"Hmph. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—never bully a poor youth."
"Today you can barely be bothered to look at me. Tomorrow I'll be far beyond your reach."
Uchiha Makoto furrowed his brow and sat in his chair without a word, his face dark and fearsome.
His mood was foul, not only because recruiting clans was going badly… fine, entirely because recruiting clans was going badly.
After being repeatedly rejected by the great clans, Uchiha Makoto was forced to face brutal reality.
Akatsuki Village was still far too weak to attract clans with secret arts and bloodline limits, so he lowered his sights to obscure minor clans around the shinobi world.
In truth, those small clans were the mainstream of the shinobi world. The great families with secret arts and kekkei genkai were few. But who doesn't have dreams? His were simply shattered for now.
Some small clans showed great interest in Akatsuki and had already sent people to establish a presence. If they joined a great village, their strength would not even rank. In a village like Akatsuki, they would be mainstays. Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.
But some small clans made him furious.
Clans who could barely muster one or two jōnin looked down on him.
Refusing was one thing.
They even mocked him.
"You Akatsuki think you're qualified to talk about peace in the shinobi world? That peace is borne by…"
He could knock all their teeth out by himself.
He truly wanted to storm into those obtuse clans and kill them to the last, but he held back.
At this juncture, if he threw a tantrum over recruitment, ran to someone's house, and killed them, his reputation would be ruined across the shinobi world.
For now, endure.
There would be time to settle accounts. He'd already written the names of those mocking clans into his notebook.
"Starting a venture is hard… if only I had money…"
"I could smash them with cash, hard enough to make them dizzy. I'll put up fifty billion ryō as a signing bonus."
He sighed, imagining the scenes after he struck it rich.
In strength, Akatsuki could not compete with Konoha and could not attract the great clans. But with money, things would be different.
You could buy your way to great-clan status. After all, those clans moved to a great village like Konoha for a better life and a bigger slice of missions. In the end, it's money.
"By my count, Kazuma and the others should be reaching the capital of the Land of Fire."
"Hope all goes well. Once we reap that wave of profits from the herd, so many problems will be solved at once. Any problem money can solve isn't a problem."
Muttering, he stood, stretched, and glanced at Aqua, who was nodding off.
"Aqua, no slacking."
"Last night at the banquet, when you were drunk, you promised me you'd contribute your medical techniques and all your medical experience to the village. Don't worry, the organization won't forget your contributions. From now on you're the nominal head of Akatsuki's Medical Department."
"Your name will spread through the shinobi world alongside Akatsuki's rise. In years to come, you might be praised as a goddess for this deed."
Uchiha Makoto spun grand promises without missing a beat.
"Hey, stop it, that's cheating… this is my life's work."
Aqua clung to his leg, weeping like a fountain. Such advanced medical techniques had been tricked right out of her.
Makoto showed no pity, pinched her ear, and dragged her back into her seat. Right now. Immediately.
Write a textbook that makes a medical genin in three years and a medical master in five.
Yes.
Between recruitment drives, he hadn't forgotten to tap the potential of Aqua and Megumin, both brought by the system.
Megumin's family art, Explosive Blaze Release, was indeed powerful. One shot rivaled a Tailed Beast Ball, but her chakra limits left her with only one shot.
And according to Megumin, the learning requirements were sky-high. No one in the Crimson Demons had mastered it for ages, to the point the clan had given it up. She had sacrificed other techniques and even taijutsu time, pouring years into brute-forcing it.
If they could put a tailed beast into her… well, with a tailed beast, Explosive Blaze Release becomes a bit redundant. A tailed beast can fire its own Tailed Beast Ball.
Besides Megumin, there was Aqua. She might act like a freeloader who only eats, but she was a goddess.
Don't underestimate the humble bun.
Aqua could sling Resurrection as casually as drinking water.
Even with her game-like nerfing in this world, Aqua's medical prowess was Tsunade-plus. Lacking a Senju physique, she couldn't become a bruiser who could both punch and heal like Tsunade, that was all.
But a specialist medic like Aqua was enough to support Akatsuki's future medical system.
It might be early to plan all this, but back in his previous life in China, even in poverty they planned grand undertakings like the Two Bombs, One Satellite and high-speed rail. Thinking longer-term never hurts.
The capital of the Land of Fire.
Kazuma and Darkness hurried along the road and arrived at the capital.
After handing over their visiting cards, a portly attendant came out from the palace gates to receive them.
They were led to the drawing room and seated. After a round of polite small talk, Kazuma stated their purpose and quietly slipped a thick red packet from his sleeve.
It is easier to face the King of Hell than his underlings. If money can solve it, use money. Keeping good relations with the attendants around the daimyō was essential.
As everyone knows, personal power often correlates with proximity to the one who holds supreme power. A boss's private secretary often wields more power than a manager.
Kazuma saw it clearly. A little money for a big outcome.
"This time we come on behalf of Akatsuki Village to discuss important business with the daimyō."
The attendant's eyes narrowed with a smile, his gaze turning warmer.
"His Highness has long given instructions. If an envoy of Lord Makoto arrives, he must be informed at once."
"Please wait here a moment, Lord Kazuma. His Highness will be here shortly."
__________________________________
Read 20 Advanced Chapters on : patreon.com/Kaizo247