"Hokage-sama!"
"I just closed another huge deal!"
"The fools from the Land of Lightning are richer than I thought—unlike those broken wretches from the Land of Wind, always pinching pennies!"
Kakuzu pushed open the Hokage's office door while shouting—
Completely ignoring where he was.
But no one stopped him.
After all—
In Konoha, Kakuzu was a top-tier asset:
Strong.
Works 24/7.
Voluntarily does overtime.
An employee like that?
Impossible to find.
Even Ren tolerated him.
At present—
Only Orochimaru showed similar potential.
Kakuzu walked in—
And saw Chiyo sitting there with a long face.
…Oops.
He had just insulted her country directly.
But Kakuzu?
Thick-skinned. Black-hearted.
Ignored it completely.
Pulled out a chair.
Sat down.
Green eyes narrowed—
Already calculating.
From Nara Shikaku, he'd heard—
Sunagakure wanted an alliance.
And trade.
Currently—
Konoha's main clients were within the Land of Fire.
Nobles.
Merchants.
The middle class.
In just one year—
Konoha's commercial influence had spread everywhere.
Companies under Konoha's name were springing up like mushrooms.
Wealth flowed in.
Taxes poured in.
A new economic entity—
A monstrous capital structure—
Was forming.
But—
Time was still short.
Cross-border trade?
Still relied on the Daimyō's channels.
And that meant—
Profit sharing.
That was business.
But now—
Hokage-sama wanted independent trade routes?
Interesting.
But—
Sunagakure?
…Poor.
Not much to extract.
Even smaller villages might have more purchasing power.
Chiyo felt it.
This green-eyed man—
Was absolutely thinking something offensive.
Forget it.
Money is money.
Even scraps mattered.
Kakuzu made up his mind.
No harm in probing.
He introduced himself—
Senior Finance Officer.
Head of Commercial Negotiations.
Intelligence Division.
A string of titles—
Left Chiyo stunned.
So this rude man—
Was actually high-ranking.
"…Selling chakra?"
"We do that."
"Disabled ninja, unemployed ninja—pretty common."
"Konoha has high energy consumption, so prices are decent."
"But Sunagakure?"
He clicked his tongue.
"You'd need to rebuild infrastructure."
"Transport costs."
"Low local demand."
"You'd have to ship everything here."
"Margins would be terrible."
Chiyo frowned.
"…What?"
"Konoha wants to sell food, medicine, daily goods to us?"
"What does Konoha earn from that?!"
"Transport alone is expensive!"
"Hokage-sama has lost his mind!"
"And recruiting workers?"
"…That one works."
"Konoha is short on labor."
"Your environment is harsh."
"Coming here?"
"Good deal for them."
Kakuzu pulled out portable calculators—
Typing rapidly.
His face darkened.
"…This deal…"
"…loses money."
No profit.
At all.
Hokage-sama—
Doing charity?
Unacceptable.
Kakuzu stood.
"Goodbye."
Left immediately.
No hesitation.
He worked for commission.
No profit—
No interest.
Chiyo sat there—
Frozen.
Uneasy.
…Was the alliance collapsing?
—
Later—
She found Nara Shikaku.
"Hokage-sama… hasn't shown up."
"I've been waiting all morning…"
Shikaku smiled calmly.
"You may wait until the afternoon."
"He likely has… important matters."
(Important matters = one vs two all night.)
Obviously—
He couldn't say that.
—
Meanwhile—
Madara wandered through Konoha.
After deciding to stay—
His mood had improved.
"…So many people."
Daytime Konoha—
Was completely different.
Bustling.
Alive.
He soon arrived at the housing office.
Guided inside.
Shown a model apartment.
Simple.
Elegant.
Efficient.
"…Not bad."
He wasn't interested in luxury.
He had transcended that.
A small apartment—
Was enough.
Better than a cave.
"Electric lighting."
"Water heating."
"Kitchen appliances."
"All powered by Konoha's latest technology."
Madara walked through the room.
Turning switches.
Watching lights flick on.
Water heat instantly.
"…Unbelievable."
Even he—
Was shaken.
The staff noticed.
He'd seen this reaction many times.
Even nobles reacted the same way.
…Konoha had changed.
Drastically.
Electricity.
Infrastructure.
Mass production.
All driven by Ren—
And Tobirama's research.
(A few dozen Tobiramas working simultaneously…)
No wonder progress exploded.
Madara thought of something—
"Understanding the lowest levels of society…"
Ren's words.
…He was actually doing it.
Even ordinary people—
Lived like this now.
Of course—
It wasn't free.
Twenty years minimum.
But Madara didn't care.
Ninja risked death for comfort.
Civilians worked decades.
Fair.
"…How much?"
"I'll buy it."
Direct.
Simple.
The price was stated.
Madara paused.
…Not enough money.
Of course not.
He used to sneak into movies.
Now?
His funds came from killing a few bandits.
"Sir… we offer mortgages."
"…But…"
The staff looked at him.
Old.
Poor.
Refugee-like.
Statistically—
People like him didn't qualify.
"…Mortgages are twenty years minimum."
"If you default—"
"The house is reclaimed."
"No refunds."
A warning.
Madara interrupted.
"I'll take it."
"I'll pay."
Money?
Easy.
Take a clone.
Do bounty missions.
Done.
"…Understood."
Documents were processed.
Identity verified.
Contracts signed.
Partial payment made.
Just like that—
Uchiha Madara—
Carried a 25-year mortgage.
The staff even suggested—
Factory work.
Madara considered it.
"…Interesting."
He could send a clone.
Experience this "new system."
Why not?
After everything—
He stepped outside.
The sun was high.
"…Already noon."
He glanced at the book in his hand.
"…Time to return this."
And somewhere—
A child named Ito Sosuke—
Was still waiting.
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