Minamikawa Yuu's reform of Konoha's finances was very successful.
Just establishing Village-run enterprises was already a huge supplement to the Village's finances.
Currently, Konoha has monopolized industries such as tobacco and casinos throughout the Land of Fire.
Aside from Konoha, any other enterprises operating in these industries are considered illegal and will inevitably be purged by the iron fist of Konoha Ninjas.
Both are highly profitable industries; after monopolizing the entire market in the Land of Fire, the funds provided to Konoha each month are beyond what could have been imagined in the past.
Compared to these profits, the income the Village used to earn from accepting commissions has become negligible.
In addition, customs duties from various regions are also being collected successively.
When Minamikawa Yuu first established the Trade and Transportation Departments, many people were unclear about the purpose of the latter.
But now, they understand.
As Konoha Ninjas suppress bandits in various locations, toll stations have been built at major transportation hubs to tax passing caravans and enterprises.
Although this income cannot yet compare to the high returns from tobacco and casinos due to the short amount of time, it already shows great potential.
Given enough time, it is only a matter of time before this income surpasses the profits handed over by tobacco and casinos.
Incidentally, Minamikawa Yuu handed over the Transportation Department to the Uchiha Clan.
Although there are many Ninjas from other Ninja Clans involved, members of the Uchiha Clan occupy nearly half of the positions.
The cold and proud Uchiha Ninjas, possessing the Sharingan, might not be particularly skilled in other matters, but they have no problem with tax collection and bandit suppression.
Due to their positions in this department, many Uchiha Ninjas have made their fortunes, leading to the entire Uchiha Clan becoming wealthy.
With so much additional income, the Daimyo's funding, which seemed quite good at first, now appears to be nothing special.
Minamikawa Yuu has proven with facts that Konoha, possessing absolute military force, can take whatever it wants from the Land of Fire; why would they care about the scraps provided by the Daimyo now?
"The Daimyo is, after all, the ruler of the Land of Fire. It wouldn't be good to suddenly fall out with him."
Among the group, Uchiha Kagami was relatively composed. After thinking for a moment, he spoke up: "Yuu, why not leave this matter to me?"
"You want to persuade the Daimyo?"
Minamikawa Yuu was somewhat curious.
"I have no way to persuade the Daimyo."
Meeting Minamikawa Yuu's gaze, Uchiha Kagami shook his head: "But I am confident I can control him without being discovered by others."
"My Genjutsu is very subtle; ordinary people cannot detect it."
He expressed great confidence in his own Genjutsu skills.
Everyone present couldn't help but look askance.
After all that, the 'persuasion' you mentioned is just using Genjutsu to control him.
It must be said, this is indeed an enticing idea.
The so-called Daimyo is merely an ordinary person.
If he could be controlled with Genjutsu, then everything Konoha does within the Land of Fire would become much more convenient.
At least the political resistance would be significantly reduced.
"However, if this were discovered, Konoha would become a public enemy."
Homura Mitokado spoke up, somewhat opposing the idea: "If that were the case, it would be inappropriate."
Controlling a Daimyo with Genjutsu—if such a thing were discovered, it would inevitably lead to hostility from the Daimyos of all nations.
At that time, they would likely give their full support to their respective Hidden Villages to wage war against Konoha.
If that happens, it would not be ideal.
"My Genjutsu is very subtle; ordinary people are unable to detect it."
Uchiha Kagami was very confident in his Genjutsu skills: "In the entire Land of Fire, besides Konoha Ninjas, there are definitely not many people who could see through it."
"There's no need for that."
Minamikawa Yuu shook his head and ultimately rejected Uchiha Kagami's proposal: "The risk is too high, and it's unnecessary for us."
For Konoha, there are plenty of ways to make the Daimyo behave without resorting to breaking the unspoken rules like this.
Whether it's through threats and incentives or simply replacing him with a more obedient Daimyo, both are more reliable and simpler than Uchiha Kagami's method.
At this moment, Minamikawa Yuu only wants to stay in Konoha and focus on development; he has no intention of waging war against the entire Ninja World.
Or rather, even if there is to be a war, it should at least wait until they have sufficient strength.
"Let's send someone to persuade him properly first."
He spoke thus: "If he's truly disobedient, then we'll think of other ways."
"As for now, let's head back to Konoha."
For Minamikawa Yuu, the gains from this trip were already significant enough.
The six paths tools, the basho fan, was one thing, but the most crucial part was the Kinkaku Brothers.
These two experts, possessing pure Six Paths lineage, were excellent subjects and held great significance for Minamikawa Yuu.
He was now somewhat impatient to return to Konoha and conduct a thorough study of these two.
Under Minamikawa Yuu's orders, the group began to move, heading toward Konoha.
Ten days later, they returned to the Village.
After those ten days, the entire Konoha began to undergo massive changes.
