Hitenn and Hibari were both people of strong action. Once the matter was decided, neither was willing to wait. When doing things, one must be quick, not drag their feet.
As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot, or morale will wane and eventually deplete. If they delayed for another two days, something else might come up, and this plan would be indefinitely postponed, which would truly be a mess.
"Hitenn, wait for me here. I'll go put on some warmer clothes, and then we'll go together to find Hiruzen and get this matter implemented as soon as possible," Hibari stood up and said.
Hitenn had no objections, nodding, "Okay, Deputy Commander."
Not long after, Hibari, wrapped in his large mink coat and wearing a fur hat he'd bought from who-knew-where, looked like a nouveau riche meat bun as he and Hitenn walked out of the Senju clan's main residence together.
Hiruzen was currently in the Anbu office, handling some related documents. Suddenly, he heard the door open, and then saw Hibari and Hitenn walk in with an imposing aura, which startled him. Had something major happened?
"Hibari, Hitenn, what's wrong? Has something big happened? You two..." Hiruzen stopped his work and quickly asked.
"Big? Of course, it's big! This concerns the Sarutobi, Senju, and Hyūga clans!" Hibari's expression turned serious as he spoke with a solemn demeanor.
Hiruzen's brow twitched upon hearing this, and his heart couldn't help but flutter in a panic. If Hibari had come alone, he might have thought Hibari was exaggerating, but with Hitenn, that straight-laced fellow, following him, Hiruzen truly believed Hibari's words and thought some major chaos had broken out.
"What exactly is the situation? Did one of our three clans turn traitor?" Hiruzen quickly asked.
Hitenn was stunned for a moment, then said, "Commander, it's not like that. It's about a matter concerning our three clans that Deputy Commander and I want to discuss with you."
Only upon hearing Hitenn's words did Hiruzen breathe a sigh of relief. He looked at Hibari, who was barely suppressing a mischievous grin, and felt annoyed. He scolded, "Hibari, you scoundrel! As Deputy Commander, you don't handle anything all day, you hand everything over to me, and now you come here startling me and causing trouble. Are you too idle?"
Hibari put on a smug expression, looking down his nose at Hiruzen and saying, "Commander, you should watch your words. I came here today to bring you benefits. You should think carefully about what attitude to use when speaking to me..."
Looking at Hibari's arrogant, boastful demeanor, Hiruzen felt both annoyed and amused. But thinking carefully, every time Hibari acted this smug, he had 'cards' in his hand. Who knew, maybe there really was some great good news?
As the saying goes, a true man can bend and stretch. Hiruzen thought of this, and his previously slightly vexed expression instantly transformed into a smile. He said with a chuckle, "Hahahaha, my work is a bit dull. I was just thinking I haven't seen you in days and missed you, and here you are! Perfect, perfect. Come, come, Hibari, Hitenn, you two sit first, I'll pour you some tea..."
"That's more like it, that's our good Commander..." Hibari said, sprawling casually onto the sofa.
Hitenn, however, maintained his very serious demeanor and said, "I wouldn't dare trouble the Commander. I can do it."
With that, without waiting for Hiruzen to object, Hitenn quickly picked up the teapot from the table and poured tea for the three of them.
Only then did Hiruzen sit down, looking at Hibari and asking, "What benefits?"
Hibari chuckled, then said, "When I went on that mission before, didn't I say you'd treat me to hotpot when I got back? And now there's no word?"
"You scoundrel! Is that your benefit? You're now the big boss of a chain hotpot restaurant! With the weather getting colder, anyone in the village with a bit of spare money will want to sit in your warm shop. Business is incredibly booming; it's no exaggeration to say you're raking in money daily. And you still have the nerve to ask me to treat you? I'm almost poor enough to eat dirt..." Hiruzen said, somewhat exasperated.
"I knew you were barely scraping by, so I came to bring you benefits. It's like this: you mentioned before that if I found any good opportunities, I should pull you in, right? Today, Hitenn visited our Senju clan, and we just happened to talk about this. The conclusion we reached is that our Senju clan is preparing to partner with the Hyūga clan in business. Hiruzen, isn't that explosive news? Don't say I didn't include you..." Hibari raised an eyebrow, speaking with a coy smile.
Hiruzen's expression was surprised upon hearing this. He then glanced at Hitenn, who had just finished pouring tea and sat down. Hitenn didn't refute anything, also nodding, confirming the truth of the matter.
"Your Senju clan and Hyūga clan are partnering in business... That truly surprises me... So, what you mean is..." Hiruzen asked, somewhat uncertainly.
