Naruto sat in the seat of honor with one leg crossed over the other, looking down at the Akatsuki members and the various former Konoha ninja clans.
"Everyone put on a fine performance this time. The commission requests came knocking on our door themselves, and quite a few are war commissions. Anyone interested can take their pick."
"But I don't recommend wasting time on that stuff right now. After all, Akatsuki Village is so poor at the moment that all it has left is money."
He was telling the truth.
The money earned over these seven days had completely surpassed the commissions Akatsuki had accumulated over the past seven years, by several times over.
The shell of the village had not even been built yet, but the funds on the books had already piled up into a mountain.
The Treasure-Seeking Disc, mercenaries, membership fees, and even the entertainment projects they had launched earlier—combined, their daily revenue had snowballed to a scalp-numbing scale.
After Konan gave the accounts a rough look, the public reserves alone were worth the fortunes of over a dozen Gatos, not even counting the loose money held by villagers and the various ninja clans.
Gato was a major merchant who monopolized sea transport, firmly ranked among the wealthiest people in the entire Ninja World.
With Akatsuki Village's current foundation, it had more than enough money not only for startup costs, but even to fight a proper campaign.
Naruto leaned back in his chair and continued with a smile.
"If we want everyone to accept peace, we first have to let them taste suffering down to their bones."
"The bait has already been cast. Next, we just wait for those big fish to bite one after another."
"Before that, Sunagakure has been leaderless for some time. Its economy