Escape From Konoha

Ichiki received Tazuna, a bridge-building expert, in the lounge, and naturally knew that Tazuna was threatened by letters from unknown forces at home.

Looking at Tazuna's worried expression, Ichiki behaved very calmly and calmly. Whether it was overtly or covertly, this kind of thing had been expected from the beginning.

If the secret forces did nothing, Yiji would find it strange.

Now that the other party has taken action, it means that the other party is preparing to place a piece on the chessboard and officially start a behind-the-scenes game with the Kingdom of Ghosts.

"I already know about this. Mr. Dazna, you can just lead the workers to carry out the work normally. I will send ninjas to keep an eye on the construction site. Nothing will happen."

Kazuki comforted Tatsuna like this.

However, this comfort did not make Dazna feel safe. He said with a pessimistic attitude: "If they directly threaten our workers' families..."

That was what Dazna was worried about.

"Don't worry about this. Although the enemy in the dark is still unclear, but judging from the fact that he is only threatening us through letters, it is obvious that he will not confront us openly. I will send my subordinates to track it down, and if necessary , will hinder their actions. For you workers in the Country of Waves, this is also a rare job that can support your family, isn't it?"

"But……"

"There is nothing wrong with it. The military strength of our country of ghosts can be compared with that of big countries. Those forces that cannot be put on the table can only make some small moves in the dark. Or is Mr. Dazna planning to break the contract?"

Although he said this casually, he also meant to give Tatsuna some advice.

Sure enough, as soon as these words came out of his mouth, Dazna was immediately speechless.

Indeed, they have already signed a work contract and have no room for regrets.

Furthermore, when they go fishing in nearby waters, they also run the risk of being attacked by pirates. Compared with being attacked by unreasonable pirates, with the protection of ninja power, they are safer than going fishing in nearby waters.

"Then our safety is entrusted to Miss Yiji."

Dazna sighed in his heart. It was just a normal work commission. Why did this happen?

Although he has a high status among the workers, he does not have a wide range of contacts, and he does not know who is blocking their normal construction, even to the point of threatening them through letters.

Now the safety of workers like them can only rely on Yiji, a businesswoman who came from a foreign country to invest in the country of Waves.

After all, the fights between the powerful have nothing to do with ordinary people like them.

No matter what, I wouldn't really take it out on those unrelated people.

After talking about the matter, Tazuna received Kazuki's assurance and left.

Not long after Dazuna left, a Jonin from the Kingdom of Demons came in and reported:

"Miss, according to your instructions, we have acquired newspapers in the Kingdom of Waves. However, in order not to attract attention, we have only acquired three of them so far, and we have not taken action on the rest for the time being."

After listening to the jounin's report, Ichiki nodded and said: "The three families are enough for the time being. These are our mouthpieces in the Country of Waves. We must protect them well and don't give anyone an opportunity to take advantage of them."

The Country of Waves is a small country where the people at the bottom of the class live extremely difficult lives.

The rise of piracy and various illegal industries in the country has formed a very terrifying profit network.

If you want to tear apart such a network of interests, you must touch the interests of many people behind the scenes.

The isolated island merchants want to build the Land of Waves into their second paradise. Although the plan has not yet been implemented, Kazuki does not intend to wait for them to implement the plan before taking action.

Now that you know the other party's purpose, drag the other party to your own rhythm.

After all, with the strength on his side, it is obviously not qualified to compete with the merchant alliance on the isolated island.

The profit network formed by businessmen there is intricate and complex, affecting the whole body.

If she waits until the other party's plan officially begins, her actions in the Country of Waves will most likely end in failure.

Because once the ninja forces are officially involved, the Merchant Alliance is indeed vulnerable, but at that time, the Fire Country is bound to be officially involved.

The Country of Waves is an important outpost in the sea area of ​​the Country of Fire. Once the Country of Ghosts touches the bottom line, the Country of Fire will not hesitate to open its fangs and launch an armed counterattack.

Regardless of whether he knows the plan of the isolated island merchant or not, Kazuji knows very well that there is only one enemy from beginning to end - the country of fire.

"Protection personnel have been arranged. In addition, the treasure location of the Daimyos and nobles of Wave Country was finally found after continuous investigation by the Hyuga ninjas who followed."

The Jonin of Oni Country continued his report.

Yiji froze for a moment.

"There really are."

