"We might not even make it through alive and in one piece. Why build so many houses? To leave the enemy firewood?
"If you ask me, the best time is after the war, once we've won. Build everyone houses then-that's what would actually make sense."
"Then where do we go from here, Lord Hibari?" Hyuga Hide thought it over, found the reasoning sound, and asked another question.
"I asked someone to handle things in the capital. The permits for those two iron mines in the northern Land of Fire... should already be secured. Get ready to establish a mining division for the Three Peaks Group.
"Once war breaks out, Three Peaks Military Industries will have to support the front lines. If we don't have iron on hand, what are we supposed to make everyone's weapons with?" Hibari said with a smile.
Hyuga Hide smiled too. "That's certainly true. All right, Lord Hibari. I'll arrange it right away."
"Mm. Split this month's profits the usual way too. Forty-thirty-thirty." Hibari nodded.
That forty-thirty-thirty split was what he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Hyuga Hiten had agreed on at the outset: forty percent for the Senju Clan, and thirty percent each for the other two clans. Everyone had agreed, and every month's earnings were divided accordingly.
As they talked, Hibari reached the gates of Three Peaks Military Industries.
He glanced at the snow piled along the street, breathed out a white cloud, and rubbed his hands. "Counting the days, the First should be back from the capital by now, shouldn't he? Even if the snow makes traveling difficult, it's already been four days..."
"Oh, right. I haven't congratulated you yet, Lord Hibari," Hyuga Hide said cheerfully, as though he had only just remembered.
"Congratulated me for what? The baby hasn't even been born yet. Besides,