Chapter 259: Kazekage Ninja- - 48: Economic Warfare
To be fair, Danzō’s analysis wasn’t wrong. If this conversation had happened half a year earlier, Yahiko would never have dared treat Danzō with such open hostility—at the very least, he’d have played along and kept up polite appearances.
So, what gave Yahiko the guts to push back so hard now?
Believe it or not, his newfound confidence came thanks to Sunagakure.
It wasn’t that Jinghang had slipped him secret aid while he was turning screws in The Abyss. Sometimes, fate just throws you a lucky break.
When the great ninja villages kicked off their arms race, iron ore prices on the open market shot through the roof. Right at that moment, Amegakure’s two massive iron mines, overseen by Kijima (general manager of the Hiame Group) and deputy manager Nogaegawa II, had just come online and started production. All the high-quality iron ore they’d been stockpiling vanished the instant it hit the market. The result? Amegakure made a killing, and their previously bankrupt coffers suddenly overflowed.
Seizing the moment, Kijima demanded an expansion of production. Nogaegawa II took it further—using his gang of thugs to whip and threaten the miners, squeezing every last drop of labor and profit. Output soared to double the annual average.
Of course, the miners weren’t happy. To calm them down, Kijima publicly scolded Nogaegawa II for his brutality, punished a few murderous overseers, and handed out extra bonuses and benefits. But honestly, those little payouts were nothing compared to the real windfall everyone tasted.
And that wasn’t the end of it. Not long after, Sunagakure announced a temporary suspension of overseas Hourglass Group stores. That left a gaping hole in the market, which the "eternal runner-up"—the Land of Craftsmen—rushed in to fill. Their steel ninja tools weren’t as legendary as the Hourglass Group’s Damascus steel, but their traditional craftsmanship was solid, and orders flooded in.
Iron ore prices spiked again. Representatives from the Land of Craftsmen came knocking, eager to buy up every scrap of ore Amegakure could dig. Without hesitation, Amegakure cashed in on this second wave of profits.
When Yahiko and company finally finished their hard labor and returned home, they were stunned to discover that Amegakure’s finances had done a complete 180. In just one year, they’d raked in a net profit of twelve billion ryō—just from selling iron ore!