Naruto: The Ninja World's Life Buyer

Chapter 34 War Dividends

West Street Warehouse.

The rain outside was pouring down, pattering against the tiles with a loud crackling sound.

This is normal in the Land of Rain, but in the Land of Fire, such continuous torrential rain often indicates abnormal weather, or... a large-scale disturbance of the natural environment by chakra.

Sosuke just returned from the waste treatment plant.

He was soaking wet, and his knees and calves were covered in bruises—from falling while practicing climbing walls.

But he didn't have time to rest.

Because Takaya Jiro came.

Moreover, they came with an almost manic excitement.

The warehouse door was pushed open, and the fat man shook his raincoat; his expensive silk clothes were completely dry.

He was followed by two trusted aides, one of whom was carrying a heavy black leather suitcase.

"Bang."

The box was placed heavily on the table.

Judging from the sound, it's very well-made.

"My dear nephew!"

Takaya Jiro rubbed his hands together, his fat face trembling.

"It's a hit! It's completely sold out!"

He opened the box.

There were no banknotes inside.

It was gold bars.

In turbulent times, large transactions often revert to the most basic metal standard. With currency devaluing too rapidly, merchants place greater trust in gold.

"Here is three hundred taels of gold (about 10 kilograms), which, according to the current black market exchange rate, is equivalent to six hundred thousand taels of cash."

Six hundred thousand taels.

Sosuke paused for a moment while drying his hair.

He had estimated the profits beforehand, but he didn't expect them to come so quickly and so strongly.

This is equivalent to the reward an elite Jonin would receive for completing a top-tier A-rank mission at great personal risk.

All he contributed was a small amount of the silver powder he had generated and several large vats of water.

"Those 10,000 bottles of diluted water, three days."

Takaya Jiro stretched out three fingers as thick as carrots and waved them in front of him.

"In just three days, several black market trading centers around Konoha were emptied out."

"At first, I priced it at 200 taels a bottle, but no one bought it. Later, I found a few wounded ronin to act as shills and demonstrated how to clean wounds on the spot."

"The effect is immediate."

"The next day, the price was driven up to 300 taels by those cowardly wandering ninjas."

"On the third day, it was out of stock, and someone offered 500 taels for a bottle."

Takaya Jiro picked up a gold bar and took a bite, completely absorbed in the moment.

"Sousuke, do you know what this means?"

"It means panic."

Sosuke walked over and calmly closed the box.

I wasn't blinded by the golden light.

Because he can make as many of these things as he wants.

"You're right, it's panic." Takaya Jiro lowered his voice. "There's really been skirmish at the front lines, small-scale fighting has broken out."

"Although the Konoha authorities are still suppressing the news, the wounded have already begun to be transported back."

"Regular troops have medical teams, but those unofficial ninjas, reserve troops, and a large number of logistical laborers do not have medical ninjas to take care of them."

"Infection, fever, rotting flesh."

"To them, this bottle of water is their life."

Takaya Jiro was so excited that he danced with joy.

"We need to increase the quantity. For the next batch, I want 1,000 bottles of the concentrate! That's 100,000 bottles of finished product!"

"If you can produce them, I can sell them to Daming Prefecture!"

One thousand bottles of concentrate.

That's a profit of ten million taels.

A tremendous temptation.

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably be nodding vigorously at this moment, eager to start working immediately.

But Sosuke shook his head.

"no."

"Why?!" Takaya Jiro exclaimed, "You think the pay is too low? We can discuss the profit split! 60/40! No, 50/50!"

"It's not about the money."

Sosuke sat down and poured himself a glass of cold water.

"Uncle, you're a shrewd businessman, but you've forgotten the rules."

"What are the rules?"

"A common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime."

Sousuke tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"Ten thousand bottles is still within the tolerance range of Konoha's higher-ups. They will think it's just a folk remedy, a small business."

"One hundred thousand bottles?"

Sousuke sneered.

"That's a strategic material."

"If a potion of this scale were to appear on the market, what do you think the Konoha leadership would do?"

"What will the Third Hokage do? What will Danzo do?"

"They won't pay for it. They'll just shut down your chamber of commerce, take the formula under the guise of wartime requisition, and then throw you and me into interrogation rooms to extract every last word from our brains."

Takaya Jiro broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

The earlier fervor was extinguished like a bucket of cold water.

He was too greedy.

Greed led them to forget the rules of the ninja world, and the violent apparatus rose above capital.

"Then... what do we do?" The fat man wiped the sweat from his brow. "Such a big market, are we just going to skip it?"

"Of course we want to eat. But we need someone to back us up."

Takaya Jiro was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

"You mean...finding a powerful backer?"

The fat man's eyes darted around.

"I have some connections at the Hokage Building; I know a few Chunin who manage logistics..."

"Not enough," Sosuke interrupted him. "At that level of relationship, it's fine for taking bribes and demanding favors normally. But when it comes to strategic materials, they're faster than anyone else to run away."

"What we are looking for is a force with powerful military strength."

Sosuke wrote three words on the table with his finger.

【Uchiha】.

Takaya Jiro's fat face twitched three times.

"Are you crazy?! Those jealous bastards? The whole village avoids them! Getting involved with them is like offending the Hokage's faction!"

"They are hungry because the whole village is avoiding them."

Sosuke's eyes were deep and unfathomable.

"In the present-day Konoha, the medical department is a system left behind by Tsunade, with resources skewed towards the Anbu and the regular army. Although the security forces have great power, they are actually second-class citizens in terms of medical supplies."

"They carry out the most dangerous security missions, and even when they get injured, they still have to rely on the hospitals."

"You know, what if we gave this specially supplied holy water priority, cheapness, or even free access to the security force..."

"Furthermore, half of the profits from this business are transferred to the Uchiha clan under the guise of security management fees..."

Takaya Jiro's breathing became rapid.

He's a businessman; he understands the logic behind it.

This is the strongest sword in Konoha that has been bribed.

"This...this is playing with fire."

"Chaotic times are inherently fiery pits," Sosuke said dismissively.

"Rather than being silently devoured by the Konoha higher-ups, we might as well gamble on the Uchiha's arrogance."

"The Uchiha clan is extremely protective of its own. Once they've taken the money and put up their signboard, anyone who tries to touch us is slapping the Uchiha in the face."

"And in Konoha, even the Hokage doesn't want to fall out with the Uchiha at this critical juncture."

Takaya Jiro remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the table.

"Let's do it!"

"How do I do it?"

"Prepare the car." Sosuke said confidently. "Take this box of gold. I want to see the guard captain who arrested me that day."

……

The headquarters of the Third Division of the Konoha Police Force.

This is a detached courtyard located on the edge of West Street. Although not as grand as the headquarters, it is still heavily guarded. Huge family crests in the shape of round fans are printed on the walls, and two indifferent-looking security guards stand at the entrance.

In the reception room.

Uchiha Sōji sat behind his desk, polishing a kunai.

He had a buzz cut and sharp eyes.

"Sousuke, and Boss Takaya."

"What's gotten into you today? You usually send the delivery guy, but today you've come in person, and with such a big box?"

He glanced at the heavy black leather suitcase on the table.

It was he who, a month ago, accepted 10,000 taels from Sosuke in the interrogation room and tacitly approved of Sosuke's "illegal medical practice".

"What's wrong? Is someone causing you trouble? Do you need the security detail's help?"

"No."

Zongsuke stepped forward, looking calm.

"Captain Soji, we're here to discuss business."

"Business?" Zong Si raised an eyebrow. "The security force doesn't do business; they only arrest people."