Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha is not motivated.

"challenge accepted!"

Faced with Mito's enthusiastic invitation, Uchiha Gin had no reason to refuse and immediately nodded with a serious expression.
Come on, let's fight! It's awesome!

The complicated process won't be detailed here; if I did, I don't know how long I'd be locked up. Just know that Uchiha Gin won with an overwhelming advantage.

The next day, Mito left satisfied, leaving behind the empty, sorrowful prison.

"It's good to be busy."

Uchiha Gin didn't blame her for being so ruthless. After all, compared to him, a nobody, Mito, as the daimyo, was responsible for the future of the entire Land of Whirlpools.

With the addition of having just taken in such a poor guy from Kirigakure, she had even more things to do.

"Iwagakure is truly at its wit's end now."

During his conversation with Mito, Gin Uchiha learned about the previously unknown situation in Iwagakure.

Under pressure from the heavy subsidies offered by Sunagakure, all the neighboring countries except for the Land of Rain have switched sides to the Land of Wind. The Land of Earth is now an isolated island; nothing from the outside can get in, and their prized mineral resources cannot be exported.

Relying solely on domestic industries may allow for a brief period of self-sufficiency, but over time, the prices of everyday goods have skyrocketed uncontrollably, leading to widespread public discontent.

The daimyo of the Land of Earth was shocked.

The pressure was immediately shifted to Iwagakure, making Ōnoki's situation even more difficult. Furthermore, with the failed plan to ally with Hozuki Sakugetsu, the Land of Earth was completely without options.

Continuing this will be tantamount to slow suicide.

"Don't do that, otherwise how will I collect the loans I've already made?"

Uchiha Gin scratched his head helplessly. Right now, the one thing the Iwagakure ninja had in abundance was money, but money can't be eaten, and money that can't be spent is no different from paper.
"Sigh, I never wanted to make this kind of money that goes against my conscience."

After much deliberation, Uchiha Gin decided to join the game; after all, encountering a sack full of money wasn't something that happened every time.
"I need to go see my uncle."

With this in mind, he turned and entered the alley, locking onto the Flying Thunder God mark thousands of miles away. In a flash of golden light, he vanished from the spot.
The next second, Uchiha Gin appeared in a luxurious palace, loudly pushing open the inner hall door. The guards nearby were already used to this and pretended not to see anything.

"Uncle! Uncle! Great news!"

He strode into the hall, only to find that the person sitting on the throne was not Uchiha Tajima, but a handsome and dashing young man. Upon seeing the boisterous Uchiha Gin, he immediately rose to greet him.

"Uncle, what brings you here?"

"He's wealthy, but what about your grandfather?"

The young man who greeted him was none other than Izuna's eldest son, Tomoyu. Despite his young age, he already possessed a striking and handsome appearance; describing him as a man of exceptional talent would not be an exaggeration.
"Grandpa went on a journey?"

Fu Yu shook his head helplessly; otherwise, he wouldn't be sitting in this position managing the affairs of the Land of Waves.

"Wandering?"

Uchiha Gin blinked in confusion. Could his uncle's health withstand the rigors of a long journey?
"He went to see his father and uncle."

Upon hearing this answer, Uchiha Gin nodded in sudden realization. So he missed his sons!
Madara is currently hunting clones all over the world with Izuna and Kuro. Uncle is probably worried about their safety, which is why he's secretly following them.

However, he was truly comfortable handing over such a large undertaking to a young and wealthy man.
"So now you're in charge?"

"Uncle, what are you saying? Now that you're here, you're in charge."

He smiled and shook his head, then stepped aside, offering the throne of the daimyo behind him.
"I don't touch this stuff."

Uchiha Gin shook his head. He had no interest in worldly power; even if he were offered the position of ruler of the ninja world, he would first inquire about the terms and conditions before considering it.

If it weren't for the long hours of 10 AM to 4 PM, working one day on and three days off, he would never have deprived himself of another job.
"So, what brings you here, Uncle?"

"I'm here to share a money-making idea."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Fu You's eyes lit up. He had two great passions in life: cultivation and making money.
"Hmph~ You should know something about the situation in the Land of Earth, right?"

"The Land of Earth? The situation is indeed not very optimistic. We have not only failed to recover much of the loans we made in Iwagakure, but now we are also receiving a continuous stream of loan applications."

The Land of Earth is currently in a state of chaos. Prices are soaring, missions are scarce, ninjas are earning little money but still need to spend, and the costs of training and maintaining ninja tools are considerable.
The bread that used to cost fifty taels has almost reached the point where it's priced with a "w" at the end.

