On Hokage Avenue in the afternoon.
Winter was nearly over, and the early spring air carried that peculiar chill—neither fully cold nor warm.
Rinjin, Uzumaki Tengen, and Uzumaki Meichū stood at the street corner, engaged in serious discussion.
"Lord Daimyō, I don't think Konoha is a good expansion target," Tengen said, staring at the intelligence scroll in his hands while occasionally glancing up at Rinjin.
"Meichū and I visited many families and found that most Konoha villagers maintain a subtle distance from any non-official forces. Our insurance company might struggle to get off the ground unless we have the Hokage's backing."
Hearing this, Rinjin waved dismissively.
"None of that matters. Just tell me—what do Konoha's villagers actually think about specific insurance products?"
"Uh..." After a moment's thought, Tengen rolled up his scroll and spoke seriously.
"Konoha's been at peace too long. The villagers simply don't believe the village could ever be invaded, so property damage insurance gets zero interest. As for retirement plans, some civilians are interested, but many elders with ninja in their families don't care. Personal accident insurance—now that got a lot of ninja asking questions. But..."
"But what?"
"Same old problem—they don't trust us, so they'd never hand over their money."
Rinjin said nothing, just gave him a measured look.
Uzumaki Tengen was one of the more talented members of his generation, but in Rinjin's eyes, the kid was still too rigid.
He sighed inwardly.
"What about Konoha's noble clans? What's their attitude?"
At this question, Tengen's expression stiffened slightly as he forced a smile.
"Lord Daimyō, most of them showed absolutely no interest in our insurance."
"Alright, I get it. Mission's over." The flat, emotionless voice cut through the air.
Tengen stole a glance at Rinjin's expression. Seeing no anger, he finally relaxed.
After parting ways with the two, Rinjin tucked his hands into the sleeves of his black yukata and headed toward the Hyūga estate.
You really couldn't blame those two guys. The Hyūga and Uchiha were in a different league entirely—when two unknown kids show up at your door saying "I've got something amazing to show you," it's a miracle they didn't get beaten up.
Looks like I'll have to handle this personally.
Lost in thought, Rinjin strolled down Hokage Avenue, weaving through streets and alleys until he arrived at the gates of a massive, traditional estate.
Knock, knock, knock—
The heavy wooden doors echoed with his rapping.
Within three seconds, a middle-aged man with white eyes—no, wait, those were naturally Byakugan—opened the door.
"Hello, may I ask who you're looking for?"
"I'd like to see your clan head. My name is Sakuhō Rinjin."
"Please wait a moment." The middle-aged man bowed politely, then gestured to another attendant nearby to go report.
Now that's what you call Konoha's premier noble clan! Even their front door requires two people—one for reception, one for errands.
After quite a while, the Hyūga clan head finally made his appearance.
"Rinjin-kun, what brings you to the Hyūga clan today?" The clan head wore a fake smile as he invited Rinjin inside.
Seeing this, Rinjin's lips curved upward as he donned his own mask of friendly courtesy.
"Sorry for the sudden visit. I hope I'm not intruding."
"Let's talk inside, please come in."
Soon, the two engaged in tactical small talk as they made their way to the Hyūga's spacious reception room.
After settling into their seats and chatting for a while, Rinjin finally revealed his purpose.
"Clan Head Hyūga, I came today with sincere intentions."
"Please, go ahead."
The Hyūga clan head had witnessed Rinjin's methods before. Though extremely impatient internally, he maintained his polite facade.
"It's like this—I recently came up with a money-making idea. Have you ever heard of insurance?"
"Uh... I can't say I have. Do you have any guidance to offer, Rinjin-kun?"
"I wouldn't dare call it guidance! I just hoped Clan Head Hyūga might evaluate it for me."
Rinjin cleared his throat and began with confidence:
"Insurance is essentially gambling. The insurance seller is the house. I pay ten thousand ryō annually to the house—if I die within that year, the house pays my family ten times that amount. I pay ten thousand ryō annually to the house—if I live past fifty with no income source, the house pays me twelve thousand ryō yearly."
As Rinjin spoke leisurely, the Hyūga clan head suddenly raised his hand and tapped the table lightly.
"Rinjin-kun, wait a moment."
