Naruto: Yes, Uchiha-sama.

Chapter 174; Hashirama Senju, you are the best Hokage. Your brother is only fit to follow my lead!

Makoto Uchiha closed the letter that the First Tsuchikage had written to him.

This is something that seems too good to be true.

Out of caution.

Uchiha Makoto mentally reviewed the series of recent events.

I started to think about it carefully.

He tried to think from the perspective of the first Tsuchikage.

"Is this a trap?"

"It shouldn't be a trap. It would be absolutely not good for Iwagakure to provoke Akatsuki at this time."

Uchiha Makoto first ruled out the possibility that this was a trap.

There's no reason for Iwagakure to deceive Akatsuki at this time; it wouldn't benefit them at all.

While public opinion in the ninja world is currently favorable to Iwagakure, the First Tsuchikage has already been put on the spot. Due to the vast distance between Iwagakure and Kirigakure, separated by a sea, and the suddenness of the events, Iwagakure was completely unprepared. Akatsuki's war against Kumogakure, however, was meticulously planned.

Therefore, the First Tsuchikage could never replicate the victory of Akatsuki against Kumogakure, since he already knew he couldn't get the desired result.

At this point, it's best to handle the situation discreetly.

Public opinion.
He probably guessed it was the First Tsuchikage as well.
"The First Tsuchikage is trying to make amends with me... or rather, he's begging for mercy."

"They want me to step in and help suppress the hype."

After analyzing the First Tsuchikage's mindset, Makoto Uchiha came to a general conclusion: the First Tsuchikage wanted Akatsuki to stop and help Iwagakure suppress the current public opinion frenzy in the ninja world to prevent the situation from escalating further. He also wanted to take this opportunity to offer Akatsuki a benefit in order to work together against Kirigakure.

on the basis of.

Uchiha Makoto, on the other hand, was calculating in his mind how to maximize his profits.

Since the First Tsuchikage needs his help.

Then we need to extract enough benefits from Iwagakure.

Uchiha Makoto has not forgotten how the First Tsuchikage ruined the excellent situation he had painstakingly created during the war between Akatsuki and Kumogakure, almost causing Kumogakure to return to its pre-foundation state overnight!

soon.

Uchiha Makoto immediately wrote a letter to Senju Tobirama. The letter was very simple: the plan will be moved up, and there will be great benefits. Just follow my Sharingan signals!

There's no need for too much talk between two people; a little reminder is enough.

They were able to move freely between the two major ninja villages and seize profits.

Such an opportunity is truly rare.

Makoto Uchiha immediately summoned the wealthy merchants from the Arasaka Company, as well as some influential nobles in the Land of Fire.

An emergency meeting was convened.

With the end of the war, capital was invested everywhere in the ninja world.

It's not just the Land of Fire.

Numerous factories have sprung up all over the ninja world.

Goods need to find a market to be consumed.

On this basis, exchanges between countries are becoming increasingly frequent.

The Land of Fire is indeed a large enough market, but no businessman would refuse such a good thing if he could open up markets in other countries and expand his sales.

"Lord Light and Shadow, this time it's Iwagakure and Kirigakure? You're truly a capable person!"

"To be honest, I've always liked the free trade concept proposed by Master Guangying. Tariff barriers are really a headache for us, since we still have to bear the losses from transportation, plus the tariffs themselves."

"."

The wealthy merchants summoned by Uchiha Makoto had extremely excited expressions on their faces.

Those who work in industry.

Especially when it comes to cross-border trade.

They are well aware of the impact of transportation and trade barriers on the selling price of goods.

The former is currently very difficult to solve.

The difficulty of infrastructure construction varies from country to country.

Even for the Land of Fire, building a modern transportation system would be difficult.

In recent years, the influence of the industrial faction has been growing, and in order to make money, they have been actively promoting national-level projects to build fast and convenient highways.

In addition, Makoto Uchiha took on many such missions, sending Akatsuki ninjas to participate in infrastructure construction and road building, which was barely enough to keep them afloat.

Use earth escape.

If we can't build highways, we can still build a few basic rural roads.

Other countries' infrastructure is certainly not as good as that of the Land of Fire, and these transportation losses must be borne by the merchants.

That would be fine if it were just that; with the Land of Fire's first-mover advantage, everyone would just earn a little less.

If we add trade barriers to that.

