South of Gutian Village, in a Mountain Hollow.
*Whoosh!*
A piercing sound tore through the air, sharp enough to stab into one's eardrums. A figure descended in a spiraling dive from the sky, carrying a turbulent air current around him. His semi-transparent chakra wings formed a protective stance, making his spinning descent resemble a drill plunging straight toward the ground.
Just as he neared the earth by a few meters, the high-speed figure suddenly pulled up, shooting back toward the sky.
Straight up—one thousand meters high.
*Swish!*
The wings spread open, revealing the figure of Haruto Saito.
"Haah… haah…" Haruto panted heavily, his face filled with exhaustion, but his eyes burned with excitement.
His progress was astonishingly fast. Though he had yet to use his Chakra Ascension Mode in an actual battle, his self-training had already allowed him to stabilize the technique, preventing his chakra wings from collapsing suddenly.
After circling the sky once more, Haruto descended back to the ground, disengaging from Chakra Ascension Mode. Then, he brought his hands together.
"Secret Art: Houtu Shikigami!"
A wild surge of energy erupted from around Haruto. As of now, he still couldn't enter Houtu Shikigami mode quickly, which was the main aspect he needed to practice. Unlike Chakra Ascension Mode, once Houtu Shikigami took form, it was relatively stable and exceptionally resilient.
Haruto had attempted this earlier at noon—activating Chakra Wings while inside Houtu Shikigami. Since the Houtu Shikigami could harness not only Earth Release chakra but also non-elemental chakra, the idea made sense!
However, Haruto had failed repeatedly due to insufficient chakra and a lack of precise control.
*Whoosh!*
Just as Haruto's Houtu Shikigami was about to take shape, a figure materialized at the entrance of the mountain hollow.
"My lord, Kakuzu requests your presence—an urgent meeting."
It was Jūzō!
As someone who had once been the left-hand man of the demigod Hanzo, Jūzō, after being slain and resurrected by Haruto, had regained his rational thinking and independent actions through training. Still, he remained unfazed by anything Haruto displayed—even if he had never seen it before. It was simply his nature.
The Houtu Shikigami dissipated instantly.
"Let's go back," Haruto said to Jūzō before vanishing.
---
Before Nightfall, Gutian Village Palace Meeting Room
More than twenty high-ranking members of Gutian Village were gathered. At this point, Haruto's subordinates had grown into a formidable force. His top combatants included Jūzō and Hattori Ryuuno, while his administrative personnel were led by Kakuzu, alongside several capable ninjas recruited from the black market or promoted internally.
Strictly speaking, Kakuzu wasn't just an administrative talent—he was also at Kage level in combat. However, compared to Jūzō and Hattori Ryuuno, his strength was slightly inferior. His true expertise lay in management, particularly finance, where he exhibited extraordinary talent and competence.
Hattori Ryuuno, on the other hand, was an unparalleled administrative powerhouse—or rather, a true all-rounder!
He had mastered all chakra natures, wielded samurai skills on par with his ninjutsu, and had once served as an advisor to the Mizukage. His administrative abilities were beyond question. In the future, he was destined to become the second-in-command of Gutian Village. However, for now, he had to remain in the shadows, unable to reveal himself publicly.
"What's the urgency?" Haruto asked as he took his seat and turned to Kakuzu.
"We currently control seven villages in the surrounding area. However, recent intelligence reports indicate that one of them—the largest, Enmizu Village, with a population exceeding ten thousand—has been infiltrated. Its leader has begun showing signs of rebellion."
Kakuzu handed a scroll to Haruto.
Haruto took it, scanned the contents, and raised an eyebrow.
"Do we know who's behind the infiltration?" Haruto asked.
"We cannot confirm yet, but it's likely the two large villages closest to Enmizu. They have probably realized that Enmizu is under our control, though they remain unaware of Gutian Village's ties to Konoha."
"Hm…" Haruto pondered briefly before tossing the scroll back to Kakuzu. "Ignore it."
"Ignore it?" Kakuzu sounded surprised.
The room filled with murmurs as everyone turned to Haruto in confusion.
This was a serious matter. The potential ripple effects of losing Enmizu Village could be severe. Even ignoring the strategic implications, the financial loss alone was staggering—Kakuzu had invested at least fifty million ryo into secretly taking control of Enmizu. Though it was Haruto's money, it made no difference—losing the village would mean a minimum setback of tens of millions of ryo for Gutian Village.
"Our time is running out," Haruto said, tapping his fingers against the table. "At our current rate of expansion, within a month at most, Gutian Village will rank among the top villages in the Land of Whirlpools. Within three months, we will become the dominant force here. By then, we won't even have the option of staying hidden. Exposure will bring unprecedented risks—but also the opportunity to overturn the game board! We'll no longer need to be subtle. We'll seize Enmizu Village openly and eliminate any opposition without hesitation. That will be easy, right?"
Haruto swept his gaze across the room before concluding, "Alright, any other issues?"
"Yes…" Kakuzu spoke again. "We're running out of money."
"Hmm?" Haruto turned to look at him, though he understood that the issue wasn't his personal funds—it was Gutian Village's finances that were depleting.
"How much do we need?"
"Our current monthly expenditure exceeds one hundred million ryo. Additionally, we need to increase our investment in construction in the northern district of the village…"
The meeting lasted about an hour. Haruto approved another five hundred million ryo for Kakuzu and also listened to various updates on the village's status.
Throughout the meeting, Haruto remained calm and composed, casually handing Kakuzu a fortune like it was nothing. However, after returning to his room, his expression darkened.
He still had money—but Gutian Village's rate of expenditure was accelerating. This time, after giving out those funds, his available cash reserves were dwindling fast.
And according to Haruto's plan, he needed to keep pouring money into the village. But after crunching the numbers, he realized the funding gap was massive.
Originally, such aggressive spending wasn't necessary, but Haruto was impatient. Unlike the major ninja villages that took years to establish dominance, he wanted to fast-track Gutian Village's rise—and that required burning money!
"I need more cash…" Haruto muttered, gazing at the night sky outside his window.
He still had ways to make money.
For one, he had businesses back in Konoha.
Moreover, he possessed an unused treasure card.
However, selling off assets in Konoha was a last resort, and the treasure card's rewards were entirely luck-based. He could end up gaining billions of ryo—or absolutely nothing useful.
Most of his fortune had been built through business—primarily real estate in Konoha. This strategy could work in the Land of Whirlpools as well, even if real estate wasn't viable, other businesses could still thrive. The problem was that such ventures took time to generate profit.
In the unstable environment of the Land of Whirlpools, it would take years before anything paid off.
"Money! Money, money, money!" Haruto grumbled, muttering repeatedly before suddenly vanishing in a flicker.
The next moment, a black-robed Haruto appeared in the streets of Gutian Village.