“Let them borrow as much as they can use as collateral and sign a contract of servitude.”

Uchiha Gintoki was worried that Iwagakure wouldn't be willing to spend the money.

"what?"

Fu You didn't understand this operation at all. Iwagakure was in such a state, why would they still lend money to them?

"Well, you handle the lending here, and over there arrange for a team of people to disguise themselves as smugglers and take some scarce daily necessities by sea to the docks in the northern part of the Land of Earth to sell secretly."

"Uncle, are you even human?"

Looking at Uchiha Gin, who was offering advice, with a complicated expression, Fu You couldn't help but speak up.

By having Iwagakure use the loans from the Land of Waves to buy goods from the Land of Waves at high prices, creating a perfect loop of buying and selling, the Land of Waves has won big this time.

"Tell me, can this method make money?"

"It can make money, but it's unscrupulous."

"So, do you want to earn that?"

"How much is conscience worth?"

After all, it was a plan that could make a lot of money, and the uncle and nephew quickly reached an agreement.
"But will this work?"

Fu You frowned and pondered for a moment. Iwagakure was now extremely vicious; who knew what kind of murder and robbery they might commit?

"Don't worry, you'll be traveling along the Whirlpool Country route with special escorts. Don't bring too much stuff on your first trip; just whet their appetite."

Uchiha Gin nodded and said, "Now the entire sea route belongs to Uzumaki. Even if Iwagakure is mentally unstable, they wouldn't do something so brainless as to offend the overlord of the seas."
"Then what?"

If what Uchiha Gin said is true, then being wealthy makes it worth a try.
"And then? Let's make some quick money first, and give Iwagakure a chance to catch their breath. Once they're no longer worried about survival, we'll sell them some strategic resources."

"Strategic materials? Why would we sell dangerous goods when we can make a fortune selling everyday necessities?"

On this point, the kind-hearted and wealthy Uchiha Gin disagreed. He argued that one kunai could only earn so much money; reselling sanitary napkins would make far more.
"You're not so bad after all, but have you ever thought about how the Hidden Stone Village will continue to fight the Land of Wind if they don't get their strategic supplies replenished?"

Iwagakure is now clearly in decline. The Land of Wind only needs to continue to exploit Rasa for a while longer, and they can completely extinguish Iwagakure's future livelihood with gold.
If it can no longer earn revenue and build a reputation through international business, Iwagakure, once one of the five great ninja villages, may become nothing more than a roadside village that anyone can trample on.
Putting aside everything else, the loans that the Land of Waves has issued might become bad debts, so the Hidden Stone Village absolutely cannot lose so completely.

"I understand, Uncle. I'll make the arrangements right away." The wealthy man's mind clearly worked faster than his younger brother's; otherwise, he wouldn't have been handpicked by his uncle as the next daimyo.
"Then I'll wait for your good news~"

"I will handle it!"

Hidden Rock Village
"Snapped!"

Inside the Tsuchikage's office, Onoki, his face grim, slammed his fist on the table as he looked at the message from the Land of Water. The already cracked surface shattered instantly.
"That idiot Hozuki Sakugetsu wasted so much of my effort, and in the end he couldn't even beat a little dwarf."

Despite being a tiny, short guy, Onoki shamelessly cursed Tatsumaki, who was about the same height as him, his eyes filled with resentment.

"Lord Tsuchikage, it seems that the sea route is also blocked. The only way out now is the Land of Rain."

The advisors, who were responsible for devising strategies, sighed slightly. Iwagakure was now at its wits' end. Land routes were blocked, sea routes were prohibited, and goods could neither go out nor come in. If they didn't consider changing their strategy, Iwagakure would be finished.

"You mean by force? But..."

Onoki frowned, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the driver placed on the corner of the table. Given his current sensitive position, getting involved in the battle would inevitably attract the attention of Madara Uchiha, that meddlesome and troublesome devil.
"Then all that awaits us is a slow death. Unless someone can provide us with supplies and ensure the village's basic needs are met, we will not be able to continue to fight Sunagakure."

The wise advisor explained with a grave expression, his eyes filled with resentment when he spoke of Sunagakure.

"I refuse to believe they have an inexhaustible supply of gold!"

If it weren't for Sunagakure's constant use of high subsidies to grab mission quotas and to win over fickle small countries in recent years, Iwagakure wouldn't be in this predicament, with their ninjas barely surviving on loans.
"Supplies... Supplies are almost worth 50 now, where are we going to find supplies?"

Onoki asked through gritted teeth, "Our Land of Earth isn't suitable for growing crops due to its topography."

