On the way back to the village from the peace talks, they passed by Kagura explosive tag factory. By now, Kagura had already made all the necessary preparations. The paper for the tags had been purchased, and the recruitment notices had been posted.
All that was left was for the skilled ninjas proficient in fire-style jutsu to line up and apply, and the factory could officially start production.
As Tobirama looked at the factory, he felt a strange sensation. It was as if he had spent money to build a factory that was now competing with another factory he had also funded...
"Aren't you leaving yet?"
While Hashirama was eager to rush home to see his granddaughter, Tobirama remained motionless at the factory entrance, his brows slightly furrowed, deep in thought.
Staring at the building, Tobirama couldn't help but recall the excited expression Hashirama had worn a few days earlier.
At the time, Tobirama had been on his way to the office when he happened to run into Hashirama returning from the gambling den. Hashirama had grabbed him and exclaimed:
"Tobirama, your Kagura is amazing! She actually knew that my Wood Style could be used to build houses—I didn't even know that myself!"
"Wood Style can build houses?"
Hashirama nodded vigorously, gesturing with his hands and elongating his tone as he said.
"And not just one house, but several big ones!"
Using Wood Style to construct houses was theoretically feasible, but... wasn't it a bit of a waste of such a powerful ability?
However, now that he was looking at the small factory before him, Tobirama thought it might not be a bad idea to explore other uses for Wood Style.
At the very least, it was convenient. Perhaps he could conduct some research and see if he could train more ninjas to master Wood Style jutsu.
But putting that aside for now, there was the immediate matter at hand.
.....
"Who are you planning to sell these explosive tags to?"
"Huh?" Kagura hadn't expected him to ask that and was momentarily stunned. She stammered,
"Well, there are buyers, of course. But they're not for you, and they're not for sale right now."
Tobirama narrowed his long, narrow eyes, a dangerous glint flashing in his crimson gaze.
"Oh?" Even his tone was laced with menace. "And who exactly are you planning to sell them to?"
"A woman you don't want to mess with!"
"A woman?"
Kagura nodded, quickly calculating in her mind the relationship between Konan and Tobirama.
"If we have to define it, that woman is your disciple, disciple, disciple. Yes, that's it."
Tobirama couldn't stand Kagura cryptic manner and tapped her on the head, trying to snap her out of it.
"My disciple hasn't even started taking disciples yet. Where would this so-called 'disciple's disciple' come from, let alone their disciple?"
"Don't believe me? Fine!" Kagura rolled her eyes in disdain.
"600 billion, 600 billion explosive tags. I'm going to make a fortune—do you understand that?"
Tobirama truly didn't understand. No matter how he looked at it...
No matter how you look at it, Kagura didn't seem like a smart person right now.
"These 600 billion explosive tags can blow up for ten minutes. Although they didn't kill a single person and only blew up emptiness, that's none of my business. I'm just purely after her money."
"Even if what you're saying is true, by the time Sarutobi take on disciples, and their disciples take on disciples… how many years will that take? Your factory only taking in and never giving out, isn't it? Once the money you got from me runs out, what will you use to buy raw materials, pay salaries, and repay debts and interest?"
"..."
Kagura had forgotten about this problem. If she was hoarding goods, naturally she couldn't sell them. If she didn't sell, it would indeed be a one-way flow. The inability to liquidate was a huge, huge problem.
So, Kagura turned her attention back to Tobirama.
Tobirama watched Kagura antics with a cold laugh in his heart.
This woman had no ability to hide her emotions, every little scheme was written all over her face, so straightforward it was almost admirable. Right now, she was eyeing him slyly, clearly thinking of some small strategy to squeeze money out of him.
Kagura had no idea that Tobirama had already seen through her. She hopped over to him like a rabbit, her tone softening considerably when she was asking for a favor.
"Lord Tobirama, did the peace talks go well?"
"Very well" Tobirama replied, ignoring her sudden gentleness.
"Then… did you sell the tailed beasts too?"
"Huh?" His narrow eyes widened in surprise. "Who told you I sold the tailed beasts?"
"Of course, I figured it out myself. Did you forget what my main profession is? I told you nothing escapes my eyes."
"..."
-_-||
"Since you've already sold them, how about lending me a bit more?"
"Not a chance."
"Don't be like that. Let's do an installment plan, say…" Kagura started counting on her fingers, from now until the Fourth Great Ninja War. When was the Fourth War again? Around the 60 of Konoha calendar, but since Kishimoto never specified, there's no unified setting for exactly which year.
Still, from now until the 60s, that's roughly fifty years.
"How about a fifty-year installment plan? What do you think?"
Tobirama really wanted to take a hammer and pry open Kagura skull to see what kind of special structure was inside. Her rambling, wild ideas were something only his elder brother Hashirama could match, and even then, he might not win.
"Don't even think about scamming more money out of me, little one."
"A businessman's deal can't be called a scam, just like a scholar's act can't be called theft."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Hey, let me tell you something..."
"This is called long-term investment. Fifty years from now, when I sell all the explosive tags I've been hoarding, I'll be the richest person in the entire ninja world. Then, I'll invent a gold-style ninjutsu—or maybe call it money-style ninjutsu."
"When I'm rich, I'll open a bank in Konoha and start a real estate company. If your brother ever runs out of money, he can come work as a construction worker at my company—I'll offer him great benefits. I'll sell houses to ninjas who don't have much money, let them pay in installments, and loan them money from my bank. Ah, I'm such a genius!"
Kagura was still lost in her dreams of wealth, while Tobirama eyes were practically rolling into the back of his head. He couldn't understand why someone could be so unrealistic, constantly fantasizing about money falling from the sky.
What was even more unforgivable was that he found himself somewhat intrigued by this money-obsessed lunatic. How absurd!
The thought sent a shiver down Tobirama spine. Spending too much time with someone so delusional would surely make him lose his mind.
No, he had to get away quickly.
"Why are you in such a hurry? We can still discuss the loan!" Kagura shouted at him.
"Not a chance!"
Tobirama was utterly heartless.
Kagura had laid out his grand plans in detail, but Tobirama didn't appreciate their brilliance. Clearly, his limit was being a village leader.
Becoming an entrepreneur? Maybe in his next life.
In her previous life, Kagura hadn't become a capitalist, hadn't earned piles of cash, and hadn't lived the lavish life of a wealthy woman who spent money like water. But now, reborn in the world of Naruto, she could finally make that dream come true.
Though, for now—
"Hey, did you sell the Seven-Tails to Takigakure?" Kagura called out to Tobirama retreating figure.
"None of your business!"
"If you only sell them one, they'll think you're looking down on them. Tell your brother to be careful—the leader of Takigakure isn't the brightest. He'll probably send someone to assassinate him soon."
It was unclear whether Tobirama heard Kagura words, but his pace quickened even more.
Watching Tobirama's back, Kagura pouted, muttering about how stingy he was while silently shedding a tear of sympathy for Hashirama.
After all, it was Tobirama who had proposed selling the tailed beasts, yet it was Hashirama who ended up bearing the grunt of it. He'd been dragged onto this pirate ship for nothing, taking on a reputation he didn't deserve.
The assassination attempt would undoubtedly fail, but it raised an important question: Was Hashirama truly as invincible as he claimed during this period?
Was the gap between him and the other Kage really that insignificant?
If not, Kagura couldn't wrap her head around what the leader of Takigakure was thinking when he sent Kakuzu—an elite jonin who hadn't even mastered the Earth Grudge Fear technique—to assassinate the Hokage.
"Is this some kind of scam?" Kagura wondered aloud, sitting at the factory entrance and gazing up at the sky.