The Former Daimyos' Investments

At the settlement where the former Daimyos of the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Frost lived, money was no concern. They had achieved financial freedom, and living right in the heart of the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation meant they could buy the latest products.

That also gave them something to show off. Uchiha Mu had even introduced a Noble Service specifically for the wealthy. Even ninja had to serve them attentively, giving them all the pampering they could want.

The ninja and ordinary people serving them were delighted, too. Working here paid several times what they could earn elsewhere. For that kind of money, what was wrong with swallowing their pride?

Even so, wringing all their money out of them would take a long time. That would never do. Money hoarded by the Daimyos was nothing but a pile of wastepaper; only by circulating through the economy could it drive faster development.

Simply seizing the former Daimyos' money was out of the question. That would frighten merchants and other nobles, who might never come here again. Instead, he developed a series of success studies theories and gave them lectures.

This particular lesson covered techniques for making money by addressing unmet needs. Looking at his pile of money slowly dwindling without any income, the former Daimyo of the Land of Waterfalls decided to invest it in the village and make his money work for him. Living off his savings terrified him, but he had no qualms about tearing down the mountain of wealth and rebuilding it from scratch.

The main reason was that the lectures given by the people in the village made earning money sound far too easy, as though cash were lying on the ground waiting to be picked up. The former Daimyo of the Land of Waterfalls hired ninja to investigate the village's dining options.

There were very few-just a noodle shop. They had tried the stir-fried dishes Uchiha Mu had first developed for them, and they were delicious. Those novel ingredients, in particular, took on a distinctive flavor when stir-fried.

Of course, Uchiha Mu had used the Transformation Technique while giving those lectures, but not when cooking. After all, starting businesses and spending money could lead to losses. Once they lost money, they would resent whoever had lectured them. He, Uchiha Mu, could not take the blame for that.

The investigation's results were clear: the village still did not have a single stir-fry restaurant, and demand was considerable. Although the factories provided meals, they only served two a day, and after eating the same food for so long, people were bound to get tired of it.

As for ninja carrying out other missions, they either brought food from home or bought Soldier Pills. Even with their improved taste, Soldier Pills were still Soldier Pills.

Shopping Street had too many snack stalls, and the Daimyo could not get a firm grasp on the people browsing there, so he decided to meet the needs of the earlier groups first. He then spent a substantial sum taking over five storefronts, choosing locations near factories, the village gates, the Ninja Academy, and routes people had to take to work.

The restaurants were packed as soon as they opened. After selling their lands to Uchiha Mu, the former Daimyos had nothing left but money, and naturally, they spent it enjoying themselves. They were therefore extremely particular about food and drink.

Uchiha Mu had also told him he could advertise with a claim like, "Even the Daimyo praised it after trying it." The moment he put that into practice, he attracted a flood of diners.

Seeing the former Daimyo of the Land of Waterfalls making money, the former Daimyo of the Land of Frost refused to fall behind. He leased numerous houses and went into the lodging business, catering specifically to people from other villages and visiting merchants. The village already offered accommodations, but they were not comfortable enough.

He spent a considerable sum renovating and remodeling them, naturally attracting merchants with money to spare. He made money as well, though not as quickly as the former Daimyo of the Land of Waterfalls, so he kept investigating what other businesses he could pursue.

He still focused on clothing, food, housing, and transportation. By offering rewards for information, he learned that no one had entered the clothing business yet. Most people bought fabric and made clothes at home, but Uchiha Mu had promoted the idea that women could earn money just like anyone else.

With both partners earning money, no one was left at home to make clothes. Some people had considered opening clothing shops, of course, but concerns about the village's stability kept them from taking the plunge.

The former Daimyo of the Land of Frost cared nothing about that. He immediately spent money setting up a factory, bought more than a dozen sewing machines, and hired people of different builds to serve as models for making clothes.

Uchiha Mu had taught him this, too: using templates and standardization could save considerable costs. He soon produced several clothing lines, and they looked good. One could question the Daimyos' character, but not their taste.

With the former Daimyos entering the market that year, merchants and others who had brought ill-gotten gains or simply had some money to spare began investing in the village as well. This greatly reduced Uchiha Mu's expenses while bringing in a substantial amount of tax revenue.

It was the first real step toward developing the village. In this respect, Konoha barely managed to keep pace thanks to the shinobi clans' businesses. The other great nations could not; their villages had to foot the entire bill.

Uchiha Mu was now leading the entire shinobi world. However, he had not released any figures, so most outsiders knew little about the situation there. With the various new products he introduced being sold throughout the Five Great Nations and the smaller nations, they knew only that the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Village was extraordinarily wealthy.

They had no real concept of just how wealthy it was. Still, they all kept one thing in mind: once something happened to Uchiha Mu, they would immediately carve up the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Village. For now, they considered that money merely deposited there for safekeeping.

Why did the great nations not mind the Land of Iron being a neutral nation? Simple: it was too poor. Invading it would not even recoup the cost, so they let it remain neutral.

For now, because of Uchiha Mu's presence, they accepted the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation's status as a neutral nation.

Konoha.

"Lord Tobirama, word has come from the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Village. Uchiha Mu has left." A masked Anbu ninja reported to Tobirama Senju.

The Anbu had also originated in the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation, though Uchiha Mu had actually copied the idea from him. Tobirama did not know that. He had simply seen that the department established by the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation worked well and created one himself. As for plagiarism, the shinobi world had no such concept.

Otherwise, people whose Ninjutsu had been copied by the Sharingan would have thrown a fit long ago.

"Have you confirmed his objective?" Tobirama Senju asked.

"We're not sure, but he appears to be headed for the Land of Lightning."

"Going to the Land of Lightning at a time like this... do we have any intelligence from there?" Tobirama Senju frowned deeply. As the man who respected the Uchiha Clan most, he always thought several steps ahead whenever Uchiha Mu made a move, trying to determine his ultimate objective.

"Yes. Many people in the Land of Lightning have died fighting a giant two-tailed cat," one of them said. Since all the great nations stationed spies and intelligence gatherers in other countries, Kumogakure would have a hard time concealing it.

Unless Kumogakure could kill a tailed beast instantly, as Uchiha Mu could with a single glance, there was bound to be a commotion. If the Seven-Tails had not appeared in the village, the other nations would never have known that Uchiha Mu had acquired him.

"That fellow Uchiha Mu is after the Two-Tails. Gather information on the other tailed beasts as well, and notify Kumogakure that Uchiha Mu is heading their way." Tobirama Senju was willing to do anything that might obstruct Uchiha Mu.

In his eyes, Uchiha Mu was more dangerous than Madara Uchiha-no, more dangerous than the entire Uchiha Clan. It was not just his strength, but his ideas as well. Whether Tobirama could stop him or not, he had to make sure things did not go so smoothly for him.

"Yes." The Anbu ninja immediately left, intending to send the message through a Summoning Beast. That method would get the intelligence to its destination quickly.