"Yes, because without the order of the eldest lady, we did not act rashly and did not attract anyone's attention."

"It seems that the merchant alliance on the isolated island, or the Kingdom of Fire, must have had contact with the Daimyo of the Kingdom of Waves. I just don't know which side he joined, whether he was bribed by the merchant alliance with more money, or... "

Yiji's expression became serious.

If the large list of Wave Country made a deal with the merchant alliance on the isolated island, Kazuki would think it would be a bit troublesome at most.

What worries her the most is that the Daimyo of Wave Country has secretly defected to the Fire Country, intending to make the Wave Country a satellite of the Fire Country.

Or perhaps, the Daimyo of Wave Country has already secretly surrendered to Fire Country, and there is only one suitable excuse left before Fire Country's plan is successful.

"What's the next step, Miss?"

"Take the initiative to test. Those people who attacked me a while ago are still alive. Take them with you and find their employer behind the scenes to recover their debts."

Ninety percent of the illegal pornography, gambling, and drug industries in the Kingdom of Waves are the product of crowdfunding by businessmen alliances on isolated islands.

Among them, gang forces are violent organizations that protect these industries.

The person who attacked her a while ago was the ninja among this gang.

He was obviously following someone's instructions to test her side.

In this case, it would be easier to directly force the merchant alliance on the isolated island to show up and let them turn from darkness to light. It would be much easier to deal with.

"yes."

The Jonin of the Kingdom of Demons responded, and walked out with a solemn expression, mobilizing troops to officially launch an operation against the gangster forces of the Kingdom of Waves.

◎

isolated island.

In the splendid city, in the conference room on the top of a certain building, big businessmen from all over the ninja world held regular meetings here.

"Damn Ghost Country, are you planning to officially declare war on us?"

I received an urgent letter from the Kingdom of Waves. A businessman with a high status, his beard trembled with anger, and a cold and fierce light appeared in his eyes, as if he was choosing people to eat.

"What happened? You're so angry?"

A businessman who didn't know the details of the matter asked.

"The two gang strongholds we set up in the Country of Waves were destroyed by the Country of Ghosts just this morning, and the expansion of some industries was also affected. If we continue to allow this situation to develop, our plans will also be delayed. .”

replied the businessman who had spoken angrily before.

"The Kingdom of Ghosts? I heard that someone organized an attack before. Why are you going to provoke them when you have nothing to do?"

Although they are part of the plan of the Kingdom of Waves, some conservative businessmen still do not want to provoke the Kingdom of Demons, which is now in full swing.

The only thing they can do to defeat the Demon Kingdom is probably their combined financial resources.

"It was just a test, and I didn't intend to really antagonize them. After all, we don't know what the purpose of the Kingdom of Ghosts is in the Kingdom of Waves, so we have to cast stones to ask for directions."

said the aggressive businessman.

"In that case, then just avoid the conflict with the Kingdom of Ghosts in the future, and treat it as a loss this time. The Kingdom of Ghosts defeated the Kingdom of Wind, and I don't want to provoke such a terrifying enemy."

Timid businessmen still intend to implement conservative policies and not provoke powerful or uncontrollable enemies.

"But, if we don't know what the Kingdom of Ghosts has arranged in the Kingdom of Waves, what if their purpose conflicts with ours? The Kingdom of Waves is our second 'headquarters'."

"It's stupid to use attacks to test, but it's right. If we don't know what the Kingdom of Demons is planning in the Kingdom of Waves, it will go against our plans and conflict will be very troublesome. At least now we have Preparation time."

"Send someone to negotiate with them, at least to keep them neutral. Or, if we bring the Kingdom of Ghosts into an alliance of interests, the prestige of our alliance will be more reliable."

A businessman makes a bold assumption.

"The Ziyuan Flower Merchant Association clearly rejected us in the past. Isn't it a bit bad to invite us again at this time?"

"The situation is different. In the past, the Kingdom of Ghosts needed to hide, so the Ziyuan Flower Merchant Association had some inconvenience in its actions. But now that the Kingdom of Ghosts has gained a high enough international status, our merchant alliance can obtain more benefits for them. I They don’t trust the top leaders of their country and don’t want to make more money. Our connections are what they urgently need right now.”

After saying this, the businessman immediately aroused high recognition from other businessmen.

Indeed, the international situation in the past and now are completely different.

