Back in the Hokage Universe

Karn held off on selling the gold. It was not the right time yet, and he still had plenty of savings.

Getting licensed as a wholesale distributor of medicine and food was difficult, but professional companies could handle the legwork for Karn. Besides, this was the year 2000, and many places around the world faced medicine shortages. Pharmaceutical wholesaling was only just taking off in the United States, while Karn had his sights set on regions beyond its borders.

Word that Karn wanted to start a medicine and food wholesale trading company had also begun to spread. Those who heard about it were only mildly surprised before putting it out of their minds.

Old Pent had built a sizable private hospital from nothing. Although Karn had inherited shares in it, he had little interest in hospital management. Now that he had set his sights on pharmaceutical wholesale trading, it seemed reasonable enough when people thought about it. At least it had some connection to the Pent family's business.

"Money really does flow like water."

Karn calculated his expenses over the past few days. The company had been established smoothly, and the applications for pharmaceutical wholesaling and trading licenses were progressing well. He had even poached several people with experience in pharmaceutical wholesaling and international trade.

Karn had also made arrangements for an accountant and a lawyer.

Once all the paperwork was approved, Karn's company could get moving. It was only meant to serve as a cover in the early stages. Once his biopharmaceutical company got off the ground, this company would become dispensable.

For now, Karn only hoped that the Hokage Universe's Medical Ninjutsu would give him a pleasant surprise when it came to drug development. As far as he remembered, ninja seemed to die only in battle. During the various wars in the shinobi world, the Sand Ninja's puppeteers had invented so many poisons, yet every one had ultimately been countered. If a Medical Ninja of Tsunade's caliber researched terminal illnesses such as cancer, surely she could develop effective cures.

Over the past few days, apart from showing his face at school once, Karn had been busy with his company and the futures market. The company swallowed money, so he had to earn it back through futures trading. After he and Carl spent entire nights researching and tracking the market, the two had made over two million dollars on gold and oil alone.

Profiting from war had troubled Karn's conscience for a dozen or so seconds, but the money was undeniably sweet. Seeing the substantial increase in their account balance, Karn, Carl, and Connor opened a bottle of champagne to condemn the war. Although Karn and Carl were underage, Connor still let them have two glasses.

The pharmaceutical wholesale trading company was also progressing steadily. Its licenses and other approvals had not yet come through, but it was only a matter of time. Karn discussed their next steps with the employees he had recruited, so the company could begin operating as soon as its pharmaceutical wholesaling permits were approved.

Their initial targets were Mexico, West Asia, and similar regions. As long as they were careful, they could make a sizable profit by shipping medicine there. Karn also offered his sales staff generous commissions. Anyone willing to venture out could make money-serious money.

After Karn left world trading coordinates in the Hokage Universe, the Trading System entered a cooldown. Unless something unexpected happened, he would need at least two years before he could search for the next trading world.

But Karn was in no hurry. The Hokage Universe would give him plenty of room to grow for a while.

Since returning, Karn's schedule had been packed. On the tenth day, he checked the goods in his Spatial Backpack, then used the Trading System to travel to the Hokage Universe again.

"I'd like to check out."

After leaving the inn in Kawaki Town, Karn headed to his rented warehouse, planning to hire another group of workers to haul the goods to Konoha.

"Only about two days have passed here. What a strange time ratio. Still, that works out nicely. I get plenty of time in both worlds."

To be safe, Karn first went to Konoha and posted a mission request. Only after a squad of Konoha Chunin arrived in Kawaki Town did he hire wagons to transport the goods to Konoha. Kawaki Town was not far from Konoha, but he had a considerable amount to transport. Hiring ninja was a safety measure too. If they encountered bandits, the ninja would protect Karn, while Karn protected the cargo.

The journey was uneventful. It was still wartime, and Konoha took clearing out nearby enemies very seriously.

When they reached the Konoha Gate, the ninja stationed there inspected the cargo and let them through.

Karn had the convoy go straight to his two shops, then arranged for the goods to be unloaded.

"Boss, is this a new shipment?"

When the shop manager, Xia Chuan, saw Karn arrive outside the shop with the convoy, she hurried out to ask. Her full name should actually have been Xia Chuan Senju, but she had stopped using the Senju surname when she was very young.

"Yes, it's a new shipment. Here's the inventory list. Match it against the labels on the crates and restock the shelves. Put the rest in the warehouse out back." There was a large room at the rear specifically for storing goods, along with Karn's own living quarters. A side entrance led out onto the street.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had mortgaged all four nearby buildings to Karn. Otherwise, Konoha would have had to pay cash for the medicine, making its already strained finances even worse.

Karn handed Xia Chuan an inventory list, then entered the shop to look things over.

Many items were missing from the shelves. They had sold so much in just a few days, and quite a few shelves were completely empty. Xia Chuan would never slack off, so it seemed they had exhausted their stock. Karn did some calculations in his head. Supplies were clearly still scarce, which meant he could raise the prices a little. If the war continued, even flour could fetch the price flour deserved.

After Xia Chuan had the workers move all the goods into the warehouse, she began gradually restocking the shelves.

Karn picked up the account book for the past few days and looked through it, then called Xia Chuan over. He marked nearly half the products on the list and told her to raise their prices by fifty percent. The prices of the remaining goods would go up by twenty-five percent.

Xia Chuan's eyes widened slightly at his decision. "Boss, do we really have to raise them... that much?"

Karn sighed, wearing the familiar helpless expression of a capitalist. "There's no other choice, Xia Chuan. We're at war, and the situation outside is having a serious impact. Without a ninja escort, I wouldn't dare transport goods on my own."

Xia Chuan considered his words. Most of the other shops in Konoha had sold out of their goods. Only her boss, Karn, could still bring supplies in from outside, and hiring ninja was an expense too.

When she thought of it that way, it did seem reasonable.

"Xia Chuan, I know what you're worried about."

Karn leaned a little closer and lowered his voice. "The shop staff and some of your relatives can buy things at the original prices, but don't let word get out."

"Th-thank you, boss!"

Xia Chuan was about to bow in thanks, but Karn waved her off. Winning a little goodwill with a few small favors was worthwhile. Besides, he would certainly need more staff once the business expanded. He could hire all the ordinary people who had given up the Senju name, doing Tsunade a favor in the process. That would also count in his favor when he asked her to research medicines in the future.

"Xia Chuan, what's that girl doing?"

After settling that matter, Karn gestured toward the red-haired girl peeking through the doorway. She had spent quite some time looking in without entering.