Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"what?"

Kudo Yusaku, his eyes now small and beady, pointed at himself and looked at Umekawa Nai-i with a questioning expression. He felt that Umekawa-senpai was a little different now. He used to be gentle and easy-going, but now he seemed a bit aggressive. How strange!

The problem is, he doesn't play with puppets, so what use is all this scrap metal to him?

"Didn't you say you wanted to try learning puppetry? You need materials to learn puppetry, right? These metals are perfect for you to take back and learn..."

Mei Chuan Neiyi looked at Kudo Yusaku, who had beady eyes, and blinked as she spoke.

"Uh...yes! My teacher said that talents in the new era should develop in all aspects, and I also want to see if I have any talent in this area..."

After a month of getting along, the teammates have begun to develop a tacit understanding. At least Kudo Yusaku, who is as pure as a blank sheet of paper, can understand some of Umekawa Nei's eyes. Although he doesn't know what Umekawa Nei wants to do, he can already receive her signals!

"Kid, you... Lord Shindou, what's this? There are three of them. If this little girl also wants to learn puppetry, wouldn't he buy all this metal?"

The puppeteer ninja never expected the successor of the Umekawa clan to be so shameless. In a fit of righteous indignation, he turned and went to seek justice. Although the other party was just a brat, his status and background were too powerful. Despite his anger, he didn't dare to do anything to him...

"Well... logically speaking... that's correct, the highest bidder wins, but... hey, what are you doing? Can't you see I'm doing business? ヽ(ー_ー)ノ"

Masato smacked his lips. Logically speaking, the highest bidder wins. Umekawa Nei's actions did not violate the rules he had set before. Using Kudo's identity to bid was not wrong. As long as the price he offered was high enough, he would have no objection to selling them all to him. But the key was that if he did it this way, it would be difficult to do business in the future. So Masato leaned closer to the three kids, frowned, and asked Umekawa Nei in a low voice.

"Teacher, are you... uh, a little short on money? I have some here, could you take this to tide you over..."

Mei Chuan Nei Yi also came over, afraid of hurting the teacher's self-esteem. She didn't say that the teacher had been so seduced that he had to make a living by selling scrap metal and saying nice things. Instead, she put it more tactfully, saying that even the most shameless person has a shred of dignity.

"(⊙_⊙)???"

After a sudden realization, Yekura and Kudo Yusaku looked at their teacher with question marks on their faces. That made sense. No wonder their legendary ninja teacher had to sell scrap metal and say nice things. He was short of money!

However... the teacher is one of the second generation of the Gong Lie clan. The textbook introduced that the Gong Lie clan was the most prestigious family in their village decades ago. Even though they have declined now, they are still a force to be reckoned with. They don't seem to be short of money, do they?

Did the teacher squander all of our family's wealth?

Hmm... that's very possible!

Considering their teacher's unreliable personality, the two nodded in unison.

"(⊙_⊙)??? How did you figure out I'm short on money?"

Seeing the two kids nodding in deep agreement as if they had thought of something, Mei Chuan asked Mei Chuan Neiyi in even greater confusion. He realized that these three kids had exceptionally good imaginations; they could even imagine another aspect of doing business and making money.

The brain truly is the most mysterious and unpredictable place...

"...If you're short on cash, why would you need to sell these things, and even try to please these guys...?"

Yusaku Kudo pouted and complained, "That fawning attitude of the teacher just now was really embarrassing..."

"Boom!"

"You little brat, what do you know? This is called cash flow. You have no idea how much money my nephew burns. Just those few Optimus Primes alone cost a fortune. Now he's quitting, and it's just sitting at home wasting time. I'm doing charity, selling things to those who need them. It's environmentally friendly and makes money at the same time, understand? What's wrong with saying a few nice words? Kid, don't think too highly of ninjas. Even gods are human. We all have two arms and three legs, there's no difference. It's just that gods do things that mortals can't do. Essentially, we're all the same. Your kind of thinking is dangerous! I'm the seller now, they're the customers. Customers are king, money talks. What's wrong with trying to please them?"

Masato flicked Yusaku Kudo's head and lectured him, "Sometimes, commoner children haven't been exposed to much power struggles, so their minds are relatively simple. But once their status changes, these nascent notions can easily undergo a complete 360-degree shift. Conan's dad is showing some of that tendency now. If we don't stop him, who knows, maybe in a few years their Sunagakure will produce a Danzo, even more ruthless than Danzo. At least Danzo received a higher education when he was young..."

