A few days later.
Danzo stormed into the Hokage's office, furious.
"Hiruzen! What the hell are you thinking? One million ryō! A full one million! You just threw it away so that brat could fool around!"
Tch. The old man calmly drew on his pipe, unhurried.
He'd known this old partner of his would come raising hell sooner or later.
In the office, besides the old man, there was also the Nara clan head—Shikaku.
Seeing Danzo this worked up, Shikaku quietly shook his head.
He didn't agree with Kangetsu going into business either.
After all.
He was one of the people who'd lost his underwear trying it back in the day.
After that, he understood something clearly.
He was a mission grunt.
Business? Don't even think about it.
"Danzo, don't be so worked up. I'm only giving it a try. Letting young people have a chance, that's all."
"Am I worked up?"
Danzo didn't like the old man's attitude one bit.
You didn't just give him money. You had the Nara clan clear a route for him, and you even had Nara shinobi escort him the whole way.
Is that reasonable?
Waste of manpower, waste of resources, waste of money.
Hearing that, the old man's face reddened.
Of course he knew this trip would probably lose money.
He just wanted the fine young man to learn something and grow.
In truth, the moment he agreed that day, he started regretting it.
One million ryō wasn't pocket change.
"Where is that kid, Kangetsu? Bring him here!"
"Enough!"
The old man snapped, voice firm even if his conscience wasn't.
He frowned and slammed the desk.
"Danzo, I'm the Hokage."
"You…!"
Fine. Fine. Using that line to crush me again.
"Hiruzen! You'll regret this!"
With that, Danzo didn't waste any more words.
With a bang, he all but threw the door open on his way out.
He'd wait and watch Hiruzen lose his underwear over this.
Shikaku awkwardly shifted his gaze.
Seeing the old man's expression, he didn't dare say a word.
"…Ahem. Shikaku, sorry you had to see that."
"You're too kind, Hokage-sama. Just as you said, giving young people a chance to be warned by reality can be a good thing."
Even if the cost was a bit high.
A full one million ryō…
Of course.
One million ryō was a lot, but the Sarutobi could afford it.
It wouldn't break bones. At most, it would sting.
"Yes. You have to give young people a chance."
Rubbing his brow, the old man regretted it, but he wasn't going to admit it out loud.
The money was already gone. Was he supposed to take it back?
He just hoped Kangetsu's grand clothing venture wouldn't lose too much.
Lose?
Far away in the Fire Country, Kangetsu only smiled.
Everyone knew one simple truth.
Human nature was lust.
And lust, frankly, was the number one productive force.
Modern clothing grabbed men by their hidden desires and didn't let go.
Sailor uniforms, nurse outfits, flight attendant outfits, tight skirts, little "devil" sets, and more.
Black stockings, white stockings, garter stockings, sky-high heels, short shorts…
Anything you could think of.
And formal outfits for special occasions too, the kind that could deal a devastating blow to the shinobi world's clothing market.
Kangetsu didn't make any of it himself.
Yukine and Haruno drew the designs, and the Nara clan found intermediaries to handle sales.
The only real headache was sourcing fabric.
In truth, Yukine and Haruno had plenty of other business ideas.
But after thinking it through, Kangetsu still chose clothing.
Because to the villages of the shinobi world, clothing like this was a luxury good.
And the raw materials for cloth could only be supplied at full scale by someplace as rich in resources as the Fire Country.
Other villages couldn't replicate the full chain even if they wanted to. At most, they could run a few small workshops.
So in the Fire Country, clothing could practically become a monopoly.
...
Fire Country, Nara clan territory.
Suzaku sat around bored, watching a woman from the clan try on the sample outfits.
So…
Would this really work?
I mean, it did look good…
Hokage-sama was probably about to lose everything on this one, right?
Suzaku shrugged.
No point stressing about it.
They were only providing space in three storefronts.
Because the shops weren't theirs. They only took a cut.
So these outfits would get a prominent display spot for three days, tops.
If there was no result after three days, the line would be buried.
Day one.
Suzaku thought, Huh. This is kind of interesting.
A lot of old perverts actually showed up.
Day two.
Suzaku started feeling uneasy. Why did it seem like there were even more people?
Day three.
Suzaku stood dazed in the distance.
Because there was no way to squeeze in.
"Hey! Sailor uniforms! Three sets!"
"Men, stop crowding in! I want the nurse outfit, and give me both white stockings and black stockings!"
"Boss! Where's the boss?!"
"Stop pushing! Stop pushing! We're out for today!"
"Suzaku! Suzaku, hurry up and restock!"
That day, Suzaku finally witnessed the purchasing power of desire.
Women thought they looked good. Men thought they looked good too.
Most buyers were rich. Suzaku even spotted servants from certain nobles fighting their way in to buy.
This… this…
After the shock came a dry mouth and pure disbelief.
It sold out.
This had to be a sellout, right?
Heart pounding, Suzaku clenched his fists.
How much money was this bringing in?
He remembered.
Even the cheapest set in the store was ten thousand ryō…
Thinking that, Suzaku swallowed hard.
Then he took off at a run, practically mad, sprinting for the other two shops.
People.
Nothing but people.
All of them there to fight over clothes.
And everywhere, demand far outstripped supply.
According to Kangetsu, it was called…
"Scarcity marketing?"
Suzaku stayed fired up all the way until night.
He practically sprayed spit as he pushed his subordinates to calculate the numbers.
When he finally saw the total, his whole body started shaking.
"…Hurry. Hurry!"
Suzaku barked.
"Send the report back immediately!"
...
The next day.
Hokage's office.
The old man smoked in silence, face dark.
Danzo kept up a cold, steady sneer, waiting for the punchline.
Shikaku kept his eyes down and his expression blank.
They waited a long time.
When a chūnin rushed into the office in a panic, Danzo frowned, about to scold him.
But the Nara chūnin's face was flushed, eyes bright, as he held the settlement report high.
"Hokage-sama! Intelligence! From Kangetsu!"
"Oh?"
The old man blinked. Something about that expression felt… wrong.
Don't tell me he didn't lose money?
"How much did he lose?"
"No, Hokage-sama. He didn't lose money!
Kangetsu's clothing business made money!"
Interesting. That fine young man had some skill after all.
So how much did he make?
"Net profit, fifty million ryō!"
…!!
"H-How… how much!?"