The Profit of Alcohol

Uchiha Tenshu had secured his own cultivation and development.

He had not forgotten those around him, either.

After all, one must cultivate the elites of tomorrow to lead the elites of today.

Uchiha Tenshu was a man who kept his word.

Not only did he pass on the elite training methods he received within the clan to the followers gathered around him, but after experiencing the boost provided by specialized cultivation elixirs during his own elite training, he realized these elixirs were far too beneficial to keep to himself.

He could not enjoy such advantages alone.

Although his followers could not obtain these elixirs for free, they could still have their respective families fund the purchases.

As for whether their families were willing to pay this cost for their children, that went without saying; no one did not wish for their child to grow stronger. Even after the Uchiha clan implemented the Elite Ninja Project, other clansmen not selected for the program still spent vast sums of money to purchase elixirs, choosing to strengthen their own path as ninjas.

For those who truly lacked the funds, Uchiha Tenshu would step in to help.

Of course, he did not simply hand out money.

Instead, he used a collaborative approach.

In this regard, one must mention the few small inventions Uchiha Tenshu had created at the time. After communicating with his companions' parents, he passed these inventions on in the form of equity shares. With the Seventh Elder acting as his backer, coupled with Uchiha Tenshu's well-known reputation for early intelligence, no mishaps occurred.

His companions all received financial support from their parents.

By now, his companions had generally reached the level of standard Genin, capable of skillfully using the Three Body Technique and several low-level ninjutsu. The next step was to continuously refine their Chakra control as they began their march toward becoming elite Genin.

The profit dividends from those small inventions were currently the best proof of the source of the wealth Uchiha Tenshu was accumulating.

Not to mention that his first two inventions had already secured him a spot in the elite ninja training program.

As for the remaining one—alcohol production—it had generated a massive amount of wealth. However, because the sum was so staggering, Uchiha Tenshu had not dared to take possession of it.

He simply entrusted Uchiha Raimon to hide it for him.

After all, having hundreds of millions of ryo sitting in his own home was far too conspicuous; it was better to keep it hidden for now.

Speaking of alcohol sales, after handing the matter over to the Seventh Elder, Uchiha Raimon, the two parties agreed that a half-percent—or rather, five percent—of the profits would belong to Uchiha Tenshu.

Knowing it would be a massive success, Uchiha Tenshu did not demand a higher cut and instead set the terms for how it should be sold.

As a derivative of grain—a vital strategic resource—alcohol was not only a raw material for blending various spirits, but it also possessed powerful antiseptic and disinfectant properties for treating external wounds.

Do not underestimate this.

Setting aside battles between ninjas, which involved scrapes, burns from ninjutsu, and electrical injuries, ordinary people struck by ninjutsu would generally meet their end, or at the very least, be left crippled.

Typically, once hit by a ninjutsu, one either died on the spot or waited for death in constant agony.

In this era, where medical ninjutsu had yet to become widespread and was mastered by only a few who were not particularly proficient, even if a ninja's internal injuries were not severe, external infections were often fatal.

The available herbal knowledge relied entirely on repetitive experience and lacked the ability to provide a definitive cure.

In some cases, a condition would worsen unknowingly, slowly transforming a minor injury into a fatal one.

Because not everyone possessed the Sharingan to see the viruses constantly eroding their life force, alcohol could change that.

It acted directly upon all external bacteria and viruses, making it a vital strategic resource.

Therefore, from the very beginning, he had requested Elder Raimon to handle it with caution and never let the information leak, especially to people like Uchiha Ming. Uchiha Raimon agreed wholeheartedly, as this Uchiha Ming happened to be one of the elders supporting Uchiha Kin, and he guaranteed that no information would be disclosed.

Once Uchiha Tenshu created this, Uchiha Raimon began producing it incessantly. After all, compared to the low market price of grain—which had reached twenty ryo per jin, the price of a bowl of ramen in Konoha—it was far too cheap. The Uchiha clan possessed vast estates, and in the past, their surplus grain was left to rot and mold.

Now, with the advent of alcohol, they could keep what was needed for their own consumption and the next year's planting, while turning the rest into alcohol. They could not only develop various ratios to blend different spirits for sale within the Land of Fire to make money, but they could also process it into this strategic resource to sell specifically to high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, and samurai families.

Even selling it in small quantities was enough to fill their coffers!

After all, these social classes controlled vast wealth, and they cherished their lives immensely.

Faced with something that could save their lives, they would pay any price, even ten thousand gold, to acquire and store it.

In this regard, Uchiha Tenshu set a terrifying price of ten thousand ryo.

When Uchiha Tenshu first proposed this selling price, it shocked Uchiha Raimon so much that he briefly wondered if Uchiha Tenshu had lost his mind.

At the time, Uchiha Raimon had shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ten thousand ryo for a bottle of alcohol? Are those Daimyo idiots? Why would they ever buy it!"

Yet, facts proved Uchiha Tenshu was right.

Was a mere ten thousand ryo per bottle even worth hesitating over?

A single second was an insult to the ruling class of the Land of Fire.

