Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

Mei Terumi is now trying to extract crucial working capital from the factory, which is like taking away a key component from a machine running at high speed—the consequences could be disastrous.

"Why not? Is the amount too large and you can't afford it?" Mei Terumi frowned, a hint of doubt in her eyes.

"No, that's not it... But we're currently competing with canneries from the Land of Fire..." The factory manager's voice trembled slightly, like a leaf shivering in the cold wind.

The Land of Fire is located by the sea, so naturally there are seafood canneries.

Seeing how much money the Hidden Mist Village was making, they naturally wanted a piece of the pie, like a pack of greedy wolves eyeing their plump prey.

This was certainly not what Kirigakure wanted to see, and naturally, business competition arose between the two sides.

Because it was normal trade competition, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire didn't interfere—Kigakure was very sensible and didn't overstep any boundaries.

For reasons that are not easy to explain to outsiders, both ninja villages pretend to be dead, letting their respective companies harm each other.

In terms of actual strength, Kirigakure is naturally stronger.

Those canneries from the Land of Fire didn't integrate into the high-tech system and were quickly overwhelmed by the Hidden Mist Village.

The problem is, after all, they are brands from the Land of Fire.

Given the same price, residents of the Land of Fire tend to prefer local products, just as children always rely more on their mothers.

If the Hidden Mist faction wants to gain a decisive advantage, it must concentrate more funds.

If Mei Terumi were to withdraw these funds at this point... it's not that we can't continue fighting, but once the window of opportunity closes, achieving victory again will likely be much more difficult.

Even if Mist Village wins the price war, it won't be worth it if the cost is too high.

Their goal is ultimately to make money, not to fight, just as businessmen ultimately pursue profits, not momentary impulses.

"Sigh, how could I not know... It's just..." Speaking of this, Mei Terumi was extremely distressed, her brows furrowed, like a maze whose mystery could not be solved.

Even if the Mizukage really had other plans, this would mean that most of the political and economic resources he had painstakingly accumulated would be squandered.

What kind of victory could possibly compensate for such a huge expenditure... Terumi couldn't figure it out, like groping in the dark without finding a way out.

"In short, go and carry it out." Mei Terumi's voice was calm, but it carried an undeniable firmness.

After hesitating for a long time, the factory manager finally couldn't withstand the pressure from Shuiying and left with a long sigh. His back looked like an old man whose back was bent over by fate.

...The weather is getting colder and colder. The frigid air is like sharp knives, cutting people's faces, and it seems to be foreshadowing an even more severe situation in the future.

As the New Year approaches, the final Five Kage Summit of the year is in full swing inside the Five Kage Building in Konoha.

However, the atmosphere at the meeting was somewhat somber. Apart from the representatives of Sunagakure and Iwagakure, everyone else was distracted—after all, the end of the year was approaching, and who had the mind to do anything big? Everyone was hoping to have a peaceful and good year.

Sunagakure representative Yekura broke the silence first: "Just two days ago, we sent a team of ninjas to escort merchants into the Land of Earth, and we informed you in advance."

But now, they've vanished without a trace. Upon hearing this, the Iwagakure representative quickly waved his hand, saying, "This matter has nothing to do with us."

Ye Cang smiled slightly: "Of course I know it wasn't you who did it, but since it happened on your country's territory, we have to give you an explanation, right?"

The representative of Iwagakure nodded: "The message has been received. We will immediately dispatch an elite team to investigate and will submit a written report to you within a week."

Ye Cang nodded in satisfaction: "Very good, I await good news."

It turns out that not long ago, the group of ninja from Sunagakure who entered the Land of Earth encountered an accident.

This matter is quite strange, after all, it was a legitimate protection mission that had been reported, and neither the Land of Earth nor the Hidden Stone Village had any reason to obstruct it - even if it hadn't been reported, the Hidden Sand Village, as the victorious village, would have only reported it to save face for the other side.

What's even stranger is that bandits are usually no match for ninjas, so why would a strongman who can defeat a team of ninjas take on such a mission that is neither profitable nor likely to cause trouble?

But since the incident occurred on Iwagakure's territory, Iwagakure had no choice but to investigate thoroughly and give Sunagakure an explanation—usually by taking the head of the perpetrator.

With this episode over, the meeting seemed to lose its motivation to continue.

So much has happened this year that everyone is exhausted and has no will to fight anymore.

Subconsciously, everyone had begun to act according to Hiruko's "fight without breaking" plan—no matter how much they argued or made a fuss, their relationships with each other were quietly deepening.

Perhaps one day, when everyone can naturally say "we ninjas" instead of "we XX ninja village," Hiruko will have won a great victory.

Of course, this may take many years... and there's no rushing it.

With the end of the year approaching and the matter of the grass dumplings already settled, and with nothing major happening in Konoha for the time being, Hiruko thought of the tradition of giving out red envelopes during the New Year.

After all, this is his first New Year under his rule, so it has to be taken seriously.

So, while secretly eating Kakashi's bear-shaped cookies, he pondered what his New Year's gift would be.

Gifts were given to Jiraiya, the Third Hokage, Tsunade, and other elders of the uncle generation, as was customary.