Relocations began in various places, and infrastructure projects were launched one after another, bringing huge changes to Konoha in a short period.
Under Minamikawa Yuu's leadership, Konoha was not only capable of making money but also spent quite a lot.
Just recently, he had launched several major projects.
Besides the restructuring of the Ninja Academy, he also initiated a renovation plan for all of Konoha, intending to repair the entire Village's roads and sewage system while strengthening the barrier around Konoha's perimeter to ensure no accidents occur.
In addition, a high-spec laboratory had already begun operations.
Minamikawa Yuu put a lot of effort into this laboratory, spending a large amount of capital to purchase various high-precision instruments and related equipment.
To put it bluntly, the funds spent just to build this laboratory were enough to match a major engineering project.
Besides various types of equipment, there were quite a few researchers, including professional Medical Ninjas and experts among ordinary people, all playing a supporting role here.
Once this laboratory officially began operations, the first heavyweight experimental subject was brought back by Minamikawa Yuu.
"Are these the corpses of the Kinkaku Brothers?"
Inside the laboratory, Uzumaki Mito looked with interest at the corpses of the Kinkaku Brothers before her.
Actually, strictly speaking, only Ginkaku was a corpse.
Kinkaku had been captured alive by Minamikawa Yuu and was currently still under control, having lost all power to resist and becoming high-grade material for the laboratory.
"There really is the aura of the Nine-Tailed's Chakra..."
Uzumaki Mito stared at the Kinkaku Brothers before her, and her expression couldn't help but grow solemn: "To obtain a Tailed Beast's Chakra by devouring its flesh and blood—that such a thing could exist in this world..."
""
"They not only obtained Tailed Beast Chakra but also gained the ability of Tailed Beast Transformation through this method, and can even directly release Tailed Beast Balls..." Minamikawa Yuu spoke: "If these two were placed on a battlefield, they would be comparable to actual Tailed Beasts."
In all seriousness, the abilities of the Kinkaku Brothers are actually quite formidable.
Because the Tailed Beast Transformation abilities of these two are not weak; they can at least reach the level of six tails.
To be honest, at this level, besides the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tailed—the strongest among the nine Tailed Beasts—the other Tailed Beasts are probably only at this level themselves.
In other words, by devouring Tailed Beast flesh and blood, the Kinkaku Brothers actually managed to create two Tailed Beast-level existences.
No, considering they can maintain their sanity during Tailed Beast Transformation and don't need to worry about seal leaks or other such issues, they are actually stronger than normal Jinchuriki.
Looking at the Kinkaku Brothers, a look of surprise also appeared on Uzumaki Mito's face.
To her, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the Kinkaku Brothers were truly astounding existences.
As a Jinchuriki, she was all too familiar with their flaws, which made her find the existence of beings like the Kinkaku Brothers even more incredible.
"Do you want to study their bodies to crack their secrets?"
Uzumaki Mito asked: "And then use that method to mass-produce Tailed Beasts?"
"If it's possible, then naturally we can try."
Minamikawa Yuu said: "Being able to mass-produce a batch of Tailed Beasts would naturally be excellent; it could greatly reduce our losses in war."
"But achieving this will likely be quite difficult."
He explained: "The lineage of these two is very special; they are suspected to be descendants of the legendary Six Paths Sage, which is why they possess the ability to consume Tailed Beast flesh and blood without dying."
"If it were an ordinary person, it would likely be very hard to accomplish this. Even if they didn't die, obtaining the Tailed Beast's abilities would be difficult."
If Minamikawa Yuu remembered correctly, later on in Kumogakure, someone once tried to emulate the Kinkaku Brothers by eating the Eight-Tails' tentacles in an attempt to gain its power.
But all those attempts ultimately failed; the only successful case was the Kinkaku Brothers before them.
Their success was deeply linked to the Six Paths bloodline within them.
After all, the Six Paths Sage was the creator of the Tailed Beasts and the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails, the predecessor of the nine Tailed Beasts.
Only his lineage could possibly integrate with the power of a Tailed Beast's flesh and blood.
Of course, Minamikawa Yuu estimated that he might be able to as well.
After all, he possessed the Ōtsutsuki Clan's Karma. Although his constitution was currently incomplete, it could be considered a partial ōtsutsuki body, and theoretically, he also had the possibility of accepting and fusing with Tailed Beast power.
However, he didn't want to take risks regarding this.
After all, if such an attempt succeeded, it would be fine, but if it failed, the consequences would likely be dire.
Minamikawa Yuu didn't want his reincarnation to end prematurely for such a reason before his fifty-year limit was even up.
"Besides the flesh and blood of the Kinkaku Brothers, there is one more thing..."
""
Looking at Uzumaki Mito, a look of hesitation appeared on Minamikawa Yuu's face, but he finally spoke: "Shodai-sama's cells are also very valuable experimental subjects."