Hiruzen also said excitedly, "Exactly, exactly! You really are a genius, kid! Becoming a shinobi is such a waste; it squanders all your talent!"
Hibari found this a bit off-putting and quickly interjected, "Stop, stop, stop! Are you praising me or scolding me? What? Am I not a qualified shinobi?"
After the three of them joked around for a bit, Hitenn spoke with some impatience, "So, Deputy Commander, what's our first step? As you just illustrated, should we start with the timber business? If so, I'll go back and prepare right away..."
"No, let's hold off on the timber for now. After all, that's a long-term investment, long-term return business. Because it requires buying, then building, which takes time, and then selling it off—the cycle is too long. Right now, we need to make some quick money first to complete our initial capital accumulation. And this first step definitely needs to be establishing regulations and forming this conglomerate," Hibari said with a smile.
At this moment, in the eyes of Hiruzen and Hitenn, Hibari seemed to have transformed into a 'God of Wealth.' Whatever he said, they both found reasonable. They knew for sure that they hadn't thought things through as thoroughly as Hibari. Since that was the case, they would just follow his lead.
"Then you speak. Hitenn, take notes," Hiruzen immediately said.
Hitenn also gripped his pen tighter, waiting for Hibari to speak.
"First step: those with money contribute money, those with people contribute people. Then, we'll divide the profits according to these contributions. For example, if we earn a million ryō, how can our three clans divide this million ryō so everyone's satisfied?" Hibari said softly.
Hiruzen thought for a moment and said, "We need to first determine what kind of business it is. Then, Hibari, you estimate how many people and how much capital investment that business needs. Then, our three clans can divide it up according to the effort contributed, separating what you just called 'shares.' That should work."
After listening to Hiruzen's words, Hitenn also nodded and said, "I second the Commander's proposal."
In truth, none of Hibari, Hiruzen, or Hitenn would haggle too much over these profits. While it sounded like an enormous profit, it was still hypothetical, so it naturally lacked a sense of reality.
Moreover, the fundamental purpose of this plan wasn't to divide profits but rather to combine interests, linking the three clans tightly together to become an unshakeable force—that was the correct path. So, none of them were looking to take advantage; instead, they were all prepared to concede some.
Hibari listened to their words, straightened his expression, and then said seriously, "Alright, then I'll talk about the promising avenues I see right now."
Seeing Hiruzen and Hitenn become serious, Hibari continued, "First, our Anbu here has excellent intelligence, so we all know that the clouds of war are currently gathering. If things move quickly, war could break out within three to five months. If Hokage-sama has any powerful means, perhaps he could postpone this time a bit, but it would only be a delay and unavoidable. In short, I believe a major war will inevitably break out within three to four years at most, wouldn't you agree?"
Hiruzen nodded, then said, "You haven't been around these past few days, so perhaps you haven't received the news yet. Sensei dispatched envoys to Kumogakure yesterday, both to express congratulations on the Second Raikage's ascension and to help the Second Raikage establish some prestige in his village. After all, according to your intelligence, the Second Raikage might have intentions of starting a war, but at least in the short term, he wants to stabilize his village internally while also gaining more time to prepare for war."
Hitenn nodded upon hearing this, then said, "However, they probably don't know that we've already seen through their intentions. So, Hokage-sama's side has already begun preparations. On one hand, delaying this time, with the superior resources our Konohagakure possesses, our ultimate war preparations will definitely far exceed Kumogakure's within the same timeframe. At the same time, perhaps Hokage-sama can also find an opportunity to turn the tide during this period?"
Hibari nodded, listening to their words. Since the Hokage's side had already begun exerting effort, the war wouldn't break out suddenly; it might still need some time.
"But war will inevitably break out eventually; we all know that. So, we can start making some preparations now. Our three clans are all shinobi families, so we should be very familiar with things like explosive tags, kunai, shuriken, small darts, and blades... In the past, each clan had its own workshops specifically to provide these things for their own families... But it's time for a change," Hibari said with a smile, his lips curling.
Hiruzen's brow twitched upon hearing this, and he asked, "You mean, we get into the weapons business?"
Although each clan had its own workshops for these items, no one could claim to be completely self-sufficient. There were occasional times when demand outstripped supply, and at such times, clans would seek out other clans with good relations to purchase some. Over time, this had become a minor, unofficial business. So, when Hibari brought it up, Hiruzen immediately thought of this.
