Kakuzu's words also surprised Ren.
Looking at Kakuzu, Ren pondered for a moment and came up with an absurd possibility.
Could Kakuzu have misunderstood him?
Ren knew that Kakuzu, who was the number one ninja in Takigakure and a genius, was ostracized and sent to assassinate Hashirama Senju, so he must have been a fool in the same boat.
But now that so many years have passed, surely they haven't made any progress at all?
Anyway, in Ren's mind, all the old men were shrewd and clever. Stroking his non-existent beard, Ren decided to keep trying.
"A deal worth at least 100 million taels, are you sure you're not interested, Mr. Kakuzu?"
Kakuzu, who was initially on guard, felt all five of his hearts clench simultaneously, and his breathing became heavier!
"Tell me, who do you want to kill?"
Kakuzu, who usually deals in millions, was somewhat irrational after hearing about 100 million ryo for the first time, and said something so thoughtless.
Don't you even consider that even Ren Kakuzu he can?
Ren thus confirmed that Kakuzu indeed made little progress over the decades, having wasted his life.
The future of the Akatsuki is bleak!
Doesn't Nagato group of subordinates?
However, Ren immediately thought that Nagato seemed to get along quite well with the Akatsuki members, so Black Zetsu must be the one who was truly exhausted.
He silently worried for his partner; Black Zetsu was truly patient!
Ren look finally made Kakuzu realize he had said the wrong thing. Fortunately, his face was covered by a mask, so it wasn't too embarrassing.
"Cough, cough~"
Using a cough to ease his inner embarrassment, Kakuzu asked again.
"Lord Hokage of Konoha, could you please tell me the specifics of this business?"
Ren's smile turned into a bright smile, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
"It would be my great honor!"
Yuuki then proceeded to paint a detailed picture of a grand plan for Kakuzu.
Commonly known as "drawing a pie in the sky"!
The pie in the sky is indeed painted as a huge picture, but it's something you can actually eat.
The Konoha Laboratory Building various advanced projects. Every small breakthrough, when applied in practice, can lead to dozens of practical products.
Products that may be used in critical sectors such as military and agriculture are excluded.
Even with only the elements of entertainment and enjoyment to enhance life remaining, there are still countless types of goods available.
The Land of Fire was the home turf, while the Lands of Lightning and Water opened up markets through war, and similarly dumped many goods there.
The Shinobi World isn't just made up of large countries; it also has many smaller ones.
For small countries, the market is small and fragmented. Konoha is ultimately a ninja village, not a merchant village. It's impossible for Ren to send so many ninjas to monitor the transactions between various small countries.
Most of the larger merchants were backed by nobles or ninjas. Ren didn't want middlemen to profit from the difference, so he had corresponding nobles acting as his agents in various small countries.
Konoha's products naturally sell just as well in small countries, but they are almost all high-end products.
The low-end products that had the largest sales volume in the three kingdoms of fire, thunder, and water were almost unsellable in various smaller kingdoms.
The nobles of the various small countries who acted as agents had no interest in those low-end products, and there was no need for them to make money off the common people.
As nobles, they could have legally and legitimately robbed others, so why did they choose to do business with commoners?
If it weren't for Ren's sake, allowing them to purchase some goods, they wouldn't have been willing to take even a single low-end product.
After taking them back, they were again priced so exorbitantly that ordinary people who wanted to buy them were deterred, leading to sluggish sales of low-end products.
The nobles are not fools. Commoners live on their own land, and all their interests will eventually come back to them. Even if things rot, they will rot on their own land.
Once Konoha products become bestsellers, the wealth that originally belonged to many ordinary people will be plundered by Konoha.
Ren really didn't have many options in this situation, since Konoha wasn't a country, it was just a ninja village.
It's impossible to focus our main efforts on commerce. Sending ninjas to maintain the markets of the Lands of Lightning and Water is already the limit. As for the countless small countries, if we want to expand to all of them, all the Konoha Ninja might as well become merchants.
The low-end market in small countries is a double-edged sword—it's neither appealing nor worth abandoning.
The truth, of course, wouldn't be told to Kakuzu, according to Ren's description.
This is an undiscovered blue ocean market, a virgin territory that has never been exploited, a source of wealth where you can pick up gold just by bending down.
The reason they don't have much energy to expand themselves is because there are still larger markets in Lands of Earth and Wind waiting for them to explore.
Ren is equally unwilling to give up on the relatively complex and cumbersome markets of smaller countries and wants to find a reliable partner.
This partner cannot be associated with other major powers, and must have sufficient military strength. In the event of an emergency, before receiving support from Konoha, they must be able to not only handle the situation independently but also hold out until Konoha's support arrives.
Born in Takigakure, one of the top ninja villages outside of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, he has now joined Akatsuki, a powerful organization with a great reputation in a small country. He is also full of desire to make money and his strength is enough to First Hokage.
"In conclusion, the position of Konoha's partner is practically tailor-made for Mr. Kakuzu, and today's chance encounter with Sasori-senpai further proves that Mr. Kakuzu is destined to be with Konoha!"
Kakuzu's eyes Kakuzu by Ren that they turned into the shape of coins!
They envision a wonderful future where they can earn money effortlessly without having to fight or kill.
"Lord Hokage of Konoha, how much does it cost to become Konoha's partner?"