“Aqua, don’t slack off!”
“You already agreed last night when you got drunk at the banquet.
You promised to contribute your medical ninjutsu, along with your experience and knowledge of medical ninjutsu, to the shinobi village.”
“Don’t worry.
The village organization won’t forget your contributions.
From now on, you’ll officially be the nominal head of Akatsuki’s Medical Department.”
“Your name will become famous throughout the shinobi world alongside the rise of Akatsuki.
Who knows?
In the future, people might even praise you as a goddess because of this achievement!”
Uchiha Makoto could sell a grand vision with effortless ease.
“Am I supposed to believe that?!
You’re cheating me!
This is all my hard-earned knowledge!”
Aqua hugged Uchiha Makoto’s leg, crying like a complete mess.
Her medical ninjutsu was so advanced, yet Uchiha Makoto had simply tricked it out of her.
But Uchiha Makoto felt not the slightest bit of pity.
He grabbed her by the ear and dragged her back to her seat.
“Right now.
Immediately!”
“Write a textbook called Three Years to Become a Medical Shinobi, Five Years to Become a Medical Master!”
That’s right!
While recruiting shinobi clans, Uchiha Makoto hadn’t forgotten to make use of Aqua and Megumin, the talents brought to him by the system.
Megumin’s inherited Explosion Magic was genuinely powerful.
A single cast had destructive power comparable to a Tailed Beast Ball.
Unfortunately, her limited chakra meant that she could only fire it once.
Furthermore, according to Megumin, the requirements for learning Explosion Magic were extraordinarily demanding.
No one in the entire Crimson Demon Clan had mastered the technique for a very long time.
It had been so long that the clan had practically given up on it.
But Megumin had abandoned learning other ninjutsu and taijutsu and devoted an enormous amount of time to mastering Explosion Magic.
If only they could implant a Tailed Beast into Megumin…
Hmm…
With a Tailed Beast, Explosion Magic would actually become rather redundant.
The Tailed Beast could simply fire its own Tailed Beast Ball.
Besides Megumin, there was naturally Aqua.
Although she constantly acted like a useless freeloader who only knew how to eat, she was a goddess!
Never mistake something valuable for something worthless!
Aqua could use Resurrection Magic as casually as drinking water.
Even if Aqua’s abilities were heavily nerfed to fit the shinobi world, her attainments in medical ninjutsu would still be a “Tsunade Plus” version.
The only reason she couldn’t become a powerhouse capable of both fighting and healing like Tsunade was that she lacked the physical constitution of the Senju clan.
But even an Aqua specializing purely in medical ninjutsu would be more than enough to establish the medical shinobi system that Akatsuki would need in the future.
It was still too early to put all these plans into practice.
But back in his previous life, China had begun planning grand projects such as nuclear weapons, space programs, high-speed rail, and countless other long-term national projects even when it was starting from a foundation of poverty and scarcity.
Thinking further into the future wasn’t a bad thing.
….
Capital of the Land of Fire
Kazuma and Darkness had traveled a long way before finally arriving at the capital of the Land of Fire.
After presenting their letter of introduction, a broad, portly attendant walked out through the palace gates to receive them.
The two were led into a reception room and seated.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Kazuma explained the purpose of their visit.
Then he discreetly pulled a thick red envelope from his robes and slipped it over.
Dealing with the master is easy; it’s the servants who are troublesome.
If money could solve the problem, then just use money.
Maintaining good relationships with the attendants around the daimyō was extremely important.
Everyone knew that a person’s power was often closely related to how close they were to the person holding supreme authority.
A boss’s personal secretary often had more influence than a manager.
Kazuma was perfectly at ease with this.
Spend a little money to accomplish something important.
“We’re here on behalf of Akatsuki to discuss an important matter with the daimyō.”
The attendant immediately narrowed his eyes into a smile, his expression becoming even more enthusiastic.
“His Highness gave instructions long ago that if an envoy from Lord Makoto came to visit, I was to report it to him immediately.”
“Please wait here, Lord Kazuma.
