I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 198: Don't refuse money from your superiors, and don't accept favors from your subordinates.

Looking at the lifeless Iwa ninja lying on the ground, Hiruzen Sarutobi swallowed hard. His Enma tail unconsciously wrapped around his legs to protect him. Xiao and the others remained silent.

Xiao never expected that the Iwa ninja Jonin, whom he thought Tatsuma couldn't defeat, would be so easily taken down by Tatsuma. No, it just looked easy.

The superhuman strength shattered the ground, disrupting the Iwa ninja's center of gravity and balance, and then the evasive maneuvering on the edge of the limit demonstrated an extremely high level of taijutsu.

Then came the Hyuga clan's Eight Trigrams Palm, which completely destroyed the Iwa ninja's defenses. After that, a knee strike was used to break through the Iwa ninja's defenses. Finally, a ninjutsu without hand seals that the ninja couldn't even understand was used to completely defeat the opponent.

Let alone a Jonin who was already injured and whose strength was greatly reduced, even a fully healthy Jonin would probably not be able to stand up after taking Tatsuma's combo attack.

Of course, if it were a healthy Jonin, he might not lose his balance and wouldn't be able to withstand the subsequent combo attacks. After all, having just lost an arm would greatly affect the Iwa Ninja's strength, speed, stamina, and control over his body.

However, judging from Tatsuma's battle choices, they can be described as textbook-level responses. With such abilities, even when facing a healthy Jonin, Tatsuma could probably quickly come up with another set of tactics.

Xiao completely withdrew his slight contempt for Tatsuma at this moment. He understood why the Iwa ninja had lost so quickly: because the Iwa ninja had underestimated Tatsuma.

Seeing that Chenma had not formed any hand seals, they did not take excessive precautions against Chenma's close-range attacks. At the same time, they underestimated Chenma's strength and his ability to seize opportunities.

"Ding~ [Strength +5], [Constitution +5], [Endurance +5], Pick up?"

"Pick it up".

Ignoring the changing gazes of the people around him, Tatsuma quickly issued instructions. Xiao responded swiftly upon seeing Tatsuma's command, and the group quickly cleaned up all traces around them.

After clearing away the traces, Xiao and his crew concealed themselves once more, while Tatsuma approached Hiruzen Sarutobi. Before he could speak, Enma said:

"Whose disciple are you? Orochimaru? Or Danzo?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and answered for Tatsuma, "Jiraiya trained him for a while before, and now he's Tsunade's student. He's quite good at ninjutsu, taijutsu, medical ninjutsu, and sealing techniques."

"Really? A descendant of Shikkotsu Forest? Doesn't seem like it."

Enma looked at Tatsuma with disbelief. Hiruzen Sarutobi, now wearing an elder's smile, said to Tatsuma, "This is my partner, Enma the Monkey King. Let him recognize my face."

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma nodded, then lifted his mask to reveal his face. Looking at Tatsuma's appearance, Enma subconsciously asked, "From the Senju clan?"

Before Tatsuma could deny it, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke up, "Who knows?"

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi had said so, Tatsuma pursed his lips and offered no further explanation. Enma, noticing the familiar aura Tatsuma exuded when he pursed his lips, was momentarily stunned before saying:

"What a pity, you are already the successor of Shikkotsu Forest."

Although neither Hiruzen Sarutobi nor Tatsuma had mentioned it, neither of them refuted it when Enma brought it up, which already proved it. Enma glanced at Tatsuma with some reluctance, then said:

"It's a pity I don't have any direct descendants, otherwise I would have gone to Shikkotsu Forest. Well then, Hiruzen, I'll head back now."

"You've worked hard, Ape Demon."

Seeing that Enma thought so highly of Tatsuma and kept saying it was a pity, Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile became even brighter. The more people recognized Tatsuma, the more it proved that his judgment was correct, right?

It's important to know that Hiruzen Sarutobi valued Tatsuma from the very beginning when he entered the Ninja Academy. Now, five years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Tatsuma has lived up to his talent, proving that Hiruzen Sarutobi's high regard for him was not misplaced.

Immediately, the Monkey King vanished in a puff of smoke. Seeing this, Tatsuma put on his mask and asked, "Hokage-sama, shall we depart immediately?"

"Well, we've been delayed a bit, we should catch up now. Are you alright?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, while Tatsuma shook his head. They then got up and continued on their way, and the rest of the journey returned to calm.

Before the reorganization of the Konoha ninja squads, there might have been some unrest within the Land of Fire. However, with the end of the war in the Land of Rain and the conclusion of the great war, there was no need to deploy a large number of ninjas to fight, and naturally there was time and manpower to clean up the unrest within the country.

Those two teams of Iwa ninja might have managed to evade some of Konoha's reconnaissance, and even snipe Konoha's ninja squads, but if they continued to stay in Konoha, it was only a matter of time before they were discovered.

Traveling until late at night, the group was very close to the Daimyo Prefecture. Tatsuma chose to stop, and Hiruzen Sarutobi did not refuse, letting Tatsuma make the arrangements.

Near the daimyo prefecture, and surrounded by many small villages and towns, there was no need to spend the night in the wild. Tatsuma booked a room at a hot spring inn, but the prices there were quite high, and Tatsuma spent five thousand taels in one go.

Orochimaru had borrowed a little over three thousand taels of silver from him, but since it was all reimbursable, Tatsuma wasn't particularly worried.

