6 Tobacco: I Said That Everyone Here is a Follower
Since Minatsuki and her daughter are both willing, there is nothing to say.
Since then, she has become part of the outhouse of Godaime, living with the Godaime Hokage, and taking care of Makoto's daily meals.
Of course, Anbu will always be monitoring the two of them.
This is the minimum protection for the Hokage.
However, the pair of mother and daughter are not spies in the first place, so the problem isn't too big. After one or two years of monitoring, Anbu will naturally cancel the monitoring of the two.
That night, Minatsuki and her daughter stayed at Makoto's house.
Minatsuki, who was eager to perform, immediately showed her skills and cooked a very sumptuous dinner for Makoto.
Makoto made the excuse that he couldn't finish eating all of them and told Kakashi to stay.
He was not allowed to leave until the cool kid was fed to a bloated stomach.
Before, there was no way, even Makoto himself could only go to the Sandaime's house every day to eat. But now that there is a woman in the family, it is natural to have more contact with Kakashi.
For Minato, he always felt guilty. After all, Kakashi is Minato's disciple, so at least he can take care of the teen for a little bit.
After a while, Naruto comes out of Konoha's intensive care room and was handed to Minatsuki.
This virtuous and strong woman will definitely treat Naruto well.
Can't let Naruto be the same as the one in the canon. After being a hero, he only drank raindrops when he was thirsty and ate insects when he was hungry...
... ...
Kakashi is a very self-disciplined person. He won the first battle. Seeing that Makoto was in a good mood, he prepared to leave the village and make persistent efforts.
But before that, the Sandaime initiated an emergency contact signal, summoning everyone to discuss matters.
Makoto didn't know what happened, so he hurried over with Kakashi.
When the two arrived, all of the Clan Heads of each part of Konoha had almost arrived.
Everyone was standing, only Sandaime was sitting on the left side of the Hokage chair.
Surprisingly, Asuma, who has always been at odds with the Sandaime, also stays with the Sandaime today.
And on the right side of the Hokage Chair, there are Mitokado Homaru and Utatane Koharu.
Makoto has low favorability for these two elders, but the expression on his face is still important.
Makoto saw one familiar face after another as he swept his eyes across the crowd.
Jiraiya is still not here.
If it's Tsunade, she had already left Konoha. Makoto has bribed her creditors and is going to force her to Konoha, and now it has achieved results. But it might take some time to see her.
In the Hokage faction, Orochimaru is at the forefront.
This is a tall and gloomy man.
His face was extremely pale as if he was a corpse. It's just that Makoto hasn't seen him for a while, and his handsome appearance has become a little more refined.
A pair of sharp snake eyes looked at everyone in front of him, but there was no sign of actually looking at them.
Orochimaru's mind is completely out of here.
For him, the sleazy dogs of the Clan Heads are really boring.
After experiencing countless wars, his mentality has completely changed.
Now that his appearance has changed from Uncle Snake to Aunt Snake, the countdown to defection should have already started.
Makoto needs to think of a way to pull him... At least let him persist until the war with Kumo is over.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Hokage-sama!"
Seeing Makoto coming in, everyone greeted him.
After Makoto sat down on the Hokage seat, Sandaime coughed lightly and stated the purpose of this emergency call.
"According to credible information, Kumo has changed recently."
"If no accident on their side, they're targeting us."
Makoto knew the plot, so he naturally knew that Kumo wouldn't sit still. However, professional war machines like Konoha have always been very sensitive, and the movements of the four major villages have always been under their supervision.
Kumo hasn't even started making a move, yet Konoha already knew.
When it comes to the army at the level of the Five Hidden Villages, it doesn't mean they'll actually make a move.
It may take some time to prepare for the real war. But as a policymaker, it is time to set the tone.
"It was like this in the past, and it's like this now. –
"Although the other villages have not formed an alliance, they must have reached a consensus in secret. They want to let Konoha's blood flow through the wheel of battle. –
"We have to find a way to avoid war..."
It is not the third generation who is speaking, but the current head of Uchiha, Uchiha Fugaku.
This is the father of Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke.
Hearing what he said, Makoto couldn't help but look at him a few more times.
Uchiha Fugaku is actually quite capable, much better than some petty guys.
At the very least, he voluntarily gave up the pursuit of Obito's Sharingan and finally became a part of Kakashi's reputation.
With the importance of kekkei genkai, ninjas who are attached to their own blood in this era, it is really not easy to do this.
Think about what the Hyuugas have done to protect their own blood and keep their eyes from leaking.
Unfortunately, he is Uchiha.
"You are right, Uchiha-sama. But the war does not depend on us but on Kumo. Since the battle is inevitable, let's start the war!"
