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Gojo Kaigetsu clapped his hands together, immediately producing a basketful of sealing scrolls.
He held one in his hand, raising it in front of him: "You are Konoha's secret forces. You've been training in the sky these past few days. I can see that you've all been working hard, and you're now basically proficient in using flight ninjutsu."
"Now, as an Elder Advisor of the Hokage Tower, I formally issue you a mission!"
"All Shinobi, listen up!"
"Aye!"
"The Aerial Shinobi force is divided into five squads, each consisting of twenty-one Shinobi… I need you all to change into Aerial Shinobi uniforms, headbands, and masks. Four of the squads will carry a sufficient amount of sealing scrolls and deliver them to Konoha outposts within the Four Great Nations."
Gojo Kaigetsu pulled out a map and accurately marked several points on it.
Preparing troops takes time, but it's worth it. From the very beginning of the plan to invade the Four Great Nations, while showering the nobles of the Four Great Nations with cash, Gojo Kaigetsu had secretly established industries within them.
During peacetime, they were legitimate companies serving as a cover. During wartime, they were Konoha's secret outposts behind enemy lines.
The registered personnel were a mixed bag, ensuring that Konoha couldn't be traced.
"Sir… what's inside these?"
"Tulip bulbs." Gojo Kaigetsu explained: "Your mission is to sell all the Tulip bulbs at the right time and, at the right time, buy them all back from the market."
"Huh?"
"The remaining squad will be on standby at all times to transmit messages, maintaining a fast exchange of intelligence. I will remind you at critical moments."
The Shinobi world has this inconvenience—information exchange is too slow. Aside from the red hotline equipped by the Daimyo and the fixed-time hotline between outposts and the front lines, most of the time, messages can only be delivered by manpower. More advanced methods include releasing messenger birds or telepathic communication…
But now that Konoha has mastered flight ninjutsu, the efficiency of transmitting intelligence has greatly improved, and it can barely support the launch of the Tulip Project.
"There's no time to lose. The operation must be carried out simultaneously with the Fire Games. The bubble will burst after the Fire Games ends…"
"Now I declare, the operation begins!"
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A port on the northernmost edge of the Land of Earth.
Numerous ships were docked on the coast, and a continuous row of warehouses was built on the shore.
Contrary to popular belief, the Land of Earth has coastlines on its north and east sides, and across the sea lies the Land of Lightning.
At the same time, the "Northern Port" of the Land of Earth is also the largest trading port in the western part of the Shinobi world. The amount of goods flowing in and out daily is enormous.
The Land of Earth, the Land of Frost, the Land of Water, and the Land of Lightning across the sea—most of the goods traded between them are gathered here. Countless merchants are stationed here, and the Northern Port contributes a large amount of tax revenue to the Land of Earth every year.
The number of ships entering and leaving the port is countless, bringing the wealth of the great seafaring world here, and the nobles of the Land of Earth benefit from it, buying luxuries from Konoha, acquiring Water Style users and purchasing seafood from the Land of Water…
A trading company under the flag of the Land of Bears, Umbrella Corporation, arrived here about a year and a half ago.
Its main business was trading specialties of the Land of Bears: bear paws and ivory.
And now…
The president of Umbrella Corporation began visiting his business partners and local noble friends, inviting them to a dinner party.
When he showed them a flower unlike any they had ever seen, everyone was stunned.
Purple petals, intoxicatingly beautiful.
When the first purple tulip was pinned to the chest of the Northern Port City Lord's wife, the entire party was silent!
Then, accompanied by the Umbrella president's deep and magnetic voice: "Purple tulip, the flower language, noble and endless love~"
All of a sudden, the Northern Port City Lord's wife became the focus of the party.
Since the Shinobi world entered the Ninja Villages Era, it has been more peaceful than the Warring States period. Countless fortunes were created during the Ninja Villages Era.
This made the already wealthy even wealthier. The nobles of the great nations had increasingly full purses.
Fifty years ago, when nations entrusted battles to Shinobi villages, the nobles no longer had to worry about their personal safety. All major matters were handled by those Shinobi who had undergone rigorous training.
Every day, they had to think about how to make money, how to seize power, how to spend money, and how to demonstrate their authority.
Even in a relatively closed and conservative country like the Land of Earth, a new atmosphere emerged.
Extravagance became fashionable, and showing off wealth became a trend.
Luxuries from the Land of Fire, seafood from the Land of Water… a trip required commissioning the Shinobi village for an exorbitant fee, hiring special jōnin or even elite jōnin to protect them. Sometimes, if they encountered handsome young Shinobi, there might be a night of passion, paid for with cash.
Everything—eating, wearing, and using—became a way for people to embellish and decorate themselves, to boast about their possessions.
People gradually began to use flamboyant colors to decorate their mansions and clothes. The only shortcoming… was that the most vibrant color in the Shinobi world was extremely expensive.
Because the production of purple pigment was complex and extremely scarce, ordinary nobles looked at it with desire but couldn't afford it. Only high-ranking ministers, Daimyo, and a few wealthy nobles could wear purple accessories.
But now…
People looked at the flower pinned to the chest of the Northern Port City Lord's wife, that flower that symbolized the most noble dark purple tulip, and they were all boiling.
They might not be able to read Iki, and they might not understand the advanced ideas that Gojo Kaigetsu wanted to instill in them. But they had eyes and could recognize the purple color of the flower, which was the most noble color!
After the party held by the president of Umbrella, the remaining nobles and wealthy businessmen of the Northern Port were reluctant to leave for a long time. They gathered together to discuss the tulip on the chest of the City Lord's wife.
It should have been a discussion of the ups and downs of the chest, but it turned into a discussion of the gorgeous flowers…
The wind direction quietly changed.
After this party, the news began to spread.
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