I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Chapter 98 Borrowing Money by Raising a Banner

A clan in the mountains.

The Yamanaka clan held Uchiha Yoru in high esteem for his visit, and even invited Akimichi Choza over.

"Since Shikaku is still on the front lines, the two of us represent the Ino-Shika-Cho tribal groups to welcome Lord Ye."

Sure enough, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio are truly in cahoots. No sooner had he come to visit than the Yamanaka clan informed Akimichi Choza, even saying that Nara Shikaku was unable to come because he was at the front lines.

Moreover, this respect was directed towards the Uchiha clan and Orochimaru behind him, and the fact that the two clan heads received him so solemnly at the same time was also a sign of respect for his strength.

The three were seated in the living room, the aroma of hot tea filling the air. Uchiha Yoru revealed a politically amused smile, raised his cup, and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, seniors. It is I who have troubled you."

Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza wore friendly smiles, but were inwardly very nervous. Could it be that Orochimaru had come to win over the Ino-Shika-Cho trio?

Damn it, Lu Jiu had already sent them a message, so they knew some things and were now filled with seriousness.

Uchiha Yoru, however, was secretly sneering beneath his fake smile. His teacher was about to be humiliated and driven out of the center of power, and if he didn't seize this opportunity to make a big profit, he really wouldn't have another chance.

"Two seniors, Shinnosuke's achievements on the front lines are remarkable. Orochimaru-sensei was very pleased to hear about it, believing that Konoha has a worthy successor..."

Good heavens! Uchiha Yoru launched into a long speech, but Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza were both terrified. As expected of Orochimaru, his political acumen was so sharp that he had already guessed the gist of it from this point.

The reason Konoha is praising Sarutobi Shinnosuke's achievements is simply to enhance his reputation, much like Minato Namikaze did back then.

"Orochimaru believes that Konoha is about to achieve peace and prosperity, but there are constant border conflicts with the Land of Water. He is preparing to apply to go to the Land of Water, but Konoha is in dire need of reconstruction and is short of research funds."

Having said all that, none of those present were fools. Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza noticed a hint of bitterness in Uchiha Yoru's smile, and both sighed inwardly.

Could it be that Orochimaru sensed the political undercurrents and chose to give up? The two pondered this for a moment, and it didn't seem impossible. Wasn't it Orochimaru who chose to go to the front lines after the Third Hokage gave the signal during the Fourth Hokage election?

It's practically identical! The only difference is the person. This Sarutobi Shinnosuke is nowhere near as prestigious as the original Namikaze Minato.

They've come to ask for money! Before leaving, I realized I can't become Hokage anymore, so I need money for my research.

Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi exchanged a glance, both filled with astonishment. Orochimaru asking for money? This seemed rather unexpected.

Uchiha Yoru lowered his head. He couldn't reveal the secret to Hyuga Hizashi, since the branch family still needed him to win them over. They would be an elite force. But the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, as the Hokage's direct subordinates, couldn't possibly have been completely unaware of the situation. Otherwise, why would Nara Shikaku have gone to the front lines to curry favor with the powerful?

He lowered his head and revealed a hoarse smile. "Master Orochimaru's research has reached a bottleneck and requires a large amount of financial investment. Therefore, I have come on behalf of my master to borrow money from the three major families of Ino-Shika-Cho."

Borrow money?

Both Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi were stunned, as this was the first time they had encountered someone asking to borrow money. Uchiha Yoru, however, sneered inwardly, thinking, "I represent my teacher. If you need money in the future, go ask Orochimaru-sensei."

"I hope you two seniors will support me, as I will be visiting the Hokage on behalf of my teacher later."

"The trump card!" After Uchiha Yoru said this with his head down, the two of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If they were to visit the Hokage, Orochimaru would probably be truly disappointed and choose to give up. Although the situation was somewhat awkward, as the heads of powerful families, they were still quite shameless.

The two men chuckled, with Akimichi Choza patting his belly and feigning a smug grin, saying, "Lord Orochimaru has rendered great service to the village, and the Akimichi clan has received much kindness on the battlefield. Whatever funds are needed, the Akimichi clan is willing to provide them free of charge."

"Three hundred million."

Cough cough~ Upon hearing this number, Akimichi Choza choked on his tea and coughed violently. His fat face turned red, but he still forced a hoarse laugh and said, "Very well~ Very well, the Akimichi clan is willing to lend it to Lord Orochimaru."

