In the early morning of Capital of Fire, the mist has not yet cleared.
Kakuzu stood by the window on the third floor of "Food Is Heaven", holding a cigarette in his hand but not lighting it. He just stared at the street downstairs that was getting busier and busier, his eyes as complicated as a mess.
Three days.
Senju Chen gave him three days to think about it.
But in fact, he has been unable to sleep since yesterday afternoon.
"Mr. Kakuzu, this is the financial statement you want."
Maruboshi Kosuke pushed the door open and came in, holding a thick stack of account books in his hand. The old man moved very gently, for fear of disturbing the "new accounting gentleman".
Kakuzu turned around, took the account book, and opened the first page.
What you see is a series of densely packed numbers.
Income, expenses, costs, profits... every account is clear, without any ambiguity.
"This is the flow of the past three months." Maruboshi Kosuke stood aside with a respectful tone, "Young Master Chen said, whatever you want to see, I will provide you with the truth."
Kakuzu didn't speak, just lowered his head and flipped through the account book.
His fingers crossed over the numbers, his eyes becoming more and more solemn.
Capital of Fire main store, average daily turnover... three hundred thousand taels?
This is just a store!
And this is the net profit after deducting costs!
Kakuzu's breathing became heavier.
He has lived for more than ninety years and has seen countless hugely profitable businesses. Smuggling, assassination, selling intelligence... which one is not a knife-edge business?
But the restaurant in front of me could make so much money openly and openly in broad daylight.
And... this is just the beginning.
"Mr. Kosuke." Kakuzu suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse, "How much money can this store make in a year?"
Maruboshi Kosuke was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
"Mr. Kakuzu, our store has only been in operation for more than a month. How can we tell how much we can earn in a year." The old man shook his head, "And the old slave is just a manager. This kind of thing needs to be calculated by a professional like you."
Kakuzu's mouth twitched.
Professional?
He is indeed a professional.
And it's the most professional kind.
He lowered his head again and began to calculate.
The average daily turnover is 300,000 taels. After deducting costs, labor, and losses... the net profit is about 150,000 taels.
That's 4.5 million taels a month.
One year...
Kakuzu's hands began to shake.
That's 54 million taels a year!
And his share is one percent.
In other words, from this store alone, he can earn 540,000 taels a year!
This is just the Capital of Fire main store!
If you add Land of Birds branches, plus branches in the four major countries...
Kakuzu's mind is a bit lost.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
"Mr. Kosuke, I want to see the kitchen and warehouse."
"Of course, please come with me."
In the back kitchen, it's steaming hot.
Several chefs were busy preparing ingredients, and the sounds of chopping, cooking, and talking were mixed together.
Kakuzu stood at the door, looking at all this, his eyes a little dazed.
"Mr. Kakuzu, look here." Maruboshi Kosuke pointed at the rows of neatly arranged ingredients, "These are all purchased from Land of Fire. Young Master Chen said that the ingredients must be fresh and must not be used overnight."
Kakuzu walked over and picked up a fish.
The fish's body was still trembling slightly, obviously it had just been fished out of the water.
"What about the cost?" Kakuzu asked.
"The market price of this fish is five hundred taels." Maruboshi Kosuke replied, "But we have a fixed supplier and can get the price of four hundred taels."
Kakuzu nodded.
He continued walking inside and saw the warehouse.
The warehouse is filled with various ingredients - rice, noodles, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar... everything you need.
"How long will these things last?" Kakuzu asked.
"About a month." Maruboshi Kosuke replied, "We conduct large-scale purchases every month to ensure the freshness of the ingredients."
"And some of them are produced by us ourselves."
Kakuzu made a calculation in his mind.
The cost of ingredients for a month is about three million taels.
The monthly turnover is 13.5 million taels.
Deduct the cost of ingredients, labor costs, store rent...
The net profit is about 4.5 million taels.
This number is similar to what he calculated before.
"Mr. Kakuzu, what else do you want to see?" Maruboshi Kosuke asked.
Kakuzu shook his head.
"No need."
He turned and left the kitchen and returned to the office on the third floor.
Kakuzu is the only person left in the office.
He sat on the chair with the plan and financial statements in front of him.
The sunlight outside the window shines in through the gaps in the curtains, casting mottled light and shadow on the table.
Kakuzu picked up the pen and started calculating.
Capital of Fire main store, based on this month's profit, the annual net profit is about 54 million taels.
Land of Birds branch, according to the same standard, has a net profit of about 30 million taels per year.
Branches in the four major countries...
Kakuzu paused.
The capitals of the four major countries are no worse than Capital of Fire in terms of population density and consumption power.
If every branch can reach the level of the Capital of Fire main store...
That's four fifty-four million taels.
Plus Capital of Fire main store and Land of Birds branch...
Total...
Kakuzu's hands began to shake.
A total of three hundred and twenty-four million taels!
And his share is one percent.
That is to say...
Three million two hundred and forty thousand taels!
One year!
Kakuzu's breathing stopped.
He has lived for more than ninety years, conducted countless assassination missions, and received countless bounties.
It's not that he has made millions of taels before. He has received bounties worth tens of millions of taels, but this is the first time that he can earn so much by just lying around and doing nothing!
And this is only the first year!
If we follow the plan of that brat Senju Chen, "Food Is Heaven" will continue to expand and open throughout Shinobi World...
Then his share...
Kakuzu I don't dare to think about it anymore.
He put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.
In my mind, the young face of Senju Chen emerged.
That young man smiled so harmlessly.
But the cake he drew was terrifyingly big.
"Damn..." Kakuzu cursed in a low voice.
He knew that he could no longer refuse.
Late at night.
Kakuzu put on his coat and quietly left "Food Is Heaven".
He didn't tell anyone, he just walked into the black market of Capital of Fire alone.
The entrance to the black market is still hidden in that dark alley.
Kakuzu Earth Flow Earth Flow went in and soon came to a familiar stall.
"Hey, Mr. Kakuzu, long time no see." The stall owner was a thin old man, his eyes narrowed with a smile, "Are you here to take over the task today?"
"No." Kakuzu shook his head, "I'm here to inquire about something."
"Oh?" The old man raised his eyebrows, "What's the matter?"
"Capital of Fire has a restaurant called 'Food Is Heaven'. Have you heard of it?"
The old man was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
"Of course I've heard of it! That restaurant is so popular now, I heard even famous people have eaten there."
Kakuzu's eyes condensed.
"Daimyo?"
"Yes." The old man nodded, "And not only the daimyo, but also many nobles, businessmen, and even ninjas like to eat there. I heard that the food there is extremely delicious."
Kakuzu was silent for a moment.
"Do you know the background of that store?"
The old man's smile froze.
"Um... Master Kakuzu, you are making things difficult for me." He lowered his voice, "The rules of the black market are that you cannot inquire about other people's identities."
"One million taels." Kakuzu offered the price directly.
The old man's eyes lit up instantly.
"Deal!" He quickly put away the banknotes handed over by Kakuzu, smiling so hard that his eyes narrowed to slits. "The owner of that store is very mysterious. I don't know who he is specifically. But I heard that he has a very tough background, and even Konoha's senior executives dare not touch him."
Isn't this nonsense? That brat belongs to the Senju Clan. It's strange that Konoha would touch him.
Kakuzu felt that he was out of his mind because he came here to ask for information about Senju Chen due to his previous habit.
These black market guys estimate that they don't know as much information as they do.
Kakuzu suddenly felt very distressed, as if he had spent all his money in vain...
With a dark face, he turned around and left the black market, returning to "Food Is Heaven".