Multinational Corporation

"Hello, Grandpa Ebizo."

"Hello."

"Hello, Grandpa Ebizo."

"Hello."

Ever since becoming Minister of Education, Ebizo had developed a new hobby: every day after school, he liked to stand at the school gate and watch the children leave. Over time, many of the children came to know this kindly old man and would take the initiative to greet him. He always answered with a smile. In his eyes, these Sunagakure children were like seeds of hope, destined to grow into towering trees.

Ebizo looked to the side. New school buildings were under construction, and the project was quite sizable. Before long, they would connect with the old buildings. The moment Keiko had secured Konoha's two-hundred-million-tael loan, he had allocated one hundred and twenty million taels to the Ministry of Education. The influx of such enormous funding filled Ebizo with confidence. He was certain he could realize the grand blueprint Keiko had once described to him.

"Minister Ebizo, this is the latest news sent by the Kazekage."

A ninja interrupted Ebizo's musings, but Ebizo did not mind. He took the note, read it, and said,

"The teaching ninjas sent by Konoha will be arriving soon. Have the dormitories at the village headquarters and Moon Lake Branch School been arranged?"

"They have. Everything is of the highest standard."

"Good. Their treatment must also be of the highest standard. Those people from the Konoha really know how to teach. Tell the people in the village not to cause trouble. We're allies now, after all. They're here to teach and help us. We should treat them better," Ebizo instructed.

"Yes."

"By the way, where has the Kazekage reached now?"

"According to the latest report, he has arrived in the Land of Rain."

"Building factories?"

Hanzo of the Salamander looked doubtfully at the document in his hand. Written prominently across it were the words: Sunagakure–Land of Rain Reconstruction Plan.

"Lord Rain Shadow can take a closer look. The total investment for this plan is two hundred million taels, and it also involves purchasing iron ore from the Land of Rain and recruiting personnel from the Land of Rain, which can provide nearly two thousand jobs. This is the deposit—twenty million taels worth of Gold Dust, Rasa?" Keiko snapped his fingers.

With a pained expression, Rasa manipulated a pile of Gold Dust and stacked it on the table.

"The internationally recognized gold price among the Five Great Nations today is 402 taels per gram. Our Gold Dust is at least sixty percent pure, and there are eighty-three kilograms here. Even after accounting for smelting loss, it is absolutely worth more than twenty million taels. If Lord Rain Shadow agrees and signs, this pile of Gold Dust will be the first payment of our investment. Of course, if you have any doubts about its purity or value, you may have someone inspect it at any time."

Ibuse ignored Rasa's emotionless tone and was carefully flipping through the plan at the moment. He simply gave a wave, and an Rain Shadow subordinate stepped forward with a magnifying glass to inspect the pile of Gold Dust.

Hanzo of the Salamander did not say a word until he reached the final page. He merely stared coldly at the smiling ninja before him, Keiko, as if trying to discern some scheme from that cheerful face.

He had never believed that free food fell from the sky, yet that huge pile of Gold Dust sat right there on the table.

Hanzo of the Salamander had always been an arrogant man, and he had the strength to back it up. In his prime, fighting the Three Legendary Ninja had been like an adult beating children. Against powerhouses like the Second Kazekage and Shimura Danzō, he was not incapable of testing his strength. When faced with the diplomatic note sent by the Third Kazekage, he had considered every possibility and made every arrangement and preparation. In his view, whether this newly appointed Third Kazekage made territorial demands or political demands, he would refuse them all. Even overturning the table and fighting was not out of the question. Damn it, bowing to Konoha as one father was enough for me. What gives Sunagakure the right? Who would have thought that this Kazekage would refuse to play by the rules and simply force a huge slice of cake into his mouth? Hey, just a few months ago, our countries nearly beat each other's brains into mush. Your Second Kazekage may not have been killed by us, but he died here. And now you're telling me you want to invest in factories in my territory? There has to be some conspiracy behind this.

"There is no conspiracy behind this." The one who said that was Keiko, who had maintained his polite smile all along.

