Through Wooden Doors

Escorted by Momochi Zabuza and Kisame, Terumi Mei arrived in Konoha in a windy manner.

To her, what happened a few days ago was like a dream.

Although there were too many coincidences, such as Kisame choosing to hang up, Momochi Zabuza choosing to help her, and most importantly, the bastard who controlled Yagura ordering the Mizukage faction to stay in the village, and instead transferring the other factions out, making their power in the village extremely weak for a while... No matter what, she still accomplished the coup d'etat.

Even now, when she looks back on it herself, everything was so unbelievable.

Now that the coup had succeeded and Yagura had been saved by Makoto, Terumi Mei's goal from the beginning could be said to have been accomplished in its entirety.

It was logical that at this time she should be resting in the village, waiting quietly for Yagura's return.

However, she decided to go to Konoha first, despite her physical and mental exertion.

Because only in this way could she salvage more things for Kiri... although doing so would basically be said to be breaking her agreement with Makoto.

For this reason, Terumi Mei felt a deep sense of shame and unease.

But there are some things that someone has to do... Even if they still end up bending the knee to Konoha, a relatively intact Kiri is far more powerful than a Kiri that has been torn apart by Makoto...

He would definitely dismantle it.

There was no doubt about that.

At this moment, Terumi Mei finally realized what the Mizukage Yagura, who had always been spat upon by himself, had been facing all along.

In any case, Terumi Mei reached Konoha.

After letting Kisame and Zabuza go to the Kiri to rest first, Terumi Mei went straight to the site of the Five Kage Summit.

In the previous months, Terumi Mei had been working as a diplomat in Konoha. She knew the entire Konoha structure as well as its processes very well.

Now that Yagura had been defeated in battle and was temporarily residing in a hospital in Konoha, there was no need to rush to see him since he wasn't going to run anyway.

What Terumi Mei wanted to know most now was what the others thought of Kiri.

Only after knowing this could she conceptualize her next course of action - Yagura had become what he was now, and retiring was inevitable. In his current situation, he certainly couldn't forcefully designate a successor, and the conservatives had always looked at them unfavorably...

A Mizukage battle was inevitable.

She could only make the most reasonable judgment if she understood the attitudes of the others...

Today was not the day that the Five Kage Summit was held, but there were still many people in the Five Kage Summit. Many people looked at Terumi Mei with somewhat strange eyes, but on the contrary, Terumi Mei didn't feel that there was anything wrong - after all, she had just accomplished a coup in Kiri and screwed over a lot of opposition, it would be strange if people didn't look at her more than twice.

Kiri's coup, however, was not the focus of the discussion.

After all, Kiri was a big hidden village, and Yagura was still alive.

Yagura being alive and Yagura being dead were ultimately two different things.

For a perfect Jinchuuriki who possessed Kage-class strength in his own right, people would always retain the most basic respect.

The focus of the people's discussion was actually the killing of the Takigakure's Jinchuuriki and the taking of the Biju.

Although the Takigakure was also a small hidden village, that was for the five great hidden villages.

Again, it was a failing grade, and the difference between 59 points and 1 point was still very large.

The war heritage of the Takigakure was no match for the five great hidden villages, and the chances of winning a real fight were extremely low, but that didn't stop some dry goods from existing within it.

For example, it is said to be able to make ninja chakra surge dozens of times of the water of the hero, such as the nanabi of heavy bright.

...In fact, Kakuzu is from Takigakure. He was able to become a Kage level expert, and the treasure of the Takigakure, Earth Grudge Fear, contributed a lot.

No one cares about the death or life of a small hidden village ninja, but the biju is taken, then... this thing is a real nuclear bomb.

The five great hidden villages are very sensitive to this.

Because technically speaking, at this time, both Konoha and Suna are without biju - the human pillars of these two villages are too young to be able to manipulate biju.

Although the Reibi was strong, it ultimately needed to be recharged, and strategically it was ultimately not as flexible as a true Biju.

Because Makoto had revealed the information in advance, and the five great hidden villages today were not all unconnected. So the people quickly presumed that, like last time, this time it was the organization called "Akatsuki" again.

Because of Makoto's fuss, the "Akatsuki" became famous much earlier than the original, and its influence was also much greater.

This kind of reputation has good and bad.

The bad side of the natural needless to say, early by the five great hidden village to stare at.