Currently, the Clan Heads of Konoha don't want to fight, they have already shed enough blood. But in the end, they are a group of ninjas who have experienced the tragedy of war, and they will not be stupid to believe in love and justice.
Since Kumo is not as good as Konoha, and they are going to war, let's have a good fight.
Regarding whether to fight or not, everyone in Konoha quickly reached a consensus.
And then...
Danzo raised another very important problem.
"I don't know about Kumo, but Konoha is still recovering If there is another war, there will be a deficit of at least 730 million ryos every month. –
"Master Hokage, do you have any good ideas?"
Kakashi couldn't help but whisper when he heard the number.
"730 million... that's too much!"
The general bounty for an S-rank mission is only one million ryo. As soon as Danzo moved his mouth, it was a nine-figure shortfall, and Kakashi became numb in an instant.
This is almost equivalent to seven hundred and thirty S-level tasks.
But Danzo obviously does not intend to let go of any opportunity to attack the Hokage faction.
"It's a temporary deficit, just maintaining the most basic front. –
"If you want to carry out a high-intensity war, the monthly deficit will be more than two billion. –
"Brat, this is war."
This number sounds scalp-numbing, but Makoto, who is the Hokage, knows that this is really not Danzo's nonsense.
This is even after counting the minimum data.
As soon as the cannon is fired, ten thousand of ryos. Once the ninjas go to war, the consumption of various materials and personnel is like running water.
Asuma's head alone is worth thirty-five million ryos.
To fight a decent war, it is normal to consume more than tens of billions.
After all, a bowl of ramen without any toppings in the Naruto World costs about sixty ryos, and eggs cost fifteen ryos each.
Hearing what Danzo said, everyone's expressions don't look good.
The war is already a headache, and the massive consumption that comes with the war is even more, Konoha still has a large debt to settle.
According to the style of the Sandaime, it is natural to drag slowly, relying on the fixed income inside Konoha, and pay it back slowly like squeezing toothpaste.
Now there is another war, where do they get the money?
Konoha has no money, they can't look up to the Land of Fire, and all they do is... increase the taxes inside Konoha.
This is what Clan Heads are really afraid of.
Because most of the industries inside Konoha belong to them.
In a world where power came from yourself, the most normal way to gain power is to buy low, sell high, and invest.
Konoha is also a normal organization. No matter how restricted it is on the surface, large Clans will always have a way to bypass the restrictions and achieve their goals.
Now 51 years have passed, and the clans together make up about 50% of Konoha's wealth.
Now a tax increase is like cutting their flesh.
No matter who does this, it is bound to be difficult and there will be constant scolding.
Sandaime looked at Makoto.
Then he opened his mouth.
"This old man feels that now..."
This is the Sandaime taking the blame for him.
War may break out at any time, and this tax increase is imperative. Since Makoto's prestige is not high in the first place, if these words come from his mouth, then the clans will probably be willing to be obedient to others in the future.
But Makoto rejected the Sandaime's kindness.
Because he decided to take this opportunity to accomplish Tobacco Supremacy.
This task can not only solve the economic difficulties in Konoha, but can also further enhance his strength.
After accepting the pair of mother and daughter, Minatsuki and Haku, Makoto's lower limit was broken down, and his whole body was refreshed instantly, and even his moral bottom line became flexible.
There is a kind of feeling that it hurts even if a new sneaker is stained, but after it is really stained, you can step on it in the pond at will.
He originally wanted to wait a while longer to express his proposal in a more subtle and safe way, but now he can't care so much.
What makes the most money in the less tech-savvy world –tobacco.
Most people don't realize it, but this thing is really making money.
Huaxia Tobacco pays 1.2 trillion yuan in taxes a year.
T/N: Huaxia Tabacco is a tobacco company from China
The second-ranked ICBC has less than 100 billion, which is directly missing a zero.
Oil will be exhausted one day, but tobacco will not.
The overall volume of the Naruto world is naturally not as good as that of Earth, but Konohagakure is not the kind of superpower that consumes countless.
If you can completely eat the tobacco market in the Land of Fire, you should be able to turn Konoha into a profit immediately.
Aside from the reputational damage, this plan is really lucrative.
"No, I'm sure I've thought of a safer and more profitable way. –
"It's a pity that the plan is too complicated, and this place is too small to write."
Makoto glanced at Asuma.
"Asuma, how many cigarette brands are there in the Land of Fire?"
Asuma didn't know why Makoto suddenly asked himself, but as an experienced chain smoker, he really knew the answer.
"For the mainstream, there are twenty-three. If you add up all of them, there are nearly a hundred."
It is normal to have so many cigarette brands. After all, the Land of Fire is also an industrial country, so there is still some productivity.
