Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

he!

The head of Sunagakure, one of the five great ninja villages, and the strongest Kazekage in history, would he be short of money?

Don't you know I use magnetic teleportation?

Didn't you know my disciple was involved in gold dust?

Are labor and management short of money?

He's always taken the blame for that brat Masato over the years without complaint, tolerating all sorts of accusations like "old schemer." But this time, they actually called him stingy. What's even more outrageous is that this morning a large group of villagers gathered in front of his house, each waving bags of gold dust, genuinely believing he was broke and coming to his house to give him money. His fans even said that next time they hold a solo tour, they'll sell tickets and then leave the bags filled with gold dust in front of his house before disappearing.

Although he was deeply moved by the sight of those lovely villagers, he felt it was the best reward he could receive as Kazekage for decades.

But he's fucking rich!!!

All of this was caused by that brat Shinto. If you're short of money and too embarrassed to ask Chiyo-sama, you could have just asked me. It's not like I'm not going to give it to you. Why did you have to haggle with Mifune for a few coins? Isn't that just embarrassing for the village?

When did we Sunagakure people start haggling over prices when buying things?

You're not young anymore, you're over thirty, bro.....(▼へ▼メ)

"Sigh...! Who told this brat to like Tsunade? It's all a tragic fate..."

Ebizo no longer wanted to be angry; his endless rage and resentment finally turned into a sigh.

This kid, though utterly useless, is exceptionally talented, surpassing all his ancestors in every way. However, his taste in women is also a hundred thousand miles ahead of his ancestors—he can't even see their taillights! A Senju clan girl? That's a goal the Miyari clan wouldn't even dare to dream of during the Warring States period. While the Miyari clan was considered a powerful family, it couldn't compare to the Senju clan, whose history almost dates back to the Ninja Clan era. Moreover, the Senju were one of the top two powerful clans in the Warring States period. Even though the Senju are now in decline, with only two people left, they were once rivals to the Uchiha for the title of the most powerful clan in the Warring States period. To maintain the purity of their bloodline, although their children had multicolored hair, they only intermarried with the Uzumaki clan. Other clans couldn't even dream of having them; anyone who did, they would be attacked, not even the Uchiha.

At that time, the Gong Lie clan was still living a quiet life in the Wind Kingdom.

How could anyone be so domineering as this brat, eyeing the great treasure of the Senju clan, the eldest princess? If this were during the Warring States period, such a thing would be unthinkable.

Times have changed. We've entered the era of ninja villages. After all, he's the ace and core of Sunagakure. If you want to take a liking to him, so be it. Even though the two villages don't get along, as long as the child is happy, that's fine. We can't just break them up and waste his amazing talent, can we? What if there's no successor in the future?

Being single is tough!

He understood this deeply...

But damn it, this kid has only grown older and not smarter over the years, which is giving him a huge headache. You can go after Tsunade, but you should at least see some results! I'm not asking you to bring her back, but at least get her into a good university or get a few offers! But you've spent all your money and haven't achieved anything, and you're still stubbornly clinging to your pride. We're all family, and for your grand scheme of picking up girls, how can we refuse to give you what you ask?

How much money could they possibly make from those kickbacks? Now the news has spread throughout the ninja world. It doesn't matter if Sunagawa takes the blame, the key issue is that the village is also losing face!

Even the most powerful village in the ninja world has to haggle over prices when buying things... Originally, Konoha was planning to hold a joint Chunin Exam, and he wanted his precious grand-nephew to show off, demonstrate the spirit and style of Sunagakure, and let the ninja world know how awesome their village's future hope is.

It seems there's no point in even thinking about it now; it's not advisable for the Sand Village to leave their village anytime soon...

......

"Hahaha! This bastard is such a damn incompetent! Civil Engineering, contact the Land of Iron and give him a 6.5 billion yen order. Don't try to bargain! ヾ(^Д^*)/"

In Iwagakure, Onoki at the Tsuchikage's Tower was laughing his head off. Ever since he redeemed the Five-Tails, everything he did had gone smoothly. Even sealing it into a Jinchuriki hadn't caused the initial chaos and mutual repulsion that Old Stone had. He even wondered if it was because he'd reluctantly given that bastard Shiki money for a coffin to avoid disaster, or if it was because he'd recently moved his grandfather to an auspicious burial site. Lately, he was incredibly lucky; he could win the lottery with just a few bets...