432. The plan begins after Rope Tree's unexpected death.

Many ordinary children experience a dramatic change in their social status overnight, and if they can't adjust their mindset to it, they're fine if their careers go smoothly, like the intellectual Mitokado Homura from Konoha—just showing off their presence without causing any real trouble. But once they encounter setbacks and can't recover, the speed and quality of their descent into darkness far surpasses that of Danzo. Even Danzo, no matter how dark he became, was eventually redeemed. If this kid were to become corrupted, he'd just be a minor character from a supporting village; nobody would even bother with him...

"Lord Shindou, how is it going?"

The Jonin underlings were getting impatient watching the four masters and disciples chatter on the sidelines for so long. There were only three portions available today, and the first one had already been sold. With two portions left and so many people still around, the competition was bound to get fiercer.

The key issue is that if we can't buy it today, it will be even more difficult next time after everyone has exchanged their money for cash. Who wouldn't want puppet materials that can destroy Captain Ying's puppet...?

"Alright, stop causing trouble. You've almost finished all the D-level missions this month. I'll take you to do some A-level missions tonight and tomorrow. You're not getting enough experience from just doing these daily missions."

"Ahem, gentlemen, after discussing it with this young master Mei Chuan, seeing how enthusiastic and actively involved you are in this puppet revolution, we'll leave the last two lots for you to bid on. Next up is the second lot..."

As Masato spoke, the three kids beside him fell silent. Although they still felt ashamed that their teacher hadn't come out in public because of some family crisis, Mei Chuan no longer wanted to help. He even considered returning the money; the Gong Lie clan was far wealthier than the Mei Chuan clan, and none of them had awakened Magnet Release to seek their fortune...

Without Mei Chuan Nei's interference, the auctions for the next two iron lumps went quite smoothly. It's possible that Mei Chuan Nei raised the price ceiling a notch in the first round, so the highest price the Jonin underlings had in mind was also increased considerably. The second lot also sold for a good three million. However, the last lot was the most competitive. It's possible that these Jonin underlings knew that after this, once everyone had cash on hand, the competition would become increasingly intense. So, by the last lot, almost none of the Jonin underlings who had bought the second lot were fighting tooth and nail. At this point, nothing could stop them from sending money to Lord Shinto, not even their own fathers.

kill!

After a series of bloody battles that nearly turned into a full-blown brawl, it was finally bought for a staggering price of over four million. As for whether the other two, besides Mei Chuan Neiyi, would be followed after buying the metal, that was none of his concern. The quality of the iron golems they made afterward was even less of his business. If the golems they made were garbage, it would only mean that their craftsmanship was poor. There was still a large one of Handsome Scorpion's golems on display in the toy house. With the finished product on display, Shindou wasn't worried at all.

"Teacher, are we really going to take on an A-level mission tomorrow?"

After those people left, Kudo Yusaku was extremely excited. Even the usually calm and collected Hagura and Umekawa looked at him with sparkling eyes. Although they didn't say anything, their feelings were similar to Kudo Yusaku's. It was an A-rank mission!

Although Mei Chuan Neiyi is past the age of dreaming, who hasn't thought about traveling the world with a sword and seeing the world's splendor when they were young and ignorant? Even when he lost his legs and fell into a low point in his career, he still had such a sliver of hope, and it was this sliver of hope that supported him to get to where he is today.

Unexpectedly, happiness came so quickly. Of his classmates from back then, the highest rank they survived was Chunin. Forget about A-rank missions; they had to grind B-rank missions instead.

Unexpectedly, after his leg was broken and he was depressed for a few days, he was still the first among his peers to take on an A-rank mission. Logically speaking, the three of them, as genin, were not qualified to take on A-rank missions, but with this awesome teacher around, he was not worried that the Kazekage would disagree.

Yusaku Kudo and Hakura were even happier. After grinding through daily missions for half a year, they thought they would gradually progress through C-rank, then B-rank, and finally A-rank. But when their teacher spoke up, he made them skip two stages and go straight to A-rank missions. They estimated that by the time they returned from this mission, they would be qualified to become Chunin, and they would be the fastest Chunin to be promoted after graduation.

"Don't get so excited. This A-rank mission is quite difficult; it could easily turn into an S-rank. It all depends on your luck. Go back and prepare now. I'll report this to Feng Ying and have them assess whether it's an A-rank or an S-rank mission..."

