How would it be if you were my secretary?
"Fine."
Konan's theories can only fool the junior Genin of Amegakure; they're ineffective against these profit-driven businessmen.
Compared to religious figures like Aoki Tsuki who specialize in fraud, he is naturally inferior.
"Does your secretary usually do this kind of work?"
She manages the village herself and never thinks of hiring an assistant. I'm very curious about how Aoki Tsuki manages it.
"How could that be?! You're my female boss, I haven't had the nerve to boss you around, otherwise I would have exhausted you long ago."
"Clerical work, financial work, operations management, and they also have to serve me tea and water, give me massages and back rubs, and provide me with psychological therapy."
Konan frowned, even she hadn't gone to this extent when taking care of Nagato. She asked in confusion, "You've had the secretary do everything, what are you doing?"
"I'm in charge of steering and accelerating."
"That's really easy."
"Sigh! It's not easy, it's tiring. I'm avoiding things as much as possible now." Aoki Tsuki shook her head repeatedly.
Things are different now than they used to be.
Seeing this, Konan assumed that Aoki Tsuki was lazy and advised, "You should be more diligent. Is it really necessary for you to not show your face for so long?"
"It's alright, the organization's affairs are the most important. What are the leader's next plans?"
"We can only try to break through by going somewhere else. You've always had a lot of ideas, so I'm leaving it to you. This time, I'll be in charge of steering the wheel and giving you the throttle."
Konan tried to learn something new, but little did she know that all she did was waste gas.
"Ah...? You're in charge of the steering wheel, okay." Aoki Tsuki nodded helplessly.
His ultimate move, Thousand-Armed Kannon, is depicted as a figure seated on a lotus throne. Could this be a sign of destiny?
The most important thing right now is to open up new markets and find enough tasks for Xiao's many peripheral members. As long as they have work to do, they won't fall apart.
Both Iwagakure and Kumogakure are highly defensive, and the nearby neutral small countries are used to changing their allegiance to others and are unreliable.
Needless to say, the Land of Fire is firmly under the control of the Third Hokage, who keeps a close watch on things, preventing Akatsuki from expanding its business there.
Only the Land of Wind remains to be tried.
While gathering intelligence on the Land of Wind, Aoki Tsuki devised a strategy. The country boasts the largest land area in the Shinobi World, but unfortunately, 90% of its surface is covered by desert.
Rainfall is extremely low and water resources are very scarce. Residents live and work in scattered oases.
After some analysis and organization, the weaknesses of the Land of Wind were identified:
With the Daimyo of the Land of Wind constantly cutting military spending, Sunagakure could only rely on mission rewards, falling into a vicious cycle of continuous decline.
Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, actually had to rely on Magnet Release pan for gold in the desert to supplement the village's income.
In addition, Sunagakure lacks high-end combat power, and there is a severe shortage of ninjas capable of independently completing S-rank missions. Furthermore, there is a fierce conflict of interest between the Kazekage and the elders.
These characteristics fall precisely within Xiao's target customer group.
We definitely can't rush to Sunagakure to negotiate; we need to find a middleman. This person's status in Sunagakure can't be too low; at least they should be able to speak with the Kazekage.
"We can't involve Brother Scorpion in this matter, lest he feel bad about it..."
If this succeeds, it'll be like helping Sunagakure with a mission. What will Sasori think?
'If I did quests for the village before defecting, and I'm still doing quests for the village after defecting, then wasn't my defection for nothing?'
"We also can't rely on Orochimaru's connections, as it would hinder future cooperation..."
At this point, Orochimaru has most likely already established contact with Baki through Kabuto's connections, and is preparing to join forces with Sunagakure to plan a future attack on Konoha.
Cooperation must be based on equality between the two parties. If you always ask for help when you encounter difficulties, you will feel inferior.
"I have my own way."
Aoki Tsuki looked at the intelligence report in his hand and smiled. This big peach always seemed to appear when he needed her.
Indeed, behind every successful man is a hardworking woman.
Half a month later, Aoki Tsuki appeared in a small town called Chichiri in the Land of Wind with the exclusive team of the Jashin Cult's ' Blood Flame Chamber of Commerce '.
This transaction involved the Land of Wind Gold Dust Chamber of Commerce ordering a batch of Explosive Tag.
Both parties agreed to deliver the goods at this location. Chichiri is also one of the main trading points in the northern part of the Land of Wind, and is known as a small oasis in the desert.
The Blood Flame Chamber of Commerce's logo is a combination of a sacrificial array diagram from the Jashin Cult and three flames. Specifically, it consists of a circle with an equilateral triangle embedded in each of the three contact points, each containing a flame. It was designed by Kikuno Momo.
The caravan had barely entered the city when someone met them and took them to their lodgings.
"Mr. Kaigetsu, cash depreciates easily. To show my sincerity, I brought some hard currency. Take a look at its quality..."
The Ryōto took out a small box and placed it on the table with a thud.
It looked unusually heavy.
"This couldn't be... gold, could it?" Aoki Tsuki exclaimed in surprise.
"Ha ha..."
Ryōto laughed smugly and seized the opportunity to say, "This is a local specialty of our Land of Wind. As long as we can cooperate long-term, we can continue to use it for payment."
