Chapter 21: Return and Reinforcement (Vote Requested)

"Kane, where did you dig up so many treasures?" Carl was fortunate enough to follow Kane to the Washington Gardes Auction House. The items Kane brought back had been creating a buzz for over ten days, drawing in quite a few interested collectors from Japan. There was a strong possibility these belonged to an undocumented period of history; just the appraiser's suggestion at Gardes was enough to send their prices soaring.

"These were inherited by my grandfather from his own grandfather. They've been sitting in the deepest corner of our basement for years. If I hadn't read my father's notebook, I wouldn't have known we had these things," Kane made up a casual explanation for Carl, then turned his attention back to the auction. In the early twenty-first century, auctions were not as sophisticated as they would later become, even at Gardes.

He was only there to see how much his items would fetch; he had no intention of buying. Kane's assets weren't yet at a level where he could indulge in luxury—perhaps if they multiplied a hundredfold, he'd consider learning the ways of the decadent. For now, his most pressing goal was to expand his influence.

Carl, meanwhile, was attending his first auction. He was surprised by the prices, then complained about the absence of a rare, collector's edition manuscript of Lightning Kid. If there had been one, he would have gladly spent twenty thousand dollars to buy it.

Kane's items weren't especially precious, but there were many of them and some held historical significance; otherwise, most would have been valued only as gold. He'd already sold off the jewelry, pocketing over six million dollars—slightly less than he'd hoped for, but without proper provenance, there was little he could do.

As each of Kane's treasures found a new owner, his smile grew ever brighter. He'd estimated a total of three or four million dollars from the sale, given the quantity, though many pieces were just ornamental jewelry. In the end, however, the total approached nine million, and with the jewelry sales included, he cleared over fifteen million dollars—more than he'd made in the stock market over the past three years.

On the way back, Carl said excitedly, "Kane, you’re already a multimillionaire! That car of yours doesn't match your status anymore. What are you going to get next? I suggest a sports car..."

"Carl, I've been a multimillionaire for a while now, and my car suits me just fine for the time being. I'm not planning to change it," Kane cut off Carl's rambling, though not successfully—he kept at it until they boarded the plane and exhaustion finally silenced him.

Back in New York, Kane returned briefly to his school, applied for another month’s leave, and then hurried straight to his company. He had secured the necessary permits for pharmaceutical wholesale and trade, hired several business agents for various countries, and assigned them their tasks to get the company running. He’d signed bulk purchase contracts with pharmaceutical manufacturers, and arranged for cargo ships and warehouses.

While professionals handled most operations, Kane personally oversaw finance, procurement, and warehousing, and staffed those areas himself, since he had trading partners from another world to consider.

"It’s time to set up the biotech company as well. It can’t just be an empty shell, but I’m not sure which direction to pursue..." Kane had many ideas for research: enhancing the body, gamma radiation, even eternal life. But he lacked the academic background. Though he’d done well in high school, he hadn’t touched on biomedical fields—his best role was as an investor and collaborator, not a researcher.

Kane was preparing to build a research base for the biotech company. The funds, personnel, and even construction blueprints were ready—he just hadn’t found the right research direction.

"Tony Stark? That guy’s random donation is more than what I’ve made in three years... Wait, the Extremis Virus!" Suddenly, Kane realized where his company’s first project should go. The Extremis Virus was an excellent choice. Killian had probably been rejected by Stark late last year or early this year; only a few months had passed, so at most Killian had approached Maya, and their research might have just begun.

Both were geniuses, and a perfected Extremis Virus would mean a significant leap for human evolution. Most importantly, Killian and Maya specialized in biotechnology. Kane could use their research to strike a deal with Orochimaru. Three researchers focused on human evolution were bound to find plenty of common ground.

The Extremis project might even help Orochimaru make greater breakthroughs with Hashirama cells—if successful, Kane’s dream of the extraordinary would be within reach. Otherwise, even if he learned chakra, he’d be forever stuck at the lowest rank.

Still, learning chakra would be useful—at least the basic transformation and clone techniques could be handy, greatly increasing his survival odds against minor villains in the Marvel world. He’d just need to consult a ninja from that world.

"I need an assistant—someone who can handle all the trivial matters flawlessly." Kane decided to have a headhunter find him two assistants to lighten his load. That way, whether it was the pharmaceutical trade or biotech research, he wouldn’t have to find Killian and Maya himself.

Of the over fifteen million dollars he’d just made, Kane spent part on supplies to fill his spatial backpack, and invested the rest in his two companies. He entrusted several million to Connor, not Carl—because without Kane around, Carl sometimes hesitated to make decisions.

Simply put, there was a risk of losing money. Carl was a good friend, but Kane preferred not to put their friendship at risk.

Kane’s total assets—excluding his hospital shares—were now close to forty million dollars, and it had taken him less than two months, most of it earned through trading with the ninja world.

At this pace, unless he switched his trading system for a stock market one, it would be hard to make this kind of money anywhere else.

"I can free up two slots for weapons, and bring along three production lines and some cocoa trees. Everything else stays as usual." For now, Kane was still operating under Konoha’s watchful eye. In the Land of Fire, only the daimyo and the nobility could maintain a military force aside from Konoha. If Kane wanted to develop his own armed personnel, he’d need to expand his influence into smaller countries first; otherwise, he’d draw Konoha’s attention.

"That should do it." After one final check, Kane set out once more—returning to the ninja world.