However, in the private hot spring at the hotel, Hiruzen Sarutobi first spoke up for Tatsuma. Soaking in the spring water, Hiruzen Sarutobi complained, "It's an artificial hot spring, and the heat isn't even enough, yet it's so expensive."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, which was submerged in water, to his mouth and licked it lightly. Then he said with disdain, "It's bland, it has no taste at all. It must have been boiled directly in river water."

"Hmph! Once we get back to the village, I'll show you what a good hot spring is like! Speaking of which, has Jiraiya ever taken you guys there? He has my evaluation notes on all the hot springs."

Tatsuma shook his head and said, "Jiraiya-sensei mentioned it, but I didn't go. I was afraid of getting beaten up."

"Hahaha~"

Hiruzen Sarutobi burst into laughter and said, "He's still too immature. If it's... cough cough, never mind."

Chenma didn't agree. After all, he had to pretend to be ignorant about this kind of topic, regardless of his identity or age, even if he knew the answer.

It was late autumn, and the weather was still a bit chilly. After soaking in the artificial hot spring for twenty minutes, the two got up and left, treating it as just a bath.

Tatsuma's original plan to buy some local specialties after arriving in Daimyo Prefecture was also thwarted by the exorbitant prices. He couldn't afford it, he really couldn't afford it.

Tatsuma didn't know how Xiao and the others had spent the night, but he was in a bad mood. After all, he had spent 5,000 taels on the room and couldn't get a single minute of sleep!

Fortunately, there were only three hours left until dawn. Hiruzen Sarutobi also got up after only three hours of sleep. Neither of them ate the breakfast provided by the hotel and set off directly.

As dawn broke, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tatsuma entered the Daimyo's residence.

This was Tatsuma's first time in Daimyo Prefecture. He observed the surroundings with great curiosity, noting that the prosperity here was different from that of Konoha, and the business models seemed quite different as well.

Konoha's commerce is primarily based on physical stores, with a dense concentration of industries related to clothing, food, housing, transportation, and various ninja-related businesses. Most villagers also work in these stores.

However, in Daimyo Prefecture, buildings with signs for various companies can be seen everywhere. Many people, like the office workers in Tatsuma's previous life, work in these companies. There are also vendors and shops, but they are not as widely distributed as in Konoha, and are concentrated on a few streets.

As they ventured deeper into the heart of Daimyo Prefecture, the surroundings became quieter. Tatsuma had seen a map of Daimyo Prefecture before he arrived and knew that this area was the residential district for various officials of the Land of Fire. Surrounding the central area was the Daimyo's residence, which was also where the staff worked.

The mansion was heavily guarded, with many samurai and ninjas patrolling around. When Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived, a welcoming ceremony had already been prepared. Listening to the music and watching the performance, Hiruzen Sarutobi could hardly contain his smile.

The daimyo's attitude pleased him. Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the several officials from the Land of Fire who were walking towards him and said to Tatsuma, "Yasha, you can rest for the day."

Even I cannot enter the daimyo's residence with men and weapons.

Tatsuma nodded, unloaded the large scroll behind him, and said, "Hokage-sama, this is the scroll containing all the documents."

"Okay, take this money. You can drop your disguise and go sightseeing normally. Just don't let anyone discover your identity as a member of the Dark Guard."

Seeing the money handed to him by Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tatsuma did not refuse. When a leader gives money to a subordinate, there are only two possibilities.

If you give money before doing something or before contacting certain people, it means the leader doesn't want to be bothered, like now. If you give money after helping the leader with something, it means the leader doesn't want the subordinate's work to turn into a favor. In either case, take the money if you can.

At this moment, several officials from the Land of Fire approached with smiles on their faces. Tatsuma put away the money, nodded, and left.

After leaving, Tatsuma changed his clothes in a secluded spot and then strolled around the commercial street outside the Daimyo Prefecture.

He browsed around a lot but bought very little. Snacks were the only things Tatsuma spent money on. He also discovered a lot of ninja tool shops, but the prices were outrageously expensive. A shuriken, which would only cost sixty or seventy ryo in Konoha, was being sold for three hundred ryo here.

The other kunai and ninja swords were similar; Tatsuma didn't see any explosive tags or anything like that. In fact, when he picked up a kunai to look at it, a shop assistant warned him not to get cut.

Speechless, Tatsuma touched the blade and found that it wasn't sharpened.

This place is more like a ninja merchandise store than a ninja tool store. Despite its size, it has a high customer traffic and sales volume. In just the short time Tatsuma was browsing, more than a dozen teenagers had already placed orders.

If he had more time and wasn't unfamiliar with the stall setup process, Tatsuma would have even considered selling the ninja tools he was carrying—it would have been such a lucrative business.

After leaving the ninja tool shop, Tatsuma continued browsing until he came across a commercial street full of children's amusement rides. Just as he was about to leave, he spotted a stall.

"The Ultimate Ninja Showdown!"

Tatsuma went closer and saw that it was a competition of throwing ninja tools. There was a five-meter target, and people were using ninja tools to pop balloons. If they popped three balloons, they would get a small prize, and the prizes would become more and more expensive as they went up.

If you can hit a hundred times in a row, you can even take away a golden kunai. However, each throw costs ten taels, and you have to buy at least ten throws per round, which means the minimum cost is one hundred taels, which is ridiculously expensive.

Looking at the three normal-sized kunai hanging on the stall, made of gold, Tatsuma's face broke into the smile of an old farmer during harvest season. He took out his three thousand ryo and said:

"Boss! I want to play three rounds, one hundred shuriken each round!"

(End of this chapter)