I've heard that Golden Lion, that bastard, has spent all his money and still can't pick up a girl. Just how bad is he? If it weren't for Civil Engineering stopping him, he'd be willing to have another round of the Universal Celebration and get his bills free.

The ill-fated relationship between Shiki and Tsunade has lasted for over ten years. It's a perfectly normal situation, like a cabbage being moved to willingly be offered food by a pig. But Shiki is such a bastard, he's been flirting with her for over a decade and he's still the same old loser.

Ohnoki is having such a blast lately that he's been laughing himself awake in the middle of the night!

The ninja world's attention was focused on the bargaining between Sunagakure and the Land of Iron, but his attention was on that bastard, Golden Lion Shiki. At first, when rumors circulated that this scoundrel had failed to woo any women and instead squandered his fortune, he didn't believe it. Those who understand you best are often your enemies, and he knew Golden Lion Shiki far too well. Even if he turned into excrement, he could find him by the smell alone. He dared not assess Golden Lion Shiki's true wealth; Tsunade's terrifying spending power was a fact. But to think he could squander the fortune of Golden Lion Shiki, one of the legitimate heirs of the Miyako clan, was probably... unrealistic, wasn't it?

But when he heard that Golden Lion had gone to haggle with Mifune, he finally believed it. Golden Lion was obviously taking kickbacks!

Although that sissy from Sunagawa and that Piccolo Daimaō from Ebizo aren't very smart, they wouldn't do something so shameful to the village. Only that shameless bastard Shiki would be so reckless. After confirming the rumors were true... hehe! He discovered he'd grown two centimeters taller... ヾ(^?^)?

632. Raikage: Shall we pull off another heist?

"Azabu, do you think we should contact Golden Lion and go after him again?"

In Kumogakure, the Third Raikage sat in the center position with his feet propped up on the table, his eyes darting around. Finally, he turned to the chief steward beside him, the big-headed Azabu, for a question.

Don't let the Raikage's burly appearance fool you; he's got brains too. Besides, as a veteran of the ninja world, his seniority is even longer than Hiruzen Sarutobi and Onoki. Others might not know why Shiki shamelessly haggled with the Land of Iron, but he certainly does. Over a decade ago, rumors about him and Tsunade were rampant. Now, many years have passed, and many have forgotten, but because of the sensitive nature of Shiki and Tsunade's identities, he still has some recollection of it.

To say that Sunagawa was stingy enough to send Shiki to kill him would be an exaggeration. Sunagawa had been in power for over twenty years, and although his prominence was overshadowed by Shiki and he didn't become the top figure in his village like him, he still knew Sunagawa quite well. In the years since he took power, Sunagawa had steadily developed and brought the village to a small peak. The achievements of the First Kazekage in building the village were truly remarkable. However, Sunagawa's historical status definitely surpasses that short-lived Shamon. How could such a person do something so brainless?

To say that the gold in the Land of Wind has been completely panned out is utter nonsense. Although he's not a geological expert, the gold in the Land of Wind has been panned out for hundreds of years. If it were really that easy to pan out, it would have been panned out long ago.

Moreover, based on his understanding of Shiki, Shiki is a contradiction. He is concerned about his reputation but also extremely shameless. This incident is very likely a follow-up to his attempt to make money after Tsunade squandered his money. Originally, he had no interest in such gossip and would at most make a few sarcastic remarks about Shiki's poor womanizing skills.

However, he couldn't sleep last night because he kept thinking about it. After teaming up with the Golden Lion twice, he had already tasted the joy of making quick money, and to be honest, it was really awesome!

When that rogue ninja with the bounty brought them the money from selling the Five-Tails, he was stunned by the huge sum. If he hadn't forced himself to remain calm to maintain the Raikage's composure and dignity, his expression would have been similar to his son's. Recalling how he and his chief steward had worked diligently for the village's benefit for decades, he realized that they hadn't earned as much as he had from teaming up with the Golden Lion twice. If it weren't for the coup that wiped out those families and confiscated their assets, plus those two times he teamed up with the Golden Lion, he might not have been able to lead Kumogakure to its current state, which could be considered the pinnacle of Kumogakure's history.