The crops grown by ordinary people were barely enough to feed themselves, and very little could be circulated. Previously, Iwagakure relied on imports to meet its needs for food and other daily necessities.
"Why don't we go ask the Land of Grass?"

Another aide came up with a terrible idea that nearly made Onoki faint.

"The Land of Grass? You buy flour from them, and they dare to cheat you with lime powder, believe it or not?"

In terms of reputation, the Land of Grass has never had a thing.
"The Land of Nataki"?

The land of Taki no Kuni is fertile, with abundant water and grass, making it a major grain-producing country.
"Do you want me to suffer humiliation again?"

Onoki stared at his wise advisor with a grim face, his eyes filled with palpable killing intent.
He suffered a humiliation at the prison in Takigakure last time, and his old face was swollen from being slapped. If he goes there now, wouldn't he be offering his unslapped right cheek to be slapped?

"Then there is truly nothing I can do."

"Useless trash, what use are you to me?"

Onoki cursed and spat at his staff, who, unable to come up with a solution, could only lower their heads, angry but unable to speak out.

Thinking that he had ultimately failed his grandfather and teacher's expectations, Onoki felt a deep sadness in his heart.
"Damn it, I'll eat poop if anyone can help Iwagakure get through this crisis!"

"Dangdang!"

He had just made his promise to freeload when a red-haired Iwa ninja with a beaming face burst in without even knocking. Onoki frowned upon seeing this.
"Little Zi, what kind of behavior is this, all flustered and in such a hurry?"

"Lord Tsuchikage, someone is selling supplies at the docks on the North Coast, and the prices are even 10% lower than the market prices!"

"."

Onoki's face lit up with joy upon hearing this, but before he could say anything, he felt a thorn in his side and stares from behind. It was none other than his advisors, whom he had just berated.
"Lord Tsuchikage, do you prefer thin soup or dry food?"

"Little Purple, I remember you've always wanted to borrow the Four-Tailed Card to play with, right?"

With a gloomy expression, Onoki suddenly turned to look at the red-haired youth who had just rushed in, and said in a hoarse voice, "..."

"Shut them up forever, and I'll lend you the Four-Tailed Card."

"really?!"

The young man named Xiao Zi's face lit up with joy, and he immediately turned his gaze to the group of advisors who were discussing going home to eat croton seeds.
"For my dream of chivalry, I ask my advisors to die."

"Ah! Yamete~"

Screams echoed throughout the office. Floating in mid-air, Onoki watched the scene with satisfaction. He had long been annoyed by these useless, good-for-nothing advisors, and today he finally got his revenge.

"Fortunately, the mission has been fulfilled!"

Covered in blood, Komurasaki arrived to collect her reward, and Onoki tossed the Four-Tails Card over.
"Ha ha!"

Holding the Four-Tailed Card like a priceless treasure, Komurasaki grinned from ear to ear. Onoki, seeing this, shook his head.

"I really don't understand you. Why would you give up the unclaimed Five-Tailed Card and insist on this rude gorilla?"

"You're not allowed to talk about Old Sun like that!"

Xiao Zi glared fiercely at Onoki, then turned and ran away with the Four-Tailed Card in her arms.
I'll return it to you in a few days.

"That brat!"

Onoki shook his head helplessly, raised his hand and clapped twice. Several hidden ANBU members instantly appeared.
"Go and make contact with the merchants selling goods at the northern dock."

"Yes!"

"Oh, right, tidy this place up."

That little purple one is really something, she has no restraint at all, the entire staff group is completely lifeless, and we can't even find a single intact corpse.

The Anbu's efficiency was impressive; half an hour later, the supplies for sale at the dock were laid out in front of Onoki. Looking at the table full of food and daily necessities, his eyes were filled with joy.
These are genuine goods, not counterfeit products from the Land of Grass.

"Why is there only so little?"

Just as Onoki was preparing for a large-scale procurement, the order slip submitted by the Anbu made him uneasy. This amount of supplies was far from enough to solve the urgent needs of Iwagakure.
"Your Excellency, the merchant said that these are extraordinary times, and goods are in short supply, so he can only secretly transport this much at a time."

“Tell him that as long as the price remains the same, we will accept all his future goods.”

"Yes!"

Watching the departing Anbu members, Onoki raised his hand and added,

"Wait, ask him again if he can get any strategic materials. As for the price, we can discuss it."

"But the village has run out of funds for procurement!"

The ANBU, who hadn't received their pay for three months, knew better than anyone the village's current predicament. Upon hearing this, Onoki's gaze hardened.
"Loans! Get loans for all registered ninjas. Once we get through this crisis, the village will never forget their contributions." (End of Chapter)