"Kitazawa-sama!" Aburame Muta excitedly ran up to Kitazawa. In his hand was a glittering golden ore.
Kitazawa subconsciously glanced at it. Clearly, it wasn't pure gold; there were many impurities.
"It's an ore deposit!" Aburame Muta said with a wide smile, "There's gold and silver, and many other ores I don't recognize!"
"You all did well." Kitazawa nodded in satisfaction, then added, "Once you've noted the location, retrieve the Kikaichu."
Since the ore deposit had been found, he didn't need to waste any more Chakra.
"Alright!" Aburame Muta turned and went to the bow of the ship, relaying Kitazawa's command.
"There's actually so much ore at the bottom of the sea?" Konan couldn't help but widen her eyes.
In the Ninja World, due to various limitations, the development of the ocean was restricted to fishing.
After all, ordinary people didn't have the equipment to dive into the deep sea. As Ninja, while they had Chakra to help them dive, not many Ninja could reach the seabed.
More importantly, Ninja didn't know there were abundant mineral resources at the bottom of the sea.
Even if there were, they wouldn't bother to mine them. Ninja only needed to carry out missions.
Konan fell into silence. She didn't know much about ore, but she clearly understood the value of gold and silver.
If there was enough, a considerable sum of money could be made. Konan was tempted for a moment.
But… the Land of Rain had no sea.
Konan suddenly thought of that mysterious masked man, Uchiha Madara.
He hadn't done anything productive in the Hidden Mist Village for so many years and hadn't earned any money either.
Compared to Kitazawa, this so-called Uchiha Madara was truly incompetent, having wasted the opportunity in the Hidden Mist Village.
However, she couldn't blame him. Konan herself hadn't even thought of mining at the bottom of the sea.
She subconsciously looked at Kitazawa, feeling a hint of curiosity. But she didn't say much to him.
After all, Kitazawa couldn't possibly share the ore with her, nor would he let her make money with him.
Konan's current thought was that since she would be following him for a long time anyway, she might as well observe more; perhaps she could find a way to make money.
"Kitazawa-sama, all the Kikaichu have been retrieved." Aburame Muta reappeared before Kitazawa.
Upon hearing this, Kitazawa withdrew his Chakra. The seawater rushed back in, closing up the passage to the seabed once again, which had been there moments before.
"Kitazawa-sama's Water Release can truly be called the best in the Ninja World."
Aburame Muta said with great respect, seeing his normal expression.
An ordinary person using Water Release to part the seawater would find it difficult to maintain for even five minutes, let alone half an hour.
Yet Kitazawa had maintained it for so long and looked as if nothing had happened.
This amount of Chakra was truly terrifying.
"In a couple of days, I will send an Earth Release squad over; they will establish an Earth Release tunnel to the seabed."
Kitazawa smiled and said.
If he were to mine the ore himself, it would be much easier, but unfortunately, he couldn't stay here long-term.
"That's wonderful!" Aburame Muta's eyes lit up.
Their underwater exploration team had discussed this issue before—how to mine seabed ore easily and stably.
After all, the seabed had pressure and water, making operations very inconvenient.
Ultimately, they hadn't come up with any good conclusions and could only dig with Parasitic Water Insects.
But Kitazawa's single sentence helped them solve the most troublesome problem.
As long as a tunnel was established on the seabed, the difficulty of mining ore would be greatly reduced.
Ultimately, they were still thinking like traditional Ninja. In the past, no one had ever thought of using Earth Release Ninja for engineering.
"Earth Release Ninja can be used like this?" Konan suddenly thought of Kakuzu.
Could he use Earth Release to go out and find ore? She wondered if there were any mines within the Land of Rain.
But would Kakuzu be willing?
Her strong adaptability didn't mean other Ninjas could accept it. Konan was pensive.
To change how Ninjas are used, it must be done from the top down.
Kitazawa was now a Konoha Village high-ranking official, possessing both strength and prestige.
No matter how strange his orders were, someone would carry them out.
"The rest is up to you to handle. I'll be leaving now; I have other matters."
Without waiting for Aburame Muta's reply, Kitazawa jumped directly into the sea.
