-> SINCE WE ARE NEARLY AT THE 50 STONES, HERES THE EXTRA CHAPTER FOR TODAY
In this world, industries like weapons manufacturing, medicine, and the underground Bounty Exchange Office were the most profitable sectors outside of the Shinobi Villages. Naturally, these were Kiichiro's ultimate goals.
Unfortunately, deeply entrenched and powerful forces backed all these industries.
The weak, current Kiichiro had absolutely no standing to participate. Simply managing to guard his own iron mine from being stolen already indicated that the Land of Lightning had decent public order. Forcefully involving himself in high-profit shinobi ventures right now would certainly lead to his swift demise.
Therefore, Kiichiro needed to conduct careful market research to avoid being foolishly swindled.
He entrusted the management of the mining output to his butler, Mikuri Tomokazu, and headed to a nearby large city to stake out a location in a popular restaurant.
This particular restaurant had three stories, was quite large, and boasted a packed dining room, suggesting it earned a massive daily profit. It was exactly the kind of establishment Kiichiro envisioned owning.
The restaurant only ceased operations at three in the morning. Using a Shadow Clone to lure away the two shinobi guards stationed outside, Kiichiro masked his face, snuck in, and easily subdued the exhausted owner.
"The money is in the chest! Don't kill me, please don't kill me..."
The owner, assuming he had encountered a ruthless robber, looked fearfully at the blade pressed to his neck and immediately revealed his hidden cash reserves.
To be honest, getting money this quickly through robbery was somewhat tempting for Kiichiro.
However, when he considered that even terrifyingly powerful organizations like the Akatsuki and the Five Great Ninja Villages had to earn money according to the world's economic rules, it showed that robbery was a high-risk, low-reward industry. The more you stole, the more fiercely the major powers would hunt you down.
In any world, the wealthiest men were never the bandits.
Kiichiro suppressed the urge to loot the chest. He deliberately altered his voice. "Tell me, who is your backer? How much protection money do you pay them?"
The terrified owner answered every question without hesitation. "We have to pay Tagawa Ryozo one-fifth of our monthly income. Tagawa is a direct subordinate of Nishio Takeki, the Minister of Finance for the Land of Lightning. The ninjas guarding this place were sent by them."
Nishio Takeki was a minister deeply trusted by the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning. Kiichiro had heard the name before.
As expected, Kiichiro thought. With Kumogakure stationed here, the government of the Land of Lightning is incredibly strong. Merchants have no choice but to find a powerful political figure to protect them. A warlord monopolizing a small country—like Gato eventually would in the Land of Waves—could never exist in a major superpower like the Land of Lightning.
"Where do you purchase your ingredients, and who is their backer?" Kiichiro pressed.
"Ordinary ingredients are bought from the local vegetable markets, but high-grade, expensive seafood must be procured exclusively from the Matsushita Trading Company. Their backer is the Lord of Black Rock City."
Black Rock City was a coastal hub not far from here. It received a massive influx of seafood daily due to its excellent bay and fully equipped docks.
It seemed the local fishing industry had already been aggressively consolidated. Opening a small street stall meant buying cheap ingredients without anyone caring. But a large restaurant would be forced to buy from the Matsushita Trading Company, or things would end very badly.
He couldn't just assassinate everyone in the trading company. And the City Lord behind them? Kill him too? And the Daimyo's minister behind the City Lord?
How long could a killing spree go on before he encountered an elite Jonin he couldn't defeat?
Kiichiro asked a few more questions, mapping out all the vested interests in the catering industry, before sheathing his blade and vanishing into the night.
In short, the market in the Land of Lightning was utterly saturated. Every profitable avenue was already occupied by various factions. Even if Kiichiro managed to squeeze his way in, layer upon layer of exploitation meant the majority of his profits would go straight into the pockets of politicians and Cloud Ninjas.
