A year passed in the blink of an eye, and on the surface, the Ninja World remained calm and peaceful.
If anything captured attention over the past year, it was Rain Country.
First came a group of young people, seemingly out of nowhere, who reunified Rain Country.
Then they not only established a new ninja village but also launched large-scale construction projects across the land.
Now, Rain Country had transformed into a massive entertainment hub.
Pleasure houses, gambling dens, and hot spring bathhouses sprang up everywhere.
Thanks to its unique geographical location, luxurious interior design, and attentive service, it quickly built a solid reputation within the Ninja World.
Every day, wealthy patrons from neighboring great and small nations flocked here to spend money lavishly.
Though the special industries were directly controlled by the Akatsuki Village, even the food and accommodation sectors alone had lifted the standard of living for Rain Country's villagers beyond their wildest dreams.
Another month had just ended.
"How were our earnings this month?"
The Akatsuki Kage Tower had long been completed. Sitting in the office, Yahiko looked more like a big-time boss than a ninja.
"Ten percent higher than last month."
Kakuzu held the monthly report, grinning from ear to ear.
He had never lived such a comfortable life.
Each morning he woke up to nothing but counting money. Battling and bloodshed felt like memories from a past life.
"Not bad. Our income has stabilized over recent months."
"As long as nothing unexpected happens, our profits should remain within this range every month."
Yahiko nodded slightly, his expression unreadable.
In truth, he'd grown numb—there was simply too much money for him to know what to do with.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined wealth could actually be burdensome.
"It's all thanks to the teacher. He really knows what he's doing."
"I never realized these businesses could be so profitable."
Konan no longer found such work distasteful or vulgar.
After all, the women working were professional courtesans gathered from various countries. There was no forced prostitution involved, so her conscience remained clear.
As for broken families caused by gambling? She would simply say those people had it coming.
Even if they didn't gamble here, they'd lose it all somewhere else eventually.
"I think he just makes us do the stuff he himself can't bring himself to do."
Kakuzu muttered bitterly. It felt satisfying to speak ill of Kawaki, even if he couldn't beat him in battle.
"Don't talk about the teacher like that. He's not that kind of person."
Konan immediately snapped, though her voice lacked firm conviction.
If Kawaki Hatake opened a gambling house himself, his wife would definitely bankrupt him.
And running a pleasure establishment would be even worse—he'd probably get killed by his wife.
Thinking about it, Konan actually started to feel there was some truth to Kakuzu's words.
"Heh~ Do you really think Kawaki Hatake is some kind of good guy?"
Kakuzu sneered coldly. He'd probably never get over that loss of nine hundred million.
"Lord Kawaki isn't a bad guy. Didn't he spare your life at least?"
Nonou still deeply respected Kawaki.
"Well..."
Before Kakuzu could speak, Nagato cut him off.
"All right, enough bickering."
"We've made the money, but trouble's coming too."
"Let's figure out how to handle it now."
Rain Country's earnings over the past year had attracted envy from two allies, both eager to take a share.
The Sand Hidden Village was somewhat restrained, but Ōnoki of Iwagakure had already sent envoys repeatedly under the guise of "discussion."
The tone of their conversation was quite confrontational, though Yahiko had managed to deflect the demands with some excuses.
But this clearly couldn't last forever.
"If tigers don't show their fangs, do they really think we're helpless cats?"
"Want money? Forget it."
Konan made her position clear—no money, and if push came to shove, she was ready for a fight.
"If it were just the few of us, no problem."
"But now that we've got such a big operation, can we really afford to pick fights whenever?"
Yahiko rubbed his temples—he was really getting a headache over this.
As expected, there's no such thing as a free lunch. The happier he'd been back then over getting funding from two major ninja villages, the more trouble he faced now.
"Fighting is definitely not a good idea."
"They must think we're just a tiny village—an easy target to push around."
"If we could make them feel threatened, maybe this mess would resolve itself."
Nagato's reasoning made perfect sense. After all, no ally would dare ask Konoha for money, even though it was one of the wealthiest.
"Why don't I pay them a visit?"
Kakuzu figured taking on Konoha alone might be tough, but Sunagakure and Iwagakure wouldn't be a problem.
A little bloodshed would remind them who's in charge.
If they want their money back, they'll have to see if we feel like giving it.
"Not a good idea."
"Everyone already knows who you are. That'd be like declaring war outright."
Without hesitation, Yahiko shot down Kakuzu's idea.
If Kakuzu went disguised and killed people secretly, it wouldn't accomplish anything meaningful.
And if he openly committed murder, it'd be equivalent to Akatsuki Village making the first move.
That would put them in the wrong morally, no matter how you looked at it.
"Then let's keep stalling and see what they can do."
At this point, Kakuzu and Konan completely agreed—one way or another, they were prepared for battle.
Who's scared of who anyway?!
"We can't stall any longer—it'll cause problems."
People only have so much patience. Nagato guessed Ōnoki was about to blow his top soon.
Even if Rasa was slightly more reasonable, he'd become increasingly difficult to pacify.
Whether it was open war or secret sabotage, both scenarios would only bring trouble for the Land of Rain.
"This won't work, and that won't work either."
"So tell me, exactly what should we do?"
Worried the decision might end up involving profit-sharing, Kakuzu was growing impatient.
"Calm down; everyone's still discussing options."
Nonou understood Kakuzu's frustration, though she didn't have any solid ideas herself.
"Earlier, Nagato said we need to make them feel threatened."
"You mean letting them know we're not pushovers and making them back off on their own?"
Ohhh! Now I get it!
This time, Konan quickly caught on to what Nagato meant.
"Yeah."
"Letting them back off voluntarily seems like the best solution I can think of."
Nagato nodded, though he still wasn't sure how to execute it.
"It's hard to say—it might actually be simple enough."
Nonou seemed to have an idea brewing.
"Go on," said Yahiko, leaning in, now intrigued.
"Nagato's plan is to avoid direct confrontation while showcasing our strength from another angle."
"If we can publicly defeat a top-tier expert, this whole issue might just resolve itself."
Nonou replied with a bitter smile. Winning isn't even the issue here.
To begin with, there weren't many top-tier experts who could threaten two major ninja villages at once.
"Yeah, that's the general idea,"
"But actually putting it into action is next to impossible."
"Where exactly are we supposed to find such an expert?"
Nagato frowned deeply. Indeed, talking was easy, but action was difficult.
"What if we ask the teacher to stage a performance?"
Yahiko asked tentatively. The first top-tier expert that came to his mind was Kawaki.
"Do you think everyone's an idiot?"
"If we could defeat Kawaki so easily, would we still be swallowing our pride and holding back?"
"That would only make people suspect something suspicious was going on."
Kakuzu gave Yahiko a look like he was talking nonsense. You really have a talent for picking candidates.
"Then name a few other candidates yourself."
Yahiko shot back indignantly.
Kakuzu opened his mouth, then shut it again without saying a word. The only person he could think of was the Third Raikage as well.
Who in their right mind would willingly come to Akatsuki Village just to be defeated?
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Just when everyone was completely at a loss, someone knocked on the office door.
"Come in."
At Yahiko's command, an Akatsuki ninja entered.
"Akatsuki Shadow, someone is causing trouble and has already injured several Jonin."
...
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