Although the Kingdom of Ghosts has now gained a certain international status, it still has very few international allies. It can be said that there are almost no allies.

If you want to gain more status in the world, you must have connections and money.

And these are what their merchant alliance can provide.

When the time comes, they can also pry open the commercial market of the Kingdom of Ghosts, deploy their industries in the Kingdom of Ghosts, harvest wealth together, and build a huge commercial empire that can rival the great powers.

"This is a good idea...but who should we let go?"

"How is Oya Castle?"

"That guy, it seems he didn't come to this meeting. He left the island in a hurry a few days ago. There should be urgent matters to deal with outside."

"What an unreliable guy. He is almost absent from every important meeting. Forget it, as long as he can inject funds in time, that's enough. He can only be regarded as a non-staff member anyway."

It's not that Oya Castle's business strength is insufficient, but that the other party is too arbitrary. As businessmen, they are also troubled by the enigmatic personality of the other party, and they have no idea what the other party is pursuing in their minds.

Therefore, as partners in a community of interests, they have become accustomed to each other's absence in every important meeting.

If the other party can participate in the meeting normally, it will look a little different.

"Then, since Oya Castle is not here, let me go to the Kingdom of Oni. Before, my company had some transactions with companies under the Shion Flower Merchant Association, and I could barely talk to their senior officials. If I have their introduction, I can easily It’s easy to meet the Minister of Military Affairs of the Kingdom of Ghosts.”

Standing up was a middle-aged man with a slightly bloated body, and said quite dignifiedly.

According to the information they learned, the current actual person in charge of the Kingdom of Ghosts is Chiba Shiraishi, the Minister of Military Affairs of the Kingdom of Ghosts. The other party is the actual controller of the military. In the Kingdom of Ghosts, he has more than ten thousand people under one person. that power.

It can also be said that he is the most powerful person in the Kingdom of Ghosts.

Because the witches in the kingdom of ghosts in all dynasties have implemented the strategy of ruling but not ruling.

Therefore, if you want to win over the power of the ghost country and build a stronger business empire, persuading Chiba Shiraishi to join is the key.

He believed that as long as enough benefits were given, it would be a certainty for Ghost Country to become one of them.

Even a big country cannot completely ignore the connections and wealth they have established, let alone the newly powerful country of Ghost, which is in urgent need of allies to stabilize its status.

◎

After destroying two gang strongholds and destroying the profit network built by part of the illegal industry, neither the merchant alliance on the isolated island nor the Daimyo, the actual power holder of Wave Country, made any reaction, not even a symbolic resistance. , are not given.

Therefore, after causing a brief disturbance, the incident passed peacefully.

This sort of thing didn't meet Kazuki's expectations, and she was a little confused.

It is normal to say that Namanokuni Daimyo did not respond because of his uncertain position. But the direct damage target was the Merchants Alliance on the isolated island, and there was no sign of it at all, which made Yiji feel a little abnormal.

If a large force from the Kingdom of Oni were stationed in the Country of Waves, it would not be incomprehensible for the other party to swallow their anger. However, only a small part of the Kingdom of Oni's troops was concentrated in the Country of Waves, and the merchant alliance had no response to this, which puzzled Kazuki.

This kind of confusion didn't last long for Yiji, because then Dazna started to lead the workers to build the factory.

Kazuhime also instructed the Nanokuni Newspaper, which was acquired, to report on the matter within the territory of Namokuni.

But most people did not respond at all to the information in the newspaper about helping to boost the industrial production capacity of the Country of Waves. Their only idea was to know whether the Country of Ghosts needed to hire more workers.

Under the suppression of the illegal pornography, gambling and drug industry, many local industries in the Country of Waves have been severely squeezed. Coupled with the rampage of pirates, there have been countless unemployed people in the country. Many people have the strength to support their families, but lack the means.

In the future of the country, and their own stomach problems, they readily chose the latter.

Yi Ji also gave enough understanding to this.

After revealing the news that he would continue to hire workers in the future, he stopped responding and focused his attention on Dazner.

As for Dazna, after the initial panic, he found that no one from the construction site came to interfere. After several days of continuous construction, not only was there no interference with the work at the construction site, but no threatening letters like before also appeared at his home. This made Dazna temporarily calm down and devote all his energy to the construction of the factory. above.

