Chapter 51: Tentacles Reaching Everywhere
Land of Hot Water - Land of Fire Border
On a secluded mountain path.
"Lord Kitanouji, thank you very much. Konoha will remember your assistance," the ninja with a Konoha forehead protector said sincerely, looking at the fully loaded convoy.
Kitanouji, now dressed in much more lavish clothes than three years ago, smiled benevolently. "It was nothing, nothing at all. I only hope that your esteemed village will look after my business interests in the Land of Fire."
"Rest assured, I will report this favorably!"
As the convoy disappeared into the distance, Kitanouji's smile faded.
In the past few years, with the backing of the Hidden Cloud, the once-humble blacksmith had become a major player in the business world, controlling numerous industries in the Land of Hot Water.
He had made two crucial decisions in his life. The first was to give up on forging famous swords and specialize in making blanks. The second was to latch onto the Hidden Cloud, or more specifically, the Yotsuki clan.
At Dana's suggestion, the Yotsuki had recognized his experience and business acumen and had brought him into the "blacksmith's shop" project, allowing him to keep a ten percent stake. At the time, he had thought it was too little and had grumbled about it. But now, with the project's operations spanning the entire ninja world, his ten percent was worth dozens of times more than his original assets. He was now afraid that he didn't deserve it and was eager to prove his worth.
And he did have a talent for business. He was now the head of the Land of Hot Water division. Of course, this was all a secret. To the outside world, he was just a successful merchant who had risen in recent years.
Although the business was backed by a ninja village, the Yotsuki never restricted their people from doing business with other villages, apart from a few newly developed, high-tech products. In fact, they encouraged it. Konoha was now one of the most important partners of the Land of Hot Water division.
Recently, with the growing instability in the ninja world, all the major powers had been stockpiling supplies. A few days ago, an unusual order had come from above: lower the prices. Kitanouji, with his business sense, had a vague idea of the reasoning behind it. So, when Konoha's secret procurement team had come to him, the scene from a moment ago had played out.
But a price drop needed a reason. An unconditional price drop would only arouse suspicion. So, Kitanouji had claimed that his expansion into the Land of Fire was being hindered by local interests and that he was hoping to gain Konoha's support in exchange for a lower price.
The resistance was real. The local merchants naturally didn't want a foreign competitor. He didn't even need Konoha to take his side. He just needed them to stay neutral, to turn a blind eye when he competed with the local merchants. With that, he could crush those bumpkins.
Yes, in his eyes, the traditional merchants of the Land of Fire were just bumpkins. He, on the other hand, had the guidance of that person. In the entire ninja world, Kitanouji believed, no one's business talent could surpass his.
The mastermind behind the "blacksmith's shop" project, a powerful advisor in the Hidden Cloud. For security reasons, he had never met him in person, but their remote communications had always been incredibly insightful. He considered him a kindred spirit. His success in recent years was largely due to that person's occasional advice.
And so, with a story that was nine parts truth and one part lie, the Konoha procurement team left, thinking they had gotten a fantastic deal, acquiring far more supplies than they had expected for the same price. And Kitanouji could now begin to deal with those bumpkins in the Land of Fire who were resisting him. He wasn't even afraid of Konoha going back on their promise. If they did, the prices would just be renegotiated next time.
In various regions across the ninja world, similar scenes were playing out in secret. The heads of the "blacksmith's shop" project's various divisions all had trade relations with the great nations, and at Dana's command, they had all secretly lowered their prices.
The price drops were not public. They were done in a way that didn't affect the standard market prices. Each of the great villages thought they had gotten a special deal and kept it to themselves.
As a result, their war preparations were all completed ahead of schedule. Their stockpiles were full. The war hawks in the various villages were starting to get restless.
At the same time, the soft power of the division heads in their respective regions had been greatly enhanced. To secure even lower prices, the villages had all, to varying degrees, made certain promises. To them, it was just empty words, a simple gesture in exchange for real, tangible benefits. But they had no idea that these gestures could one day be the ruin of their own country's merchants.
It was hard to imagine their surprise when the day came that the "blacksmith's shop" project finally stepped out from behind the scenes and revealed itself under a single, unified name.
"What's your plan?" the Third Raikage asked.
"All the nations think their preparations are complete. Now, they just need a trigger. The most impatient of them is the Hidden Sand. They have the weakest foundation, so they've hit their ceiling first. Every day that passes now, they can only watch as their rivals grow stronger while they stagnate. This will make them more impulsive. Therefore, the Hidden Sand is our target."
As he spoke, Dana took the flag with the Hidden Sand's symbol from the map of the ninja world and toyed with it in his hand.
In the Raikage's tower, most of the Hidden Cloud's high-ranking leaders were gathered. The security was unprecedented. If a single word of this meeting were to leak, the damage to the village would be irreparable.
The heads of the various departments had already given their reports. Now, it was time for the one everyone was waiting for, the most important one of all: the report from the "Special Strategy Division."
The division's importance to the Cloud had grown immensely. Though it was not Dana's intention, in the past few years, the division's influence and numbers had expanded. It had grown from a simple special intelligence unit into a large and powerful department with tentacles reaching into every corner of the ninja world. Though it was still officially under the ANBU, its numbers were now comparable.
And the two forces under Dana's command had made him a pivotal figure in the village. One was the "Special Strategy Division," officially a special squadron of the ANBU. The other was the "blacksmith's shop" project, fully backed by the Yotsuki clan and bringing in a fortune.
"But the Sand's strength is limited," one of the advisors said. "Even if a conflict breaks out, it won't last long."
"That's why it has to be a sustained conflict. And as it happens, we have our own arrangements in Konoha."
A slight smile touched Dana's lips, but he didn't elaborate. Not everyone in the room was privy to the full plan. Most of them only knew a part of the truth.
After the meeting was dismissed, only the Third Raikage, Dana, Dodai, and a few other key personnel remained.
"Uncle Dodai," Dana said, "your old friend in Konoha will likely need some support soon."
Dodai just smiled.