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"What idea?" Kakuzu asked somewhat puzzledly.
"Gatō Company. Heard of it?" Shinji extended his finger, pointing towards the direction of the Land of Waves.
"You mean the president of that shipping company (Gatō Company) in the Land of Waves?" Kakuzu thought for a moment. He still knew about this person's information.
"Yes, that's him."
"You mean, we go over and rob him?"
"Yes and no. Do you know the background of Gatō Company?" Shinji chuckled lightly.
"Know some. Isn't it just a shipping company? Quite famous throughout the ninja world."
"Their president, Gatō, is one of the world's few great magnates. But actually, he privately uses mafia and ninjas to smuggle drugs and contraband. Moreover, he also wants to encroach on the interests of other companies and countries," Shinji spoke of Gatō as if reciting family treasures. In numerous fanfictions, most protagonists obtained their first pot of gold from Gatō. Therefore, Shinji didn't plan to let Gatō off this time either. After all, he was also a heinous criminal; robbing him felt pressure-free.
"And then?" Kakuzu suddenly asked.
"What then?"
"You want me to rob him. Then what after robbing?" Kakuzu stated calmly.
"Naturally control him. Remember, these people hold a lot of intelligence. You wouldn't think I intended to kill him directly, right?"
"How to control?"
"Genjutsu. I can handle this. Gatō can become our Otogakure's fund provider and intelligence provider," Shinji said seriously.
"Let me think..." Kakuzu fell silent for a moment before looking up. "I agree to this. When do we depart?"
"Simple. Going over tomorrow is also fine. Right now, we still need to resolve the Tsuchigumo clan's matter first. How is the iron smelting plant over there?"
"Basically completed construction. Can start production soon," Kakuzu looked at his notebook. They had used a portion of the initial funds to purchase iron ore and other things. As long as they could produce the steel Shinji mentioned, then for their Otogakure, it represented an endless stream of orders!
"Have the forging masters been found?"
"Two recruited from the Land of Iron. But they are somewhat arrogant. Perhaps they also don't believe we can master iron smelting technology stronger than their Land of Iron," Speaking of this, Kakuzu's brows couldn't help furrowing. Although those two forging masters behaved relatively respectfully in other matters, regarding iron smelting, they seemed somewhat unwilling to yield.
"This is very normal. The Land of Iron itself is recognized as the continent's strongest forging nation. Although they came to our Otogakure, they still have a sense of belonging in this aspect. How about this, I'll go take a look at them," Shinji stood up.
Subsequently, the group arrived at the iron smelting plant. At this time, several people were gathered around the forging furnace, whispering something.
"Lord Kakuzu," One of the forging masters quickly stood up upon seeing Kakuzu arrive.
"How is it?" Kakuzu came before the forging furnace. At this time, a forged kunai lay inside.
"This is the kunai we forged. Lord Kakuzu can take a look," The forging master picked up the kunai and handed it to Kakuzu. After testing it a few times, Kakuzu put down the kunai.
"Indeed, the quality is slightly better than ordinary kunai. But that's about it," Kakuzu handed the kunai to Shinji.
"Lord Kakuzu, if it's just kunai, this is already the limit of this material. Just don't know how the steel Lord Kakuzu mentioned earlier is made!" Hearing Kakuzu's evaluation, the two forging masters clearly became somewhat unconvinced. We are the real professionals!
"Let me demonstrate this for you. Lord Kakuzu, I'll rely on you for the fire attribute," Shinji glanced at Kakuzu.
"Simple." Subsequently, Shinji placed some iron blocks into the blast furnace. This action made the two forging masters beside him somewhat confused. What was this shaped thing? And as Kakuzu's flame erupted, the iron blocks inside quickly turned into molten iron.
Ahem, due to unprofessional reasons, the following process is omitted... Iron raw material → blast furnace smelting to obtain molten iron → molten iron undergoes pretreatment → enters converter for blowing to remove various impurities → molten steel enters ladle for secondary refining → solidifies to form steel billet → then rolled into steel products. Roughly this process. Soon, a large block of steel appeared before everyone.
"This is the new material Lord Kakuzu mentioned?" The two forging masters immediately rushed over. This was the first time they saw such bright steel.
