After Hanzō left, Aokawa, Setsuryu, and Kakuzu all looked at Orochimaru, who was deep in thought.
Bang—!
The smoke dissipated, and Orochimaru dispelled her transformation jutsu, sitting on the sofa, contemplating whether to help Hanzō.
As of now, it was still early for a war to break out; small-scale frictions were within controllable limits.
The Land of Rain, in her opinion, was less valuable than the Land of Rivers, but it wasn't entirely without potential. A Chakra Battery factory could be built in the Land of Rain.
The Ninja of Hidden Rain Village already had little income, with some even needing their wives to work as hostesses to supplement family expenses. It would be a waste not to use their Chakra to produce Chakra Batteries.
Moreover, Hanzō himself possessed considerable strength. During the Second Shinobi World War, he led the weaklings of Hidden Rain Village to fight simultaneously against Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Konoha. Given the strength he displayed, helping the Land of Rain would be more beneficial than detrimental.
"A Chakra Battery factory can be built in the Land of Rain, with Hidden Rain Village's Ninja producing Chakra Batteries. A transportation hub can also be established in the Land of Rain. Given our company's current scale, we need a large amount of manpower to maintain it, and the Land of Rain has the cheap labor we need."
Orochimaru's gaze swept across Setsuryu, Aokawa, and Kakuzu's faces one by one as she voiced her thoughts.
"The Land of Rain is located at the border of the Land of Wind, Land of Earth, and Land of Fire. If war breaks out, the Land of Rain will definitely become a battlefield for the three countries. Wouldn't building an important Chakra Battery factory in the Land of Rain be too unstable?"
Kakuzu considered that the Land of Rain was frequently affected by war and truly had no value for building factories. Establishing a transportation hub would be an even bigger loss.
Who knew if their goods would become targets for those who had to steal to survive?
"At least before the war truly begins, our investment in the Land of Rain can bring us multiple returns, and that's enough."
Orochimaru thought of the Second Shinobi World War. The large-scale outbreak of the war was when Hanzō, unable to tolerate Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha fighting in his territory, directly declared war on the three Great Various Ninja Villages.
The only question was whether he went to the Land of Iron to beat up Mifune before declaring war or after.
Leaving the Land of Rain for the Land of Iron after declaring war seemed illogical.
"Various Ninja Villages of various countries will definitely know about our company building factories in the Land of Rain. Don't underestimate the intelligence gathering capabilities of intelligence Ninja. If a Shinobi Village deliberately destroys our factory… then we'll just end our cooperation with that Shinobi Village. The vast majority of our profits come from ordinary people, and only a very small portion comes from Various Ninja Villages in remote mountains."
It wasn't that Orochimaru looked down on the Five Great Ninja Villages; it was simply that the money earned from them was too little.
The White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company earned most of its money from ordinary people, not Ninja.
Look at the Fourth Shinobi World War; almost all Ninja and Samurai were gathered to form an 80,000-strong Allied Shinobi Forces, which also included Ninja from small Various Ninja Villages who were invited to join.
Therefore, the company didn't actually make much money from the Five Great Ninja Villages. Instead, the Five Great Ninja Villages earned a lot from the company's escort missions, and their finances looked much better.
After all, an escort mission involving combat with Ninja was a B-rank mission, and the reward for a B-rank mission was quite substantial.
To destroy a factory knowing it belongs to the company, wouldn't that be intentionally looking for trouble?
Not only would cooperation with that Shinobi Village be canceled, but they wouldn't be able to watch TV either.
Without the company's technical support, that Shinobi Village's televisions would only show static.
Orochimaru wanted to see if, with televisions now widespread, the civilians in a Village constantly seeing static could tolerate it and if they would cause trouble.
If someone wanted to target her company, the company's intelligence network was intertwined, with people bought out even in the black market. Chakra explosives would be deployed immediately, and no matter how many Ninja came, they would all be blown to bits.
With the power of Chakra explosives, even a Kage-level strongman would struggle to survive an explosion, and even if they miraculously survived, they would be crippled.