So after guessing that the Golden Lion was short of money, his restless heart began to stir again. He wondered if he should team up with the Golden Lion again to pull off a big heist and experience the thrill of making quick money. This stable development now made him feel rather bored...

"...Lord Raikage, now is not the time. Ever since Onoki bought back the Five-Tails, it's said to have been sealed within a Jinchuriki. And after suffering two losses, Onoki should be keeping a close watch on his Jinchuriki. It's impossible for things to turn out the way they did last time. If it happens again, given Onoki's personality, he might very well start a war, which would be a huge loss for us. Furthermore, there aren't any good targets in the ninja world right now. The One-Tails, Two-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Eight-Tails are in our two villages; the Nine-Tails' situation in Konoha is unknown; and since Kirigakure didn't participate in the Second Shinobi World War, I think their strength is probably the most intact and much greater than the three villages combined. We also don't know the situation with the Three-Tails and Six-Tails. It's been seven years since the last war, and the villages have mostly recovered. It's best not to act rashly now."

After thinking for a moment, Azabu Big Head shook his head and analyzed that he was also very tempted. Although Golden Lion was not one of their own and was a bit despicable, he was still a suitable teammate and did not have a bad record of betraying his teammates.

If it were just two years before the ceasefire, things might still be possible, but now it has been seven years since the ceasefire, and the recovery of each village is about the same. Moreover, the friction has gradually become much more intense. The main reason why a major war has not broken out is that there are still some follow-up tasks to be completed after the recovery, and there is no pretext for a major war.

Just like in World War II, they weren't fools. How could Konoha possibly send people to cause trouble in all their villages at the same time? Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't out of his mind. But at that time, their villages had recovered from World War I after twenty years, and their armies were strong and their morale was high. At that time, they couldn't avoid fighting even if they wanted to. All they lacked was an excuse to start a war. So, regardless of whether Konoha was causing trouble in their territory, having an excuse to start a war was enough.

The current situation is actually similar to that of the past, except that it has not fully recovered yet. Now, whoever they want to understand is likely to have far-reaching consequences, so it is better to play it safe and wait for the right opportunity at this stage.

"It seems the ninja world won't be peaceful for much longer..."

Hearing his big-headed friend's analysis, the Raikage nodded. Although he had a fiery temper, as the recognized best Raikage in the history of Kumogakure, he was able to control his temper and listen to his big-headed friend's advice. He was not as domineering as Onoki. After all, there were smart people around him, and it was more appropriate for smart people to use their brains.

.......

"Damn it, don't let me find out which bastard is spreading this nonsense again, or I'll chop him up."

Walking across the vast desert of the Land of Wind, Shinto, carrying the "Uchiha Greatsword," kept spouting nonsensical nonsense.

He was already embarrassed enough that he'd spent all his money on girls and hadn't even managed to pick one up. Those were just rumors, without any evidence. Someone as honest as White Fang wouldn't publicly reveal his IOUs, so the rumors faded away quickly, like gossip, and he didn't pay much attention. But now, some bastard had leaked the story of him haggling with Mifune in the Land of Iron. While this inexplicably made Sunagawa a scapegoat, didn't it indirectly confirm the previous rumors were true? Most importantly, it exposed his bargaining and kickback practices! Did he, the top courtesan of Sunagakure, have any shame?

Not many people knew that he had bargained with Mifune. Besides Handsome Scorpion and a few others, it was only Mifune and his underlings. Although Mifune was a samurai, he wasn't particularly tactful and wouldn't betray him. His underlings, who were seated in a row with them watching the shamanistic performance, were probably his trusted lieutenants; they wouldn't be wandering around aimlessly. Weren't they afraid that Lord Golden Lion would return and retaliate?

633. Let Karin's mom nibble on it a few more times.

This was also the question that he couldn't figure out... ugh! Those who could become Mifune's trusted lieutenants had all been with him for at least ten years; they wouldn't be so loose-lipped. While the paparazzi industry had emerged, it wasn't yet so rampant. At most, they'd stake out the doors of a few village Kage's houses; it hadn't developed into a small to medium-sized country like the Land of Iron. Besides, Mifune's news value wasn't that high; Ebizo's lost nighttime stroll through the Red Bronze Zone was more newsworthy.

Although Mifune is stronger than Ebizo, he is not as high-ranking as Ebizo, the Minister of Military Affairs of Sunagakure, one of the five great villages.

