Regarding the matter of fundraising, after Yubi met with the Third Kazekage, he pointed out why it was inappropriate.
This decision was ultimately rejected.
He indicated to the higher-ups that they should wait a bit longer, at least a few months.
But the Kazekage was truly a bit impatient—not just him, but the other higher-ups as well; these rulers of the Village seemed to have absolutely no experience with markets and trade.
Even some members of the Council of Advisors felt that the Hidden Sand Village's new industry had met a cold reception in the Ninja World.
To this, Yubi did not explain.
He only saw more clearly that—aside from military affairs and some simple Village management policies—this group of people couldn't be said to be completely ignorant in other areas, but they were certainly only half-knowledgeable.
At a time like this, even if he didn't understand the market, as the Kage of the Village, the Third Kazekage should have maintained sufficient calm and composure—
Instead of acting like someone panicking and grasping at straws as he was now.
Afterwards, Yubi continued to Cultivate his Ninjutsu and polish his proficiency in Chakra conversion.
Time passed bit by bit—Shiori and the others also trained a large number of medical personnel for the Village. Furthermore, thanks to some of the teachings Yubi had imparted as the hospital director over these past two years, the new batch of juniors graduating from the Ninja Academy, even if they lacked the Aptitude to become outstanding combat Ninja, successfully became Medical Ninja, allowing the Village to gain a certain supplement in terms of the number of Medical Ninja.
It could be said that the expansion and new framework of the Hidden Sand Village's medical system had already begun to take shape.
It had gained some foundation.
Subsequently, another two months passed.
The second and third batches of merchants subsequently sent out brought back good news.
Although the medicine they carried hadn't all been sold, more than half had been sold off.
This was enough to prove that their Hidden Sand Village's medicine could serve as a hard resource to exchange with other countries and Villages.
This finally put the minds of the higher-ups, who had been unable to sleep for quite some time, at ease.
If they hadn't seen good signs of market feedback, they would have even subconsciously begun to doubt themselves—was their vision for the future of the Hidden Sand Village just empty talk?
Then, another few months later—the medicine flowing from the Village to the outside world began to sell out.
It had reached the point where they didn't need to worry about selling it.
However, the Hidden Sand Village's own merchant caravans, including some wandering merchants they cooperated with, were currently relatively few in number, and the countries and Villages in the Ninja World they touched upon were not that many, so the market was still relatively limited—therefore, the money earned was not yet a lot.
But it had already allowed the Village to see returns—and after comparing it with the costs, the profit was quite considerable.
However, this money was not immediately invested back into the Village, but was instead used to purchase medicinal herbs—to prepare for the outbreak of war!
In Yubi's view, this was all small change.
To truly make the Hidden Sand Village's economy soar, one had to make a fortune from war.
"Lord Kazekage—"
One day, inside the office.
Arai, acting as the Kage Guard, looked at the Kazekage and, after hesitating for a moment, spoke: "The medicine is our Village's own industry and has never required the Daimyo to invest a single cent. Now that you are handing over a portion of the income to the Daimyo, isn't it a bit—"
Arai stopped mid-sentence.
He hadn't expected that Yubi had truly predicted it correctly.
The Daimyo seemed to have been keeping an eye on the situation of the Village's new industry, and upon seeing that it was profitable, he immediately sent someone to contact the Kazekage, attempting to get a share of the spoils.
He didn't even provide any formal explanation, such as reasons related to fiscal management, before demanding that the Village hand it over.
—And the Kazekage and the group of higher-ups—actually agreed.
In Arai's view, this was completely a loss of the Village's interests.
Of course, the Hidden Sand Village and the Land of Wind were one and the same—the Daimyo had always provided financial support to the Village, but now that the industry was just in its starting phase, having some of the profits carved away... they could at least have waited until everything was mature before starting to distribute the profits.
"Besides, while it's called the Village's industry, the current situation is almost entirely due to Yubi's efforts alone—I only heard from Shiori a few days ago that over the past two years, Yubi hasn't just been collecting information on medicinal herbs and disease categories from the outside world, but has also been constantly thinking of ways to make money; otherwise, their research would have been difficult to sustain long ago—"
Arai thought of Yubi's warning: once there was a first time, the Daimyo would want a second, a third—
This made Arai feel very uncomfortable.
"Yubi has indeed contributed a lot to the Village—but this is all something he should do."
The Kazekage nodded.
As for how Yubi was making money, they didn't need to think about it to guess.
However, that was all in the past; as long as it didn't involve the Village, it was fine.
"Even he has no objections—is your opinion important?"
The Kazekage uttered a sentence that made Arai feel deeply chilled.
"Or are you—questioning my decision?"
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became somewhat oppressive.
Arai's throat moved; he felt as if something was stuck in his throat.
He really wanted to say that he was also a member of the Village—but after seeing the Kazekage's imposing gaze, he ultimately did not speak out.
"Arai—you have followed me for many years, and you were trained by me personally; you should know me quite well. I let you be the Kage Guard because I trust you enough. But recently—you seem to have changed a bit; the you from before wouldn't have talked so much—"
The Kazekage lowered his head and began to process documents, saying in a deep voice, "Your duty is only to ensure the safety of the Kage; other things—are not matters you should be considering."
"I'm sorry."
Arai took a deep breath, his expression returning to calm.
"You will also enter the Village's higher-ups in the future—many things are not as simple as you think."
The Kazekage added a word of pacification.
"Yes."
Arai responded, "Then, Lord Kazekage—if there is nothing else, I will take my leave."
"Hmm."
Arai stepped away.
He slowly closed the office door.
He stood outside the door, his hand still on the doorknob, motionless, and remained silent for a long time.
On the other side, after confirming that the outside market had begun to accept the Hidden Sand Village's medicine and that there was a good momentum.
Yubi took a group of people to follow the merchant caravan, heading to various places in the Ninja World to conduct sales.
It was mainly to conquer "new markets."
He knew how to make partners satisfied, and he also knew how to make it a win-win for both sides.
Familiar with that set of marketing strategies and market thinking from his past life—at least in terms of adaptability during negotiations, he was not something these caravan bosses could compare to.
Not to mention, the Village had already opened up some channels, and in some areas, there were cases of patients getting a good recovery after using the medicine—these were all "keys" to pry open other Villages and countries.
It was also time for him to take action personally.
And once the Ninja World had a basic understanding of the Hidden Sand Village's medicine, then—the next step would be to kill the Kazekage!
Ignite the war.
He and Sasori were already fast approaching the threshold of fifteen years old.
In the original work, it was at this age that Sasori made his move on the Kazekage—
All the preparations were just about complete; what followed—was the most critical turning point.
"Of course, the one who also needs to be eliminated is—that Daimyo—"