The weather was growing hotter by the day.
Uchiha Makoto's heart burned just as fiercely as the sun overhead. At this very moment, he and the Fire Daimyō were reviewing the profits from the Tulip Plan.
Dozens of accountants stood before them, calculating nonstop. Only after half an entire day did they finally arrive at a definitive number.
"How much?" the daimyo asked.
"Approximately… nine hundred billion ryō."
"…In total?"
"No, Your Highness. That figure is your share."
The moment he heard this, Uchiha Makoto shot up from his chair, his face splitting into a broad grin. He couldn't help humming under his breath.
We really struck it rich.
Nine hundred billion ryō.
That figure far exceeded Makoto's original expectations.
After all, there had been more than one force manipulating the market behind the scenes. As the plan progressed and more participants joined in, nobles from countless nations across the shinobi world had become involved.
With such an enormous scheme, it would have been impossible for the Fire Daimyō and Makoto alone to maintain complete control.
Among those participants were all kinds of people.
Did anyone truly believe there were no capable players in the world?
Thus, the Fire Daimyō had continuously drawn in allied high-ranking nobles to jointly steer the operation. Meanwhile, many other powerful nobles—never part of the original plan—had also joined in independently.
Scattered across the shinobi world, these people all stood at the very top of the hierarchy.
Some knew each other well. Others had never met.
Yet, with remarkable tacit understanding, they pushed the Tulip Plan forward together.
The higher one stood, the clearer it became how rare this opportunity was.
This was a deliberate, organized harvest, targeting nobles large and small across the entire shinobi world.
The larger the table—
The more people there were to share the meat.
It was that simple.
Makoto was easily satisfied. The initial capital the daimyo had given him for the Akatsuki Village had been only ten billion ryō.
Now?
It was like trading a musket for a cannon—overnight wealth beyond imagination.
With this mountain of money, countless plans that had once existed only in his mind could finally be put into motion.
Recruiting ninja clans would no longer be a problem.
Even though Akatsuki Village's rate of recruitment was far slower than Konoha's—
After all, Senju Hashirama's title as the "God of Shinobi" was well deserved.
It wasn't some exaggerated boast like "Strongest Hokage."
And then there was Uchiha Madara.
A man's name was like a tree's shadow.
No amount of money could rival that kind of reputation.
Those two were Konoha's living signboards, capable of rapidly drawing in powerful clans from the Land of Fire and surrounding regions.
According to intelligence gathered by the daimyo, the Hyūga clan, the Ino–Shika–Chō clans, and many other major and minor ninja clans had already reached agreements to join Konoha.
Nearly every prominent clan from the original Konoha storyline had committed, and clan relocations were already underway.
But—
The shinobi world was vast.
Konoha wasn't the only game in town.
The other Four Great Villages were still in the process of being established, not to mention the countless smaller villages.
Makoto could simply poach talent from them.
Even for clans that had already joined Konoha, he fully intended to try prying them away.
At this point, he could practically build a powerful Akatsuki Village by throwing money at the problem.
The Fire Daimyō, too, could barely contain his excitement. He hurried over to Makoto and clapped hands with him in celebration.
Even for the ruler of the Land of Fire, nine hundred billion ryō was an astonishing sum.
But what truly made Makoto feel refreshed from head to toe was this—
The entire harvesting operation he had orchestrated had ended with a voluntary scapegoat stepping forward.
Across the shinobi world, rumors were spreading rapidly:
Konoha could supply tulips to the world in unlimited quantities.
No one knew whether Konoha itself had foolishly released this information, or whether someone was deliberately spreading false rumors to sabotage them.
But Makoto believed it was probably true.
After all, Senju Hashirama possessed Wood Release.
With his abilities, mass-producing tulips for the entire shinobi world was entirely plausible.
The problem was—
You didn't show up when it was time to eat the meat.
Now that only broth remained, Konoha had charged in and gulped down the entire pot.
How were the nobles—already seething with resentment—to react?
"This situation… is extremely dire."
Senju Tobirama sat in his office, his expression grim.
Over the past few days, Konoha had received a flood of mission cancellations.
For shinobi, missions were their primary—often their only—source of income.
This struck at the very foundation of the village.
With his keen instincts, Tobirama quickly traced the cause of the cancellations.
"…Damn it. Tulips again."
He ground his teeth.
"Those damned profiteers—no bottom line at all."
"And now the entire blame has landed on Konoha!"
In order to recover the five hundred million ryō loss, Tobirama had ordered Hashirama to use Wood Release to mass-produce tulips and flood the Fire Country's tulip exchanges with physical stock.
Given the dire state of the market—and the need to promote sales—
Those tulips had to be sold quickly.
Thus, merchants released news that large quantities of tulips were available.
Indeed, massive amounts of tulips soon appeared on the market.
Somehow, as rumors spread, this turned into:
Konoha can supply tulips without limit.
Whether it started with contract traders attempting to short the market, or with someone deliberately spreading falsehoods—
No one could trace the original source anymore.
But the rumor had taken on a life of its own.
Then came the truly disastrous development.
To verify the rumor, tulip exchanges placed enormous supply orders with Konoha.
Tobirama, sleepless with excitement, believed this was his chance to make a fortune and eagerly agreed.
Konoha can supply unlimited tulips.
And with that—
A devastating chain reaction began.
At this stage, tulip prices were held up almost entirely by belief.
Once belief collapsed, prices plummeted like a landslide—unstoppable.
Everything happened too fast.
There was no time to react.
The nobles who had been wiped out redirected all their rage toward Konoha.
Some even claimed that Konoha had been manipulating tulip prices from the very beginning, and that this final move was nothing more than another attempt to feast on blood-soaked profits.
Rumors of every kind exploded overnight.
When mud splashes onto your trousers—
Even if it isn't filth, it still looks like it.
Given Konoha's military power, the nobles couldn't take direct action.
But indirect retaliation?
They had endless methods.
The mass cancellation of missions was only the appetizer.
And even that was nearly enough to break Tobirama.
Worse still—
This disaster had occurred during Hashirama's leadership.
If the Uchiha clan seized upon this as leverage—
The consequences would be catastrophic.
"Tobirama… what should we do now?"
Senju Hashirama, rarely seen in the office, stood there with an uncharacteristically serious expression.
Even he understood the gravity of the situation.
Konoha had absorbed so many ninja clans.
If those clans couldn't get missions—
They would leave.
Not even the title "God of Shinobi" could solve that.
Clans needed to eat.
After a long silence, Tobirama finally spoke.
"…We go and request an audience with the Fire Daimyō."
His voice was heavy.
Konoha had already sealed off internal information, but that couldn't last long.
Now, the only viable solution—
Was to secure the Fire Daimyō's open support.
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