Tanzo Shimura led his Root members to Nobu.
Several Ninjas from the Hyuga clan, including Hyuga Kazushi, were also in the group.
Whether a deal was to be made or not, the clan head's presence would soothe the agitated branch - family members.
Haruki didn't go with them.
He went to the basement of the Research institute.
It had been about a week, and the Ninjas from the Oshima Chamber of Commerce should all have arrived.
"Lord Haruki, long time no see."
"Shinji Hira? I didn't expect Oshima Yoshiyuki to send you here."
Haruki was a bit surprised as he looked at the young man in front of him.
Shinji Hira was one of the most powerful Ninjas in the Oshima Chamber of Commerce, possessing the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. His hometown was the distant Land of Snow.
"President Oshima said Lord Haruki needed me more here."
"True. How's the situation now?" Haruki stopped dwelling on the matter.
"A total of fifty - eight Ninjas were transferred here this time. Three were selected by Tanzo Shimura and joined the Root. The recruitment requirements of Hiruzen Sarutobi's Anbu were a bit looser, so ten Ninjas joined them. The remaining forty - five are all at the Research institute."
"It's better than I expected."
Haruki was satisfied. It was quite an achievement to train so many Ninjas in three years.
"Give me the list of those at the Research institute."
"Sure."
A moment later, Haruki opened the roster and selected twelve people.
"Call them to me."
"Yes!"
Shinji Hira glanced at the circled names and was a bit puzzled.
These Ninjas were all Genin, older ones with average talent, originally sent here to serve as assistants and do odd jobs.
But he didn't ask and quickly informed them.
"Tomomi Koki, you'll be in charge from now on."
Haruki pointed to a more experienced Ninja and said:
"What you need to do at the beginning isn't difficult. Open or acquire publishing houses and bookstores in Konoha. Remember to adopt legal means."
"Yes!"
Tomomi Koki replied immediately.
Like the other Ninjas, he owed his life to Haruki.
Under Haruki's leadership, both civilians and Ninjas were treated equally.
He once farmed for half a year, so he didn't mind working in ordinary industries.
"Well, I'm giving you duties today. Send someone or hire people to go to public places like restaurants, ramen shops, and hot springs, and spread a piece of news in a casual chat. Say that the main family of the Hyuga clan refused to exchange hostages, resulting in the death of forty branch - family Ninjas."
"Yes!"
"Remember, don't go into too much detail. Make it seem like a rumor, keep it mysterious and exaggerated. Also, to avoid being noticed by the Anbu, everyone can only show up once."
Haruki thought for a moment and added.
Rumors spread the fastest.
Public opinion is a mixture of truth and falsehood, and its content is explosive. He was sure Konoha Village, with its limited entertainment, would be extremely lively in the next few days.
Especially since it involved the prestigious Hyuga clan.
"After the publishing houses and bookstores own at least one - fifth of the market share in Konoha, we're going to publish a new book."
Haruki said with a smile, "The first - phase promotion will be about an adventure novel written by the legendary Sannin, Jiraiya."
When talking about his past life, he felt quite confident.
Of course, there was also nostalgia.
There were bookstores in Konoha.
But the promotion was really lousy.
Unless one specifically went to the bookstore, it was difficult to know what novels were available.
Just the name Jiraiya alone should have ensured massive sales.
"Lord Haruki, do our publishing house and bookstore need to change our names?"
"New Konoha. In addition, prepare Konoha Daily. The initial content should not involve any sensitive topics. Recruit editors and reporters."
"Yes!"
"That's all for now. Report any difficulties to me in a timely manner."
After leaving the basement, Haruki thought for a moment and decided that it might be inappropriate to go to Tsunade.
He had just bid farewell to her a couple of days ago, and coming back now would be like trifling with her feelings.
So he went to the ninja tool group.
Currently, their duty was to cooperate with Byakugan to research a new type of long - range weapon.
"Lord Haruki."
The person in charge of the ninja tool group was Ichiro Muramasa. His ancestors were blacksmiths, and they had been forging weapons for generations.
"Yeah."
Haruki nodded and looked around.
Due to the iron furnace, there were rolling waves of hot air, and it was extremely scorching.
"Are you planning to make crossbows?"
"Yes. Byakugan has an extremely wide field of vision. For a long - range weapon, a crossbow is undoubtedly the most suitable."
Ichiro Muramasa picked up a finished product and put it on his right wrist.
"Compared with ordinary crossbows, the crossbows we make are more miniature, similar to a bracelet. As long as Chakra flows through the crossbow, the iron arrow is triggered and shoots out like lightning, with a range three times that of a Shuriken."
"What are the drawbacks?"
"There are two drawbacks. Firstly, due to the long range, it consumes more Chakra than a Shuriken. Secondly, there is a gap when reloading crossbow bolts."
Haruki pondered slightly and said, "Don't use crossbow bolts. Use Explosive Tag. Wrap the Explosive Tag into pellets to replace the crossbow bolts."
"Explosive Tag? Isn't the cost too high?" Ichiro Muramasa asked hesitantly.
Explosive Tag is a type of talisman that seals Fire Release Ninjutsu within special paper. It has various uses and great power.
Relatively speaking, they are very expensive.
In the original story, Shikamaru had complained about it.
It was difficult for ordinary Genin to afford them.
"It's okay. The Hyuga clan is rich."
Haruki said indifferently, "If necessary, just ask the Hyuga clan to make the Explosive Tag themselves."
Ichiro Muramasa opened his mouth but couldn't find the right words to respond.
Presumably only Haruki would have the audacity to ask the Hyuga clan to do the labor - intensive work of making Explosive Tag.
Oh!
"The Explosive Tag ensure the power of the crossbow. More Chakra can be used to support long - distance Flight. The only thing you need to Experiment with is the time before a Explosive Tag explodes. It can't explode midway."
Haruki pointed to a small space behind the crossbow.
"Use this as a magazine."
He then took out a piece of paper and drew a rectangular magazine.
"Simply put, I need to load the Explosive Tag made into pellets into the magazine. Reloading crossbow bolts becomes replacing the magazine, and there is almost no gap."
"This... This is simply a genius design!"
Ichiro Muramasa got excited.
In this world, due to the limitations of Ninjas, it's already a stroke of luck that crossbows have appeared. As for so - called repeating crossbows, they simply don't exist.
Haruki's idea was truly unprecedented.
No wonder he was so excited.
"Don't get too excited too soon," Haruki patted him on the shoulder. "Since the danger of the Explosive Tag is obvious, you've got a lot on your plate. For instance, you need to design a special safety device that only triggers the Explosive Tag when it's fired."
"I got it!"
Ichiro Muramasa was still extremely enthusiastic and couldn't wait to take action immediately.
Well, he's full of beans.
Haruki couldn't help but laugh.
"Lord Haruki, give it a name. It definitely can't be called a crossbow anymore."
Do we need to name it again?
Haruki stroked his chin.
He really sucked at naming. When registering IDs for games before, he would easily spend half an hour on it.
"Heavenly Fire," Haruki said as if he had thought of something. "Let's call it Heavenly Fire."
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