And the good words... strength of such a strong evil organization, naturally favored by the majority of rouge ninja, recently the organization's strength is growing very fast.

If it was before, Konoha, which has always wanted to become the dominant force in the ninja world, should have jumped out to take the lead in messing with the Akatsuki organization.

But for some reason, after the Battle of the Two Kage, Hokage has always been very silent, and has absolutely no intention of stepping forward to be the leading brother.

Hokage does not come forward, the Kazekage naturally will not follow. Kumo's recent nest fight has become more and more powerful, there is no time for him to care, Kiri is even more direct, playing a coup.

Now there is only one left, Iwa, more or less a little bit of the feeling that it is difficult to support alone...

The ninjas couldn't figure out what was going on behind the scenes, and were just worried in their hearts.

Terumi Mei could clearly feel that heaviness and uneasiness in the air.

...It was indeed bad to say so, but this was at the same time an opportunity for Kiri. After all, if there were hungry wolves outside, I'm afraid that this coup fiasco would have to create countless more chaos.

Now the four great hidden villages each have their own things, the only can interfere with the Iwa is too far away, the whip can not be... long.

The worst case scenario should not happen.

Terumi Mei heart so thankful, she inquired for a while news, heart gradually have a number.

Just there is good news, naturally there is also bad news.

With Konoha not taking the lead in stirring up trouble, and the other ninja villages having their own affairs, Kiri's external environment was barely acceptable.

But this calm was actually the same for the other factions of Kiri - at the site of the Five Kage Summit, Terumi Mei ran into Takagi, the leader of the conservative faction of Kiri.

It was a burly ninja in his forties.

He was strong.

-As a mainstay of the war, the fact that he had survived all the way into his forties was a testament to his strong strength.

As the leader of the conservative faction, he should have stayed in the village. But the one who controlled Yagura didn't know what to think, and forced him as well as the backbone of the conservative faction.

When Terumi Mei made her coup, it was extremely difficult for her to do so because none of the group was in the village.

But on the flip side, because the elites of the two sides didn't have a chance to fight, the main fighting force of the conservative faction was fairly well preserved.

The two groups already had different political views and were hostile to each other. Now that the conservative faction could be said to have been copied, the conflict between the two sides was even deeper.

Now that Yagura's retirement is inevitable, the conservative faction will certainly not let go of such a good opportunity... These conservative factions will certainly not be stupid enough to directly start a civil war, but the position of Godaime Mizukage, they are certainly going to fight for it.

Favorably, Terumi Mei has no way to stop them from participating in the Godaime Mizukage election.

And once they start campaigning...

In the past, the Mizukage faction could suppress the conservative faction, but after being scourged by someone, the Mizukage faction's prestige has dropped greatly, and its strength has been damaged extremely seriously.

How the future will be, is yet to be seen.

If the two sides really fought, the damage caused might be even greater when controlled by Yagura...

"Terumi Mei-san."

"Takagi-san."

The two looked at each other, fierce sparks flashing in their eyes. But neither one was a fool, so naturally they wouldn't be stupid enough to fight here.

The two didn't even put out trash talk, and after simply exchanging a greeting, they immediately separated.

The... fight had only just begun.

At the end of the day, Terumi Mei arrived in front of Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuuga Hiashi.

At this moment, these two Konoha greats were discussing something.

Uchiha Fugaku was glowing, and a rare smile appeared on his face, which had been tightly tensed - it seemed that his eldest son, Uchiha Itachi, had skillfully surpassed the others in the ninja school, and had achieved the first place in his grade by an undisputed margin.

Although the Uchiha had always been powerful and never lacked experts. But the fact that his eldest son was so competitive still made him very happy.

In contrast, Hyuuga Hiashi's complexion was a bit strange, as if he was troubled by something extremely serious.

As one of Konoha's top stream families, Hyuuga's life had always been very nourishing. Now that Konoha was getting stronger, their days were naturally becoming more and more comfortable.

Terumi Mei couldn't think of anything that could make the head of the Hyuuga clan worried.

Terumi Mei herself was a pile of shit though, so she didn't have the heart to dig deeper.

She walked up and after greeting the two, she asked her question directly.

"May I ask where Godaime Hokage-sama is... what, in Mizukage-sama's hospital room?"

... ...