Then it would be really difficult to sell products manufactured in other countries.

No matter how superior your technology is, or how high quality and low price your products are, the wealthy merchants and nobles of the other country are not fools. In order to make money in their own country and sell the products produced in their own factories, they will inevitably use legal means to undermine you, and may even revoke your qualification to do business here.

Of course, he's a businessman.
As long as there is a profit to be made in the end.

Even though it would be troublesome and risky, one could choose to smuggle goods into other countries. However, such an act could easily lead to trouble if officials from other countries issued a mission to the ninja village.

The reason why this group of merchants is so excited is that they have already benefited from the influence of Akatsuki's powerful military strength in the ninja world.

In the battle between Akatsuki and Kumogakure, Akatsuki gained many privileges in Kumogakure.

All businessmen with ties to Akatsuki Village have benefited from this.

They can easily bypass the trade barriers set up by the Land of Lightning, allowing their products to be sold freely within the Land of Lightning.

Even if the Land of Lightning wanted to resist, it would be difficult to achieve very effective results.

The Akatsuki ninja will take action!
"This is just the beginning; don't try to come up with unrealistic ideas."

"Xiaoren Village is only a mediator, not a victor."

Uchiha Makoto timely poured cold water on the wealthy merchant in front of him.

This time, Akatsuki was merely mediating; unlike last time when they nearly defeated Kumogakure and were able to sign a bunch of unequal agreements with them.

However, the representatives of the wealthy businessmen remained enthusiastic, and it was already quite an achievement to have even made a start.

Two people can only plan for a short time, but three people can plan for a long time.

After some discussion.

The representatives of the wealthy merchants quickly listed some excessive but still acceptable confidentiality conditions for Iwagakure.

Hopefully, the ninjas of Iwagakure will turn a blind eye to their actions in future missions.

Uchiha Makoto glanced at the conditions, and they weren't particularly unreasonable.

Considering that traditional ninjas are currently unfamiliar with business and daily affairs, the First Tsuchikage would probably agree.

By the time the Land of Earth discovers the clues, it will probably be a year or two later. As for the future, we'll talk about that when the time comes.

As for the land of water...

He basically follows in Uchiha Makoto's footsteps.

The first issue to be addressed is the fishing grounds, which is the most troublesome. Those bird droppings islands, on the other hand, are relatively easy to manage because nobody pays attention to them.

The fishing ground issue involves not only the rivalry between ninja villages.

There are also national considerations. This means that Makoto Uchiha is about to interfere in the internal affairs of the Land of Fire again.

The monopoly of the salt market was a serious transgression, but the endorsement of a famous figure and the huge profits involved silenced many people, so the matter was eventually dropped.

The situation has changed.

Uchiha Makoto's previous massacre of the powerful noble family of the Seika clan had already stirred up public outrage.

In particular, Xiaoren Village is about to open a bank and issue its own currency.

Although the currency is temporarily only circulating within the village for the sake of security, it is clear to everyone that Akatsuki's goal is definitely not just a mere ninja village, which is already quite bold.

Economically.

Compared to the entire Land of Fire.

Akatsuki Village is still in a weak position.

The insects are openly and legitimately playing economic hedging with you according to the rules, manipulating the newly established monetary system of the Akatsuki Village.
In this case
Makoto Uchiha would also be very upset.

Moreover, fair and square competition cannot easily resort to force or overturn the table at the drop of a hat; in the end, it will only lead to a loss of credibility.

In business, reputation is paramount!

It's best to keep a low profile in the Land of Fire lately.

If they continue to act willfully and interfere in the internal affairs of the Land of Fire...

Who knows what kind of trouble they'll cause?

They kept slapping the faces of the high-ranking officials of the Land of Fire. They also have their pride.

Then Uchiha Makoto looked at the noble representatives attending the meeting.

—This is actually a revolving door.

There was no special skill involved in inviting these nobles to Akatsuki Village; it was simply for one reason—money!

In the past, the rulers of the Land of Fire were unable to reach a consensus, resulting in everyone struggling in the mud. However, Akatsuki Village broke this pattern.

Although Makoto Uchiha occasionally crossed the red lines of the ninja village, he was actually always getting things done.

This is a huge plus.

Generally speaking.

As long as you don't cause trouble and are willing to cooperate with Akatsuki Village to make money, Uchiha Seiichi has always been open to anyone who comes along.

