Naruto: Yes, Uchiha-sama.

Chapter 146 Tobirama, I'm going to the movies with Madara. Remember to invite Mito too, we'll all go together!

Then, Uchiha Makoto took this opportunity to talk to Itagaki about the future plans for Akatsuki.

The village's power system needs to be prepared, as the village will begin large-scale electrification and lighting next year.

Even though it's too early to use chakra as an energy source, coal can be used as a temporary substitute.

Furthermore, the collaboration between Akatsuki Village and Arasaka Company, along with the presence of Haoshang's own research laboratory, is always beneficial. By working together, they can undertake several large projects, earn more money, train more skilled workers, and promote technological progress.

There are countless examples.

Itagaki was happy to contribute to Akatsuki, but the exorbitant annual expenses still had to come from Akatsuki.

After seeing Itagaki off, a second guest entered Makoto Uchiha's office.

It's Takahashi Fujimaru.

"Lord Light and Shadow, seeing Akatsuki Village safe and sound is truly a great relief."

Takahashi Fujimaru immediately adopted a very humble attitude upon entering.

Ever since Makoto Uchiha attacked a powerful noble family in the Land of Fire...

Oh no, ever since the Arasaka Company was founded, he and the wealthy businessmen around him have been inextricably linked to Uchiha Makoto.

Takahashi Fujimaru originally thought that the Land of Fire would be in turmoil because of Akatsuki's overstepping of its bounds, but it turned out to be all bark and no bite.

This made him quite pleased, and he secretly thought he had followed the right person.

"What major incident could possibly happen?"

"Ultimately, world order and the right to speak are achieved through violence. In the past, some people have remained in high positions in the ninja world because we ninjas were willing to support them. However, I am not satisfied with the current order in the ninja world. Sooner or later, I will rebuild the ninja world order."

These few simple words contained a wealth of information, leaving Takahashi Fujimaru both astonished and secretly delighted.

These wealthy merchants have already gone all in on Xiaoren Village.

They weren't afraid that the Akatsuki Village had great ambitions, but they were worried that the Akatsuki Village had no ambitions.

"Konoha too."

"No, this time it's just that Konoha and I reached a certain consensus."

Makoto Uchiha shook his head, then inquired about the important matter at hand.

"How is the Arasaka Company's plan progressing?"

"Sir, there's been a slight problem."

Takahashi Fujimaru did not hesitate and chose to tell the truth.

Recently, some business partners, suppliers, and sales channels of various businesses under Arasaka Corporation have unanimously decided to terminate their cooperation rather than pay exorbitant breach of contract penalties.

Clearly, this situation is due to pressure exerted from behind.

The influence and wealth of the nobles permeate every aspect of the Land of Fire; for them, accomplishing this would be as simple as saying a word.

Although Arasaka Company received a large amount of compensation in a short period of time.

However, this is very unfavorable from a long-term development perspective.

"Hmph, that makes sense."

"But it's okay, you can just find new partners as soon as possible."

Makoto Uchiha didn't take these things to heart.

Konoha is still keeping an eye on Akatsuki, so Akatsuki won't be making any big moves anytime soon.

However, it would be quite easy for the Akatsuki to make an example of someone and eliminate some minor figures.

This time, Akatsuki only needs to take a small step to deter them and teach them to behave themselves, so that they will treat Arasaka Company fairly.

Uchiha Shin didn't want the Arasaka Company to resort to violence whenever it encountered a problem.

Because the effects of violent solutions are immediate, it can easily lead to path dependency.

He hoped Hayek's influence would play a role, allowing Arasaka to stand out in a fair free market. Of course, occasionally sending some homemade planes as a threat would still be necessary.

"I understand. I will do my best to help Lord Guangying."

Takahashi Fujimaru bowed deeply. Some of his little schemes had failed, but that was enough.

The merchants were actually quite unhappy, as a nobleman was now taking a cut of their profits, and he was incredibly greedy. Although some merchants had to leave Akatsuki Village for various reasons, there were still quite a few who wanted to board Akatsuki Village's big ship. With this shift in power, Arasaka Company could find even more partners.

After Takahashi Fujimaru left.

A richly dressed nobleman walked into Uchiha Makoto's office.

"Hey, Lord Light and Shadow, you've been making quite a stir lately. There are many people in the Land of Fire who are very dissatisfied with you."

"You'd better be careful lately."

This nobleman spoke in a rather casual tone.

He had a good relationship with Makoto Uchiha and provided him with many conveniences when Akatsuki was first established.

Makoto Uchiha also helped him solve many difficult problems on several occasions.

In fact, Akatsuki has done many taboo things like this one.