"I interrupted the boiling blood of Kudo Yusaku and the other two, and stroked his chin as he spoke."

Back in the Land of Earth, he'd been thinking about robbing the rich and helping the poor in the Land of Fire. Now, it seemed like it was time to put that plan into action. Plus, with Nawaki's unexpected death, the plan could be implemented. Normally, given Nawaki's Senju-like fate but lack of Senju luck, his life or death wouldn't have made much difference to Sunagakure. After all, aside from having the Senju skin, this kid had perfectly avoided all the excellent genes of the Senju clan from birth. Apart from having stronger vitality and more chakra, he was just an ordinary person in a dragon robe. His life or death was insignificant to Sunagakure. If that perfect ninja had died young, it would have been a cause for celebration for Sunagakure. However, while the perfect ninja had died young, it wasn't now. The next protagonist wasn't even a sperm yet, and he wanted to kill his protagonist father? That was practically impossible. Based on his years of experience, the protagonist wasn't so easy to kill. He might not only fail to kill the protagonist but also allow the protagonist to have some kind of strange adventure or cheat code, making the birth even more difficult.

As for Nawaki, his death was in line with the plot. Moreover, his actual role in Konoha was not as significant as that of a perfect ninja. He couldn't fight, he was clumsy with words, and he couldn't spar. For Konoha, his role was more symbolic than practical. Whether he lived or died made no difference to Sunagakure.

But for him, it was a different story. As long as Nawaki lived, Tsunade's resolve was unbreakable; there was absolutely no chance. Besides, he spent all his time at the Konoha hospital saving lives, and he couldn't just run off to Konoha to flirt with girls all the time. That bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi was treating him like a thief...

433. Danzo is undoubtedly the best candidate.

However, it would be quite difficult to fabricate an accidental death for Nawaki. First, he himself couldn't be involved, and ideally, all the clues should point to someone other than him. At the same time, Nawaki's death would have to make Tsunade disappointed in Konoha, so that she would leave Konoha as she did in the original story. After thinking it over, he realized that sending his own people was definitely not an option.

Kakuzu won't work either. Everyone in the ninja world knows that he and Kakuzu are "good brothers." And even though Miss Slug is always hanging out with Kakuzu, she was once Hashirama Senju's summoning beast. If she knew that Kakuzu was going to kill Hashirama Senju's grandson, how could she sit still? So there aren't many candidates left. We need to find someone who has absolutely no connection to him to do it, so that no one can associate it with him.

The ultimate winner was none other than Danzo, the root of Konoha, the friend of villains, and half of Konoha, who embodied all sorts of bad titles!

He had already written out a script on how to fool Danzo. He had been held back by the messy affair between Sasori and the Seven-Tailed Beetle, but now that Sasori had reformed and fallen in love with real-life PvP, and his parents' salaries were more than enough to support the family without any worries, he could finally make a proper plan.

As for taking three kids to the Land of Fire to rob the rich and help the poor, it's because Sunagakure really needs relief. They don't have many resources to develop and have to rely on massive layoffs to stay afloat. Every village in the ninja world wants as many fighting forces as possible, but Sunagakure simply can't afford to support so many people. If they don't go out and cause some trouble, the gap between them and other villages will widen. This is why nine out of ten of those notorious bandits are actually poor.

Secondly, it would also create an alibi for him. Ideally, someone of some standing in Konoha would be lured there to act as a witness. Of course, White Fang would be best, but if White Fang came, the danger level for the three kids would skyrocket. He would fight White Fang, and the other Konoha ANBU underlings would be up to the three of them to deal with...

...

"puff!"

"You're taking all three of them to Konoha? Have you lost your mind? We haven't even settled accounts with you for what you've done yet. Tell me, what are you trying to do this time? Selling a bunch of scrap metal to those puppeteers, what exactly are you trying to achieve? (▼へ▼メ)"

After Mei Chuan and the other two hurriedly returned home, Masato immediately ran to the Kazekage Tower. While Sunagawa was still in a daze, Ebizo on the other side couldn't help but start cursing. He should never have entrusted the people to this bastard in the first place. This guy is too unreliable. It's one thing for him to go to the Land of Fire to rob the rich and help the poor, but he also wanted to take three kids with him. If anything happens to them, Sunagakure will suffer a huge loss. As for Kudo Yusaku, although he has some talent, he is not indispensable and he doesn't have any background.

