The Rapid Changes

— — — — — — 

Minato was still unaware that Onoki and his people had already developed a strong intent to kill him and were planning to send assassins after him at the first opportunity.

Along with the Second Hokage and Kaito, he directly used the Flying Thunder God Technique to instantly teleport back to the Hokage's office in Konoha.

"Phew! This kind of long-distance teleportation really takes a toll on me! Even with my current mastery of the Flying Thunder God, the burden and chakra consumption are still too much!"

Minato sighed as he sensed that his chakra reserves had dropped to just 10% upon arrival. His face was slightly pale.

"If my chakra reserves weren't several times that of an average Kage, and if my chakra quality wasn't high, I really wouldn't be able to handle this."

The Second Hokage glanced at him and remarked, "You still need more practice! But honestly, mastering the Flying Thunder God to this extent at such a young age… that's quite impressive."

That being said, he was quite curious. Why were so many people—including Tsunade, Orochimaru, and even his sister-in-law—learning the Flying Thunder God Technique? Some of them had even successfully mastered it.

Those who hadn't mastered it yet weren't lacking in talent; they just hadn't had enough time to learn it properly. Based on his observations, their progress was going well, and it was only a matter of time before they learned it.

This was strange.

Take his sister-in-law, for example. She had tried to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique from him in the past but eventually gave up because she lacked the talent for it. So why did she suddenly have the talent now?

Tobirama's gaze shifted to Kaito. His instincts told him that this had something to do with Kaito.

Unfortunately, he couldn't just outright ask. This was clearly a deep secret of Kaito's, and even his sister-in-law and Tsunade wouldn't tell him about it.

— — —

"Hm? You're back already? The negotiations are over? How did it go?"

In the Hokage's office, Uzumaki Mito and Uchiha Naori, who had been discussing matters with Kaito's shadow clone, were surprised to see them return so quickly.

Kaito nodded, dispelled his shadow clone, and sat down in the Hokage's seat. With a smile, he took out an agreement and handed it to Uchiha Naori and Mito. "It's all settled! Everything went smoothly. The agreement is signed!"

"Starting today, we can conduct trade freely with the Four Great Shinobi Villages and the Four Great countries without paying taxes or protection fees!"

"So, the organization and management of the trade caravans will be up to you, Mother."

"This is an important task. Get it done as soon as possible. The electrical appliances from our factory and the basic nutrition pills from the Uchiha should be sold to the other countries and villages to establish trade routes."

"It's time to start making money! We can't keep running at a loss, relying only on the Daimyo's support."

"That's not sustainable."

A strong financial foundation was necessary for his future plans.

"Oh?"

Uchiha Naori took the agreement, quickly skimmed through it, and smiled. "This is great! Mito and I will arrange everything as soon as possible."

"However, while the Four Great Countries agreed to waive taxes and protection fees, I doubt they'll play fair."

"So, we need strong escorts for the trade caravans!"

"Each caravan must have at least two Jonin-level ninjas, accompanied by multiple ninja squads!"

"Also, for transporting goods, can we use spatial rings and bracelets to move some of the stock? This would not only ease the transportation burden but also make it safer and cheaper."

"Agreed!"

Uzumaki Mito nodded in approval.

"Sounds good!"

Kaito also nodded. "In the next few days, I'll make more spatial rings and bracelets for the village."

"Eventually, when the time is right, we could even sell spatial rings to the Four Great Countries and Villages."

"But when that time comes, we'll need to negotiate the price properly."

"No way we're letting them off easy! We'll make sure to charge them a fortune."

"So, instruct the trade caravans to keep the number of spatial items a secret for now. That way, when we sell them later, we can increase the price."

"If they become too common, they'll try to bargain the price down, and we can't have that."

"Understood! I'll take care of it."

Uchiha Naori and Uzumaki Mito nodded.

They planned to use contractors for escorting the goods. Not only was this safer, but they also wouldn't have to worry about loyalty issues.

Contractors would never betray Kaito.

Regular Konoha ninjas, on the other hand, couldn't be trusted as completely.

Only contractors were 100% guaranteed to be loyal and wouldn't leak information about Kaito.

After finalizing the details of the trade caravans and goods with his mother and Uzumaki Mito, Kaito left a shadow clone to handle affairs while his real body teleported away to train.

— — —

The Next Few Months

Kaito used numerous shadow clones for intense training while also managing the village and overseeing the Uchiha Pirate Crew's activities.

With the help of Hashirama, Madara, and many skilled ninjas, Konoha underwent rapid reconstruction and expansion.

The village was changing at an astonishing speed.

Narrow dirt roads were quickly widened, and even paved with concrete. A well-designed underground drainage system was also installed.

New buildings were taller and more refined compared to before.

At the same time, due to the combined efforts of Konoha and the Fire Daimyo, a large number of Fire Country residents started migrating to Konoha.

The population of Konoha was growing by the day.

Of course, the increase in population also brought greater pressure on security and logistics.

Luckily, Kaito and his team had prepared in advance, so there were no major problems.

Everything was progressing smoothly and steadily.

Meanwhile, things were getting interesting in the pirate world.

From the moment the Uchiha Pirate Crew set sail, they had been sweeping through the East Blue, crushing every pirate they encountered as they advanced towards Loguetown.

It didn't take long for them to gain fame in the East Blue, drawing the attention of the Navy.

Due to their overwhelming strength, the stationed Navy officers promptly reported their activities to Marine Headquarters.

At that time, Sengoku—who was still a Fleet Admiral—frowned as he received the intelligence report.

He called over Garp, handed him the report, and asked, "Garp, they're from the East Blue, just like you."

"Do you know anything about this newly emerged pirate crew?"

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