Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

But Konoha's actions this time were truly brilliant, taking care of every aspect.

Originally, additional expenses were expected, but in the end, not only were normal operations maintained, but profits were even higher than before.

If everyone were to directly cause trouble for Konoha, it would be a loss of face. After all, they are all respectable people, and doing such a thing would be beneath their dignity.

However, they felt really bad watching Konoha make money.

Furthermore, Konoha is full of talented people. If they really turn against each other, the outcome is hard to say. Nobody knows what those fearless guys might do.

Therefore, they could only suppress their dissatisfaction for the time being.

However, they would occasionally say sarcastic or sarcastic things, even though they knew that these words wouldn't change the situation anytime soon.

But over time, the power of repeated rumors can become a myth, and it might actually have some effect.

Fortunately, the daimyo of the Land of Fire was a competent ruler; he never easily trusted anyone.

When he was a child, his father told him a story.

"What if!"

Chapter 127 Black Stockings Terumi Mei

You are sitting in a car, in control of the direction.

There are two roads in front of you. On one road there is one person, and on the other road there are five people.

No matter which path you choose, people on that path will encounter misfortune, while those on the other side will be able to survive.

In other words, if you choose to save five people, one person will die.

Choosing to save one person will result in the deaths of five others.

The young daimyo instinctively replied, "Then kill one person and save five. That way, we'll commit fewer sins."

He still remembers the disappointed look in his father's eyes at that time.

Now, Daming is in his twilight years, and after experiencing many things in life, he finally understands his father's intentions back then.

If I sacrifice just one person, those people will blame and berate me, and morally condemn me.

But if I sacrifice five people, the remaining one will be afraid of me and dare not cause me any harm. I will still be that high and mighty, morally impeccable person.

I am Daimyo, why should I follow your rules?

The most important thing in the world is to maintain balance.

I must neither allow those who are loyal to me to be too weak, nor allow them to be too powerful.

We must neither allow forces like Konoha to become too powerful, nor allow them to become too weak.

Desire is like a stone rolling down a mountain, constantly sliding wildly down the slope.

Since it's impossible to distinguish who is loyal and who is treacherous, let's keep them on the same level and let them check and balance each other.

Coming to his senses, the daimyo spoke gently to the close retainers of Konoha beside him, saying, "The weather today is perfect for tea."

He knew in his heart that the finance minister in front of him was very close to him and someone he could trust.

After all, everything the Chancellor of the Exchequer possessed was a gift from himself.

However, this finance minister was ultimately too close to Konoha.

Especially since the Fourth Hokage took office, even those who originally harbored resentment towards Konoha had to admit that this Hokage acted with generosity.

Previously, Konoha had almost defeated Iwagakure and Kumogakure. Although they were eventually stopped by the Mizukage, the trend of Konoha uniting with these major ninja villages had already begun to emerge.

This is not the situation that the five great daimyo want to see.

Therefore, after some secret discussions, the daimyo have decided to secretly cause some minor trouble for their respective ninja villages.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that the ninja village will be in trouble; it's just that the goal is to keep the situation in a relatively normal state.

If the lowly underlings unite, what good will come of it for these daimyo?

The project passed the test smoothly, which is similar to how a company boss sometimes asks employees to do things that seem outrageous, or even asks them to give him red envelopes (cash gifts).

Regardless of what the employees think, as long as they complete the task, the test is considered passed.

However, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind is no longer involved; he's practically driven Sunagakure to its wits' end.

After all, he even cut the budget for the ninja forces.

If we put too much pressure on the ninjas, who knows what they might do? They might actually storm into the daimyo's palace and chop him down with a single blow.

The Fire Country Daimyo remained outwardly calm, but if he were to subtly hint at anything, those powerful figures who had been waiting to see Konoha make a fool of itself would naturally take action.

Among the four great ninja villages, Hokage Minato Namikaze, persuaded by Hiruko, was not a stingy person and was naturally willing to generously contribute.

The finance minister, who had always maintained good relations with Konoha, had now become the target of the daimyo's anger.

However, Daimyo still chatted with the finance minister with a smile.

The finance minister quickly understood the daimyo's meaning—to cause some trouble for Konoha.

Back in the Land of Water, Yagura felt his pressure increasing day by day.

The situation has now entered a new era, and the ninja villages can no longer fight independently as before.

Regardless of the reason, wars between ninja villages and nations will ultimately devolve into a drain on the national strength of major powers.

The land of water is isolated overseas, and its domestic resources certainly cannot compare with those of large inland countries.

To gain an advantage, we must vigorously develop commerce.

