This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 150, Article 149: Danzo's True Plot

The Sand Village and Konoha signed a peace treaty. Although it is an alliance, it is only a non-aggression pact, not a military or other alliance. Therefore, it is not necessary for either side to send troops to help when one side is attacked or when the other side attacks.

Of course, Sunagakure could also forcefully intervene in the war between the combined forces of Iwagakure and Kusagakure against Konoha.

However, the final result of doing so will inevitably be that one side stops fighting and watches the Sand Village fight the other side, waiting for both the Sand Village and the enemy to be exhausted before coming out to take advantage, or the two opposing sides join forces to kill the Sand Village that suddenly intervenes.

Because nobody is a fool.

We fought to the death and paid a huge price to get to this point in the war, and now you, an outsider with no connection to us, are trying to reap the benefits?

That's simply impossible.

However, these problems do not exist if one side in a war makes the request.

Therefore, without an invitation from Konoha, Sunagakure would indeed not have been able to obtain this benefit.

This is why Ryuji felt this was a windfall.

But if there are other requirements, then it's a different story.

"Oh, tell me about it."

Ryuji was very interested in Danzo's bargaining chips, and he wouldn't mind cooperating with him as long as the demands weren't excessive.

"We need Sunagakure to build a floating continent for Konoha after the war," Danzo stated calmly.

He added, "Of course, Konoha will cover the construction costs and Sunagakure will also provide corresponding rewards to the ninjas based on their mission rank."

In other words, the reparations from Iwagakure and Kusagakure were merely a stepping stone to Sunagakure's help in building the floating continent; there would be real rewards to come later.

Given the difficulty of building the mechanical city, it would definitely be the top-tier S-rank ninja mission.

Moreover, it's an S-rank mission that requires the entire village's resources to carry out over a long period, with incredibly high rewards, at least equivalent to 20 years' worth of income from a regular mission in Sunagakure.

In addition, there are subsequent expenses for repairs, maintenance, and parts replacement.

Ryuji could extract at least 3 billion yen from Konoha Village from the Mechanical Castle.

Three billion! That's three billion!

Don't assume that the purchasing power of the currency in the ninja world is the Japanese yen just because Naruto is a Japanese manga.

The currency in the ninja world is extremely valuable.

According to the currency conversion mentioned in "The Book of War", one tael is equal to ten yen in reality.

The Book of Military Strategy was published at the end of 08 and the beginning of 09, when the exchange rate between the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan was only about 13:1.

That is to say, it would be more than 2 billion RMB.

Don't you think that 20 billion isn't much compared to building a city?

But first you need to understand that this 20 billion refers to purchasing power in 09.

Secondly, this is simply compensation for human resources.

No capital investment or risk is required from the sand god.

When you calculate it like this, the profit is simply terrifying.

It should be noted that in Long Er's previous life, the national-level mega-project worth tens of billions of yuan could only generate a profit of around three to five hundred million yuan after deducting various costs.

You don't have to bear any risk or capital; you can earn over two billion just from labor costs. Isn't that terrifying enough?

Of course, Ryuji had no idea about the Book of War.

In his previous life, he only watched Naruto anime and maybe browsed some online forums and message boards.

My knowledge of Naruto is limited to the settings and plot presented in the anime.

But having lived in both worlds for so long, he naturally has a clear understanding of the purchasing power of the currencies in both worlds.

He was well aware of the immense power this sum of money represented.

but……

"Can you make the decision on such a large transaction?" Long Er asked skeptically.

Although the position of the Root leader is already a core high-ranking position in Konoha, even the Hokage would find it difficult to make decisions that determine the future direction of the village.

Not to mention him, a root leader.

"If you agree to this deal, I can certainly persuade the Hokage," Danzo said frankly.

Upon hearing this, Ryuji fell into deep thought.

He was considering whether or not to accept the deal.

The pros and cons of this deal are both obvious.

The advantage is that one can obtain a large amount of funds, which can accelerate the construction of the mechanical city and provide more research funding, thereby enabling the development of more technologies and products.

Even if it's not used for developing new products, but just for making prosthetic dolls like Silver... he could still make 20 more if the funds for the institutional village were sufficient.

With such a force, Sunagakure could basically dominate before the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Furthermore, if they agree to this cooperation, the subsequent troubles of the Sand Village delegation will be completely eliminated.

But the downsides are equally obvious.

That is to make Konoha stronger.

Even if it weren't built according to the configuration of the mechanical castle, simply creating a flying continent would make Konoha's overall strength completely different from what it used to be.

Because Konoha is not lacking in other technologies.

Whether it's protective barriers or long-range offensive ninjutsu, Konoha has no shortage of them.

With a flying platform, they can build a sky fortress themselves.

In this ninja world where 99.9% of people can't fly, a sky fortress is a devastating blow.

Even if Sunagakure also had one, it wouldn't give them an advantage.

However, even if he were to agree to the cooperation, Ryuji would not build a floating continent of the same level as the Mechanized City for Konoha.

Even if he wanted to, he couldn't build it.