However, in the past, orders for these matters either came from the daimyo of the Land of Fire or from a high-ranking noble like the one before them.

Akatsuki was merely following orders. Following orders is fine; at most, they were just tools. But when tools develop intelligence and start acting independently, that's when many people lose sleep.

"Oh, what are you saying?"

"There's nothing I can do if His Highness doesn't trust me."

"Haha, Lord Light and Shadow still likes to play dumb as always."

"Just kidding! Hahaha!!!"

They both burst into laughter. Some things are best left unsaid; it's best to leave them unsaid.

Both sides sensed the goodwill from the other. Truly intelligent people never go down a dead end. The daimyo could not surrender, but if they, as subjects, had the opportunity to play both sides, they would definitely take advantage of it.

"What brings you here this time?"

"Actually, it's nothing much. I just wanted to give you a gift since it's the New Year. And also to remind you that someone is trying to drive a wedge between you and Konoha."

The nobleman pointed a finger to the sky, his meaning clear—the daimyo was extremely uneasy about Konoha and Akatsuki standing on the same side this time, and as a master of manipulating power, he was bound to sabotage the relationship between Akatsuki and Konoha.

"Thank you for reminding."

Uchiha Makoto leaned back in his chair, nodded, and pondered in his heart.

The Fire Country Daimyo was ultimately an outsider in the ninja world and didn't really understand the relationship between Akatsuki and Konoha.

Especially the relationship between the two sides' senior management.

Hashirama Senju was a good-natured man who liked to smooth things over, while Madara Uchiha was a potential second-in-command who might defect from Konoha.

Tobirama Senju, who actually controls the power in Konoha, is also a racist.

Uchiha Makoto didn't care about Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha's attitude; they had no hostility towards Akatsuki.

In Tobirama Senju's mind, Makoto Uchiha was a dangerous individual with a bad temper, eccentric personality, and a tendency to act without considering the consequences.

So, damaging the relationship?

That requires the two parties to have a good relationship!

The truth is that the relationship between the two parties was already so bad that it didn't need to be damaged at all.

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were both in Konoha, which is why Konoha and Akatsuki were considered allies. If they weren't there, they would be a constant threat of betrayal.

If he really had the chance to kill Tobirama Senju without anyone noticing, Makoto Uchiha would not hesitate to take action.

Of course, the same was true for Tobirama Senju. Everyone was well aware of how great a threat the other's existence was.

all in all.

No matter what methods the Daimyo uses, if he cannot persuade Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, then all his efforts will be in vain. If the Daimyo can truly change their beliefs, then Uchiha Makoto is willing to call the Daimyo the strongest in talk-no-jutsu!
"You are welcome."

"Cheng, those friends you asked me to introduce you to before are now quite eager to meet you."

"Of course, of course. I love making friends, so that these people won't ruin my reputation behind my back."

It's clear that the nobleman in front of us isn't the only one with ulterior motives; it's common for them to use veiled allegiances, and their allegiance isn't necessarily to the daimyo.

Uchiha Makoto readily agreed.

The more friends the Akatsuki has, the smoother things will become in the future. There's no reason to push these people away from the systemic protectionism between officials. The Akatsuki can boldly manipulate things that cross the line, and perhaps in the future, the Akatsuki won't even need to do anything personally. They can resolve these issues quietly in a more compliant and reasonable way.

Murder and bloodshed are simply too undignified.

Even if you have the ability to overturn tables, you still have to follow the rules unless you are the Sage of Six Paths.

The two eventually set a date for a private banquet, arranged by a nobleman, so that everyone could meet and make friends.

In the days following the departure of the nobleman, many more people arrived one after another.

The leaders of the surrounding small ninja villages personally visited Uchiha Makoto, expressing their willingness to befriend Akatsuki, which Uchiha Makoto readily accepted.

Friends are always a good thing; more friends mean more opportunities.

Considering that Akatsuki doesn't have the energy or spare ninjas to project its influence to smaller ninja villages outside the Land of Fire, they haven't even finished incorporating the smaller ninja forces within the Land of Fire yet.

Moreover, the leaders of these small ninja villages, who came to pay their respects in person, did not want to leave empty-handed.

So Makoto Uchiha signed trade contracts with each of them, covering a wide range of items, from ninja tools such as kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags, to various medical supplies, canned goods, and food.

Arakawa Corporation was responsible for the liaison.

Using inexpensive and high-quality industrial products and consumables to bind them to the market and generate economic benefits is probably the best approach at present.

In short
Akatsuki Village only wants to do business with these smaller ninja villages.

Makoto Uchiha was pleased that they were willing to acknowledge Akatsuki as their elder brother, but there were no further promises or assistance offered; at most, they could only offer a slight discount on the price.

