"Boss! Boss! We're rich! We've struck it big!"
Kakuzu pushed open the tea room door, waving his arms and dancing with excitement.
Inside the tea room, Tetsuya and Izuna sipped their tea with perfect composure.
"Kakuzu, calm down. You need to learn to stay calm. As long as the Ninja World hasn't been destroyed, we should take everything in stride. Understood?"
"I understand, boss. I got too excited."
Kakuzu took several deep breaths before he finally managed to calm himself down.
Sure enough, choosing to follow the boss had been the best decision he had ever made.
The money they had made this time alone by stockpiling grain and iron ore was probably more than he could earn by completing every job at the Bounty Station.
"Come, sit down. Have some tea."
Tetsuya poured Kakuzu a cup of tea.
Kakuzu sat down, took a sip, and spoke.
"Boss, several groups have already approached us. They want us to sell them iron ore, and they're willing to pay thirty percent extra."
"How many groups?"
Kakuzu thought back carefully.
"Hmm, four groups. People from all the Four Great Shinobi Villages other than Kirigakure have come. Boss, should I hold an auction and let them bid against each other?"
There was no denying it: whenever making money was involved, Kakuzu's mind came alive.
A full-scale shinobi war was about to break out, yet this guy was still thinking about gathering people from the Four Great Shinobi Villages for an auction to make money.
Tetsuya shook his head.
"No, that would be going a little too far. It could get us into trouble."
"Then should we just sell at the price they offered?"
"No. Here's what you do: tell them to add another five percent."
"Understood."
Kakuzu nodded. Even if it was only another five percent, with their current stockpile, that would still be a considerable sum.
"Oh, and remember to give all four roughly equal amounts. Don't sell exclusively to any one village, and don't shortchange any of them either. Understood?"
"I understand."
With that reply, Kakuzu hurried off excitedly.
Izuna asked a question.
"Why sell roughly equal amounts to all four? Couldn't we sell everything to just one of them?"
Tetsuya smiled.
"That's called balance. Given our current stockpile of iron ore and the price we're asking, no single village can afford to buy all the iron we have.
"Besides, even if someone really could buy our entire stockpile, think about how many ninja tools could be made from all that iron. If that many ninja tools were put into use in the war, they would probably have a substantial effect on its course.
"I don't want any one side gaining too great an advantage. After all, the longer they fight, the more we can earn, right?"
Hearing Tetsuya's words, Izuna couldn't help marveling.
"You really are frightening. In a Shinobi World War, the ninja of every village pay with their blood and lives, but to you, it's just business. If they found out, they'd probably stop at nothing to kill you."
"Hey, that's not fair. Was I the one who started this war?"
Tetsuya spread his hands and shrugged.
"No, they started it themselves. I want peace in the Ninja World too, so I can do business in peace. But they don't want that. They're the ones who decided to go to war. I've just taken advantage of it to make a little money. I'm a merchant, after all. What merchant doesn't try to make money?"
Izuna said nothing. He raised his cup and took a sip of tea, remaining silent for a long time before finally speaking.
"This might not be what you want to hear, but I can't resurrect Madara Uchiha just yet."
Izuna frowned at those words.
"My ability to resurrect people has restrictions. There's a specific resurrection order, and I can only bring people back in that order."
"Then who can you resurrect now?"
Tetsuya grinned.
"Another old acquaintance of yours. Tobirama Senju."
"That inherently evil Tobirama Senju! Why does it have to be him?!"
The name immediately sent anger surging through Izuna. That wretched white-haired bastard! Even in death, he could never forget how Tobirama had ambushed him and stabbed him in the back. This was a mortal grudge in the most literal sense—he had actually been killed by him.
"Why does it have to be him? Can't you resurrect someone else first?"
Tetsuya spread his hands.
"No. That's also why I didn't resurrect a second person even after I'd saved enough money. Once I resurrect Tobirama Senju, he'll most likely run straight back to Konoha and help it develop."
Uchiha Izuna clenched his fists, stood up, and began pacing.
"How about this? You resurrect him, and then the two of us team up and kill him."
Hearing that, all Tetsuya could say was, "Amazing."
That logic was truly something else. Bring the man back to life, then kill him again.
"I'm afraid that won't work. Since I resurrected you, none of you can die as long as I'm alive."
Tetsuya left the rest unsaid: with his Evil God Immortal Body, he theoretically couldn't die.
"Then how about sealing him away?"
"Well, why don't we wait until the Shinobi World War is over before discussing this?"
"All right."
Izuna sighed.
"Sealing him probably wouldn't work either. With that inherently evil Tobirama Senju's talents, I doubt any seal could hold him.
"As much as I hate to admit it, his mind is just a tiny bit sharper than most people's. Give him enough time, and who knows what kind of jutsu formulas he'll come up with.
"After all, he even managed to develop an underhanded technique like the Flying Thunder God Slash."
Tetsuya smiled. Clearly, Izuna's resentment toward Tobirama ran far deeper than normal.
What would happen if he found out I'd used his name to save Tobirama's life?
After giving it some thought, Tetsuya decided it would be better not to tell him.
The conflicts in the Ninja World grew increasingly severe. With large quantities of iron ore and grain in hand, the Shinobi Villages poured even more resources into the front lines. They had food and equipment—if they didn't increase their investment now, what were they waiting for? For someone else to do it first?
What the villages probably never imagined, however, was that they weren't the only ones who had purchased grain and iron ore. Still less did they imagine that all their purchases came from the same person.
The wealth of the Four Great Shinobi Villages flowed into one man's hands at the same time, and Kakuzu, who collected the payments, nearly laughed himself to death.
"Boss, we're rich! We really are rich! The money from all four villages is in our hands. I wouldn't have dared dream of this!"
Kakuzu placed the Sealing Scroll on the tea table, grinning so broadly that the corners of his mouth nearly reached the back of his head.
Tetsuya smiled, opened the scroll, and checked it. Everything sealed inside was money.
Even he couldn't help feeling a little excited at the sight of so much money.
Putting down the scroll, he asked warily.
"Good work. You didn't leave any loose ends for them to catch, did you?"
"Don't worry, boss. They'll never discover that the person selling to all of them is actually the same man."
As he spoke, Kakuzu flashed a sly grin.
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