The bad news was that both Yagura, who had been beaten into a coma, and Makoto, who had inexplicably fallen into a coma, had woken up, and that Makoto had approached Yagura.

The good news is that... these two people, who should have already known the internal situation of Kiri, not only did not fight, but instead gathered together again, as if they were discussing something.

Terumi Mei was puzzled by the reaction of these two idiots.

But no matter what was in her mind, she still had to meet these two first.

So after layers of briefing, she finally met the two Kage.

Only these two guys...

"Yo, you came. How have you been lately? Have you eaten?"

It was still daytime, but Makoto and Yagura had had all the curtains drawn, and had even purposely had black tape put on the slightest exposure of light, leaving the entire room pitch black.

What's even more outrageous is that these two guys who were still wearing hospital gowns even draped a quilt over each of them, sat on a bed, and lit a candle... Are you two urchins!

"What are you guys... doing?"

"Ah, nothing meaningful, it's just that talking like this is more of a big boss feeling."

What time is it, still playing this kind of boring game here...

Terumi Mei didn't say those words out loud though.

For one thing, she knew that these two Kages were really powerful - though usually out of tune.

Secondly... she was more or less afraid to meet Makoto.

Because she had de facto defaulted on her contract.

Although Makoto greeted her playfully as soon as they met, she didn't know how to respond.

Makoto turned back to Yagura.

"The heir you chose, not very good, to feel embarrassed."

"It can't be helped, the average education of ninjas is just too low. It's okay if you let them fight and kill, but if you really want to do something else..." Yagura also looked helpless, "Terumi Mei is considered to be a talent party, and is already considered to be very powerful in Kiri. I would have liked to bring another ten years, but things got into this situation... can only be like this."

Terumi Mei, who had managed to kill her way out, realized that she seemed to be disliked by both the Mizukage and Hokage at the same time.

What do you mean to actually feel embarrassed... Isn't this a normal human reaction!

And you, Makoto! I'm like this and you don't even have a word of reproach, what are you scheming for?

Because of that unexpected conversation between Mizukage and Hokage, the thought building Terumi Mei had done all the way through was directly broken through.

She was curious to know why Makoto tolerated her so much.

Mizukage shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Makoto still had that indifferent look on his face.

"Let's not talk about any previous engagements. Personally, I've always preferred solving problems rather than adding to them."

"Regardless of what really happened before, what Kiri needs right now is stability, and harmony. -

"Terumi Mei, Yagura thinks you're the best person for the job, and it just so happens that I think so too. So instead of continuing to complain to each other, why don't we talk about something a little more practical - like how to push you into the position of Mizukage."

This one caught Terumi Mei's full attention.

"Indeed... but how am I supposed to do that? I'm too young, and I'm afraid my prestige..."

"Aristocrats love prestige, cultivators love faith, and everyone loves the Golden Little Judge."

Makoto said this and threw a box of matches to Terumi Mei.

"Konoha has already gone through an expansion to get you out before, and this is Kiri internal affairs after all. It's impossible for us to give you straight support... again as before, but I think that as long as the money is in place and Yagura is standing up for you again, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, right?"

Where Terumi Mei didn't know that Makoto was going to make a whole job out of it again.

Every time he made a move, he always got a lot of people killed.

But this involved the future of Kiri, Terumi Mei couldn't care less.

Just...

"Matches? This thing can make money?"

Terumi Mei's reaction was exactly the same as Yagura's.

Makoto had no choice but to let Terumi Mei sit beside him and slowly explain it to her.

Terumi Mei wasn't the type of squirmy little girl, but she still silently kept three body lengths from Makoto.

Makoto didn't point it out, but instead took out the general account of Konoha Tobacco.

Because of various reasons, Konoha Tobacco could actually be considered a semi-state enterprise. Luckily, as the leader, Makoto had the general ledger on his side.

"I don't know the situation of the other four countries, but if you look at our Land of Fire alone, the sales of tobacco are climbing, and we haven't seen the upper limit yet..."

The tobacco thing was just so strong.

In times of war, everyone is under a lot of stress and needs it to get rid of it.

In times of peace, everyone is richer than before and naturally willing to buy tobacco, and consumption is increasing rather than decreasing.

That is, Konoha set the tone early, and is a super-violent group, the relationship is also in place, otherwise this super cash cow, how can not fall into their hands.