The box was opened, revealing glittering pieces of gold, a truly delightful sight.
Snap!
Aoki Tsuki slapped his thigh. "That's great! Don't worry, Brother Ryōto, we've got this in the bag. I told you, even Jashin couldn't stop us."
"Make a deal."
Ryōto excitedly extended his hand and shook hands solemnly with Aoki Tsuki, "I heard that Mr. Kaigetsu used to be in the shipping business?"
International trade, FOB.
"What... B?"
Ryōto's eyes lit up. He had no idea what FOB was and immediately thought the person in front of him was a real professional.
"It means selling goods to various countries and defining risks based on the FOB price. That's our jargon in the shipping industry."
"I see. So why did you decide to work for the Jashin Cult? I've heard that this religion doesn't have a very good reputation..."
"If you're just trying to make a living, of course you'd choose the one with the bigger backing. The Jashin Cult, centered in the Land of Hot Water, controls all the trade routes along the coast."
They demanded kickbacks from all the shipping companies; they were domineering, but their financial strength was undeniable.
Upon hearing this, Ryōto exclaimed in amazement, "That's truly impressive! I've heard some rumors that your sect also accepts missions."
"That's true, but the situation is more complicated than you think. We're actually just a middleman, acting as a bridge between the two parties and mitigating risks for both sides."
Aoki Tsuki deliberately revealed information to entice Ryōto to ask further questions.
The Ryōto pressed further, asking, "What do you mean?"
"This... I'm afraid it's inconvenient. It's a high-level service, only open to specific groups." Aoki Tsuki disagreed verbally, but rubbed his right thumb together.
He knew all too well that people don't cherish things that are easily obtained, nor do they readily believe in them.
Ryōto understood and hurriedly took out another gold bar from his person and stuffed it into Aoki Tsuki's hand, at which point the latter spoke.
"Alright, since we'll be cooperating for a long time anyway, you'll find out sooner or later. I'll just tell you then, you know about Kirigakure, right?"
"I understand." Ryōto nodded.
"In order to change its image from being a place Bloody Mist, Kirigakure has long since outsourced its dirty work."
"What?! Is that so! Could it be...?" Ryōto's eyes widened.
"That's right, it was our Jashin Cult that facilitated this. Do you know who took over?"
Just as Ryōto was about to ask, she noticed the other person rubbing their fingers together again, and she immediately became furious. "Damn it, this greedy fellow!"
There was no other way; the only way to get this information was to keep stuffing gold bars into his pocket.
"They're a bunch of rogue ninja."
Ryōto contracted upon hearing this, and he suddenly realized something, whispering, "It's that terrorist organization, Akatsuki?"
Recently, due to the war between the Land of Earth and the Land of Rain, Akatsuki, as a mercenary organization, has come into the public eye.
They give the impression of being a group of rogue ninjas, willing to do any mission for money.
Aoki Tsuki shook his head. "Not entirely. As far as I know, this group specializes in high-difficulty missions, while the less difficult ones are taken by other rogue ninjas."
The competition in this business is fierce. You don't know, but the income of rogue ninjas depends entirely on missions. If they don't get any work, they'll go hungry.
Ryōto rolled his eyes inwardly. As a ninja, how could I not know?
"Dude, your Jashin Cult must be making a fortune from this kind of intermediary business."
"Not much, just a 10% service fee on the task fee," Aoki Tsuki replied casually.
Ryōto's lips twitched. What a bunch of heartless cultists.
The two then turned their conversation to the hot springs of Land of Hot Water of Hot Springs), with Aoki Tsuki repeatedly promising Ryōto he would treat him to a hot spring bath the next time he visited.
They also carefully shared their relevant insights.
The transaction was completed, and neither party lingered, returning to their respective destinations.
Aoki Tsuki obtained the small box of gold, and more importantly, he used the opportunity to convey his trade request. "The rest depends on whether Sunagakure has this need."
The information he revealed was all aimed at Sunagakure's weaknesses, and was highly targeted, citing Kirigakure as an example.
Such things can be verified if one is willing to investigate.
After three days of arduous travel, Ryōto returned to Sunagakure with the caravan and immediately went to see the Kazekage.
" Fourth, I have successfully completed my mission. These Explosive Tag have been safely stored in the village warehouse."
Rasa nodded slightly and said, "You've worked hard, Yura. Get some rest for the next few days."
"Actually, I unexpectedly obtained some information during this deal with the Jashin Cult..."
Yura recounted everything she knew.
Rasa was slightly surprised after hearing this. Kirigakure and Sunagakure had fought several battles Third Shinobi World War, and in the end, in order to free up their forces, they fought against Iwagakure.
They had no choice but to hand over the village's hero, ' Scorch Release Yagura, ' to the enemy to quell their anger.
"I never imagined that the once-powerful Kirigakure Ninja would fall so low, outsourcing the village's most difficult missions to a bunch of rogue ninja."
Rasa's disdain indicated a significant weakening of Kirigakure's strength.
"Alright, I understand. You can go and rest now."
"Yes, sir!" Yura withdrew.
"Xiao?" Rasa muttered to himself. He had heard of this organization before; the village's puppet genius, 'Scorpion,' was among them.
At that time, Fuki was sent to lead Baki and others to capture them, but the attempt failed.