Uchiha's personal opinion

Under the sunlight, the bluestone floor tiles of the Uchiha clan's territory looked as if they were covered with golden sand. When the Uchiha clan members who came and went saw Tsunade come out of the tea room, they all bowed and paid their respects.

Tsunade also nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"At least the gap between the Senju and Uchiha clans has narrowed considerably..."

Tsunade gave a self-deprecating laugh, shook her head, and strode out of the Uchiha clan's territory.

Chapter 265 Financial Offensive

Uchiha Tokumitsu was not in a hurry to return to the Shogunate's Fubo Castle in the Land of Whirlpools. Instead, he stayed in Konoha to secretly launch the first round of financial offensive in the ninja world.

And the destination, naturally, is the water kingdom that he has always longed for.

Since the southern islands under the rule of the shogunate used the gold yuan, which was issued based on productivity and was essentially a form of credit currency, the gold yuan had a natural advantage over the gold standard currency of the land of the shogunate, thanks to the shogunate's power.

In addition, the trade treaty signed between the shogunate and the daimyo of the Land of Water allowed a large number of merchants from the southern islands to donate money in exchange for the status of "honorable genin" and conduct tax-free business within the Land of Water. This naturally squeezed out a large number of merchants in the Land of Water to some extent, thereby plundering a huge amount of commercial profits.

As trade volume increased, the shogunate's gold coins began to circulate privately within the effective territory of the Land of Water, replacing a portion of the Land of Water's paper currency; at the same time, a large amount of the Land of Water's paper currency remained in the hands of the Tokugawa shogunate as a replacement.

What Uchiha Tokumitsu wanted to do was to make use of the Land of Water's paper money.

The fundamental logic of the gold standard is that the issued paper money actually represents a voucher for an equivalent amount of gold. What Uchiha Tokumitsu wanted to do was to exchange all the paper money of the Land of Water in one go, and then recall all the merchants traveling within the territory of the Land of Water, thereby creating the illusion of currency collapse and shortage of resources within the Land of Water.

After the commercial order in the Land of Water became chaotic, Uchiha Tokumitsu, in the guise of a savior, sent merchants into the Land of Water to forcibly promote the gold yuan based on goods, thereby achieving the goal of controlling the Land of Water's commerce and attacking its currency.

Although this set of operations would seem incredibly crude even to financial professionals from the previous life, this is, after all, the ninja world. Even the stock exchange was pioneered by Uchiha Tokumitsu, so there is simply no platform for those fancy financial attacks to be carried out.

"...Recall all the merchants?"

Hozuki Masahiko, who had secretly arrived in Konoha, hesitated somewhat.

The first phase of this secret financial offensive will be carried out by the three Seii clans stationed in the southern islands, but Uchiha Tokumitsu did not tell his subordinates all the plans, but simply assigned them their respective tasks.

Firstly, they might not understand what an economic blow is, and secondly, Uchiha Tokumitsu didn't want to reveal too much about his "dragon-slaying techniques."

"Yes."

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded, confirming that Hozuki Masahiko hadn't misheard.

"However, this may have some impact on the tax revenue of the southern islands this year..."

"Minazuki Chino said softly."

The leader of the Kaguya clan nodded repeatedly.

"This year, the military expenses for the three clans will be directly allocated by the shogunate, but this must be strictly implemented!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu had a bit of a headache, but he still spoke with absolute certainty.

No wonder "ninja soldiers engaging in commerce" is a major taboo. I never expected that after handing over territory and tax authority to the three clans of the Shogunate, these people would be corrupted so quickly. Even the somewhat foolish Kaguya clan has begun to value commercial interests.

"As ordered!"

With things said to this extent, the leaders of the three tribes naturally had nothing to say.

"Then let's do it immediately!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu snorted coldly, speaking with some displeasure.

"...Lord Deguang, under what pretext should we recall the merchants?"

Minazuki Chino asked again.

"Let's issue a recall order under the guise of annual vehicle inspection!"

Uchiha Tokumitsu thought for a moment, "Under the pretext that the qualifications of honorary genin need to be reviewed annually, issue a notice requiring all merchants outside to return to the shogunate within a month to report for and undergo annual review..."

"As for how to keep those merchants from leaving for a short period of time after they return... I don't need to teach you that, do I?"

"I obey your command!"

The three clan leaders all agreed.

……

After arranging matters related to the southern islands, Uchiha Tokumitsu then handled a private equity fund for the exchange of the Land of Water's currency at the Nakagawa Stock Exchange.

The rules of this fund are very simple: after injecting the currency of the Land of Water into the Tokugawa Shogunate through the stock exchange, it can be exchanged for gold and 5% interest after three months.

The external advertising used the gimmick of "up to 20% annualized return" to send targeted fundraising invitations to wealthy businessmen and black market bosses who had long-term cooperative relationships with various stock exchanges.

Although the wealthy businessmen who received the invitation did not understand the purpose of Uchiha Tokuko's fund, the high interest rates, coupled with the Uchiha clan's and Nakagawa Stock Exchange's long-standing good reputation, still prompted many to inject funds into the exchange to purchase fund shares.

And so, Uchiha Tokumitsu once again received a considerable sum of money from the Land of Water.

However, his recent actions cannot be kept secret from others.

At least in the eyes of the Hyuga clan leader who was in charge of the intelligence department, there were many intriguing aspects to Uchiha Tokumitsu's recent actions.

After secretly arranging for his subordinates to gather relevant intelligence, the Hyuga clan leader, after a round of analysis, sent an envoy to request a meeting with Uchiha Tokumitsu.

