With Hiashi Hyuga's wedding and the completion of Konoha Airlines settled, Haruki no longer had to worry about matters in Konoha for now.
He planned to visit Sunagakure to congratulate Rasa, once a gold miner, on his ascension to the Fourth Kazekage.
But before leaving, he suddenly recalled something important.
At the Ministry of Commerce building.
As Konoha expanded, various departments had moved out from the Hokage Building due to overcrowding.
Oshima Yoshiyuki had been sent by Haruki to the Land of Rain to assist the Akatsuki Organization in rebuilding its commercial system.
At this time, the head of the Ministry of Commerce was Nara Kunio.
A middle-aged man around forty years old.
He had inherited the Nara Clan's naturally high intellect.
His capabilities were exceptionally strong.
"Lord Haruki."
Nara Kunio immediately stood up upon seeing Haruki at the door.
"There's no need for formalities," Haruki said with a wave of his hand. "I've come here because there's a matter I need you to handle."
"Please speak," Nara Kunio replied respectfully.
"I want to establish a new monetary system," Haruki stated directly.
"A new monetary system?"
Even with Nara Kunio's intelligence, he couldn't grasp Haruki's meaning at first.
Hesitating, he asked, "Lord Haruki, the current monetary system has been in place across the ninja world for over a thousand years and is universally used among all nations. If we change it so suddenly, wouldn't that cause problems?"
"Let me ask you—where is the wealthiest merchant guild or corporation in the entire ninja world?"
"Naturally, it's ours in Konoha," Nara Kunio answered without hesitation.
It wasn't that other regions lacked large trading guilds; compared to Konoha's innovative and competitive commerce, however, they were far inferior.
Whether it was Golden Union Trading Company, online shopping, or even gaming, food supplies, and banking, Konoha's merchant groups were giants.
Now including Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning, Konoha alone controlled the two most prosperous nations in the ninja world.
If there were a ranking of the top commercial guilds in the ninja world, the top ten would all be from Konoha.
"With our economic advantage naturally comes great credibility. Issuing a new currency should be feasible."
"Hmm... There's definitely logic to that."
Nara Kunio thought for a moment, then nodded. He quickly followed up, "But I don't understand why we need to create a new monetary system. Is there something wrong with the existing one?"
"The current system has nothing wrong with it," Haruki smiled. Since it had lasted so long in the ninja world, it must be free of flaws.
"But what I want is control over minting rights and the ability to manage the monetary system."
"Just think—if we implemented this new currency in Xia, what would happen when people from other nations and hidden villages came into our country? They'd have to exchange their money to conduct transactions here. What would ultimately become of it?"
Nara Kunio fell silent.
What would ultimately happen?
Use a new currency in Xia, then switch back to the old one once leaving?
Wouldn't that be an unnecessary step?
No, that's not right.
A country whose economy made up over half of the entire ninja world's economic output using a single currency—
Over time, that currency would become the most dominant.
Eventually, even nations and hidden villages beyond Xia might begin adopting this new currency themselves.
In the long run, they could use currency to take over a country's economy.
"This is really..."
Nara Kunio understood after a moment and remained speechless for quite some time.
A brilliant strategy—currency warfare. The realization struck him suddenly.
"It seems you've already grasped it."
Haruki couldn't help admiring how quick the clever Nara was—just by watching his face, he could tell he'd figured it out.
It goes without saying.
"This matter will be left to you. Design new currency to replace the old one."
Haruki recalled certain policies from his past life as he spoke, "You must strictly calculate their purchasing power and recall the old currency at a ratio that's fairly close. Set a six-month deadline, after which the old currency will no longer be allowed to circulate or be produced in the Summer Country."
"I guarantee completion of this task!"
There was barely-contained excitement on Nara Kunio's face. He was about to be part of something historic—the new monetary system would surely make the Summer Country even stronger.
Suddenly, he thought of something, "Lord Haruki, what should we name the new currency?"
Haruki paused for a moment before replying, "Previously, it was called *ryo*. Let's call the new one *yuan* this time."
"*Yuan*? Alright."
Though Kunio didn't fully understand what 'yuan' meant, he naturally didn't question Haruki's decision.
"There's another thing."
A slight smirk appeared on Haruki's lips. "Sakumo negotiated trade with the Land of Earth. I hope transactions are settled using our new currency. You understand my meaning, right?"
"I do!"
Kunio's eyes lit up—this was going to be a currency war with the Land of Earth.
Haruki continued discussing a few more things with him—materials, anti-counterfeiting measures, and denominations for the new money.
Half an hour later, Haruki left the Ministry of Commerce. Without heading anywhere else, he directly used the [Flying Thunder God Technique] to arrive at the Kazekage Building in Sunagakure.
He knocked lightly on the office door.
Upon hearing the knock, Rasa immediately lifted his head. Seeing Haruki standing there made his heart skip a beat.
Although slightly surprised, he quickly stood up to greet him.
"Please, Lord Haruki, have a seat."
Technically speaking, Rasa currently held the title of Kazekage, ranking higher than Haruki. But he dared not act pretentious at all. Being Kazekage was merely a title; it didn't give him the confidence to oppose Haruki.
"I didn't have time to prepare anything, so this crystal sculpture is a gift for you and Karura."
"Thank you."
Rasa accepted the crystal sculpture—it featured two finely crafted figures: himself and Karura. Engraved on the base were words like "May your love last forever."
It wasn't especially valuable in itself, but coming from Haruki, its significance changed entirely. At least if he told others it was a gift from the God of the Ninja World, it would bring immense prestige.
"I heard that a mysterious organization recently attacked Sunagakure. Many were injured. How bad was it? Do you need my help?"
After putting away the crystal sculpture, Rasa looked at him carefully upon hearing those words.
Could it really have nothing to do with him?
He considered briefly before replying, "It's mostly fine now. Our Medical Ninjas aren't as skilled as yours, but as long as the injuries aren't too severe, healing won't be a problem."
"That's good to hear."
Haruki frowned in confusion as he asked, "Sasori's puppets were created in Konoha. I know how powerful they are. It stands to reason that very few ninjas could match them in battle. But your intelligence report didn't address that. I want to know why?"
Rasa studied him for a moment before replying gravely, "He belongs to the Uchiha Clan, with a Sharingan and powerful Space-Time Ninjutsu."
"That can't be right!"
Haruki shot back, "As far as I know, no member of the Uchiha Clan has mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu. And a technique capable of countering Sasori's puppets must be at least S-rank. But you already know this—Konoha only has the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Rasa's face immediately darkened.
What the masked ninja used was nothing like the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"But the Sharingan only exists within the Uchiha Clan."
"This isn't necessarily true," Haruki shook his head. "The Uchiha Clan has participated in countless battles, and there have been many instances where Sharingan eyes were lost outside the clan. It's possible another ninja has transplanted one."
Rasa remained silent for a moment before saying, "That is indeed possible."
"Beyond this Sharingan user," Haruki pressed on, "what about his teammates? You've confirmed it's Kurosuki Raiga and Kisame Hoshigaki. Have you looked into them?"
"Yes," Rasa nodded. "But Kiri has declared both of them rogue ninja. Oh, and Zabuza as well. The intel we have isn't particularly useful."
With a sigh, he added, "We still don't know where this mysterious Organization came from or why they're after the Tailed Beasts."
"This definitely raises serious concerns," Haruki said seriously. "That's why I'm here—to propose a new alliance: mutual protection between Konoha and Sunagakure. Any further attack by this Organization will be treated as a declaration of war against both villages."