"I was being shortsighted when I told everyone last time that the Daimyo and the nobles made five billion ryo a year."
"After looking into it carefully, I discovered that five billion ryo was only their income from tea."
"I estimate that their other businesses bring in at least fifty billion ryo combined!"
Masaki Uchiha's words shocked everyone once again. They all knew the nobles were rich, but they hadn't realized they were this rich.
And that was only the money the nobles made from business. It didn't include the other income generated by the land throughout the country.
But in Masaki Uchiha's eyes, the Land of Fire's commercial potential was still far from being fully developed.
Take the price of an Explosive Tag, for example: one thousand to two thousand ryo each. At five hundred billion ryo, you could buy only fifty million of them in peacetime, or twenty-five million during wartime. That wouldn't even be enough to blow up one Obito Uchiha.
Take Ichiraku Ramen in Konoha, for example. A bowl of regular ramen cost sixty ryo, an egg cost sixty-five, and a bowl of rice cost fifteen. (There's a price list for Ichiraku Ramen in Naruto later on.)
Everyone now had a clear idea of the cost of living.
Besides, as a country with the best location in the Ninja World and a population of over twenty million, it definitely brought in more than five hundred billion a year...
A Rank S mission paid one million ryo in peacetime. It would certainly pay even more during wartime.
So the commercial potential of Konoha, the Land of Fire, and even the entire Ninja World needed to be tapped.
That was why Masaki Uchiha was bringing everyone together to work on this. The Uchiha Clan had too few people.
Besides, those who kept everything for themselves rarely met a good end, and it wouldn't help him take over Konoha intact.
That made establishing a cooperative alliance essential.
Seeing that the clan heads were almost numb from the news, Masaki Uchiha smiled and said, "Please rest assured, there's no end to the money we can make. Let's start by finalizing the organization's charter."
"Every family that joins the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will have one vote."
"Since the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded at the Uchiha's initiative, and the Uchiha found the business opportunities, the Uchiha will have veto power. Does everyone agree?"
"Agreed!"
"Agreed!"
How could anyone disagree? The Uchiha had put in the most effort. It was only fair.
Masaki Uchiha looked around and, seeing that no fool had jumped up to object, felt a little disappointed. The chance to humiliate someone and show off hadn't come up after all.
"To help our respective families grow and get into the nobles' businesses quickly, here's my second proposal: if any of you have friends who want to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, they can do so with the approval of more than half of the members present."
"I support the President's proposal!" The Gekko Clan Head shot his right hand up like he was desperate for attention.
Damn it, he beat me to it again.
The Kurama Clan Head cursed inwardly.
"I support it too!"
"Agreed!"
After Uchiha Naoya finished counting the votes, Masaki Uchiha's proposal passed unanimously!
"..."
"..."
"..."
After an afternoon of voting and refining the organization's procedures,
Masaki Uchiha saw how tired everyone looked and brought up his final proposal.
"From now on, any matter requiring a vote must be submitted at least ten days in advance for an organization meeting. Each member may request one meeting per month."
"Agreed."
"Agreed."
This right was closely tied to their own interests. No one was foolish enough to vote against it, so everyone agreed.
"Unless something major comes up, Uchiha Naoya will coordinate with everyone about the monthly meetings from now on."
After saying this, Masaki Uchiha turned to Uchiha Naoya. "You'll be in charge of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's monthly meetings from now on. Just report any developments to me."
"Yes, Clan Head."
Uchiha Naoya was deeply moved that such an important task had been entrusted to him.
After all, he'd be dealing with the heads of all the village's families. The connections he made along the way would help him go much further in the future.
At that moment, the Inuzuka Clan Head asked with a smile, "President, I heard the Jonin Squad Leader is about to be elected. I wonder if you're interested?"
"Oh?"
At the mention of the Jonin Squad Leader, Masaki Uchiha remembered what the position entailed.
Put simply, the Jonin Squad Leader was mainly responsible for gathering suggestions from the village's jonin and counting the votes in Hokage elections. The position could also initiate a vote to impeach the Hokage.
During wartime, the Jonin Squad Leader was also responsible for directing and planning battles.
The Jonin Squad Leader usually communicated directly with the Hokage, but the position was decided by a vote among all active jonin in Konoha. The candidate with the most votes won. The term lasted two years, and the same person could be reelected.
The current Jonin Squad Leader was Shikaku Nara.
To put it plainly, the job was usually uneventful and involved a lot of thankless work, but at a crucial moment, its holder could determine who led the village.
"Sure. Inuzuka Clan Head, why don't you help me drum up some votes when you get back?"
When the others heard that Masaki Uchiha was interested in the position, they began calculating how many votes to give him.
"Rest assured, President. The jonin of the Inuzuka Clan will definitely cast their sacred votes for you."
"Hahaha! Clan heads, please help me drum up votes when you get back, too. I, Masaki Uchiha, am very interested in this position."
Everyone could tell from Masaki Uchiha's tone that he was determined to win. They all said they would give him their votes.
"That's all for today. Everyone, head home and get some rest. Kakashi, wait a moment."
At his words, the clan heads rose one after another and said their goodbyes to Masaki Uchiha. As for Kakashi and the Fourth Hokage, that was naturally for Masaki Uchiha to discuss.
As for the possibility of withdrawing from the alliance, everyone wisely kept quiet.
Once you were aboard the Uchiha's ship, you couldn't just get off whenever you wanted.
Even if you wanted to leave, you'd have to ask the people aboard whether they agreed.
Better to stay the course.
Hatake Kakashi, meanwhile, felt his heart tighten when he was asked to stay. Could it be...
"Don't be nervous, Kakashi. Have a seat. I'll see the others out." Seeing how tense Kakashi looked, Masaki Uchiha couldn't help but find it amusing.
After seeing everyone off, Masaki Uchiha said to Uchiha Naoya, who was behind him, "At the next Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, you'll need to hint that they should do something."
"There are too many trade routes from the Land of Tea, which is seriously affecting the price of tea on the market."
"If less tea comes out of the Land of Tea, the market price will rise."
"So if someone attacks the other trade routes and steals that fresh tea..."
"You have to remember, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization doesn't just escort goods. We can sell them, too. We'll trade money for goods, no questions asked about where they came from."
"Understand?"
Uchiha Naoya immediately caught on and responded with an "Oh," though he didn't understand why they were letting those people make the money. It wasn't as if the Uchiha couldn't earn it themselves.
Seeing that his brother-in-law wasn't convinced, Masaki Uchiha had to teach him a few 'tricks'.
"Think about it. If I let them handle this, won't they be grateful to us?"
"Yes."
"If the Daimyo finds out the trade routes from the Land of Tea have been raided, won't he immediately think of asking the Uchiha to handle it?"
"Yes."
"Once we receive the Daimyo's order, we'll notify those clans to withdraw. Then we'll go kill some bandits and take their heads to the Daimyo as proof."
"That way, we'll complete the Daimyo's mission and let our allies get a nice cut. Won't they all have to thank me?"
"Yes."
"That's killing three birds with one stone!"
Now he understood. He understood it all. Everyone would come away satisfied, and the only ones hurt would be the Daimyo and the nobles.
Thinking of this, Uchiha Naoya looked at Masaki Uchiha with admiration.
"Lastly, remember to tell them to do this only two or three times a year. If they do it too often, someone might catch on."
"Understood!"
"Come on, let's go talk to Kakashi."