When in doubt about external affairs, consult Sakura

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly as he looked over the mission report Tenzo had handed him.

"Alright, you're all tired. Go back and rest."

"Sakura, stay."

At Hiruzen's words, Tenzo and the others didn't hesitate. They withdrew cleanly and decisively.

Only Sakura remained where she stood.

Seeing them leave, Sakura yanked off the mask she wore. The thing had poor breathability, and wearing it all this time had made her head ache.

She plopped down onto the nearby sofa, poured herself a glass of water without ceremony, and gulped it down in one go. She hadn't had a single sip of water since the mission ended.

Hiruzen paid no mind to Sakura's actions. Instead, he focused on the mission report in his hands.

Normally, he wouldn't pay much attention to this kind of smuggling bandit.

But Sakura's earlier paper on the Will of Fire had opened his eyes. He realized they could suppress the enemy through resources—what they called economic warfare.

And now that Shimura Danzō also knew about that Will of Fire, Hiruzen couldn't afford to stay idle.

Since he couldn't stop Danzō, he had to think this through carefully.

"Sakura, what do you make of this?"

Hiruzen walked over and sat down beside Sakura, handing the mission report to her.

Sakura took the report Tenzo had written and sighed inwardly.

She was just a genin who had graduated less than a month ago...

The path she chose—she had to walk it, even on her knees.

Her emerald eyes quickly scanned the mission report.

The force behind those thieving bandits was a sizable merchant guild from the Land of Wind, and they had ties to a merchant guild in the Land of Fire.

The domestic guild used these bandits as middlemen to sell their goods into the Land of Wind.

Just intermediaries.

From this report, these bandits were merely one of the two guilds' many pawns.

There were likely plenty more like them.

Goods from the Land of Wind came through the mountains, the bandits picked them up, handed them to the Land of Fire's guild, and pocketed the middleman fee.

"Is Master planning ahead for the future?"

By "planning," Sakura meant Danzō stealing her exam paper.

"Since I can't stop him, I can't let Danzō run wild."

Hiruzen had his own considerations. A plan like this needed to account for all kinds of contingencies, which naturally took time.

Since he couldn't stop Danzō for now, he had to keep the market balance in his own hands.

If he wanted a resource's value to rise, it would rise. If he wanted it to fall, it would fall.

Sakura caught on immediately, understanding Hiruzen's intent.

"Then give me two days, Master. I need some time."

Hiruzen naturally didn't object. It would be strange if Sakura pulled a complete plan out of thin air on the spot.

"Of course. I'll wait for your good news, Sakura."

Hiruzen patted Sakura's soft hair and said with a smile.

--

Sakura rushed back to the ANBU Base. She couldn't help but feel exasperated about all this.

She was just a genin. Why did it feel like Hiruzen was treating her like Zhou Yu?

Handle internal matters yourself; for external ones, ask Sakura when in doubt?

When Sakura reached the Changing Room, she found Uzuki Yugao changing clothes.

Yugao's looks were top-notch—arguably the only one in Konoha who could rival the village beauty Yūhi Kurenai. And it turned out her figure was just as impressive.

No wonder Gekko Hayate always looked like he was running on empty.

With a girlfriend like that, you'd be glued to her every day.

Sakura couldn't help a mischievous thought.

"Welcome back, Sakura. Remember to come eat with us later."

"This is also a welcome party for you joining our team."

Yugao gathered her beautiful purple hair behind her head and tied it into a neat ponytail.

She didn't mind Sakura's appraising gaze at all. Women were always conscious of their figures.

Yugao was quite satisfied with her own body, taking Sakura's look as envy.

With one last reluctant glance at Yugao, Sakura regretfully looked down. She certainly wasn't thinking what Yugao assumed.

She was merely reminiscing about her own lost 'happiness.'

When Uzuki Yugao and Sakura exited the ANBU Base, they found Captain Tenzo and Namiashi Raidō already waiting for some time.

Sakura had also changed into her own casual clothes.

Uzuki Yugao couldn't help but tease Sakura's outfit, feeling that Sakura looked too much like a boy.

Sakura simply ignored her nagging outright.

"Alright, everyone's here. Let's go eat grilled meat."

Tenzo was dressed just as he was in the original story—a standard jonin uniform, with a forehead protector similar to the Second Hokage's on his brow.

None of them were foolish enough to ask what Hiruzen Sarutobi had kept Sakura for.

After all, it was no secret that Sakura was Hiruzen Sarutobi's closed-door disciple; any ninja in the village with even a little access to information channels could figure that out.

Let alone the fact that they were ANBU.

Night.

A girl in a pink pajama top, her shoulder-length cherry-blossom-pink hair loose, sat at her bedroom desk, spinning a pencil in her hand. Before her lay a blank sheet of paper.

On it was a striking title.

"Plan for Raising Grain Prices in the Shinobi World"

At Sakura's side were policy reports on grain prices within the Land of Fire and the international situation, sent over by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Staring at the blank paper in her hand, Sakura pondered for a long time before finally lifting her pen.

The rise or fall of any resource would shake countless interests.

Cutting off a man's wealth is like killing his parents.

That saying held true anywhere.

And grain prices were just the beginning; the real big moves would be in ironware, medicine, and ores later on.

By then, there would definitely be considerable resistance.

But did any of this have anything to do with Sakura?

They were nothing but fat-bellied, oil-gutted corrupt officials and heartless, profit-driven merchants.

In the face of ninjas, Sakura believed that even if there were some bumps, things would quickly be implemented.

However, the materials Hiruzen Sarutobi had sent were not comprehensive; Sakura needed more data for reference.

Not just within the Land of Fire—she needed a considerable amount of information from the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning as well.

And for now, raising grain prices wasn't necessarily a bad thing. At the very least, the common folk at the bottom who lived by farming could earn a bit more.

As long as Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire weren't muddle-headed, they would never let money-grubbing types meddle in this matter.

After all, this was an economic war, and for this to work, the support of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was essential.