And because of years of war, cigarettes, a good thing that can soothe emotions and have no technical content, are naturally very popular.
"From then on, we will also do this. Find a famous tobacco company, eat it, and finally complete the monopoly of the market."
"But other brands of cigarette factories, I'm afraid..."
"Then wipe them out."
If it is on the modern Earth, it may be very difficult to do this kind of thing.
But in the Land of Fire, Konoha really has this power.
Violence doesn't even need to be used.
Not selling?
A smiling Jounin puts a fruit basket at your door, wishing your family good health and happy life, will you sell the company?
"Of course, peace is the most important thing if we don't have to use force. We have to give the money that should be given and do the aftermath work that should be done. Don't make us look too greedy. –
"This is Konoha's top priority right now. It's the most important thing. It must be done by a mature and prudent senior – Hyuga-san, this matter is up to you to handle, is it okay?"
This was very offensive.
The Hyuuga Clan is indeed very demure, but this clan can easily throw out the patriarch's own brother, which is quite scary when you think about it.
It's just right to leave it to them.
With their steady style of handling things, even if the mission fails, it will not bring the relationship to the point where it cannot be ended.
The ninjas of the Hyuuga Clan nodded silently, apparently not realizing the importance of the matter, and were still thinking about the tax increase.
"This is not just our clan's actions, but we also have to say hello to the Land of Fire to prevent any unpleasant things from happening. –
"Of course, the cession of necessary interests is also acceptable. I never planned to eat alone, and we can give up to 30%. –
"It's just that I haven't negotiated with the Land of Fire before, so I'm afraid I can't control the direction. So I'll leave it to the Sandaime to negotiate."
The Sandaime blew out two clouds of smoke from his pipe and spoke quietly.
"There should be no big problem with the Daimyo. –
"After all, the economy of the Land of Fire is not very good. If you can make money, the Daimyo will probably just complain a few times. It's just..."
It's just the Sandaime is not used to it.
None of the seven Hokages in the canon were good at doing business, they were all thinking of the states of war.
The Land of Fire gives money and the ninjas work hard. It's nothing more than the higher the level of the ninja, the stronger the enemies they deal with.
Production and business operations generally have nothing to do with ninjas.
There may be a small number of ninjas who will choose to open a prop shop, or even make a movie or something, but that is also a private behavior of a few ninjas, and it cannot be regarded as the mainstream of ninjas.
In this era, ninjas have always consciously limited themselves to the military field, and they can be said to be indifferent to the politics and economy of the Land of Fire.
Indeed, Asuma has the title of Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire, but that is closer to a false title and has no real power.
Makoto's behavior is undoubtfully breaking the previous practice.
Sandaime felt bad.
He always felt like something bad was going to happen.
But at the same time, the Sandaime had also been a Hokage, and knows the difficulties the current Konoha is going through.
But if this doesn't work and that doesn't work either, how can Konoha get through this difficult time?
It is a good thing for young people to have ideas... No matter what, Makoto is a Hokage from their faction.
Moreover, the sale of tobacco and the like can somewhat reduce the resistance to tax increases.
The Sandaime also smokes and probably knows that this industry can definitely make a little money.
Everyone, including Kakashi, felt that this was Makoto's helpless move.
"Sandaime-sama, it's just what?"
"No, nothing."
Considering that it is a good thing for young people to be motivated, Sandaime does not intend to continue to increase the pressure on Makoto.
Sandaime's eyes silently fell on Danzo, who said nothing.
Makoto found a woman from the Land of Water to be his mistress. To the elders and the clan heads, this is of course not a big deal, at most it's not a good thing.
But Danzo, who has been at odds with the Hokage faction, didn't say a word. Obviously, he waited for Makoto to make a major decision-making mistake before coming together.
They just need to be careful...
There is obviously more than one person other than the Sandaime who has similar thoughts.
Everyone knows roughly that there is some money to be made in interfering with tobacco, but they still focus most of their energy on each other.
Everyone was thinking seriously and didn't pay too much attention to what Makoto said next.
"Since everyone has no opinion, let me add something. –
"In order to increase tobacco sales, it goes without saying that we invite popular celebrities to advertise. We must also tell our friends in the film and television circles that anyone who does not smoke in the future cannot be the protagonist. A character who does not smoke must be a bad person. –
"Secondly, as the leaders of Konoha, you can also lead by example. –
"From now on, at every meeting, no matter whether you smoke or not, everyone must bring a pack of cigarettes and put them on the table. –
"In addition, in the list of items that Konoha provides to ninjas of all levels for free every month, there must be at least a pack of free cigarettes..."
Makoto continued, but everyone was still thinking about the tax increase, and their morale was low.
Facing the chattering Makoto, everyone just replied vaguely.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