"Yes. You can also use it to try forging swords or kunai," Shinji stated calmly.
"Okay!" The two forging masters glanced at each other, then took this block of steel over to the forging furnace. Waves of hammering sounds echoed. Shinji nodded with satisfaction. Judging by the posture and technique, these two forging masters indeed possessed some skill.
Soon, under the cooperation of the two forging masters, a brand new kunai appeared before everyone. The mirror-like kunai reflected cold light, showing astonished faces. A point of cold light condensed in the middle of the high hamon line on the blade edge. It seemed this kunai, descended like a divine weapon, was like a weapon that killed without leaving bloodstains, shining upon this iron smelting plant with its own brilliance.
"This... This is!?" One of the forging masters looked astonishedly at the kunai he forged. This quality? It seemed to mock his previous frog-in-a-well perspective.
"Divine refining technique. Is this steel?" The other forging master tremblingly picked up the kunai. The brilliance on it seemed to mock the works he was previously proud of.
"Looks pretty good?" Kakuzu hadn't gone forward to look closely just now, only coming over after this kunai was forged.
"Reporting to Lord Kakuzu, if this is just 'pretty good', then the kunai in this world can simply be called trash," Hearing Kakuzu's words, the forging master holding the kunai immediately spoke up.
"So exaggerated?"
"Mr. Kakuzu, why don't you try it yourself?" Shinji smiled mysteriously, took the kunai from the forging master's hand, and simultaneously took the ordinary material kunai from before. Looking at the two kunai in his hand, one could identify the kunai forged from steel without careful discernment; the color and feel were noticeably different.
Clang clang clang!!! Kakuzu held the kunai in his hand and didn't hesitate. What was the simplest way to test two weapons? That was to collide them head-on. Just like the Heaven Reliant Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber in "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber", divine weapons of the same level broke after colliding. But this was different. Under Kakuzu's control, the kunai made of steel cut through the original kunai like cutting paper, directly splitting it in two.
"This sharpness!?" Kakuzu's eyes suddenly shrank. Sharp tools capable of cutting kunai like paper existed, like the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist, Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword, etc., could all do it. But kunai versus kunai, having such a level of comparison between materials, this was what Kakuzu didn't expect.
"How about it, Mr. Kakuzu? If this can be mass-produced and supplied to other countries..." Shinji chuckled lightly.
"Then our orders will fly towards us like scattering money!" Kakuzu's eyes instantly gleamed, turning greener than before by unknown multiples. He seemed to already see vast amounts of wealth smashing towards him.
"Yes. Especially now during the war between Kumogakure and Konoha. If a certain quantity can be formed, presumably it can sell for a good price," Shinji reminded with a smile. Earning money by taking missions, how could it be faster than being an arms dealer?
"Indeed. How about it, two masters? Can this be mass-produced?" Kakuzu's eyes had almost turned into the shape of money. He directly started outputting towards the two forging masters.
"Lord Kakuzu, if the forging of this steel can keep up now, we can achieve mass production. It's just that manpower is still relatively scarce now..."
"What if I recruit more people?"
"If we can recruit another 50 forging masters, then... in one month, we can complete enough kunai, even shuriken, to support the war between Konoha and Kumogakure." The forging master swallowed.
This really was a huge temptation. Unexpectedly, when the two of them were really squeezed out by the involution big country Land of Iron and came to Otogakure, they actually encountered this moment capable of changing the weapon material revolution in the ninja world! Now, the two of them were extremely glad they could enter Otogakure.
They could already foresee that if this steel could achieve mass production, and this technology could remain mastered by Otogakure, then given time, Otogakure could definitely surpass the Land of Iron and become a true major forging nation!
"50 forging masters? Boss Shinji, my suggestion is to immediately send people to the Land of Iron to recruit. This way, we can rely on the war between Konoha and Kumogakure to earn a fortune!" Kakuzu said eagerly. Now in his view, nothing was more important than making money.
"You arrange this. You continue working," Shinji finished speaking and left with Kakuzu.
"By the way, Boss Shinji, if those two people leak this technology just now?" Suddenly, Kakuzu seemed to remember something and asked worriedly.
