Chapter 86: The Bounty
The reforms in the Hidden Cloud were proceeding smoothly. The transfer and sale of the "blacksmith's shop" project were all done in secret, and the related information remained highly confidential.
When the various clans saw the official documents and understood the value of the project, they all scrambled to get in, fearing they would be too late. Not to mention the Third Raikage's immense prestige at the time, or the fact that the Yotsuki were the leaders of many of the clans, the opportunity itself was too good to refuse. The slight dissatisfaction with the village's increased tax authority was quickly suppressed by the enormous potential profits.
And the "blacksmith's shop" project finally had a name, though only for internal use.
After much discussion, it was decided that it would be called the "United Iron & Steel Company."
United Iron & Steel now monopolized the ninja tool, steel, and forging industries in several countries, owned a large number of mining and land assets, and controlled countless commercial entities. The production of explosive tags was also part of its business. With the Cloud now in charge, it was expected to grow even further.
From now on, United Iron & Steel would not only provide a massive amount of revenue for the village, but it would also, with its own resources, participate in the village's construction, research, and armament projects.
This behemoth, in the hands of the Cloud, would likely cause the other villages many sleepless nights. Even the Thunder Daimyo would probably not be pleased if he knew. So, the village repeatedly emphasized the need for secrecy. To prevent exposure, they had even created multiple layers of intelligence smokescreens.
After the last of the clan heads had happily left with their contract, Dana said, "That went more smoothly than I expected. I thought some of them would refuse because of the tax issue."
"It's not that they're short-sighted," the Third Raikage said. "With such a major reform, all the clans can see that the village is about to undergo a massive change. Even without these immediate benefits, they don't want to be left out. They want to be on this train."
He paused, then added proudly, "Of course, it also has to do with how popular I am. Hahaha!"
Dana just rolled his eyes.
"But in that case," the Raikage continued, "your and Kitanouji's personal shares will be reduced."
In the original structure, the only two individual shareholders were Dana and Kitanouji. Kitanouji's was due to an early promise, and Dana's was due to the Yotsuki clan's regulations.
Dana didn't care. "It's fine for me," he said. "And Kitanouji has already told me he's not comfortable with his shares. We can just compensate him with a larger stake in the Kitanouji Merchant Guild."
A month after returning to the village and seeing that the reforms were proceeding smoothly, Dana left again for the Land of Hot Water. An important event awaited him there.
The "Hidden Cloud Village Liaison Office in the Land of Hot Water" was about to open.
This was an experiment initiated by Dana. Since the First Great Ninja War, the Land of Hot Water had been an ally of the Land of Lightning. Its own hidden village was weak and small, more like a merchant guild than a ninja village, and was now under the thumb of the Kitanouji Merchant Guild. Most of its missions were commissioned from the Cloud.
But only the difficult, high-value missions were worth the trip to the Cloud. For the low-difficulty, low-value missions, even if the clients were willing to make the journey, the Cloud's ninja were not willing to travel all the way to the Land of Hot Water to catch a cat for a few thousand Ryō.
But with its booming commerce, the Land of Hot Water had a high demand for missions. Many of them were being lost, either to local powers or to the underground exchange.
So, Dana had decided to establish a "Liaison Office" in the Land of Hot Water, allowing the locals to post commissions directly. The office would have a rotating staff of ordinary ninja to handle the routine missions. If a high-difficulty mission came up, they could call for elites from the village.
If the office in the Land of Hot Water was successful, they could consider establishing similar offices in the other small countries in the area that did not have their own hidden villages.
The office, of course, needed the Daimyo's approval. The Daimyo had agreed, not just because of their long-standing good relations and the prestige of their recent victory, but also because the Cloud had promised him a cut of the profits. They had also promised that the ninja at the office would assist in protecting him.
And Dana also needed to go and reassure Kitanouji. And he missed the food at "Gokuraku no Yu."
Night fell, but the bustling capital of the Land of Hot Water only grew more lively. The rich nightlife kept the streets crowded.
In a dilapidated underground gambling den, a few ragged-looking men were watching the dice cup with bated breath, clutching their few remaining chips, hoping to turn their luck around.
"Big! Big! Big! BIG! I win! Hell yeah! I knew my luck was in today! Winner take all! Come on, hahaha!"
A burly man jumped up, his arm raised in triumph, sneering at the other gamblers as he prepared to rake in his winnings.
The next moment, a kunai pierced the back of his head. His brain was instantly destroyed, and his body went limp.
Before anyone could even react, a tall ninja with green eyes had slung the body over his shoulder.
"Good luck," he said. "Came to turn in a mission, and there's a bonus waiting for me at the door. Let's see... Taizo Kumakura, bandit, bounty 140,000 Ryō."
The other gamblers were frozen with fear, not daring to speak as the green-eyed ninja flipped through a thick stack of bounty posters and then carried the body away.
A moment later, he came back. "Almost forgot," he said. "The money on the table was his, right?"
"Y... yes," one of the men stammered.
"Nice, nice. A bonus with a bonus." He scooped up the loose change from the table and put it in his pocket.
The green-eyed ninja didn't go far. He walked to a corner of the casino and, through a hidden door, descended even deeper underground.
This was the Land of Hot Water's underground exchange. The establishment on the surface was a struggling tavern, a front for the gambling den, which was a front for the exchange.
The green-eyed ninja was clearly a regular. He strode up to the counter and threw the body on it.
"Found this one upstairs," he said. "Here's the bounty poster. And this scroll, the rogue Sand ninja, Misuzu Miura. Here's the poster."
The man behind the counter's eye twitched. "Kakuzu-san," he said, "could you please stop capturing people in the exchange?"
"Fourteen million Ryō just for carrying a body from the first floor to the second," Kakuzu said, unconcerned. "I couldn't resist. I know your rules. No fighting. I didn't fight. I just killed him. And the usual, cash."
The man gave up and handed the body and the scroll to his subordinates for verification.
"Any new commissions?" Kakuzu asked as he waited.
"It seems you've been in a remote place, Kakuzu-san," the man said with a strange expression. "The entire underworld has been talking about it. A big one. But no one dares to take it."
Kakuzu's eyes lit up. "A big one is good. Let me see the poster."
The man handed him three posters. "Yotsuki Dana," he said. "Son of the Third Raikage, the number one genius of the Cloud, the so-called 'brightest new star' of the ninja world. All three of these are for him. 35 million, 10 million, and 5 million. A total of 50 million Ryō. All three clients are anonymous, but everyone who needs to know, knows."
Kakuzu's green eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he stared at the numbers.
The poster showed a young boy riding a lightning dragon, charging into battle, looking heroic and invincible.
The poster also had some information: "Proficient in Lightning Release, extremely fast, powerful, possesses an unknown Kekkei Genkai."
Kakuzu carefully memorized Yotsuki Dana's face.
From this day on, Yotsuki Dana was his one true love.
"After this one," he murmured to himself, "I'll take half a day off."