"It's exactly what you're thinking. We both believe it would be even better to have another partner. Firstly, business inevitably has its ups and downs, so having your Sarutobi clan share some of the risk. On the other hand, if there are any frictions between the two clans, having a third party to mediate would also help resolve conflicts," Hibari said with a smile.
Hiruzen listened to Hibari's words and smiled meaningfully. Although it sounded like what Hibari said, the most crucial point behind it was not directly stated by Hibari, but subtly hinted at: the various implicit benefits that a three-clan alliance would bring.
The Sarutobi clan was already a prominent clan of Konoha, just slightly 'inferior' to the three great clans. Now, if two of the three great clans were pulling them in, why would Hiruzen, who wasn't an idiot, refuse?
Therefore, Hiruzen immediately said without hesitation, "Then there's no problem. Although I don't have much personal funds for investment, don't forget, I am the young clan head of the Sarutobi clan..."
Hibari nodded upon hearing this, then picked up a teacup from the table, took a sip, and said, "Since you agree to join, I'll explain my plan..."
As Hibari's words fell, Hitenn's expression turned serious. This three-clan alliance was an unexpected outcome; Hitenn's most fundamental demand was still to alleviate the Hyūga clan's economic pressure.
"Hitenn came to me wanting my opinion on what kind of promising industry to pursue. But on the way here, I thought about it carefully. If we were to develop a business like my hotpot restaurant, the profits would at most be enough for the three of us individually. To split it among three clans, it would seem a bit lackluster, wouldn't it?" Hibari said softly.
Hiruzen and Hitenn listened to Hibari's words and, after a brief thought, realized it was true. If one person messed around on their own, being a small boss like Hibari would be enough. But for three great clans to gather and fuss over such small profits, it would indeed be a bit embarrassing and seem too petty.
"Then, Deputy Commander, what is your suggestion?" Hitenn asked in a deep voice.
Hibari grinned, revealing a somewhat wicked smile, then said unceremoniously, "In my opinion, we can go big. How about we form a conglomerate?"
"Conglomerate? What does that mean?" Hiruzen asked, somewhat puzzled.
The current world's economic level was not very high, and people's understanding of economics was also limited. The 'high-end groups' who understood a bit were generally big merchants, like the Senju clan monopolizing the timber business of the Land of Fire.
But Hibari was different. In his view, in this era, if he seized the opportunity, he might just be able to create a capital giant. This was practically a wild scramble for resources; there wasn't even an opponent!
Thinking this, Hibari's eyes lit up with excitement. He said, "You two listen carefully; these are things I've thought about for a long time..."
After talking ramblingly for an entire morning, and the three of them had drunk six or seven pots of tea, Hibari finally explained the relevant matters to Hiruzen and Hitenn.
"Our three clans are all prestigious families in the Land of Fire, and we more or less control some resources that we haven't even noticed. Once these resources are properly utilized, they can quickly be converted into enormous profits, which will then benefit our three clans. Let me give you the simplest example..." Hibari paused here, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and cleared his throat.
Then, with Hiruzen listening intently and Hitenn even starting to take notes, Hibari spoke again, "Take our Senju clan's timber business. All the timber in the entire Land of Fire comes from our Senju clan. While that sounds impressive, in my opinion, it's just a raw material supplier; it's not that great. But this is what I just called 'unnoticed resources.' Think about it, what is this timber sold for?"
"For what? Naturally, for building houses, bridges, and related things..." Hiruzen said.
"Exactly. So, based on this, we can completely delve into the real estate and infrastructure industries. We can acquire large quantities of timber from our Senju clan at the lowest cost price, reducing capital investment. With reduced investment, we can naturally gain an advantage in pricing. Then, we use this advantage to quickly crush other merchants in this industry who want to compete with us, and at the same time, integrate and absorb those merchants who are willing to work with us. It won't take long for these industries across the entire Land of Fire to fall into our hands. Think about it, how enormous is that profit? Isn't that more profitable than opening a hotpot restaurant?" Hibari's eyes glittered as he spoke.
His words left both Hiruzen and Hitenn bewildered. Thinking carefully, what Hibari said made a lot of sense. Such a huge business, and none of their three clans had seen it before? And this was just an example.
The Senju clan controlled this kind of resource, and their Sarutobi clan and Hyūga clan naturally also had some of these 'hidden' resources. If they could all be utilized...
Even Hitenn, that straight-laced fellow, couldn't help but say excitedly when he thought of this, "Deputy Commander, you truly are a genius!!!"
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