Chapter 48

"Once the fighting starts, we'll hold the power. Whoever we deploy will have to go."

"Just like last time."

Back then, the Senju Clan had still been flourishing. Plenty of people opposed their rise to power and resented Sarutobi becoming Hokage even more.

Without Uzumaki Mito backing them from behind the scenes, they could never have held on to their positions.

But what about now?

The Senju Clan was nearly gone. Its elite had all been spent in the last great war.

They had also used the Second Hokage's proposal for the "Senju's integration into the civilian population" to dismantle the clan's branch families bit by bit.

Through wars and dangerous missions, they had gradually purged everyone who remained fiercely loyal to the Senju.

How much influence and prestige could the Senju still have left in the village now?

Ultimately, those Senju were too straightforward.

They were always going on about Konoha's glory, truly treating the village as their own family.

All it took was a little coaxing about what was "good for Konoha," and they obediently ran off to their deaths.

This time, they could simply reuse their old methods against the Uchiha, without sparing that Senju snake that still refused to die.

Danzo even found Uzumaki Mito utterly annoying.

Why wouldn't she hurry up and die?

Once she died, he could fool the remaining Senju descendants into participating in the Wood Release experiments he had wanted to conduct for so long.

If they really managed to produce Wood Release, who would Konoha have to fear?

If he mastered Wood Release himself, wouldn't the Hokage's seat be his for the taking?

"Danzo!"

Although the Third Generation inwardly agreed with what he had heard, his expression turned stern.

"Don't say things that undermine unity."

"Everything we do is for Konoha, not for our own selfish interests."

"Hahaha!"

Danzo burst out laughing on the spot. "Yes, yes, yes! All for Konoha! All for Konoha!"

You're far more devious than I am, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

And far more of a hypocrite.

Danzo had always owned up to his actions, never hiding what he did.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was different.

He wanted to be a ** and still be praised for his virtue.

"Perhaps that's why you managed to become Hokage back then?"

"Ruthless enough."

"Looks like I'll have to learn more from you from now on."

"I'll start by hiding behind that 'for Konoha' banner! Heh!"

Danzo sneered inwardly.

In the blink of an eye, another five days passed.

During those days, the Third Generation and his people made no major moves.

The various ninja clans, however, could no longer sit still. One after another, they approached Uchiha Chisato to discuss their medicine allotments.

At Xunjing's current production rate, there was simply no way to meet everyone's needs.

Still, every ninja clan that came received at least a small allotment.

The three Ino-Shika-Cho clans, which had acted fastest, and Tsunade, who had the closest relationship with Xunjing and the others, received the largest shares.

Uchiha Chisato did not allocate the entire supply to the ninja clans, either.

She reserved thirty percent to continue selling at the Uchiha Pharmacy.

Although most of that medicine would ultimately end up in the major ninja clans' hands anyway.

With purchase limits per person, however, the small and medium-sized ninja clans and civilian ninja could still buy some.

After buying the medicine, those people generally could not bear to use things like Nutrient Pills and Nourishing Potions in their everyday lives, aside from the Body-Tempering Potions.

They only brought them out in emergencies when they encountered danger on missions.

Used properly, they could save lives.

At Uchiha Chisato's request, Xunjing had no choice but to ask Dr. Kureha to help make some medicine every day to increase production.

Of course, the price was premium Plum Wine as payment.

He also had to send her regular batches of medical books on traditional Chinese medicine without interruption.

To spare himself the trouble, Xunjing could only agree.

"How about hiring a few doctors from Drum Island to make the medicine for me?"

The idea suddenly occurred to Xunjing.

In any case, it hardly mattered if someone learned the formulas for these medicines with their reduced effectiveness.

After all, with the Pirate World's abundant resources, those people could concoct similar medicines themselves.

Especially those Nutrient Pills with only ten percent of their original effectiveness.

They would never sell in the Pirate World.

They were practically useless.

Expensive and ineffective.

For the same money, people would be better off buying a few pounds of Sea King meat. The benefits would be much greater.

Xunjing immediately brought his idea up with Dr. Kureha.

"Hahaha!"

After hearing him out, Dr. Kureha laughed heartily. "You should have done that ages ago! You could simply open a pharmaceutical factory in a nearby town dedicated to producing these medicines."

Xunjing gave a couple of awkward chuckles and quickly waved his hands. "It's not that simple! I'm just trying to raise some startup capital!"

Dr. Kureha shot him a sidelong glance and did not press him further.

"All right, let's put that aside for now."

After some thought, Xunjing decided not to rush into opening a factory.

He planned to take Ninja Hawk Little Black and fly straight to Sky Island.

There was gold everywhere there. Digging up a little would be more than enough.

Besides, he could look for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit while he was there.

If he happened to run into Enel, he could see whether a little sweet-talking would help him build a connection.

The kid really was talented and worth cultivating.

"Tell me when you're ready. I don't want to brew these low-grade potions for you every day."

Dr. Kureha snorted, a hint of disdain in her voice.

"I have no idea what you're making all this for. You're not planning to become some unscrupulous profiteer, are you?"

"Haha, of course not!"

Xunjing quickly laughed it off and changed the subject.

He knew Dr. Kureha's standing in the Drum Kingdom was anything but ordinary.

Ordinary citizens might not know who she was, but the kingdom's leadership definitely would not dare slight her.

In fact, Xunjing suspected that even ** and many powerful nobles feared her.

Otherwise, how could she so easily take over the royal palace as her home when Wapol started wreaking havoc in the future?

Wapol was hardly an easygoing fellow.

"Oh?"

Dr. Kureha raised an eyebrow, sounding amused. "You're quite generous."

"Fine. I'll agree, if only to save myself some trouble."

"But let me make this clear: you can't skimp on my payment."

"And buying land, building a factory, hiring people, getting materials-all of that costs money."

"Are you sure you can afford it?"

Xunjing thought for a moment and scratched his head. "Uh... that'll have to wait a few days."

"Let me get some money first."

He planned to get gold from Sky Island.

Exchanging paper money for gold in the Ninja World was too much trouble. He would have to travel to the Land of Fire's capital and have the daimyo exchange it.

The daimyo and those in power held all that gold to stabilize the currency.

He might as well fly straight to Sky Island and dig up what was already there.

With Ninja Hawk Little Black, flying ten thousand meters into the sky was easy now.

Up on Sky Island, the Golden City was still buried in the clouds, untouched.

The Skypieans and Shandians were busy fighting each other and had no time to bother with the gold.

It would be even easier to get than in Enel's time.

"Suit yourself."

Dr. Kureha waved a hand, sounding a little impatient. "Call me when you're ready, and hurry up."

"I don't want to brew this lousy medicine for you every day."

"I really don't know what you're making all this for."

"You're not trying to become an unscrupulous merchant, are you? Heh."

Xunjing gave a couple of awkward chuckles. "Haha, how could I?"

Xunjing grinned and scratched his head.

He had made plenty from those medicines, but surely that did not make him an unscrupulous merchant?

The people of Konoha were scrambling to buy them and even praised the Uchiha for their fair dealing.

The circumstances in the two worlds were simply different.

After returning that day, Xunjing brought the matter up with his mother.

"All right! Then let's go to Sky Island tomorrow and bring the gold back first!"

Uchiha Chisato nodded without a moment's hesitation.

Who would complain about having too much money?

With so much gold, the sooner they had it in hand, the sooner they could rest easy.

Besides, she was quite curious about devil fruits, especially the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, reputed to be the strongest Logia fruit. She wanted to see it for herself.

As for whether she would eat it?

That could wait until then!

"Sure!"

Xunjing agreed with satisfaction.

"Oh, right!"