Land of Whirlpools, Uzushiogakure.
The person in charge of White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company, who had traveled all the way from the Land of Waves, hired people from the Village to build a shop selling skincare products and herbal tea.
If you're selling herbal tea, why sell herbal tea with *that* kind of effect?
Uzumaki Chigusa looked at the main products of the White Snake specialty store on the flyer. Besides skincare products, there was shimura herbal tea, which had *that* kind of effect.
Should I say he truly lives up to his reputation as an 'Imperial Uncle' author? Even the company he works for is so peculiar.
She had heard about the shimura herbal tea, which was recently selling like hotcakes in many countries. But she truly hadn't expected it to be an herbal tea that nourished the body and refreshed the spirit, and also had *that* kind of effect.
In a while, it will be time to visit Konoha. It's been a long time; I wonder how Lady Mito is doing.
Uzumaki Chigusa glanced at the shop still under construction, returned home, and casually placed the flyer on the table. The reason she didn't throw it away was because the flyer could be used as a discount coupon. She wasn't interested in shimura herbal tea, but she was quite interested in skincare products.
The love of beauty is common to all. Even if a woman is a Ninja, she must cherish her beauty!
Crack—!
Orochimaru, sitting at her desk, looked at the pen in her hand, broken into two pieces.
What's going on?
This ominous premonition... Orochimaru stared at the broken pen in her hand for a moment, then casually threw it into the trash can. She propped her chin with one hand, her finger tapping rhythmically on the newly written proposal, considering whether to recruit a powerful employee who was absolutely loyal to money and whose betrayal she wouldn't have to worry about.
That person was Kakuzu, whom she had met once in Tanzaku Street and who would become Akatsuki's financial manager in the future.
With my current strength, I have no chance against Kakuzu, but I can run away!
Orochimaru had wanted to invite Kakuzu more than once, but due to strength issues, she could only give up. She didn't want to end up being invited unsuccessfully and having her heart gouged out; that would be too unjust a death.
Her current mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique was not yet suitable for combat, but it was perfectly fine for escaping.
She had money, and Kakuzu recognized money.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if this chosen underling could work for her, Orochimaru?
That's the confidence you get after learning the Flying Thunder God Technique!
Do you understand the value of a Space-Time Ninjutsu!
Even if that blood vessel monster, Kakuzu, could grow wings on his back, he wouldn't catch her.
In this current era, Orochimaru dared to call herself the fastest in the Ninja World, especially when it came to escaping. Even the Third Raikage would have to admit defeat in front of her.
One runs on two legs, the other teleports instantly—there's simply no comparison!
The Third Raikage couldn't possibly use Hell Stab to instantly teleport from Hidden Cloud Village in the Land of Lightning to Konoha in the Land of Fire, could he? He'd probably collapse from exhaustion before even reaching Konoha.
However, to talk to Kakuzu, she needed to know his exact location, and the best way to get information about Kakuzu was through the black market.
This matter could only be entrusted to Aokawa. He was the president of White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company; there was no more suitable candidate than him.
And the new proposal for White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company also needed to be handed over to Aokawa.
Orochimaru looked at the proposal on the table and then pulled out another sheet of paper. Written on it was the news that a home appliance manufacturing factory in the Land of Fire was on the verge of bankruptcy.
She had sent a Shadow Clone to confirm this news, and it was true.
If she could successfully acquire this factory, her plan could advance further.
That would mean having enough research funds for her to squander freely!
Land of Waves, White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company.
The explosive sales of shimura herbal tea were beyond Aokawa's expectations. He had initially thought that only the wealthy would be interested in herbal tea. He had heard about affairs in the Land of Fire's elite circles, but what surprised him was that the herbal tea was not only popular among the wealthy but even more so among commoners.
"Lady Orochimaru, the two Ninja who attacked us earlier came from the Land of Water. They accepted a bounty on the black market to steal the skincare formula."
Aokawa respectfully looked at Orochimaru, who was sitting on the sofa.
"The black market, huh..."
Orochimaru frowned slightly. Matters involving the black market tended to become troublesome. The black market's interest chains were intricate, formed because multiple powers and even nations preferred not to conduct certain affairs openly.
Therefore, even if a black market stronghold was taken down, it would be useless and would not help in finding the person or power attempting to steal the skincare formula.
"Lady Orochimaru, should we continue the investigation?"
Aokawa asked cautiously. He didn't care how complex the black market's interest chains were; as long as Lady Orochimaru gave the order, he would lead the Iburi Clan to wipe out the black market completely.
"Reign in your killing intent. Let's stop here with this matter."
Orochimaru sensed Aokawa's killing intent directed at the black market. She had no intention of acting against the black market. Not to mention the difficulty of completely eradicating it.
Targeting the black market would be time-consuming and laborious, and it might even attract greater trouble.
The existence of the black market was beneficial to her. If others could use the black market, why couldn't she?
Posting bounties on the black market could yield many unexpected experimental materials.
And the person she intended to find next would also require using the black market, so she naturally wouldn't go looking for trouble with it.
The black market's protection of bounty posters was something Orochimaru quite appreciated.
In the original story, Konoha failed to find out who had placed the bounty on Asuma Sarutobi's life. It was likely one of the Four Great Nations.
After all, Asuma Sarutobi was once one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, responsible for protecting the Daimyo and accompanying him on visits to various countries.
The Daimyo of each country had met the Twelve Guardian Ninja and should have understood them and their strength, viewing them as thorns in their side. It's understandable that they would use the black market to place bounties to eliminate them.
The black market was such a useful tool; if it were her, she would do the same.
