"War Comes Down to Money and Supplies—So Let Me Introduce You to Economic warfare capability."
"Economic warfare capability?"
Uchiha Makoto said it plainly.
But it was obvious that Uzumaki Shinji and Uchiha Setsuna hadn't quite grasped what he meant, and they continued trying to persuade him.
Makoto could feel their sincerity. Neither of them wanted him to act on impulse and plunge Akatsuki Village into a war with Kumogakure. Even if Akatsuki wasn't weak, the outcome was still uncertain.
If Konoha refused to send troops, then even if Akatsuki won, it would be a pyrrhic victory—a net loss no matter how you looked at it.
"Dragging yourself into a war now just because of a hypothetical future conflict is completely backwards," Uzumaki Shinji urged.
"If war really breaks out later, it would be Akatsuki, Konoha, and the Uzumaki forming a defensive alliance together."
Uchiha Setsuna nodded in agreement.
"Heh."
Makoto merely smiled, offering no comment.
After Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were both gone, Makoto would be thanking the heavens if Konoha didn't stab Akatsuki in the back.
That innately suspicious Senju Tobirama would absolutely look for a chance to pull something dirty.
Still, Makoto felt it was necessary to clarify Akatsuki Village's true strength for Setsuna and Shinji.
He needed them to become firm believers in Akatsuki.
Uchiha Setsuna—
When the day comes that you want to take down Tobirama, remember me first.
And Uzumaki Shinji—
Please stand firmly on Akatsuki's side. You won't lose out.
With that in mind, Makoto led them out of the Hokage Tower and toward a hidden location.
"Makoto, where are we going?" Shinji asked.
"Yeah… this place feels more and more remote," Setsuna added.
Makoto said nothing.
He formed a sequence of hand seals, and the entrance to the hidden facility slowly opened.
"—Holy shit!!"
"This is insane… don't tell me this is all—"
Both Setsuna and Shinji completely lost their composure.
Before them stretched a massive underground facility—filled wall to wall with bright yellow explosive tags.
They were veteran shinobi. Under normal circumstances, seeing explosive tags wouldn't faze them.
But this quantity was beyond absurd.
It shattered all common sense.
Their expressions mirrored exactly what Obito must have looked like when he discovered Konan's six hundred billion explosive tags.
"This is only part of it," Makoto said calmly.
"I'll take you to see the rest."
He continued guiding them through Akatsuki's war reserves.
Setting aside monsters like Madara and Hashirama, the shinobi world still followed basic logic.
War ultimately boiled down to two things:
Money and supplies.
Better equipment.
More explosive tags.
More medical supplies.
That meant greater combat power.
Even a jōnin wouldn't dare face a genin wrapped head to toe in explosive tags charging at them.
Who wouldn't turn and run?
What if it was a Shadow Clone?
"Makoto… when did Akatsuki start preparing all of this?"
"The number of explosive tags alone—"
"This is ridiculous!"
"How much did all this cost?" Shinji finally blurted out.
Makoto glanced at them and answered slowly:
"Akatsuki's research division revolutionized explosive tag manufacturing.
Just developing that technology burned nearly two billion ryō."
"We tested dozens of materials and production methods. While ninja are still involved at certain stages, most of the work can now be done by civilians."
"No middlemen skimming profits."
"Costs were reduced by three to five times, and the more we produce, the cheaper it gets."
He gestured around them.
"What you're seeing here is only about ten to twenty billion ryō at cost."
"At market prices? It'd be astronomical."
Setsuna and Shinji exchanged a look, instinctively calculating the numbers in their heads—then comparing them to their own village budgets.
The world suddenly felt deeply unfair.
By the time the tour ended, both of them were nearly speechless.
Warehouse after warehouse stacked full of explosive tags.
Piles of kunai and shuriken like small hills.
Medical supplies.
Rations.
Spare equipment.
Before this, they'd believed Akatsuki and Kumogakure were evenly matched—at best a fifty–fifty war.
Now?
Akatsuki was guaranteed to win.
They could literally bury Kumogakure under money.
For shinobi villages, war was a matter of grinding down HP bars.
Weapons cost money.
Explosive tags cost money.
Medicine cost money.
Death benefits cost money.
A shinobi's fighting strength and morale were directly proportional to funding.
The longer the war dragged on, the faster the HP drained.
But Akatsuki's HP bar was absurdly thick.
Not only thick—it regenerated.
This month alone, salt industry dividends exceeded sixty billion ryō.
Next month would be even higher.
"…Good luck to Kumogakure," Setsuna muttered.
He almost felt sorry for them.
Facing Akatsuki meant explosive tag barrages from the opening move, followed by suicide-charging genin—possibly Shadow Clones—leaping out of bushes.
Who could endure that?
"Makoto… just how much funding does Akatsuki really have?" Shinji asked weakly.
Makoto only smiled and said nothing.
Do you really want me to tell you Akatsuki's annual budget is nearly ten times Konoha's?
Sorry. I don't want you getting ideas.
Instead, Makoto waved it off casually.
"I have a very good relationship with the Fire Daimyō. He supports me."
"If Akatsuki wins, the Fire Daimyō looks good too."
"After all, nations compete for interests as well."
"You know how it is."
He used the Fire Daimyō as a shield.
And he wasn't worried about Konoha verifying it later.
Because the Fire Daimyō did know the truth.
Akatsuki had crossed lines—but they'd done it beautifully.
After monopolizing the salt market, the Daimyō and the great nobles involved had all made obscene profits.
Whatever complaints they had…
Money shut them up.
Just don't do it again.
Of course, Konoha didn't need to know any of that.
What if they tried copying it?
That wouldn't do at all.
"Yes, that's right—it was me funding Akatsuki," the Fire Daimyō would absolutely insist.
"I've hated the Land of Lightning for generations! One of their Daimyō offended ours three reigns ago—this is revenge across nine lifetimes!"
"Akatsuki did a wonderful job!"
The Fire Daimyō would cling to that story without hesitation.
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