Time quickly passed, and the merchant guild began preparing to depart for the Land of Water.
During the past few days, the merchant guild had been buying up stores inside the northern port of the Land of Tea.
Kyo had also hired many skilled sealing jutsu masters to begin producing sealing scrolls. Moreover, he had already started recruiting small-time merchants and merchants he was close to. Now, Kyo only needed to wait for instructions from the merchant guild to launch the business fully.
For now, the newly recruited merchants have yet to fully join the merchant guild, as the current trade route is still being established.
Toji had begun his plan to make the Land of Tea's Northern Port the starting point of the trade route, where all goods would first be stocked—from the Hosai clan to the port. From there, they would pass through other cities, where merchants who were part of the merchant guild could buy from or sell to the guild.
These starting cities, like the port, would be called "trade nodes," where the merchant guild would have the most autonomy. The Land of Tea's Northern Port would be the very first trade node in the Land of Tea and all over the world.
These trade nodes would soon spread throughout the ninja world, with each node overseen by a branch manager.
Branch managers are among the merchant guild's core leadership who'll control merchants in their respective regions.
In the merchant guild, there are five corporate titles: Merchants, Supervisors, Managers, Representatives, and Administrators.
Each rank has its own role and responsibilities, with merchants being the lowest rank and administrators holding the highest position.
Merchants are the lowest-ranking members of the guild, and all members begin at this level. A merchant-level member can buy from and sell to the merchant guild, receiving a discount on each purchase.
Low-ranking merchants can rise through the ranks and earn the position of supervisor, where they are tasked with guiding and assisting newer members of the guild. If they gain enough prestige and make sufficient contributions to the guild, they may be granted authority over a small city or village.
To advance from supervisor to manager, they must either develop their own city into a trade node or be assigned to oversee one. In this role, they would receive goods from the Hosai clan and distribute them to surrounding merchant guild cities.
The highest rank attainable for non-Hosai clan members is Representative. Once the merchant guild gains sufficient influence within a country and establishes political sway, a qualified member may be promoted to serve as the guild's representative in that nation, where they can control the managers inside their respective nations. Moreover, they report directly to the merchant guild and receive orders from its leadership.
Lastly, above the representatives are the administrators, all of whom are hand-picked members of the Hosai clan. They oversee the guild and have the authority to restructure it entirely. However, they do not hold absolute power, as ultimate authority rests with the Hosai clan.
Toji walked into the cabin as the ship readied to sail. Inside, Sakina sat at a desk, writing something down.
"How much did the shipbuilding business cost us?" Toji asked.
Apart from the small businesses Toji purchased to gain influence over the port, they had also begun acquiring ships and shipbuilding companies from private owners, often through Ray, who controlled most of the ships in the port.
Sakina took off her mask and smiled at Toji. "We bought around ten completed ships and three businesses this time… In the end, we spent 652 gold bars." She paused, then chuckled. "If it weren't for Ray hiding our tracks, everyone would have surely investigated us for having that many gold bars."
Toji nodded, "How much do we have in reserves left?"
The gold bars provided by Taro weren't infinite; they were limited and had to be used sparingly. Because of this, Toji and the others had to shorten their stay in the Land of Tea and head straight to the Land of Water, where they could finally start selling their goods without worrying about revealing their identity.
Sakina sighed, "Not much. We only have around a thousand left. If we keep spending gold like we did the other day, we'll be broke in no time."
In the Minecraft world, gold isn't rare, nor is it expensive. However, it's still something Taro has to mine, which takes both time and luck to gather in large quantities. Without the help of a gold farm, Taro had to resort to forcing his clones to do the work for him.
But even with the help of clones, Taro could only gather enough gold to sustain the merchant guild at the start of their journey.
Toji removed his mask and sat across from Sakina. "Don't worry, once we reach the Land of Water, we'll be able to sell our goods."
Sakina smiled, "Hmn. But how much are we gonna be selling? All of our goods?"
Toji couldn't help but chuckle, "If you can sell all of the goods we have, then color me impressed."
Sakina blushed as she realized her blunder. The only way to sell everything the guild has is if an entire nation the size of the Land of Fire were to buy it all.
Since the construction of the automatic farms and the expansion of the farms with the help of clones, Taro had produced enough goods to feed an entire nation for years.
Even if the clans inside the Land of Water tried, they wouldn't be able to buy half of what the guild offers.
Sakina recovered from her momentary embarrassment and asked, "How much are we going to send the Hosai clan once the three-month deadline is up?"
Amused, Toji teased, "It hasn't even been a month yet, and you're already thinking about that? Are you missing home already?"
The journey from the Hosai clan to the Land of Tea, along with their stay there, took them just under a month.
Sakina rolled her eyes, "I just wanna know, since we've already made a substantial amount."
Toji tilted his head and began to think. "Hmm… from how things are going, I'd say a little over a billion. Since this is just the start, and we've already made millions…"
Sakina's eyes widened, then she beamed in excitement.
The Hosai clan is only a small clan that can, at most, earn 20 million ryo in a single year. Their trip to the Land of Tea could buy out the entire Hosai clan.
"I wonder what Elder Nori will look like once we send the clan a billion ryo…"