After meeting the clan head and receiving their reward, Shisui and Kaida returned home. By now, it was almost nighttime.
As soon as they entered the house, an orange blur jumped toward them.
"Big brother! I've been waiting for you guys for so long!" Naruto exclaimed as he launched himself at Kaida.
"Hey, you might get hurt!" Shisui said, catching him mid-jump and gently setting him down.
"Why did you guys go out without waiting for me?" Naruto demanded, not giving them a moment's peace.
"Aunt said you were out playing with your friends, so we decided to let you enjoy yourself with them. After all, they're much more important than your brother, who just came back after so long," Kaida said dramatically, feigning hurt.
"Nooo! I didn't know you guys were coming back! If I had, I wouldn't have gone out. I've been waiting for you to return for so long!" Naruto hurriedly explained.
"Hahaha, you should see your face, Naruto. He's just teasing you! We know you were waiting for us," Shisui said, ruffling Naruto's hair.
"Stop teasing my poor little boy," Hae said as she entered the hall.
"Okay, Aunt. Oh, Naruto, did you meet Kenta?" Kaida asked.
"Oh! Yeah, he's so big and cute! He doesn't even get angry and even played with me!" Naruto replied excitedly.
"Good. He's going to live with us now, so make sure to be friends with him, okay?" Shisui said.
"We're already friends! He even shook my hand!" Naruto said proudly.
"Good. Why don't you go play with him some more?" Kaida suggested.
"Okay!" Naruto shouted, running out to the backyard to play with Kenta.
"Aunt, where is Yomi?" Kaida asked.
"She went out to buy a mattress for Kenta," Hae replied.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot about that," Kaida said.
"Don't worry. By the way, were you able to find someone for Kenta's food?" Hae asked.
"Yes, Mom, and it's within the price range you gave us, so don't worry," Shisui replied.
"The restaurant next door agreed to our deal, and they'll start delivering food from tomorrow," Kaida added.
"Good. That's a relief—I was worried about that the most," Hae said with a smile.
"Since we have some time, Aunt, why don't we discuss how to proceed with our business?" Kaida suggested.
"Sure. I need something to do anyway; otherwise, I might fall asleep from exhaustion," Shisui said.
The three of them sat on the living room sofa, and Hae brought out some documents.
"We aren't having any issues with the bathhouse. Even though some smaller bathhouses have opened in the village, none of them can match our prices or standards. Our revenue is still between 7–9 million Ryo, even after all these months," Hae said, opening a map marked with locations of the new bathhouses.
"Aunt, the bathhouse area looks way too big on this map," Kaida remarked.
"Oh! Yes, I bought some of the nearby properties around the bathhouse. I made a 10 million Ryo down payment and took a 30 million Ryo loan from the bank. All the nearby land now belongs to us," Hae explained.
"Hmm, that's great. With the bathhouse's popularity, it's a steal to get all that land for just 40 million," Shisui said.
Normally, 40 million Ryo was an amount even a clan would think about thrice before spending. But the land in question was vast—almost half the total land owned by smaller clans like the Kurama or Hatake clans.
When the Uchiha were forcibly relocated to the outskirts of the village, they were given an excess of land as compensation. Since the land was on the outskirts, its price was already low, and because the Uchiha hadn't used it for years, it was even cheaper. This allowed Hae to acquire so much land for just 40 million Ryo. Considering the size of the property, it was a deal worth taking.
"Initially, I thought we'd have to wait a while before expanding the business further to pay off the loan. But with our current finances, the loan is manageable, so we can expand if we want," Hae said.
"So, Aunt, do you have any ideas for expansion?" Kaida asked.
"Apart from some drink and food shops, perhaps a fashion outlet featuring clothes from other villages might be a good idea. But even these won't occupy more than 2% of the new area," Hae said.
"They'll still bring in decent revenue," Shisui said, referencing the income from similar shops in the Uchiha district.
"True. But isn't it wasteful to leave so much land unused?" Kaida asked.
"You've got something planned, don't you?" Shisui said, recognizing the tone in Kaida's voice.
With a big smile, Kaida went to the backyard and brought back some dirt.
"Let's assume this is all the land we own," Kaida said, spreading the dirt on the ground.
Hae and Shisui nodded, letting him continue.
"We only occupy this much space for the bathhouse," Kaida said, using Earth Release to form a small replica of the bathhouse in the dirt.
"And since we plan to add a few shops, let's assume there'll be five. These will be structured around the bathhouse so that people coming and going can use them," he added. Five two-story shops formed around the bathhouse replica.
"Now we have all this free space left. We need a new business plan for it," Kaida said, gesturing at the remaining area.
"When we were outside the village, I noticed something: wealthy people have too much money but very few sources of entertainment. That's why the Chunin Exams, where they can see ninjas fighting, are so popular. So, I thought—what if there was a place where they could watch such fights weekly, with guaranteed intensity and drama?" Kaida explained.
Using Earth Release, he created a large replica of a stadium. It resembled a Roman coliseum but with modifications, including a fighting platform and audience seating.
"You want to host fights?" Hae asked.
"Not fights, Aunt—just spars. Nothing brutal. These will be normal ninja spars, but with the added incentive of earning money," Kaida clarified.
"But…"
"I know, Aunt. Don't worry. We'll ensure it's all legal, with betting monitored by the clan head and village higher-ups," Kaida assured her.
"I don't know. Unlike the bathhouse, this involves the interests of many people. We'd need permission from several authorities even to consider something like this."
"But the chances of its success are almost certain, and the revenue it generates will dwarf our current income," Kaida argued.
"And how will you find new ninjas to participate every week?" Shisui asked.
"Money, brother. Genin-level spars could earn 8–16 thousand Ryo. Chunin-level spars could pay 20–30 thousand. For Jonin-level fights, we could offer 300–400 thousand Ryo, and for famous ninjas, the prize could go even higher," Kaida explained.
"You've really thought this through, huh?" Hae said, studying the stadium replica. After some time, she pointed to a platform within the model.
"And what's this platform for?" she asked.
"Fights alone could get boring over time. We'll need to add some drama and storytelling to keep the audience engaged," Kaida said.