Without any surprise, this auction basically became a competition among the three great ninja villages, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure.
As the big brother of the ninja world...
After Konoha set a price, everyone started to watch the fun quietly, especially Jiraiya. When he came, the old man specifically told him not to smile, but to watch the show honestly and never get involved!
And Sunagakure...
Watching Iwagakure and the others bid with a cold sneer, their Sunagakure now also had a legendary sword.
Therefore, no matter who ended up with this sword in the future, their Sunagakure would not be afraid. The Third Kazekage even felt like slamming the table and shouting loudly, 'We, Sunagakure, do not want this sword, but we want half of the money from selling it.'
But then he remembered that this time it wasn't Konoha selling the sword, but Uzushiogakure. The Kazekage decided to forget it.
After all...
Back then, the First Kazekage had a bad reputation that lasted until now precisely because he was thick-skinned and tried to share the benefits of the tailed beasts with Konoha.
The Third Kazekage glanced at Konoha's representative...
One of the Sannin, Jiraiya, who had the title of Toad Sage. He stroked his chin and fell into deep thought. Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, only Konoha had encountered the swords long ago, so he intended to ask what exactly Konoha had discovered through their research.
After all, no one in Sunagakure had been able to awaken their sword, Wind Sand, yet...
But such confidential matters, he figured Konoha would not tell them.
Sigh.
It was more realistic to send some spies to Konoha to investigate after returning to the village.
He then turned his gaze back to the exquisite wooden tray holding the hilt of Flame Happiness. Rumor said this was a sword wrapped in flames, but now, just like Sunagakure's Wind Sand, it had not been activated yet.
Of course...
If the sword spirit was not awakened and it was only in an activated state, the power of this legendary sword was not very great.
If it weren't for the fact that Suna-nin had亲眼见过 (seen with their own eyes) the power of Frostmourne back then, the Kazekage would now think these legendary swords were just some kind of scam.
But...
"Who exactly forged these legendary swords?" the Kazekage murmured, stroking his chin. "The Sage of Six Paths?"
Given their威力 (power), aside from the legendary Sage of Six Paths, who founded the Shinobi Order, he couldn't think of anyone else.
Based on the three swords seen so far, their appearances were very similar, likely all forged by the same person.
And now...
The auction, which had lasted half a day, was nearing its end.
The narrow-eyed Third Mizukage, though his expression showed no change on the surface and remained calm, the tightly clenched right hand resting on his lap revealed his inner turmoil. He had probably cursed Konoha countless times inside.
If they kept borrowing money from Konoha like this...
What would they use to repay it later?
But...
For the legendary sword, no matter what, for the Land of Water, and for the village, they had the duty and responsibility to bring back the national treasure of the Land of Water. As for whether it would be placed in the Land of Water or in Kirigakure afterward...
That could be decided later.
Anyway, the Daimyo of the Land of Water absolutely had to pay this money. Otherwise, Kirigakure would have no choice but to start a war. As for repaying it themselves?
Don't be ridiculous!
How could their Kirigakure repay such a huge sum of money?
Either keep owing it forever, or go to war. As for actually repaying the money?
Konoha was wealthy and loved peace; surely they wouldn't care about such a small amount of money.
So...
The Third Mizukage raised his right hand expressionlessly and said calmly, "Ten billion."
The thought of not having to repay the money made him feel much more relaxed inside.
And Jiraiya...
He was indeed intimidated by the Mizukage's boldness. He didn't know what the old man (Hiruzen) was thinking. This was tens of billions,上百亿 (over ten billion)!
Just lent so easily to other villages?
He, as the old man's disciple, had such a hard time living in Uzushiogakure not long ago!
Thinking about it made him sad enough to cry...
Back then, to survive...
He, one of Konoha's Sannin, the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, cast aside his pride. When he had no money, he would scam meals and drinks, or else...
Sell chakra!!
He sold so much that even now his body felt somewhat weak.
"Maybe..." Jiraiya murmured, narrowing his eyes, "I should borrow some money from the old man later."
As his teacher, the old man should be quite willing.
Tsunade beside him was stunned upon seeing this. As Konoha's Gambling Queen, she knew Konoha's financial revenue well. Last time, during the war, they spent a huge amount to buy airships and scientific ninja tools, and the village's finances were in deficit. Where did the old man get this money from?
Finally, she thought of the Uchiha clan and the Senju clan...
Her heart sank.
He couldn't have sold land to get it.
The Uchiha clan, because the family had no heir anymore, all their land was taken over by the village. And the Senju...
Just to promote the ideals of the God of Shinobi, Tsunade had sold large tracts of Senju clan land to the village at a low price, leaving only a small plot with the ancestral house.
After all...
Even though she was the only heir left of the Senju clan, she still needed a place to live. A small plot was enough.
Tsunade sighed inwardly.
This was all she could do for Konoha. In a while, after Shizune graduated, she would take her away. The Hokage...
They were all fools.
Her granduncle, her grandfather, her father, her mother, her brother, her clansmen...
They all fought for that dream, and in the end...
They all died.
So, they were fools too!!
"Sigh." Tsunade sighed, stood up, patted Jiraiya, and said, "I'll leave the rest to you."
She...
Really couldn't take it anymore.
Ever since Dan and Nawaki died, she found herself addicted to gambling. Only inside the casino would her heart find peace.
So...
For now, she should go play a few rounds at the casino in the Land of Iron.
She liked the feeling of losing. As long as she kept losing...
She wouldn't feel afraid.
"Tsunade..." Jiraiya looked at Tsunade's back, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He closed his eyes again. He knew...
Tsunade was always afraid inside.
Just like her sudden hemophobia, she...
Was afraid of the people around her dying.
"Maybe after this is over, I should take Tsunade to Uzushiogakure for a visit."
She...
Still had clansmen alive.
...
"Mizukage." The Raikage glared angrily at the Mizukage. This amount of money was simply too much, more than their Land of Lightning could possibly come up with, let alone Kumogakure. After all, the Land of Lightning wasn't like Konoha, with fertile land and a suitable climate. The living environment in the Land of Lightning was just too harsh.
Although he had long known that only their three great villages would compete, but...
Kirigakure was actually this extravagant?
He...
Smelled a conspiracy.
The Tsuchikage also guessed that Konoha must have allied with Kirigakure, wanting to exchange Frostmourne for Flame Happiness.
It seemed he and Kumogakure also needed to...
He turned to look at the Raikage beside him.
If they didn't cooperate, they would truly fall behind Konoha and the others.
The Raikage nodded faintly. Now they had to unite. They absolutely could not let the sword fall into Konoha's hands. Otherwise...
What if, after the exchange, Konoha really managed to awaken the sword spirit of Flame Happiness?
After all, Flame Happiness originally belonged to the Land of Fire.
So...
They must stop Konoha!
As for what to do with the sword finally obtained?
They could only...
The Raikage and Tsuchikage looked at each other and nodded.
Seal it away!!
No one touches it.
At the same time, they inwardly cursed that Uchiha Shin fiercely.
Now the Raikage and Tsuchikage felt more and more that the rumors they spread were correct. Otherwise, why did Konoha have a sword, Kirigakure have a sword, even Sunagakure have one, but Iwagakure and Kumogakure didn't?
So...
They must have had them too.
But they were stolen!
"Damn Goddess Alliance." The Raikage cursed angrily inwardly.
Sooner or later, he would destroy this organization!
And...
Let them return the ninja swords to the Hidden Cloud Village!
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