Chapter 81: The Globalization of Power (Daily Update Two)

The Land of Wind was a harsh and unforgiving place. At least seventy percent of its territory was covered by desert, and the ninja of the Sand Village endured sandstorms for half the year. As such, headscarves and veils had become essential attire for them.

The attitude of the First Kazekage was already clear: he would rather forgo a tailed beast in exchange for money and land, for the Sand Village was truly inhospitable for ordinary people. The country's resources were so scarce that every Kazekage had always welcomed merchants from other nations.

But such hospitality did little to help; this wretched land deterred eighty percent of the world's merchants from doing business here. Oil had yet to see widespread use, and while the country had iron, so did others. The poverty of the Sand Village was infamous throughout the ninja world.

That was why the Third Kazekage, upon learning of Karn’s intentions, took the matter seriously and even received him personally—unlike the ignorant Third Mizukage.

“Mr. Karn, may I ask what kind of trade you wish to conduct with the Sand Village?”

In the Kazekage’s office, aside from the Third Kazekage himself, there was also a young ninja with short brown hair, appearing to be the Kazekage’s right-hand man.

“This is a list of goods the Karn Trading Company can offer. As for the efficacy of our medicines, there is no need for concern; our products are already being sold in parts of the Land of Fire, with guaranteed results.”

As he spoke, Karn handed over a trade list to the Third Kazekage. It included foodstuffs, canned seafood, medical supplies such as medicines, gauze, and bandages—everything the Sand Village currently needed.

The first items ensured the village's daily supply, while the rest could be stockpiled for war.

Not long ago, someone had posted a bounty at an underground exchange in the Land of Wind to destroy Konoha’s ninja outposts along the border with the Land of Rivers. The Third Kazekage, unable to resist, dispatched three Anbu squads, which wiped out all of Konoha’s border outposts.

Konoha later came to question them, but the Sand Village denied everything—there was no evidence, after all. Thanks to this, the Sand Village’s finances were a little more comfortable, but after doing the math, the Third Kazekage realized that large-scale purchases would still leave them strapped for cash.

Konoha was certainly suspicious, and, according to Sand’s Anbu, Konoha had deployed most of its ninja along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers. In response, the Sand Village had done the same, and war loomed ever nearer.

“These prices… are reasonable, but could you lower them a bit?”

The Third Kazekage was accustomed to dealing with foreign merchants and knew the market value of food. Karn’s prices were indeed better than most, but the medicines were rather costly. The Sand Village was aware of the quality of Konoha’s medical supplies, which were invaluable on the battlefield, but at these prices, they were hard-pressed to afford them.

“These prices are already quite low—I cannot go lower. However, Kazekage-sama, there are things the Sand Village has that we need as well. I believe we can arrange a barter; your country’s oil, iron, and other resources are just what our trading company seeks…”

Karn’s proposal intrigued the Third Kazekage, and both sides were eager to strike a deal. The only sticking point was the price: the medicines were too expensive and still needed to be processed by Sand’s own people, whereas oil and iron had relatively fixed prices, which left the Sand Village feeling shortchanged.

In the end, Karn promised to commission a certain number of missions to the Sand Village every year, which finally convinced the Third Kazekage to agree to the deal.

The number of missions a ninja village completed each year was a reflection of its strength, and completing more missions meant both greater income and experience for its ninja.

“As for the delivery location, it would be best to set it by the coast of the Land of Wind. We plan to establish a base in the Land of Tea, from which we can ship goods directly to this location by sea.”

Karn pointed to a spot on the map as he spoke to the Third Kazekage.

Overland transport would inevitably pass through the Land of Fire, and if Konoha learned of his dealings with the Sand Village, they would surely try to sabotage them. The Land of Fire was their home turf, and it would be difficult for Karn to prevent interference unless he personally escorted every shipment or used sealing scrolls exclusively, which was unrealistic.

Sea transport was preferable: it was both discreet and fast. At the very least, a steamer powered by a gas engine would be quicker than any cart.

With the terms and timeline agreed upon, the Third Kazekage and Karn signed the trade contract.

“Rasa, gather the other senior members—we’re convening a meeting.”

As soon as Karn left, the Third Kazekage instructed Rasa accordingly. Now that they had a larger supplier and could barter with their own resources, the Sand Village could begin preparing for war—if Karn’s supply capacity was confirmed.

In the last ninja war, the Sand Village had held out until their supplies ran dry. Even their puppet masters’ poisons were all neutralized by Tsunade, and only then did they surrender.

This time, the Third Kazekage made up his mind: once resources were stockpiled, he would conquer the Land of Rivers and annex it into the Land of Wind.

