"Miss Ichihime?"
"That's me."
Ichihime walked over with a smile on her face, followed by two Jonin guards.
The workers stood up straight and bowed to Ichihime.
"Miss Ichihime, your visit to the construction site today is for...?"
Tazuna made a guess but was unsure.
Ichihime glanced at Tazuna and said, "There's such a big issue happening at the construction site; I, as the chief person in charge, definitely won't remain indifferent. I've already heard about the workers' issues, whether it's the debt or the gangs... didn't they come today?"
"They're hiding at home, afraid those gang members might trouble their families."
Tazuna replied with a wry smile.
"Though it's understandable, doesn't this violate the contract we initially signed?"
Ichihime's words made the workers present nervous, holding their breath.
"Yes, yes."
Tazuna merely followed Ichihime's lead, not daring to refute.
"Rest assured, I don't mean to blame anyone. All in all, come with me for a moment, Tazuna. You're their leader, after all, and I, as the employer, don't wish to employ workers with no credibility."
"Yes."
Although unclear about Ichihime's implications, Tazuna took a deep breath and followed in her footsteps.
Inside a simple break room next to the construction site, there were a dozen ninja guards outside. Inside the room, only Ichihime and Tazuna were present.
At Ichihime's indication, Tazuna sat respectfully upright.
"You don't have to be too formal here; this matter has nothing to do with you."
"Regardless, this has caused trouble for you, Miss Ichihime. I apologize on their behalf. I didn't expect them to be foolish enough to take out loans from gangsters."
"In times of desperation, these extreme actions do happen."
"Yes, but it still caused you trouble."
Tazuna continued to apologize.
Ichihime looked at Tazuna without speaking, and the atmosphere in the break room turned silent.
After a while, Ichihime raised her teacup, took a sip, and spoke again, "Since there are quite a few workers involved, if too many problems occur, it could affect the normal construction of the factory. So, I've reported this to the headquarters of the Shion Flower Merchants Association, and they already have a proposal."
"A proposal?"
"Yes. This is the information collected by my subordinates, you can take a look, and later show it to those workers."
Ichihime took out a sealed file that contained a wealth of documents and materials.
Upon unsealing it, Tazuna merely glanced at the first few pages and knew what these intelligence documents were about.
"These are..."
"Among the indebted workers, many are addicted to gambling and drugs, and some even laze around at work, planning to loaf around and get paid. I intend to remove this portion of the workforce."
"What about the other indebted workers?"
"The loan contracts from those gangsters have many loopholes, some even illegal. We'll arrange for lawyers to take legal action against them, but we can't give up on repayment entirely. So..."
"So..."
Tazuna looked nervously at Ichihime.
"They needn't worry about the debt issues; we'll send people to resolve it. However, they'll have to work for the Shion Flower Merchants Association for thirty years."
"Thirty years?"
"The money they owe will be deducted from their wages,"
Ichihime said.
Tazuna was surprised by the number of years, but also slightly envious.
Yet, he quickly thought of another problem.
"But some of the indebted workers are already quite old..."
"Their descendants will continue working for the association until the thirty years are complete."
"Understood. I have no objections, and pacifying those indebted workers shouldn't be a big issue."
"I only hope they live up to this value in the future."
Ichihime savored her tea slowly, speaking calmly.
Tazuna no longer felt the initial tension.
"Then I'll continue with my work."
"No rush, aside from this matter, there's one more thing I'd like Mr. Tazuna to help with."
"Hmm?"
Upon seeing Ichihime take out another file, Tazuna looked puzzled.
Ichihime merely smiled, sitting there without a word.
Unable to ask further, Tazuna opened the file and pulled out the documents inside.
At the top, a line of bold black text was clearly visible to Tazuna, standing out prominently.
International Industrial and Civil Cooperative.