Not everyone can activate a Susanoo Gundam and get whatever they want with a clap of their hands. The Ninja World still mostly consists of normal people. How many people like Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama are there?
Anyone wanting to target the White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company would also have to consider the consequences.
If the Second Shinobi World War truly didn't break out because of the company building a factory in the Land of Rain.
That would be a great achievement!
Even the Six Paths Sage would have to bow to her, Orochimaru.
But in reality, the outbreak of the Second Shinobi World War was far from that simple.
The White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company's energy alone could not influence the course of the war. At most, it would reduce some losses for the Land of Rain, and its economy would also improve significantly.
"Then let's do as you say."
Kakuzu said after a moment of thought. Their company indeed hadn't earned too much money from Ninja. Healing Pill was profitable, but the money earned from Ninja was only a portion of it.
All goods sold by the company earned money from ordinary people. shimura herbal tea was the same; ordinary people and wealthy dignitaries clearly had higher consumption enthusiasm.
"Kakuzu, the Ninja World isn't all about fighting and killing. It's also about human relationships. It's always better to have one more friend than one more enemy."
Orochimaru clearly understood that Kakuzu was thinking from a profit perspective, unable to see the benefits to be gained from the Land of Rain. However, she saw not only the Land of Rain but also Hidden Rain Village and Hanzō, as well as Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, who might appear in the Land of Rain in the future.
Kakuzu's face showed contemplation as he considered Orochimaru's words.
"I'll leave the rest to you all."
Orochimaru stood up; her business here was done.
Aokawa, seeing that Lord Orochimaru had actually convinced the stubborn Kakuzu, responded with admiration and respect, "Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
From the beginning, he had firmly carried out all of Lord Orochimaru's decisions, and this time was no exception.
If Kakuzu hadn't voiced his opinion, the matter would have been settled.
"Well then, I'll head back first."
Orochimaru used the Flying Thunder God Technique, and her figure vanished.
"Space-time Ninjutsu, how convenient!"
Although it wasn't the first time he had seen Orochimaru use the Flying Thunder God Technique, Kakuzu couldn't help but exclaim.
Meanwhile, Hanzō walked through the streets, marveling at the prosperity of the Land of Waves. All of this was brought about by the White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company. Before this company existed in the Land of Waves, while there was peace, the economic level was even lower than that of the Land of Rain!
Land of Fire, Konoha.
In the Hokage Office, Orochimaru placed the medicinal tea on the desk and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi's somewhat perilous hairline, staring intently. It was clear that the hairline was receding.
"Orochimaru, what are you looking at?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt uncomfortable under Orochimaru's gaze.
"Hiruzen-sensei, your hairline is a bit dangerous!"
"Ahem..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat and calmly said, "Orochimaru, you don't understand. Men nearing middle age are like this."
Middle age?
It's a bit too early for you to call yourself middle-aged, isn't it?
Asuma Sarutobi hasn't even been born yet!
Orochimaru looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a strange expression. She didn't know if the birth control was very effective, but Sarutobi Biwako's belly had shown no signs of movement. It was also possible that Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't want children yet, otherwise, his child would be old enough to run errands.
"But Lord Danzo and Lord Homura's hair is very thick! Hiruzen-sensei, aren't you about the same age as them?"
"I'm different from them! I have many things to worry about every day!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of Danzo Shimura and Homura Mitokado's thick hair, and his voice involuntarily rose. He sensed the crisis of his own hairline.
"I see. I was thinking of researching hair growth agents or something, but it seems Hiruzen-sensei won't need them."
Orochimaru shrugged her shoulders, spread her hands, and turned to leave. "I'm going to see Lord Danzo. Isn't he planning an operation against the Sky Ninja recently..."
Whoosh—!
What a fast Body Flicker Technique!
Orochimaru's pupils constricted slightly as she saw Hiruzen Sarutobi appear in front of her. At that moment, she truly felt the real strength of Hiruzen-sensei, who was known as the Professor of Ninjutsu.
What was quite absurd was that he had exposed his strength for a hair growth agent that hadn't even been developed yet.
