"Heh, be that as it may, such good sense is rare."
Naruto set down the letter, a relaxed smile on his lips, and casually instructed, "Make a note of it. Give the Land of Rain a slightly larger share of the profits going forward, as a reward for him."
"Yes." Sai nodded and noted it down.
No sooner had he spoken than the relaxed smile vanished from Naruto's face. His expression turned cold and stern, and the atmosphere around him grew heavy.
"Have your people put all those restless factions in the shadows under proper surveillance?"
Sai stiffened and immediately reported in a serious tone, "They're all under surveillance. Unfortunately, the ones testing the waters so far are all insignificant little clans and factions."
"The real major players are all keeping their heads down. Not one of them dares to test us personally."
"They don't dare come out?"
Naruto scoffed, a flicker of icy killing intent passing through his eyes. His tone was filled with disdain and regret.
"That really is a shame."
"I was hoping to use these first signs of unrest to flush out one or two Kage-level figures and crush them outright."
"They certainly know how to bide their time," Sai remarked quietly.
"Which is why these people lurking in the shadows with ulterior motives will have to be rooted out completely, sooner or later."
Naruto clasped his hands in front of him on the desk, his gaze cold and clear, looking far into the future.
"As long as they remain, the Shinobi World will never know true stability. Sooner or later, they'll interfere with Konoha making money."
"If I weren't worried about causing too much of a stir, about an all-out war plunging the Shinobi World into chaos and making it too much trouble to govern