Chapter 50: The Hand Behind the Scenes
"Big sister, I'm going to become Hokage, inherit Grandpa's will, and lead the village to peace."
"Big sister, it hurts! I'm so cold!"
"Big sister, save me! Save me!"
"Nawaki!" Tsunade jolted awake.
But waking from the nightmare brought no relief, only a deeper sense of dread. In her dreams and in reality, Nawaki was dead. The events of a few months ago were still fresh in her mind. When his body had been brought back to Konoha, she couldn't remember how she had gotten through it.
Combined with the nearly six months she had spent as a prisoner in the Hidden Cloud a few years ago, Tsunade had become increasingly reclusive. She no longer went on missions outside the village, preferring to stay at the Konoha Hospital, healing the sick and injured. Especially after Nawaki's death, she had pushed for the establishment of a medical-nin training system, hoping that if every squad had a medic, a tragedy like his would never happen again.
But even from the confines of the hospital, she could feel the growing tension in the ninja world.
The Hidden Sand was constantly trying to extend its influence into the Land of Fire through the Land of Rain. The Hidden Stone was no different. Konoha was forced to play their game. If the Land of Rain, with the "demigod" Hanzo at its helm, was a powder keg waiting to be lit, then the lands of Grass, Birds, and Rivers were already burning beacons. The conflicts between the three great villages in these areas were now out in the open.
Jiraiya, who had been traveling the world, and Orochimaru, who was often secluded in his research, had both been recalled to the village and were on standby. The Third Hokage had also been trying to persuade Tsunade to move past her grief and serve the village. Konoha needed all its high-level combatants ready for any eventuality.
Amidst all this tension, Sakumo Hatake had become a father. His wife had given birth to a son, whom they named Kakashi. But the childbirth had taken a toll on his wife's health, and Tsunade had been helping to treat her, though with little success.
"Sensei, you wanted to see me?" Tsunade said, entering the Hokage's office.
"Jiraiya is back. I have a mission for you," Hiruzen said.
Tsunade looked at Jiraiya as if she had just noticed him. "So you're finally back?" she said with a sneer. "I thought you were going to wander the world for the rest of your life."
"It's not wandering!" Jiraiya protested. "I'm searching for the Child of Prophecy!"
Two years ago, he had become obsessed with a prophecy from some great toad sage in his summoning realm. It said he would find a "Child of Prophecy" and become his master, and that this child would change the world. No one but him took it very seriously.
"I've called you back for a mission," Hiruzen said, cutting them off. "Jiraiya, you will go to the Land of Grass. The friction with the Hidden Stone has been increasing. You are to ensure the security and integrity of our intelligence network there, so that we can react immediately if the Stone makes a move."
He then turned to Tsunade. "As for you, Tsunade, you will go to the Land of Rivers. Monitor the movements of the Land of Wind. And most importantly, the Hidden Sand is known for its use of poison. You are to prepare. If war breaks out, we must have the necessary antidotes."
Tsunade hesitated. She didn't want to leave the village, but she couldn't refuse the reason her teacher had given her. The Sand's combination of poison and puppetry was a deadly threat. They needed to study the various poisons of the Land of Wind, and she was the best person for the job.
"You've been in the village for too long," Hiruzen said gently. "It's time for you to go on a mission. Don't worry, I will continue to push for your medical-nin proposals. As for Orochimaru, he is already near the Land of Lightning, so I've sent him directly to his destination. His mission is to keep an eye on the Hidden Cloud."
Jiraiya thought for a moment. "The Hidden Cloud has been quiet these past few years. Has something happened?"
Hiruzen knocked the ash from his pipe. "No," he said, "but their threat cannot be underestimated. The quieter they are, the more uneasy I become. The Cloud is known for its warrior mentality. If the world is thrown into chaos, we cannot guarantee they won't make a move."
Jiraiya felt a headache coming on. The Cloud ninja were a tough bunch. The events of a few years ago were still fresh in his mind. He wondered how that strange kid was doing.
"Lower the prices."
"My lord," the Yotsuki clansman said, bewildered, "the three great nations are all stockpiling supplies, especially weapons and ninja tools. We can't even keep up with the demand. We're selling everything we produce. My... my lord? What did you say?"
