Time passed little by little.
After finishing their tea, the four Kage left Uchiha Nan's tent and returned to their respective ninja village's encampment.
The Third Ai returned home in high spirits, clutching a large stack of agreements.
He planned to discuss the matter with the higher-ups of Kumogakure.
Should we accept Konoha's invitation to cooperate?
You can't learn something just by being taught; you can learn it in one go by doing something. When Blue Sky Project Co. Ltd.. was promoting a scam, the Third Ai initially discussed it with the higher-ups of Kumogakure, but later he was making decisions almost entirely on his own.
That night, Nara Luyuan, far away in Konoha, received an urgent letter from Uchiha Nan.
"In the spirit of humanitarianism, Konoha will send a rescue team and allocate a batch of supplies to Kumogakure. You are responsible for arranging the manpower."
"Furthermore... Konoha and Kumogakure will be undertaking a series of collaborations, primarily in areas such as xxx. We need to finalize the specific plans for these collaborations as soon as possible."
"Furthermore, Konoha plans to establish an organization called the Ninja world Red Cross Society, primarily to raise funds from the Ninja world Daimyo, wealthy merchants, nobles, and commoners for..."
"."
The letter was short, with the words "For Konoha " written in large, crooked handwriting. Nara Luyuan's head spun as he read it, but he gleaned the gist from between the lines: the entire letter screamed two words—"Overtime!!"
The moment Nara Luyuan fainted, but his colleagues caught him in time.
Nara Luyuan two days. Even as a ninja, such a long period without rest inevitably left him with very noticeable dark circles under his eyes.
Nobody likes working overtime, especially on holidays, or during the Lunar New Year.
However, because of the whole affair in the Land of the Sky.
Not only did they have to inventory all the money and valuables brought from the Sky Country, including a considerable amount of gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, and paintings, but they also had to register and store them in the treasury.
This is an extremely tedious process.
Kakuzu was so happy he couldn't sleep all night and sent several clones over to help, while his main body was still working on the front lines of the futures business.
Besides money
There are also researchers, engineers, teachers, and skilled workers from the Land of the Sky. These are all key individuals that Uchiha Nan is focusing on, and he wants to bring them all to Konoha to contribute their talents.
Lord Hokage gives an order, someone has to run around doing the work until their legs break.
Nara Luyuan and his team have been staying inside Hokage Hokage Building for a month, taking care of all their needs there.
Now, due to Uchiha Nan's "sudden whim," the workload of the Hokage Building staff has been greatly increased. They have to work day and night to prepare documents, process data, and allocate manpower.
" Lu Yuan, what exactly happened?!"
Nara Luyuan's colleagues also had very obvious dark circles under their eyes, and their expressions couldn't hide their fatigue.
What exactly did the Lord Hokage write in his letter?!
Could someone have scared Lu Yuan like this?
"Our scheduled holiday has been cancelled, so we'll have to work overtime again!"
"What??"
Why do we have to work overtime again?
The surrounding colleagues were puzzled.
All I knew was that I had to work overtime again, and my vision went black so much I almost fainted.
Fortunately, the Medical Ninja was on standby and rushed in just in time, pinching the philtrum with one hand and emitting green light from the other as he performed Medical Ninjutsu.
It gave them a much-needed respite.
"Our annual leave has already been used up. We were told we could rest for a few days after this busy period was over."
"Why do we have to work overtime again?"
"Have we been working overtime for three months straight?"
"Yeah, when will we be able to finish this shift?"
"We are not cattle or horses, we are human beings!"
Colleagues immediately started discussing it.
However, Nara Luyuan, as Uchiha Nan's confidant, stepped forward in time despite feeling resentful inside.
"A ninja is a person of patience!"
"We did all of this for Konoha!"
"Didn't the Lord Hokage pay you for working overtime? So many people want to work overtime but can't even get that opportunity!!"
Nara Luyuan's words were stern, and the room fell silent for a moment.
yes
The vast Konoha has no shortage of cattle and horses.
If you don't do it, plenty of people will!
They not only do more work than you, but they can also stay up all night even more often.
You can even voluntarily request a pay cut!
" Lu Yuan, we... we can work overtime."
"Yes, sir. Please give the order."
How long will it take this time?
"Three months, maybe six months."
"."
That night
The Hokage Building in Konoha is brightly lit, with the lights on from late at night until daytime.
