"You're joking, Lord Kazekage!"
Hoshino raised a hand, inviting Rasa to sit, then said with a smile, "It's all just for appearances. If you think this place is better suited for work, Lord Kazekage, you're welcome to use it whenever you like."
"All right, enough idle chatter!"
Rasa chuckled, shook his head, and sat in the chair opposite Hoshino.
"Actually, I'm quite curious. Does your Reform Society really have that much money? Enough to support all the considerable changes you've been making?"
He had also been paying close attention to the changes in the village during this time.
Ever since the Reform Society appeared, no one had said a bad word about it.
Both the number and quality of missions had increased substantially, and even ordinary villagers' living conditions had improved considerably.
But as he saw it, many of those things were unnecessary and nothing but money-losing ventures.
He didn't believe Hoshino had money to burn.
Hoshino smiled faintly, a hint of deeper meaning in his gaze, but he didn't answer Rasa's question immediately.
He walked over to the tea cabinet, took out an exquisite tea set, and leisurely poured Rasa a cup of hot tea.
"Lord Kazekage, this tea was delivered by a caravan from the Land of Fire. Please, have a taste."
Rasa glanced at the teacup but didn't rush to drink. Instead, he continued to watch Hoshino, waiting for his answer.
Hoshino returned to his seat, folded his hands on the desk, and spoke slowly.
"Lord Kazekage, the Reform Society's sources of funding aren't actually complicated."
"By consolidating the village's resources, we've improved the efficiency of the caravans, plantations, and mining operations, greatly increasing their returns."
"At the same time, we've handed some non-core industries over to ordinary villagers, reducing costs."
"Not only have these measures avoided losses, but they've also strengthened the Reform Society's finances."
Rasa raised an eyebrow, evidently not entirely satisfied with the answer.
"Even so, many of your measures don't seem intended to turn a profit, such as those highly paid missions and the support for ordinary villagers."
"There's no return on those investments in the short term, and they might even lose money in the long run."
Hoshino nodded and smiled. "You're right, Lord Kazekage. Those measures aren't intended for short-term profit, but for long-term gain."
"Oh?" Rasa picked up his teacup and took a gentle sip, gesturing for Hoshino to continue.
"The Reform Society's goal isn't merely to make money, but to tie everyone's interests together and bring every member of the village into a shared system of development."
Hoshino's tone gradually grew firm.
"We attract ninja with highly paid missions, and we improve ordinary villagers' living conditions by supporting them."
"That way, ninja and villagers alike will become dependent on and loyal to the Reform Society, and that loyalty is worth far more than short-term monetary gains."
Hearing this, Rasa set down his teacup and narrowed his eyes. "You mean you're using money to win people's hearts?"
Hoshino nodded. "You could put it that way! The Reform Society's goal is to build a community of shared interests, break the clans' and elders' monopoly on resources, and ensure that everyone who contributes to the village receives something in return."
Rasa fell silent for a moment, then gave a meaningful smile.
The model didn't sound very complicated; a little thought was all it took to understand it.
But putting it into practice was another matter entirely.
There was also the fact that, once the Reform Society succeeded in tying everyone to it, wouldn't he, the Kazekage, become even more of a figurehead?
By then, wouldn't Hoshino have the final say in the village?
At that thought, Rasa's gaze gradually sharpened. He stared at Hoshino, his tone probing.
"Hoshino, your plan sounds wonderful, but don't you think this model would bring enormous changes to the village's power structure?"
Hoshino smiled faintly and replied candidly, "Isn't that exactly why you came to see me?"
"Don't worry, Lord Kazekage. You'll still be the village's supreme leader. The Reform Society is only there to help you achieve the village's development goals."
Rasa sneered and said sarcastically, "Help me? You make it sound so nice!"
"But by tying their interests together, you're bringing both the ninja and ordinary villagers into the Reform Society's system, making them dependent on and loyal to you."
"Once that happens, the balance of power in the village will naturally tilt in your favor. By then, I'm afraid I'll be nothing but a figurehead of a Kazekage, won't I?"
Hoshino shook his head and said sincerely, "Lord Kazekage, you still don't understand!"
"Everything the Reform Society does is for the good of the village. As Kazekage, as long as you don't betray the village, the Reform Society won't betray you."
"If you're really worried, we can work together!"
At those words, Rasa immediately became interested.
The Reform Society's operating model was completely different from the traditional ninja clan structure, and he truly couldn't imagine where there was room for cooperation.
If Hoshino really could lay out a few concrete points, he wouldn't mind giving them serious consideration.
After all, he had no ninja clan background and belonged to no ninja clan faction. The Kazekage's faction was primarily made up of subordinates loyal to him.
"Look, Lord Kazekage!" Hoshino pointed at the scene outside the window.
People came and went along the streets, caravan wagons rolled slowly past, ninja hurried to their mission sites, and ordinary villagers busied themselves in shops and plantations.
The area was like a precision machine, operating efficiently under the Reform Society's direction.
Rasa walked over to Hoshino's side and likewise looked out the window.
He had to admit that the Reform Society had indeed brought an unprecedented vitality to the village.
But the transfer of power hidden behind that vitality left him somewhat uneasy.
"Hoshino, what exactly are you trying to say?" Rasa asked in a low voice.
Hoshino turned and looked Rasa straight in the eye, speaking firmly. "Lord Kazekage, what I mean is that the Reform Society's existence has already made the traditional ninja clan factions unnecessary."
"We no longer need so many factions and powers carving up the village's resources."
"In the future, the Reform Society's operating model could easily take control of everyone's birth, aging, sickness, and death, as well as their food, clothing, housing, and transportation. That kind of potential is something a ninja village founded on an alliance of ninja clans could never match."
This model mainly came from the capitalism of his previous life.
An economic model based on private ownership, centered on the market, and driven by self-interest.
In this system, resources were allocated through market mechanisms, and individual effort and innovation could be directly transformed into economic returns, thereby driving the development of society as a whole.
After all, in the Shinobi World, where extraordinary powers existed, socialism couldn't be put into practice; it would only be self-deception.
"You can't do it!" Rasa said categorically. "Do you know how difficult it would be to replace every ninja clan faction? Besides, I don't entirely agree with what you're proposing!"
"If things went as you envision, with the entire village's resources consolidated and everyone's birth, aging, sickness, and death, as well as their food, clothing, housing, and transportation under its control, the Reform Society would become an unprecedented behemoth."
"I can indeed imagine its potential in all respects."
"But have you considered that, under such a model, if something went wrong among the upper ranks, the villagers might be worse off than they are now-or rather, far worse off?"