"No."
Uchiha Ren rejected Kakuzu without hesitation.
As expected, Kakuzu, this money-grubbing monster, still hadn't changed. He wanted to return to his old trade and pull off another big job.
Hanzo of the Salamander was extremely powerful. He had single-handedly defeated the Sannin in their youth, and he was surrounded by a guard unit made up of jonin.
Of course—
If the one taking the job was Kakuzu, Konoha's gold-medal bounty hunter, then although the difficulty was extremely high, there was still a chance he might actually succeed.
After all, Kakuzu had five lives.
If he played dead and launched a surprise attack afterward, the result was hard to predict.
"Fine…"
Kakuzu's face fell.
He had already guessed that Konoha was pushing things from behind the Rain Village. After all, the new Will of Rain and Konoha's new Will of Fire were practically identical.
Both preached that shinobi should eliminate nobles and become the rulers of nations.
Konoha's ambitions toward the Land of Fire were already obvious.
Yet the Fire Daimyo—
And even the daimyō across the entire ninja world—
Acted as if they had not seen Konoha's "improper intentions" at all.
The difference between piercing that thin layer of paper and leaving it untouched was simply heaven and earth.
Perhaps Hanzo of the Salamander was actually the Hokage's agent in the Land of Rain, used to test the daimyō's attitude and reaction through the Rain Country.
Kakuzu had no interest in the affairs of big shots.
He only cared about making money.
Now that the Hokage had personally made his attitude clear, this business could not be done.
What a pity.
Kakuzu took a dispirited sip of iced cola and said nothing more.
Hatake Sakumo looked at Kakuzu with disgust.
This money-crazed bastard had already made so much from the Ponzi scheme operation.
And he still wasn't satisfied?
Although Sakumo himself had earned quite a lot—enough wealth and luxury for a lifetime—he knew when to stop.
After all, the money he earned was head-on-the-line money.
Sometimes, when he thought about it—
How much money was enough?
When Hatake Sakumo was younger, he had not understood the dangers of the ninja world. He had wanted to take more missions, earn more money, and make a name for himself along the way.
Now he understood.
Especially after witnessing the methods of the Hokage sitting before him.
Damn it!
The Hokage's methods devoured people without leaving bones behind.
One careless step, and you would fall straight into the trap.
Human greed.
Human malice.
Human shamelessness.
Hatake Sakumo had seen far too much during this mission.
He was no longer the reckless rookie he had once been.
As a shinobi, one had to learn the three reflections:
Reflect on danger.
Reflect on retreat.
Reflect on change.
When you recognized danger, you had to find a way to avoid it.
That was reflecting on danger.
Then you had to hide somewhere no one could see you.
That was reflecting on retreat.
Hatake Sakumo planned to retire for a while.
And if he could place a time limit on that retirement—
He hoped it would be ten thousand years.
From now on, he never wanted to leave the village for a mission again.
As for Kakuzu, that money-grubbing monster?
He would die outside sooner or later.
"Hokage-sama, please don't call me for missions like this in the future."
"I plan to honestly spend the rest of my life in Konoha."
"I've already written to my family. In a couple of days, they'll arrange a marriage meeting for me."
"I want to safely marry a wife and have a few sons."
"Preferably sons with black hair. Yellow hair is fine too."
"In short, they absolutely must not have white hair."
"I'm afraid they'll die young out there."
Hatake Sakumo looked at Uchiha Ren and spoke slowly.
Uchiha Ren looked at him in slight surprise.
Was this still the little white-haired man later known as Konoha's White Fang?
How had he become like this?
He looked as if he had attained enlightenment.
"Fine…"
"I'll try."
"Remember to invite me when you get married. I'll give you a big red envelope."
Uchiha Ren patted Hatake Sakumo on the shoulder and temporarily agreed to his request.
At the moment, Konoha had no new wealth-harvesting projects.
As for the future—
That was hard to say.
Hatake Sakumo handled this kind of work cleanly and efficiently. Letting such talent retire this early would be far too wasteful.
Earn enough money and then wash your hands of it?
Where in the world was there such a cheap deal?
Hatake Sakumo's face stiffened.
I'll try?
Could someone translate what "I'll try" meant?
What the hell did "I'll try" mean?!
"…Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Hatake Sakumo roared inwardly, but in the end, he still couldn't challenge the Hokage directly.
He could only nod helplessly.
It seemed he couldn't be too picky with his marriage partner.
He had to act quickly.
Get married as soon as possible.
Then have a son immediately.
In this era, the customs of the Warring States period had not fully faded, and people still placed heavy importance on continuing the family line.
Hatake Sakumo stopped speaking, his mind filled with thoughts of having a son.
Uchiha Ren turned his gaze toward Kakuzu again.
He planned to discuss the Mental Sauna Room with him.
This kind of unconscionable matter definitely couldn't have the Hokage personally taking the blame.
