Just thinking about it made things obvious—what good could come from mercenaries becoming the heads of nations?
If they were given power, it would be an enormous waste of resources. Ninjas were already a high-income group; even the lowest D-rank missions paid five thousand ryō, and those were so simple that even civilians could handle them—things like finding lost cats or clearing trash.
But if they weren't given power, the daimyo and nobles would live in constant fear. Who knew—maybe one night, a Tailed Beast Bomb would come flying in, and they wouldn't even know how they died.
When Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama fought, the earth hundreds of kilometers away probably shook violently. It would be strange if ordinary people weren't terrified.
Since arriving in the ninja world, Uchiha Yoichi had never worried about money. With strength, you could make money anywhere. After wandering around the Land of Fire for a while, he could only conclude that most places here still had fairly good public order.
Many nobles and merchants employed guards who were merely samurai—people who couldn't even use chakra. If Uchiha Yoichi wanted to "borrow" some money from them, it would be effortless.
How many evil things had Danzo done? Had anyone ever punished him?
Of course not.
That was the advantage of holding a high position. Anyone who tried to report him probably disappeared first.
——————————————
"Old man, hasn't that Uchiha brat come back yet?"
Bang!
The door to the Hokage's office was kicked open. Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't even have time to put away the crystal ball—he could only hurriedly cover it with a cloth.
With a dark expression, Hiruzen turned to Tsunade and said,"Tsunade, could you knock before coming in next time? I'm getting old—being startled like this isn't good for my heart."
"Stop talking about irrelevant things," Tsunade replied impatiently."How's the matter I asked you to investigate last time coming along?"
Tsunade spoke carelessly. Her Hokage teacher was far tougher than most—at the very least, he'd live into his sixties or seventies.
"Two ANBU teams are investigating," Hiruzen said calmly."But the Barrier Team hasn't detected any abnormalities. There aren't many spies capable of infiltrating Konoha to begin with. After ANBU and the Police Force uncovered two recently, there haven't been any others."
As he spoke, Hiruzen discreetly put away the crystal ball wrapped in cloth, then picked up his pipe, lit it, and took a puff before continuing.
"As for Uchiha Yoichi, he hasn't returned yet. However, the B-rank mission assigned to him has already been completed. Right now, he should still be wandering outside the village."
"Tch."
Tsunade clicked her tongue in irritation.
Hiruzen continued,"Tsunade, you said he used Lightning Release Chakra Mode. I haven't been able to find any relevant information so far. The only thing I can confirm is that five months ago, during a mission, everyone in his team except him was killed by Cloud ninjas."
"That was likely his only opportunity to have contact with the Cloud Village. Later, based on information provided by Uchiha Yoichi, ANBU confirmed an important movement by the Cloud Village. Where did you get this information from?"
Tsunade turned her head away slightly."Don't worry about it. My information is absolutely accurate. I wouldn't lie to you."
Was she supposed to say she turned into a wild boar and almost got killed by Uchiha Yoichi, and that's how she saw it?
Setting aside whether Hiruzen would even believe her—there was no way she'd admit something that humiliating. Not in a million years.
"But ANBU carefully questioned all of his surviving teammates," Hiruzen continued,"and none of them have ever seen him use Lightning Release. Even the Jonin who led his team after he graduated from the Academy said that Uchiha Yoichi only had Fire nature chakra."
Hiruzen had already ordered a thorough investigation. The conclusion was that Uchiha Yoichi was perfectly normal—there was no sign of espionage at all. His one-tomoe Sharingan also proved that he was a standard member of the Uchiha clan.
Allowing rumors to spread and discouraging him from forming teams was already the maximum level of compromise the Uchiha clan could accept.
If the investigation went any further, even the Uchiha would likely become dissatisfied.
"Tsunade," Hiruzen said suddenly,"have you ever considered taking on a student? There are quite a few talented kids in the Academy. For example, Sakumo's son—he already has Chunin-level strength."
"Forget it, old man. I won't be staying in Konoha for long."
Tsunade cut him off before he could finish.
Ever since witnessing Kato Dan's death, Tsunade had realized she had developed a fear of blood. She couldn't even perform surgery anymore—how could she possibly take on students?
She couldn't take them on missions, and teaching medical ninjutsu was difficult as well. What was the point of accepting students in her current state?
"If ANBU has spare manpower, lend them to me. Have them investigate what I mentioned earlier. That matter is very important."
With that, Tsunade turned and left. If she stayed any longer, the old man would start nagging her about taking students again.
"Why does she never learn to close the door…"
After Tsunade left, Hiruzen quickly put down his pipe and went to shut the door. Then he took out the crystal ball and cast the Telescope Technique once more.
But after looking at the image in the crystal ball, he let out a sigh.
"Sigh… why did he have to finish washing already?"
—————————
"Well done. This is your payment."
The manager of the underground exchange in Kawatake District of the Land of Fire took out a thick stack of money and handed it to Uchiha Yoichi. Then he continued,
"Want to take more bounties? There've been plenty of assassination and sabotage jobs lately. If you're willing to take jobs targeting the Land of Fire or Konoha, the payout will increase tenfold!"
"Forget it," Yoichi replied flatly."Is Konoha that easy to provoke? Aren't you afraid this place will get wiped out?"
"What do I have to be afraid of?" the exchange manager said indifferently."This is just a branch. If someone takes a job, whether it succeeds or fails, I'll return to the Grass Country. If it succeeds, they can collect the reward there. Would Konoha really dare to invade the Grass Country on a large scale?"
A single branch wasn't worth much money anyway. Completing one bounty more than made up for it.
"This client really went all out. Several ministers of the Land of Fire—kill just one, and you'll earn tens of millions of ryō. Well? Interested?"
Uchiha Yoichi shook his head.
"Don't joke around. With my strength, getting involved would just get me killed. You should look for more famous bounty hunters. Besides, I've done enough missions already. What about the chakra metal you promised me last time?"
"Someone who's completed three consecutive A-rank bounties can't possibly be weak. You can't fool me."
Seeing that Yoichi was unmoved, the exchange manager sighed.
"Fine. Since you're not interested, let's trade. Did you gather enough money?"
Uchiha Yoichi took out a scroll. After undoing the seal, several million ryō spilled out.
This was the money he had accumulated from the three bounty missions. The bulk of it didn't even come from the rewards—it came from the extra gains during the assassinations.
After all, the targets were wealthy enough to hire ninjas for protection. Anyone who could afford that kind of security obviously had considerable assets.
"You're getting a good deal," the exchange manager said after checking the money."Remember to come back to me if you want to take more bounties. I treat you better than most."
He then handed Yoichi a box taken from the safe.
Chakra metal was useless to ordinary people—but to ninjas, it was like adding wings to a tiger.
It could be forged into weapons that were sharper and better suited for chakra flow. In game terms, it was like over-leveled equipment. In close combat, a chakra metal weapon was easily ten times stronger than an ordinary kunai.
However, due to its scarcity—and the fact that every major ninja village was collecting it—chakra metal was rarely circulated.
Uchiha Yoichi had only taken on several A-rank bounties because he learned that this man possessed chakra metal.