"Reporting to my lord!"
Upon hearing Gen'yō call his name, Ōnoki immediately lowered his head even further, his tone filled with unprecedented respect and a hint of barely perceptible fervor.
"Rest assured! Ever since you 'met' the Raikage and the delegations from the surrounding small countries in the Holy Land last time, not a single foolish bandit or mountain brigand in the entire Shinobi World has dared to lay a finger on a merchant caravan flying our Uchiha Gunbai banner!"
"Even some border troops from small countries, in an effort to curry favor with us, have proactively sent escorts to help our caravans cross the border, and haven't even dared to charge tolls."
Ōnoki was telling the truth.
In the eyes of all the surrounding countries, the Uchiha Sacred Land is no longer just a ninja village, but a divine realm that could unleash divine punishment at any moment. The Uchiha's Gunbai emblem is more effective than any daimyo's edict.
"Very good."
Gen'yō nodded in satisfaction.
That's exactly the effect he wanted.
The purpose of military deterrence is not to wage war, but to pave a smooth road for subsequent economic aggression that no one dares to stand in its way.
" Inabi, bring up the 'gifts' I prepared for the guests."
"Yes!"
Uchiha Inabi responded with a clap.
Soon, two Uchiha guards wearing Susanoo Divine Armor carried a long, obsidian box covered with Sealing Jutsu into the main hall.
The box was opened, and a sharp, almost piercing aura instantly filled the air.
Everyone in the hall felt a chill run down their spines.
The box was lined with luxurious red velvet, and on it lay a simple yet powerful standard katana.
The blade was long and slender, displaying a deep, dark red color, as if forged from congealed blood. Under the candlelight in the hall, a faint, visible halo of Chakra flowed along the blade.
Just one glance is enough to sense the terrifying sharpness contained within the blade, enough to easily slice through steel.
This knife is named ' Blood Judgment '.
Gen'yō picked up the katana from the box and casually twirled it.
Buzz!
The blade sliced through the air, producing not the sound of wind, but a buzzing sound similar to high-frequency energy cutting, which made one's teeth ache.
"This is Amaterasu First Military Factory, which uses high-purity Chakra alloy extracted from the Dragon Vein. After thousands of high-pressure forgings, it is then enchanted on an assembly line by the Forge of the Lord of War, ultimately producing the first generation of standardized export ninja tools."
It has three advantages.
Gen'yō held up three fingers.
"First, it is extremely sharp and extremely durable. It's no exaggeration to say that with it, you can cut through any so-called 'famous knife' on the market as easily as cutting tofu."
"Secondly, its extremely high Chakra conductivity. Even a Ninja Academy student who has just refined his Chakra can easily coat the blade with a layer of Chakra Blade, multiplying its power."
"Third, and most importantly," Gen'yō said, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, especially Ōnoki, each word deliberate and deliberate.
"It's very cheap."
After saying that, he casually tossed the " Blood Judgment " in his hand to Ōnoki.
Ōnoki hurriedly caught it, and the moment his hand gripped the hilt, the Third Tsuchikage's expression instantly changed!
As a top-tier master of Earth Release, his perception of matter far surpasses that of ordinary people.
He could clearly feel a pure energy flowing continuously into his body from the hilt of the sword, creating a wondrous resonance with his Chakra. The material of the blade was also unheard of; its density and hardness far surpassed any ninja ore he knew!
This is hardly a standard-issue weapon.
This is clearly a near-divine weapon!
Even the most skilled swordsmiths in Iwagakure might not be able to forge a divine weapon of such high quality even after months of painstaking effort!
"My... My lord!" Ōnoki's voice trembled with excitement, "Such divine weapons, if they were on the black market, each one would probably fetch an astronomical price of no less than 300,000 taels! Enough to buy the reward for an A-rank mission!"
Three hundred thousand taels?
The other nobles in the hall stared wide-eyed when they heard the number.
However, Gen'yō shook his head, a disdainful smile appearing on his face.