The key is family and friends.

For Rumi and her daughter Xiangling, the gifts are a good choice.

Rumi Uzumaki has a gentle personality. As long as the man is good, she is willing to do anything. She has very low material desires.

Buying her a few nice outfits and jewelry is enough; she won't accept anything more expensive.

Overall, she would be happy as long as he spent more time with her.

As for Xiangling, a three-year-old girl, Hiruko really didn't know what she would like... So let's just give her some wish coupons.

Ten small wish tickets can be combined into one medium wish ticket, and ten medium wish tickets can be combined into one large wish ticket... In fact, whatever Xiangling wants, he will give it to her.

But perhaps doing it this way would be more interesting? However, he didn't know what Xiangling really wanted.

Nono is also a gentle woman with few needs, and she loves spending time with children.

It's hard to imagine that someone who has worked on the intelligence front for so long would like children so much... Perhaps it's because he has been exposed to so much darkness that he yearns for that pure joy?

She would be happy to receive anything, since the two of you are currently in the honeymoon phase.

However, what makes her happiest is... organizing the children from the orphanage to come to the Naruto House to play together during the New Year?

Nothing special is needed. Even just making dumplings and playing games together... well, even if it's just political posturing, it's still good. At least it makes everyone feel that the Hokage is right beside them.

But what gift should he give Temari? After much thought, Hiruko finally pulled out a gold shop ownership certificate from the commercial district of the Land of Fire's capital from his wallet.

According to his calculations, gold prices will definitely continue to rise over the next two years.

Temari doesn't lack anything, except for her two younger brothers who are still at home.

Let's give her a shop so she can buy candy for her younger brothers whenever she has free time.

It's always good to maintain a good relationship with the Kazekage faction.

Moreover, this also helps to bring Temari to Konoha's side.

After all, women at the three levels of girlfriend, wife, and mother have completely different ideas... Hiruko did not want to go to war with Sunagakure and the Land of Wind. In his mind, it would be best to peacefully annex the two.

This is not theoretically impossible—just recently, some workers from the Land of Wind have come to the Land of Fire to work.

There's no particular reason; it's just that the wages are higher in the Land of Fire.

It is foreseeable that this situation will become more and more common.

However, those guys on the border of the Land of Fire are not easy to talk to. They are not on the same page as the "senior special advisors" of Konoha, and they can't be of much help.

At present, we can only address the issue once per visit.

Fortunately, the industrial faction also faced a severe labor shortage, and in this respect, their interests aligned with those of Konoha.

It's not that they're unwilling to pay; if we talk it out slowly, we'll eventually reach a solution.

Perhaps years from now, the biggest problem won't be that the Land of Wind refuses to merge with the Land of Fire, but that the Land of Fire is unwilling to merge them... No one can predict the future, let's take it slow.

The meeting was still proceeding at a leisurely pace, with Hiruko resting his chin on one hand and casually scribbling in his notebook.

Everyone was somewhat disheartened, and no one noticed Hiruko's subtle actions.

However, at that moment, a small snake in Hiruko's sleeve suddenly moved.

It dipped its tail in ink and quickly wrote in Hiruko's notebook: "What about my New Year's gift?"

Ah, it's Orochimaru!

For some reason, Orochimaru and his relationship seemed to be getting better and better.

Could it be that physical regeneration greatly accelerated Orochimaru's "snake mother transformation"?

"I haven't decided yet," Hiruko wrote.

Summoning beasts are a complete mess; there are all sorts of types.

Not to mention the various toads with different abilities on Mount Myōboku, Orochimaru even has interactive little snakes here.

"Is there... something troubling you?" Orochimaru continued writing.

"Nothing, just bored," Hiruko replied.

"I have a feeling that someone will make things difficult for you because of the grass dumplings." Orochimaru's handwriting revealed a hint of worry.

"Really? No way." Hiruko said this, but inwardly she couldn't help but have doubts.

"How about we make a bet?" Orochimaru suggested.

"What are we betting on?" Hiruko didn't think he would lose; he was just curious about Orochimaru's ideas.

However, while he was still leisurely communicating with Orochimaru, a sudden change occurred in the meeting room.

After the negotiations between Iwagakure and Sunagakure were completed, they fell silent.

The other three major ninja villages didn't have anything to say either.

Based on experience, at this point, it's time to adjourn the meeting.

But at that moment, the representative of the Land of Snow raised his hand.

—Although it is the Five Kage Summit, other small ninja villages can also come and watch.

For example, Furuya and San's henchmen would always come to support them.

Representatives from other smaller ninja villages sometimes come and sometimes don't, since they don't have the right to vote.

When they sense something might be related to them, they naturally want to join in the fun and express their opinions.

If it has nothing to do with me, then it doesn't matter if I don't come.

But for small countries... they definitely prefer to negotiate with other countries.

However, the charter did not contain any provisions explicitly refusing their arrival.

Hiruko raised his eyebrows and looked at the Snow Country representative who had raised his hand, thinking to himself: This meeting is getting more and more interesting.

"A representative from the Land of Snow? What brings you here?" "I wish to impeach Konoha." The representative from the Land of Snow uttered these strange words.