Naruto: Did i Just Get Reincarnated as Gojo?-Chapter 253: Business is Business, Profit is Paramount!

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"Is—is that so?" Arnold stammered, completely bewildered.

"Of course! Trust me, Mr. Arnold! I've revealed the Raikage's biggest secret to you. Would a bad person do that?" Gojo Kaigetsu reasoned.

"Just stay in Konoha for now. Pass on these bond and stock projects—in a confidential letter, of course—to those clans dissatisfied with the Fourth Raikage. Let them pool their resources and buy stocks. After a year, when the dividends arrive, won't the lives of the Kumogakure villagers improve?"

"As for these peace talks, let's just sign a temporary agreement, ensure the Fire Games proceed as planned, and thwart the Fourth Raikage's warmongering schemes."

Arnold, thoroughly convinced, and trusting Gojo implicitly, demonstrated his traditional Cloud Shinobi virtue by immediately producing his entire life savings from a storage scroll. He purchased ten thousand War Bonds, ten thousand shares of Konoha Education stock, and ten thousand shares of Konoha Real Estate stock, as a show of good faith.

This display of wealth left Gojo Kaigetsu momentarily speechless, impressed by the substantial resources held by Kumogakure's established clans.

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Despite Kumogakure's apparent poverty, the Raikage Tower was struggling, not the old clans.

Even when the Raikage had gone door-to-door, begging for financial aid, the clans had complained about the declining economy, claiming they had no surplus funds, relying solely on the stipends issued by the Raikage Tower.

———

A letter from Arnold, detailing the investment opportunities, quickly made its way back to Kumogakure.

That same night...

The elders of Kumogakure's Shinobi clans gathered in secret, discussing Arnold's confidential message.

"Gentlemen, what are your thoughts on Arnold's letter?"

Bonds and stocks were novel concepts, capturing the elders' attention.

"I believe it's feasible!" one elder declared.

"That 'Konoha Real Estate' venture, involving the development of Otogakure—we all know the potential of Otogakure. It's practically guaranteed profit! The only drawback is the long payout period—five years before we see any returns."

"But I still think it's viable!"

"Konoha desires peace; they won't initiate war. And with the Fire Games approaching, the daimyo themselves will be visiting Otogakure—Perhaps we can use this opportunity to persuade the daimyo to designate the Land of Sound as a neutral territory, like the Land of Iron, securing our long-term profits."

"Given the Fourth Raikage's disposition, once war erupts, he'll undoubtedly throw our clans, those who oppose him, onto the front lines against Konoha. We must find a way to protect ourselves, to create a relatively peaceful environment!"

"Giving money to the Raikage is like sending ourselves to the slaughterhouse. But investing in Konoha's stocks—that's truly looking out for our clansmen!"

"So be it!" The Elder of the Eguchi clan gritted his teeth, producing a storage scroll. "This contains three hundred Million Ryō, the last of the Eguchi clan's wealth. I intend to invest it all in Konoha Real Estate."

Among the clans, the Eguchi harbored the deepest resentment towards the Fourth Raikage.

Their clan had produced a powerful elder, the Raikage's foster father, only for him to be assassinated by—"Missing-nin." A blatant lie! And afterwards, the Eguchi clan had suffered the brunt of the Raikage's retribution.

Therefore, they would rather invest their entire fortune in Konoha stocks than support the Raikage who had brought ruin upon their clan.

With the Eguchi Clan taking the lead, the other clan elders no longer hesitated.

Money held in hand was just money, prone to devaluation. But invested, turned into a golden goose—it would only grow.

In better times, investing in a local gym or Shinobi tool shop would yield returns within a few years, providing a stable income for their clan members.

But times had changed.

The Shinobi World was unstable, and the economies of Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning were spiraling downwards.

The once-bustling gyms were now empty, replaced by exclusive fitness centers. Average Shinobi opted to train at home. The Shinobi tool market was flooded with secondhand goods; old tools, polished and sharpened, were deemed sufficient.

Conventional Shinobi businesses were struggling.

Surprisingly, female-oriented products like lipstick and perfume, supposedly specialties from the Land of Fire, were selling well, draining the wallets of single kunoichi and their partners. But Kumogakure lacked the supply chain to capitalize on this trend.

They couldn't simply seize this industry by force. The daimyo and the Raikage were committed to protecting the business environment, preserving what little commercial credibility remained.

Looking around, these clan elders, accustomed to traditional investments, found themselves with money they couldn't spend.

