The Land of Demons, it was a fenced-off construction site.
"Heavenly Attraction of All Creation!"
Pieces of stone bricks flew through the air, neatly stacked on the four-wheeled carts under the magical manipulation of gravity.
This amazing sight drew exclamations and applause from the workers.
Faced with the waves of praise from the people around him, Nagato blushed slightly.
Because he used important ninja techniques meant for combat on construction work, he felt like his hard-earned ninja techniques were being wasted.
Although the workers' eyes were filled with goodwill, and they didn't find it strange for a ninja to use techniques to help transport stone bricks, Nagato wasn't accustomed to the rhythm here and naturally couldn't empathize.
However, clutching the flyer in hand, that embarrassment was temporarily pushed aside.
——Honest recruitment for brick movers, ninjas preferred. Free meals for three meals a day, daily wage ten thousand ryo.
After days of long travels, he and Konan arrived in the Land of Demons, a Neutral Country far from the Land of Rain in the Ninja Realm.
In this country, shrines and witch culture could be seen everywhere, and the thick air of mysticism allowed Nagato to enjoy the exotic scenery.
But this appreciation could not last long, as he and Konan came to this country bearing an immensely significant mission.
The largest merchants association in the Land of Demons is the Shion Flower Merchants Association, named after the capital city Shion City. Their target this time, Shion Flower Pharmaceutical Technology Company, is also under this association.
It is a large merchant group spanning multiple countries.
It is renowned internationally.
It is said that when Shion Flower Pharmaceutical Technology Company was first established, the promotion and publicity by this merchants association were indispensable.
In short, in terms of money accumulation, it's an existence that Akatsuki can only look up to.
Konan was responsible for the supply of medicine, while Nagato wandered around alone in Shion City and happened to find a temporary job.
Unlike the people of the Land of Rain, the people of the Land of Demons had full faces and optimistic attitudes toward life, incomparable to the impoverished and disaster-stricken Land of Rain.
This made Nagato envious.
But he also knew that these were all advantages and benefits brought about by the special rights of a Neutral Country.
Given the geographic environment of the Land of Rain, it is impossible to become a Neutral Country.
As soon as a great country starts a war, the Land of Rain is the first to bear the brunt.
Economic collapse, people displaced, unable to fill their stomachs, domestic political corruption, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the Daimyo and many nobles have become puppets of the great countries.
Even so, the people of the Land of Rain have never been defeated. In times of crisis, there are always people who stand up and set an example for the suffering people of the Land of Rain.
At the thought of this, Nagato felt a surge of fighting spirit within.
With increased chakra output, more stone bricks flew towards the four-wheeled carts under his ninja technique 'Heavenly Attraction of All Creation', neatly placed, allowing the workers responsible for transportation to push them away.
Until the afternoon's dusk, when the sun set, the person in charge of the construction site had everyone stop working and began settling today's wages.
Nagato received his wages from the construction site and found it was not the ten thousand ryo stated on the flyer, but a full fifty thousand ryo.
"Uh, it seems like it's too much..."
Just as Nagato was about to return the extra forty thousand ryo, the person in charge of the construction site stopped him with a smile, saying, "Take it, kid. You alone did what dozens of people couldn't possibly complete. The extra forty thousand ryo counts as an additional reward."
If Nagato didn't take this money, he would actually feel uneasy.
Thanks to Nagato, tomorrow's work was also completed ahead of schedule.
"...Thank you."
Nagato was not much of a talker, yet very sensitive to people's goodwill and malice.
He could feel the warmth and sincerity of the people here, which was vastly different from the people of the Land of Rain, who needed others' charity.
Holding the fifty thousand ryo, Nagato felt a heavy satisfaction in his hand.
In his life's memory, he had never held such a large amount of money.
Thinking that Konan had a debt of ten million ryo to repay at Shion Flower Pharmaceutical Company, it meant that he only needed to work on the construction site for two hundred days to almost completely pay off the debt for Konan.
Is this truly the power of the Rinnegan? Nagato looked at his own hands, and such a thought arose in his heart.
He had never discovered before that the power of the Rinnegan could earn money so easily.
However, recruiting ninjas to work on construction sites, the Land of Demons is indeed a strange country, isn't it?
That was what Nagato thought.
In his past perception, ninjas existed as tools for combat, even Akatsuki primarily took on combat-related jobs.
Exterminating raiders within the Land of Rain, dealing with wandering ninjas who caused trouble in the Land of Rain, all became Akatsuki's main targets for clean-up.
The task systems formed by ninja villages of the Five Great Nations need not be mentioned, they represented each nation's military strength and thus determined their status in the Ninja Realm.
While working on the construction site earlier, Nagato had discovered no less than a dozen people engaged as ninjas. According to their conversations, they seemed to be permanent special workers here, with ninja techniques very well suited for the various complex tasks on the site. It was said that they were specifically trained special workers.
This made Nagato feel very puzzled. Ninjas could indeed work on some ordinary people's jobs, but those were only temporary. Ninjas' main work was still combat-focused.