"Lord Light Shadow, is there anything I need to prepare?"
"Prepare the money to buy land. That little matter for the Arasaka Corporation... we can take care of it along the way this time."
Uchiha Makoto didn't waste any more words.
Among the masterminds behind this move against Akatsuki Village, there was bound to be a group with a serious conflict of interest with the Arasaka Corporation; otherwise, the counterattack wouldn't have come so quickly.
So, he might as well make an example of them.
It would both state Akatsuki Village's position and resolve Arasaka's troubles in one fell swoop.
"Lord Light Shadow, if that's the case, then the best targets would be... these people."
Takahashi Tōmaru instantly understood Uchiha Makoto's meaning and took out a list of intelligence he had prepared long ago from his robes.
Uchiha Makoto reached out and took it.
His eyes scanned the intelligence for a moment, and he quickly found a suitable target among them.
A prominent and powerful family, a top-tier great noble... Most importantly, this family owned a truly vast amount of land.
So much that even Uchiha Makoto found it outrageous.
The land in the surrounding three counties had almost entirely become their private property.
When the Land of Fire collected its grain tax each year, the local government offices could probably just go directly to their estate. Though, given this great noble family's status... they probably couldn't collect much tax anyway.
But that was none of Uchiha Makoto's concern.
What he valued was the landed property under this great noble's name. It could completely satisfy the Arasaka Corporation's current needs in one go; in fact, Arasaka alone couldn't even handle it all.
"Hiss... Lord Light Shadow... won't this be too bold..."
Takahashi Tōmaru's face changed as he saw the target Uchiha Makoto had chosen. This family's status was so high it was beyond his imagination... even with all his wealth, he wouldn't be qualified to enter their gates.
"Tōmaru, what are you afraid of? From ancient times to the present, nothing is eternal... If anything happens, I'll take responsibility!"
"What you need to consider now is raising the funds quickly. When the time comes, this land will cause a frenzy."
"Yes, Lord Light Shadow, I will go and prepare... It's just that for such a vast amount of land, the cash flow is indeed..."
Takahashi Tōmaru nodded. If Lord Light Shadow wasn't afraid, what did he have to be afraid of?
The only thing that troubled him was the cash flow. The merchants' assets were substantial when converted, but the actual liquid cash they could mobilize was...
"Don't worry, Akatsuki Village will also contribute a portion of the funds... And rest assured... when the Arasaka Corporation makes its move, the price of the land at that time will be very cheap."
"By the way, during this time, I want you to purchase large quantities of grain... See here... there's a large dam here. It's perfect for solving all the problems at once. There will always be some people who refuse to convert rice paddies to mulberry fields... so we'll just flood them!"
Uchiha Makoto pointed to a large dam on the map. A brilliant smile spread across Takahashi Tōmaru's face.
Why hadn't he thought of such a good method?
Someone had to farm all that land, and the great nobles certainly weren't going to do it themselves.
It would definitely be the tenant farmers of those few counties.
And even if they bought the land...
Pushing for the conversion to mulberry fields wouldn't be that easy.
The resistance to this matter didn't just come from the top.
There were also the starving common folk... trampling the young mulberry shoots could genuinely lead to a popular revolt.
But after the flood...
All problems would be solved.
"As for the aftermath... I don't want to see any refugees starving to death... they are all future employees of my factories..."
"Akatsuki Village ninja will be watching this matter."
Uchiha Makoto stared at Takahashi Tōmaru. He saw through his thoughts with a single glance.
In this ninja world on the verge of being overrun by capital, where etiquette and music were collapsing, anything could happen... especially with this man before him, and the people behind him, who were no saints.
If there was an opportunity to hoard grain and speculate on prices, they would absolutely not mind making some quick money in the process.
According to Uchiha Makoto's plan...
He intended to use this opportunity to monopolize a large amount of land capital, and then have the Arasaka Corporation begin its rapid expansion.
Flood the land, buy the fields, and then immediately plant mulberry saplings!
Expand production this year!
As for the disaster victims after the dam breaks...
Earth Style, Ice Style... would also coincidentally appear at some key points to stop the floodwaters.
Akatsuki Village ninja would appear before them as saviors in their time of need.
And these people would still have to farm the land.
Ninja don't know how to farm!
Of course, there would certainly be some unlucky ones who would be caught in the disaster and lose their lives.
For them, Uchiha Makoto could only wish for the Sage of Six Paths' blessing.
There is no perfect solution in this world.
The ninja world is in such chaos.
And he was no saint... a kind-hearted person like him was a rare sight these days.