"Don't worry about that. I used genjutsu at the critical points just now. Besides, the technology of iron refining into steel also has very specific requirements regarding flame temperature. If they just copy cat style, they definitely cannot produce steel the same as ours," Shinji smiled. He had already guarded against this. Core technology definitely wouldn't be revealed.
"That's good. I'll send people to recruit outstanding forging masters from the Land of Iron now," Kakuzu left eagerly after confirming this matter.
...
Three days later, the Tsuchigumo clan had completely adapted to life in Otogakure. Orochimaru also allocated a piece of land east of the village to the Tsuchigumo clan for cultivation with a wave of his pen. After all, it was the Land of Rice Paddies; what they didn't lack was fields. And during these three days, Shinji and Kakuzu respectively made trips to the Land of Waves and the Land of Iron.
After controlling Gatō in the Land of Waves, Shinji used genjutsu to control him, only modifying the matter of Shinji being the master, without overly modifying other things. It was like planting a genjutsu prioritizing Shinji in Gatō's mind.
From now on, Gatō became Shinji's puppet. Of course, besides not trafficking drugs and contraband anymore, Gatō Shipping still maintained its previous business, secretly providing funds and intelligence for Otogakure. Shinji even exchanged some knowledge about logistics and sea transport from his previous life from the system and gave it to Gatō. The current Gatō focused more on these two directions.
And when taking Gatō's money, the smile on Kakuzu's face never stopped along the way. Of course, it looked somewhat unsettling to Shinji. Holding large amounts of money, Shinji naturally recruited 50 forging masters in the Land of Iron.
Previously, the reasons for not coming were money and technology. Now Kakuzu held money in one hand and that kunai in the other. These forging masters' eyes instantly lit up. They packed their things and left together. Of course, there were some who didn't join. Shinji used genjutsu to erase their memories of this period, lest they leak some intelligence.
"Returned?" In the Otokage office, Orochimaru wore the Otokage headwear, looking at the just returned Shinji and Kakuzu.
"Yes. This is the money we brought back from Gatō Company in the Land of Waves. This is enough to sustain us for a long time. Didn't expect Gatō Company actually had so much money," Kakuzu summoned N suitcases from his space scroll. They were all filled to the brim with money. This instantly filled more than half of Orochimaru's Otokage office.
"So much?" Even Orochimaru, having seen various storms, was surprised by the amount of money Kakuzu took out. Was doing business this profitable?
"This isn't even all of it. Some was left for Gatō Company's daily operations. Besides, Boss Shinji also controlled Gatō. From now on, Gatō's sea and land transport will be our continuous source of funds. And also intelligence source," Kakuzu chattered on. Logically, he was a relatively taciturn person. One could imagine how excited Kakuzu was by the harvest these few days.
"This is great. With so much money, my experiments can also continue, fufufu," Orochimaru licked his tongue. This really was multiple joys arriving at the door.
"How is the Tsuchigumo clan doing?"
"They have completely integrated into Otogakure. Most of them are commoners themselves, and get along well with our current Otogakure villagers. After some back and forth, the atmosphere in the village has improved significantly," Orochimaru said with satisfaction. Before, he didn't think managing a village was any good. But now, seeing Otogakure thriving under the management of the three of them, Orochimaru's heart also became happier by several degrees.
"That's good. The matter of the forging factory cannot be delayed any longer. Must start immediately. Kakuzu and I have already brought back a batch of forging masters from the Land of Iron."
"Then let's get started. We'll initially spread out as a neutral country. Another thing, the news of the Tsuchigumo clan joining us has already been spread by someone. On the second day after they joined our Otogakure," Orochimaru said somewhat grimly.
Regarding the Tsuchigumo clan joining Otogakure, he originally didn't want to spread it out so quickly. But didn't expect it to spread throughout the entire ninja world so fast. Although it hadn't caused any waves temporarily, Orochimaru believed someone would definitely act on this matter.
"Then what do you want to do?" Shinji suddenly asked.
"Let it be for now. But this matter still needs investigation to find out who leaked it. Also, your steelmaking technology must also be kept completely confidential," Orochimaru said, somewhat annoyed.
"That's not too difficult. The steel forging factory will be entirely handled by our people. And I'll have Karin set up a barrier. Only those bearing the mark can enter the steelmaking plant," Shinji said. He had thought about this matter beforehand.
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