Kazekage Ninja: The Rise of the Hidden Sand

"This combustion needs coke—nothing else will get you the heat you need. And the iron ore has to be smelted with dolomite and limestone if you want real pig iron."

Kazama Xu stood beside a compact blast furnace, instructing her apprentices with the stern authority of a true smith. Around her, a cluster of eager students scribbled notes, hanging on every word.

"But this just gives us pig iron, right? That's not steel yet, is it?" Yahiko, observing and learning at the side, chimed in.

"Pig iron's only the first step," Kazama Xu explained patiently. "Next, you have to refine it—smelting and forging to burn off impurities. That's how you get high-quality steel billets."

Iwagakure, with its rich mineral veins, had always boasted advanced metallurgy. Before Sunagakure cracked the secret of Damascus steel, Iwagakure was second only to the Land of Craftsmen in the ninja world's forging arts. In the village, old-school shinobi made their own weapons. And though Kazama Xu was a woman, she was every bit as skilled as any man at steelmaking.

"Got any finished products?" Yahiko asked.

"This one's from last night's batch—pretty decent quality." Kazama Xu produced a ninja blade, handing it over.

Yahiko hefted the blade, gave it a few experimental swings, then flexed it gently. The balance and resilience felt just right.

"Catch!" he called, tossing the blade to Aotu Tailuo. Then, drawing his own sword—a Damascus steel ninja blade—he grinned. "Let's give it a real test."

He slashed at Aotu Tailuo, who met the blow with his new blade.

Clang!

Steel rang against steel.

Yahiko inspected the blades. His Damascus sword was untouched, while a tiny chip, no bigger than a grain of rice, had appeared on Tailuo's.

"Not bad! Not bad at all. If we can make blades like this, we're already ahead of the game." Yahiko beamed.

With Damascus ninja tools gone from the market, quality steel weapons were quickly taking over.

Just as Yahiko was basking in satisfaction, Nagato burst in, out of breath.

"Yahiko, bad news! Iron ore prices just crashed!"

Yahiko and Aotu Tailuo exchanged a sharp look.

"Let's get to the Amekage Tower," Yahiko ordered, setting down his sword and hurrying out, Aotu Tailuo close on his heels.

"Will you be home for dinner?" Kazama Xu called after them.

"Nope, not tonight!" Aotu Tailuo shouted back, never breaking stride.

Land of Fire—a luxury club called the Blazing Flame Pavilion.

Danzō was deep in drinks and negotiation with the eight magnates of the Fire Eight Pillars Commerce Guild.

"That's the situation, gentlemen. I hope you'll all back this iron ore market squeeze and crash operation. Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If we succeed, I speak for Konoha: once we take Amegakure, the industries along the Shule River are yours to share."

The promise was huge. The eight merchants leaned together, whispering.

"May I ask, Lord Danzō, how much capital do you need?" asked Nishijo Hide, head of the Nishijo ironworks family.

"Not much—four billion ryō."

The merchants murmured among themselves. After a moment, Kijin Akira, head of the silk-trading Kijin family, spoke up.

"Lord Danzō, honestly, four billion isn't a large sum. Split eight ways, it's only five hundred million each. But we need to be clear about a few things."

"Go on," Danzō said politely, gesturing for him to continue.

"Most of the Shule River industries are leftovers from the old Hourglass Group. The factories are ancient, the equipment's never been updated, and the supply chains are a mess. My actuaries ran the numbers: everything together isn't worth more than a billion. This market crash—it's the kind of game where you hurt your enemies, but you bleed too. Some people risk their necks for profit, but nobody wants to lose money. Frankly, Konoha's approach isn't how we merchants usually play."

"Indeed, indeed," the others nodded. Their meaning was clear: investing was fine, but they weren't about to throw money away.

Danzō gave a faint, cold smile. "Gentlemen, you must think I'm some fool who can't tell a balance sheet from a butcher's knife."

The room went dead silent.

"If you've got the clout to squeeze the market, you've got the clout to make a killing. Add a billion in assets, and losing money? That's a joke. I suspect you're all thinking of cutting Konoha out and running this racket on your own."

A chill swept the room—the eight merchants couldn't hide their shock.

This ANBU chief wasn't just muscle—he knew business inside and out, and he'd hit their real intentions dead on.

Truth was, as Danzō said, once you monopolized a market, you couldn't lose. No oversight, no "Financial Regulatory Commission" in the ninja world—if you controlled the supply, you set the price, and you could do whatever you liked. Unless some other powerhouse could match you yen for yen and resource for resource, you were king. And among all the nations, hardly anyone could arm-wrestle the Fire Eight Pillars for financial muscle.

"Look, I get it—everyone wants a bigger slice of the pie. But this isn't just about profit; it's about Konoha's future. You want money, we want Amegakure—our interests don't clash. But if you try to go it alone and mess up Konoha's plans, you'd better be ready for consequences. Your businesses still need Konoha's protection, do they not? Take a breath, gentlemen, and think long-term. In business, vision matters most."

The eight merchants exchanged looks and quickly reached a consensus.

"We're at your service, Lord Danzō. Four billion ryō will be ready at once. All iron ore stockpiled by the Fire Eight Pillars Commerce Guild is yours to command."

"Excellent! Raise your glasses, gentlemen—here's to a great victory!" Danzō toasted, downing his cup in one go.

Time is money, and for profit, no one moves faster than a merchant. By the next day, every last ryō was in place. The Fire Eight Pillars even dispatched a team of nearly a hundred accountants to help Danzō run the operation.

Danzō was elated. He cleared out a sprawling ANBU-owned villa, rechristened it the "Economics Division," and set up his command center for this "economic war." Every ANBU spy was sent out to gather iron ore intelligence from across the ninja world—he was going all-in.

The results were immediate. With the Fire Eight Pillars behind him, iron ore prices nosedived—plummeting from 315 ryō per ton to just 263 in a single week!

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