Having tasted the benefits of cooperation, they were naturally willing to try cooperating with Akatsuki Village.

"Lord Light and Shadow, leave the fishing ground issue to us. We'll take care of it and persuade the daimyo."

"It's just the cannery's authorization and the profit-sharing ratio."

"Don't worry. We can make money together."

"Then we're all set."

Faced with the nobles' request, the two sides quickly reached a consensus after a brief exchange.

After everything was settled.

This concludes the meeting.

Uchiha Makoto saw off the delighted guests.

All that's left is to wait.

Konoha was on standby, waiting for news from Uchiha Makoto.

The letter that Makoto Uchiha wrote to the First Tsuchikage will take at least some time to arrive.

Negotiations between Iwagakure and Kirigakure will also take some time.
After all, it's not enough for Iwagakure to simply agree to let Akatsuki act as referee.

Kirigakure Village also has to agree to this.

Of course, Uchiha Makoto believed that Kirigakure would agree to Iwagakure's suggestion that they couldn't negotiate. In that case, they would have to fight.

Forcibly seizing fishing grounds is also a method.

However, during the preparation time before the negotiations began, Makoto Uchiha did not intend to just wait idly.

He planned to take this opportunity to make some preparations for future plans.

Since we're going to negotiate, let's make it more formal.

Akatsuki, Konoha, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure—these are already the four great powers of the ninja world; they are fully capable of solving most of the ninja world's problems.

Uchiha Makoto wanted to take this opportunity to try to build a platform for ninja council meetings.

That is, the Five Kage Summit that the First Hokage tried so hard to bring about. Now it's the Six Kage Summit.

In the original Naruto manga.

The First Hokage did indeed temporarily manage to get the Kage of the five great ninja villages sitting in one house, signing a peace treaty, and agreeing to abandon the use of force when facing conflicts between ninja villages, and instead resolve issues through negotiation.

However, after the Five Kage Summit distributed the Tailed Beasts and signed the agreement, there was no time for them to work together and realize all of this. Hashirama Senju died not long afterward.

The death of Hashirama Senju.

The Five Kage Summit, which was originally convened solely because of him, immediately collapsed.

The signed agreement became nothing more than toilet paper.

Uchiha Makoto didn't actually want the ninja world to keep fighting. He hoped to delay the peace as much as possible, which would be beneficial to Akatsuki.

The current timeframe is still a few years before the Five Kage Summit in the original story.

If such a plan were started earlier, the results should be much better than those in the original work.

If the conflict between Iwagakure and Kirigakure is resolved smoothly, it should lay a good foundation for this model.

Even if such talks cannot truly resolve the disputes among ninjas, they are like a place specifically for arguing, where everyone quarrels endlessly over interests.
But as long as everyone has met, that's already progress.

Unlike the ninjas of the past, who could only rely on incomplete information to guess the intentions of their opponents, ultimately leading to endless conflicts and hatred.

If used properly, this could be a terrifying platform.

A place where you argue can become a place to discuss business.

Traditional ninjas may be stubborn, but they certainly wouldn't mind making a little more money. Who doesn't like a little bit of cash?

When people have mutual interests, they will be more considerate of each other, and their relationships will become closer.

Although the arguments still go on, the situation is gradually getting better.

As the first-mover advantage, Akatsuki Village can take advantage of this opportunity to continuously inject capital into the other party's trade system and eventually dominate it.

Even if it's not guaranteed to succeed, it should be enough to win over the ninjas in the other village.

The ninja clans have financial support from outside the village, just like the relationship between Akatsuki and the Uchiha clan. Once there is a group of ninjas in the village who benefit from Akatsuki's capital, they will unconsciously protect Akatsuki's interests and speak up for Akatsuki.

This was further amplified by promotional efforts from companies like Xiaolaiwu.

They might be able to indirectly seize actual control of the village.

"I'm so bad. I'm doing something as shady as squid."

Makoto Uchiha kept scribbling and drawing on the paper, trying to be the first to register Hashirama Senju's idea.

Before he does it, the framework for the Five Kage Summit should be established in Akatsuki Village, allowing Akatsuki Village to take the lead in all of this.

This concerns the village's right to speak.

I'm sorry, First Generation!

Anyway, you don't care about these superficial things.

You might not even need to kowtow to them and beg for cooperation anymore.

(End of this chapter)