Chapter 67 : This is Business

{Didn't revise the chap so point out any mistakes.... and don't forget the stones Gs}

___________________________

Later that day /

In an office, an overweight man with fiery red hair and tattoos on his face held court, his gestures weaving through the air as he exchanged words with a towering, muscular man while another obese person who was Satoshi was busy eating burgers and listening to our conversation to learn a thing or two.

"So how is the situation ?" I asked the Akimichi clan head who was more obese than the last time I saw him.

"Everything is going well Dango-sama, but lately some of our people were kidnapped and nowhere to be found which made our employees afraid and tried to resign but after some talk and kidnappings stopping, they calmed down" The Akimichi clan head with a heavy tone.

"Do you know the reason behind the kidnapping ?" I asked with my eyes narrowed.

I already know that %99 it's Danzo's doing but what does a dark lord wannabe like him want to do with my business ? Maybe money ? It's reasonable if that's the case.

"I highly believe that they want to get the secrets behind our recipes which is understandable because a lot of forces are trying hard to get a piece of the pie here but fortunately, because of my connections with the Yamanaka, Nara and Sarutobi clans, many people don't dare to openly oppose us !" He said with a smirk to which I nod.

My business was a huge success and now even the Fire lord of the fire country demands a meeting with us to open up branches in the Capital of fire country which is a welcoming surprise, but this is what made the other clan heads and businessmen mad because if this kind of cooperation succeeds then we will become the largest and richest corporate to exist without equal which is not good for them.

In this world, personal power is not enough and money plays a huge role, especially in hidden villages like this or the capitals where millions of people live.

This world is not centred around ninjas as all kind of diverse people and governments exist that function differently and money reigns supreme here where it decides your social hierarchy and overall influence.

And there are alot of independent ninjas which you can call them mercenaries that put money above anything else and are very brutal and selfish unlike the barely disciplined or you can say brainwashed ninjas of the hidden villages who fight for a 'cause' but again, even this guys here do nothing for free even if the Hokage ordered them and everything has a price.

Well except in very important situations where the service is free or the village was in a state of Marshall Law but you get the point.

So you can guess that literally anyone with a little bit of money can hire this ninjas or even strong rogue samurais to protect their lives or even hire them to do some kind of twisted shit they want  to commit but don't have the personal power to do so, but have money to pull it off anyways.

And this is just a small use of what you can do with money and let's not talk about buying some expensive stuff like Kusanagis, techniques, Jutsus, hell even slaves or a sharingan. You can buy whatever shit that has the slight possibility to exist, you just need to afford the price for it and boom Madara freaking Uchiha is chasing your ass, so this greedy people eyeing my business is completely understandable.

And all this things my father told me about that made me take a second look at this world as it was more complex than I thought. I thought that the world besides the five great hidden villages didn't matter, but it seems that even this villages follow some certain protocols that bind them to a more complex web like structure and can't just go around wrecking havoc without receiving heavy consequences and antagonizing the whole world.

Which is kind of pathetic.

'Hundreds of millions of people live outside this walls, and I wonder, what kind of journey I will have ?' I thought with excitement.

"Did the Uchiha police force get any information about the culprits behind the kidnapping ?" I asked.

"Sighh, They are searching even now but still with no success Dango-sama" He said with a tired sigh.

"Then forget it, even if they, the police force don't know, then nothing can be done here" I replied but I was already painting the image of Danzo red inside my head.

Surprisingly, the Uchiha police force are quite competent and very reliable, so that's why I dismissed the topic and wanted to talk about what I really wanted to talk about now.

"As you can see, the fire lord is interested in cooperating with us to build branches in the capital and the important cities around the fire country which is a good thing as we don't have to get permission from him now that he himself came" I said in a business like manner which I know no shit about it, but I am still doing my best, ok ?

"Yeah I guess you are right, but the problem here is manpower and a high possibility where our recipes will get leaked as the capital and the cities are completely outside of our control and we can't have the same kind of surveillance as we have it here !" He replied with a serious tone and seems he didn't like the idea of someone other than an Akimichi to be able to create those 'godly' dishes.

"I understand your point but you are missing something here clan head" I said which made him frown.

"Missing what ?" He asked curiously.

"Missing that, humans evolve and adapt to most situations out there and don't like stagnation" I said and pause for a moment then continued "I have already spotted some places that sell some kind of cheap imitation of our stuff and some other that sell something somewhat similar to our quality stuff !" I said which made him realise what I am trying to say.

"That means that in no time people will catch up to us if we don't do something about it !" He said with a serious tone.

"Exactly !" I replied.

"Then this is a big deal !" He replied with worry.

"It is but you don't need to worry that much because we have something that they don't and that's...reputation !" I said with a smile which he nodded at and understood what I was saying here.

"Hmm, so competition is inevitable but what matters is to not stop from moving forward and spread our influence more, and the fire lord wanting to cooperate is a good thing but I will have to say that the fire lord is someone greedy and very cunning, I can already say that he is eyeing our wealth just like all the other nobles and the clans !" He said with a frown to which I nod.

"Yes so you can say protection of the recipes is not that important anymore. as for the fire lord, Well, that's something you have to deal with as I am not good at that and afraid I will just murder the guy if he pissed me off !" I said in slight annoyance.

I am not good at manipulating and reverse psychology or those kind of bullshit high level of conversations. If something doesn't go my way then violence is da wae, simple.

"Ah ha..ha well that means you won't attend the meeting with the fire lord in the capital ?" He awkwardly laughed and said curiously.