Because there is no second dragon vein and no Philosopher's Stone, which represents the forging of gold.

Without the immense chakra of a dragon vein, it would be impossible to make such a vast landmass fly.

Without the Philosopher's Stone, forged from gold, it would be impossible to create a stable foundation and solve the problem of the earth cracking after breaking apart from tectonic plates.

Although other things can be used as substitutes, the scale that can be built certainly cannot be compared with that of the mechanism.

But after thinking about it, Ryuji ultimately chose to refuse.

Money can be earned slowly, and research can be done slowly too.

The rise of Sunagakure is inevitable, given that they have already made plans and begun implementation. There is no need to create unknown enemies for short-term gains.

"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Danzo, but I'm afraid I can't help with this cooperation."

"Won't Lady Ayaki reconsider?"

"I'm afraid there's no room for discussion on this."

"Your Excellency, there's no need to give me an answer right now. You can consider it for a while before giving me your answer."

"No need," Long Er said firmly. "This is not worth considering. I will not agree to this cooperation."

"...I see!"

Danzo paused for a moment, then said with some regret, "In that case, let's discuss another plan!"

Tell me about it.

"Sunagakure and Konoha have formed a long-term military alliance to fight together against Iwagakure and Kusagakure. The spoils of victory will still belong to Sunagakure."

Ryuji waited quietly for Danzo to continue, but after a long while, Danzo still hadn't spoken. He asked in surprise, "...No other conditions?"

"That's all."

"Is Lord Danzo making fun of me?"

"Does Lady Ayaki think I'm that kind of person?"

"Then please leave!"

Ryuji's expression turned cold.

"Lady Ayaki..."

Danzo picked up his teacup, took a calm sip, and showed no intention of getting up. "I've brought such a great gift to Sunagakure. Even if you don't want me to stay, you don't have to send me away!"

"Does Lord Danzo believe in free lunches?"

"Of course I believe you, why wouldn't I?" Danzo said firmly. "Although most pie-in-the-sky deals are traps, sometimes they really do happen."

"But I don't believe it."

"Has Lady Ayaki never picked up money from the ground before?"

"But I've never encountered a stranger giving me money. Even if I did, they were just scammers trying to get more money out of me."

"Does Lady Xuanqi suspect that I'm setting you up?"

"Isn't this obvious?"

"Hahaha..." Danzo laughed heartily, then explained, "Of course not, I did this for my own sake."

"Oh~ Can you tell me about it?" Ryuji became interested.

"Of course." Danzo put down his teacup and said, "Although I hold a high position, as the leader of Root, I am not remembered by the villagers and can only act in the shadows as the Hokage."

"I refuse to accept this."

"In terms of strength, I am no less than the Third Hokage; in terms of contributions, I am no less than him; but in terms of reputation and status, we are worlds apart."

"Therefore, I want to become the Fourth Hokage."

After listening to Danzo's seemingly aggrieved explanation, Ryuji silently pondered the matter, but outwardly remained calm as he asked, "What does that have to do with this?"

"Your Excellency Ayaki may not believe this, but it is the truth..." Danzo nodded slightly. "Although the war between Konoha and the combined forces of Iwagakure and Kusagakure has reached a stalemate, and Konoha is even at a disadvantage, in reality, we have victory in our grasp."

Ryuji gently shook his head and asked in return, "Does Lord Danzo think I'm too young and don't understand war?"

"That's why I said Lady Ayako might not believe it."

"If you want me to believe you, at least give me some evidence."

"Kusagakure is about to collapse."

Danzo gave a convincing reason.

Although Kusagakure is a medium-sized ninja village, it is still much weaker than a powerful medium-sized ninja village like Amegakure.

Their village has only about five thousand Chunin.

They had already lost nearly two thousand men in the alliance operation to raid Sunagakure. They then lost nearly another thousand men in the siege of Kumogakure.

During the more than one month that Konoha was in a standoff with the Grass Country, Linlin also suffered casualties of two to three hundred people.

Although during this period, some genin were promoted to chunin.

However, the speed at which village ninjas advance in rank is far slower than the speed at which they die in battle.

If they continue fighting, even if they achieve final victory, they will lack the strength to protect the fruits of their victory.

Therefore, quitting midway has become inevitable.

With the enemy at the front line losing nearly two thousand of Kusagakure's men, Konoha was no longer at a disadvantage in terms of troop strength. In addition, because they had more skilled fighters than their opponents, victory was inevitable.

Danzo slowly explained, "When the village was almost certain to win, the Hokage gave away the fruits of victory to other ninja villages... Such a huge loss is something even the Hokage cannot bear the responsibility for, and he will surely resign. At that time, I can take the opportunity to take over."

Yes, that's reasonable, well-founded, and convincing.

But it's a bit too fake of you to say that to an outsider like this.

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In fact, since the book was released, many readers have been giving me tips every day. Although it's only around one or two hundred yuan, there are too many people giving tips to thank everyone individually, so I won't read out their names.

thanks for your support.

(End of this chapter)