Following the initial frenzy where the product was snatched up, Uchiha Raimon counted money until his hands cramped, laughing like a madman. He immediately relocated his alcohol manufacturing plant, set up various intricate barriers, and forbade anyone from approaching within a ten-mile radius. All staff were allowed in but never out, confined strictly to the factory grounds. Uchiha Raimon himself remained stationed there year-round, surrounding himself with trusted confidants and conducting rotating spot checks to prevent spies from leaking the production process.

Uchiha Raimon's overreaction was not without cause.

The reality was that alcohol sold for ten thousand ryo per bottle, with each bottle containing only a tenth of a jin. That meant one jin of alcohol was worth one hundred thousand ryo. Even with a crude production process that required twenty jin of grain to brew one jin of alcohol, the profit margin was a staggering five hundred times the cost. What did that mean? It meant sitting on a mountain of gold and silver. As long as the Uchiha Clan mastered this craft, they would never have to worry about squandering their wealth.

Given the terrifying nature of this, Uchiha Raimon naturally kept the operation entirely under the control of his inner circle, refusing to let anyone else intervene. He moved the entire production process to his own private estate, employing only villagers from the generations-old Uchiha-affiliated districts.

To further camouflage the production process, he purchased large quantities of precious medicinal ingredients, creating the illusion for the outside world that while the alcohol was expensive, the raw materials were equally rare and costly.

To this day, the entire Uchiha Clan only knew that Elder Uchiha Raimon had "invented" alcohol and that it required grain and various rare medicines to produce. They believed the business was profitable, but only to the extent of the five-fold profit margin circulating in public rumors.

Whether it was the elders of the Uchiha Clan or the high-ranking members of other major Konoha families, everyone constantly speculated that the true profit of the alcohol must be much higher—perhaps seven or eight times, or even close to a tenfold windfall.

However, no matter how they guessed, they likely never imagined the truth.

The profit margin of the alcohol was not seven, eight, or even ten times.

It was a terrifying five hundred times.

Otherwise, even Hashirama Senju would likely have turned this Uchiha industry into a village-run enterprise.

For now, with only a five to ten-fold profit margin, while the other families were greedy, they did not consider it important enough to unite and seize the industry for themselves.

After all, other families had their own highly profitable industries that reached similar margins.

For instance, the Nara Clan's velvet antlers and rare medicinal herbs could reach profits of at least five to twenty times, even after accounting for labor costs.

Not to mention the Akibichi Clan's meat farms, the Senju Clan's mines and fruit orchards, the Aburame Clan's...

And so on.

Each had their own way of making money, but without exception, there was a tacit understanding that families would not touch each other's established domains.

Otherwise, shadow wars would be inevitable.

Now that the Uchiha Clan had secured the alcohol business, the other clans essentially defaulted to the idea that this enterprise belonged solely to the Uchiha.

After all, it was a product that had never existed before, developed by the Uchiha Clan.

If other families tried to intervene, it would inevitably invite covert retaliation from the Uchiha.

Except for the Senju Clan, no other family could withstand such a blow.

And right now, the other families in Konoha dared not act so brazenly.

Even the Senju Clan would not commit such a taboo.

In fact, Tobirama Senju might even be pleased to see the Uchiha Clan preoccupied with commerce.

The reason these families were so easily deceived by Uchiha Raimon was due to the falsified ledgers created by Uchiha Tenshu. Having been personally mentored by Uchiha Raimon, Uchiha Tenshu was tasked with managing the alcohol sales ledgers, where he directly concealed over 90% of the profits.

After subtracting worker wages, subsidies, and daily maintenance costs, the remaining figures reflected only a five to ten-fold profit.

Even then, according to custom, half of the remaining profit was extracted by Uchiha Raimon, the elder in charge of grain, with the rest going to the clan.

After all, these inventions were Uchiha Raimon's exclusive property; the clan only took half because the grain belonged to the Uchiha, otherwise, they would have only been entitled to a quarter.

Even so, the massive wealth still made other Uchiha elders green with envy, leading them to probe constantly.

However, Uchiha Raimon kept the critical information under tight wraps, ensuring not a shred of truth leaked out.

Currently, only Uchiha Tenshu and Uchiha Raimon knew the vital details. Even the workers were divided into different assembly lines, performing nonsensical medicinal preparation steps. The final blending and distillation techniques were carried out in the factory basement by Uchiha Raimon's loyal death-sworn, and each worker was placed under seals and Genjutsu hypnosis to ensure nothing would be exposed in the short term.

Both men found the immense profitability to be a double-edged sword. As an elder, Uchiha Raimon could manage it—he had plenty of ways to spend money, from recruiting personnel to expanding his influence.

But Uchiha Tenshu was different; he was still in a state of forbearance, desperate to distance himself from these massive profits.

To this day, Uchiha Tenshu had not taken a single cent for himself, fearing that the outside world would grow suspicious of the money's origin and connections.

After all, ninjas were, by nature, highly suspicious creatures.

At this moment, all the wealth Uchiha Tenshu had harvested from the alcohol trade remained under the safekeeping of Elder Uchiha Raimon.

As for why.

Why Uchiha Raimon did not embezzle the funds and silence Uchiha Tenshu.

Or, why Uchiha Tenshu trusted Elder Uchiha Raimon to such an extent.

That, naturally, had deeper underlying reasons!