Time passed little by little.
After finishing their tea, the four Kage left Uchiha Ren's tent and returned to their respective camps.
The Third Raikage carried a thick stack of agreements back with him in high spirits.
He intended to discuss them with Kumogakure's senior leadership.
Should they accept Konoha's offer of cooperation?
Some lessons could never be taught by words.
But one painful experience was enough.
When Blue Sky Project Corporation first promoted its scam, the Third Raikage had still discussed the matter with Kumogakure's leadership.
Later, however, he had practically made every decision alone.
That night, far away in Konoha, Nara Shikato received an urgent letter from Uchiha Ren.
"Konoha will dispatch a rescue team to Kumogakure in the spirit of humanitarianism and allocate a batch of supplies. You will arrange the personnel."
"Also, Konoha intends to establish a series of cooperative ventures with Kumogakure, mainly in the fields of xxx. Finalize the specific plans as quickly as possible."
"Furthermore, Konoha will establish an organization called the Ninja World Red Cross. Its main purpose will be collecting charitable donations from daimyō, wealthy merchants, nobles, and ordinary civilians throughout the ninja world, which will be used to…"
"…"
The letter was not long.
Yet every crooked line of handwriting seemed to contain the enormous words—
"For Konoha."
Nara Shikato felt dizzy while reading it.
Looking between the lines, he understood the true meaning of the entire letter.
Two words—
Overtime!
The moment he finished reading, Nara Shikato nearly fainted on the spot.
His nearby colleagues hurriedly caught him.
Shikato had not slept for two days.
Even though he was a shinobi, going so long without rest had inevitably left obvious dark circles beneath his eyes.
No one enjoyed working overtime.
Especially during holidays.
Especially during the New Year period.
But because of the many affairs involving the Land of Sky—
All the wealth brought back from the country had to be counted.
That included large amounts of gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, paintings, and calligraphy.
Afterward, everything had to be registered and stored.
It was an unbelievably tedious process.
Kakuzu was so excited that he worked through the night without sleep.
He sent several shadow clones to assist.
Meanwhile, his true body remained on the front line of the futures business.
Aside from money—
There were also the Land of Sky's researchers, engineers, teachers, and highly skilled technicians.
All of them were priority targets for Uchiha Ren.
Every last one had to be brought to Konoha so they could shine and generate value.
One command from the Hokage—
And countless people behind him had to run until their legs broke.
Nara Shikato and his team had not left the Hokage Building in an entire month.
They ate, drank, slept, and handled every bodily need inside the building.
Now, because of another one of Uchiha Ren's "sudden inspirations," the beasts of burden inside the Hokage Building had received an enormous new workload.
They would once again have to prepare documents, process data, and assign personnel day and night.
"Lord Shikato, what happened?"
The colleagues around him also had obvious dark circles beneath their eyes.
Their exhausted expressions were impossible to conceal.
What had Lord Hokage written?
How could it frighten Lord Shikato this badly?
"Our scheduled holiday has been canceled."
"We have to work overtime again."
"What?!"
"Why do we have to work overtime again?"
His colleagues did not understand what had happened.
They only heard that more overtime was coming.
Their vision darkened, and several nearly fainted too.
Fortunately, medical-nin were standing by.
They rushed inside immediately.
One hand pinched the patients beneath the nose while the other glowed green and performed medical ninjutsu.
Only then did everyone recover slightly.
"Our New Year leave has already been canceled."
"Weren't we told we could rest for a few days once this busy period ended?"
"Why are we working overtime again?"
"Haven't we already been working overtime for three consecutive months?"
"Exactly…"
"How long are we supposed to continue?"
"We aren't livestock!"
"We're human beings!"
The room immediately filled with complaints.
However, Nara Shikato was one of Uchiha Ren's trusted aides.
Even though he felt suffocated inside, he quickly stepped forward.
"A shinobi is one who endures!"
"Everything we do is for Konoha!"
"Did Lord Hokage not pay you overtime wages?"
"Do you know how many people want the opportunity to work overtime but can't obtain it?!"
Nara Shikato spoke severely.
The room immediately became silent.
That was true.
Konoha was enormous.
It had no shortage of beasts of burden.
If you refused to work, plenty of others wanted your position!
They would work more than you.
They could stay awake longer.
They might even voluntarily apply for a lower salary!
"Lord Shikato…"
"We'll work overtime."
"Yes…"
"Boss, just give the orders."
"How long will it be this time?"
"Three months."
"Perhaps half a year."
"…"
That night—
The Hokage Building remained brightly illuminated.
Its lights stayed on from deep night until daylight.