The person in charge of the small ninja village was somewhat disappointed, but not angry.

Becoming a sworn brother isn't something that can be done with just a few words; it requires offering a pledge of loyalty.
There's plenty of time in the future.
Moreover, the contracts that Makoto Uchiha signed with these small ninja villages did indeed benefit the villages, as the prices were cheap and the quality of the samples was guaranteed.

Shinji Uzumaki, who was far away on Uzushima Island, also sent a letter.

He was delighted to receive so many orders so soon after the cannery started operations.

Shinji Uzumaki did a rough calculation.

The total order amount for this month has reached 300 million yuan and is still rising, which has completely exceeded his expectations.

As part of the downstream production chain.

The Uzumaki clan and some Akatsuki ninjas went out to sea day and night to fish, since it was related to their livelihood.

All they need to do is set up the net, and the rest is taken care of. Ninja beasts will drive the fish into the net.

This is practically like finding money on the street.

Strange rumors have been circulating within the Uzumaki clan. "It's so good! We Uzumaki should have gone fishing earlier; we've been poor for so many years for nothing."
To make money, and to speed things up.

The Uzumaki clan members were even considering how to exploit a bug to speed up transportation by using the rare space-time ninjutsu, Summoning Jutsu.

Instead of doing his proper ninja duties, Shinji Uzumaki spends his days thinking about how to go fishing at sea faster and more efficiently, which really gives him a headache.

But the tangible profits from the orders made it hard for him to refuse the Whirlpool Clan's eager desire for wealth.

Even as a clan chief or village leader, you could be ousted if you prevent your clansmen from making money. It's just that the probability is very small.

These are all good things. Although Shinji Uzumaki complained in his letter, his words were full of joy.

Of course, there was also bad news.

The large fishing grounds surrounding the Land of Whirlpools are actually jointly owned and developed by several countries.

Currently, there is no law specifying which country these large fishing grounds belong to; they simply operate on a traditional basis, fishing in their respective waters without interfering with each other's territory.

Because of the Akatsuki Village, the Uzumaki clan ninjas personally went to sea to fish in large quantities, often with multiple fishing grounds operating simultaneously. Under the combined attack of ninja beasts, they caught a large number of fish.
But for ordinary fishermen, this is a devastating blow.

The fishermen of the Land of Fire are relatively easy to deal with; at worst, we can recruit them and involve them in the effort.

But other countries...
Fishermen from the Land of Hot Water protested, fishermen from the Land of Iron protested, fishermen from the Land of Bear protested, fishermen from the Land of the Sea protested. Even some fishermen from the islands affiliated with the Land of Water began to voice their opinions.

This can easily lead to trouble.

Uchiha Makoto didn't want to provoke public anger, so he could only write a letter asking them to tone down their efforts, suggesting that sending ninjas to fish at sea was just too outrageous to offend so many countries at once.

At the end of Shinji Uzumaki's letter, he didn't forget to mention Shizuku Uzumaki, saying, "Hurry up and have a child, child."

Makoto Uchiha agrees with this point.

It's almost Chinese New Year, and he's still fighting on the front lines of work. It's time for him to hurry home and start another battle.

Konoha.

A busy year.

Tobirama Senju also planned to take a few days off.

The only slight difference between him and Uchiha Makoto is that he is single.

However, some people also invited him to go to the movies.

It was his older brother, Hashirama Senju.

Tobirama, are you free tomorrow?

"What's wrong, brother?"

"How about we go see a movie together? I heard they made a movie about the Hidden Abyss, and there's a huge banner and poster hanging in the theater."

During the Spring Festival season.

The movie theater in Ninja Village was unusually packed.

The same applies to Konoha.

Uchiha Makoto put a lot of effort into promoting this in order to make a good start.

The advertisements were constantly being promoted through movie theater banners, magazines, newspapers, and street tabloids.

The first film produced by the Ninja Village. An epic ninja war. It is full of various gimmicks in order to stop the war and achieve peace.

Hashirama Senju, who usually idled around the village, naturally joined in the fun at this time.

of course
Hashirama Senju also hoped to spend time with his family during the New Year.

"It's not that it's impossible, but shouldn't you go with your wife?"

"I plan to talk to Mito when I get back."

"Hmm, that works too."

Tobirama Senju wasn't keen on being a third wheel, but considering it was a family New Year's celebration, he nodded in agreement.

He originally wanted to watch the movie made by Makoto Uchiha and find out what Akatsuki was up to.

"That's great, I'll have Ban go buy the movie tickets right now."

Tobirama Senju: "???"

(End of this chapter)