Business warfare!
The other department stores had probably seen the profits in this industry and resented One Heart Department Store for taking the lion's share, so they'd decided to make a move.
Fake business warfare: careful planning and scheming!
Real business warfare: steal your goods, kill your people, burn down your shops!
Now this was real business warfare in the Shinobi World.
In other words, the bandits they'd run into several times had been nothing but rivals pulling strings behind the scenes.
Of course, he didn't suspect Danzo or the village's higher-ups. After all, White Dove had kept the scale of the business and its profits under control. There was no way it would have attracted the attention of big shots like them.
"Aunt Yezue, go post a few C-rank escort missions for merchant caravans!"
Once White Dove had figured things out, he came up with a plan.
If the other side wanted to wage "business warfare," he was more than happy to play along.
Before, he wouldn't have been so hard-line. He would have chosen to strategically scale back.
But now that he'd revealed his strength, he had to show some force. Besides, the merchant caravans could use this opportunity to expand.
He'd been cautious before because he hadn't been strong enough. But if he was strong and still acted cautiously, what was the point of being strong?
He might not yet be strong enough to reach the level where he could afford to "not eat beef," but protecting the One Heart Chamber of Commerce was no problem.
Now that someone was targeting his own business, he would strike back without holding anything back.
Even if those other ninja clans were behind it, he wasn't afraid.
A quasi-Kage might not rank among the village's top T0 powerhouses, but he was still a T1 powerhouse. They shouldn't treat someone at that level like a pushover.
Uchiha Yezue didn't ask any questions. She headed to the center of the village to post the missions.
White Dove wasted no time getting things underway.
"Tekka, Inabi, with the weather this dry, I think those department stores could easily catch fire. And it'd be even better if we found evidence of spies from other villages inside. What do you think?"
He'd decided to play rough.
If they could use "bandits" as an excuse to target him, then he could use dry weather and spies as excuses to target them. Fair was fair, wasn't it?
As if he were the only one who knew how to play these "business warfare" games.
If he hadn't wanted to keep it hidden, he could have planned everything in secret and struck without them ever knowing who was responsible.
Make one decisive strike to deter a hundred others!
If he didn't retaliate now, he'd just be waiting for people to bully him and steal his business.
So White Dove's methods weren't complicated.
Arson and framing!
It sounded simple, but it was highly effective.
Of course, to pull something like this off in the village, you needed to be at least a jōnin, along with plenty of intelligence. It wasn't easy.
But for the Uchiha, none of that was a problem.
Tekka and Inabi were both three-tomoe jōnin, skilled in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. They were the sort who could hold their own against Kakashi for a few rounds. Sending them to do this was complete overkill.
So, less than half an hour after the two disappeared from the office, panicked commotion rose from the street outside.
"Fire!"
"Get everyone out!"
"We can't contain it! Get out, now!"
The Police Force was located in the center of the village, and the other department stores were nearby, so they could clearly see the flames shooting into the sky.
White Dove and Yashiro also went to the window and saw the distant building engulfed in flames.
"...Isn't this going too far?"
Yashiro was worried.
As a ninja, he wasn't softhearted. He just wondered if taking business competition this far was excessive.
After all, when their own caravans ran into bandits, the bandits had only stolen their goods. They hadn't harmed the caravan members.
If they had, the losses wouldn't have been limited to thirty percent of their profits. They might even have ended up in the red.
"Just returning the favor!"
White Dove didn't take it seriously at all.
This was nothing. The other side probably hadn't seen business tactics like throwing feces, stealing official seals, or pouring boiling water on money trees...
In the Shinobi World, where even little kids started killing people at just a few years old, these business tactics were already considered "gentle."
After all, blocking someone's livelihood was like killing their parents!
By that standard, even though Uchiha White Dove had set fires and framed people, he really was a good guy.
"Interesting!"
A smile appeared at the corner of White Dove's mouth.