"Mental Sauna Room?"
"Can it make money?"
Kakuzu carried no moral burden.
He only cared about whether it could generate profit.
"Guaranteed profit."
"And with almost no cost."
Uchiha Ren turned and walked toward his desk.
He had already prepared a rough proposal for the Mental Sauna Room long ago, keeping it pressed beneath his drawer.
Once the necessary conditions were met, the project could begin immediately.
"Good… good!"
"As expected of Hokage-sama!"
"Those Sky Ninja were truly wasting heavenly treasures. They had something this good and didn't take it out to make money. Hokage-sama is still—"
Kakuzu read while praising Uchiha Ren's plan.
Using the Zero-Tails' power to convert human negative emotions into chakra—
It could purify the human mind.
The extracted chakra could be sold to the Konoha Power Grid Company.
And those workhorses, after having their negative emotions cleansed, could devote themselves wholeheartedly to work again.
Three profits from one fish.
This was simply profit all the way to grandmother's house.
As for how hellish this money-making process was—
Or how future generations might evaluate such methods—
Kakuzu didn't care in the slightest.
This veteran shinobi, born in the Warring States era and once "contended" with Senju Hashirama, had already accepted Uchiha Ren's ideological transformation and stood at the forefront of the age.
But traces of old-school shinobi thinking still remained within him.
For a shinobi to achieve a goal, sacrifices had to be made.
Certain things had to be discarded.
Each era had its own spirit.
At least to Kakuzu, the things he had discarded were all useless.
Morality?
Integrity?
How much could they sell for per pound?
Hatake Sakumo glanced curiously at the proposal in Kakuzu's hands.
Very few money-making plans could excite Kakuzu this much.
"Little White Hair, what are you looking at?"
"Do you want to get rich together too?"
Kakuzu noticed Hatake Sakumo's gaze and magnanimously invited him to join the big-money plan.
This little white-haired guy was actually a decent assistant.
"No, no!"
Hatake Sakumo shook his head like a rattle drum.
Right now, he only wanted to honestly attend marriage meetings, get married, and have a son.
He had no intention of getting involved in dangerous money-making missions with a maniac like Kakuzu, who wanted money more than his life.
"Hmph. You deserve to never make big money in this lifetime."
Kakuzu curled his lips in disdain, then turned back toward Uchiha Ren.
"Hokage-sama, when will Konoha attack the Sky Ninja Village?"
"Without the Zero-Tails, this profit plan can't be carried out."
Uchiha Ren's face revealed a helpless expression.
He was also troubled by this problem.
The ninja world was about to descend into total chaos.
At a time like this, rashly attacking the Sky Ninja Village was not a wise choice.
After hearing Uchiha Ren's concerns, Kakuzu was deeply disappointed.
Such a profitable plan—
And yet he didn't even know how long they would have to wait before implementing it.
Uchiha Ren and Kakuzu sighed together.
A den of wolves and jackals.
The phrase floated through Hatake Sakumo's mind as he sat silently nearby.
Then he continued thinking about his life-long matter.
Although he needed to marry quickly and have a son, he still couldn't be too careless with his marriage partner.
After all, he would be spending the rest of his life with her.
First, her eyes had to be big.
Her hair had to be long.
She had to be beautiful.
Her chest had to be a little bigger.
This wasn't for his own sake.
It was so his son wouldn't go hungry.
And her hips—
Cough, cough, cough.
Suddenly, Nara Shikato rushed in with intelligence in hand.
"Hokage-sama, according to Lord Chenxiang's intelligence, Kumogakure is making unusual movements."
"After their ninja forces returned to Kumogakure, they quickly assembled again."
"And then?"
"They're advancing in the original direction of their attack on Amegakure."
"The original direction?"
"That's impossible!"
Those dark-skinned brutes had been harvested down to their roots.
Could they really swallow their anger and continue carrying out the Daimyo's mission?
The Third Raikage wasn't Sarutobi Hiruzen!
Uchiha Ren immediately turned toward the ninja world map hanging in the office and carefully studied Kumogakure's marching route from the intelligence report.
Was their target Iwagakure?
Or Konoha?
For Kumogakure to attack Amegakure, they had to take a long detour through several countries.
Along the way, they would pass near Konoha's sphere of influence.
They might attack Konoha.
Or they might cross the Land of Waterfalls and head directly north to attack Iwagakure.
As for Sunagakure—
The possibility of Kumogakure retaliating against them was extremely low.
The journey was too far.
Running that far to retaliate against Sunagakure would only happen if the Third Raikage had been possessed by the dead Second Mizukage.
"Have the shinobi stationed on the Land of Fire border monitor Kumogakure's movements at all times."
"They may lash out in desperation and attack Konoha."
"Chenxiang's intelligence unit will provide support at any moment."