"No."
"The official price of this knife is 30,000 taels."
"What?!" Ōnoki exclaimed in shock, even doubting his ears. "Thirty... thirty thousand taels? My lord, are you kidding me? At that price, we can't even cover the cost of the materials! This is practically a losing proposition!"
Losing money?
Gen'yō smiled.
" Ōnoki, your vision is still stuck at the level of a small workshop."
He walked to the center of the hall, stood with his hands behind his back, and exuded a powerful aura of authority and control.
"Your so-called cost is based on rare materials, a long timeframe, and the pitiful success rate of master craftsmen. And what do I have?"
"I possess an unlimited supply of minerals from an entire Dragon Vein! I possess an automated military factory that operates 24/7, producing thousands of these ' Blood Judgment ' weapons every day! I possess absolute industrial power capable of crushing all productive forces of this era!"
"The cost of this knife in my possession is lower than you can imagine."
"Not only will I not lose money, I can even make a profit of over 500% on each knife."
Gen'yō's words struck like a thunderbolt, leaving Ōnoki and everyone present dizzy and their minds blank.
They couldn't fully grasp the true meaning of terms like "industrialization," "assembly line," and "cost control."
But they can understand one thing.
That is, when Uchiha Gen'yō decided to dump this " Blood Judgment " katana, whose quality far surpassed that of the times, on the entire Shinobi World at a price of 30,000 taels each.
All other swordsmiths and ninja tool shops in the world will face their demise.
They would be shattered to pieces by this steel torrent from the Uchiha, leaving not even a scrap of iron behind.
"My goal has never been to make money by selling a few broken knives."
Gen'yō's voice turned cold and filled with ambition. His gaze seemed to pierce through the dome of the main hall and fall upon the vast map of the Shinobi World.
"My goal is to ensure that everyone in this world who needs a sword, from the Elite Jonin of the Five Great Nations to the wandering samurai struggling to survive on the borders, carries my ' Blood Judgment ' at their waist!"
"When a country's military relies entirely on imports from another country for its weapons, do you think that country still deserves to be called an 'independent' nation?"
"When a ninja's weapon of survival is given to him by me, is he truly serving his village, or is he working for me, his 'supplier'?"
"Every swing of his sword, every kill he makes, is him using my product to open up a larger market for me."
"Once they've all gotten used to the sharpness and cheapness of ' Blood Judgment ' and can no longer live without it, I only need to slightly raise the price, or leave a tiny 'backdoor' in a certain batch of knives..."
Gen'yō didn't continue.
But everyone present understood the unspoken, chilling implication in his words.
Ōnoki gripped the cold " Blood Judgment," his palms drenched in sweat.
Looking at Uchiha Gen'yō before him, he realized for the first time that what was most terrifying about this man was not his world-destroying Ninjutsu, nor his unpredictable space-time abilities.
Rather, it was this mind that could treat the entire world as a chessboard, all people as commodities, and manipulate them with rules they had never heard of called "economics"...
The Heart of God.
"Hiss..."
A collective gasp filled the hall.
While everyone was still reeling from the immense shock of this bloodless war fueled by economics, Gen'yō turned his gaze to Obito, who had been silently following him like a shadow.
" Obito."
"Hey there, boss!" Obito immediately came over, his face full of excitement.
"Business done in broad daylight is ultimately small-scale." A mysterious smile appeared on Gen'yō's lips.
"It's time for us to do something shady, something that can really make big money."
"I need you to help me establish a trading company. An underground commercial empire that can infiltrate every dark corner of the Shinobi World, a company that can sell everything—information, forbidden techniques, weapons, and even life itself."
Gen'yō looked at Obito, his eyes flashing with an almost insane, burning light.
"I've already thought of a name for this chamber of commerce."
"Let's call him 'Xiao'."
"Taking the meaning of 'dawn,' it symbolizes the dawn of a new, dark economic order led by us."
What do you think of this name?