Everything in Akatsuki Village was developing exactly as Makoto Uchiha had planned—steady, orderly, and unstoppable.
Merchants coming and going could feel it the moment they stepped inside the village.
There was only one word for it—
Vitality.
It was a scene that could only be described as burgeoning with life, with all things striving upward.
With enormous capital continuously pouring in, Akatsuki Village had transformed into a massive consumer market.
And wherever profit existed, people would inevitably gather.
Where people gathered—
Life followed.
Recently, Makoto had been focused on attracting investment and businesses, doing everything possible to draw in merchants from across the shinobi world.
Not just traders from the Land of Fire—
But merchants from the other Four Great Nations as well.
The more active the merchants,
the stronger the economy.
And for a ninja village—
GDP truly mattered.
Makoto's system notifications had been ringing nonstop.
The village's Prosperity Index was climbing at an absurd rate.
"According to Lord Kōkage's plan," Kazuma Satō explained to a crowd of investors,
"this entire district will become the largest commercial zone in the shinobi world. And over there—"
He pointed across the road.
"—will be the Technology Park. The research facilities alone will occupy—"
The investors listened intently.
Kazuma had leveraged connections through Darkness's father to bring in aristocratic merchants from the Land of Fire.
Just a short while ago—
This area had still been barren wasteland.
But construction teams and Akatsuki shinobi had worked day and night.
For shinobi, building livable housing was trivial.
A few Earth Release techniques, some structural reinforcement—
And a house took shape.
At first, many clan shinobi had been unwilling to participate.
Working like ordinary civilians?
That didn't feel like something a shinobi should be doing.
After a lifetime of war, most clans couldn't understand what Makoto's flashy commercial policies were even for.
New ideas were hard to accept—
and old-school shinobi were especially stubborn.
Makoto didn't bother arguing.
Understanding wasn't required.
Execution was.
Obedience.
Loyalty.
Wasn't that what the Ninja Tool Doctrine was all about?
You like completing missions, right?
Makoto issued massive numbers of D-rank construction missions.
He paid properly.
Tasks that could be solved with simple C-rank Earth Release techniques were effortless for elite jōnin—just slightly more chakra expenditure.
Shadow Clones made it even easier.
Without ever leaving the village, they could earn money.
Yes, individual payouts were small—
But the volume was enormous.
The first shinobi to "eat the crab" quickly made a tidy sum.
Soon after, more Earth Release specialists joined in.
Working alongside civilians?
Turns out it wasn't so bad after all.
The "truly fragrant" principle never fails.
The wasteland vanished.
In its place rose rows of rentable storefronts.
Some were already occupied.
Akatsuki shinobi began spending money there and immediately enjoyed the convenience.
Who wouldn't want shops right outside their doorstep?
As Kazuma finished his explanations,
the merchants' expressions were visibly stirred.
Shinobi lived dangerous lives, risking their heads daily—
Which meant they were never stingy with money.
Doing business in a ninja village?
That was guaranteed profit.
But more importantly—
Safety.
The shinobi world had excellent "environmental preservation"—endless forests, rugged terrain, terrible roads.
Trade caravans regularly faced wild beasts… and brightly colored, extremely poisonous "little friends."
To ensure safety, major merchants invested heavily in fixed trade routes.
Even then—
Bandits and rogue ninja lurked everywhere.
Wealthy caravans could hire shinobi guards—expensive, but worth it.
Poor caravans?
They relied on luck.
Bad luck meant losing everything—including their lives.
But now—
Makoto personally issued licenses and banners to every merchant operating in Akatsuki Village.
Hang the banner openly.
No need to fear bandits or rogue ninja along the way.
Bandits might rob merchants—
But would they dare rob a ninja village?
They were criminals, not suicidal lunatics.
Anyone with a functioning brain knew what could be touched—
And what absolutely could not.
After a brief introduction,
the visiting merchants made their decision.
They signed cooperation agreements on the spot.
After seeing off one group of merchants, Kazuma carried the signed contracts into Makoto's office.
The Kōkage's Office
A red banner lay on Makoto's desk.
Warm sunlight poured in, easing his mind.
He picked up a brush—
And wrote in bold characters:
"All actions shall obey the Kōkage's command!"
He wasn't slacking.
He was learning from advanced experience.
Soon, banners like this would cover the entire village.
Some ideas needed to seep in gradually,
invisibly shaping minds.
The Ninja Academy, above all, was critical.
Education had to start with children.
"Lord Kōkage," Kazuma reported,
"the commercial expansion is proceeding smoothly. Over a hundred shops have already opened."
He glanced at the red banners around the room.
Different slogans—
But every one of them spelled the same word:
Loyalty.
"Only a hundred?" Makoto clicked his tongue.
"Too slow."
Kazuma thought the pace was already astonishing.
Makoto disagreed.
Akatsuki Village's business reputation had to spread faster.
Which meant—
It was time for extraordinary measures.
"Kazuma," Makoto asked,
"which are the most influential newspapers in the Land of Fire?"
Kazuma stiffened.
Whenever Makoto asked questions like that—
Something big was coming.
"I want to write an article," Makoto said.
"Contact their editors. I want the largest front-page spread."
"No problem," Kazuma replied.
Then hesitated.
"…What are you planning to write?"
"Brush and ink."
Makoto paused briefly—
Then began writing in swift, flowing strokes.
"An Incident at an Akatsuki Village Gold Shop"
A gold shop in Akatsuki Village suddenly plunged into darkness.
The interior was pitch black.
A few clattering sounds rang out—panicked customers bumping into the counters.
The shop owner immediately shouted:
"Everyone stay still! Crouch where you are—avoid trampling!"
Then added calmly:
"If you're holding jewelry, grip it firmly. Don't let it fall and get damaged."
Minutes passed. The lights still hadn't returned.
The owner took a deep breath.
"By regulation, all transactions are now suspended.
But customers are like the Sage of Six Paths—I won't let you leave empty-handed."
"Please place the selected jewelry back on the trays. We'll record weight and price.
Once power is restored, you may purchase at the original price—or walk away freely."
Before patrol shinobi could intervene, customers organized themselves.
One line returned necklaces, rings, and bracelets to velvet trays, reporting their weights.
Another line of clerks marked customer surnames on tags and locked everything away.
Five minutes later, the lights returned.
Not a single item was missing.
Even loose gold threads had been carefully gathered and returned.
The ledger showed: 37 items, total value 1.87 million ryō.
All 37 customers completed their purchases at the original price.
The final customer—an elderly woman—placed her 2,000 ryō in change into a donation box.
"Gold has value," she smiled,
"but the light in one's heart is priceless. Use this to buy books for the children."
The next day, a red notice appeared:
"Yesterday, we recovered 37 pieces of trust, and received 2,000 ryō of warmth. Thank you."
What a civilized, harmonious, and trustworthy ninja village.
A certain unnamed daimyō commented:
"A village's business environment is not determined by the strength of its shinobi,
but by the character of its people. Akatsuki Village possesses exceptional civic virtue."
If I were a merchant, I would move to Akatsuki Village immediately.
If the direction of human migration defines civilization—
then without question, Akatsuki Village is civilization.
◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 70 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/Chakraflow789