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara finally returned to their loyal Konoha.
But as soon as they approached the village, Senju Hashirama's brows furrowed involuntarily.
In the past, Senju Hashirama had always been extremely satisfied with his village of Konoha, no matter how he looked at it. But now, after returning from a trip to the Akatsuki Ninja Village, he felt that Konoha's development was far too slow.
Uchiha Makoto was indeed an outstanding junior, but Konoha couldn't be left too far behind by his Akatsuki Ninja Village.
As a senior, Senju Hashirama had his pride to maintain!
If timely changes weren't made, the gap between the two would only grow wider.
Therefore...
—Tobirama, you really need to work harder!
With this in mind.
After returning to the village, Senju Hashirama, for the first time ever, chose to go to the Hokage's office to see Senju Tobirama first. He had found many areas where Konoha needed improvement during his time in the Akatsuki Ninja Village.
Uchiha Madara, on the other hand, chose to head home.
He had no desire to go to the Hokage's office and see Senju Tobirama's sour face.
Hokage's Office...
Senju Tobirama sat in his chair, in a very poor state at the moment.
During this period, Senju Tobirama had been busy with Konoha's complex official duties every day, stuck in the office handling documents.
For the sake of Konoha's reform, he also had to find time to meet with the major merchants affiliated with Arasaka to discuss cooperation. During these discussions at banquets, he was frequently drawn into rounds of drinking.
—This was specifically requested by Uchiha Makoto. He had to give Senju Tobirama a taste of his own medicine!
The amount of alcohol he had drunk back then was no less than what Senju Tobirama had been drinking recently!
He had once stood in the rain, and now he was tearing up the umbrella.
The wealthy merchants were all too familiar with such scenes, each a seasoned veteran at the drinking table.
But Senju Tobirama had undergone strict ninja training and was usually a teetotaler. However, for the sake of socializing, he had to drink a little.
Under the barrage of drinking bouts, he would even drink until his head spun and he would vomit afterward.
And the Uchiha clan was no longer as easy to deal with as before.
Ever since being greatly empowered by Uchiha Makoto, they had been using the authority of the Uchiha Police Force to win over other clans in Konoha. Their every move was a troublesome matter that needed constant vigilance.
After his daytime duties were over, Senju Tobirama still had to conduct experiments in his laboratory at night, often pulling all-nighters on a whim.
Juggling multiple roles, mental and physical exhaustion, and lack of sleep.
An ordinary person could not handle such a high-intensity work schedule. It was only because Senju Tobirama was from the Senju clan, with vigorous life force and strong recovery abilities, naturally suited to be a beast of burden, that he could endure it.
But even so, Senju Tobirama was old, after all.
After several consecutive days of grinding, his spirit was quite listless. However, Senju Tobirama still held his post and did not choose to rest. His eyes were still fixed on the intelligence urgently gathered by the ANBU. Among this intelligence were many copies of "confidential" contracts, recording the normally secretive transaction data of the major grain merchants in the Land of Fire.
This type of transaction data could not be shown to others casually. Once it was fully known, it was as threatening as having one's hole cards seen in a game of poker.
But now, Tobirama had more than a dozen such contract copies in his hands.
The reason Senju Tobirama had sent ANBU to infiltrate heavily guarded security rooms and steal these contract copies was to further understand the big moves Uchiha Makoto had recently made.
Uchiha Makoto's first move was to meddle in the grain trade.
Even though commerce was Senju Tobirama's weakest area, he knew that the waters ran deep in this industry. Merchants who could manage grain production from the land and control the grain trade must have deep connections with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and the high nobles. These people should not, under any circumstances, get involved with a scoundrel like Uchiha Makoto.
Yet they had flocked to the Akatsuki Ninja Village.
"Damn it... Deals worth tens of millions right off the bat?"
"This one is even bigger..."
"Damn it all..."
"And this is just the tip of the iceberg. How much money is the Akatsuki Ninja Village going to make this time... This one business alone is probably worth half of Konoha's finances. No, far more than that... And it's only just begun... I really can't imagine how much money the Akatsuki Ninja Village will make from this in the future."
"Uchiha Makoto, on what grounds does that naturally evil Uchiha brat earn so much money? How many times larger is Akatsuki's annual budget compared to Konoha's!!"
The more Senju Tobirama read, the more shocked he became.
He found it hard to imagine that in such a short period, Uchiha Makoto could open up such a terrifyingly profitable financial path for the Akatsuki Ninja Village.