"If Kumogakure dares retaliate against Konoha, immediately notify Iwagakure and Sunagakure."
"Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure will form a ninja coalition to punish Kumogakure."
Uchiha Ren issued the order to Nara Shikato.
Nearby, Hatake Sakumo was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
Kumogakure truly was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Their reaction speed was fast.
The truth had come out!
"Lord Shikato, what about me?"
"Has my identity been exposed?"
Hatake Sakumo shot up from the sofa and rushed to Nara Shikato's side, grabbing at him in an attempt to get the latest intelligence.
"At this point…"
"Hmm…"
"You've probably been thoroughly investigated already."
"You know this yourself. Your title of White Fang is extremely famous in the Land of Fire's underground exchange."
"Once Kumogakure found even a small trace, they followed the vine all the way up."
"Sakumo, you already had a record."
Nara Shikato looked at Hatake Sakumo with sympathy and slowly explained.
Hatake Sakumo's heart instantly turned cold.
"I still have some new information here."
"Do you want to keep listening?"
Seeing that Hatake Sakumo's soul looked like it was about to drift away, Nara Shikato felt somewhat worried about his state.
He hesitated over whether to tell him even worse news.
"Say it."
"I can handle it."
"What other bad news is there?"
"Did my bounty increase again?"
"You're half right."
"Half?"
Hatake Sakumo's eyes widened.
He couldn't imagine just how terrible the news in Nara Shikato's mouth could be.
"Wait a moment."
"Let me calm myself first."
Hatake Sakumo took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
It had no effect at all.
His heart was still pounding violently.
"Kumogakure has publicized your personal information across the Land of Lightning."
"Only mine?"
Hatake Sakumo nearly went insane.
He hadn't been the only one who did bad things.
Why was the entire pot being dumped onto his head?
"Yes…"
"If I remember correctly, you were the one who personally handled contact with Kumogakure."
"They're probably deliberately retaliating against you."
Nara Shikato sounded helpless.
Hatake Sakumo was indeed wronged.
But facts were facts.
Kumogakure was clearly targeting him deliberately.
Suddenly, Nara Shikato seemed to remember something and pulled a bounty poster from his pocket.
Hatake Sakumo's face was printed on it.
Beneath it was a long string of numbers.
"Right now, the victims in the Land of Lightning have all directed their anger toward you."
"Oh, right. This is your current bounty."
"After all, your bounty once ranked first in the Land of Fire."
"So the underground exchange pays extra attention to your bounty amount and updates it every day."
"Because this Ponzi scheme affected far too wide a range—high-ranking officials, nobles, merchants, shinobi, and ordinary people across the Land of Lightning were all swept in."
"So more than half the Land of Lightning is now offering rewards for you."
"Your bounty is already extremely close to Hanzo of the Salamander's."
"In another day or two, surpassing Hanzo's bounty should be certain."
Hatake Sakumo took his bounty poster with trembling hands.
The endless string of numbers was so bright it nearly blinded him.
"Little White Hair, your head is really valuable."
"If you ever die one day, remember to notify me."
"A head this good can't be wasted."
Kakuzu gloated from the side, speaking the truth in a joking tone.
If Hatake Sakumo ever suddenly died, Kakuzu would definitely dig up his grave, take the corpse, and exchange it at the underground exchange.
He was a frugal man by nature.
He hated wasting things most of all.
He would always eat every last grain of rice in his bowl.
Although this was highly immoral—
As everyone knew, Kakuzu carried no moral burden whatsoever.
It was still the same sentence:
How much were integrity and morality worth per pound?
"Shut up, you damn miser!"
Hatake Sakumo wanted to punch Kakuzu's dog head apart.
How could this bastard make sarcastic remarks at a time like this?
"Hatake Sakumo, don't worry too much."
"As long as you don't leave Konoha, you'll definitely…"
"Uh…"
"Probably…"
"Maybe be fine?"
"If something does happen, just let Hokage-sama compensate you…"
Nara Shikato wanted to comfort Hatake Sakumo.
But the words that came out of his mouth sounded stranger and stranger.
He even dragged Uchiha Ren, who had been watching the show, into it.
Compensate your ass!
Uchiha Ren really wanted to say that.
But considering Hatake Sakumo had risked his life for Konoha, he forcibly held back.
"Hatake Sakumo, don't worry."
"Konoha is currently preparing a welfare measure specifically for shinobi."
"Have you heard of insurance?"
"I'll push this proposal out as soon as possible."
"When the time comes, as long as you pay to enroll, a shinobi like you will receive an enormous compensation payment for your family if you unfortunately sacrifice yourself for Konoha."
"You're about to get married anyway."
"When that happens, the compensation will go entirely to your wife and children."
"As long as your wife and children don't remarry after you die, you definitely won't lose out…"
"Uh…"
"Maybe I shouldn't have said that last part."
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