The innately evil Uchiha!

Konoha, inside an office in the Hokage Building.

Tobirama Senju sat behind his desk, pen in hand as he reviewed documents.

A knock came at the door.

"Enter." Tobirama did not look up.

The Senju ninja who had been on the street earlier pushed the door open and walked in.

He stopped in front of the desk.

"Lord Tobirama, I have something to report."

"The Uchiha sold a large shipment of ninja tools to the Hyuga."

Tobirama raised his head.

The Senju ninja kept his head lowered and continued his report.

"Members of the Uchiha Clan are spreading the word all over the streets."

"They're saying the Hyuga spent two hundred million ryo, paying thirty percent above market price."

"Just to make friends with the Uchiha."

"Now the story has spread throughout Konoha."

He had turned the Hyuga down just that morning, saying that Konoha had no grain to spare, only for the Uchiha to turn around and close the deal.

After hearing the report, Tobirama's face darkened.

"The innately evil Uchiha."

Hyuga Village, in the Land of Rice Fields.

The Uchiha's shipment of ninja tools had arrived.

Crates of ninja tools were carried into the village storehouse.

On the training ground, the Hyuga ninja received new shuriken and kunai.

Many of them were smiling.

A young Hyuga ninja gripped a brand-new kunai and gave it a couple of practice swings.

"Nothing beats new gear. This feels great in my hand."

Someone beside him flung several shuriken, embedding them firmly in a wooden post.

"These are great!"

"Finally, we don't have to go picking old shuriken out of the grass every day!"

"Haha, I hear there are plenty more in the storehouse."

Shinichi stood at the edge of the training ground, watching.

This shipment of ninja tools could only meet their immediate needs for a while.

Shuriken and kunai were used up every day.

Over ten thousand shuriken and five thousand kunai sounded like a lot, but they would only last about half a year. Once they ran out, they would have to buy more sooner or later.

They had made friends with the Uchiha this time and bought a large shipment of ninja tools from them.

But with strategic supplies like ninja tools, having control over their own supply was more reassuring.

So they had to establish a ninja tool production line.

Not only could Hyuga Village use the products itself, but it could also sell them to other ninja clans or other shinobi villages.

That way, Hyuga Village would no longer rely solely on mission commissions for its income.

But establishing a ninja tool production line required raw materials.

The raw material for kunai and shuriken was iron ore.

Hyuga Village had no iron ore at all.

So he had to find a way.

Shinichi withdrew his gaze, turned, and left the training ground.

He headed into the village and entered the shop.

The shop belonged to the merchant from the Land of Fire who wore a silk shirt.

He spent the year traveling with his caravan, trading between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Fields.

He knew best where to obtain goods and how things worked along the trade routes.

The merchant was doing his accounts behind the counter.

When he looked up and saw Shinichi enter, he hurried around the counter to greet him.

He bowed, his face wreathed in smiles.

"Lord Shinichi, what brings you here in person? If you need anything, just send someone to let me know."

Shinichi dispensed with pleasantries.

He looked at the merchant and asked directly.

"Can you get iron ore?"

Hearing that business had come his way, the merchant's smile broadened.

He nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, I can."

"There are iron mines in the Land of Fire. As long as you have the money, you can buy it."

Shinichi watched him, waiting for him to continue.

The merchant returned to the counter, worked his abacus briefly, then looked up and quoted a price.

"Lord Shinichi, iron ore in the Land of Fire costs three hundred ryo per jin."

"But if you want that ore transported here to Hyuga Village..."

"Then the price will have to be fifteen hundred ryo per jin."

Shinichi said nothing when he heard the price.

Afraid that he would find it too expensive, the merchant hurried to explain with an ingratiating smile.

"Lord Shinichi, please don't think the price is high. You have to work through the costs carefully."

"To get from the Land of Fire to the Land of Rice Fields, we have to cross several large mountains."

"It's a long way, and the mountain paths are steep and difficult."

"Ore is heavy, too. A single cart can't carry very much."

"To bring the iron ore over, we have to hire carts and porters."

"Once we reach the mountain paths, we also have to hire pack animals."

"Hiring carts, people, and animals all costs money."

The merchant sighed and spread his hands.

"Besides, those of us who lead caravans are out trading from dawn until well after dark."

"We all depend on the capital we have to make a living."

"I have to earn something for my trouble on the trip, don't I?"

The merchant looked up at Shinichi, his face full of sincerity.

"Fifteen hundred ryo per jin to bring this iron ore to our Hyuga Village."

"That's already my honest bottom-line price for you."

After hearing him out, Shinichi did the calculations in his head.

In the Land of Fire, a jin of iron ore sold for only three hundred ryo.

But transporting it across the mountains to Hyuga Village in the Land of Rice Fields brought the price to fifteen hundred ryo.

Transportation costs and the merchant's profit alone came to twelve hundred ryo per jin.

That extra cost was several times the price of the ore itself.

And that was only the cost of buying the iron ore.

Forging one shuriken would use at least two or three jin of iron ore.

By that calculation, buying the ore for a single shuriken alone would cost three or four thousand ryo.

But turning the ore into a shuriken required more work besides.

The forge had to burn charcoal every day, which was another expense.

The village would also have to pay the blacksmith for his work.

With everything added together, the cost of making their own shuriken was simply too high.

It was far more expensive than buying a finished shuriken on the market for three thousand ryo.

Buying ore to forge their own was not worthwhile.

Shinichi made up his mind.

"We'll hold off on the iron ore for now."

Shinichi turned and walked out of the shop.

Standing on the dirt road outside the shop, he looked up.

Hyuga Village was surrounded by one tall mountain after another, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Since buying iron ore cost too much, he could only look for it himself.

The Land of Rice Fields lacked everything except mountains.

Shinichi thought that with so many mountains, there might well be iron deposits hidden among them.

The Hyuga Clan's ninja all possessed the Byakugan, which could see through trees and rocks.

But the Byakugan saw chakra and could not distinguish ordinary rock from iron ore.

His Tenseigan, however, was different.

An ordinary clan member's Byakugan could only see clearly within one or two kilometers at most.

His Tenseigan could see fifteen to twenty kilometers, ten times farther than an ordinary Byakugan.

And the Tenseigan saw more clearly. He could tell at a glance whether there was iron ore inside a rock.

As long as there was iron in the mountains of the Land of Rice Fields, it could not escape his eyes.

Shinichi summoned several jonin from the Hyuga Clan.

The jonin soon arrived before him.

"Clan leader, you called for us?"

Shinichi looked at them and gave them instructions for the village.

"I'll be away for a few days."

"Keep the village guard arrangements as usual while I'm gone, and everyone should continue training as normal."

"If anything happens in the village, wait until I return to deal with it."

The jonin immediately acknowledged his orders.

"Yes, clan leader."

After settling the village's affairs, Shinichi took no one else with him.

He walked out through Hyuga Village's gates alone.

Following the main road outside the village, he headed toward the deep mountains.

He plunged into the endless mountain ranges of the Land of Rice Fields.