Salaries are paid monthly, and three meals are provided for free every day on the construction site. Although the free food is not very exquisite, as long as it can fill their stomachs, workers working on the construction site do not dare to ask for too much.

For such a generous employer, although there are some sneaky people, more workers still work with 200% enthusiasm. For those workers who steal, play tricks, or secretly slack off, Yiji will naturally give a stern warning, saying that their wages will be deducted.

It is not enough to simply provide these workers with a relaxed environment. No matter how much we praise them, they are just a group of people who are just trying to make a living, and they do not yet have the power to truly change this country.

Most importantly, the time has not come yet.

Build factories to drive industry in the Country of Waves, acquire newspapers, and strive to control a certain amount of public opinion in the Country of Waves. Use a mouthpiece to speak out so that you will not be passive in public opinion.

The next step is to establish a disciplined organization, conduct ideological guidance, and start to infiltrate from the bottom.

After that, you can really take action.

The strength of a force depends on its organization.

This is the difference between strong and weak.

In this era where people only pursue enough food, Ikki is not naive enough to expect these low-class people to devote themselves to the same path as the Kingdom of Demons.

Just blind propaganda is too pale, and the mobilization ability is also very poor. Only after experiencing strong stimulation and resistance can the mobilization ability of the people at the bottom of this country become active.

"I really want to thank you, miss. Without you, our workers' families will start to starve again this year."

During the lunch break, Dazna ran over sweating and expressed his gratitude to Kazuki.

Yiji waved her hands at this and said with a smile: "The most important thing for us merchants in the Kingdom of Ghosts is an equal and fair contract. These are the wages you deserve for your labor. To be honest, the industrial capacity of this country is too poor, and the machinery used for construction is Also very old."

Pointing to the old-fashioned crane not far away, it is already covered with rust, and there are many inflexible places to operate.

Not only that, this kind of crane is very large and many parts are too bloated.

This will affect the construction efficiency of the factory.

In response to Yi Ji's unhesitating sarcasm, Dazuna could only smile helplessly: "There's nothing we can do about it. Our Country of Waves is a small country, and the businessmen in the country are not particularly rich. Plus the group of pirates outside, it's even worse. Very few people come to invest...sigh."

At this point, Dazna could only sigh softly.

Although life was difficult in the past, it will not be as difficult as it is today.

However, in recent years, as piracy has become rampant, many illegal industries have been born in the country. Many poor families have sold their children and daughters, and gangsters have gradually become popular, becoming a characteristic of the Country of Waves.

This also caused the shrinkage of other industries, causing many people to lose their jobs and sources of income.

Ichiki ignored Dazuna's complaint, but remembered something and said, "By the way, I have sent people to find the person who threatened you with the letter that day. It was a good thing that a group of gangsters hired ninjas to do."

"Gangster?"

"Well, although I sent people to destroy some of them, those gangsters are not behind the scenes. There are other people behind the scenes, and they are still under investigation for the time being."

Yiji nodded.

"Why do they want to come here and threaten me? I usually stay on good terms with them. When I meet them, I usually stay away and don't want to have anything to do with them."

The gangs are huge, and Dazner doesn't want to get himself into unnecessary trouble. Avoiding these powerful gangs is his only choice.

"They came for me. They don't want my factory to be successfully built in the Country of Waves and to take away the benefits from them. They use intimidation or coercion just to ensure that their own interests are not lost."

Ichiji replied.

Dazna didn't ask any more questions. These things cannot be solved by an ordinary person with no power or influence.

Knowing too much can put you in a dangerous situation.

He still has a daughter and grandson to raise, and the burden of the family rests on his shoulders alone. Being careful is the life creed that Dazner has always believed in.

His current job is to lead the workers to build the factory honestly and dutifully according to Yiji's request until the contract is terminated.

After the rest time, Dazna picked up the straw hat, blew the dust off it, put it on his head, and walked towards the construction site.

Yiji watched Dazuna leave, staring at the other person's back. She frowned for a moment, then shook her head, as if she was not very satisfied with Dazuna.

"Although my mobilization ability and reputation are very good, it is still a problem because I am too old and have wasted half my life and lost the enterprising spirit of my youth. After thinking about it, I still feel that it is not suitable, but Let’s barely put it on the candidate list. Besides, the Land of Fire hasn’t moved yet, so should we deal with the Merchants Alliance on the isolated island first?”

Sitting on the construction site, Yi Ji began to meditate and think seriously.