He threw out the small boat from before. After the small boat landed in the sea, he also landed on it.
"Kitazawa-sama is truly decisive and efficient!" Aburame Muta exclaimed.
"The same style as Hokage-sama; truly worthy of being Hokage-sama's student."
"Now this is how things get done."
"Indeed."
"Kitazawa-sama's casual intervention saved us ten days to half a month."
The Aburame Clan Ninja of the underwater exploration team couldn't help but discuss.
---
Kitazawa returned to the Land of Waves by boat.
"Kitazawa." Kurenai appeared and said, "We have already taken control of Gato."
"Didn't I tell you to infiltrate and gather intelligence?" Kitazawa raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why did you capture Gato?"
Although he did intend to capture Gato eventually.
"Kiba accidentally triggered a warning trap." Kurenai recounted the whole story.
"It seems he hasn't been paying attention in class lately." Kitazawa smiled and said, "When we get back, I'll give him extra homework."
"Good thing you weren't my teacher when I was in the Ninja Academy." Kurenai joked, "Otherwise, I don't know how much homework I would have had."
"I can tutor you at night." Kitazawa glanced at her and walked towards the courtyard where Gato was staying.
Kurenai froze for two seconds before realizing what he meant. Her face slightly flushed as she spat, then followed him.
Gato's guards had all been tied up and were sitting in the courtyard.
Kitazawa swept his gaze over them, but didn't find any familiar faces.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Ino, Kiba, and Tenten quickly came before him.
"You all did well." Kitazawa praised them, "To defeat so many rogue Ninja and samurai, outnumbered as you were."
"They were just too weak!" Kiba said triumphantly.
He had been a little flustered when he was surrounded earlier, but once the fight started, he found it very easy.
Just as he had guessed, most of them had Genin-level strength, with only a few Chunin whose strength was also mediocre.
"But you fell into a trap." Kitazawa said with a slight smile, "When you return to Konoha, you'll go find Iruka and retake the trap class."
Kiba froze on the spot upon hearing this. He subconsciously looked at Ino and Tenten. But they both indicated they couldn't help.
"Where's Gato?" Kitazawa brought up the main topic and asked.
"He's in the living room."
Ino suddenly remembered something, pulled out a document, and said, "This is the employee list for his shipping company."
Kitazawa took the document and walked into the living room.
"You Konoha Village Ninja, if you know what's good for you, release me!" Gato, tied to a chair, saw him and, without any fear, shouted, "The Land of Water is behind me!"
Kitazawa ignored him, casually opened the book, and looked at a few pages.
Gato's shipping company was indeed large, with over a hundred employees.
"Crow," Kitazawa called out.
An ANBU Ninja wearing a crow mask appeared.
Kitazawa hadn't just brought Konan on this trip; he had also brought an ANBU Ninja squad. After all, they needed to take over Gato's shipping company.
This ANBU Ninja, codenamed Crow, was none other than the Uchiha Jonin recently recruited into the ANBU.
"Control him," Kitazawa commanded.
Crow immediately pressed down on Gato's shoulder.
"You bas…" Gato tried to curse, but after only one word, his expression became blank.
He had been controlled by the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Now I'll speak, and you'll relay it to him." Kitazawa looked at Gato and said, "From now on, your shipping company will undergo reforms."
His original idea was to kill Gato and find someone to replace him, but that approach was too troublesome.
Ultimately, Kitazawa decided to directly control Gato and use his connections and shipping company to earn money for Konoha Village.
Money was a good thing. Even Ninja couldn't avoid its allure.
Although money would temporarily become useless once the Akatsuki Organization initiated the Eye of the Moon Plan, Kitazawa was considering the future of Konoha Village.
He was the future Hokage, so the richer Konoha Village was, the better. Of course, Kitazawa didn't care about money and wasn't interested in it.
After all, this Ninja World valued strength above all else, and he cared more about strength. Once one's personal strength was unrivaled, whatever one wanted would be obtained.
However, before that, Kitazawa still had to temporarily follow the rules.
Kitazawa began discussing the reforms for Gato's shipping company, primarily three things. This was also his purpose in controlling Gato and coming to the Land of Waves.
The first thing was to stop smuggling contraband.