"Orochimaru, wait!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Orochimaru with a serious and stern expression. Facing Orochimaru's all-seeing gaze, he blushed and said, "I'm still very interested in the hair growth agent you're developing. If the effect is good, it might become another best-selling product."
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew very well that he wasn't the only one suffering from hair loss. At this moment, he was speaking up for all men in the world troubled by hair loss!
Orochimaru looked up at Hiruzen Sarutobi's hairline, thinking of his future hairstyle, and mercilessly retorted, "Are you sure it's not because you already have a hairline crisis?"
Despite drinking so much medicinal tea and delegating a lot of work to Danzo Shimura... his hairline still couldn't be saved. This could be seen from his upward-swept hairstyle.
"Hahaha! How could that be? The biggest beneficiary when the hair growth agent is developed will be you, the developer!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed heartily. For the sake of his dignity as a teacher, he would never admit that he was eager to see Orochimaru's hair growth agent because he was worried his hairline would recede further.
"Alright, I'll make time to research it."
Orochimaru waved her hand, thinking that there probably weren't many people in this world who were overly concerned about their hairline.
Root's base
Orochimaru left the Hokage Building and came here with practiced ease, as familiar as if she were returning to her own home.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
The Root Ninja greeted Orochimaru with great respect.
It must be said that Orochimaru still held considerable prestige in the hearts of the Root Ninja.
"Orochimaru, you're here."
Danzo Shimura sat at his desk, holding a stamp and processing documents, his face slightly dark as if someone owed him money.
"You didn't get any intelligence?"
Orochimaru could tell from Danzo Shimura's expression that this operation had ended in failure once again.
The Sky Ninja were like repeatedly testing Konoha's bottom line, frequently attacking members of Konoha's patrol teams, seemingly using this method to make a name for themselves.
"All the captured individuals committed suicide. No valuable intelligence was obtained from the bodies."
Danzo Shimura's face grew darker. After several operations, he still hadn't managed to pinpoint the exact location of the Sky Ninja's main base. How could his expression be good?
As the head of the Anbu training department, he felt disgraced. If he knew the Sky Ninja's main base, he would definitely lead his men to kill them.
"Suicide by poison... Is the Sky Ninja's goal to gain fame by using Konoha?"
Orochimaru personally couldn't understand this behavior, but given that many organizations did this, it wasn't impossible.
Her beloved Hiruzen-sensei had been targeted for assassination by some organizations, and more than once.
No one hired them; it was simply because assassinating Konoha's Hokage was enough to make them famous. Whether they failed or succeeded was not important to them; what was important was that they indeed had the courage to assassinate Konoha's Hokage.
"That's the only possibility. They're like a bunch of annoying flies."
Danzo Shimura frowned, extremely annoyed with the Sky Ninja. What he least wanted to see now were those large flies wearing flight devices.
"Aren't the Aburame Clan's Kikaichu capable of tracking enemies?"
Orochimaru remembered that Aburame Shisuke had participated in this operation. With the Aburame Clan's tracking abilities, they should have been able to track the enemies to their main base.
"I thought there would be survivors, but I didn't expect the Sky Ninja restrained by the nesting fluid to commit suicide. I was careless."
Danzo Shimura sighed, believing he had made a significant error in judgment during this operation.
"Judging by the number of times the Sky Ninja have acted, they probably won't stop harassing Konoha."
Orochimaru thought about the Sky Ninja's continuous actions, which were to launch harassing attacks on Konoha using their aerial advantage.
Since the existence of the Sky Ninja was discovered, their attacks on Konoha had occurred more than a dozen times. Who knows when they might launch another attack on Konoha.
Orochimaru couldn't understand why, among the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Sky Ninja insisted on bothering Konoha.
Why didn't they go trouble Hidden Mist, Iwagakure, or Kumogakure?
Kumogakure were all hotheads, too difficult to provoke, right?
Hidden Mist was not only remote but also extremely isolated.
And looking at Iwagakure, if the Sky Ninja were to trouble Iwagakure... well... they'd get a belly full of Rock Iron Cannon?
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