But Yekura and Meikawa Nai'i are different. One is a Blazing Release user who only appears once every few decades in the village, and the other is the successor of the Meikawa clan. That old guy Meikawa Hakuchi is still alive. Last time you caused him to lose both legs and he's like this now. If you kill his successor in Konoha, he'll definitely come after you.

"Hey! It's not a big deal. In economics, this is called cash flow. Do you think it's so easy to cultivate a super genius like me? Are all super geniuses as self-aware as I am? Handsome Sasori is playing with those damn expensive puppets. If he doesn't take advantage of this to cash out some money, your nephew and niece-in-law will be living on empty stomachs. There's nothing wrong with selling what you don't need to those who do, right? Anyway, I've observed the heavens, and I don't think there will be any major upheavals in the ninja world in the next few years. If these guys get too caught up in this and can't extricate themselves, you can just straighten them out and persuade them to pull back from the brink."

“Young birds will eventually spread their wings and fly. They are clearly eagles, you can’t raise them like sparrows, can you? House flowers... ptooey! Flowers in a greenhouse are never as bright and dazzling as wildflowers. Besides, those three kids are not bad themselves. The three of them together can go toe-to-toe with Handsome Scorpion. Go out and see the world. It will be good for them to be beaten up by society early on. Stop having those unrealistic fantasies all day long.”

"Everyone who's in this world has one foot in the grave. When you die, you're like a bird soaring to the sky; if you don't die, you live a thousand years. In the end, you're just a handful of dust. Whether you're a genius or a rich young master, when your family is destroyed, even if you're just a villager, you'll still grab a hoe and go. There's no need to worry so much; even if you die, it's their fate."

Shinto, sprawled on someone's sofa, shifted his position and said nonchalantly.

These two really know how to enjoy life. They embezzled company funds under the pretext of working overtime to get two sofa sets here. They're much more comfortable than those old stone benches. Now all that's missing are two beds...

He noticed that Ebizo and Sunagawa were becoming more and more like babysitters than leaders, worrying about this and that, just like Hiruzen Sarutobi. But the key point is that Konoha has people who are worth Hiruzen Sarutobi's concern, while Sunagakure doesn't!

Umekawa's potential is clearly limited; at best, he's just a decent starter. Kudo Yusaku... while he's good at everything, you could also say he's bad at everything, lacking any distinctive characteristics. Give him a cheat code, and he could become the protagonist's father like Namikaze Minato. But without a cheat code like Namikaze Minato's, the ideal model for him at the beginning of the story is probably Hatake Usopp—he knows a little about everything, but isn't proficient in anything. His Hatake swordsmanship, which once made him a force to be reckoned with against White Fang, became nothing more than a tool for beating weak opponents. If it weren't for... There's this guy with the Kaleidoscope skill who forces his way into the spotlight a few times, but he can't even be a background character later on. The kind of background characters later on are like Hiruzen Sarutobi... Frankly, Yusaku Kudo might not even be as good as that White Fang from Konoha in the future. He couldn't teach him even if he wanted to. His taijutsu is only so good because of the One Piece world's buffs. He doesn't have the skill to develop any random taijutsu like the Konoha Steel Fist Style for Yusaku. Talent is important, but a great teacher is indispensable. He's a great teacher, that's true... but that kid isn't some kind of super genius.

As for Yekura, she'll at most be an All-Star in the future. Although her Scorching Release is a bit special, it's similar to Ice Release—special enough, but not outstanding.

The reason Sunagawa and Ebizo valued Yokura so much was simply a case of choosing the best among the worst—anyone they could find was just worrying unnecessarily...

He wasn't too keen on this approach. He felt it was better to let talented people break free from traditional education methods and venture out into the world. If one of them could break free from the shackles of their original destiny and overcome obstacles, that would be a pleasant surprise. Of course, if they remained destined for the same fate, that wouldn't matter either; their destiny was meant to be that way...

434. We've already thoroughly offended Onoki; there's no one left to play forward.

"!!!"

Sunagawa and Ebizo exchanged glances. And you know what? This kid, though somewhat illiterate, had accumulated quite a bit of life experience over the years. His words were becoming more and more plausible. Even though they knew he was just spouting nonsense, these office veterans, who had been in the business for over a decade, couldn't find a word to say in response. They were reasonable people, and they would never resort to force unless absolutely necessary. Besides, using force against this kid wouldn't work; they couldn't even beat him combined.

