However, this time is different because the person who came to steal the pharmaceutical information is not a bounty hunter hired by the same trade, but a ninja of the Five Great Nations—
Hidden Cloud Village Ninja.
Although that Hidden Cloud Village Ninja, after having their identity exposed, kept arguing that they were not a Hidden Cloud Village Ninja but just an ordinary bounty hunter who was hired.
Hakushi rubbed his temples and let out a gentle sigh.
If he hadn't known that during the ambush on the Third Raikage, including stealing the Amber Purifying Pot, Ayane didn't leave any clues about the Land of Demons, Hakushi would have suspected that this was Hidden Cloud's revenge against him.
But upon thinking further, it's impossible. If that were the case, Hidden Cloud would have already sent troops to pressure them, instead of secretly stealing medical information from Shion Flower Pharmaceutical Company.
They simply wanted to obtain the pharmaceutical information that Shion Flower Pharmaceutical Company painstakingly researched.
This is why it's also incredibly troublesome.
If it were other villages from Konoha, it could still be resolved through peaceful negotiation, but Hidden Cloud... let's forget it.
Hakushi had long been familiar with the style of this village.
Their way of negotiating is through force.
"Forget it, it's best not to complicate things at this time."
Regarding this matter, Hakushi could only turn a blind eye.
If he killed this Hidden Cloud Village Ninja, Hidden Cloud might make a big fuss over it.
Though Hakushi didn't fear Hidden Cloud's retaliation, right now is a critical development period, and he didn't want to be dragged into the quagmire of war. A lesson and then throwing them out would suffice.
This Hidden Cloud Village Ninja claimed they were not from Hidden Cloud Village, so the higher-ups of Hidden Cloud probably didn't want to cause any international conflict with the Land of Demons either. It's best for everyone to keep it unspoken.
◎
The matter of the Hidden Cloud Village Ninja didn't weigh on Hakushi's mind.
Hidden Cloud is currently eager to start a war with Hidden Rock, with most of their attention focused on the Land of Earth, and the matters concerning the Land of Demons were at most just probing, not enough to tear things apart.
However, this incident did remind Hakushi that since Hidden Cloud started this, the other four Great Ninja Villages might also have this thought, just hesitating due to the neutral country's identity, hesitant to speak openly.
Hakushi wasn't afraid of competition and restrictions from peers, but if the Five Great Ninja Villages were behind the scenes, it would indeed be a bit troublesome.
But for Hakushi to come up with a plan, there really isn't a very good solution.
The size of the Five Great Ninja Villages is imposing, and direct confrontation obviously wouldn't work, so he could only act as if nothing happened and focus on his own matters.
The task of directly recruiting one thousand five hundred members was progressing nicely every day.
In such a tumultuous era, even in times of peace, many countries face severe banditry issues internally.
Especially in small countries that have been affected by war, they suffer the most from disasters.
Given this backdrop, many people end up unemployed, unable to get enough food, or sleep well, while the Daimyo and aristocrats only care about themselves, completely disregarding the feelings of the common people. Naturally, many people develop grievances, leave their homes, and seek a new life elsewhere.
In war-torn areas, it's common to see adult men dragging their families to settle in countries less affected by the fighting.
And these adults without jobs, or those who are leaving their homelands with their families, are precisely the target Hakushi wants to recruit.
In less than half a month, he had secured four to five hundred people, with a recruitment success rate of up to eighty percent.
Though some remained highly guarded, many simply couldn't survive in their own countries and didn't want their wives and children to suffer, so they agreed to the contract terms.
At this pace, it would take about two months to complete the recruitment task of fifteen hundred people.
Hakushi was in no hurry; he didn't know when the Third Shinobi World War would end, but within at least three to five years, this war could not possibly be concluded.
There is plenty of time for him to grow and develop.
After handling the matters at hand, Hakushi once again arrived at the shrine where the ruler of the Land of Demons, Witch Mire, resided.
"Long time no see, Mr. Hakushi. Since you came to the Land of Demons, this should be our second meeting."
Witch Mire's voice was always serene and harmonious, neither warm nor cold, but rather in a transcendent and extraordinary realm.
Very similar to the Slug.
"Yes, Lady Mire. In fact, I am here today because there is a very important matter to discuss with you."
Hakushi sat on the cushion prepared by the maid, his gaze sweeping over to Witch Mire, who was seated behind a curtain of sheer fabric.
She sat there properly, her silhouette blurred, and the air around her became very quiet under her influence.
"Please, go ahead."
Witch Mire thought for a moment; although she didn't know what Hakushi would say next, it surely must be related to the transformation of the Land of Demons.
Although she wasn't very interested in the political affairs of the Land of Demons, for Hakushi to want to transform the Land of Demons, he would need to deal with officials and nobles of the Land of Demons, who are faithful followers of the Witch, making it very easy for her to get information about the outside world.
Failing that, Uchiha Sosuke and Uchiha Miyoko would regularly send some information to her, letting her understand the changes and developments in the Land of Demons.
To Hakushi, Mire was quite grateful and curious.
In this Ninja Realm with strict class and bloodline distinctions, Hakushi was the first to open vast educational resources to the common people.