Capital is like leeches in a rice paddy—the mont they sense the slightest ripple, they swarm in without hesitation. Ever since Sunagakure announced its military exercises, tycoons and wealthy rchants from every nation had flooded into the iron ore market, stirring up a frenzy.
At the center of it all sat Yoshihide Higashi, Sunagakure’s real mastermind. He lounged in his command room like a general at war, calmly chewing on a stead bun and sipping black tea as he directed the chaos. Mountains of cash and iron ore shifted like chess pieces beneath his fingertips, moving in and out with every crisp command.
By buying low and selling high, he’d quietly released all of Sunagakure’s stockpiled iron ore into the market, bit by bit. Now, aside from the necessary reserves in the Hourglass Group’s warehouses and the untouched ore still buried underground, not a single sellable chunk of iron remained. They’d cleaned out the entire village.
"How much did we rake in this ti?" Jinghang asked.
"Including that last batch of six million tons, it cos to eighteen billion," Yoshihide Higashi replied coolly, taking another bite of his bun.
"Holy sh*t!" Jinghang couldn’t help but blurt out, spinning around to high-five Hirai Kangsaburo.
"We just took a massive bite out of the Fire Daimyo and Konoha!" Hirai Kangsaburo crowed with excitent. Right now, he was the richest man in the entire ninja world—number one on the personal wealth rankings.
"It’s not all from the Fire Country’s consortium, though. They took the biggest hit—about eight billion. But the other nations’ financial groups chipped in too. For example, this last batch? Looks like Agakure was the one buying it up," Yoshihide Higashi added.
"Yeah, you’re absolutely right," Hirai Kangsaburo said, grinning so wide his face looked like a blooming lotus. Whoever’s money lands in my pocket—that’s my money now!
"Now that we’ve got soone to take over our positions, we can finally breathe easy. That’s it for today—tomorrow, we’re doing team building! Ten million for each person! Do whatever you want, go wherever you want, play however you like!" Jinghang declared with a sweeping gesture.
"Not generous enough! I’ll throw in another ten million!" Hirai Kangsaburo added, raising the stakes.
There were thirty-six actuaries working in the villa. Twenty million apiece added up to 720 million, but for Jinghang and Hirai Kangsaburo now, that was just pocket change.
The villa erupted into a sea of celebration.
"What’s everyone so happy about?" Rasa pushed open the door, waving a sheet of paper.
Jinghang bead, "Just made a killing, that’s all. What brings you here in person?"
Rasa handed over the paper. "News from Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi himself issued a statent, asking us to stay rational and restrained, and not to start any unnecessary conflicts to avoid misunderstandings."
Jinghang snatched the paper, and after reading it, burst out laughing so hard he nearly snorted snot bubbles. "This is perfect! Not only do we have buyers, but now we’ve got soone to take the fall too!"
"You’re evil," Hirai Kangsaburo said with a wicked grin. "He was just trying to save face, and you’re dumping the whole ss on his head."
"What can I say? Konoha’s thirst for peace is just so sincere—how could I refuse them?" Jinghang said, putting on an exaggerated air. "Rasa!"
"Right here, right here!" Rasa replied, equally fired up.
"Tell your wife to hold a diplomatic press conference imdiately. Make it official: In response to the spirit of Lord Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage’s peace declaration—make sure you emphasize that!—and to avoid misunderstandings with our fellow ninja villages, Sunagakure is officially canceling its military exercises on the Yuexi Peninsula."
"If you do it like that, won’t Hiruzen Sarutobi be forced to resign on the spot?!" Rasa gaped.
"Who knows?" Jinghang smirked.
"Oh, and send word to Kumogakure. Tell the Third Raikage to dump whatever he’s holding—no sense letting it beco a liability. And warn him to be ready; Konoha might try to start a war to distract from their own ss, and he’s right on the front lines."
"Should we get ready too?" Rasa asked.
"Haven’t we always been ready? Head to HQ and issue the order: The field army and all regional garrisons are to enter Level One combat readiness! Be prepared to repel any invaders at a mont’s notice!"
—————————————————
"Why the hell did you issue that damn declaration?! Are you out of your mind?!"
Danzo stord into Hiruzen Sarutobi’s office like a hurricane, slamming his hand onto the Hokage’s desk with a thunderous bang. His eyes were bloodshot, his teeth clenched—he looked absolutely unhinged.
"How dare you be so disrespectful! Lord Danzo, step back at once!" Minato Namikaze barked, his face darkening.
But Danzo only got angrier. "Disrespectful?! You haven’t seen anything yet! Screw you!"
With that, Danzo flexed his arms and, with shocking strength, flipped Hiruzen Sarutobi’s solid wood desk—hundreds of pounds—clear across the room. The force of it rivaled any gangster in the underworld.
"Danzo! How dare you!" Minato drew his kunai, but Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped him with a raised hand.
The commotion drew a crowd. In an instant, shadow-nin appeared throughout the Hokage’s office, and the other Konoha "committee mbers," Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, rushed in.
"What’s going on?!"
anwhile, the instigator, Danzo Shimura, had dropped to the floor, squatting and bawling like a child, his voice thick with misery.
"Eight billion! Eight billion!" was all he could wail, leaving everyone completely bewildered.
What the hell is this "eight billion" about?!
Just then, another "committee mber," Sakumo Hatake, entered the office, face grim.
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew he must be in the loop and quickly asked, "Sakumo, what’s going on?"
Sakumo didn’t answer right away. He found a chair and gently helped the sobbing Danzo to his feet.
"Lord Hokage, you really ssed up this ti. Why would you issue a peace declaration at such a critical mont?"
Wait, what? Isn’t this just standard procedure? What’s so wrong with a peace declaration? Did it hit Danzo’s "crying pressure point" or sothing?
At that mont, the Hokage’s secretary, Hisako, rushed in, gasping and covering her mouth at the chaos.
"What is it? Speak!" Hiruzen Sarutobi demanded, his tone sharper than usual after a day of bizarre events.
"Um, Sunagakure just held a press conference. They announced that, in response to your call, they’re canceling the military exercises on the Yuexi Peninsula."
"Waaaaaah!" Upon hearing this, Danzo Shimura cried even harder.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi! You... you... that declaration of yours—every word was worth its weight in gold! You’ve buried... so much of Konoha’s wealth! You’re... Konoha’s... greatest sinner!" Danzo sobbed so hard he nearly fainted.
...
The next day, iron ore prices collapsed, falling almost in half—from 560 ryō down to 306, with no sign of stopping. Countless reckless investors, including many tycoons and big rchants, could only stare numbly as their fortunes evaporated, so even wandering up to the rooftops in despair.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn’t over...
🤔 Want to know what happens next to the characters?
🤫 Eager to explore the untold secrets of this world?
✍️ Ready to read more of my wildest stories?
✨patreon/DarkGolds
Reviews
All reviews (0)