Although Kitazawa was rather thick-skinned, he still had a bottom line; there was no need to earn money from such activities.
The second thing was to establish processing plants in the Land of Waves.
Mining in the Ninja World was very crude; basically, they just sold gold or silver ore directly.
For example, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, used Magnet Release to pan for gold to sell. But in Kitazawa's view, this was too wasteful.
After processing, making them into jewelry and other commodities to sell would obviously earn more money.
They could also invite the feudal lords to be their spokespersons and establish a high-end brand.
As for the workers, they could hire residents from the Land of Waves. Kitazawa's approach was actually quite similar to Gato's, just more gentle.
In the original storyline, after Gato took control of the Land of Waves' maritime transport, he was unwilling to give any money to the local residents.
Eventually, they reached their breaking point and invited Ninja from Konoha Village, and Gato met his demise.
However, Kitazawa had other plans for the high-end brand.
That was to hire Ninja from the Hyuga Clan. They have the Byakugan, which could be used to create more precise and aesthetically pleasing jewelry.
At that time, sweeping across the Ninja World and becoming the number one brand would not be a problem.
The third matter was to conduct normal maritime transport business.
The Land of Waves had a good location. To its left was the Land of Fire, and to its right was the Land of Water, both with numerous ports and islands.
Now that Mei Terumī had become the new Mizukage, she intended to re-establish contact or trade with the surrounding Ninja villages and countries.
Kitazawa could seize this opportunity to make Gato's shipping company dominate the maritime business in this vicinity. Even just collecting tolls and transportation fees would bring in a large profit.
After Kitazawa finished speaking, Konan was the most shocked. She felt as if a new world had opened up to her, and everything suddenly became clear.
Konan looked at Kitazawa, her curiosity growing. After all, his words just now seemed too novel or even astonishing to her.
It was just that it seemed a bit late for the Akatsuki Organization to try and replicate it. In maritime transport, Kitazawa and Konoha Village had already seized the initiative and had also signed a contract with Hidden Mist Village.
Were there any other industries? Of course, the most important thing was practical execution.
Kitazawa spoke very vaguely. Many times, theory sounds like one thing, but practical execution is another.
Konan felt that she still needed to observe for a while longer. If the operation went wrong and bankrupted the Akatsuki Organization, it would do more harm than good. After all, these matters all required considerable investment.
"So amazing!" Ino said with a look of admiration.
"Did you understand it?" Tenten asked in confusion.
"No." Ino shook her head and said, "But it sounds really impressive."
Kiba, because he had to go back and re-learn trapology, was completely dejected, like a frost-bitten eggplant, and didn't hear what Kitazawa was saying at all.
"Kitazawa, where did you learn all this?"
Kurenai understood quite a bit, but still had some partial understanding. She didn't remember the Ninja Academy teaching such content.
"I just figured it out myself," Kitazawa said casually, "I feel that Ninja shouldn't be confined to missions."
"Your view is really unconventional," Kurenai paused for a moment and said.
The environment and education she had been exposed to since childhood were all related to Ninja, teaching that missions come first and adhering to Ninja principles.
For a while, she couldn't agree with Kitazawa's ideas. But she didn't think too much about it either. Whatever Kitazawa said, she would do.
"Crow, your squad stay behind," Kitazawa thought for a moment and said. "On one hand, supervise Gato, and on the other hand, assist the underwater exploration team."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sama," Crow said in a deep voice.
Although Kitazawa's mission was a bit strange, as an ANBU Ninja, he had to carry out any mission.
"Release all of Gato's bodyguards," Kitazawa pondered briefly and said.
These bodyguards had no strength or value. Now that Gato was under the control of Konoha Village, they were no longer needed.
"All these employees must also be replaced; they are accustomed to smuggling contraband, and if they are allowed to return to normal, they might cause trouble."
Kitazawa handed the employee list to Crow.
As for new employees, he had already said earlier that they would be recruited from among the residents of the Land of Waves.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sama." Crow took the employee list and walked into the courtyard.
"It's getting late; we'll rest here tonight and return to Konoha tomorrow." Kitazawa looked at Kurenai, Ino Yamanaka, and the others and said.