The Lord Hokage's blessings are inexhaustible.
The camp Kumogakure.
"We've been discussing this for so long."
Do you think our Kumogakure can sign these agreements?
A long table was surrounded by the high-ranking officials of Kumogakure. The Third Ai, A, looked at them and spoke slowly.
The agreement finalized all aspects of the business. Konoha provided the capital and technology, taking the majority of the shares, Kumogakure provided the manpower and physical labor. If they made money, everyone would be happy!
Uchiha Nan originally wanted them to grow cotton.
It's a real shame that cotton isn't grown in the Land of Lightning.
However, the Land of Lightning is rich in minerals, especially iron ore, and the quality of its iron ore is in no way inferior to that of the Land of Iron.
Industrialization is fundamentally inseparable from steel.
The steel production in the Ninja world is currently insufficient, and it will probably take several more decades before it reaches saturation.
Therefore, starting a steel mill is definitely a profitable business.
Konoha has money, technology, and can get all kinds of production tools, marketing personnel, and even workers in place in the shortest possible time.
However, there is one problem that is very difficult to solve.
Where can I get cheap and good quality iron ore?
There are no iron mines under the name of Kumogakure.
The big mine owners aren't fools. They can make that money themselves, so why should they bring Kumogakure along?
Konoha had to wreak havoc in the Land of Fire to acquire so much iron ore at a low price.
No matter how arrogant Uchiha Nan was, he would never send Konoha ninjas to the Land of Lightning to kill people, especially noble lords.
Therefore, this is something that Kumogakure) has to do themselves.
The reason Konoha is what it is today is because Uchiha Nan led a group of people to pick up guns, smashed a disgusting and filthy ninja world, and started doing some decent things.
A ninja can't just keep living like this in a daze.
Of course, the way Amegakure) did it wouldn't work either; they were too left-leaning and condemned everyone indiscriminately.
Order is always better than disorder.
The upper echelons of the Land of Rain are still in chaos, with political instability and widespread discontent.
Uchiha Nan hoped to unite more people around him in his own way—weakening Kumogakure and awakening the ninjas are two different things.
Uchiha Nan's ambition was never to become the overlord of the Ninja world.
Because he already is.
Now, we need to pursue something more spiritual.
I think it's okay.
"Let's forget about it. Why would Konoha be so kind? It might just be another trap."
"This time, Konoha really dumped all the dirty and hard work on us!"
"Do you know what it means if we fall out with the Daimyo and nobles?"
"How bad can things get? Our Kumogakure is already in this state; let's burn our bridges."
" Lord Raikage, what's your opinion?"
We'll do whatever you say!
"Yes, yes, we'll listen to you."
The ball was kicked back again.
Before the Sky Ninja attacked Kumogakure, this group of high-ranking officials were still considering whether to replace the Raikage.
But they no longer have such thoughts at all.
The Kumogakure is far more complex than simply being exploited.
That's where my hometown was bombed into ruins.
The Third Ai has retired.
Who will take the blame?
Who can handle such a huge mess!
Let's just make do and keep living like this.
"Then I'll take charge of this matter."
"Regarding the matter of cooperating with Konoha, I think it's worth a try."
The Third Ai, decided to take a gamble and trust Konoha this once more.
That day, despite his regrets, the Third Ai could only continue his arduous journey to Uchiha Nan's camp, intending to sign a comprehensive agreement with Konoha.
" Raikage, you won't regret your decision today. Once we've resolved the matter with the Sky Ninja Village, we'll get to work immediately."
"That damned Tobirama Senju... cough cough cough... the Second Hokage, left me with a mountain of debts, but Konoha is still thriving right now!"
Let's work together to grow bigger and stronger, and create even greater glories!
Uchiha Nan skillfully fed the Third Ai, a mouthful of chicken soup, Third Ai chimed in from the side.
During our conversation, we revisited an old almanac.
The First Shinobi World War.
Konoha lost its Second Hokage, and Kumogakure also lost its Second Raikage.
"We in Konoha will not dwell on the past, and neither will you in Kumogakure."
"The truly remarkable figures are those of today."
"If the Second doesn't die, how will we ever get ahead!"
"Believe me, failure is bitter, but fortunes change. As long as Konoha and Kumogakure work together, they can..."
Uchiha Nan waved his hand.
He was truly grateful to Kumogakure, and to Kinkaku Ginkaku!
