Chapter 297. More Money!
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Orochimaru.
A rogue ninja from Konoha.
Once, for the sake of one billion, he made a move against a key figure of Konoha—the founder of the now-defunct Root Studio, Shimura Danzo.
But—
No one knew.
At the time, he only acted because he felt like he'd been played!
They clearly promised to provide him with First Hokage cells for research, but what did he end up studying?
Yuto BBQ sauce? Milk tea recipes? Movie player devices?
What the hell?!
He, Orochimaru-sama, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, a man of intelligence far beyond others, was made to research such nonsense?
It was an insult!
So—
In the end—
He thought it over…
And decided to just take the First Hokage's cells and do the research himself.
It's really hard to carry it~
However—
Setting up a lab, training researchers, covering daily expenses… all of it required money.
So, after some thought…
There was a billion-rank bounty from Konoha sitting right there, so why not…?
Unfortunately—
He failed in the end. The old man and that brat Minato caught him. He didn't get the one billion and had no choice but to defect.
Of course—
It wasn't a huge problem.
As one of the Sannin, and someone far more intelligent than others, he still had plenty of ways to make money.
Even if it was a billion—it would just take a bit more time and effort.
So, after leaving the village, he set off down the path of independent entrepreneurship. He recruited subordinates all over and even founded Otogakure in the Land of Rice Fields. With missions taken by his own village, they earned rewards. Everything was progressing perfectly.
And to stay hidden, he even avoided messing with certain things or sending people out too much.
However—
At some point…
The village leader came to him and said, "Orochimaru-sama, missions are becoming fewer and fewer, and it's getting harder to make money."
Apparently—
Konoha had come up with some new messy inventions again. They allowed ninjas from far away to communicate faster, complete missions more efficiently, and even have things bought online and delivered right away. The old traditional ways of trade and missions were dying out.
As a result, fewer people commissioned them. Everyone looked down on them, calling them bumpkins who didn't understand anything.
Eventually—
Many of his subordinates approached him too.
[Orochimaru-sama, we can't work for you on this kind of pay! Konoha, Kirigakure, even Sunagakure now provide insurance for ninjas, five social insurances and one housing fund, triple pay on missions during holidays. When there are no missions, they can deliver food or run express deliveries. And you? This little money for risking our lives… that's just exploitation!]
He was completely dumbfounded when he heard it.
But he also understood—
These guys were planning to defect, so he just sacrificed them all to Manda.
Even so—
It was getting harder and harder to make money.
If not for a few loyal followers, most of his people would've probably fled by now, leaving him alone to uncover the secrets of the ninja world.
Therefore—
To make money, he had no choice but to come out himself and see what Konoha had been up to lately.
And then Iwagakure approached him with a big job.
And—
He just so happened to be short on cash!
Perfect match!
So he arrived in Kumogakure and saw what everyone had been talking about: the internet, mobile phones, and this so-called ninja racing.
Orochimaru stared at the so-called "Ninja Grand Prix" in front of him and sighed emotionally, "Konoha is really getting better and better at playing."
However—
Iwagakure picking this time to start a war… aren't they afraid of being obliterated~?
There were plenty of powerful ninja below—even a few Orochimaru himself wouldn't dare underestimate. Especially that toad and monkey carrying cars…
Impressive!
Very impressive!
Respect!
Mad respect!
Of course—
What piqued his curiosity even more was that Uchiha brat from back then. He never expected the kid would come up with so many strange and fascinating inventions.
At this moment—
Riing! Riing!
The phone rang. It was one Orochimaru had specifically bought after arriving in Kumogakure. He had to admit, it was pretty convenient.
"Moshi moshi~"
"This is Stone! This is Stone! Calling Sea Snake! Calling Sea Snake!"
"Sea Snake here! Sea Snake here! Go ahead, Stone!"
"It's almost time!"
"Seriously? After watching this race, you guys still plan to go through with it?"
"We of Iwagakure have no other choice! Besides, you… one of the Legendary Three of Konoha—Orochimaru—you've been prepared for this, haven't you?"
"Prepared, yes!" Orochimaru squinted, licking his tongue. "But with this kind of payment, it's going to be difficult for us~ This isn't what you promised!"
"So what do you want?"
"Add more money!"
"Triple! That's our final offer, Orochimaru! I hope you don't bring this up again—if you do, I'll send your information straight to Konoha."
"No problem~ I, Orochimaru, am still very credible."
Beeep!
Orochimaru smiled and shook his head, muttering to himself, "You people in Iwagakure are also quite good at playing~"
Then he continued watching the race.
According to Iwagakure's plan… once the fourth track began, they would launch their operation.
After all, the course set up by Kumogakure this time was quite long. Once the fourth course began, it would be hard for anyone to return quickly. On top of that, Iwagakure would blow up all passageways, trapping everyone over there. All they had to do was move fast, take the spectators hostage, and inflict massive damage on the other villages.
At that moment—
All racers had already entered the second track.
Boulder Rolling Course.
If you can't destroy these boulders here, you will be crushed~
…
On the other side.
After the Fourth Raikage's speech and crossing the first cliff, all the ninja began showing off their techniques.
Every kind of offensive ninjutsu was hurled at rival racers. Some even used shadow clones to open their windows and launch fire dragons from the side.
The battle was intense.
The purple car took to the skies, airdropping explosive tags within ten seconds, blowing up the area and clearing a path.
The white car used the Byakugan to plan a safe route far in advance, dodging all attacks and even spinning in place to deflect incoming ninjutsu.
There was even…
A toad carrying a van, which left everyone speechless!
The big toad put the van down, lit his giant smoking pipe, scratched his belly, then looked at the van floating on a tree branch… with Jiraiya inside, and said, "Jiraiya, it's hard for me to help you with such a long distance and such a small reward~"
"…"
Then why didn't you say so earlier?
Jiraiya looked speechlessly at the van parked on the tree. If Gamabunta let go right now, the van he worked so hard to buy would be totaled. A few years ago, he used most of his savings to help the old man pay off debts. Add in traveling and research expenses, and he hadn't saved much since.
After all, he was a wanderer!
What did he need money for?
"Mount Myoboku doesn't even need money. What do you need it for?" Jiraiya snapped at Gamabunta. "Hurry up! The fourth stage is next—if we keep stalling, we'll lose! Don't worry, when this is over I'll give you a back scrub, scrub it real nice, make you feel amazing!"
However—
Gamabunta exhaled like a mob boss, shook his head, "Not enough! Not enough!"
"What more do you want?"
"Money!"
"…What do you even need that for?"
"To drink milk tea, get internet service set up, and buy a bigger phone." Gamabunta scratched his belly. "I'm not sure if Mount Myoboku can even get internet yet. You humans make those devices so tiny, my fingers don't work with them—I can only watch the old man play. It's infuriating!"
"…"
Is Mount Myoboku that trendy now?
Jiraiya's mouth twitched, but he sighed and nodded, "Fine…"
He hadn't even finished speaking when—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Massive chain explosions went off.
And then—
"Earth Release: Iron Fist Prison!"
"Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!"
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
A flurry of Earth Release ninjutsu erupted.
Jiraiya and Gamabunta, who were bargaining, suddenly changed their expressions.
"It's just a damn race! Who the hell is going this crazy?!"
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