In the past few years...
How many more businesses of this level did the Akatsuki Ninja Village have?
It was no wonder Uchiha Makoto looked down on the rewards from traditional ninja missions.
S-rank missions were not common in peacetime. Normally, the village's elite ninja would only take on A-rank missions.
But the price of A-rank missions was generally under one million Ryo, and what ordinary ninja did most often were C and D-rank missions.
Moreover, the ninja took the bulk of that money. Konoha's finances could not sustain such a large village just by taking a commission from ninja missions. It had to receive support from the country and a large number of official missions, truly relying on the lords of the Land of Fire for sustenance.
"The Akatsuki Ninja Village probably stopped caring about the Daimyo's annual funding and assigned missions long ago!"
"If Konoha's finances were this rich, its development would definitely not be worse than Akatsuki's!"
"Uchiha Makoto, no wonder you can be so generous to the Uchiha clan in Konoha. Damn it... I'll kill you sooner or later!!"
"....."
After reading all the intelligence, Senju Tobirama, like a twisted maggot, let out a jealous whisper.
A sound came from outside the Hokage's office door, and Senju Hashirama happened to push the door open and walk in.
"Tobirama... why are you angry again?"
"Uchiha Makoto is clearly in the Akatsuki Ninja Village, so far away, and you're still saying such things..."
Senju Hashirama's voice was a little displeased. He had just returned to hear Tobirama badmouthing Uchiha Makoto behind his back. This was not the first time, but many times.
Now that the Akatsuki Ninja Village was so far ahead of Konoha, it was precisely the time to strive to learn from all their advanced experiences.
Brother, with an attitude like yours, how can Konoha ever improve!
Senju Tobirama's expression froze. He stared blankly for a moment, not expecting his brother to return so suddenly.
And to come straight to his Hokage's office upon his return.
Usually, Senju Hashirama would spend the whole day messing around with Uchiha Madara and would never come to the Hokage's office.
This was simply too abnormal!
And the timing was so coincidental. Senju Tobirama knew that if his brother heard such unguarded words, which were detrimental to unity with the Uchiha clan, he would inevitably be criticized and lectured at length.
And Tobirama had no way to refute it.
So he hurriedly changed the subject, deliberately playing the victim:
"Brother, why didn't you let me know you were back? I would have gone to the village gate to greet you."
"..."
"I've been really busy lately... haven't slept well for days."
"....."
Senju Hashirama frowned, looking at Tobirama's haggard face.
It was clear that Tobirama had been so busy with work recently that his body was about to collapse. At this moment, he couldn't bring himself to get angry.
"By the way, did anything happen on your trip to the Akatsuki Ninja Village?"
"What could have happened? I have to say, the Akatsuki Ninja Village really opened my eyes!"
The topic was quickly shifted by Senju Tobirama.
The two of them, without prior agreement, started talking about the Akatsuki Ninja Village.
Senju Hashirama enthusiastically talked about what he had seen and heard in the Akatsuki Ninja Village.
He had learned about humanitarian care, welfare systems, the dignity of the villagers... Konoha was so powerful, yet it had not implemented similar policies.
Senju Tobirama listened from the side. During his time in the Akatsuki Ninja Village, he had been rooted in the most prosperous area for his inspection and had not paid attention to the areas Hashirama was focusing on.
However, he didn't doubt for a moment that Hashirama was exaggerating.
Because the Akatsuki Ninja Village was indeed prosperous, and its finances were very abundant. It could fully afford to use special funds to carry out these actions to win over the hearts of the people.
But the more enthusiastically Hashirama spoke, with a look of longing and eagerness, the more it gave Tobirama a bad feeling in his heart.
Brother, he's not thinking of implementing similar policies in Konoha, is he?
Tsk... if it's my brother, it's really hard to say.
How could Konoha have the financial foundation to imitate Akatsuki's 'profligate' behavior!
No!
This can't go on.
"Brother, is there anything else..."
"About the Akatsuki Ninja Village, let's discuss it after I've finished the work at hand. I'm very busy right now."
Senju Tobirama quickly used work as a shield and issued an order for Hashirama to leave, which had a hint of reversing the natural order, as Hashirama was, after all, the First Hokage of Konoha.
However, Senju Hashirama didn't mind this behavior. He was indeed a hands-off manager. But this time, Hashirama did not leave the Hokage's office as usual. Instead, he stayed and took a notebook out of his pocket.
—I'm about to lay out my plans
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