The door to the Konoha meeting room was pushed open, and Inoichi, holding a stack of scrolls, hurried in, beads of sweat still on his forehead.
He slammed the scrolls onto the conference table and said, "Latest news! Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure are all preparing to imitate our events."
Fugaku calmly unrolled the first scroll, quickly scanning its contents. "Iwagakure, chosen location is the Great Rock Canyon, preparing for a 'Third Tsuchikage vs. Four-Tails Jinchuriki' exhibition match, ticket price set at 80% of ours."
Tsunade snatched the second scroll, scoffing, "Kumogakure is even more exaggerated. Fourth Raikage A wants to hold some 'Ultimate Showdown' at Lightning-Severing Cliff, and even plans to build a suspended viewing platform? That muscle-brained idiot, does he know anything about audience comfort?"
Shikaku silently unrolled the third scroll, his eyebrows gradually rising. "Sunagakure actually wants to host a 'Fourth Kazekage Rasa vs. One Tail Jinchuriki'. Wait, isn't the One Tail Jinchuriki his wife, Karura?"
Tetsu interjected gently, "Perhaps, a husband-and-wife battle, that's Sunagakure's selling point?"
Laughter immediately erupted in the meeting room.
Yashiro stood quietly in front of the Ninja World map. As the laughter subsided, he softly asked, "Gentlemen, do you think these competitions can succeed?"
A cacophony of opinions immediately filled the meeting room.
Choza mumbled, stuffing potato chips into his mouth, "It should work. After all, we earned so much."
Hiashi's Byakugan rotated slightly. "Hard to say, the situations in each village are different."
While the young Tsume directly shook her head. "Definitely not."
After all, they were just ninja, and economic-related issues like these were not their strong suit. So everyone's gaze, by coincidence, turned to Shun, the man who had created a 60-billion-ryo miracle.
Fugaku asked softly, "Shun, what do you think?"
Shun slowly stood up, walked to the map, and gently tapped it with his finger.
"When Konoha was founded, with Hashirama and Madara present, we chose to build the village near the Daimyo's Mansion. The terrain around the village is flat, transportation is convenient, and the Daimyo's Mansion is the wealthiest city in the entire Ninja World, with the most nobles. Nobles, merchants, and civilians coming to Konoha to watch the matches is like a spring outing, which is why we achieved such success."
"Let's look at the other villages."
"Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Sunagakure! When they founded their villages, they first considered the military attributes of the village, so the surrounding environment of the village is relatively hidden and treacherous. But this has caused transportation to be very inconvenient for the villages. Even if nobles, merchants, and civilians want to go watch a match, they might lose half their lives on the way."
"For example: Iwagakure, from the nearest large city to the competition venue, one has to pass through eight large mountains. It takes ordinary nobles two days by carriage, so a round trip is more than four days. How many nobles and merchants would have the leisure to go watch a match? Civilians don't even need to be considered."
Everyone in the meeting room listened, nodding frequently, seemingly starting to understand.
Shun tapped the map again and said, "Kumogakure's problem is also the same, inconvenient transportation. As for the suspended viewing platform over 3,800 meters high, it's even more of a joke. The body of ordinary people cannot compare to ninjas. At such a high place, it's easy to cause altitude sickness and other physical discomfort, so it's destined to be a loss."
"Finally, let's look at Sunagakure, built in the center of the desert. Even people from the Land of Wind often get lost in that desert. The desert is hot during the day and cold at night, so there are very few ordinary people who can reach the venue alive."
After listening to Shun's analysis, a burst of laughter echoed in the meeting room.
...
Time passed quickly, and soon it was the date of the competitions in the various villages.
On the day of Iwagakure's competition, at the Great Rock Canyon.
The VIP seats were empty, with only a dozen or so spectators who were representatives of minor nobles and small merchant guilds.
Ōnoki, suspended above the carefully constructed viewing platform, looked increasingly displeased.
The veins on his forehead bulged as he said, "Why are there so few people? Only a few hundred nobles and merchants combined. At this rate, we won't even recover our costs."
An Anbu replied, "According to intelligence, many nobles are unwilling to come because the roads are difficult to travel, so they have no interest in coming."
Ōnoki pinched his brow. Iwagakure was surrounded by rocky mountains, possessing strong defenses, making it difficult for enemies to penetrate its interior. But at this moment, it became its biggest disadvantage.
He looked at the seats in the civilians section, which were about three-tenths full, but these people were all civilians from Iwagakure. The low price of civilian tickets could not make up for the huge investment.
Ōnoki looked at the betting station, the staff in front of the betting counter were yawning idly. The total amount of bets was less than 100 million ryo, not even enough for the venue construction costs.
"Tsuchikage-sama, should the match still begin?" An Anbu Jonin asked cautiously.
Ōnoki finally sighed deeply. "Begin, at least we cannot disappoint the audience who bought tickets."
"Roshi, I am very angry right now. Come here and let me beat you up."
"Old man Ōnoki, I won't hold back."
...
After the match ended.
Ōnoki stood at the highest point of the Great Rock Canyon, looking at the sparse audience, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
He had originally thought that by copying Konoha's model, he could easily obtain huge revenues, but he had overlooked the fundamental differences between Iwagakure and Konoha.
"Father..." Kitsuchi walked up to him, hesitating to speak.
Ōnoki waved his hand, looking into the distance. "I know what you want to say. We were too hasty. Konoha is located in the center of the Land of Fire, its geography is a plain, transportation is convenient, and nobles gather there. As for us..."
A gust of wind blew, kicking up dust from the ground.
Ōnoki suddenly smiled. "However, this failure is not without its gains. At least we know that simple copy won't work."
...
The same situation was even worse in Kumogakure.
A roared, "It was supposed to be a hot pre-event, why are there so few people?"
Mabui wiped cold sweat and said, "A few civilians accidentally fell off the mountain on their way here. Then the nobles said our village was too dangerous. Many people complained that the roads were difficult to travel, so they just didn't come."
A walked to the betting center. He looked at the ledger, and his furious voice made the suspended viewing platform tremble.
"Why is the betting amount so small? It's not even a fraction of Konoha's."
The surrounding staff, looking at the impotently raging Fourth Raikage, dared not utter a sound.
Mabui said, "Raikage-sama, you misappropriated 5 billion ryo to build the suspended viewing platform. Now the village can't even pay salaries. You have to find a solution."
...
As for Sunagakure, because the nobles and merchant guilds of the Land of Wind collectively expressed disinterest in the event, Sunagakure directly canceled the competition.
Outside the window, a sandstorm raged, as if mocking Rasa's incompetence.