He then looked toward a servant standing nearby and issued a cold command:
"You may leave. Lord Daimyō and I have important matters to discuss. Also, tell everyone I won't be seeing visitors for two hours."
The servant immediately nodded and quickly exited the reception room, sliding the door tightly shut behind him.
With the servant gone, the Hyūga clan head abandoned his somewhat languid posture and leaned forward slightly.
"Rinjin-kun, please explain this idea in detail."
Rinjin chuckled inwardly.
All under heaven bustle for profit's sake. That's exactly why he had no qualms about sending Amegakure people to research Konoha, and why he had no hesitation knocking on the Hyūga clan's door.
He simply didn't care if Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to interfere.
Put the cake on the table—if Hiruzen flipped it, he'd be making enemies of everyone ready to share that cake.
After a moment's consideration, Rinjin lowered his voice mysteriously and spoke again:
"Clan Head, insurance is about wagering. We're betting on villagers' uncertainty about the future. Think about it—when an ordinary civilian ninja dies on a mission, besides the village's compensation, what else does he get? To put it bluntly, nothing. His wife might remarry, his parents would have no one to care for them, his children might drop out of school early. But with insurance, it's different. He only needs to spend a small portion of his monthly income—maybe just what he'd spend on one trip to the red-light district—to buy insurance. If he dies on a mission, besides the village's compensation, his family gets a substantial additional payout. It's not a fortune, but it's enough for his wife to raise their children properly and support the grandparents until the kids can earn their own living. If he doesn't die, that money goes straight to the insurance company. From his perspective, what would he choose?"
Hearing this, the Hyūga clan head's lips immediately curved upward:
"If it were me, I'd definitely choose to skip the red-light district once a month and buy insurance instead!"
Rinjin nodded with a smile.
"Exactly. One person, ten thousand ryō per year. What about a hundred people? A thousand? One product, ten thousand ryō per person annually. What about two products? Five products?"
At this point, Rinjin narrowed his eyes, staring meaningfully at the Hyūga clan head:
"Clan Head, this is a gold mine!"
The Hyūga clan head nodded instinctively, then asked hesitantly:
"So what are you suggesting, Lord Daimyō?"
"My suggestion is mutual benefit, of course! I'm an outsider here—to put it bluntly, aside from knowing how to operate this insurance company, my foundation in Konoha doesn't compare to even one ten-thousandth of the Hyūga clan's. So..."
So you must rely on my Hyūga clan's solid reputation and popular foundation!
The Hyūga clan head automatically completed the thought, then began considering carefully.
He had to admit, Rinjin's mind worked differently from ordinary people. This idea of getting villagers to gamble was pure genius.
However, this guy had no grassroots foundation in Konoha—ninety-five percent of villagers had never even heard of him.
This meant he couldn't possibly sell this so-called insurance.
Without reputation, there's no credibility as a golden signboard. Put yourself in their shoes—you'd never hand money to a complete stranger, much less believe they'd actually pay you back.
Ridiculous!
In the end, he'd still have to rely on Konoha's premier clan! After all, only the Hyūga clan had the strength and credibility to handle this kind of business.
Still, he could play along for now. Once he understood how this insurance company operated, he could kick Rinjin aside.
No, no, no! He couldn't openly offend him—who knows if this guy would flip the table!
Better to observe for now. If necessary, he could bring in the Uchiha and share some profits with them. That would be much better than letting Hiruzen Sarutobi get involved—that old fox loved taking over other people's nests. The Sarutobi clan would probably end up as the biggest shareholders.
Unacceptable!
Having thought it through, the Hyūga clan head was no longer anxious.
"Rinjin-kun, you came to me with this idea..."
Rinjin caught the hint and explained with a smile:
"I've already researched Konoha's market. The most suitable options are safety insurance and retirement insurance. I'm prepared to give these two major categories to the Hyūga clan. I'll just take a small piece—property damage insurance."
"What is property damage insurance?" the Hyūga clan head asked keenly.
When it came to new profit streams, this old fox was sharp as a tack.
"It's insurance for houses—only pays out for unavoidable natural disasters or man-made calamities. Like if war reached Konoha's doorstep and damaged property."
Rinjin put on an amused expression, as if his own words entertained him, and shook his head:
"Given Konoha's status as the number one hidden village in the ninja world, something like that probably won't happen for hundreds of years, right?"
