The birth of Hii Kao seemed to change many things, yet also nothing at all.
Everything that happened in the world—every event, every outcome—was the inevitable result of countless factors combining.
The "present" was the accumulation of the "past." Since the "future" had not yet arrived, it couldn't truly be said to have "changed" anything.
As a mature mother raising a five-year-old daughter a veritable "master of the maternal domain" Akane had extensive experience caring for infants.
Though as a queen she had servants to handle the messy tasks, as a mother she wouldn't have missed the process for anything.
Besides, it gave her a rare excuse to escape the infuriating demands of governance.
Thus, she continued to use this opportunity to temporarily set aside her guild duties, instead guiding the new mother, Tsunade.
For Tsunade a brilliant medical ninja but a complete novice at childcare Akane's practical advice was invaluable.
Proper breastfeeding positions, diaper-changing techniques, postpartum psychological support… a rough man like Hii Kōri was far less suited to this than Akane.
As a certain blue-haired foodie once put it, there are only two kinds of people in this world: childhood friends… and homewreckers.
Though this classification was absurd and overly simplistic, the two women so similar yet different in their circumstances did indeed develop a remarkably harmonious relationship through this process.
The workload Akane had shed, of course, could not simply be handed back to Sakaki Tatsuma. If that happened, Ahaha-kun would surely leap without hesitation and land in perfect form, ensuring he splattered across a twenty-meter radius.
Currently in the trenches with Ahaha-kun was the guild's true owner: Hii Kōri himself.
To be fair, with his inhuman information processing speed and thinking efficiency, these routine tasks were hardly a burden.
Using his spirit-thread nerves as output, he could chat with Ahaha-kun while rapidly processing over a dozen documents, simultaneously optimizing puppet designs in his mind.
Then he'd have Rashōmon fetch over a dozen boxed lunches from the cafeteria.
He'd eat twelve. Ahaha-kun would eat one.
Only by working alongside Hii Kōri could one truly understand how, in just over a decade, he had single-handedly driven Sunagakure's technological development while using his "spare time" to build the guild to its current scale.
Among these tasks, the backlog of old problems was nothing. What truly consumed time and energy were the long-term investment and development plans for other regions especially the smaller nations.
This was only natural. In this world, ninja were extraordinarily active while possessing immense destructive power.
The Five Great Ninja Villages had deep pockets and could pick and choose missions. But other Ninja would take almost any job assassination, sabotage, escort, reconnaissance as long as the client paid enough.
This ecosystem meant that, in Hii Kōri's view, most of the ninja world outside the Five Great Nations—which maintained stability through military might—rivaled his previous life's Middle East.
False prosperity. Schrödinger's peace.
Regions with dense populations and favorable geography often held multiple small nations. Any disturbance could quickly escalate into a conflict affecting a wide area.
This suited the Five Great Nations; they would never allow another highly unified, prosperous nation to emerge.
And those remote, godforsaken places might hold something strange and dangerous.
The future Rashōmon had sent Hii Kōri information on other nations' technologies and development prospects, but their geopolitical situations were less useful.
By now, the Red Hot Sand Guild was a genuine giant its actions could influence the decisions of those "small nations."
Thus, making sound investments in such places required not only assessing local natural conditions and resources, but also considering the reactions and movements of surrounding powers.
For example, the "Land of This" and the "Land of That" described in the intelligence Hii Kōri was currently reading.
"Ah… those two places… no specialties, no resources. The terrain's flat, good for building factories, but…"
Curious about what Hii Kōri was staring at, Sakaki Tatsuma leaned over for a glance, then lost interest, rolling his eyes. Clearly, he found them unappealing.
The reason was simple: the two neighboring small nations were in a state of high tension, their national strengths nearly equal.
Historically, they had fought countless wars, large and small, with neither able to fully absorb the other.
"With tensions that high, the moment we build a factory, the other side could hire ninja to blow it up. Pure money pit. No investment value."
Ironically, this situation was partly Hii Kōri's fault.
Thanks to the fake explosive tags he'd developed tags that only burned without exploding, Sunagakure's lower-ranked ninja had achieved impressive results during the war.
Konoha, in turn, had begun researching similar technology.
Despite secrecy, reverse-engineering wasn't particularly difficult for a major village with extensive industrial capacity.
Konoha's military industry had successfully replicated them and even optimized the production of genuine explosive tags, driving manufacturing costs down significantly.
Today, the market price of explosive tags had dropped by half compared to a few years earlier. The counterfeit tags, ironically, now sold for about the same as the real ones.
The price drop meant ninja used them more freely; possession rates and usage had skyrocketed.
Moreover, with cheaper and more efficient tags, ninja without large-scale elemental techniques could easily perform area-damage missions.
Mission pay for such jobs had consequently dropped 20–35% on average.