"Nahhh, just make sure and haggle to not give him more than %8 of the shares and make sure to make him invest in us as much as possible... if this succeeds then absolutely nothing can stop us in the nation or even the entire world soon !" I said with a smile and extended my hand to shake his which he excitedly grabbed tightly.

*munch munch munch*

Amongst the munches of Satoshi who was in a daze, we men were shaking hands and dreamt of a happy future where we were billionaires.

---------

Scene change /

The soft glow of lanterns illuminates the cozy Icharaku Ramen shop, creating a tranquil atmosphere. Two friends sit at a wooden table, surrounded by the savory aroma of simmering broth. Steam rises from their bowls as they leisurely sip on the rich, flavorful ramen.

"So what's up Duy ?" I asked my sweaty friend who was busy eating ramen.

He was training and doing laps around Konoha but I grabbed his arm and bring him here to talk a little.

*slurrrp*

"Just training and getting ready to do missions Master Garou, so it's good !" He replied enthusiastically.

"Good for you I guess" I replied and ate my own bowl of ramen.

"Do you want me to spare with you again in the training ground ?! That's what you wanted to talk about Master Garou ?!" He said with an excited tone which made me shudder a little.

We spare almost all the time we meet each other and this fucker doesn't hold back one bit and just goes psycho on me with kage above level prowess and beat me up every single time with just brute strength which although humiliating but I got to refine and recreate martial arts and also other things.

After my first win in the forest, I think I hurt his pride or (Youth) you can say, and he never says no to spares.

"No I am here to give you and tell you something !" I said  which made Dai get disappointed and look at me curiously.

I put my hand in my hair and retrieved a scroll I told Katsuyu to store and prepare beforehand.

"Soon, I won't be around for a very long time, maybe some years, so I wanted to tell you that you are free to use my training ground as you please and also...here !" I said and held the scroll for him to grab but tears were already streaming down his face and didn't care about the scroll.

"W..what ??!! Whyy !! Where ?!!" He shouted which made Teuchi give us a glance before going back to serving other costumers.

"Shhhh calm down man it's not a big deal and I will come back !" I said and amused as I looked at this grown man cry comically.

"But you are my Rival !! If you are gone, then who will I fight with ?!! Who will give me my daily dose of YOUTHHH ??!?!" He shouted again which made the other costumers and Teuchi look at us weirdly.

"When did I become your rival ?" I asked in surprise and felt a little touched.

I have been around this dude for a long time now and I know how sacred that word is to this guy, it just shows how much respect he has for someone, and probably means I am his only best friend.

*sob sob*

After some manly tears he said "Some may look at me as a dumb man and I know that I am, but that doesn't mean I am blind and not aware of my surroundings!, You are the only person in my entire life that didn't look at me with scorn or ridiculed my determination and dreams, even helped me out ! and after seeing your YOUTH for the first time ! I immediately knew that you are my ETERNAL RIVAL !!!" He shouted and flashed me his usual grin that revealed the whitest teeth I have ever seen my entire life which made me cover my eyes unless I wanted to get blind.

'Damn ! didn't know he was thinking this highly of me... well, the more reason to give him this gift as a thanks' I thought.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at him seriously which made him look back and wait for what I have to say "In that case, take this" I said as I didn't extend my hand this time and just threw him the scroll and he catched it.

"What's this ?!" He asked and looked at me.

"Open it" I said and did but a second later his eyes widened as he looked at the detailed picture of human figures and anatomy and the description of what they were.

"t..t...this W...why are you giving me this ?!!!" He asked in surprise with his hands trembling.

"Consider it a gift from your eternal rival !" I said and flashed a grin which made him cry again.

"I..i can't take it. i..it's too precious and I am not fit for it !!" He said as he immediately closed the scroll which had the title of {Niko Style} on the front.

"You want me to surpass you ?!" I asked with my eyes narrowed which made him make an expression of reluctance.

"I will be gone and when I come back, I assure you ! there won't be many who could contend with me anymore, do you want that ?! Do you want your Rival to lose his YOUTH because you refused becoming stronger ?!" I asked again which made him get serious and grab the scroll tightly.

Ok, I am just saying bullshit, I know I will become powerful enough to not worry about a single fuck anymore but me beating Duy in his 8th Gate ? I can only do that if I was at the same level of six path Madara but I know for a fact that my body needs a very intense kind of stimulation to get to that point which is something extremely hard to come by when I am stuck in this place and nothing interesting happening.

And my assimilation with my former strength stopping for some reason doesn't help either.

And for now, I just want this man to get stronger and simply not die for the sake of his son later on. I respect Guy and Duy enough to even think about giving my blood to them and become something more, something greater than they already are.

Furthermore, this technique is not that useful for me anymore and it's no big deal. I just don't want him to depend only on brute strength and little unorthodox techniques. this technique will maximize his Eight Gates potential more than his current strong fist one, and I mixed some of the marine six styles training regime but not techniques.

"Take the scroll that contains every detail about one of the best body arts that currently exists and become stronger or else I will not consider you my rival !" I said which was the last straw for him and immediately put the scroll inside his bag which made me smile.

"Youth ?" I said as I extended my hand to shake it which made his eyes shine brightly and grin wildly.

*Clap !*

With a strong clap sound he grabbed my hand tightly...

"YOUUUUTHHHHHHH !!!"

And like this, two men were looking at each other fiercely in the deserted shop, totally ignoring the crying chef.

"Ahhhhh, by the way, get rid of that scroll after you completely memorize what's written and don't share the information to anyone, even the Hokage !"

"Ok!"

The End