"Mr. Hanzō, long time no see. You look much better."
Aokawa looked at Hanzō's much-improved complexion, his face showing less worry than before.
"President Aokawa, just call me Hanzō."
"Then, you can call me Aokawa. We've been cooperating for so long; we're not strangers anymore."
Aokawa said with a smile, his admiration for Lord Orochimaru growing even stronger.
As Lord Orochimaru had said, the investment in the Land of Rain had paid off exponentially. With small trucks for cargo transport, not only did the speed of delivery double, but the integrity rate of the goods also approached one hundred percent. Previously, goods would often arrive damaged.
If they were attacked on the road, even more goods would be damaged.
Damaged goods, of course, could not be sold as merchandise, and the losses were borne by the company.
"Hanzō, you didn't just come to the Land of Waves for a change of scenery, did you? Is there something important?"
Aokawa keenly sensed that Hanzō had another purpose for this trip.
"It's about improving the Land of Rain's climate. Tensions between the various countries are escalating, and I'm worried that once the great nations officially go to war, it will affect the people of the Land of Rain."
Hanzō considered that the people of the Land of Rain were now almost all concentrated in White Snake Electric Town and White Snake Hub Town, with other areas abandoned. The people of the Land of Rain relied almost entirely on imported food from the Land of Fire. If war came again, it would inevitably affect the food supply of the people of the Land of Rain.
"Hanzō, are you worried about the Land of Rain's food supply?"
Aokawa's mind worked quickly, and he immediately guessed why Hanzō would bring up the Land of Rain's environmental issue again. He had previously mentioned, at Lord Orochimaru's instruction, that they could help the Land of Rain change its environment.
"Exactly. Ever since the Various Ninja Villages of various countries jointly acted against Land of Whirlpools, their frictions have intensified, and skirmishes in the Land of Rain have become more frequent. A brutal war may come again in the near future."
Hanzō sighed and said in a deep voice, "The Land of Rain has no desire to participate in the war between the great nations, but it will inevitably be affected by the war."
"Hanzō, changing Amegakure's environment requires blowing up Rain Mountain, and that mountain is also where your most important summoning beast, Ibuse the Salamander, lives. Are you willing to blow it up?"
This wasn't Aokawa mocking Hanzō; it was what Hanzō had said when he previously suggested blowing up Rain Mountain.
Blowing up Rain Mountain? No, no, that's where my most important summoning beast, Ibuse the Salamander, lives, blah blah blah... As a result, the matter was dropped, and Aokawa never brought it up again.
"Ibuse will just have to find another place to live."
At this point, Hanzō could only inconvenience Ibuse. To prevent the people of the Land of Rain from starving when the various countries went to war, as the leader of the Land of Rain, he couldn't possibly prioritize his summoning beast Ibuse's living environment over the people of the Land of Rain, could he?
He still knew what was more important. Besides, blowing up Rain Mountain wasn't about flattening it. Ibuse's living place was at the foot of the mountain, so as long as the mountain wasn't flattened, it wouldn't have much impact on Ibuse.
If Rain Mountain were flattened, there would be no barrier between the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers.
He had some ideas about the Land of Rivers before, but after much consideration, he decided against it. Both were countries sandwiched between great nations, so why should he make things difficult for the other party?
In reality, even if he conquered it, he wouldn't be able to govern it well. Once the war between the various countries began, the Land of Rivers might also become a battlefield between the great nations. What good would it do him to conquer the Land of Rivers?
He would also have to put in effort and worry to govern the Land of Rivers. Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?
"Alright, I will arrange for people to go to Rain Mountain for an inspection as soon as possible, to measure where to blast Rain Mountain for the best effect."
Aokawa agreed to Hanzō's request. Whether it was due to their cooperative relationship or the Land of Rain's attitude towards the company, this favor had to be granted.
"Then, I'll leave everything to you."
Hanzō breathed a sigh of relief, regretting his previous firm refusal. Fortunately, Aokawa bore no grudges and was willing to help the Land of Rain.
As long as the Land of Rain's climate changed, they would be able to grow crops. Even if they couldn't achieve self-sufficiency, it would greatly reduce food imports.
The Land of Rain's perennial rain seemed suitable for growing rice, but in reality, such a climate made it impossible to grow even rice.
Excessive rainfall would saturate the soil with water, leading to oxygen deprivation for rice, affecting its photosynthesis, and exacerbating pest infestations.
Forget about harvests; any rice planted in the Land of Rain would die. If rice couldn't be grown, let alone other crops.
Soon after Hanzō left, Kakuzu, wearing sunglasses and looking travel-worn, walked into the President's Office and said to Aokawa, "Aokawa, I heard that Hanzō fellow came."
"Yes, he came to ask the company for help."
"I knew that guy never brought good news."
Kakuzu said irritably. Even though the company's investment in the Land of Rain had been recouped, he still didn't like that place, with its constant rain and being sandwiched between the great nations.
"What does Hanzō want now?"
Kakuzu sat on the sofa and skillfully pulled out a calculator from his pocket. He needed to figure out how much Hanzō's request would cost.
"Hanzō wants to change the Land of Rain's environment to make it more suitable for growing crops."
