I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 195: The project's closing presentation often determines whether the client will renew the contract.

Chenma was very enthusiastic about this mission and was not annoyed that he had to travel on business as soon as he joined the company.

After all, this trip was to ask the Daimyo of the Land of Fire for money. Now that Konoha can't pay salaries, they can only ask the client to urge payment, and Tatsuma is one of those whose salaries are in arrears.

Being a ninja is a high-paying profession, but Tatsuma was often short of money, mainly because he didn't accept mission assignments very often in the early stages.

When Jiraiya was leading the team, the focus was on training, and missions were just a way to assess the results of learning at each stage. Later, when Jiraiya got busy and stopped leading the team, Tatsuma had even fewer opportunities to go on missions.

Then war broke out, and all the village's resources were poured into the war. Not only did Tatsuma and Minato lose their income, but almost all the ninjas who participated in the war also had their income suspended.

Recording the number of tasks completed on the battlefield cannot be settled on the spot, as there are too many participants. If the results were distributed in real time, a considerable number of people would need to coordinate the operation.

In addition, the large-scale transactions for purchasing war supplies had long since depleted the village's savings. The funds allocated by the daimyo were also for the war and could not be diverted at will.

At this point, the war is over, and the war funds allocated by the daimyo can be converted into rewards for the participating ninjas, but this amount is far from enough.

Moreover, this money will be given first to the families of the fallen ninjas as compensation, followed by subsidies for those who are seriously injured and unable to recover their original strength or even continue to be ninjas.

Next came settling the debts owed for war resources, followed by expenditures on medical care, education, post-war counseling, and rehabilitation. Finally, it was time for the surviving ninjas to receive their rewards.

The village's remaining funds were only enough to pay pensions and retirement benefits; any remaining money had to be obtained from the local magistrate.

Of course, it wouldn't be too difficult for Konoha to demand this sum of money from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, after all, Konoha had won a great victory.

In addition, thanks to Konoha's effective control, the war did not spread to the Land of Fire. Setting up the battlefield on the territory of another country was indeed a diplomatic mistake.

However, within the Land of Fire, it was a "good thing" because it saved a lot of money on reconstruction and subsidies, and in a sense, it helped the Land of Fire save money.

In their correspondence today, Hiruzen Sarutobi expressed great satisfaction with Hiruzen Sarutobi's various actions and Konoha's performance in this war.

This trip to Daming Prefecture to request funding actually had another layer of meaning: to report the results of the battle in person.

Tatsuma wasn't sure if this was the daimyo's idea or Hiruzen Sarutobi's wish, but either way, it wouldn't affect the disbursement of funds. Moreover, if a face-to-face report satisfied the daimyo, he might just wave his hand and allocate another large sum of money.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't waiting for Tatsuma to join the company before going to the Daimyo's residence; rather, such important meetings and negotiations naturally required time to prepare.

It can only be described as a coincidence. If Chenma hadn't completed all the training and passed the assessment so quickly, even if it had been two days later, he wouldn't have needed to go on the business trip.

Back home, Tatsuma told Mito Uzumaki about his trip to the Daimyo's residence. He had previously told Mito that he would stay in Konoha, but since he would be leaving soon, he needed to let her know.

Every journey has its purpose. Although Mito Uzumaki is not Tatsuma's parent or blood relative, Tatsuma has seen her love and care for him, and naturally treats Mito Uzumaki, his grandmother, with the same respect he would show to a close relative or elder.

Mito Uzumaki was not an unreasonable person, so she only gave a few instructions and then stopped asking about the details.

The next day, in the Hokage's office, watching Tatsuma skillfully seal scrolls of recorded documents into the scrolls, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and said:

"It's a pity that Sakumo's talent in sealing is only so-so. He needs to prepare a lot of things every time he goes out. Now that you're here, we can travel light."

"I only have a few strengths. There are still many aspects of what I need to learn from Lord Sakumo so that I can share your burdens like he does."

Tatsuma remained humble, while Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and shook his head when he heard Tatsuma mention Sakumo Hatake. In many ways, Sakumo Hatake was indeed stronger than Tatsuma.

However, Tatsuma is also stronger than Sakumo in many ways. Sakumo's strength is not a problem, but he is too weak in administration. He is a sharp knife, not a good support.

Tatsuma checked everything he needed to bring, then looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "Hokage-sama, everything is ready. When would you like to depart?"

"Let's do it now. Once it's fully light, my outing will inevitably attract some attention, and it wouldn't be good if it were over-interpreted by those with ulterior motives."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a leisurely puff of smoke from his pipe, then emptied the still-burning tobacco into the ashtray, stood up, and put on the straw hat that symbolized the Hokage.

Tatsuma nodded, slung the scroll behind his back, put the mask back on after it had been flipped up, picked up the beige trench coat that Hiruzen Sarutobi had brought to the Hokage's office, and the two of them then walked out of the Hokage's office.