Good heavens, he thought it was tens of millions, but the hell he opened his mouth and said three hundred million. Does he really think their money comes from thin air?

At that moment, Akimichi Choza shut his mouth and dared not utter the word "free" again. Even for the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, one hundred million was not a small sum.

Meanwhile, Yamanaka Inoichi, standing to the side, looked troubled. As the head of the intelligence department, he knew that Orochimaru had joined Root and was researching things that were forbidden to be researched.

Finally, Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza exchanged a glance, both showing signs of headache. It was really a headache that Shikaku wasn't around at this time, mainly because the other party represented the Uchiha and Orochimaru. They didn't want to provoke either of these two powerful backers, after all, what if something happened in the future?

After all, no one expected that the Fourth Hokage, who was proficient in space-time ninjutsu, would die after only one year in office. Nobody expected that. What if something else happened?

"Ahem, Mr. Ye, as you know, the Third World War has just ended and everything is in ruins. Although it seems peaceful now, there are still many frictions along the border. We can't come up with these three hundred million right now."

Just as Yamanaka Inoichi was practicing Tai Chi, Uchiha Yoru, with a solemn expression, slowly took out a scroll from his pocket, unrolled it, and pushed it directly in front of the two of them.

They had originally planned to fool them, but Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza stared wide-eyed at the open scroll, completely dumbfounded.

Is this even possible?

All that could be seen were loan agreements, or so-called IOUs. They started with "30 million in funds from the Inuzuka clan," "50 million in funds from the Aburame clan," and so on. Almost all the major clans in Konoha had them. Apart from the Hyuga and Uchiha, almost all the wealthy and powerful clans had made their entries.

Good heavens, Konoha only has so many clans, and they've all been fleeced. Judging from their attitude, it seems they're prepared to visit the Hokage Sarutobi clan next.

Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza exchanged a glance and then looked helpless. It seemed that they couldn't escape this time, after all, they had to give face to Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin.

Other families, unaware of the situation, thought it was an investment in the future Hokage. Isn't this better than directly taking sides? Investing some money can yield considerable returns, and at the very least, they gained Orochimaru's friendship.

The two of them were well aware of the current movements of the Konoha leadership. With a knowing glance between them, Akimichi Choza looked at them with a pained expression, as if to say that this time it really seemed like they would have to make a painful sacrifice.

Yamanaka Inoichi shook his head, feeling a headache coming on. One hundred million! They had a lot of assets, but this was liquid capital. Taking out so much all at once really hurt.

"Ahem, Lord Yamanaka, it's not that our three clans don't want to support Lord Orochimaru's research, it's just that we're a bit short on funds." As if afraid of upsetting the other party, Yamanaka Inoichi stretched out his hand with a look of making a decision through gritted teeth and said, "Our Ino-Shika-Cho clans will each voluntarily lend Lord Orochimaru eighty million."

Seeing Yamanaka Inoichi's determined expression, Uchiha Yoru nodded solemnly with a grateful look, saying, "On behalf of Orochimaru-sensei, I thank the Ino-Shika-Cho clan for their support. Thank you!"

After saying that, he gestured directly, and Yamanaka Inoichi was stunned to see the other party agree without hesitation. Then he regretted it. He should have said less. This other party was a typical person who was just following orders and would take whatever he could. He didn't even think about getting more benefits for his teacher.

But the words had already been spoken, and Yamanaka Inoichi looked helplessly at Akimichi Choza with a headache. However, this fat man, who seemed honest and kind, was actually quite cunning. He shook his head and sighed, as if he hadn't seen his friend's gaze.

Finally, with no other choice, Yamanaka Inoichi picked up the brush that appeared on the scroll and began to write down the amount of his loan. He even signed his name and cut his finger to leave his mark.

As soon as the blood finger was pressed, the scroll instantly emitted a psychic white smoke, revealing an IOU with the exact same content.

"Thank you, senior Yamanaka. Here is an IOU. You can go see Orochimaru-sensei when the Root funds are allocated."

Looking at the IOU in his hand, Yamanaka Inoichi breathed a sigh of relief despite his headache. Judging from this, the other party was a reasonable person, having made such thorough preparations. It seemed that the research had really encountered a big problem. At worst, he could just pay back the money later.