Lord Hokage's blessings were endless.
—
Kumogakure Camp.
"We've discussed these agreements for a long time."
"Do you believe Kumogakure should sign them?"
Kumogakure's senior officials sat around a long table.
The Third Raikage looked at them and spoke slowly.
The agreements covered every aspect of the proposed businesses.
Konoha would provide capital and technology while taking the majority of the shares.
Kumogakure would provide manpower and physical labor.
Once profits arrived—
Everyone would be happy!
Uchiha Ren had originally wanted them to grow cotton.
Unfortunately, the Land of Lightning's environment was not suitable.
What a pity.
However, the Land of Lightning possessed rich mineral resources.
Iron ore was especially abundant.
Its quality was no worse than that found in the Land of Iron.
Industrialization could not proceed without steel.
At the current stage, the ninja world's steel production remained far below demand.
It would probably take several more decades before saturation became possible.
Therefore, establishing steelworks was unquestionably profitable.
Konoha possessed money and technology.
Production tools, marketing personnel, and even workers could all be prepared within the shortest possible time.
Only one problem was difficult to solve—
Where could they obtain cheap, high-quality iron ore?
Kumogakure itself did not own any mines.
The major mine owners were not fools.
If they could earn that money themselves, why would they bring Kumogakure into the business?
Konoha had killed so many people throughout the Land of Fire that heaven and earth nearly overturned before securing so many iron mines at low prices.
No matter how arrogant Uchiha Ren was, he could not dispatch Konoha shinobi to slaughter nobles inside the Land of Lightning.
Therefore—
Kumogakure had to handle that matter itself.
The reason Konoha had reached its current position was that Uchiha Ren had led a group of people to take up weapons, smash apart a disgusting and filthy ninja world, and begin doing something practical.
Shinobi could not continue living in confusion forever.
Naturally, Amegakure's method was not acceptable either.
They had gone too far left and condemned everyone indiscriminately.
Order was always better than chaos.
Even now, Amegakure's leadership remained a complete mess.
Its politics were unstable.
People's loyalties constantly shifted.
Uchiha Ren wanted to use his own methods to unite more people around himself.
Weakening Kumogakure and awakening shinobi consciousness were actually two different matters.
Uchiha Ren's ambition had never been to become the ruler of the ninja world.
Because he already was.
Now—
He had to pursue something on a more spiritual level.
"I think we should accept."
"Forget it."
"Would Konoha really be that kind?"
"This may be another trap."
"This time, Konoha is throwing all the dirty and exhausting work onto us!"
"If we fall out with the daimyō and nobles, do you understand what that means?"
"How much worse can our situation become?"
"Kumogakure is already like this."
"We might as well break the cauldrons and sink the boats."
"Lord Raikage, what do you think?"
"We'll follow your decision."
"Yes."
"We'll listen to you."
The responsibility was thrown back to him.
Before the Sky Village's attack, these senior officials had still been considering replacing the Raikage.
Now they no longer entertained that thought at all.
Kumogakure had not merely been financially harvested.
Its home had been bombed into ruins.
If the Third Raikage stepped down—
Who would take responsibility?
Who could carry such an enormous disaster?
They might as well continue living together like this.
"Then I will make the decision."
"I believe cooperation with Konoha is worth attempting."
The Third Raikage decided to gamble.
He would trust Konoha once.
That same day, despite his endless sighs, the Third Raikage continued walking down the difficult road.
He arrived at Uchiha Ren's tent to sign the package of agreements with Konoha.
"Raikage, you will not regret today's decision."
"Once the Sky Village is dealt with, we will begin immediately."
"Back then, that dead bastard Senju Tobirama—"
"Ahem."
"The Second Hokage left me with an enormous pile of debt."
"Yet Konoha is still thriving today!"
"Together, we'll grow stronger, expand, and create new glory!"
Uchiha Ren skillfully poured motivational soup into the Third Raikage.
The Third Raikage nodded along.
As they continued speaking, they mentioned an old matter from the distant past.
The First Shinobi World War.
Konoha had lost its Second Hokage.
Kumogakure had also lost its Second Raikage.
"We in Konoha will not mention the past again."
"Kumogakure is not allowed to mention it either."
"The heroes of the present are the ones who matter."
"If the Seconds had not died, when would people like us ever have risen?"
"Believe me."
"Failure is bitter, but fortunes always change."
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west."
"As long as Konoha and Kumogakure work together, we can…"
Uchiha Ren waved his hand.
From the bottom of his heart, he was grateful to Kumogakure.