In an instant, four figures appeared in the corridor. One of them was wearing a beige cloak similar to the one in Tatsuma's hand, and a monkey mask with blue patterns and a red nose. His code name was Xiao, one of the ANBU squad leaders.

The three men in black trench coats beside him were his platoon members.

The number of members in the Dark Division is very small, with only about seventy official members, divided into four teams and sixteen squads. However, this number is not fixed. For example, Tatsuma does not belong to any of the sixteen squads.

Of the sixteen classes, four are the root group, or rather, the official members of the root group. Of course, these are all official members.

The Root has its own talent training base and talent pool, and the Dark Division is the same. Inside and outside the village, there are many unofficial personnel or personnel waiting to be activated from the Dark Division or the Root.

For example, during the war, Danzo activated a large number of unofficial Root members, who had the same rights as Anbu ninjas when they took action.

Furthermore, many Anbu members are allowed to cultivate their own informants who are unaware that their leader is an Anbu ninja, or even whether he is a Konoha ninja.

This is the process of cultivating informants, and at the same time, it is also the process of screening out some ninjas in the village who are easy to be turned. Even after an ANBU ninja retires from the ANBU, the informants will not be withdrawn.

The village might require a copy of the contact information and the way orders are given, but retired ANBU ninjas are also allowed to deploy their own undercover agents when necessary.

It is precisely because of the privileges and operational guidelines of the Dark Division that a team of less than a hundred people has the power to monitor and clean up villages and even key threats to the country and abroad.

Tatsuma's original authority was merely that of an ordinary ANBU member, but today Hiruzen Sarutobi gave him a beige cloak, which was an unwritten promotion for him.

Of course, this might only be during this mission. After all, as the Hokage's bodyguard, he needs to have the authority to command the Anbu members who were also sent to protect the Hokage. It would be inappropriate for an ordinary member to order the squad leader of the first squad.

When Tatsuma saw the four Anbu ninjas, he nodded, then put on his beige trench coat and gave a few hand gestures. The four Anbu ninjas then disappeared and followed him again.

Immediately, Tatsuma, slightly ahead of Hiruzen Sarutobi, quickly left the Hokage Building, swiftly calculated the route with the lowest probability of being discovered at this time, and began to lead the way.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was happy to accept Tatsuma's arrangements, and even his every step landed on the places Tatsuma had previously stepped on.

Among his peers, Tatsuma's speed and mastery of Shun were second only to Minato, but for the Anbu and the Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, it was practically walking speed.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't possibly complain that Tatsuma wasn't fast enough, since he was an Anbu member whom he had personally approved and promoted. Moreover, Tatsuma's lack of speed was only relative to the other Anbu ninjas and the Hokage.

At Tatsuma's speed, it would only take him less than a day to travel from Konoha to the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Fire. He could set off this morning, rest for a while tomorrow morning, and arrive at the Daimyo's residence. The timing would be perfect.

Of course, this is under the condition that no unexpected events occur. If unexpected events do occur, the little bit of time left may not be enough.

Tatsuma did not choose to go through the village gate, since there would be people coming and going there even in the early morning. Since Hiruzen Sarutobi said he didn't want too many people to know that he was leaving the village, then they should take the safest route.

Arriving at a wall, Tatsuma quickly moved to the wall, formed a hand seal, and then placed his hands on the wall. The hidden spell on the wall was activated, and Tatsuma felt the dark mark engraved on his left shoulder inside his sleeve faintly heat up.

A mere second later, the sealing spell on the gate of the wall dissipated, revealing a crack in the wall. Chenma pushed it open, and a hidden door was revealed.

He turned and gave a signal, and four hidden members appeared. Xiao led two members and quickly left through the hidden door. After checking, he gave a signal to Tatsuma inside the door.

Tatsuma nodded and said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Hokage-sama, please."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and walked out of the hidden door. The last ANBU followed closely beside Hiruzen Sarutobi. After all four of them had walked out, Tatsuma walked out last and closed the hidden door again.

Without needing to form hand seals again, a spell appeared on the wall and then disappeared. Seeing this, Chenma gave the order to remain hidden and follow him again.

Such an order is actually faster given verbally, but unless there are special circumstances, this most "standard" approach must be followed.

Setting off again, Chenma used his perception technique every few kilometers to sense his surroundings, and nothing unexpected happened until the afternoon.

Just when Chenma felt that the trip was going quite peacefully, another sensory experience made him discover something different. About five kilometers ahead of their original route, several chakra reactions appeared.

Tatsuma frowned, pondering whether to change course or send someone to scout. Just then, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to understand Tatsuma's dilemma and said with a smile:

"Let's go take a look. If it's a ninja from another village, it will reduce some of the village's workload."

This contradicted the Anbu's operational guidelines, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had complete authority to command the Anbu, so Tatsuma nodded and replied, "Yes, Hokage."

(End of this chapter)