Kazekage Ninja: The Rise of the Hidden Sand

"Konoha's out to crush us, plain and simple! In just a month, iron ore's dropped to 218 ryō per ton! It's about to break the 200 mark. Good

"Konoha's out to crush us, plain and simple! In just a month, iron ore's dropped to 218 ryō per ton! It's about to break the 200 mark. Good thing we shut down both our mines—otherwise, the more we dug, the more we'd lose! They're making it impossible for us to stay in business!"

Kijima slammed the table, his face flushed with anger.

In a twisted way, that Sumu riot had actually helped Amegakure's economy dodge a bullet. Otherwise, we'd be stuck with mountains of unsold stock piling up, while iron ore prices kept nosediving—that's a nightmare nobody wants.

"What about finished ninja tools?" Yahiko asked, frowning.

"They're dropping too. No surprise there," Kijima replied with a sigh.

"It's been a month. Should we restart production?" Yahiko turned to Aotu Tailuo, now the newly promoted ANBU commander and a core figure in Akatsuki. Yahiko took his opinions seriously.

"Restart? Of course. If we stay idle too long, something's bound to go wrong. But we should use this chance to do two things." Aotu Tailuo raised two fingers.

"What things?" Yahiko asked.

"First, let's use this opportunity to transfer workers from Sada and Sumu mines and set up our own steel mill and forge. Get the smithing and grinding workshops running again, and complete our whole industrial chain."

The Akatsuki higher-ups nodded in agreement. If iron ore can't fetch a price, might as well reorganize internally and build up the value chain. Plus, the miners at both sites had gotten too powerful—borderline unmanageable. Spreading them out across new facilities would help stabilize Amegakure's society.

"Second, we need to improve the miners' working conditions. No more driving them with whips like before. We'll set up reasonable work hours and performance evaluation systems. Deputy GM Nogae, you're going back to your old trade—the union needs to handle this. Remember: no rough stuff, keep it gentle!"

Nogae Kawanji scratched his head, embarrassed, as the meeting room broke out in laughter.

"But with Konoha crashing the market so hard, no matter how we reorganize or optimize, the village still can't make money. We're just burning through reserves. If this keeps up…" Nagato trailed off, worry etched on his face.

Aotu Tailuo shrugged helplessly. "Yeah, there's nothing we can do. We're too small to fight Konoha or sway the market. But I don't think iron ore prices can keep falling forever. We'll just have to wait for an opening."

"Konoha's really going all in this time. Prices are about to break 200. How about we give Danzō a little headache?" Jinghang smirked.

"I'm in. The current price is perfect—dump at 218 ryō, then buy it back once it drops below 200. Easy money," Hirai Kangsaburo replied.

"How much should we unload?" Jinghang asked.

"Let's start with two million tons. And make sure to sell in batches, at different points—don't leave a trail," Hirai Kangsaburo instructed his traders and actuaries.

"Big bro, where do you think Konoha's bottom line is?" Jinghang pressed.

Hirai Kangsaburo didn't answer. Instead, he glanced at a tall, skinny youth beside him, thick glasses perched on his nose, eyes vacant, movements stiff—like some kind of robot.

"That depends on how much the Land of Fire is willing to throw in. The iron ore market's huge—if you want to control it, you need at least 3.5 billion ryō," the youth intoned.

"And if we base it on 3.5 billion?" Jinghang asked.

"Then the absolute floor is around 156 ryō per ton. That's as low as it gets."

The kid didn't even hesitate—he just spit out the number.

"156 ryō?! That's about the same as manure!" Jinghang blurted, stunned. Manure—he meant fermented fertilizer. In other words, literal crap.

"That's right," the youth replied.

Jinghang shook his head in disbelief and leaned in to whisper to Hirai Kangsaburo, "Who is this guy? He seems… a little off."

Hirai Kangsaburo whispered back, "Don't underestimate him. His name's Higashi Yoshihide. He's my best actuary—his math skills are legendary, his calculation ability is god-tier. While most people think three steps ahead, he sees a hundred. My other actuaries together can't match him. But in other ways… well, he's a bit wooden."

Yeah, makes sense—geniuses are always a little strange. As long as it doesn't get in the way of making money, who cares?

"Yoshihide, when do you think we should make our move?" Jinghang asked.

"At their current pace and funding, it'll be 135 days before the time is right. But…" Higashi Yoshihide paused for once.

"But what?"

"Judging by their spending habits, I think you've underestimated their war chest."

Without another word, Higashi Yoshihide grabbed a pen and started sketching on the blackboard: a horizontal axis, a vertical axis, time on one side, price on the other. He connected the dots, drew a price trend chart, then filled the board with dense mathematical formulas, explaining everything in technical jargon that Jinghang could barely follow.

Jinghang crossed his arms, brow furrowed, occasionally grunting "mm" as if he understood.

When Higashi Yoshihide finished, Jinghang jumped in, "So, what's your conclusion?"

"Based on my calculations, their reserves are at least five billion," Higashi Yoshihide replied, dead serious.

Jinghang and Hirai Kangsaburo exchanged a look.

"Add more money!"

Actuaries are the pros who use math to solve economic problems and assess financial risk. And Higashi Yoshihide was a Kage-level figure in this field. Jinghang was no math whiz, but he trusted the experts.

Higashi Yoshihide's approach was nothing like the Nara clan's logic puzzles—it was pure math. And math doesn't lie.

"If the enemy's got five billion in reserves, we'll need to redo all our calculations," Higashi Yoshihide said.

"Fine. What do you need? I'll get you anything," Jinghang promised.

"Steamed buns, black tea, and Go."

Jinghang blinked. What kind of weird request was that?

Hirai Kangsaburo quietly explained, "That's all he likes—steamed buns, black tea, and playing Go."

Cheap tastes—no problem. As long as he gets the job done, whatever works.

"Steamed buns and black tea, as much as you want. As for Go, I'll bring you the top players from all over the ninja continent to play with you."

"Really? Can you get Kiyohara Ichirō?"

"I can!" Jinghang didn't even know who that was, but right now, if you could predict Konoha's next move, he'd dig up Hashirama and Tobirama themselves to play cards with you.

"Great! One month—give me a month and I'll have all the data you need," Higashi Yoshihide said, finally showing a hint of excitement.

~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~ 

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