Tetsuya nodded.
"Stockpiling food is certainly a good choice. And since we run a hotel, no one will question it even if we stockpile huge quantities."
Seeing that Tetsuya agreed with his idea, Kakuzu had already begun calculating how to stockpile food and how many granaries they would need to build.
That was Kakuzu for you. As long as there was money to be made, his enthusiasm for work was second to none.
"But besides stockpiling food, I think there's something else we could look into."
"What is it?"
Kakuzu looked at Tetsuya curiously. He, too, wanted to know what else could make them money before war broke out.
"Izuna, how did that task I gave you go?"
"Do you even need to ask? I'm Uchiha Izuna. Here's what you wanted."
Although Izuna had one of the better temperaments among the Uchiha, that distinctive pride was still etched into his bones, just as it was for every Uchiha.
As he spoke, he took several documents from the drawer of a nearby cabinet.
"This is the deed to the largest blacksmith shop in the Capital City, and these are the transfer agreements for blacksmith shops in several nearby cities. This is a contract for cooperation with the iron mines in the Land of Fire..."
As the contracts were laid out on the table one after another, Kakuzu, with his keen nose for money, immediately caught on.
"Boss, are you planning to stockpile iron ore?"
Tetsuya grinned.
"That's right. I'm planning to stockpile iron ore."
"Oh! I was wondering why you had me buy blacksmith shops. I thought you were planning to switch to selling farming tools."
It all clicked for Izuna. Although he had given the task plenty of thought when Tetsuya assigned it, he had not known then that war was about to break out in the Ninja World, so stockpiling supplies had never occurred to him.
But now that he thought it through, it made sense. Tetsuya intended to stockpile iron ore, and buying blacksmith shops was merely a cover for doing so.
"Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."
Kakuzu clicked his tongue in admiration.
"Once the major Shinobi Villages intend to go to war, they'll inevitably ramp up production of ninja tools.
Although top-tier ninja tools require rare ores in addition to Refined Iron, most of the tools shinobi use, such as senbon, kunai, and shuriken, need nothing more than Refined Iron.
As ninja tools enter large-scale production, those Shinobi Villages will need more iron ore. The more tense the situation in the Ninja World becomes, the greater the demand for it will be.
That will drive up the value of iron ore, and when the time comes, we'll be able to make another fortune from our stockpile."
"Exactly. In fact, if we get the chance, we can buy up all the iron ore circulating on the market. Then won't we be the ones deciding how it's sold and what price they pay?"
Tetsuya burst out laughing as he spoke.
Kakuzu joined in with a laugh.
"Hahaha! This is the capital monopoly you told me about before, right, boss?"
"Exactly."
Then Tetsuya looked at Kakuzu and spoke.
"Kakuzu, I have a task for you."
"Just say the word, boss. I'll give it everything I've got."
"Good."
Tetsuya took out a banknote. The figure written on it sent all five of Kakuzu's hearts racing at once.
"You've spent all these years traveling the Ninja World, so you must have plenty of connections. I need you to stockpile as much iron ore as possible from the markets in other countries."
Kakuzu took the banknote and nodded solemnly.
"Understood."
If they were going to build a monopoly, the Land of Fire alone certainly would not be enough. If they were going to do this, they might as well go big.
Even if they could not monopolize the iron ore market, they still had to stockpile the vast majority of the ore in circulation.
Tetsuya could already imagine how high iron ore prices would climb in the early days of the war, when the major Shinobi Villages began frantically forging ninja tools.
As for whether doing this would invite retaliation from the major Shinobi Villages...
What a joke. Would he be afraid of that?
For one thing, neither his strength nor Izuna's or Kakuzu's could be compared to that of ordinary Ninja.
For another, the years he had spent cultivating ties with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's mansion had not been a waste of time.
"All right, that's the plan. Kakuzu will buy up the iron ore circulating openly in countries outside the Land of Fire. I'll contact the Daimyo and have him give us priority for the ore produced by the Land of Fire's mines. Izuna, you'll be responsible for stockpiling food."
Tetsuya stood up as he spoke.
"Everyone, once the shinobi war breaks out, we'll gain wealth beyond anything we've ever seen. Are you ready to get rich?"
"I'm ready!"
Kakuzu shouted excitedly. He could practically see mountains of gold and silver beckoning to him.
Izuna, meanwhile, looked thoughtful.
"Once we finish this job, will we be able to resurrect my brother?"
Time flew by. Following his plan, Tetsuya bought up nearly all the iron ore in the Land of Fire. Kakuzu did not disappoint him either, sending a steady stream of Sealing Scrolls back from other countries. Inside those Sealing Scrolls were mountains of iron ore and Refined Iron.
Meanwhile, the Chiba Grand Hotel underwent another expansion. Under the pretext of expanding, they built granaries and filled them with vast quantities of food.
It was not just the Chiba Grand Hotel in the Capital City. The Chiba Ramen Shops, Chiba Fried Chicken Shops, and Chiba Milk Tea Shops Tetsuya had opened over the years in the Land of Fire's major prosperous cities all began stockpiling food, waiting for the Second Shinobi World War to arrive.
As time passed, development across the various countries grew increasingly uneven. As the major Shinobi Villages developed, tensions within them intensified, and militant factions within the villages began to gain influence.
What should a country or a village do when its development could no longer meet its internal needs?
There were two choices: develop its own productive capacity and increase production to meet demand.
Or wage war abroad, plundering external resources to satisfy internal needs.
Clearly, the Ninja of the villages saw only one choice: wage war abroad and use it to reconcile the tensions within their villages.
In Konoha Year 34, friction between the major nations intensified, and the smoke of war began to spread across the Ninja World.
In Konoha Year 35, a Konoha Ninja squad clashed with a squad from the Land of Earth. The two sides fought to the death, and Tetsuya's old friend, Hatake Sakuya, fell in the battle.
Hatake Sakuya's death intensified the tensions between the Shinobi Villages. More Ninja were sent to the Land of Fire's borders, including Orochimaru.
By this point, everyone in the Ninja World knew that another Shinobi World War was about to break out.
Food prices across the Ninja World skyrocketed, multiplying several times over. At the same time, the major Shinobi Villages began an arms race, ramping up production of ninja tools to prepare for the coming Shinobi World War. Iron prices soared.
When Kakuzu heard the news, he went wild with joy.
Before you continue