With the star-village interconnection policy underway, all sorts of preparations were being made...
Dave contacted the Land of Whirlpools, which still survived in its secluded corner of the world. Its daimyo, Uzumaki Ashina, had passed away a few years ago, and his son, Uzumaki Aloe, now governed the country.
Who knew how this guy had gotten his name? Well... it certainly had some spirit. Uzumaki Aloe was currently about Dave's age, in his forties.
Thanks to its friendship with Konoha since the village's founding, along with everything that had happened in between, the Land of Whirlpools was still doing well. Its development ranked second only to Konoha in the Shinobi World.
"Is this Uzumaki Aloe? It's Dave, the guy who swept your whole team in the Naruto mobile game. We're still friends in the game, too. How are things going? Interested in moving somewhere else to develop?" Dave asked over the phone.
Previously, Kakuzu had handled diplomacy with the Land of Whirlpools, exports, and all that, but this was something Dave had to address himself.
"...Don't bring up fucking Naruto!! Fuck! Just thinking about it pisses me off! How am I supposed to use my old shinobi against all those new ones? You're just rich! Where's the skill in that?! What are you getting at, Dave? You want our Land of Whirlpools to merge into Konoha?" Aloe roared on the other end, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Sorry, money's a kind of strength, too. And yes," Dave said with a chuckle.
Although the Land of Whirlpools was thriving, it still fell short compared to Konoha's development. As the clan's elders passed away one by one, their ties to Konoha would only grow weaker. Aloe understood that all too well.
Aloe also knew how many godlike beasts of burden Konoha now