And as cigarette sales climbed, the demand for fire starters naturally skyrocketed.

-In fact, the application range of matches is quite wide, and is not limited to lighting cigarettes. However, it was relatively difficult to compile statistics in this era, so Makoto chose the most intuitive data at hand.

Terumi Mei was smart, not the kind of battle ninja whose head was stuffed with muscles, she only needed to look at a generalization.

"Huh..."

Terumi Mei looked at the zeros on the Konoha's tobacco ledger and was surprisingly a little dizzy for a moment.

Yagura had been grooming her as a successor, and she was aware of the earnings of that canning factory in Kiri. But that big a factory, earnings unexpectedly dry but Konoha tobacco.

And Konoha tobacco is only one of the Konoha's four major companies... the world's first industrialized country, is it really that domineering...

Seeing Terumi Mei really washed by a lot of zeros and lost his mind, Makoto then continued to start fooling around.

"Although it is only a family's words, but with a small view... you should understand what I mean, right?"

"As you said..." Terumi Mei subconsciously sat over a little, "But if I remember correctly, doesn't the Land of Fire have lighters for sale?"

The Land of Fire did indeed sell lighters.

It had been invented for a while as well.

"You're right, but... it's expensive. You may not believe me when I say it, but this thing has been repeatedly revolutionized since it was invented, but it has never had a good sale, and the market is narrow because it's expensive."

Actually, to be precise, it can't be said that lighters are expensive, but matches are simply too cheap.

Cheap to the point that unless it was a broad like Asuma, who was rich in his own right, as well as a broad who might die in battle at any time and therefore didn't pay much attention to frugality, everyone's first reaction would always be to buy matches, not lighters.

People in this era still prized pragmatism after all, and for the vast majority of them, the war had only been over a year ago, and the hardship and difficulties of the war era still lingered in their minds.

Housewives these days always cut as much as they can when they buy something.

People are more likely to compliment you on a shirt you bought for only nine dollars and nine cents than they are on a mink - the latter is the prettiest cub in the housewife circle, a legendary hero to be envied for decades.

The same problem applies to lighters.

It couldn't be more convenient and useful, but it couldn't beat the cheapness of matches.

If you can't beat it, you can't beat it, and there's no reasoning behind it.

For this day and age, the market for matches is still quite vast.

Of course, in terms of the general trend of history, it was inevitable that the lighter would dry out matches. By the time the dollar machine came out, matches, except for some special varieties, would be routed.

Makoto personally experienced that era, so it is very clear.

Potou matches and black spider cannon fireworks were his greatest childhood pleasures when he was a child, and they are also essential items in every household.

T/N: Potou Match is a kind of match produced by Hebei Potou Match Co., Ltd., which changed China's dependence on "matches" at that time, it was founded in 1912 but unfortunately went backrupt

T/N: Black Spider Cannon Fireworks is an explosive toy that if you light it, it will have the effect of fireworks and the sound of a cannon

When he became an adult, however, it was basically impossible to find.

But given the current state of the Hokage world, that would have to be ten or twenty years from now at the earliest.

That length of time was enough for Kiri to operate.

The thing called matches seemed unremarkable, but besides the wide market at the moment, it had a hidden benefit - low cost and no technical content.

There were just two main raw materials for matches.

Trees and red phosphorus.

Hokage world's trees... anyway, more than you can not finish cutting. Even if you let go of chopping them, you won't have any problem chopping them for a hundred or so decades.

For other people, cutting down trees might be a bitter and tiring thing. But for ninjas, it was not a problem at all.

The kind of big tree as thick as an adult, Genin kicked down for you, guaranteed to be faster than the use of lumberjacks, the two sides of the cost is not comparable.

Without being a bit more elaborate, any kid in ninja school could easily accomplish it - consider it extracurricular homework for them, pure white whoring.

Red phosphorus is a small problem, Land of Water still have this mineral, pressure does not need to import.

And technology words... directly buy chant.

Kiri again how is also a large military organization, bite the bullet a little squeeze out, funding will have.

Makoto tried to be as concise as possible and Terumi Mei explained the current situation.

Terumi Mei listened with some fascination and couldn't help but move a little closer.

But she was still a bit puzzled.

"Are matches really that profitable? But if it's that profitable, why don't you Land of Fire Country do it yourselves?"