"It seems I need to go abroad," Kiichiro concluded. "Small countries have small markets, but the vested interests are also much weaker. Whatever I earn there will actually be mine."
After returning home and consulting his maps, Kiichiro focused his attention on the Land of the Moon. It was a small, wealthy island nation neighboring the Land of Lightning. He felt he could try his luck there.
"Young Master, you must return safely," Mikuri Tomokazu said the next morning, reluctantly watching Kiichiro's figure slowly disappear down the road.
At that exact time, Kyosuke was also heading toward the Land of the Moon.
Team 19 had entered a brief rest period after a series of D-rank missions. Kyosuke had accepted an external solo mission, wanting to head to the Land of the Moon to physically meet up with Kiichiro and help him establish a foothold.
If the two reincarnators working together couldn't stand firm there, then there was no other choice. Kiichiro would have to return to the Land of Lightning, earn small change, and only venture out again when he became vastly stronger.
Kyosuke's official mission was to eliminate a beast terrorizing a village near the border of the Land of Fire. The beast turned out to be a wild wolf possessing a minor amount of chakra. Kyosuke easily dealt with it using a few simple traps, then crossed the ocean, finally meeting Kiichiro a few days later.
Although they conversed every single night in their shared dreamscape, this was the first time they had met in reality.
Kyosuke smiled, looking his friend up and down. "You really are fair and plump. Your physical demeanor doesn't match your previous life at all. Also, if you don't lose some weight, it'll be hard to find a girlfriend in this world."
Kiichiro patted the heavy bundle slung over his back, ignoring the jab. "Stop the nonsense. I brought all the startup capital this time. If we fail here, we'll really have to resort to highway robbery, so pay attention."
"How do you plan to do this?" Kyosuke asked. "I can't stay away from Konoha for too long."
"I inquired clearly. There is a restaurant in the town ahead that is currently on the verge of bankruptcy. I'm going to buy it today."
Kyosuke looked at Kiichiro, holding his hands up to frame the size of his friend's head. "You have a decent-sized head, but is it just filled with mush? Someone can't keep their restaurant running, and you think taking it over is the magic solution? Who gave you that confidence?"
Kiichiro chuckled. "You don't understand the full picture. There's only one major restaurant in the entire town. Business was originally booming, but a few wandering ninjas came here recently and started making violent trouble for the establishment at every turn, completely ruining its reputation."
Kiichiro's eyes narrowed shrewdly. "I estimate someone has their eyes on the property and hired them to drive the price down so they can take it over cheaply. I plan to intercept the purchase."
Kyosuke became serious upon hearing about the involvement of shinobi. "How strong are they? If they have Jonin-level strength, we aren't a match for them."
Kiichiro shook his head confidently. "This is a small town with a population of only two or three thousand. Someone rich enough to hire a Jonin wouldn't set their sights on a backwater tavern."
"That makes sense." Kyosuke thought about it and agreed. "You aren't actually planning to stay in the catering industry long-term, are you?"
"Of course not," Kiichiro replied. "The tavern is just the starting point—it's mainly for practicing business management and building an intelligence network. No matter what, our increase in wealth must correspond to our physical strength. Otherwise, even if we earn millions, we won't be able to hold onto it."
After finalizing their strategy, Kiichiro went to find the desperate restaurant owner to propose a buyout, while Kyosuke hid in the shadows to provide overwatch.
The restaurant owner had been hemorrhaging money for days, constantly pulling his hair out in distress until he was nearly bald. Now that a wealthy kid was offering a fair price to acquire his nightmare, the owner naturally agreed without hesitation.
That very afternoon, after quickly giving instructions to the remaining staff and signing the paperwork, the former owner fled the town immediately.
During this process, Kyosuke spotted a ninja monitoring the restaurant from a nearby rooftop.
Upon seeing that Kiichiro had officially bought the property, the spy immediately left and headed toward a dilapidated residential building on the edge of town. Kyosuke split off a Shadow Clone to tail him silently.
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