The bounty prices for Asuma Sarutobi and Chiriku's heads on the black market were not low. Presumably, if the other Twelve Guardian Ninja were still alive, they would certainly also be on the list, each worth a fortune.
Aokawa reined in his killing intent, feeling a bit awkward for a moment. Seeing the financial report on the desk, his eyes lit up. He picked up the financial report and said with barely contained excitement: "Lady Orochimaru, I truly didn't expect the sales of shimura herbal tea to be so explosive. Our products are even selling very successfully in sparsely populated countries like the Land of Wind!"
In his heart, Lady Orochimaru had already become a god-like existence. Every decision she made brought immense benefits to the Iburi Clan and White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company.
He had not been optimistic about the herbal tea business before, and he never expected it to be so profitable.
Could your way of easing the atmosphere be any more clumsy?
Orochimaru smiled and said, "Aokawa, this alone isn't enough..."
Orochimaru took the opportunity to propose a new marketing strategy: packaging. Earn more money from the rich, and less from commoners who struggle financially.
Luxurious packaging would undoubtedly bring great psychological satisfaction to the wealthy and powerful, and also give them a lot of face when given as gifts.
Thus, products could be divided into luxury and normal editions.
The luxury edition would be sold at a high price, while the normal edition would be sold a bit cheaper.
Aokawa was no longer the ignorant caveman who had lived in a cave for years. He quickly understood Orochimaru's meaning.
"Aokawa, you must remember that our company is a pharmaceutical technology company; we cannot always focus solely on the pharmaceutical aspect."
Orochimaru believed the company needed to expand its ventures.
"Lady Orochimaru, do you mean...?"
Aokawa's eyes held a hint of anticipation. He thought Lady Orochimaru had developed another new product.
"Televisions, such convenient home appliances for passing time, shouldn't only appear in the homes of the wealthy and powerful."
Orochimaru handed the prepared proposal to Aokawa.
Can you believe that televisions, such home appliances, only existed in Tsunade's and the Hokage's homes in Konoha, and weren't even used for watching but as decorations?
Turning on the TV only showed static; there wasn't even a single TV station.
Tsunade even thought that's how TVs were supposed to be, which left Orochimaru speechless.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Konoha didn't even have a signal tower to receive TV signals. Trying to get a TV station would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?
"We're going to sell televisions?"
Aokawa looked at the proposal in shock, thinking Lady Orochimaru had a way to buy cheaper televisions.
"No, we are going to produce better and cheaper televisions, to popularize televisions. This way, we can use the widespread adoption of televisions to establish our own TV station."
Orochimaru's research required a large amount of funding, and the development of White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company was closely related to her research, so she naturally hoped the company would prosper.
Important propaganda channels like TV stations must be firmly held in her own hands.
Let those foolish Daimyo, who are unaware of the importance of the TV stations they disdain, continue to rot with their arrogant mindset!
Aokawa looked at the proposal in his hand and said, "Orochimaru, you mean we're going to build a television manufacturing factory in the Land of Waves?"
"Aokawa, sometimes acquisition is simpler than building our own factory."
Orochimaru pulled out that other sheet of paper and placed it on top of the proposal.
The expensive price of televisions made them unaffordable for commoners in various countries, so demand never increased. The popularization of other home appliances was decent, but the money earned was still not enough.
And now, a home appliance manufacturing factory was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Orochimaru didn't understand television manufacturing technology, but by acquiring this home appliance manufacturing factory located in the Land of Fire, she could obtain the relevant technologies for televisions and other home appliances. Afterwards, she could either hire people who understood the relevant technology or conduct her own research to improve production techniques, enhance quality, reduce costs, and produce televisions that commoners could also afford.
As long as televisions could be popularized, signal towers and the like would not be difficult to handle. At that time, with control over the propaganda channels, she could promote products however she wished.
Perhaps other companies would even come to White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company to advertise, and advertising fees alone would be a considerable income.
Orochimaru believed that for future sustained profits, dedicating one or two Shadow Clones to this aspect was entirely worthwhile. A TV station alone had many things that could be exploited.
"Aokawa, I'm entrusting this matter to you."
Orochimaru trusted Aokawa not to disappoint her.
It would naturally be best if it could be resolved with money. Otherwise, she wouldn't mind Aokawa using some special methods to acquire the home appliance manufacturing factory.
"Lady Orochimaru, please rest assured!"
Aokawa replied earnestly. No matter what means he had to use, he would complete the task Lady Orochimaru had given him!
"There's one more thing, Aokawa. I need you to post a bounty on the black market to find a Ninja named Kakuzu for me. His physical characteristics are: tall, masked, green eyes, and red whites of his eyes."
Orochimaru was about to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to go home when she suddenly remembered she had forgotten an important matter.
"Lady Orochimaru, are you planning to...?"
Aokawa mistakenly thought Lady Orochimaru wanted to kill this Ninja named Kakuzu.
"I need to talk to him. Aokawa, if you see him, remember to be prepared to use the Smoke Clone Technique at any moment. You are my right-hand man; I don't want anything to happen to you."
Orochimaru warned. She worried that given Kakuzu's temper, if Aokawa took it upon himself to meet him, he might be hit with a Tentacle Punch right away.
"Lady Orochimaru! I will engrave it in my heart!"
Aokawa said excitedly. How could he be so deserving that Lady Orochimaru considered him her right-hand man!
"Oh, right, Orochimaru-sama, these are the devices you asked me to purchase."
Aokawa suddenly remembered the scientific research equipment Orochimaru had asked him to buy. He took out a scroll from his desk drawer and respectfully handed it over.
"Very good, you've worked hard."
Orochimaru put away the scroll and returned to Konoha using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
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