So the two exchanged glances and considered that if they used force against this kid, it might drag Chiyo into the battle as well. If Chiyo was on their side and won, that would be fine, but if Chiyo was on this kid's side and they lost, they would lose face. So the two could only give him some instructions for going on a long trip and then let him go.

Anyway, if this kid really kills Meichuan Baidi's precious little grandson, Meichuan Baidi will drag him down with him...

Hopefully, this kid will keep a low profile in the Land of Wind this time. He's already really offended his old teammate Onoki. If he provokes Konoha too, no one will be there to lead the charge for them.

.......

"Good morning, Yekura! Ah...you didn't sleep all night either? Where are your things? (⊙_⊙)"

As dawn broke, Kudo Yusaku, who had been excitedly awake all night, arrived at the village entrance with dark circles under his eyes and a package several times his size slung over his back. He walked along, yawning, while the two gatekeepers stared at him in disbelief. He saw his friend sitting on the ground refining chakra, even earlier than him. Surprised, he rubbed his sleepy eyes, assuming his friend had also been up all night and was waiting there. He looked around, not seeing his friend's package, and said with a puzzled expression...

This was his first time leaving the village, and it was an A-level mission. Although he didn't know what it was, he figured it would take a long time, maybe a year or two. So last night, his mother made enough lunchboxes for him to eat for a year. A mother worries when her son travels far away!

He was so touched when he left early this morning. There's really no one better than a mother! His dad went to bed early last night, drank a couple more glasses of wine, and his snoring was like thunder...

"You... are those kunai or shuriken on your back?"

Ye Cang didn't answer this question. Instead, she pointed with a puzzled look at the ridiculously large package on his back and asked, "..." She had been a little excited last night, but it wasn't too bad. She fell asleep after counting sheep to about ten thousand. Although she was still a bit sleepy, she was young and could handle it. However, looking at her friend's dark circles and the package on his back that seemed to be weighing him down, based on her understanding of him, it was probably kunai or shuriken—after all, her friend was an all-rounder... Explosive tags were out of the question; they were too expensive. Even she, the family's key successor, only had three or four, which was already half of the family's stockpile...

"boom!"

"Ah! These are all bento boxes my mother prepared for me. Speaking of which, I haven't had breakfast yet. Would you like one?"

Kudo Yusaku put the large bag on his back on the ground, causing it to shake slightly, and took out two bento boxes from the bag and handed them to his friend.

"Hmm...no need, I ate before I left. Enjoy your meal...-_-||"

Yekura swallowed hard and shook her head. She finally understood why her friend, despite being born into a commoner family, was so much better at martial arts than others. In terms of appetite, apart from Shinto-sensei, who could eat several roasted pigs by himself, no one in the village could match him. Shinto-sensei's rule that eating a lot meant being good at martial arts was indeed true.

There are so many, it'll probably last a month, right? But won't these bento boxes go bad...?

"You two brats, are you... planning to leave the village?"

At this point, the two "doormen," who had been standing, tired, and hungry all night, couldn't help but speak up because of the aroma of the bento boxes. They didn't mind the girl who had arrived first, as she hadn't affected their work. But this kid who came later was going too far. Didn't he know how tired and hungry they were? He was just swaggering around eating in front of them. Wasn't this interfering with their work? If this had happened ten years ago, with their short tempers, they would have given this kid a good beating.

However, given the current environment in the village where everyone respects the elderly and cares for the young, and where everyone is civilized and polite, coupled with the experience passed down from their ancestors, they were able to tolerate it!

These kids are obviously rookies trying to leave the village with their Jonin-sensei leader. They've seen this kind of thing far too many times. They'll find out who these two are first; if they don't have any powerful connections, then they'll make a move...

"Yes, seniors, our teacher told us yesterday to wait for him at the village entrance. Honestly, he's taking so long and still hasn't arrived."

"I'm eating my bento," Kudo Yusaku said.

"Really? I wonder who your Jonin instructor is? We've been on duty here for so many years, we know a bit about the personalities and temperaments of some Jonin. Some Jonin have different habits and styles; some like to leave in the morning, some like to leave at noon, and some even travel at night. Your instructor didn't tell you the time, and you two came here so early in the morning. What if your instructor likes to travel at night? Wouldn't you have waited for nothing..."