Yakushi Nonō

Kakuzu ultimately agreed to Karn's proposal. It offered him every advantage and no downside, chief among them how easy the work would be. Most casino patrons were ordinary people, with very few ninja among them. Even if someone caused trouble, Kakuzu could handle it effortlessly.

Beyond that, partnering with Karn's casino gave Kakuzu another steady source of income. Even if an entire month passed without incident, Karn would still pay him three million ryo.

Kakuzu's expression brightened considerably when he heard those terms. Although his mask left only his green eyes exposed, both Karn and Xia Chuan got that impression.

Three million ryo a month was a small sum to Karn. Once his casino opened, it would account for only a tiny portion of its turnover. What mattered most was having a Kage-level ninja on call.

To make contacting him easier, Kakuzu even stationed one of his contacts in Kawaki Town specifically to relay messages. Whenever he was needed, he could generally return within a day or two, unless he was particularly far from the Land of Fire.

For the initial phase, Karn planned to open a casino in each of two locations: Kawaki Town and Tanzaku Town. He had already scouted the sites and sent Xia Chuan over to handle the preliminary preparations and recruitment. During the fifteen days Karn had been away, the Confectionery Factory had produced goods that met his standards, and they tasted almost exactly like those he had brought over.

With the recipes and ingredients essentially unchanged, the flavors naturally remained the same.

Karn was quite pleased with the Confectionery Factory's performance, but its limited stock of ingredients had soon been used up. Some of the chocolate produced during that period was sent to the Karn Food Store in Konoha, while the rest was sold locally in Kawaki Town.

The prices were just as steep as those in Konoha. Karn's objective had been clear from the start: ordinary people should focus on filling their stomachs rather than eating snacks.

Once he had more or less settled his affairs in the Shinobi World, Karn made a trip back to the Marvel Universe.

There was little in the Marvel Universe that required Karn's attention, apart from his pharmaceutical wholesale and trading company. While he had been away, his salespeople had closed three deals, bringing the company its first revenue.

Market research also showed that certain countries had a considerable demand for pharmaceuticals. If his company could fully capture those markets, its annual revenue would reach five to six hundred million dollars.

Karn offered encouragement and stepped up efforts to poach staff and expand the company's workforce. He also interviewed three prospective assistants, though only one passed and became his administrative assistant at the pharmaceutical wholesale and trading company, responsible for carrying out his orders.

That would make things much easier for Karn. In the future, he would only have to issue instructions, and his assistant would oversee their execution.

Beyond that, little progress had been made elsewhere. At the very least, there was still no news of Killian and Maya, the two people Karn most wanted to recruit. He did not even know whether they were in the United States.

After returning, Karn commissioned someone to purchase a large number of gambling machines and other gambling equipment. Since the language settings needed minor alterations, he waited nearly half a month. During that time, however, he took care of everything else, including the ingredients the Confectionery Factory needed and managing his personal connections.

Karn even found time to relax, finally fulfilling his promise to Carl by finishing their saved game with her. Once they cleared it, however, Carl found the experience rather dull. Several new games had already come out, yet she was still playing one from last year.

There was nothing in the Marvel Universe that required Karn's attention for the moment. Things were still relatively peaceful, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reach did not extend to monitoring the every move of everyone in the United States. Besides, it had plenty of internal problems of its own; it could practically be called Hydra's S.H.I.E.L.D. branch.

What Karn had always worried about was The Ancient One of Kamar-Taj coming to find him. The Sorcerer Supreme possessed the Time Stone and could see many future timelines. If she became curious about his frequent disappearances, Karn would be in some danger. Though he probably would not die, having someone discover and thoroughly unravel his greatest secret would be deeply unpleasant.

That was why Karn kept shuttling between the two worlds, not daring to let up even when he was exhausted. He wanted to gain power as soon as possible. Compared with the Shinobi World, the Marvel Universe was far more dangerous.

Whether it was an alien invasion or the purple potato monster's snap, disaster could strike at any time. Even the Avengers' early "acts of justice" had caught plenty of people in the crossfire.

Even hiding in the countryside could get an entire family killed, let alone living in New York as Karn did.

Karn gathered everything he needed and returned to the Shinobi World once again.

He first went to Kawaki Town and placed all the gambling machines and other equipment in the casino. Once they had recruited enough staff, it could open for business.

Guards were essential. Casino patrons were especially prone to causing trouble; losing so much that they saw red was not a rare occurrence but the norm. Beyond that, he needed a professional to manage the casino. Unfortunately, few people in Konoha understood gambling, so he could only have Xia Chuan ask around.

As for the homeless youths recruited by the food factory, they would need at least four or five years of training before he could entrust them with important responsibilities.

There are just too few suitable subordinates I can recruit. If possible, I'd like to get to Kimimaro and Haku first, too.

Karn sighed as he considered it. People either lacked the ability or could not earn his trust, while raising homeless orphans from scratch took time. Xia Chuan was someone he could more or less trust, but he could hardly cut her in half and put both halves to work.

That was why Karn's organization was still developing so slowly. He had money and plans, but no one to carry them out.

Right, Yakushi Nonō. That woman has considerable ability and talent. She should still be a child now. Could I recruit her before Danzo gets his hands on her?

Thinking of the woman who would later earn the title "Wandering Miko," Karn felt that Yakushi Nonō could become his most capable assistant, provided Danzo had not already taken an interest in her and she had not joined Root. Judging by her age, Yakushi Nonō should have been around ten.

Still, Karn remembered that Danzo had been on the battlefield in the Land of Rain not long ago. Even if he had returned, he would not have expanded Root's ranks so quickly. There might be a chance.

If she was attending the Ninja Academy, Karn could find an opportunity to ask Kushina about her. Kushina was an idiot anyway; even if Karn fished for information, she probably would not notice.

I should get back to Konoha and look into it as soon as possible. I can start by using a donation to the orphanage as an excuse to ask around.

With that thought, Karn immediately set off for Konoha. This was the sort of thing where acting early mattered more than waiting for the right moment. Every day he found Yakushi Nonō before Root did would improve his chances of recruiting her.