Kushina

After hearing Karn's question, Xia Chuan glanced toward the entrance, then beckoned to the red-haired girl outside.

"Boss, this is Kushina. She's been coming to the shop a lot these past two days to buy chocolate and candy."

Once Kushina came over, Xia Chuan introduced her to Karn with a soft smile.

A candidate Jinchūriki, huh. Karn nodded. He had no intention of getting close to Kushina or deliberately distancing himself from her. He simply told Xia Chuan, "So she's a customer. You take care of her, then, Xia Chuan."

"Are you the owner?" Kushina suddenly asked. "I'd like to buy a lot of chocolate at once. Can I?"

Karn looked at Kushina, then pretended to size her up as he asked, "As long as you have the money, you can buy it. You could even buy all the chocolate in the storeroom."

"As long as I can buy it. Thanks, boss."

With that, Kushina pulled a stack of banknotes from her pocket and placed it on the counter.

Karn picked them up and counted them. They were two-hundred-ryō notes, and Kushina had brought a full five thousand ryō to buy chocolate. That really was a lot for a child.

After counting the money, Karn put the five thousand ryō in the drawer and said, "Five thousand ryō, so twenty-five bars of chocolate. Xia Chuan, pack them up for this customer."

But before Karn finished speaking, Kushina angrily slapped the counter and demanded loudly, "Boss, why only twenty-five bars? Last time, I bought ten bars for a thousand ryō. I should get fifty this time!"

Karn looked surprised. "Oh-ho, you're pretty good at arithmetic."

Kushina scratched her head bashfully. "Oh, not really... Wait, flattering me won't help, boss! You should give me fifty bars of chocolate. Don't cheat me out of my money."

"Unfortunately, I'm not cheating you. We just decided to raise the prices of some items before you arrived."

Karn shrugged helplessly, then took the five thousand ryō back out of the drawer and told Kushina, "Chocolate now costs two hundred ryō a bar. If you don't want to buy it, I'll give you your money back."

Two hundred ryō for a bar of chocolate was rather expensive. Aside from tasting good and being high in calories, there was nothing special about it. But to people with a sweet tooth, chocolate really mattered more than meals.

Especially since Karn was the only one who had it. There were very few other sweets in Konoha, so chocolate truly was the cream of the crop. A higher price was perfectly reasonable.

Besides, this stuff was never meant to be sold to ordinary civilians. Children from Konoha's ninja clans were currently its main consumers.

"Two hundred ryō a bar? That's way too expensive."

Conflict showed on Kushina's little face. She had only managed to bring five thousand ryō by asking Tsunade and Nawaki for money. She hadn't been in Konoha long, and her only relative was Mito Uzumaki. She was still staying with the Senju Clan and didn't have much money of her own.

But Kushina felt too embarrassed to ask Grandma Mito for money.

"Kushina, what do you need money for?"

"I want snacks!"

That was too embarrassing. Kushina couldn't bear even imagining that scene. But she really liked this sweet, silky treat, expensive as it was. After agonizing over it for a while, she finally pushed the money back and said, "Then I'll buy twenty-five."

Chocolate was very popular. If she didn't buy it, it would soon sell out.

Karn took the money back, then told Kushina with a show of reluctance, "Since you like it so much... Xia Chuan, give this customer thirty bars of chocolate. From now on, give her one free for every five she buys, with no limit."

"Really?"

Joy immediately spread across Kushina's face. She then bowed to Karn and thanked him.

"Thank you, boss. You're such a good person."

Watching Kushina thank him, Karn couldn't help laughing inwardly. That's how suckers are. Take advantage of them, then toss them a little favor, and they'll sincerely thank the person who fleeced them.

Kushina left happily with her chocolate. Although she hadn't gotten the fifty bars she'd imagined, she had still gained five extra.

After Kushina left, Karn took Xia Chuan to the shop next door, planning to get it cleaned up as well so he could sell everyday medicines and medical supplies, such as bandages and cotton swabs.

When Xia Chuan heard his plans, she asked in slight surprise, "Boss, are you planning to sell medicine here?"

Karn nodded. "That's right. We might hire another three people then. Get this place cleaned up in two days, and we'll open in three."

"In that case, boss, I have someone to recommend. His name is Jiekang Weilai. He knows a little Medical Ninjutsu, but he lost a hand on the battlefield, so he's no longer a ninja."

Xia Chuan spoke somewhat cautiously. The man she mentioned was her friend's husband. Although he had received compensation when he stopped being a ninja, that money had long since run out. Missing a hand meant he couldn't even do manual labor, and without being able to form hand seals, he couldn't use Medical Ninjutsu either. He barely scraped by on his wife's support, but depending on her left him deeply ashamed, and he had gradually sunk into despondency.

"He knows Medical Ninjutsu? That's perfect. He'll get the same pay and benefits as you. Ask him if he'd like to come."

Karn agreed immediately. A resident doctor only needed to be able to talk, and besides, the man still had one usable hand. The other two employees could handle the physical work. If the man hadn't lost an arm, Karn would never have gotten an opportunity like this.

"I'll leave finding the other two to you as well, Xia Chuan. Just don't hire anyone who cuts corners or shirks work."

Delighted, Xia Chuan promptly replied, "Don't worry, boss. I won't let you down."

Times were hard. In Konoha, only ninjas enjoyed privileged status, and during the war, even Konoha's finances were strained, let alone those of ordinary people.

Why did most people long for peace? Because war not only took their families away, but left them unable to put food on the table.

After getting his approval, Xia Chuan asked Karn for some time off to find Jiekang Weilai and two other shop assistants. Karn agreed to that as well, taking over payment collection until she returned.

Going forward, Karn couldn't stay in Konoha forever. Once the war gradually drew to a close, he would have to expand his influence elsewhere, first establishing a firm foothold in the Land of Fire, then slowly encroaching on the Small Countries.

Medicine and food could certainly bring in a lot of money, but Konoha had temporarily monopolized his pharmaceutical business. He could trade in food, but accumulating capital that way would be slow.

"The entertainment industry is worth considering. Novels should have a decent market in the Shinobi World. Even Jiraiya can make so much money from a few novels, and I have an entire world's worth of masters behind me. I could practically spark a renaissance in the Shinobi World."

Once Karn thought of novels, he decided it was a good plan. Most importantly, he had already brought ten Japanese novels with him, and it wouldn't require much effort on his part. All he had to do was drop off a couple of novels at a bookstore every so often, then sit back and collect the money.

Eventually, Karn could extend his reach throughout the entertainment industry and control the direction of public opinion in the Shinobi World.