His Highness will be here shortly.”
The Fire Daimyō was slowly copying the calligraphy before him.
The midday sunlight fell warmly across his body, leaving both his mind and body wonderfully relaxed.
Whenever something troubled him, the daimyō would use calligraphy to calm himself.
Writing helped clear the mind and settle the emotions.
But what had been troubling the daimyō?
Without a doubt…
It was the calculating Senju Tobirama!
The Senju Hashirama Threat Theory that Uchiha Makoto had constantly been promoting had already taken root deep within the daimyō’s mind.
And now…
It was beginning to sprout.
Konoha had already entered its next stage—
According to reliable intelligence, in just these few short months, more than one powerful shinobi clan in the shinobi world had expressed an intention to join the Konoha founded by Senju Hashirama.
The Hyūga clan.
The Sarutobi clan.
The Shimura clan…
And there would undoubtedly be more in the future.
This gave the daimyō a deep sense of unease.
Suddenly…
The daimyō gathered his concentration and swept all distracting thoughts from his mind.
He took a deep breath.
As he exhaled, his wrist began to move.
For a moment, his brush moved like a soaring dragon and dancing serpent.
“Diligent governance, care for the people; clean government, harmonious society!”
“Hmm…
today’s calligraphy isn’t bad.”
The daimyō narrowed his eyes and admired his work for a while.
Today’s writing was better than usual, and his mood had improved considerably.
He then instructed the attendant standing beside him to put the paper away.
“Your Highness, Lord Makoto has sent an envoy with an important matter to discuss.”
The daimyō nodded.
He then left the room and entered the reception hall, where he saw Kazuma sitting on the sofa waiting for him.
Seeing the magnificently dressed daimyō, Kazuma immediately stood and bowed.
“Your Highness…
Lord Makoto sends his regards.”
“Mm…
I understand.
Young man, don’t be so nervous.
Sit down and speak.”
The daimyō was a dignified man.
He had always treated shinobi working for him with considerable warmth.
After all, the Akatsuki shinobi village founded by Uchiha Makoto would be an important weapon for him to use against Konoha in the future.
He couldn’t allow one village to become overwhelmingly dominant!
The shinobi world needed balance!
After a brief exchange of pleasantries…
The two finally got down to business.
The daimyō had always been concerned about the progress of Uchiha Makoto’s shinobi village.
When the daimyō asked about it, Kazuma immediately understood.
I’ll tell you exactly what you want to hear!
“Everything is under control.
The development of the shinobi village is steadily improving.
Please rest assured, Your Highness.
Everything is under control!”
Although Akatsuki’s recruitment of shinobi clans was progressing slowly, Kazuma’s personal abilities were excellent.
He continued talking nonsense without the slightest embarrassment.
Your Highness, everything is under control!
The only problem was the lack of funding.
If the daimyō were willing to approve one hundred billion ryō in additional funding, everything in Akatsuki really would improve.
Even those major clans that originally looked down on Akatsuki would come knocking on Uchiha Makoto’s door and demand to join immediately.
Money really was the answer to everything!
Give every new member fifty billion ryō as a settlement fee.
Who wouldn’t be tempted?
Of course…
If Kazuma actually quoted such a figure, the daimyō would throw him out without hesitation.
Are you trying to rob the treasury?!
Do you even know how much the country spends on its annual war budget?!
Nevertheless, Kazuma still brought up the village’s funding needs.
Akatsuki really was short of money.
The daimyō nodded.
He then raised five fingers, indicating that he was willing to provide another five hundred million ryō in financial support.
That wasn’t a small amount.
At present, the available funds held by a major shinobi clan in the shinobi world were roughly around this amount.
But Akatsuki was determined to become one of the great powers of the shinobi world.
That amount wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy Uchiha Makoto’s appetite.
So, seeing that the atmosphere was favorable, Kazuma finally revealed the real purpose of his visit.
“Your Highness, the real reason I came this time…
is to discuss a business opportunity.”
“This business is very large.
