I'm a businessman-what's the fun in all that fighting?

The Capital City of the Land of Fire, Chiba Grand Hotel.

"I'm back! Did you miss me?"

Returning to the Tea Room on the hotel's second floor, Tetsuya pushed the door wide open and greeted them with a hearty laugh.

Izuna, who was sipping tea behind the coffee table, did not even raise his head.

Kakuzu, however, was sitting to one side leafing through the account books. At the sound of Tetsuya's voice, he sprang to his feet in excitement.

"Boss, you're back!"

His hands trembled uncontrollably around the account book when he saw Tetsuya.

At the sight, Izuna could not help rolling his eyes. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought his name was Hyuga Izuna.

"Where did you find this weirdo? He's a total money grubber. The moment he arrived, he demanded to see the books. If he hadn't been holding a key, anyone would have thought he was here to make trouble."

When Kakuzu arrived at the Chiba Grand Hotel with the key, Izuna had mistaken him for a thief and promptly brought him under control with his Sharingan.

Only after questioning him carefully did Izuna discover that Tetsuya had recruited him and given him a key.

Izuna had asked why he had chosen to come in the middle of the night, only for the man to reply that he was used to it.

Fortunately for him, this was Uchiha Izuna, not his older brother, Madara Uchiha.

Otherwise, Kakuzu would have been a pile of ashes by now.

"Oh, I ran into Kakuzu on my way back to Konoha. He wanted to take my head to a Bounty Station and collect the reward. I thought he had some talent, so I recruited him to work for me."

"Thank you for recognizing my worth, boss."

Kakuzu felt no shame whatsoever. Instead, he was immensely proud to have earned Tetsuya's approval.

After reading the account books, he had finally realized that money could be made like this. A single table of food brought in as much as one of his missions.

A mission could easily cost him a heart or two if things went wrong. Here, there was no need for that. He only had to sit and wait for the money to roll in.

Had Tetsuya known what Kakuzu was thinking, he would have told him one thing.

That was perfectly normal. Ordinary people could not begin to imagine how the wealthy lived. Some spent enough on a single meal to support someone else for a lifetime.

"Anyway, why did you come back so soon? Finished watching the fun?"

Tetsuya sat down beside him and poured himself a cup of tea.

"No. I went back too early. The fun hasn't started yet."

"It hasn't started yet? Did those people from Kumogakure cancel their operation?"

"They've only been considering it. They haven't actually made a move yet. From the looks of it, they're still gathering intelligence. After all, Konoha is currently the strongest shinobi village in the Five Great Nations. Recklessly attacking its people could provoke retaliation."

After the first war ended, Konoha had suffered the least damage of any village. The other second-generation Kage were all gone, while Konoha's was still alive.

With Tobirama Senju surviving, Konoha had demanded considerable benefits from the defeated villages, offsetting the losses inflicted by the war and keeping the village's development steady.

Now, Konoha was the strongest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and possessed the greatest war potential. Its position in the fertile Land of Fire only made its development smoother.

However, that had also drawn the envy and covetous attention of the other shinobi villages.

"Still, this Konoha trip wasn't a complete waste. I picked up some pretty explosive news."

"What news?"

Izuna gave him a curious look. Ever since his resurrection, he had spent his days either helping Tetsuya manage his businesses or lazing around, living an idle life.

As a proud Uchiha and a powerful Ninja, even he had begun to find those days a little dull.

Tetsuya grinned.

"Another Shinobi World War is probably about to begin. I have a feeling it'll happen within three years at most. Within three years, the Ninja World will be engulfed in bloodshed again."

At the mention of a Shinobi World War, both Izuna's and Kakuzu's expressions changed.

Kakuzu grew serious. Having witnessed the First Shinobi World War, he knew how brutal such wars could be.

Izuna, on the other hand, was excited. Battle—although he was not a battle maniac like his older brother, as an Uchiha, the thirst for combat still ran deep in his bones.

He had lived through the chaotic fighting of the Warring States Period, but back then, they had fought as clans.

Izuna was deeply curious about this new kind of Shinobi World War, fought between villages. He wanted to see how modern warfare differed from the wars of his time.

"A Shinobi World War? How interesting. Should we get involved? In what capacity? Whose side should we take? Or should we enter as an independent faction and fight all Five Great Shinobi Villages?"

Tetsuya and Kakuzu both turned to Uchiha Izuna.

Kakuzu could not help wiping away a cold sweat. So this is Madara Uchiha's younger brother? He really is that man's brother—a lunatic, just like Madara Uchiha.

Tetsuya, however, slapped the table and shouted.

"Hold it! Who are you really? How dare you possess Izuna! Confess!"

Seeing Tetsuya's reaction, Kakuzu thought someone really had possessed Izuna.

Then he saw Izuna roll his eyes at Tetsuya and give him the middle finger, both habits he had learned from Tetsuya over the years.

"Whew, you scared me! I thought someone had possessed you, Uchiha Izuna. Just the three of us entering the war and taking on all Five Great Shinobi Villages? Do you think you're your brother Madara Uchiha, and I'm Hashirama Senju?"

"You've got to be kidding me. I have no intention of fighting the entire Ninja World."

Beside them, Kakuzu nodded repeatedly in agreement. He had no desire to march off to his death right after starting to work for Boss Chiba.

"Then what do you mean?"

Izuna asked curiously.

He was so excited just now when he said a Shinobi World War was about to begin. Didn't he want to intervene in the war and make a name for himself throughout the Ninja World?

Tetsuya smiled.

"We're businessmen. What's the fun in all that fighting? What I want, of course, is to use the war to make a massive fortune."

As he spoke, he held out his right hand and rubbed his thumb against his index and middle fingers.

Kakuzu's eyes instantly lit up.

"A brilliant decision, boss."

Besides doing business with the rich and powerful, what brought in money faster, and in greater amounts?

War profiteering, of course.

"Ha ha ha, it's nothing special. Let's keep it low-key."

He waved a hand and continued.

"The question now is, since we've learned before everyone else that war will break out in the near future, how should we use that information advantage to make money?"

Kakuzu clapped his hands together.

"Boss, I have a plan."

"Oh, you have a plan? Let's hear it."

Kakuzu spoke with complete confidence.

"Stockpile grain. When war breaks out, grain is one of the supplies whose prices rise fastest. As long as we stockpile enough of it, once the war begins, we won't be sitting on grain anymore. We'll be sitting on gold!"