Naruto-Start by eating the golden fruit

By the time May arrived, Danzo was already spitting blood.

He had discovered another harsh reality:

His factory could no longer sell goods.

Even though production capacity hadn't increased, tens of thousands of bottles of drinks were still being produced every month.

When Youya was in charge, the factory typically sold several hundred thousand bottles a month. Occasionally, with employees working hard for overtime pay, sales even reached a million bottles.

But now, production had dwindled to just tens of thousands of bottles...

It was only then that Danzo realized that producing drinks didn't automatically mean someone would come and buy them.

When Youya left, he had directed his original customers to buy drinks produced in Kirigakure Village.

Although the price from Hidden Mist Village was a bit higher, the customers could still make up the difference. They were also curious to see what the water in Kirigakure Village tasted like.

But upon trying it, they realized the water tasted no different from Konoha's.

As for Danzo, he came to a stark realization: customers had to be negotiated with directly.

It wasn't as simple as waving a hand and expecting people to come running to buy everything.

This left Danzo in a difficult position.

Who would go negotiate with the customers?

Certainly not him—he refused to lower himself.

Thus, the factory operated throughout May in a strange limbo.

The workers were busy all day long without knowing what they were working for.

To cut costs, Danzo ordered the ninjas of the Shimura clan to oversee the factory, replacing regular supervisors.

The ninjas said nothing openly, but their dissatisfaction was palpable.

After all, patrolling for three days could earn them 100,000 ryo, with potential bonuses for spotting abnormalities. Compared to that, supervising a factory without pay felt like a waste of time.

Of course, they only voiced these complaints privately.

Danzo Shimura was set to become the next clan leader, and no one dared to offend him.

Still, resentment festered.

Fortunately, the ninjas found a way to cope: smoking.

As it turned out, it was an effective stress reliever.

Thus, the entire month of May passed in fruitless busyness.

---

By June, Danzo had begun to realize the gap between himself and Youya.

But admitting this fact was out of the question.

Other clans in Konoha Village also noticed the Shimura clan's predicament.

Putting themselves in Danzo's shoes, many realized they might not have done much better.

The Youya family had built these factories during times of extreme poverty. Meanwhile, Danzo still had hundreds of millions of ryo in cash reserves.

Yet, he managed to squander such a favorable starting position.

Danzo was determined to turn things around by the end of the year, ensuring the factory could operate normally and generate profits to save face.

But then, in June, a group of raw material suppliers came knocking.

It was time to pay for the raw materials.

Youya had made agreements with these suppliers to defer payment until mid-year, allowing the factories to stabilize and generate income before settling debts.

Danzo's mouth twitched when he learned he owed over 100 million ryo.

He still had the money, thanks to the cash Youya had left him. But parting with such a large sum made him feel bitter.

The suppliers also asked if Danzo planned to continue purchasing raw materials.

If not, they would seek other buyers.

Danzo, after much deliberation, gritted his teeth and agreed to buy more.

He refused to believe his factory couldn't succeed.

But then, disaster struck in July.

A ninja from the Shimura clan caught a worker slacking off and responded harshly, injuring the worker so severely they were hospitalized and nearly died.

This incident left Danzo stunned.

Soon after, he was summoned to the Hokage's office by Senju Tobirama.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Tobirama yelled. "We're all part of the same village!

Are these workers not human beings? Why are you treating them like animals?!

If this is how you plan to manage a factory, how do you expect to manage a village if you become Hokage?!

If you can't handle this, you have no business sitting in my position!

If I hadn't suppressed this incident and paid the family's medical expenses—one million ryo—you'd already be plastered all over tomorrow's Ninja Newspaper!

Now get out of my sight! Don't let me see you again!"

Danzo left the office in disgrace.

After wandering the streets for a day, he returned to the factory.

But by then, the workers had gone on strike. Those who hadn't were already preparing to quit.

Danzo, faced with no other choice, ordered the factory to shut down.

He had given in.

But he refused to admit defeat to Youya directly.

Instead, he chose to shut everything down quietly, valuing his pride above all else.

In truth, if Danzo had treated the workers with respect, things might not have turned out so badly.

Youya hadn't intentionally sabotaged him, but the challenges Danzo faced were all interconnected.

First, Youya had taken all the experienced workers with him.

To run the factory, Danzo had to recruit new workers at higher wages, which drove up costs.

Second, Danzo replaced the factory's management with members of the Shimura clan.

But they knew nothing about management or production techniques, creating inefficiencies.

Third, Danzo failed to build relationships with distributors, refusing to spend money on hospitality or incentives.

Finally, there were the raw material payments, which had to be made regardless.

Youya had calculated that even if Danzo's factory managed to stay afloat, it would require shrinking the workforce, reducing benefits, and cutting production.

By the end, the hundreds of millions of ryo Danzo inherited would likely be gone, leaving the Shimura clan in a worse state than before.

The stark contrast between Youya's success and Danzo's failure would be undeniable.

---

By August, the beverage factory had shut down.

Ordinarily, Youya would have stepped in to take over.

However, he was occupied with a joyous event:

In early August of Konoha's 23rd year, Tsunade's younger brother, Nawaki, was born.

Youya made sure to attend the celebration in person.

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