Even so, after accounting for tag consumption, the compensation for raiding a factory remained attractive for chūnin.
Conversely, the price of long-term escort missions for specific locations had risen.
Market economy, baby. The invisible hand of Hayek.
"Hmm... tense relations, you say."
Hii Kōri tossed the file aside, leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, and swayed his legs lazily. "But their last war was over thirty years ago, wasn't it?"
"What? You think they won't fight this time?"
Sakaki Tatsuma snorted, disbelief and mockery in his voice.
He didn't think Hii Kōri a veteran of the last war could be that naive.
Sure enough, Hii Kōri shot him a look like he was an idiot, then retorted: "I'm saying most of the people who remember the last war are almost dead."
"Okay… so?"
"So these young people, who don't know the pain of war, are about ready to be stirred up by hatred again. The slightest spark will set those two countries off."
His tone held no sympathy just the detached amusement of an observer. "Once they hurt enough, they'll understand the value of peace. Then we can build factories."
Of course, by then, under the guise of investment and reconstruction, the guild's influence would naturally and freely spread.
With careful handling, they might even replace the original daimyō's government entirely. And the locals would likely welcome it, not resist.
After a war that achieved nothing but waste, someone had to take the blame.
Living well meant living first. Looking to the future required surviving the present.
It was often said that the masses were slow and blind.
Raise the banner of "justice," and you could whip up fervent passion.
But that blindness also reflects a certain dullness.
Don't assume that just because you speak righteous truths, sing of noble ideals, and paint a bright future, everyone will abandon their current lives to fight.
Those willing to sacrifice a decent present for an uncertain future were always few.
When the fervor of hatred faded and people felt the true pain of the present, they would inevitably regret it, even accept suffering as normal, sinking into false happiness.
"Forever" was the world's most expensive luxury, and most people had no choice.
So when someone offered a "hope," who would refuse it?
"Ugh… you big shots really have dirty hearts."
Ahaha-kun caught his implication and rolled his eyes.
"Have some self-awareness. You're a big shot now too, Representative Sakaki~"
Hii Kōri drew out the title, making Ahaha-kun cringe. Under his disgusted gaze, Hii Kōri shrugged and continued: "I'm not sending anyone to fan the flames. If they fight, it's over their own grudges. This is just… strategic resource allocation."
"Do you have a problem with my free trade? Free trade!"
"The only things worth anything there are land and labor. Not worth making a big deal over, right?"
Ahaha-kun added dryly, earning an approving look from Hii Kōri.
Speaking of grudges, though—Hii Kōri found it laughable.
In this broken world, weren't grudges everywhere? If someone claimed their family had no enemies, it only proved their ancestors had been thorough, following the philosophy of "kill one, kill the whole family."
Besides, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha whose own brothers had died at each other's clans' hands had still teamed up to found Konoha.
Yet these two small nations had been killing each other for centuries over stale old grudges, never figuring it out.
What a fuss over nothing.
Despite this, Hii Kōri still spent half his time with Tsunade and the baby. With his efficiency, the backlog was cleared in just over two weeks.
Sakaki Tatsuma—experiencing something called "free time" for the first time in ages—was visibly improving, even coming to Hii Kōri's temporary workshop to hang out.
Reversing an office chair, straddling the back, and scooting around the floor, Ahaha-kun had a strip of dried squid in his mouth. He didn't chew—just held it, as if obsessed with the taste of the sea.
It was imported from the Land of Water. Though the Land of Fire had a long coastline, islanders were better at seafood.
Hii Kōri and Sakaki had long discussed establishing a major hub in the Land of Water—perfect for maritime shipping.
"Hey, Kōri. When are you going home?"
Ahaha-kun finally bit off a piece of the nearly-rehydrated squid, chewing as he spoke.
He meant Sunagakure.
Unlike Hii Kōri—who had only recently started traveling—he had been dragged into this by the red-and-white capitalist long ago.
Though as a war orphan he had no family waiting, wasn't "home" exactly the kind of place you suddenly found yourself missing?
"Probably in a few days. I want to stay with Tsunade a little longer, but I have things to handle in Sunagakure."
Tuning and maintaining a box full of expensive wrenches, Hii Kōri didn't look up. "My tools and equipment there are better. More convenient for experiments."
"Huh...I see."
Ahaha-kun bobbed his head, saying nothing more.
"If you want to go back, just say so. I'll give you a ride. Akane can handle things here. I've already made the schedule and response strategies. Consider it a vacation."
Hearing the commotion behind him, Hii Kōri turned and tossed a wrench at Ahaha-kun, who was chanting "Charge! Charge!"
"Hey—you said it yourself!"
Sakaki hadn't been a ninja for years, but he hadn't forgotten everything. He caught the wrench—worth over ten thousand ryō—grinning.
"What a character!"
***
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