It was a that matches made money.

In the case of Swedish matches, for example, in 1930, it had dry-shattered the entire match industry in the Celestial Kingdom, taking up about 48.02% of the volume.

Many marketing accounts said that during this period, Swedish Match made a total of more than 3 million taels.

T/N: tael is a weight used in China and East Asia, of varying amount but fixed in China at 50 grams (thanks Google)

Makoto reserved his opinion on this and did not fully believe the marketing numbers. But one thing is for sure - Swedish matches did indeed form a monopoly, causing unrest in the seven provinces, and there was even a big name coming out to take a stand behind the scenes, calling for the rescue of the match industry...

During this period, Makoto didn't know how much Swedish Match made, but if it could be close to a monopoly in the supermarket in China, then the money would definitely not be a small amount...

Any enterprise, as long as the introduction has the adjective monopoly, the wealth acquired must be astronomical.

As for why Makoto didn't do this business in the Land of Fire...

"Because I want to drive tons of money into the high-tech industry, the ceiling of matches is too low, I don't want to let those guys whose eyes are full of money waste this precious time of opportunity."

What Makoto said was cruel, but that was precisely why Terumi Mei believed he was telling the truth.

This guy basically didn't do anything with his hands, but when it came to business, he was truly one of a kind in the world.

"As soon as you start operating a match factory, you can gain a lot of profit... is that so?"

"Overall, it still takes a bit of time, but it's better than staying put. Anyway, you Kiri have the advantage of low human rights and transportation, and there's no shortage of workers... It's always possible to get up."

Makoto continued to list out a number, placating Terumi Mei.

He even remembered to liven up the atmosphere.

"Ah, of course, the current capital is still relatively barbaric in general. You Kiri will definitely encounter a little trouble if you go in rashly..."

A long time ago, Aoho told Makoto about something.

It was that when the two families were working together on a movie, they once went to a place for a location because they were really busy, and Aoho's deputy forgot to greet the local gangs and send them red envelopes.

This is the unspoken rule of this era.

You can have less, but you can't have none, otherwise you're not giving face to the local gang.

Then that group of socially energetic groups immediately brought in people, wanting to make this group of movie makers look good.

As a result, a group of tattooed good guys kicked open the door of the lounge and saw a dozen Konoha green vests inside...

Hearing Makoto say that, Yagura and Terumi Mei simply smiled and didn't take it to heart.

It was really that kind of life-threatening industry, Kiri might still have some hesitation. But if Kiri was like this, couldn't they even get a match industry that no one cared about?

Makoto had been making a living by fooling people since he became Hokage, and with his training up to this point, his eloquence could be said to be exceptionally strong - the kind that could tie a knot in a rope with his tongue.

After being fooled by him, Terumi Mei agreed dizzily.

But this matter was, after all, incredibly important, and Terumi Mei still asked that crucial question in the end.

"Godaime Hokage, I'm willing to trust your business judgment... But as long as you can make money by starting a match factory, why is it that other people can only barely make a little bit of hard money?"

Terumi Mei finally asked this question - Makoto had laid it out so long in front of him, but it was actually for this question.

"Because they don't have enough capital. -

"Matches, after all, have thin margins, so if you want to make more profit, you have to start more factories, but then the cost is high again - actually, we don't need to do that at all. We just need to control some of the key factories and then pull the others into our system."

Terumi Mei was enlightened.

"Pull into our system, you mean..."

"We control Red Phosphorus."

Terumi Mei understood.

IIt was still essentially a monopoly.

But Kiri's current situation...

"But we Kiri... don't have that much money."

If it was just starting a factory, then Kiri could just squeeze it in. But Makoto this kind of strike is to dry up an industry, Kiri really can not stand.

"It's okay, I have a lot of friends in the banking industry, we're super good."

"As long as I open up to them, they definitely won't mind lending you Kiri a large amount of loans at a fairly reasonable interest rate."

Up until this point, Makoto had opened his fangs.

Terumi Mei felt something vaguely, but she couldn't figure out what the problem was.

So she looked to Yagura.

Yagura held a piece of senbei in both hands and slowly nibbled on it.

"Agree. -

"This guy's summoning beast is the capital. -

"We can't beat him. -

"What comes after... If we can't even pass this hurdle, then what about the future?"