Seeing that his little scheme had been exposed, Takahashi Tōmaru certainly didn't dare to openly defy Uchiha Makoto's orders and nodded repeatedly... He could only think that Lord Light Shadow was truly benevolent!
Then, he seemed to remember something and spoke:
"Ah? Lord Light Shadow, won't this be too obvious?"
"It could be easily exposed!"
"Obvious?"
"Several hundred of our Akatsuki Village ninja were just coincidentally passing by."
"Do they have any proof?"
"Takigakure did all of it!"
Uchiha Makoto said nonchalantly.
...
One week later.
The capital of the Land of Fire.
The Land of Fire's Daimyō was sitting leisurely alone in a tea room. He held a cup of tea in his hands, sitting quietly, his eyes gazing at the garden scenery not far away.
It was late autumn.
The view was a sea of yellow.
The sound of flowing water trickled in his ears.
The older he got...
The more he liked to sit quietly alone in the tea room. Whenever he had free time, he would sit here for an entire afternoon. In the eyes of others, this was undoubtedly a boring affair, but for the Land of Fire's Daimyō, it was a rare moment of relaxation.
Quietly emptying his mind.
Not having to think about anything.
The Land of Fire's Daimyō's entire body and mind were completely relaxed, as if his soul had been cleansed.
"If only everyone's thoughts could be as clear as the color of this tea."
The Land of Fire's Daimyō sighed.
Being a daimyō at this point in time was undoubtedly a difficult job.
The era had begun to slowly change.
It was as if it happened overnight.
The ninja seemed to have become restless, attempting to break the shackles that had bound them for the past thousand years... The trend of unification among ninja seemed unstoppable.
Even the previously law-abiding farmers and merchants were no longer submissive, beginning to unconsciously cast their eyes upward.
The great nobles, with mouths full of loyalty, constantly did things that harmed the Daimyō's interests, relentlessly scraping the nation's wealth for themselves.
It was difficult for others to understand the Daimyō's current mood.
The human heart is difficult to fathom...
Great loyalty can resemble treachery, and great treachery can resemble loyalty.
And who were the people he could truly trust and rely on?
He couldn't tell. He really couldn't tell!
But time and age had ultimately given him enough experience.
"There is no true loyalty. Loyalty and disloyalty are sometimes beyond their control... Use the worthy when they are worthy, dismiss them when they are not..."
"The most important thing is... balance..."
"The loyal cannot be allowed to become too weak, nor can they be allowed to become too strong. The same goes for the treacherous... Strong and weak are always relative."
"Be wary of the great nobles, but primarily guard against the ninja..."
The Land of Fire's Daimyō muttered to himself.
His countless worries seemed to be swallowed down along with the cup of tea.
"Your Highness, the Elder Statesman has arrived."
"It seems to be about the matter of Akatsuki Village again..."
The Daimyō nodded and waved his hand, signaling the attendant to let the Elder Statesman in.
Disorderly thoughts once again flooded his mind.
There had always been conflict between Akatsuki Village and the country's major figures.
It had started from the last time Akatsuki Village unified the salt market. The rather heavy-handed methods of Akatsuki Village had caused some of the smaller families attached to these major figures to suffer heavy losses, and some people had even been physically erased from this world.
It was only because Akatsuki Village's subsequent actions received the Daimyō's endorsement, and the targets were chosen cleverly—the deceased were merely those who were not particularly important, causing no direct personal harm to these major figures, though it did cause them to lose a great deal of face.
However, considering that everyone ended up making more money in the end, for the sake of money... they endured it.
But Akatsuki Village's recent bold moves had undoubtedly touched many people's cakes.
The Land of Fire's Daimyō was naturally aware of these dirty dealings, and he also believed that Akatsuki Village had indeed gone a bit too far.
If Akatsuki Village were a little more well-behaved, the Daimyō would be very happy... and those major figures who had lost face and interests would also be very happy.
And so, the compliance test for Akatsuki Village came.
Of course, the Land of Fire's Daimyō never personally entered the fray. He had only to express a veiled wish, and those who were eager to make Akatsuki Village look bad would naturally make their move—he was the chess player!
After a short while.
The Elder Statesman walked in.
"Your Highness!"
The Elder Statesman skillfully performed the kneeling ceremony for the Daimyō, but the Daimyō leisurely waved his hand, signaling the Elder Statesman before him to dispense with the formalities.
"Elder Statesman, take care of your health."
"This Land of Fire still needs you to shelter me from the wind and rain."
"Get up, have a taste of this tea... This is this year's Shifeng Longjing, picked when the buds just sprouted in the night dew..."