"???"
Yashiro looked at White Dove in confusion.
Only when he saw White Dove put on the Police Force uniform and rush toward the burning building did a look of sudden understanding appear on his face.
"..."
First, he'd set the fire, making it impossible for the other side to keep doing business. Then he'd have an excuse to step in as part of the Police Force.
If they found anything linking the store to spies from outside the village, the other side would have to take the blame whether they liked it or not.
Ruthless!
Even if the truth came out in the end, hardly anyone would be willing to shop at their department store afterward.
Ordinary people would steer clear of anything involving spies from outside the village.
He'd solve the problem in one fell swoop... That really was ruthless.
And One Heart Department Store didn't have to worry about anyone using this trick against them.
For one thing, Uchiha elites were always on hand. For another, the store was right next door to the perfect place to ensure its safety.
The Konoha Military Police Force!
There were always plenty of Uchiha elites there. Anyone who tried anything here would be asking for trouble.
Do you even know how formidable the Uchiha are?
White Dove had opened One Heart Department Store here precisely to prevent anyone from striking in secret.
As for his relationship with the Police Force?
Ahem!
As Logistics Squad Captain, treating them to drinks and barbecue now and then, and giving them gifts during holidays... was basic courtesy.
The higher-ups might not say it, but among the middle and lower ranks, his prestige far surpassed that of Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head.
Otherwise, where did they think he got the nerve to build the "New Uchiha"?
More than a hundred ordinary Uchiha clan members even worked for him!
That was why he could serve as Logistics Squad Captain. With only the Two-Tomoe Sharingan he'd shown before, he wouldn't have been qualified to attend clan meetings, let alone attract the loyalty of several three-tomoe clan members.
The publishing house alone employed dozens of clan members. Ordinary Uchiha also managed the caravans, bases, and other operations.
It was fair to say that White Dove was the reason the Uchiha could barely hold on now. Without him, far more people would support the Hawk Faction.
That was why White Dove was perfectly comfortable leaving. He wasn't worried that anything would happen here.
Whoosh, whoosh!
One figure after another leaped across the rooftops toward the fire.
When they saw White Dove in his Police Force uniform, they looked away. None of them came over to greet him.
The Uchiha had become the sort of people everyone in the village avoided.
The village's higher-ups oppressed them and treated them with malice, and their situation was as precarious as a volcano's edge. Anyone with even a little access to information knew it.
Given all that, it was no wonder the other ninjas treated them this way.
Don't offend them, but don't get close!
Thud, thud!
By the time they reached the department store backed by the Utatane clan, the fire had begun to die down.
It was daytime, and the fire had started in the heart of the commercial district, so the response had naturally been swift.
Especially once the ninjas stepped in. Rescuing people was easy.
As for putting out the fire, there was naturally no such profession as a "firefighter."
Ordinary people simply threw water on it, while ninjas used Water Release.
The catch was being able to withstand the damage caused by the jutsu.
After all, ordinary ninjas couldn't control the effects of Water Release precisely.
When White Dove arrived, he heard a shrill, overbearing woman's voice outside the Utatane Department Store. The flames had gone out, but black smoke still billowed from the building.
"Why did the Police Force take so long to get here?"
"You arrived late, and now my store has been burned to this state. You'll have to compensate me!"
"If you don't pay, I'll go to the Hokage Building and ask Lord Hokage to give me justice!"
A sharp-featured, middle-aged woman was berating the Uchiha, whose faces were even darker than the burned building. Despite facing more than a dozen members of the Uchiha Police Force, she showed no fear.
The Uchiha members of the Police Force felt deeply wronged.
They'd come to rescue people, only to get a furious tongue-lashing. They didn't even dare talk back.
They'd already learned that lesson the hard way several times.
Their own clan head wouldn't stand up for them. Instead, he'd reprimand them whenever ordered to by the Hokage.
But now, their savior had arrived.
Before you continue