He thought he must have misheard. Shouldn't they be raising prices to make more money? He glanced at the Third Raikage, who was stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"I said, lower the prices," Dana repeated.
In recent years, the "blacksmith's shop" project, spearheaded by Dana and executed by the Yotsuki clan, had, with the deep involvement of ninja, grown at an incredible rate. It now controlled the entire weapon and ninja tool industry in the surrounding regions and had begun to expand into other essential resources like explosive tags and soldier pills.
The project was executed in phases. In the regions they completely controlled, like the lands of Lightning, Hot Water, and Birds, they had established a full-chain production system, acquiring or setting up numerous workshops and forges, controlling everything from the iron ore to the finished product. In these regions, they had absolute price control.
In more distant regions, they supplied semi-finished goods, allowing them to remotely control the weapon and ninja tool industries. They had infiltrated the lands of Fire, Wind, and Earth to varying degrees. A large number of the downstream workshops and forges in these three nations now used the semi-finished products produced by the Cloud, which were of a higher quality and lower price than what they could make themselves. By controlling the upstream prices of the supply chain, the Cloud could manipulate the weapon and ninja tool industries in these regions.
With the development of their "super-sized sealing scrolls," the competitiveness of the "blacksmith's shop" had grown even stronger. The Yotsuki clan had made a fortune in recent years.
In Dana's view, letting ninja get involved in business was just cheating. Imagine a ninja delivering goods with a "super-sized sealing scroll." They could make a round trip to most parts of the ninja world in a week. They would arrive, put on a show with a horse-drawn cart (the super-sized scrolls were still a secret), make the delivery, and then fill the empty scroll with local goods, creating a two-way trade. Their transportation and logistics costs were a fraction of what traditional merchants paid. And that wasn't even counting the economies of scale, the full protection of ninja, the ease of gathering business intelligence, and the fact that no one would dare to threaten them. There was no competition. They couldn't be beaten, in business or in a fight.
With Dana's foresight from his previous life, the project had grown into a behemoth in just a few years, a fact that many in the Yotsuki clan still found hard to believe. He didn't know what that future "richest man," Gato, had been thinking, using ninja for petty intimidation and destruction.
Lately, the three great nations had been frantically stockpiling war materials. Even the smaller powers were starting to get nervous. Someone had suggested raising prices, but to their surprise, Dana had ordered them to be lowered.
"If we can't keep up with production, release some of our stockpiles," he said. "We need to think long-term. If the prices of weapons, ninja tools, and even explosive tags go down, they will feel that they can afford a war. And once the war starts, the profits we've lost will come back to us tenfold. Do it."
The clansman left, not fully understanding.
Dana shook his head and continued to study the increasingly tense situation with his father, his eyes on the map of the ninja world on the wall.
With the growing imbalance between the great villages, war was inevitable. The world was like a collection of festering boils, ready to burst. To protect themselves, the best course of action was for the Cloud to be the one to lance the boil, not wait for it to burst on their own doorstep. But it had to be done from a distance, safely, and secretly. The Cloud had to be the hand behind the scenes.
"Father," he said, "I think war is coming."
"I've had a feeling for the past two years," the Raikage replied. "But with the Special Strategy Division, the village has options it didn't have before."
The difference was huge. He remembered the First Great Ninja War. He hadn't been Kage then. The Cloud had been strong, but they had been unprepared for the war. And in the middle of it, they had lacked a clear strategic direction, which had led to a split between the war and peace factions, and ultimately, a tragic rebellion. But now, with Dana and his Special Strategy Division, the village leadership had a much clearer picture of the world. They could eliminate threats before they materialized, and even... even start a war themselves.
The Third Raikage looked at his son, who was staring intently at the map. A flicker of concern crossed his face. Dana is so young, and he's already involved in such things. I hope he doesn't lose his reverence for war. Although he agreed with the strategy of directing the inevitable conflict away from the Cloud, as a father, he had other worries.
Dana, unaware of his father's concern, contemplated the map for a moment, then placed a pin on the Land of Rain.
"My old friend Hanzo," he murmured, "I'm sorry. I'll give you another three months. Don't worry, the Cloud will support you with all its might."
He thought of the two ninja instructors he had just sent there. Plans, he thought, never keep up with reality.
"...I hope the dean and my homeroom teacher can get a good grade."