"Yui, thank you for your hard work today," said Satori Hyūga.
Hyūga Yui slightly lowered her head and replied softly, "It is my duty to serve a member of the Main House."
Seeing her respectful demeanor, Satori felt a complex mix of emotions stir within him.
She had refined features, her demeanor gentle and obedient. Though visibly older than him, she still showed him great deference.
"You don't have to be so formal around me. I'm not like the rigid elders of the clan," Satori said.
"I've hired you as my secretary now. As long as you do well, I'll promote you and give you raises too."
To him, the idea of slavery didn't exist—though having loyal subordinates had its advantages.
Yui glanced at Satori, her clear, water-like eyes sparkling with something unusual.
This was the first time she had felt warmth and comfort from a member of the Main House.
It was also the first time she felt that those from the Main House and Branch House were truly siblings sharing the same bloodline.
When facing other members of the Main House, all Yui could feel was endless pressure and fear—scared that even the smallest mistake would lead to punishment.
No one outside the Branch House could ever understand that torment.
No wonder the younger members of the Branch House held Satori in such high regard and strongly encouraged her to become his secretary.
Especially her cousin, Chonghuo Hyūga, who praised him nonstop, calling him the Hyūga Clan's future hope.
Perhaps… he truly was different.
After finishing everything, Satori pushed open the door and strode toward the open space outside.
Outside stood five men, each with striking appearances and distinct auras. Upon seeing Satori, they immediately bowed deeply and respectfully.
"Lord Satori Hyūga."
"Lord Satori Hyūga."
...
They bowed deeply, their eyes filled with loyalty and gratitude—an unspoken vow to give their lives for their benefactor.
These five had been personally chosen by Satori as team leaders—one of them being Watanabe Shin'ichi.
They had once been ninja, but life had dealt them hardships, making them extremely obedient without the slightest trace of arrogance.
Satori nodded in satisfaction as he looked at them.
"You are all individuals I've personally chosen. From now on, each of you will be in charge of a ten-man squad."
"You're staying behind today to receive assignments. Starting tomorrow when operations officially begin, you'll be responsible for your respective teams' missions."
The five men listened intently, their expressions solemn.
All of them had struggled through life, and now that they'd finally received this precious opportunity, they cherished it greatly.
Satori led them into the factory building where numerous machines sat on the floor.
These machines were custom-built according to special specifications and imported from other countries.
He introduced an assembly-line system, unlike anything seen in the ninja world.
Each of the five teams was responsible for different stages in the manufacturing process.
Needless to say, in this era, becoming a ninja already marked one as a genius among ordinary people.
With Satori's guidance, they quickly grasped the concept—it was surprisingly straightforward.
Standing nearby, Watanabe listened with particular attentiveness. After all, he was the only Chunin among them—and he secretly believed himself to be Satori's favorite.
His job was to load different types of flour into the machinery in specific proportions for processing.
The task wasn't especially hard, but it wasn't entirely easy either.
Still, it was considered an important step in the production process.
The exact measurements and types of flour kept running through Watanabe Shin'ichi's mind.
Even at home, whether eating or trying to sleep, he couldn't stop thinking about it — something that greatly surprised his family.
But when they heard he'd landed a new job with good pay, the whole family was overjoyed.
This was just how things were back then.
Other than nobility and Daimyo, most people lived day to day with no guarantee of tomorrow.
Ninjas might seem free and easy on the surface, but their lives were just as tough.
Lose your status as a ninja, and you'd be thrust straight into hell.
With no way to work or earn, you'd survive on whatever little aid you could get.
The next morning,
Satori Hyūga arrived at the food processing factory building an hour earlier than scheduled, accompanied by Hyūga Yui.
Even from afar, they could see a dense crowd gathered at the factory gates.
They were all applicants who had passed yesterday's interview and were here for their first day.
When they saw Satori Hyūga arrive, the worry on their faces melted away, replaced by relief.
This was an opportunity they couldn't afford to miss.
That was the shared thought among most people.
Don't let the conditions fool you — compared to going on ninja missions, this offer seemed pretty ordinary.
Five thousand ryō was a fortune for an ordinary villager — not to mention getting a free lunch every day.
And the other welfare benefits listed on the flyer? Most had never even dreamed of such things.
Seeing everyone eagerly waiting, Satori quickly assigned positions and opened the factory to start operations.
At first, most villagers had no idea how to use the machines. They hovered nervously, hands raised but unsure whether to touch anything.
Luckily, several group leaders who used to be ninjas had more experience, and thanks to Satori's training session the previous day, they managed to guide the workers through the motions, fumbling a bit at first, but eventually everyone got the hang of it.
Machines roared, people bustled back and forth, repeating the same tasks again and again.
Within less than half a morning, the workers had grown confident in their skills, working efficiently and enthusiastically.
Using his Byakugan, Satori observed that none of the workers slacked off or tried to avoid their duties.
It came down to how brutal the ninja world was — and how tough life was for regular folks.
Even repetitive assembly line work — something that once felt numbingly dull in his past life — was seen by them as a rare and precious chance.
"I really am a living Bodhisattva saving souls in torment," Satori sighed while sitting in his office.
The ninja world was filled with darkness; even the prosperous Konoha was pitch black inside.
People were treated like blades of grass — insignificant and easily thrown away — struggling to survive under harsh conditions.
Pain only existed through comparison.
In such a situation, Satori began to think of changing the world through industry.
Though he couldn't leave Konoha for now, he could spread his influence across multiple countries by building factories.
As the number of factories increased, so would his followers and power, quietly reshaping the entire ninja world without anyone even noticing.
It would even allow him to accumulate wealth, recruit ninjas for his own purposes, gather secret techniques and jutsu, and research science and technology.
One move, multiple gains—who wouldn't be thrilled?
Within half a day, the factory had already produced thousands of instant noodle cups.
These were all standard model instant noodles, with no special oils added—the seasoning contained nothing but monosodium glutamate.
However, the production process for monosodium glutamate was not carried out inside the factory building. Satori Hyūga chose to produce it separately on his own.
Something this groundbreaking, he certainly didn't plan on releasing to the public.
As long as the monosodium glutamate stayed hidden, even if the food processing factory's secrets were somehow leaked, it wouldn't pose any threat to him.
After all, this was the ninja world—full of spies skilled at stealing secrets unnoticed.
Satori Hyūga had no choice but to stay vigilant.
Just then, Minato Namikaze arrived at the factory as promised, accompanied by the Caravan Leader, with Kushina and Jiraiya following closely behind.
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