C13

"Come back smoothly!"

Upon his return, Kain took a moment to assess his surroundings. He was indeed back in his living room. Glancing at the clock, a look of surprise flashed across his face as he exclaimed, "It's only been two days? The time ratio is five to one."

Kain quickly opened the panel of the trading system, reading through its descriptions. He began to understand the situation more clearly. The time difference between the two worlds was initially set this way upon the establishment of the world trading goal. However, with the frequent deepening of transactions, the time ratio between the two worlds would gradually shift back to normal, and this time differential was bidirectional.

"It'll sort itself out eventually," Kain muttered to himself. "For now, it is what it is."

The trading system operated by its own rules, and Kain couldn't change that. He could only use this "cheat" to make himself stronger as quickly as possible. Although his first transaction didn't yield much in terms of personal wealth, Kain's greatest gain from his venture into the ninja world was more than 50 kilograms of gold. He also managed to save his few life-saving firearms, although they would be more useful for building his power later on.

Kain had ambitious plans for the future. Once his influence in the ninja world grew, he could establish contact with Orochimaru. He knew that the main reason Orochimaru cooperated with Danzo was because of the resources provided by the Root—namely, money, materials, and Hashirama cells. While Kain couldn't provide the last one, he could certainly offer the first two. Additionally, Kain believed that some of the biological research from the Marvel world would be highly appealing to Orochimaru.

"I need to establish a trading company to cover up my activities, a biotechnology company, and a channel to sell gold," Kain thought aloud.

Selling gold in small quantities—tens of kilograms at a time—could be managed through contacts. However, if he continued trading in larger amounts, Kain knew he would eventually attract unwanted attention. He made a mental note to take action before that happened.

"It's only been two days, and nothing significant has happened. Before heading back to the ninja world, I need to register these companies and hire a lawyer," he reminded himself.

After checking his mailbox and finding nothing of concern, Kain's thoughts shifted back to the ninja world. He realized the scarcity of supplies during wartime, particularly food and medicine, which were essentially hard currency at this point. The vegetable market in Konoha Village had been completely empty due to the shortage of supplies, making it a prime opportunity for him to capitalize on.

Kain made two quick phone calls, ordering another batch of supplies. Then, he called Carl's father, Connor, and planned a visit to his house that evening. Carl, Kain's friend, couldn't help much when it came to finding a lawyer or registering a company, but Connor, a well-connected gold broker often seen on Wall Street, could.

That evening, Connor knew that Kain had something important to discuss, so he turned down other appointments and prepared a dinner, albeit not a particularly delicious one, but something he had made himself. He served steamed sea bass with a dipping sauce, a dish he'd come across somewhere and decided to try. Despite Carl once deceiving Connor into thinking his cooking skills were great in exchange for pocket money, Connor had come to genuinely believe it over time. So, when Kain arrived, Connor had prepared three sea bass, each with its own dish of sauce.

Upon Kain's arrival, Connor led him straight to the dining table. "Kain, try my cooking. The sea bass is fresh today. If I can get my hands on such fresh fish again, I might even try eating it raw with mustard."

"Uh, thanks, Uncle Connor," Kain replied awkwardly.

He cut a small piece of the fish, swallowed it quickly, and washed it down with juice before moving directly to the topic at hand. "Uncle Connor, I want to start two companies, and I was hoping you could help me find someone in this line of work. I'm also looking to recruit managers—do you know where I should go?"

Before Connor could respond, Carl enthusiastically chimed in, waving his knife and fork. "That's awesome, brother! I always thought 'Lightning' wasn't as good as 'Wall Street Lightning.' You're finally—"

"Wait a minute, Carl. This has nothing to do with Lightning," Kain interrupted quickly, referring to Carl's exaggerated financial nickname. "We'll talk about that later. For now, I want to focus on registering a trading and biotechnology company."

Connor thought for a moment, then nodded. "Registering a company? I know someone who specializes in that field. Let me grab their business card for you," he said, getting up to search for it.

As he rummaged around, he asked, "Are you sure you want to register a company in trade and biotechnology, and not a securities firm?"

"I'll likely get into that at some point too, but these two are more important for me right now, Uncle Connor," Kain affirmed.

Connor, seeing Kain's confidence, knew that his son's friend had made up his mind. For years, he had admired Kain's assertiveness and quick learning. Kain had been making smart financial decisions long before his peers, and a year ago, Connor had stopped viewing him as a mere teenager and started treating him as an equal. Kain had even gotten Carl involved in a profitable venture recently, and Connor had analyzed the situation himself, concluding that there was indeed a lot of money to be made. In fact, he had mobilized a considerable sum to capitalize on the opportunity.

After dinner, Kain obtained the contact information for the business specialist from Connor, who promised to reach out to the person before Kain made contact.

The next day, Kain visited the address on the business card and was warmly welcomed by the company Connor had recommended. He explained his needs, and registering the company turned out to be a trivial matter for them. If left to their capable hands, they could complete the process within three days. Additionally, they offered to help rent office space, which would only take two extra days.

Wanting to save time, Kain decided to delegate the entire process to the company. Although it would take a few more days, it spared him the trouble of handling the details himself.

The trading company was essential to Kain's plans, not for making money, but for its ability to move large quantities of goods without drawing attention. However, building the infrastructure from scratch would take time. Kain needed to hire more people to execute his vision.

At this stage, his priority was to find obedient and efficient staff who could carry out his instructions flawlessly. As the company grew, Kain would eventually need a manager who could oversee the big picture, someone akin to Pepper Potts at Stark Industries—an executor who could manage the operation's complexities and lead it to success.