A visit from Tsunade

After Karn returned to the Shinobi World, Xia Chuan happened to have some good news for him.

During the few days he had been away, Xia Chuan had reached an agreement with the civilians of the four villages around Kawaki Town to grow cocoa trees.

They would buy back the cocoa beans at a high price, and the Karn Food Store would also give the growers priority access to grain at a low price. A little arithmetic was all it took to see that the profits would be considerably higher than growing grain.

As long as there was money to be made, the civilians of the Shinobi World would flock to it. All four villages had agreed to grow cocoa trees.

"Good work, Xia Chuan. Putting you in charge of the Confectionery Factory really was the right choice."

Xia Chuan smiled bashfully at his praise and replied, "Not at all. I'm only doing my job."

This was good news for Karn, saving him a considerable amount of time.

Construction of the Confectionery Factory was almost complete as well. When no one was looking, Karn placed the machines for making chocolate and other sweets in the warehouse. If anyone found out, they would at most suspect that he had used something similar to a sealing scroll, while the people of Konoha would only become more suspicious of his background.

After taking out the production line, Karn called Xia Chuan and the other four over and handed them the machines' instruction manuals. Then he personally walked them through the process many times.

"This is the power button. Press it, and the machine starts running. Pour the ingredients in here, then wait. After that, package it and put it in boxes, and the chocolate is done."

After several explanations and a practical demonstration, the other four more or less understood how the machines worked. Still, they would need plenty of hands-on practice before they could truly master operating the production line.

He could not afford to be careless about this. When he opened branch factories in the future, these four would be in charge of them. As for Xia Chuan, Karn had more important work for her.

Karn stayed in Kawaki Town for another two days. Besides teaching them to operate the machines, he also finalized the arrangements for growing cocoa trees. Once planted, they would not yield a harvest until next year at the earliest.

He had brought relatively little this time, so the chocolate they produced would probably only provide enough stock for a little over a month. Milk and sugar also had to be purchased in the Shinobi World. Next time, Karn could bring ingredients into the Shinobi World in bulk, or produce chocolate sweets with a local touch.

Kunai-shaped chocolates, shuriken-shaped chocolates, or gummy forehead protectors, for example. All he needed was a few new molds. Those would definitely be popular. Ninjas attracted plenty of attention in this world, and whenever war broke out, it affected the livelihoods of an entire nation.

Once nearly everything in Kawaki Town had been taken care of, Xia Chuan returned to Konoha.

There was a brief inspection at the Konoha Gate, but Karn and his convoy were soon allowed inside.

Not long after entering Konoha, Karn noticed something unusual about the atmosphere. Joy and sorrow seemed to coexist. Quite a few people were dressed in black, as though preparing to pay their respects to family members.

Presumably, all the ninjas from the battlefield in the Land of Rain had withdrawn. Both the living and the dead had become heroes.

Should I launch a Hero Chocolate?

Karn considered it, then shook his head and rejected the idea. Profiting off the dead was not so easy. It would be a headache if it led to disputes and boycotts.

After returning to the Karn Food Store, he told Miwa to move all the goods into the warehouse. Kawaki Miwa had taken over from Xia Chuan as the store manager, and she was very reliable. At the very least, running this one store posed no difficulty for her.

Business at the food store was still good, but a store in a single village would inevitably reach a ceiling. Sooner or later, the sweets produced by the Kawaki Town Sweets Factory would have to be sold throughout the Shinobi World. Ninjas were a fairly well-off group, but the richest customers were still the nobles, merchants, and wealthy civilians, who far outnumbered the ninjas.

"Miwa, arrange for people to start making deliveries according to the last preorder list in a little while. You can handle things yourselves after that."

He had spent three busy days working since his return, and Karn felt a little tired. He was probably the most miserable capitalist around. Despite being worth tens of millions of dollars, he still had to handle business himself. Ever since obtaining the system, he had not had a proper rest in a long time.

Noticing a trace of fatigue on Karn's face, Kawaki Miwa suggested softly, "Boss, if you're feeling worn out, why not take a soak in a hot spring? It's a very easy way to relieve fatigue."

Soaking in a hot spring when tired was something everyone in the Shinobi World accepted. There was even a small country called the Land of Hot Water, famous for its natural hot springs. Supposedly, soaking there over a long period could extend one's life.

That sales pitch attracted many nobles and wealthy merchants from across the Shinobi World. They visited several times almost every year.

Karn, however, was not particularly interested. He knew how to spin a sales pitch himself, and claims about hot springs extending people's lives were nonsense as far as he was concerned. He would rather spend that time taking a bath at home and getting some proper rest.

"No need, Miwa. I'll go rest out back for a while. Come get me if anything comes up."

With that, Karn headed toward the courtyard at the back. Besides resting, he needed to think about what to do next.

Orochimaru probably began researching forbidden techniques around the time of the Third Shinobi World War. Right now, he had not yet watched anyone close to him die before his eyes, so his thoughts on life had not become quite so profound. If Karn remembered correctly, Orochimaru's original dream had been to learn every ninjutsu in the world. Only after Nawaki's death had he turned his thoughts to immortality.

Calling Orochimaru talented at biological research hardly did him justice. He had been born for it.

How much time had passed between the start of his experiments and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations? In less than fifty years, he had gone from a ninja to an expert in biological research: gene transplantation, human cloning, soul transfer, regeneration techniques, and finally, growing younger as he aged.

He had accomplished all of that on his own, with at most Kabuto Yakushi assisting him.

Within six years, Karn had to produce research that delved deeply enough into the human body to hook Orochimaru. Then Karn would provide the manpower and funding, while Orochimaru supplied the expertise. At every stage, Orochimaru would have to share his results with him. Karn was not worried about Orochimaru holding anything back, either. He would certainly recruit a team of experts in biological research in the Marvel Universe.

After his bath, Karn planned to have a cup of black tea and rest for a while. With the war nearing its end, Konoha probably would not buy medicine from him this time. They likely did not have much money left, either.

In that case, Karn planned to open a pharmacy in the capital of the Land of Fire. First, however, he intended to find a retired Medical Ninja in Konoha, even one who knew only a little Medical Ninjutsu. He would need to ask Jiekang Weilai about that.

While Karn was lost in thought, footsteps suddenly sounded outside.

Kawaki Miwa came to the door and asked, "Boss, Jonin Tsunade would like to visit you. Shall I let her in?"