Even Ponzi schemes
In the beginning, Uchiha Nan only wanted to take advantage of those noble gentlemen; Kumogakure was just an extra target, and he didn't intend to extract much money from Kumogakure.
Does anyone know Kakuzu?
"So, Lord Hokage, where do you plan to begin?"
The Third Ai felt uneasy listening to the inspirational quotes.
He always felt that the Hokage in front of him was going to do something extraordinary in the Land of Lightning.
" Raikage, you must understand that business competition is extremely brutal, filled with zero-sum games where the winner takes all. It's no less brutal than the life-or-death battles between ninjas, only the locations are more secretive and the heat is more intense..."
"So our goal from the very beginning was to become the industry leader. Only by becoming the industry leader and monopolizing an industry can we make money."
"The first step is to send fruit baskets to those big mine owners and landowners!"
"Then, while we're at it, we'll talk to them about the transfer of land and mineral resources."
"Sending a fruit basket?"
"If we send them fruit baskets, will they sell us their land and mineral resources cheaply?"
"Adding a bucket of peanut oil will also work."
"The second step is to send all those who disagree with the transfer to see the Sage of Six Paths."
"Hiss"
"All??"
The Third Ai, knew that Konoha had killed many people in the Land of Fire, but he didn't expect the Hokage to talk about killing nobles so casually.
"What about Daimyo?"
"That's easy."
"Send a ninja tonight and place a Shuriken by his bedside."
Isn't this rebellion?
The Third Ai, still couldn't keep up with Uchiha Nan's thought process.
Just a few days ago he was a conservative, but he was forced to take this risk.
Without making some major cuts, when will the Kumogakure ever be able to stand up again?
However, the Third Ai A never considered rebelling against the Daimyo. The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning treated the Kumogakure quite well, and never hesitated to provide financial assistance when necessary.
One shouldn't repay kindness with enmity.
"It's a rebellion. Haven't I made myself clear enough?"
" The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning has been quite good to the Kumogakure; he and I are even distant relatives."
"So you're related by marriage."
Uchiha Nan nodded; that wasn't surprising.
Daimyo and ninja clans have always maintained a good relationship. Due to bloodline limits, secret techniques, and various other reasons, ninja clan girls rarely marry out, but it's common for Daimyo to marry their daughters out of the clan.
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire had always wanted to become Uchiha Nan's father-in-law, so he put a daughter in his life.
"Alright, I have another way, but it's more troublesome and will take a little time."
"Those wealthy patrons have a lot of dirty laundry going on. Gathering intelligence is a basic skill for us ninjas. Let's collect all that dirt, then blackmail them. If they don't sell the iron ore at a low price, we'll expose them."
To put it simply, it's about Kumogakure compiling a report on the conduct of the officials of the Land of Lightning.
"Traditionally, ninjas are not allowed to interfere in national affairs."
Ninja interference in politics is a major taboo.
"This is a momentous change in the Ninja world, the likes of which have not been seen in a thousand years. All past traditions must be shattered!"
"To achieve extraordinary things, you must use extraordinary means!"
Uchiha Nan spoke with righteous indignation.
"Hmm"
He is the Raikage.
They conspired with the Hokage of Konoha to investigate the dirty secrets of the nobles of the Land of Lightning, and then joined forces with Konoha to seize various assets of the Land of Lightning.
It seems like I'm betraying my country!!
" Raikage, we are ninjas, possessing the most powerful martial arts and the most advanced technology. Our goal is to develop productivity and improve everyone's lives. Combining Ninjutsu with technology is what we ninjas should be doing."
"The so-called Ninja world War, all for the sake of securing a small share of missions and earning a little money, is, in my opinion, the most foolish thing in the world."
"One by one, vibrant lives that could have changed the world have died meaninglessly on the battlefield..."
"Ninjas and nobles are two different classes. Perhaps some nobles are related to you and treat you very well."
"But there are only individuals who betray their class, not classes that betray their class."
"We ninjas should be comrades-in-arms standing on the same side."
Seeing that the Third Ai, was still hesitating, Uchiha Nan immediately gave him another big mouthful of chicken soup.
At the very last moment
Finally, one more sentence was added.
" Lord Raikage, you don't want Kumogakure to continue to decline, do you?"
After hearing this, the Third Ai made up his mind to take a big gamble!