Upon receiving the letter of greeting from the Hyuga clan, Uchiha Tokumitsu was somewhat surprised, but upon reflection, he understood.

After all, although the Hyuga clan's financial group mainly deals in loan sharking, with the rise of the stock exchange, the Hyuga financial group has also begun to get involved in various short-term loans and financing businesses. By analogy, if they carefully collect and analyze intelligence, they can still see where the Uchiha clan is aiming.

"If the Hyuga clan head doesn't mind, then let's do it tomorrow afternoon."

Uchiha Tokumitsu told the Hyuga ninja who came to deliver the message, "I will meet with the Hyuga clan head at the police headquarters building."

"Thank you, Lord Deguang!"

After bowing, the Hyuga ninja left, while Uchiha Tokumitsu began to ponder issues related to the Hyuga Foundation.

The Tokugawa Shogunate has always tried its best to recruit members of collateral branches of various ninja clans in Konoha and to influence their own clans through them.

Although these ninja clans' collateral branches are relatively weak, their advantage lies in their ability to handle mundane affairs, which is often superior to that of ordinary civilian ninjas. This is determined by their education.

However, the Hyuga clan is a special ninja clan.

Because of the existence of the Caged Bird Seal, Hyuga branch family ninjas who joined the shogunate would often sever ties with their clan after reaching a certain position and choose to remain permanently in the organization where they served.

This is especially true for the Hyuga branch family ninjas who served in the southern islands of the Land of Water and the shogunate's headquarters.

Uchiha Tokumitsu understood their reasons for doing so; they simply wanted to break free from the constraints of the main family and chose to exchange military service for a certain degree of freedom.

However, since the Hyuga branch family ninjas rarely return to their clan's base, the Tokugawa Shogunate has little influence over the rest of the clan. Moreover, since most of the Hyuga branch family ninjas never return, the Hyuga main family has tightened the approval process for branch family ninjas to leave the village, attempting to keep these clansmen within the village.

Uchiha Tokumitsu had no reason to interfere in this matter.

Ultimately, the Hyuga main family's control over the branch families is a tradition of their clan, and the so-called "ninja tradition" needs to be respected.

"...Hyuga Foundation."

Uchiha Tokumitsu thought for a while, but still couldn't come up with a solution, so he had no choice but to give up.

……

The following afternoon, the Hyuga clan chief arrived at the police department on time as agreed.

"Minister Hyuga, Lord Tokumitsu is waiting for you in the rooftop reception room."

As soon as I entered the gate of the police headquarters, a Kurama ninja immediately stepped forward to greet me.

"it is good……"

The Hyuga clan leader nodded and, following the guidance of the Kurama ninja, arrived at a cramped little doorway.

"This is……"

The Hyuga clan leader looked at the automatically opening staircase door in front of him and asked.

"This is a newly invented vertical elevator that can take you directly from the first floor to the top floor."

Kurama Ninja explained, "You are a distinguished guest, so we dare not trouble you to walk upstairs. Therefore, Lord Tokuko specially opened this elevator."

Although the Hyuga clan leader didn't understand why this pigeonhole-sized space was called an "elevator," he still followed instructions without hesitation and stepped into the elevator car.

Then he saw Kurama Ninja press a button on the elevator, and the elevator doors closed slowly and automatically, and he felt a slight sense of suspension beneath his feet.

"Rising vertically..."

The Hyuga clan leader, based on his experience, determined the elevator's current condition.

"Ding!"

A moment later, with a "ding" sound, the elevator stopped ascending and the doors slowly opened.

The Hyuga clan leader also saw Uchiha Tokumitsu, who was smiling and standing at the door to greet him.

"Welcome, Minister Hyuga. Please forgive me if I am not welcoming you properly."

Uchiha Tokumitsu greeted him very politely.

The title he used was the same as that of the Kurama ninja who received him, referring to him as the head of the Hyuga clan's intelligence department.

"General Deguang, you are too kind. It was I who was presumptuous to bother you."

The Hyuga clan leader's heart stirred, and he spoke seriously.

The use of official titles indicates that, in Uchiha Tokumitsu's eyes, his visit this time was not in a private capacity.

Since this is a formal meeting of high-ranking members of the ninja village, it must be conducted in accordance with etiquette.

Uchiha Tokumitsu invited the Hyuga clan head inside, where a servant ninja served tea and arranged the dishes. After exchanging pleasantries, they got down to business.

"Is Minister Hyuga paying particular attention to the recent events in the Land of Water?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu took the initiative to ask.

"Yes, there has been a large amount of black market funds flowing into the stock exchange recently, so just to be on the safe side, I had someone do a quick check."

The Hyuga clan head readily admitted, "Of course, it's not that I have any misunderstanding about the Uchiha clan's trading activities. I was just habitually fulfilling my duties as the intelligence department. If General Tokumitsu finds this inappropriate, I will go back and destroy the relevant intelligence data immediately."

The Hyuga clan leader first explained from the perspective of his duties, and then passed the buck back to Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"No, no, no~"

Uchiha Tokumitsu shook his head and said, "This matter is not a big deal. The Hyuga clan head was simply doing his duty. How can we excessively interfere with the intelligence department in fulfilling its responsibilities..."

"Furthermore, the stock exchange is an independent commercial and financial institution, not a private store monopolized by the Uchiha clan. It is only right that it accepts the village's supervision and inspection."

Uchiha Tokumitsu added a sentence.

In any case, there are no anti-money laundering laws in Konoha or even the ninja world, and the actions of the Nakagawa Stock Exchange are not problematic from a legal perspective.

Besides, isn't money on the black market money?