"Exactly. Once war breaks out, you can never have enough of these things. At that time, every family will come to buy and store some for contingencies. At the same time, with the establishment of the Academy, there will be more and more civilian shinobi in the future. They don't have families to specifically craft these weapons for them; besides making their own, buying is the only option. Therefore, this weapon... well, let's call it 'arms.' This arms business, regardless of whether war breaks out, will be a very promising industry in the future. And this industry isn't just limited to the shinobi class. The ordinary armies under the Daimyō's palace, shinobi from other countries, samurai from the Land of Iron, and so on—these are all our 'customers'!" Hibari said with a smile.
Hitenn, upon hearing this, frowned slightly and said, "If we sell these things to shinobi from other countries, wouldn't that be aiding the enemy? And wouldn't it affect our clan's reputation?"
Listening to Hitenn's overly serious words, Hiruzen was also stunned for a moment, then said, "That's simple, isn't it? During wartime, we naturally don't sell to those scoundrels; we only sell to our Land of Fire and our allies, wouldn't that solve it? Besides, our supply might not even reach a level where we can sell a lot externally. As for peacetime after that, there's not much to worry about."
Hibari also chuckled and said, "Exactly, Hiruzen's right. We just need to be careful about this sort of thing ourselves. And once we get into this business, it's a good thing for our Konohagakure and for the Land of Fire, isn't it?"
At this point, Hitenn, that straight-laced fellow, no longer fixated on these matters and instead nodded in agreement.
"Since everyone has no objections, then this matter can be settled. Tomorrow, we'll draw up some regulations. The three of us will go back and organize the specialized artisans in our respective families. We'll buy a large plot of land in the village, then we'll build a workshop and start production!" Hibari nodded and said.
After Hiruzen and Hitenn both agreed, Hibari continued, "As for the allocation of shares, that will depend on how much each family can contribute. Now, I'll talk about the second path."
He paused slightly, and after getting Hiruzen's and Hitenn's attention focused again, Hibari began, "My trip to Kumogakure wasn't without other gains. I noticed some information that is very valuable to us: the Land of Lightning's economy is declining. But this shouldn't be an isolated case. After I came back, I specifically inquired, and our Land of Fire is the same in this regard. The number of itinerant merchants in various countries is decreasing. Specialty items from other countries that used to cost three to five hundred ryō are now priced at 'a thousand ryō'... Why is this?"
"I think it's probably because the relations between countries aren't very good right now; there's a lot of tension, so that's affecting these merchants, right?" Hiruzen thought for a moment and said.
"Commander, Deputy Commander, in my opinion, this should only be one aspect. Our Hyūga clan had three shinobi accept a B-rank escort mission two days ago, to escort a merchant caravan to the Land of Water. The reason is that banditry has become increasingly severe recently. According to my speculation, it's probably precisely because of the economic recession in various countries that Deputy Commander just mentioned, so many people have lost their sources of income. Driven by necessity, it's inevitable that some people will turn to banditry, and the increase in bandits will exacerbate merchants' losses, causing the economy to fall into an even worse situation... A vicious cycle!" Hitenn said in a deep voice.
Hibari was quite surprised at this moment, looking at Hitenn, that straight-laced fellow. He hadn't expected him to be able to figure out this intricate twist. It seemed he still had some economic acumen! No wonder he dared to confidently come to Hibari to do business; he must have secretly researched these things himself.
"Hahahaha, you're right; this is what I wanted to bring up. Think about it: our Senju clan, Hyūga clan, and Sarutobi clan, even those clan members who didn't choose to become shinobi, have all been learning martial arts and mastering some basic ninjutsu since childhood. This alone far surpasses ordinary bandits. If our three clans unite and form several large merchant caravans, conducted by these clan members for international trade, wouldn't that be very promising?" Hibari said with a laugh.
Then, without waiting for Hiruzen and Hitenn to speak, Hibari continued, "At the same time, our merchant caravans can also provide protection for other merchants traveling along the same route, as long as they hand over a certain amount of trade profits to us. This way, we'll have another source of income. In the current general environment, as long as we make a few trips and bring enough goods, we can definitely quickly accumulate a large amount of capital. At that time, we'll have more funds to get involved in various other industries. At the same time, these merchant caravans can also gradually warm up our Land of Fire's recently declining economy. With the increase in goods and the flow of trade, prices will also decrease somewhat, which is also a great benefit to the country and its people, isn't it?"
After listening to Hibari's explanation, Hiruzen and Hitenn both seemed to see a bright future, so they both laughed and said, "That's definitely true!"
"Since everyone has no objections, then we shouldn't bite off more than we can chew. Let's first implement these two matters before discussing anything else. But before that, we need to give our conglomerate a resounding name... Do either of you have any suggestions?" Hibari asked.
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