Only then could the Sand Village gain more arable land and escape the humiliating situation of being dependent on foreign food.

…

“Why do sealing techniques resemble mathematical principles so much…”

On his way to the Land of Tea, Karn would take out the scroll of sealing techniques Kushina had given him whenever he had a spare moment. It covered the basic principles of sealing, and included two of the simplest techniques—one for sealing chakra, the other for restricting movement.

The scroll contained not only detailed explanations of the techniques but also Kushina’s own training notes. Judging by the color of the ink, she must have written them just days ago.

“Not only does one need precise chakra control, but also some mathematical background. This feels a lot like matrix theory. No wonder the ninja academy’s curriculum goes beyond the basics—they’re already screening for talent in school.”

Karn’s chakra control was decent; he had practiced tree-walking and water-walking in private, and had learned some ninjutsu. He wouldn’t claim to be a genius, but his control exceeded that of many chunin.

Sealing techniques truly intrigued him. Ninjutsu and taijutsu had their limits in this world, but sealing seemed limitless—even Kaguya, with her immortality, was ultimately sealed away. What fascinated Karn most in the ninja world were the tailed beasts, and if he ever wanted to lay hands on such creatures, mastering sealing was essential.

“But there’s no need to study personally—I’ll leave it to shadow clones.”

The greatest cheat of the shadow clone technique was its ability to return memories to the original. As long as he could withstand the strain, he would save tremendous time. After returning to the Marvel world, Karn planned to use shadow clones and transformation techniques to learn from the researchers at the biological research center.

His memory was already sharp, and with triple the study time, his research skills would soar.

“Right, I should set aside some dragon flesh for Orochimaru. Who knows what discoveries he might make next time we meet…”

The thought suddenly struck Karn. When leaving Konoha, he’d been preoccupied with saying farewells and keeping an eye on Hiruzen Sarutobi, and had forgotten all about it.

Fortunately, he had learned the summoning technique and signed a contract with Ryuchi Cave. In his carriage, Karn wrote a letter to Orochimaru and enclosed a magical photograph of a fire dragon. He placed the letter, photo, and fire dragon flesh into a sealing scroll.

Crafting sealing scrolls was difficult, but using them was convenient. The seals were drawn in advance, so activating them would instantly store all the items inside.

“Summoning Technique.”

Karn summoned a small white snake, about two meters long—his exclusive messenger to Orochimaru, a Ryuchi Cave snake that contained chakra and understood human speech.

Once summoned, he stuffed the sealing scroll into the snake’s mouth and then released the summoning, sending the snake back to Ryuchi Cave, where it would deliver the message to Orochimaru.

The first time Karn summoned a snake, it had been a green one—also about two meters long—and it was quite attached to him.

He planned to see if this green snake could be taken to the Marvel world via his dimensional backpack, perhaps using freezing or some other method. If it worked, it could guard his home. Karn also intended to bring a house-elf from the Harry Potter world—now that would be the ultimate housekeeper and guardian.

…

The Land of Tea, though bordered on three sides by the sea and sharing a border only with the Land of Fire, could not be called safe.

Mist and Sand often went to war, but Sand rarely fought Mist at sea. On land, Mist’s ninja lost the advantage of their environment, and the two sides would reach a stalemate. After all, Mist lacked a medical genius like Tsunade who could neutralize all poisons.

The Land of Tea was a battleground for the two villages’ interests. Fortunately, only two ninja villages were involved—unlike the Land of Rain, where three nations clashed and civilians had no space to live during war.

Civilians in the Land of Tea, living far from the battlefields, could still eke out a living.

Karn planned to establish a port here, as well as a military camp, an armory, and a central factory for goods. If all went well, the Land of Tea would become his stronghold.

Once his influence grew, he could even persuade Sand and Mist to avoid fighting in the Land of Tea. If they wished to continue buying medicines and other goods from him, they would have to respect this.

The Land of Tea was not small, but its daimyo was weak and incompetent—merciless to his own people, indifferent to the carnage inflicted by Sand and Mist. With greater force, Karn knew the daimyo would not dare provoke him.

This time, Karn brought thirty guards and ten trading company members—twenty of them were trained gunmen, and the other ten were samurai, four of whom possessed chakra. In the Land of Tea, this was a formidable force.

He purchased land, hired staff, and supervised the construction of the factories. Only when everything was arranged did Karn decide to leave.

He had received a message from Mei Terumi—she had arrived in the Land of Waves and was waiting for him at the trading company’s headquarters.

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Chapter 81: Globalizing Influence (Daily Second Update) Free Reading.