"Doesn't that require blowing up Rain Mountain?"
Kakuzu heard this, took off his sunglasses, and looked at Aokawa, saying with a hint of surprise in his eyes, "I remember you brought this up before, and it was rejected, wasn't it? That was when Orochimaru wanted to test the power of Chakra explosives, so he used the excuse of changing the Land of Rain's environment to blow up Rain Mountain with Chakra explosives."
"Hanzō foresees that war between the various countries is inevitable, so he naturally has to consider the future of the Land of Rain. All of the Land of Rain's current food is imported from the Land of Fire."
Aokawa could understand why Hanzō would make a change. "Lord Orochimaru wouldn't refuse Hanzō's request either, would he?"
Kakuzu, who was about to say something, had his words thrown back at him by this sentence.
There was nothing he could do. The things he protested always brought income to the company. Since Aokawa had already agreed, he couldn't say anything more.
"When Orochimaru comes, there's one thing I must tell her. No, it would be better if your people conveyed it to Orochimaru."
Kakuzu said with a solemn expression, "It's about the survivors of Whirlpool Hidden Village."
"Could it be... that the intelligence has been leaked?"
Aokawa frowned deeply and said in confusion, "That's impossible. Only our people have been in contact with the Whirlpool Hidden Village survivors, and our people couldn't possibly leak intelligence. Or rather... has someone infiltrated?"
"I'm not sure. I saw intelligence about the Whirlpool Hidden Village survivors in a black market intelligence agency. The news from the various Various Ninja Villages was that there were no survivors..."
Kakuzu paused here, then continued, "Orochimaru acts decisively, so it's impossible that she let someone go, leading to the intelligence leak. This means that a very skilled intelligence Ninja infiltrated the company, gathered this intelligence, and sold it to the black market intelligence agency."
"In other words, it's only a matter of time before the Various Ninja Villages of various countries learn about this. It seems we need to meet with Lord Orochimaru."
Aokawa's expression was solemn, clearly understanding the seriousness of the matter.
"Setsuryu, please contact Lord Orochimaru."
"Yes."
Smoke condensed into Setsuryu's figure, then dissipated back into smoke.
"Kakuzu, I'm going to inform Ms. Uzumaki Chigusa."
Aokawa got up to find Uzumaki Chigusa, the clan head of Whirlpool Hidden Village. Such an important matter had to be discussed with her.
Laboratory
"Lord Orochimaru, this is a letter delivered by a summoning beast."
Imu held a letter in her hand, and an unkempt snow-white crow stood on her shoulder, tilting its head and scrutinizing the white snake tail swaying behind Orochimaru, seemingly wondering why this person gave it a feeling of facing a snake.
"Hmm, let me see it."
Orochimaru reached out and took the letter Imu handed her. She opened it and read the contents, her brows slightly furrowed.
The leakage of information about the Whirlpool Hidden Village survivors being in the Land of Waves was within her expectations, but for it to be leaked so quickly, it must undoubtedly be Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's most filial good son, the black slime, Black Zetsu, who has lived for thousands of years.
Black Zetsu, you missed one thing, and that's the influence of White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company. The more prone to war a period is, the less the Various Ninja Villages of various countries dare to provoke White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company.
Because they cannot do without the company's Healing Pills. Not only can they not do without them, but to reduce casualties in war, they also need to purchase large quantities of Healing Pills.
Moreover, once Konoha learns about this, regardless of whether the Whirlpool Hidden Village survivors join Konoha, Konoha will not allow the tragedy of Land of Whirlpools to repeat itself in the Land of Waves.
Orochimaru didn't believe that if White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company wanted to protect the Whirlpool Hidden Village survivors, any Shinobi Village would dare to act covertly.
"Imu, Mio, prepare yourselves. Get a new Zero-Tailed flesh chunk. I need to prepare a Reverse Cursed Seal Blood Imprint scroll. We'll go to the Land of Waves shortly."
The heat emanating from Orochimaru's palm turned the letter in her hand to ashes. She stood up and walked out.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
"Yes."
Imu and Hyuga Mio followed behind Orochimaru.
"Reverse Cursed Seal Blood Imprint!"
Orochimaru once again used a Sealing Technique to absorb the Zero-Tailed flesh chunk's life force. This time, it was clearly more perfect than the last.
"Imu, Mio, we are about to depart."
Orochimaru put away the scroll, walked to the two prepared individuals, put on her white hood, wrapped the snake tail trailing behind her around her waist, and placed her hands on their shoulders.
Swish—!
At the moment the Flying Thunder God Technique was activated, the three disappeared from the room.
Land of Waves, White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company.
"Sister!"
In the President's Office, Imu excitedly hugged Setsuryu, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. They were biological sisters; their parents had died from the Bloodline Limit disease of the Iburi Clan.
"Imu, long time no see!"
Setsuryu stroked Imu's brown hair. Her previous alias, Iru, was taken from Imu's and her own names. She envied Imu, who could assist Lord Orochimaru in her experiments for long periods.
Envy was envy, but she wouldn't be jealous of her sister. Her personality was more suited to assisting Lord Orochimaru in her experiments.
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