Nogae Kasan was the cousin of Nogaegawa II, deputy general manager of the Hia Group. Back when Nogaegawa II was still serving as the "union chairman" for the Hourglass Group, Nogae Kasan was already working at his side, lending a hand. In terms of seniority, he was a founding mber of the so-called "union faction." Yet now, he’d fallen to the lowly rank of overseer at the Sumu Iron Mine—a surprising turn of fate that left many scratching their heads.
It wasn’t that Nogaegawa II was so paragon of fairness who refused to play favorites. In fact, when the Hia Group first took over the Shule River industries, he’d gone out of his way to take care of his little cousin, imdiately promoting him to chief manager of the Sumu Iron Mine. Overnight, Nogae Kasan found himself in charge of nearly ten thousand miners—a position of real power.
But Nogae Kasan was a thug at heart, barely literate, and utterly clueless about business managent. The only thing he understood was the whip in his hand—anyone who didn’t toe the line got a beating.
When iron ore prices started to soar and General Manager Kijima called for doubled output, Nogae Kasan had no new ideas. He fell back on old habits, assembling a team of overseers made up entirely of his forr "union" cronies. He led them straight into the mines, and anyone caught slacking or resting got whipped—no questions asked. The miners’ original hours, nine to six, were already grueling, but Nogae Kasan ramped it up to nine to nine! In other words, the mont you opened your eyes, you were down in the pit, digging for all you were worth. Aside from a single hour for als and bathroom breaks, there was no rest. Anyone who dared stop for even a mont got the lash. Output did go up, but the miners were pushed to the brink and soon took to calling him "The Living Yaksha" behind his back.
Fortunately, the first wave of orders from the Land of Craftsn ca in, and the pressure eased for a while. Kijima ordered production to slow, giving the miners a much-needed breather. But Nogae Kasan didn’t change his ways. He seed to relish the power, the fear in people’s eyes as he abused and bullied at will. At Sumu Iron Mine, he let his thug instincts run wild—extorting, harassing, preying on the weak, and committing every sort of vice. The miners’ resentnt boiled over, and it looked like a full-blown revolt was about to erupt.
But the Akatsuki had its own intelligence network, and the veteran Konan was in charge of these affairs. She quickly brought the situation to Kijima, demanding action.
In truth, Kijima was well aware of everything that was happening—he’d even turned a blind eye on purpose. After all, with the sudden flood of orders, you needed "special thods" and "special people" to squeeze out every last bit of profit.
But now, with worker anger at the breaking point, he had to act before things exploded. First, Kijima called Nogaegawa II in for a private talk. That very afternoon, he convened a workers’ assembly in Agakure Square, publicly berated Nogaegawa II, stripped him of his deputy general manager title (making him only acting manager), and dismissed all his cronies. The first to be dealt with was Nogae Kasan, head of the Sumu Iron Mine.
Not only was Nogae Kasan demoted to a re overseer, but all his assets were confiscated. As his cousin told him, if not for their family ties, "I’d have had your head on a pike already. You wanna be an overseer and beat people, fine—but why stoop to such vile acts? You think you’re still so street punk? Trash like you doesn’t deserve a seat at the table."
With worker resentnt running so high, the higher-ups’ ssage was clear: lay low, let the storm blow over, and don’t stir up trouble. "Keep your head down for now. Later, I might have other uses for you."
That’s what they said—but going from chief manager to a lowly overseer overnight was a bitter pill to swallow. Nogae Kasan simred with resentnt. So what if he’d beaten a few poor bastards to death? So what if he’d slept with a few miners’ wives? Did that really warrant stripping him of everything?
Depressed, Nogae Kasan stopped bothering with the mine, instead spending his days getting drunk in the taverns along the Shule River. Without the "Living Yaksha" lording over Sumu Iron Mine, the miners found life much easier—less bullying, more harmony.
One day, Nogae Kasan showed up at the mine for roll call, then—true to form—headed straight to the tavern to drink. Soon, he was slumped in a drunken haze. His old reputation still carried weight, so the tavern always reserved a quiet corner for him, and no one dared provoke him.
But today, a young man with no fear of trouble sat down at his table.
"Huh? Who the hell are you, kid? Don’t you know who I am?" Nogae Kasan grumbled, rolling his eyes, ready to lash out—only to freeze, transfixed by a pair of srizing, blood-red eyes.
"Those eyes... You’re—!"
He never finished his sentence. In the blink of an eye, Nogae Kasan was like a puppet, staring blankly, silent.
The youth across from him wore a black cloak, his face hidden in shadow, but those eyes glowed faintly beneath the hood.
"You need to go to work," the youth said.
"I need to go to work," Nogae Kasan echoed dully.
"If anyone slacks off, I’ll beat them."
"If anyone slacks off, I’ll beat them."
"If anyone disobeys, I’ll beat them."
"If anyone disobeys, I’ll beat them."
"If anyone resists, I’ll beat them."
"If anyone resists, I’ll beat them."
"Beat them to death."
"Beat them to death."
With every command, Nogae Kasan repeated the words like a broken record.
The youth then placed a soft whip with iron barbs on the table. "Take it. Go to work."
Numbly, Nogae Kasan picked up the whip and, like a marionette, staggered out of the tavern, heading straight for Sumu Iron Mine...
"What?! The Land of Craftsn canceled their orders? Why?" Yahiko’s brow furrowed.
"Their representative didn’t say, but after a little probing, he let slip that so major power pressured them," Kijima replied, his expression dark.
"No need to guess—it’s definitely Konoha. A few days ago, our leader embarrassed Danzō and turned him down. Now he’s getting his petty revenge." The speaker was Aotu Tailuo, now clad in the red cloud cloak as Yahiko’s advisor and a senior mber of Akatsuki.
"Hmph! What’s there to be afraid of? Iron ore demand is sky-high—we’ll just sell to soone else," Yahiko scoffed.
"I doubt it’s that simple. Konoha’s plans are always layered—there’s definitely more to co," Aotu Tailuo said coolly.
"Oh? Like what?"
"If I’m right, iron ore prices are about to crash."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
📚 📚 Join Our Patreon for More!
🔥 10 fan fiction novels updating regularly - this story is already at Chapter307!
✨ patreon/DarkGolds
Reviews
All reviews (0)