Now, Arnold, their envoy to Konoha, had presented them with an unprecedented investment opportunity.

Though investing in Konoha stocks felt—wrong, the profits would be their own. The shares were bearer instruments, easily convertible to cash at the KSE.

"The Kawamoto clan will purchase five hundred thousand shares of Konoha Real Estate!"

"The Kira clan will purchase one hundred thousand shares of The Land of Fire Technologies!"

"The Satō clan will purchase one Million War Bonds!"

A hush fell over the room.

The Satō clan held a unique position in Kumogakure. As a branch of a noble family from the Land of Lightning, they weren't purely a Shinobi clan, but rather, served as the—"gloves" and "wallets" of the great nobles.

They invested in whatever was profitable, remaining neutral in Kumogakure's political struggles, even during the fiercest conflicts between the Raikage and the elders.

All eyes turned to the Satō clan representative, Satō Zaiko.

Satō Zaiko shrugged nonchalantly. "Our Satō clan Shinobi aren't particularly strong, nor are we particularly brave. These high-risk stocks—we wouldn't dare get involved. We prefer the relative stability of war bonds."

"After all, investing one Billion Ryō yields thirty Million in returns after just one year. It's difficult to refuse. If not for the fact that this is our first collaboration, I would consider investing the Satō clan's entire fortune in Konoha bonds."

Satō Zaiko's eyes gleamed shrewdly.

He recognized the immense value behind the Konoha War Bonds.

Word from the daimyo's mansion indicated that the Raikage was constantly pleading with the daimyo to rescind the Fire Games Joint Declaration. Anyone with a keen sense could feel it—the Fourth Shinobi World War was imminent.

While the scale of the war remained uncertain, based on Konoha's historical performance, regardless of the cost, victory was the likely outcome.

In such turbulent times, purchasing Konoha War Bonds seemed a prudent investment.

Konoha's reputation—was well-established throughout the Shinobi World.

To attract merchants and investors, the Land of Fire had implemented robust regulations for its markets. Even as enemies, one had to admire Konoha's achievements in this regard.

To speak treasonously—even if Kumogakure issued its own war bonds, Satō Zaiko wouldn't dare purchase them. Kumogakure lacked credibility; policies could change with the shifting political tides. But Konoha—even as wartime enemies, Satō Zaiko was willing to invest in their bonds.

As for the final outcome...

If Konoha won, their bonds would yield a guaranteed thirty Million Ryō interest, plus potential variable returns. If Konoha lost—as long as they harbored ambitions of recovery, they couldn't afford to damage their reputation. They would find a way to honor their debts, even if it meant ceding land, property, or technology—enough to cover the principal investment.

"Lord Satō," a clan representative cautioned, "Those War Bonds—might be used to create the exploding tags that rain down upon our homeland."

Purchasing shares in Konoha companies was one thing, but purchasing bonds directly from the Hokage Tower—while both were essentially acts of treason, funding the enemy...

Admitting to purchasing Konoha War Bonds, acknowledging that Konoha's weapons were funded, in part, by their own investment—that was simply too shameful.

They had no face left!

Some clan leaders muttered under their breath, "Merchants ruin villages," "Shameless..."

"Business is business," Satō Zaiko replied smoothly. "And these exploding tags might not necessarily target the Land of Lightning. I believe the Land of Wind is a more likely target. They always seem to instigate wars."

"And now, with the daimyo's Fire Games Joint Declaration promoting peace, Konoha won't initiate war."

Satō Zaiko smiled, though inwardly cursing.

These hypocrites! If they truly loved their village, they wouldn't be secretly participating in this Konoha stock purchasing meeting, wouldn't be spending their own money on Konoha company shares.

They were already wading in the murky waters of profit; what did face matter now?

Unlike traditional Shinobi clans, clans like the Satō, acting as proxies for the great nobles, always had an escape route, regardless of the war's outcome.

They couldn't kill everyone, could they?

War wasn't just about killing; it was about connections, about politics.

Reducing the number of enemies, increasing the number of allies—Even if Konoha conquered Kumogakure, revealing their War Bonds would be a lifeline.

A last resort—if things went south, they could always flee the village. Kumogakure might fall, but the Land of Lightning would endure. Konoha could default on the bonds held by traditional Shinobi clans, but could they afford to default on the bonds held by the Land of Lightning's nobility?

The great nobles entrusted their wealth to professional managers like him

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