The Land of Fire's Daimyō spoke gently to the Elder Statesman with whom he had worked for over a decade.
But to his surprise, the Elder Statesman made no move to get up. Instead, he pressed his head firmly to the ground.
"Your Highness... something terrible has happened."
"Oh, what happened? Get up and speak."
The Land of Fire's Daimyō still spoke in his slow, unhurried rhythm. The Elder Statesman tremblingly took out several intelligence reports from his robes.
"A large dam in the northern part of the Land of Fire suddenly burst, affecting three counties... The local hereditary noble family was tragically killed overnight..."
"This hereditary noble family was of the highest rank..."
"How could this be?!!"
This time, even the Land of Fire's Daimyō was shocked.
A dam bursting...
Was naturally no small matter.
The economic losses would be immeasurable.
But what shocked the Land of Fire's Daimyō even more was the latter. A noble of such a high rank, whose lineage had been passed down since ancient times, their family history even exceeded that of the Land of Fire.
Truly speaking...
Such a family's status in the Land of Fire was only half a step below the Daimyō.
Even in the chaotic Warring States Period, when ninja clans were killing with abandon, no blind ninja dared to lay a hand on such a wealthy and noble family... and now, the entire family had been tragically killed overnight.
If this escalated...
It would inevitably shake the court and the country, a disaster of epic proportions.
"Has this matter been investigated clearly?"
"Who did it!"
"No matter who did it, this vile criminal who has offended a noble person must be punished. They must all pay the price!!"
Suddenly hearing such dire news, the Land of Fire's Daimyō was extremely panicked.
His face was terrifyingly grim.
This was truly a major disaster.
He didn't dare to imagine what the nobles in the country would do.
They would probably all run to him like startled birds, demanding an explanation. When one of their own is hurt, they all feel the pain... who wouldn't be afraid?
"Your Highness, the truth has not yet been fully uncovered... It's just that at the scene of the noble family's death, there were remnants of Takigakure ninja..."
"But this matter... I'm afraid there's more to it..."
"Continue..."
"I suspect it was Akatsuki Village..."
The Elder Statesman's voice was very low. This answer clearly startled the Land of Fire's Daimyō.
This was no laughing matter.
"Your Highness, I am not speaking without grounds. The vast majority of the land in these three counties was the property of the deceased noble family, and they had a serious conflict of interest with the Arasaka Corporation... The matter of the mulberry fields and silk factories had caused great unpleasantness... Also... you are aware of the recent events... their family was very familiar with some of the big directors in the entertainment industry and had put out the word..."
"And on the very day the dam broke, Akatsuki Village ninja immediately appeared on the scene. It was as if they had foreknowledge, rescuing the disaster victims. Akatsuki ninja used Earth Style and Ice Style at key locations... The number of truly affected victims is probably less than three digits..."
The Elder Statesman's tone was quite agitated. The way Akatsuki Village had handled this was simply too crude.
Those worthless peasants had nothing, what could they lose... their lives were saved.
It was nothing more than some broken houses and rotten furniture.
He had heard that Akatsuki Village had even forcibly seized the property of the deceased noble family to buy grain and provide relief to the disaster victims.
"Oh~~"
The Land of Fire's Daimyō's expression changed, his mind racing.
He did not doubt what the Elder Statesman said. After all, on such a major issue of right and wrong, he believed the Elder Statesman would not dare to lie.
This was also why the Elder Statesman was the Elder Statesman... sometimes, one must speak the truth!
If Akatsuki Village was involved... this would be difficult to handle.
The high-ranking family was indeed of noble status.
But what Akatsuki Village held was the purest form of violence.
When the two collided...
Who would be smashed to pieces?
The high-ranking family was indeed rare.
But the Land of Fire had more than one such family, while there were only two large ninja villages like Akatsuki Village. And the other, Konoha, had someone like Senju Hashirama... the God of Shinobi!
The Land of Fire's Daimyō had made his decision.
But some things could not be said by him.
"Elder Statesman, then what do you think should be done about this matter?"
"The affairs of the state are so difficult. If we thoroughly investigate this matter and it involves Akatsuki Village, with their military might at its peak, our Land of Fire will immediately fall into chaos..."
"So we cannot do this."
"And we must suppress this matter!"
"Secretly assign a mission to Konoha. Let Konoha investigate. Let a ninja village investigate a ninja village. Let ninja fight ninja!"
"Even if it ultimately gets out of hand... there is still Takigakure... there is always room for maneuver."
"Elder Statesman, you are truly loyal to the state!"
The Land of Fire's Daimyō nodded. These words had spoken directly to his heart.
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