"Then why?" Hanzo of the Salamander's question sounded inexplicable, yet it also seemed to contain every question he wanted to ask.

"The factories will be built in your Land of Rain, our money will be invested in your Land of Rain, and I'll even employ people from your Land of Rain. What do you still have to worry about?"

Hanzo of the Salamander's expression improved somewhat after hearing that. That was one of the reasons he had not overturned the table. Still, he remained silent.

"You can ask around. I am not like the older generation in our village. I have always opposed this war."

Hanzo of the Salamander's expression softened further. As a ninja of Keiko's rank, his history before becoming Kazekage should have been on file with the leaders of every nation. Keiko was not lying.

"But Sunagakure's environment is indeed harsh, and its economy is underdeveloped. It needs growth. I have always advocated developing industrial production, strengthening commercial trade, and establishing multinational corporations." Keiko pointed to the proposal.

"Then why did you invade our country before this?" Hanzo of the Salamander's tone hardened.

"At that time, I was only a guard, not the Kazekage. What I said did not count."

"Then how can you guarantee that you will not invade our country in the future?"

"I believe that as long as our interests become intertwined, countless wonderful Bonds will form. If everyone can sit down and make money, why resort to fighting and killing? Besides, we are all allies of Konoha. Strictly speaking, aren't Sunagakure and Hidden Rain allies as well?"

Hanzo of the Salamander thought it over and felt that there did not seem to be anything wrong with that.

"But Konoha and the Hidden Stone Village are still at war."

All right, he'd finally won him over. Keiko secretly let out a sigh of relief.

"Wars end eventually. We can set up the framework first. When I came here, I saw that quite a few refugees had already gathered. I think we can select some of them to work in the factories. As for the rest, our Moon Lake Base in Sunagakure is under development and desperately short of manpower."

"How many do you want?" Hanzo of the Salamander grew somewhat excited. The unending warfare had shattered the Land of Rain's economy. More and more civilians had become refugees, while the Land of Rain's daimyo lacked the means to gather and provide relief for them. As the Rain Shadow, Hanzo wanted to help them, but he had neither money nor food. Now that someone had fallen from the sky to take them off his hands, of course he was excited.

"That depends on how many there are under Lord Rain Shadow's rule."

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Hearty laughter rang through the conference room. At that moment, the Hidden Rain ninja inspecting the Gold Dust lowered his magnifying glass and gave Hanzo of the Salamander a slight nod. Hanzo laughed even more heartily. Keiko also smiled happily. Economic invasion isn't invasion, huh? Idiot. I'll hollow out your Land of Rain if it kills me! Besides, without refugees, Akatsuki might not even exist. Hanzo should be thanking me.

"Where does Lord Kazekage plan to build the factories?" Hanzo of the Salamander picked up a map.

"Here." Keiko picked up a pencil from the table and drew a circle on the map.

"The Shule River? What kind of factory are you planning to build?"

"The first phase will build a ninja tool factory and a cannery. It is close to the Sada Iron Mine and has convenient access to water, so I think it is suitable. But I noticed that the Shule River's flow seems much lower than before. Is there a problem upstream?"

"Oh, it's because of the war. Hidden Stone Village has built a dam upstream, either to cut off the Shule River or to suddenly store water and release a flood to drown Konoha's encampment. By the way, what is a cannery?"

"Damn, that won't do! Neither the ninja tool factory nor the cannery can operate without water." Keiko grew anxious. They built a dam? Then didn't I come here for nothing? This has to be dealt with.

"It's fine. The Shule River has more than one source, so it will not run dry. Konoha's camp was relocated long ago. Once we drive off Ōnoki, we can just blow up the dam. By the way, you still haven't told me what a cannery is." Hanzo of the Salamander waved his hand dismissively.

"That won't do. Every extra day of waiting costs money. Come on! Take me to Danzo. It's such a trivial matter, yet it's been dragged out for so long." Keiko grabbed Hanzo of the Salamander's hand and pulled him out of the conference room.