We need Your Highness’s assistance, as well as your financial support.”
Kazuma said this.
The daimyō frowned, somewhat surprised by what he was hearing.
In the daimyō’s view, Uchiha Makoto and Sato Kazuma were both shinobi.
Shinobi had always made their living by accepting missions.
What kind of major business could shinobi possibly have?
“Your Highness, have you heard of tulips?”
“I have.”
“The business we’re going into is tulips!”
The corners of Kazuma’s mouth rose into a smile.
He then vividly explained the plan for creating the tulip bubble.
His eloquence quickly caught the daimyō’s interest.
“First, we need the daimyō to cooperate with us and make tulips famous throughout the noble circles.”
“For this purpose, Lord Makoto has devised a plan called The Daimyō’s Daughter Buys Tulips…”
“Interesting.
You’re going to hype tulips?”
“What a brilliant idea.”
The daimyō stroked his beard, becoming increasingly interested.
He had absolutely no doubt about the feasibility of the plan.
He knew the disgraceful behavior of those nobles all too well.
A few years ago…
A well-written article had become fashionable in the capital.
The hypocritical nobles had immediately begun competing to imitate it in pursuit of elegance.
Everyone was praising it.
If you didn’t follow the trend, you didn’t fit in.
And if you didn’t fit in, it meant your taste was too poor to associate with their circle.
So everyone began praising the article and copying it day and night.
Not only that, they even paid other people to copy it for them.
The excuse?
“Let us appreciate elegance together!”
The farce eventually drove the price of paper in the capital up several times over.
When faced with tulips, the daimyō was certain that if he cooperated with Uchiha Makoto’s plan, those nobles would simply repeat the same mistake.
“This business really is quite good.”
“But it’s nowhere near as exaggerated as you make it sound.”
The daimyō shook his head.
At most, this business would probably make a few billion, perhaps ten or twenty billion ryō.
That was certainly a considerable amount of money.
But it was nowhere near enough to shock the daimyō.
“No, Your Highness.
That’s not the end.”
“Tulips are merely the bait.”
“The most important part comes afterward.”
“Before tulip prices skyrocket, we’ll sign contracts with the flower growers.”
“Then, once tulip prices begin soaring, we’ll spread the news.”
“After that, we’ll start trading the contracts.”
“By repeatedly transferring those contracts and generating enormous profits, we’ll attract more and more people.”
“At that point, the nobles and merchants of the Land of Fire—and perhaps even the entire shinobi world—will go completely crazy over them.”
The Fire Daimyō sucked in a cold breath.
He was deeply shocked by Uchiha Makoto’s audacity.
He had genuinely been frightened.
This kind of financial game had never appeared in this era before.
He couldn’t even imagine how many people would participate once it got started.
He had absolutely no doubt about the greed of those vermin.
And it wouldn’t just be nobles.
Merchants would join as well.
These people were naturally driven by an endless pursuit of profit.
As long as the potential gains were high enough, there was almost nothing they wouldn’t dare to do.
Even if the whole thing eventually ended in utter ruin.
And precisely because the Fire Daimyō understood their nature so well, he was already thinking further ahead.
Once this money game ended…
How were they supposed to bring it to an end?
The daimyō hesitated.
He sat there, caught in indecision.
Should he participate in this business?
Because he understood those vermin so well…
When faced with profit, they would become demons.
They would become so greedy that they would lose all rationality!
As someone accustomed to being in a position of power, the daimyō genuinely hated the feeling of losing control.
And this tulip-bubble game would inevitably spiral out of control, exceed his ability to manage it, and ultimately end in complete chaos.
But…
There was no denying it.
As the initiator and operator of this game, the daimyō would make an enormous fortune from it.
He would walk away with more money than he could possibly spend.
Faced with such staggering wealth, even the daimyō was extremely tempted.
Kazuma sat quietly on the sofa, observing the expression on the daimyō’s face.
He knew…
This was the moment for him to make his move!
He had to give the daimyō one final push!
If they were going to make a fortune, how could they afford to hesitate?