Chapter 4. A Hoodlum Without Brains Can Only Be a Lackey for Life!
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The confident smile on Uchiha Madara's face grew even stronger.
At this moment, he only felt that Uchiha Makoto's earnest words were nothing but alarmism.
The private advice could be called counsel, but if given openly, it could be seen as a challenge to Madara's personal authority. Yet Madara didn't care in the slightest.
This was both trust in Senju Hashirama and confidence in his own strength. He was the proudest of the Uchiha, and in the vast ninja world, only Senju Hashirama caught his eye. As long as Senju Hashirama stood with him, together they would establish a village and, with their combined strength, realize the dream they had once vowed as children.
But—
The mysteries of fate are truly hard to put into words.
People always hold unrealistic fantasies about their "white moonlight."
Once Konoha was founded, Senju Hashirama changed!
Uchiha Madara remained the same Uchiha Madara, but Senju Hashirama had become the First Hokage. He firmly believed that protecting the village meant protecting the people, the ninja, and the children.
And so, in the First Hokage's eyes, whether it was bonds of father and son or bonds of brothers, if anything threatened Konoha's future, it had to be eliminated!
Just as Senju Hashirama himself once said: "Whether it's my friend, my brother, or even my child—if they dare to oppose the village, I will never forgive them!"
"Since Madara-sama has already made his decision, I can only speak my piece and stop here."
"I will follow your will and no longer seek revenge on the Senju. But I will not join hands with them to build a village either. I choose to leave the Uchiha clan."
Uchiha Makoto no longer had the patience to argue with Uchiha Madara about the Senju clan.
People cannot be taught by people; they can only learn through experience.
When Uchiha Madara eventually feels the sting of betrayal, and when his clansmen refuse to follow him, then he will understand just how farsighted his words today were.
"So that's what you think? I understand."
Uchiha Madara nodded.
He didn't press further about Uchiha Makoto's choice.
The hatred between the Uchiha and the Senju had piled up for a thousand years, far too vast to be measured.
And it wasn't just them—other ninja clans were the same. In the Warring States period, there was even an unwritten rule that ninja should never reveal their family name when traveling, lest they run into an enemy clan.
The fate of those unlucky enough to be discovered went without saying.
Training a ninja wasn't cheap. As the saying went: "If you can't strengthen yourself, weaken your enemy." Enemy ninja were always eager to seize such opportunities.
"If you really wish to leave the Uchiha clan, I can give you some travel funds to help you on your way."
Seeing Uchiha Makoto's resolve, Uchiha Madara did not try to hold him back. He even took the initiative to offer him money so he could leave.
Wandering alone in the ninja world was extremely dangerous. And if one had no money on top of that, even a hero could be brought low by something as simple as being broke.
But here—Uchiha Madara somewhat underestimated Makoto. No… he actually overestimated Uchiha Makoto's bottom line.
Every country has its laws, and every industry has its rules. The Uchiha, who had thrived in the ninja world for a thousand years, carried a family name that resounded across the land. As one of the great noble clans, both Madara and the Uchiha as a whole were sticklers for order.
Buying kunai, shuriken, training elixirs, or daily supplies—every coin was paid honestly. They would never resort to extortion or freeloading under the banner of their name. The proud Uchiha truly cherished their reputation!
But Uchiha Makoto was different.
This time, he was venturing out on his own, planning to establish a ninja village independently—like Orochimaru.
The Uchiha clan had long since passed the stage of primitive capital accumulation. Now, Makoto was about to experience this arduous, ruthless, and bloody period. After all, which major corporation didn't have a little gray—or even black—history when starting out?
Some bold companies even dared to issue tokens pegged to a currency, at a one-to-one exchange rate. Although they were later severely punished with an iron fist of sanctions, it didn't stop them from becoming giants in the internet industry.
As long as they could clean up their image later, it was fine.
Uchiha Makoto didn't mind using his strength to do a little dirty work if needed.
Of course, blindly following someone like Kakuzu to do bounty missions for money? That was out of the question. A fool without brains could only remain a lackey for life. To make big money, you had to do business like Jimmy.
Collusion with officials, buying low and selling high—that was all standard practice.
In Uchiha Makoto's blueprint:
First, he needed to make the initial capital. Then, he would start a company in a chosen industry, use his strength to monopolize and gain huge profits, then open a bank to collect civilian deposits. After that, he could borrow from the bank in the company's name, expand the business, make more profit, and finally reinvest in the bank—repeating this cycle in a spiraling ascent.
Sure, this plan carried some risk. Expanding production scale for any company was essentially a gamble. If the boss lost, it could be disastrous.
But Uchiha Makoto had contingency plans.
If something went wrong in the company and funds ran dry, he could quickly liquidate—either sell all bad assets to gullible buyers or declare bankruptcy, dump the bad debt, and abscond with the money. It might be a bit ruthless—but money would still be made.
In this deceitful ninja world, a ninja might suffer guilt for a lifetime—but they could never afford a life of poverty. Otherwise, what's the point of being a ninja?
Those ninja clans really hadn't learned anything. A thousand years had passed, and they were still earning by taking missions!
Even Senju Hashirama, a progressive figure, built the strongest Konoha and rationally assigned missions based on ability—but he never changed the basic survival logic of ninja: take missions to survive, and sooner or later, everyone dies somewhere in the ninja world.
Makoto had a greater vision.
If you're going to make a ninja village, make it the largest. If you're going to make money, make the most money with the least effort!
Uchiha Madara was now willing to give him some money to leave the Uchiha clan, which made Uchiha Makoto happy—but only a single sum of money? That wasn't enough.
Whether in the 21st century or in a ninja village, what was the most expensive resource?
Without a doubt—talent!