Economic Strategy

Hearing Danzo's venting and cursing, Nawaki said, "Actually, it is not impossible to change the current political status of the ninja village, and it would be of great help to the unification of the ninja world."

After Nawaki's analysis, the high-ranking officials of Konoha present had unconsciously changed their evaluative mindset; they no longer viewed him as a mere junior, but were instead captivated by his perspective. "Speak quickly, what is this method?" Danzo eagerly asked on behalf of everyone, voicing the question in their hearts.

Nawaki smiled and pointed behind him, saying, "It is right before our eyes."

"Are you referring to the Ninja Academy?" The Third Hokage looked at the training ground behind Nawaki and asked curiously.

Nawaki nodded affirmatively, "The Second Hokage's great innovation is no less than the First's. After he invented the Ninja Academy, ninjas were no longer isolated groups relying on family inheritance, but formally established connections with civilians, making it possible for them to fully integrate. After the Ninja Academy was established, a large number of outstanding ninjas emerged, opening up a brand-new source of ninjas for the village, which other major ninja villages scrambled to imitate. If we can further expand the scale of the academy and open branches across the country, we can increase the number of ninjas, ensuring they are no longer at a demographic disadvantage in the world. Eventually, if everyone becomes a ninja, ninjas will naturally be able to rule the country."

The advisor Koharu could not help but speak up, "A very brilliant strategic plan. If successfully executed, it will lead to a peaceful evolution of the Land of Fire and even the entire ninja world, making ninjas the masters of the world. However, there is a fatal difficulty that must be solved!"

Mitokado Homura said with a regretful expression, "It is the economic problem you emphasized earlier! Although many civilian ninjas appeared after the academy was established, these ninjas were either from relatively wealthy backgrounds or possessed extraordinary talent; they are only a minority among civilians. The vast majority of civilian students cannot graduate from the academy due to a lack of resources such as medicine, high-quality food, ninjutsu scrolls, and ninja tools.

Furthermore, the aptitude of civilians varies; some are born without chakra attributes, or are even unable to extract chakra due to weak constitutions, and the village lacks the financial resources to provide these resources to all new students for free!

Civilians who fail to graduate from the academy often find it difficult to even make a living, as they have passed the school age and lack any specialized skills.

Therefore, to ensure the graduation rate of the academy, the Second Hokage stipulated that expensive tuition must be paid before enrollment to provide students with sufficient resources.

Over time, unless they are from wealthy families or are the descendants of hero ninjas who sacrificed themselves for the village, few villagers send their children to the academy to study, and even then, a portion of civilian students fail to become ninjas every year."

Nawaki was not discouraged after hearing their words; instead, he nodded and said, "So we return to the previous topic: how should Konoha unify the ninja world, and how can we break free from the Daimyo's economic control? My answer is business! We should establish the ninja village's own economic system and set up a dedicated financial department to collect taxes! Just as the Daimyo collects taxes from the citizens to maintain the national treasury."

"Business?"

"A financial department?"

"Taxes?"

The high-ranking officials of Konoha repeated the keywords Nawaki had mentioned.

Nawaki continued, "Correct! First is business! I believe that not only among civilians, but even within many families—including the great clans—there must be many members who cannot become ninjas due to a lack of resources, right?"

The vast majority of Konoha's current high-ranking officials came from ninja clans, and even those who did not had already established their own families. As heads or power-holders of their respective clans, they naturally understood this point and nodded in acknowledgment.

Nawaki continued, "My Senju Clan previously encountered similar problems. Over the past two years, under my suggestion, the adult clan members who did not become ninjas began to form caravans to trade in various countries! Since the initial capital was provided entirely by the clan, aside from a small share for the caravan managers, the other personnel only need to be paid generous commissions. After deducting the costs of hiring ninja guards, the remaining majority of the profits belong to the clan.

Relying on these profits, the clan can not only provide training resources for all members but has also opened a large number of casinos and hotels across the Land of Fire. As the business has grown, we now earn tens of millions of ryo per month from clan industries! My grandmother knows this best."

The clan heads looked at Mito Uzumaki with glowing eyes. Mito nodded and said, "What Nawaki says is true. The profit for the last month alone was nearly one hundred million ryo, which is more than enough to provide training resources for all our clan members."

"Young Clan Head Nawaki is truly a genius!"

"I never expected him to be so talented in internal affairs as well!"

"We hope Young Clan Head Nawaki will guide us in the ways of business."

"Young Clan Head Nawaki must teach us!"

The high-ranking officials vied to ask for advice. Only a fool would turn down money! Everyone was a mature politician, and in the face of profit, they cast aside their pride and were not ashamed to ask for guidance.

The Third Hokage shouted to stop them, "Quiet! Listen to what Nawaki has to say!"

Nawaki nodded and replied, "Since you are all interested, I suggest that we pool our funds to form a multinational caravan to earn capital. The profits will be distributed according to the proportion of funds contributed by each clan, and 5% will be deducted as commercial tax to be handed over to the financial department for the village's construction. How about that?"

"None of us have ever done business before. What if we lose money?" one clan head asked.

"Regarding international trade, my Senju Clan has two years of experience and has never once suffered a loss. If we invest together and a loss occurs, my Senju Clan will take responsibility. Additionally, all clans are welcome to send personnel to join the caravan to supervise and learn!"

"The Senju Clan Head is so generous, we are deeply grateful! Our clan has decided to participate in this business venture! We will contribute 10 million ryo!"

"Hmph, my Uchiha Clan will contribute 50 million ryo!"

"My Kurama Clan will contribute 10 million ryo!"

Seeing everyone scrambling to join, Nawaki smiled and said, "Everyone, please calm down. We can discuss the details of this business later by sending representatives to the Senju Clan for a detailed talk. My Senju Clan will turn no one away. Let's call this caravan the Konoha Consortium. Next, I have something even more important to say!"

Hearing the "God of Wealth" speak, the high-ranking officials fell silent to listen. Unknowingly, Nawaki had established a certain level of prestige among the high-ranking officials.

"This business venture will not only bring everyone financial benefits, but it will also allow us to gain a strategic economic advantage over the major nations and ninja villages!"

"What is an economic strategy?" Danzo asked with great interest.

"So-called economic strategy is the means of indirectly influencing or even controlling the economy of other countries through commercial means!"

"Just like how the Daimyo controls us?" Danzo's eyes lit up, as if he had discovered a new world.

"Elder Danzo is absolutely correct. Our Land of Fire is located in the heart of the continent and is rich in various resources, especially grain and timber, which far exceed those of other countries! Moreover, due to their geographical locations, resources in other countries are very unevenly distributed."