Grateful to Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
Even regarding the Ponzi scheme—
At first, Uchiha Ren had only intended to harvest the nobles.
Kumogakure was merely an additional target.
He had never planned to extract much money from the village.
Who could have known that Kakuzu…
"Then, Lord Hokage, where do you intend to begin?"
The Third Raikage felt increasingly uneasy as he listened to the motivational speech.
He had the distinct feeling that the Hokage before him intended to do something extraordinary inside the Land of Lightning.
"Raikage, you must understand that commercial competition is extremely cruel."
"It is filled with zero-sum struggles."
"The winner takes everything."
"It is no less vicious than a life-and-death battle between shinobi."
"The conflict simply occurs in places that are more hidden and even more intense."
"Therefore, our objective from the very beginning must be to become the industry leader."
"Only by taking first place and monopolizing an industry can we earn real money."
"The first step—"
"Send fruit baskets to the major mine owners and great landowners."
"Then conveniently discuss the transfer of their land and mineral rights."
"Fruit baskets?"
"If we give them fruit baskets, will they really sell their land and mines to us cheaply?"
"We can add a barrel of peanut oil."
"The second step is to send everyone who refuses to transfer ownership to meet the Sage of Six Paths."
"Hiss…"
"Every one of them?"
The Third Raikage knew that Konoha had killed many people inside the Land of Fire.
But he had never expected Uchiha Ren to discuss killing nobles so casually.
"What about the daimyo?"
"That is simple."
"Send a shinobi into his room at night and leave a shuriken beside his pillow."
"Isn't that rebellion?"
The Third Raikage still could not follow Uchiha Ren's train of thought.
Only a few days ago, he had still been a conservative.
He had merely been forced by circumstance into taking a dangerous gamble.
If Kumogakure did not seize several enormous profits, when would it ever rise again?
But the Third Raikage had never considered rebelling against the Lightning Daimyo.
The daimyo had treated Kumogakure quite well.
Whenever funding was truly needed, he had never hesitated.
A person could not repay kindness with betrayal.
"Yes."
"It is rebellion."
"Was I not clear enough?"
"The Lightning Daimyo has treated Kumogakure well."
"He is also a distant relative of mine."
"So there is a family connection."
Uchiha Ren nodded.
That was not surprising.
The daimyō and shinobi clans had always maintained close relationships.
Because of bloodlines, secret techniques, and various other reasons, girls from shinobi families rarely married outside their clans.
But daimyō marrying their daughters outward was entirely normal.
The Fire Daimyo had always wanted to become Uchiha Ren's father-in-law.
He had even placed one of his daughters near him.
"All right."
"I have another method."
"It is more troublesome and will waste some time."
"Those disgusting nobles all have piles of dark secrets beneath them."
"Collecting intelligence is a basic shinobi skill."
"We can gather evidence of their crimes and then blackmail them."
"If they refuse to transfer the iron mines at low prices, we expose everything."
In simple terms—
Kumogakure would compile a complete record of the Land of Lightning's corrupt officials.
"According to tradition, shinobi are not allowed to interfere in national politics."
Shinobi involvement in government was a grave taboo.
"The ninja world is currently undergoing a transformation unseen in a thousand years."
"Every old tradition must be smashed!"
"To accomplish an extraordinary undertaking, one must use extraordinary methods!"
Uchiha Ren spoke with perfect righteousness.
"Hmm…"
He was the Raikage.
He would be conspiring with Konoha's Hokage to investigate the dark secrets of the Land of Lightning's nobles.
Then he would cooperate with Konoha to seize the country's assets.
Didn't that sound like selling out his own nation?
"Raikage, we are shinobi."
"We possess the greatest military force and the most advanced technology."
"We should develop productive forces and improve everyone's lives."
"Combining ninjutsu with technology is what shinobi ought to be doing."
"These so-called Shinobi World Wars…"
"Fighting over tiny shares of missions and earning a little money…"
"In my eyes, it is the most foolish thing in the world."
"Living people who could have changed the world instead die meaninglessly upon battlefields."
"Shinobi and nobles belong to two different classes."
"Perhaps certain nobles are related to you and have treated you extremely well."
"But individuals can betray their class."
"A class itself never betrays its own interests."
"We shinobi are the comrades who should stand together on the same front."
Seeing that the Third Raikage was still hesitating, Uchiha Ren immediately poured another enormous bowl of motivational soup down his throat.
At the very end—
He added one final sentence.
"Lord Raikage, you don't want Kumogakure to continue declining forever, do you?"
After hearing that—
The Third Raikage finally made his decision.
He would gamble everything!