At this point, Rinjin paused, a fleeting, self-mocking smile crossing his lips.
"I have no foundation in Konoha, so I can only..."
Make some steady money!
The Hyūga clan head mentally completed Rinjin's unfinished sentence.
Clever boy—this move is absolutely risk-free profit!
However, everyone here was smart. This type of insurance would definitely have few buyers compared to the first two—small change, really.
With this realization, the Hyūga clan head gradually formed his plan.
The meat was big, fat, and looked incredibly tempting! He was confident that once the Hyūga clan controlled this insurance company, making money would be child's play, given his access to Konoha's classified information.
After all, annual ninja mission casualty rates—that kind of classified intel wasn't so classified to him.
With this steady stream of income, the clan's influence in Konoha would increase further. Maybe the Hokage position would eventually fall to the Hyūga clan!
For a moment, greed surged wildly in his heart.
However, as a clan head, compared to the easily excitable Uchiha, this old fox kept his head relatively cool.
String along this Rinjin fellow for now, then bring in the Uchiha?
Feasible—at least better than letting Hiruzen Sarutobi get involved. That old man loved taking over other people's operations. The Sarutobi clan would probably become the biggest shareholders.
Unacceptable!
After thinking it through, the Hyūga clan head looked up at Rinjin with a smile:
"Rinjin-kun, I need to think this over carefully. After all... this isn't a small matter..."
Rinjin immediately nodded, smiling: "Of course. Noble clans have their considerations—completely understandable."
With that, he stood up with a smile, politely declined the clan head's offer to see him out, and strolled away from the Hyūga estate.
Walking down the street, Rinjin recalled the Hyūga clan head's series of expression changes and shifting forms of address, a handsome smile playing at his lips.
For him, the most troublesome step was already behind him. Now he'd just let the various clan heads and Konoha's higher-ups fight over the spoils.
After all, he wasn't counting on insurance to make his fortune.
For Konoha, Rinjin's move was a completely open scheme. First, he didn't believe the Hyūga clan head wouldn't be tempted by such a huge cake. Second, he didn't believe Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't be interested either.
Moreover, he honestly didn't care whether he could participate or not.
The so-called property damage insurance was just for show—something to dangle in front of the Hyūga clan head. If he got in, great. If not, no big deal.
If Konoha cooperated with him and didn't cut him out, he'd reluctantly do some marketing and symbolically collect some insurance fees. If Konoha cut him out and went solo, even better.
Not only wouldn't he be angry—he'd send even more money Konoha's way.
Rinjin had been in Konoha long enough to acquire considerable land and property through various means—no less impressive than these so-called noble clans. When the Nine-Tails rampaged and Nagato cleared the board, those sky-high insurance payouts would come rolling in.
Besides, insurance was full of tricks! Not even Konoha, with zero operational experience, nor Rinjin himself could guarantee profits.
Most importantly, he wasn't counting on insurance premiums to make a living. Rinjin had plenty of other businesses in Konoha—Shūeisha, barbecue restaurants... Those were his real moneymakers.
With insurance as a safety net, he could expand limitlessly in this prosperous land without worrying about the Nine-Tails or Nagato.
Put it this way: Konoha's higher-ups and noble clans might make good money initially, but when disaster struck, they'd bleed out completely. That meant they'd pump back double what they'd sucked from the civilians. Then Rinjin could use those sky-high insurance payouts to rapidly rebuild his businesses, and through various services, fairly pocket the civilians' money while continuing to expand.
In other villages—like Kumogakure—the insurance business might actually turn a profit. But Konoha was different. This land simply wasn't fertile ground for the insurance industry.
With trouble brewing every few days, it'd be a miracle if anyone selling insurance here made money.
And there was another point: once man-made disasters struck and these Konoha higher-ups and major clans couldn't pay the astronomical insurance claims, wouldn't that be a blow to their credibility?
In the end, Rinjin never planned to get involved in this insurance nonsense himself.
If you made money, people would resent you. If you couldn't pay out, you'd become the policyholders' mortal enemy!
Do well and nobody praises you; do poorly and you get cursed to hell.
Having worked in sales in his previous life, Rinjin understood this industry all too well.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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