"Mm." The four of them had no objections.
"Ino, you write the mission report." Kitazawa reached out and patted her head, saying.
"Mission accomplished!" Ino said seriously, puffing out her chest.
Gato's courtyard was very large, and there were many empty rooms. Kitazawa and Kurenai casually chose a room. Of course, before staying, they cleaned it.
"Another easy mission." Kurenai stretched, her graceful body curving.
"Doing the mission is just a side activity," Kitazawa explained. "The transformation of this shipping company is the goal; if successful, it can bring a lot of income to Konoha."
"When you became a Konoha executive, the things you consider became remarkably different."
Kurenai sat on the edge of the bed, took off her shoes, revealing a pair of delicate feet, and said with a smile, "Just tell me if there's anything you need me to do."
If it were too complicated, she wouldn't bother to think about it.
"There's nothing right now. How about I teach you an advanced Sealing Technique?" Kitazawa looked at her and asked.
"My Compound Ninjutsu: Hurricane Vortex Jutsu still needs some work," Kurenai shook her head and said.
"The Compound Ninjutsu: Hurricane Vortex Jutsu requires us to practice together. When I'm busy, you can learn this Sealing Technique."
Kitazawa walked up to her and said, "It's called the Self-Cursing Seal."
He reached out and placed his hand on her fair neck. The cursed seal quickly spread, covering her body and limbs.
Kurenai couldn't help but widen her eyes, her face showing shock. She felt her entire body unable to move, unable to control even a single finger.
And she tried to break free from the restraint, but couldn't. This feeling was truly terrifying.
"Do you want to learn?" Kitazawa asked with a smile after releasing the Self-Cursing Seal from her.
"Yes!" Kurenai nodded vigorously and said.
Although it would take her a long time to learn with her talent, it didn't matter; she had plenty of time, and learning it would also improve her strength.
The night of teaching passed just like that.
---
A new day.
Kitazawa sat up and rubbed his eyes.
Kurenai was still resting, too tired from studying last night. Fortunately, their mission was completed on the same day, giving him enough time to spare.
Kitazawa usually allotted three days for missions outside: Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Today was only Sunday.
Kitazawa changed his clothes and left the room.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Ino ran up to him and said, "I've finished writing the mission report!"
"That fast?" Kitazawa took the mission report and asked with some surprise.
"Can I get extra credit then?" Ino lifted her small head, her pretty eyes blinking.
"Extra credit isn't earned by being cute." Kitazawa opened the scroll and said, "Let me see how you wrote it first."
Ino was much livelier compared to Hinata. However, she also knew her limits and wouldn't be overly presumptuous. She was a very smart little girl.
"Not bad." Kitazawa commented after reading it, "The format is correct, and the content is clear. You can get extra credit."
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Ino immediately beamed with a smile.
"Come on, let's go eat breakfast." Kitazawa put away the mission scroll, patted her head, and said.
"Mm!" Ino skipped along behind him.
Kiba and Tenten were already waiting in the living room.
As for breakfast, Gato had ordered it to be prepared.
After they finished breakfast, Kurenai also woke up, and once she finished eating, the four of them returned along the same path.
By evening, they were back home.
Kitazawa, on the other hand, went next door. He explained the shipping company matter to Tsunade.
"Weren't you taking students out on a mission? How did you suddenly end up taking over Gato's shipping company?"
Tsunade was a bit confused.
"Gato's shipping company is very helpful to our Konoha," Kitazawa said unhurriedly. "Not only can it earn us money, but it can also allow us to monitor the Land of Water and Hidden Mist Village."
Gato's shipping company transported goods back and forth between various ports and islands, so it would definitely be able to gather a lot of intelligence—especially from the Land of Water and Hidden Mist Village.
Tsunade opened her mouth, wanting to speak but holding back.
I understand the reasoning, but you completed such a big task so silently, it makes me look foolish. After a long deliberation, she said, "Then let's do as you say."
Ninja engaging in business wasn't exactly in line with the rules. But she was short on money.
Coupled with the ability to monitor the Land of Water and Hidden Mist Village, she agreed.
--
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P@atreon/Arvinstorm (45+ Advanced Chapters)