The land of water has the most fish, but cold chain transportation is a major challenge in transporting fresh fish to various places.

Some suggested leveraging the power of merchants from the Land of Fire, but that would have nothing to do with ninjas; they needed to rely on the power of large capital.

Yagura didn't want to produce a bunch of defective products and ruin the reputation of the Land of Water's top-notch seafood.

The Land of Water has limited national strength. If it wants to develop rapidly, it will inevitably need to introduce foreign funds, which will inevitably involve negotiations such as joint ventures and shareholding.

Among the many options, Konoha has the most idle funds and the fastest return on investment, and it will certainly have a significant impact on the world in the next few years.

Logically speaking, Konoha is the most suitable partner, but Konoha's attitude is tough and difficult to deal with, so they certainly won't easily let the Land of Water get what they want.

Yagura pondered, "What should I do?"

Seemingly sensing the Mizukage's predicament, Mei Terumi, an ANBU ninja standing nearby, stepped forward and said to the Mizukage with a smile, "My lord, you seem to be somewhat troubled."

Mizukage Yagura sighed: "Yes, there's a very troublesome task, but I can't give it to you."

"Would you question my loyalty to Kirigakure?"

"No, this is the one task I really can't entrust to you."

Meanwhile, Hiruko frowned as he looked at the report in the dead of night.

What worries him now is that Konoha's rapid development has attracted a large population.

People from surrounding villages flocked to Konoha, causing signs of food shortages to appear in Konoha.

Hiruko's goal is to develop agriculture on a large scale around Konoha.

Using the extraordinary power of ninjas to develop agriculture, uniformly planning farmland, and adding fertilizers and ripening technology developed by Hiruko in the research department.

He planned to solve Konoha's food problem in a short time so that the city could accommodate a larger population.

While Hiruko was busy with the food problem, on the other side, Yagura, dressed as a merchant, came directly to his door with her bodyguard, Mei Terumi.

He invited Hiruko to come out and meet him.

Yagura is quite daring; his attire is relatively normal, while Mei Terumi beside him is dressed rather provocatively.

Female ninjas originally dressed in revealing outfits, such as hot pants and crop tops, for ease of movement.

But Mei Terumi's outfit was clearly a step further, and quite eye-catching.

Mei Terumi wore a chestnut-colored chiffon blouse with large waves, paired with top-quality black stockings made from the local specialty of Hiruko.

The stockings had a glossy, smooth texture that was particularly eye-catching.

She wore a pair of exquisite high heels, and with each step she took, it seemed as if she were pounding heavily on the heartstrings of Birukhu.

"This woman really knows how to manipulate people," Hiruko thought to herself, then glanced at Tsunade, who was busy nearby, and shook her head helplessly.

Tsunade, standing to the side, had a gloomy face, with veins bulging on her forehead as if they were about to form the character "井" (well).

After all, no one expected that Yagura would suddenly visit Hiruko's home.

Hiruko had no choice but to call the lady of the house back. Mei Terumi's attire made Tsunade feel hostile.

Hiruko forced a smile and looked at Yagura, asking, "Yagura, what brings you here today?"

Yagura was quite straightforward, stating his purpose directly: "I hope that the funds from the Land of Fire can flow into our Land of Water, as we plan to build many canneries."

He is directly expressing his intentions.

Upon closer reflection, Yagura is indeed no ordinary person.

In the previous chaotic battles, he dared to defy public opinion and use the tactic of stealing enemy bases.

Now, even though he knows that Beiruk dislikes him intensely, he can still say these words so frankly.

However, this is precisely what makes Yagura so formidable—he never hesitates to act when necessary, and he never hesitates to yield when it's time to back down.

Konoha might not be able to directly attract investment from the Land of Fire to Kirigakure, but it can definitely find a way to make investors from the Land of Fire give up the idea of ​​investing in Kirigakure.

However, he said aloud, "Building a cannery is indeed a good direction for development."

"Konoha has already invested in quite a few canneries, isn't that enough?" Hiruko said calmly.

In the Sengoku ninja world, although ninja villages and nations were closely connected, Hiruko knew that Yagura was more concerned about the situation in Kirigakure.

Yagura nodded, confirming, "That's right, not enough!"

Hiruko readily agreed, "No problem."

This greatly surprised Mei Terumi, who was standing to the side. She did not expect that Hiruko, who had always been at odds with Kirigakure, would agree so readily without even thinking about it.

It's important to know that Yagura had previously offended Hiruko and Konoha quite badly.

Mei Terumi sensed something, but she was very clear that as a guard, she couldn't interrupt at this time.

After all, for these guards, there is often another identity and responsibility in political situations.