One Heart Department Store!

[One Heart Department Store!]

That was the name of this very building.

At the same time, this was also the headquarters of the One Heart Chamber of Commerce.

The One Heart Chamber of Commerce was, naturally, the business White Dove had built up over the past few years.

In Konoha, it was never easy to do business without someone backing you.

At the very least, that was true for profitable ventures; smaller trades were, of course, an exception.

In the beginning, no one was optimistic about the "department store" business model, as shops feared nothing more than stagnant inventory, and the overhead costs were simply too massive.

Yet, when White Dove successfully got it running, it stunned countless people.

Because the business was genuinely booming!

Every day, a large number of merchant caravans and traveling traders lined up to make purchases.

After all, not only was the volume of goods provided immense, but the prices were generally several tens of percent lower than anywhere else.

Furthermore, there was no need to run around to dozens of different places; one could finish all their shopping in a single trip.

The only pity was that it was not open to individual villagers.

This was naturally not because it couldn't be done, but because White Dove didn't dare to.

Given the strength he had displayed thus far.

This was the limit of what he could achieve; if he tried to swallow all the profits himself, it would incite public outrage. That was why he chose to act only as an "intermediary wholesaler," while also keeping the scale of his business from expanding too far.

In a place like the ninja world, business acumen was not the most important thing.

Strength was!

If one lacked sufficient strength, even the best business was merely preparing a feast for others.

Just like now, there were already several other department stores in the village, backed by the likes of the Sarutobi, Shimura, or Mitokado clans. They were blatantly copying One Heart Department Store in every aspect, and he had no way to stop them.

However, even with several other department stores siphoning off customers, these merchant caravans and traveling traders still preferred to shop at One Heart Department Store.

After all, they offered the best service and generous discounts; even when prices were the same everywhere else, it was their business that remained the most popular.

"Captain White Dove!"

The two female greeters at the entrance bowed respectfully to offer their greetings.

"Mm!"

White Dove nodded slightly, bringing Tekka and Inabi behind him as he entered the shop.

Upon entering, he saw a group of merchants at a long counter, discussing the quantity and pricing of goods with the clerks behind it.

And further behind the clerks, a brown-haired figure stood with his arms crossed, observing the surroundings.

Uchiha Yashiro!

He was the deputy captain of the logistics department and White Dove's second-in-command; he was usually the one responsible for overseeing these operations.

Don't let the fact that White Dove and the others were part of the Uchiha Police Force fool you; that was only because the Uchiha clan members could only join the Police Force and had no way to join other departments, so their titles were best taken with a grain of salt.

Still, having a title at least meant they could earn a salary, even if it was pitifully small.

"Captain!"

After giving a few instructions to the staff, Yashiro walked over.

The group passed through the crowd and entered the office to the side.

"Captain White Dove!"

The few people working in the office greeted them in unison.

These individuals were all members of the Uchiha clan, though they were not ninjas.

While the Uchiha clan possessed immense talent for ninjutsu, not everyone was a ninja, and their resources did not allow for it. Thus, more than half of the clan members were ordinary people, and the majority of the staff at the One Heart Chamber of Commerce were these ordinary Uchiha.

At a time when the clan was incredibly impoverished, having such a well-paying job naturally made them deeply grateful, which was the reason for the enthusiastic and attentive service at One Heart Department Store.

As for why the reputation here was the polar opposite of the Police Force, it was because these were ordinary clansmen rather than ninjas, and naturally, they lacked that paranoid "Ninja Way."

After acknowledging them, Tang Pu walked to the side and sat in the seat designated for the "Chairman," while Inabi, Tekka, and Yashiro took their places in the specially prepared sofa area.

Their task was simple.

Whenever White Dove was busy, Yashiro would be responsible for holding down the fort at the One Heart Chamber of Commerce, while Tekka and Inabi acted as assistants and were also responsible for his protection.

The three of them divided the labor, while the others were simply responsible for maintaining the daily operations of the One Heart Chamber of Commerce.

The One Heart Chamber of Commerce was not just this department store; it also included a publishing house, several merchant caravans, and a few outposts.

It was these components that made up the One Heart Chamber of Commerce, with the department store being merely one of its subsidiaries.

Novels famous throughout the ninja world, such as Battle Through the Ninja World, Ninja Abin!, Ninjas Are No Mere Mortals, Ninja Plum!, and My Struggle... were all published by One Heart Publishing House.

Yes, these were all works White Dove had written during his time at the Ninja Academy.

With only average talent as a ninja, he had to write novels to farm resources just to support his own ninjutsu research.

Without those resources, given his suicidal work ethic and reckless habits, let alone reaching his current quasi-Kage level, he would have been lucky to survive graduation.

It could be said that while his current strength was aided by his advantages as a transmigrator, the greater credit belonged to the resources he had acquired.

"Huh!"

White Dove looked at the financial report in his hands, spotted an issue, and called out to a middle-aged woman buried in work on the other side of the room.

"Aunt Yezue, our profits dropped by thirty percent this month. Did something go wrong?"

The department store had entered a stable period, so logically, there shouldn't have been any sudden fluctuations. A drop this significant meant something must have happened.

Hearing the inquiry, Uchiha Yezue—dressed in a plain kimono with her jet-black hair secured by a wooden hairpin, a gentle smile gracing her elegant, mature face—stood up and walked over to report:

"The caravan encountered several bands of thieves along the way, which is why the profits have decreased so much!"

She was the financial director of the One Heart Chamber of Commerce, responsible for handling all fiscal matters, and she had watched White Dove grow up since he was a child.

"Lost cargo..."

White Dove frowned in thought.

In a place like the ninja world, caravans encountering thieves was standard procedure; it didn't sound like anything worth questioning.

However, there was a saying that "data doesn't lie." A thirty percent loss in profit suggested that the number of encounters with thieves was a bit too high.

Thinking of this, he turned his head to ask Yashiro, who was sitting on the sofa brewing tea and enjoying a moment of tranquility:

"Have the bandit suppression missions in the village increased recently?"

As his deputy, Yashiro usually collected basic intelligence, so it was best to ask him directly about such matters.

"No, those types of missions are completely normal!"

Yashiro took a sip of tea, his face relaxed as he gave an accurate answer.

In fact, a vast amount of intelligence could be gleaned from missions alone.

The security situation in the Land of Fire could be gauged by the change in the number of bandit suppression missions, while border conflicts could be confirmed by the number of ninjas hired by caravans.

Therefore, the mission center was naturally a key point of focus, which was why he could answer immediately.

"Is that so!"

A thoughtful look flashed in White Dove's eyes.

If it wasn't a case of rampant banditry, then there was definitely a problem.

However, guessing was one thing; he still needed proof. He turned to Uchiha Tekka and issued an order:

"Tekka, go immediately and gather intelligence on the other department stores. See if their caravans are having problems too!"

He didn't believe that whoever was pulling these strings could keep it airtight.

Whoosh!

Tekka vanished from the office.

When ninjas wanted to gather intelligence, their efficiency was unmatched.

Especially regarding information that wasn't particularly well-guarded.

Thus, in less than half an hour, Tekka had obtained the information he was looking for.

After listening to the report, White Dove confirmed that his earlier suspicion was indeed correct.