After putting away his scroll, Uchiha Yoru respectfully stood up, bowed to the two, and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, seniors. I still have to go to the Sarutobi clan, so I won't stay any longer."

"I would like to ask the two clan leaders to prepare the funds as soon as possible, preferably in gold. Just send them to my office in the Seventh Division of the Police Department. Aburame, Inuzuka, Kurama, and others have already received their loans."

"Okay, we'll make the arrangements and deliver it tomorrow."

"Goodness, they're really doing business like this," Yamanaka Inoichi sighed softly after watching the other party leave. "Cho-za, didn't we just say fifty million? Did he not even try to negotiate?"

However, when he turned around, he was met with a reproachful look from Akimichi Choza. "You tell me, it's obvious that this kid is just doing his job. To put it bluntly, he won't give us a single penny, and he won't say a word."

Of course, he was just saying that. Given the reputation of the Three Ninjas, Leng Jun, they had to give face to him when his disciple came to borrow money.

"Sigh, it seems Danzo is really ruthless, actually withholding so much of Orochimaru's research funding."

It was obvious that the two had misunderstood. They thought Danzo was holding the funds, and given Orochimaru's disdainful and arrogant personality, he would simply turn around and borrow money from other powerful families, and then reimburse them after the research was completed, and their money would naturally be returned.

"Choza, think about it, we've done alright. Look at the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, they've probably invested a lot. And didn't you see? Their names weren't on the loan agreement just now."

Although it hurt, Yamanaka Inoichi could only find humor in his misery. Thinking about it, he actually revealed a gloating smile. The Hyuga and Uchiha clans were going to lose everything this time, suffering huge losses. They bet everything on Orochimaru, and even generously provided him with free assistance. Tsk tsk.

"Yes, I just hope this matter will be resolved as soon as possible, then we'll get our money back."

It was obvious that Akimichi Choza was most concerned about his wallet, while Yamanaka Inoichi, who was standing next to him, had already figured it out and burst into laughter, patting his friend's thick back.

"Haha, Ding Zuo, don't worry, this matter will take at most two or three years."

……

The Sarutobi clan.

When Uchiha Yoru arrived at the Sarutobi clan, it was already evening. At this time, under the setting sun, Konoha seemed to be draped in a golden coat.

In the spacious living room, he was greeted by the current Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was calmly writing the character "忍" (ninja) with a calligraphy brush in his hand.

Uchiha Yoru, sitting directly in front of him, looked at the calligraphy on the white paper with disdain. "You think you can combine ninjutsu and art in the ninja world? There are only two true artists in the entire ninja world."

"Hehe, I'm getting old. In my spare time, I can only write calligraphy to pass the time."

After finishing his work in one go, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately revealed a kind and benevolent smile. He looked at his calligraphy with satisfaction and looked up at the young man. But from his eyes, he could tell that the young man was too old to appreciate his calligraphy. He couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. It was truly like casting pearls before swine.

"Uchiha Yoru pays his respects to his master."

As the saying goes, "When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head." He cursed inwardly, but Uchiha Yoru's face showed a respectful and worshipful expression.

Logically speaking, Orochimaru was a disciple of the Third Hokage, and he was also a disciple of Orochimaru, so they should naturally be considered part of the Hokage's lineage. However, political struggles are always cruel, as can be seen from the fact that Anko was proficient in several ninjutsu in the original work.

And then there's Konohamaru, who not only has the freedom to enter the Hokage's office building, but after the Third Hokage's death, he was even able to enter the database to set traps to stop Tsunade. He's treating the Hokage's office like his own home, which shows the power of the Sarutobi clan.

Looking at Uchiha Yoru, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffed on his cigarette, exhaling smoke rings, and finally let out a soft sigh.

"Orochimaru is still blaming me, isn't he? He didn't even consult me ​​about such a big thing as taking you as his disciple."

It's clear that Hiruzen Sarutobi was both resentful that Orochimaru didn't consider his feelings when taking in the Uchiha clan, and also had mixed emotions. After all, Orochimaru was once his most valued disciple, but now he had to suppress him for the sake of Konoha.

Thanks to: Brother "鵹鱼化龙是个啥" for the 100 coins and Brother "黑衣人偶師" for the 100 coins.

(End of this chapter)