"Hmph! Serves you right..."

Seeing the middle-aged scoundrel's furrowed brow as he rambled on, Sasori's inner turmoil dissipated. He seemed to have forgotten how humiliating it was to haggle with this scoundrel in the Land of Iron. He, the dignified heir of the Sand Village, had actually gone to haggle with this bastard! Fortunately, the focus of the discussion was on this scoundrel and the Kazekage, so he hadn't been affected yet...

“You brat, your uncle is doing this for the sake of our village. Think about it, our Wind Kingdom is short of resources and production. No matter how much gold dust we have, it will eventually run out. What will our descendants eat and drink if our generation squanders it all? You are the rightful heir, and you will be the head of the family in a few years. You can't just look at the present; you need to have a long-term vision.”

Masato's eyebrows twitched, barely suppressing the urge to beat the brat up. He gently stroked the brat's red hair and said, "The child is too old to be beaten anymore. Besides, handsome Scorpion is stubborn by nature and only responds to gentle persuasion."

As for whether he will rise to the top and become the leader in the future, it's really hard to say. In the original work, handsome Sasori's parents died, and Chiyo, who was closed off, was unable to enter his inner world. After killing Sunagawa to avenge his parents, he went to pursue his art without any worries. As a result, he was foolishly tricked into joining a terrorist organization by the rich man Minami. He is a famous example of someone whose "heavenly card" was beaten into a chicken's head.

However, this kid isn't orphaned yet. Although he still has a passion for art, it's not very strong right now. Besides, he was practically devoured by Karin's mother last time. They were practically husband and wife, after all. Sasori may seem aloof, but at least he has someone in the village to care about. And since being completely eaten by Karin's mother, he's noticed a slight change in Sasori. Although he still talks back occasionally, he doesn't seem as withdrawn as before. Maybe if Karin's mother eats him a few more times, he might actually be able to win him back...

The power of love is truly amazing!

Masato stroked his chin, his eyes darting back and forth between Sasori and Karin's mother, wondering if he should drug Sasori when they got back to the village...

"Asshole....(▼へ▼メ)"

Handsome Scorpion gritted his teeth in anger at the lewd look in the middle-aged man's eyes. For some reason, he felt a chill run down his spine. This bastard was definitely up to no good. However, he couldn't abandon the ninja tradition of not backing down.

......

The four of them leisurely returned to the village. The journey was smooth and they encountered no obstacles. The living conditions in the Land of Wind were too poor, and even rogue ninjas were unwilling to come here. In contrast, Konoha was a beautiful place with mountains and rivers, practically a concentration camp for rogue ninjas. Bandits and robbers were everywhere, and Konoha left them for low-level players to gain experience.

Their Sunagakure alt accounts didn't receive such treatment. There were only two kinds of people who came to their Land of Wind: merchants and desperate fugitives who came to seek their fortune. Most of the merchants would go to Sunagakure to place a mission and ask someone to escort them away, while those desperate fugitives were just looking to get rich overnight and wouldn't cause trouble. So, Shinto's original plan to make Mada bleed was ruined. After all, he was his old brother Mada's son, so he couldn't show favoritism and not take care of Mada, could he?

Seeing blood is something neither Sasori nor Karin's mother needs anymore. Sasori has been researching human puppets for a year or two, and he's handled countless human organs; his mental fortitude is incredibly strong. While Karin's mother hasn't handled any, she spends all her time with Sasori and has seen plenty; seeing blood is meaningless to them. Speaking of which, only Mada is a normal person among these three kids...

Seeing blood for the first time is a huge shock for a child. After all, it's their first time cutting someone. If they have poor mental fortitude, they can't get over this and should forget about their ninja dream. They might spend their whole lives in nightmares. Even if some people get through this, they will develop some psychological problems, such as becoming sinister or mentally unstable. However, cutting people is a normal job for ninjas, and they have to get through this.

The current state of Maki makes him somewhat lost. He is completely different from the loyal guardian of Sunagakure in the original work. In the original work, Maki was already in his thirties when he appeared. He was calm, loyal, and continued to assist his boss's son as the leader after his boss died. This loyalty is quite rare and probably has something to do with his upbringing.

But right now, Mada is still just an eleven or twelve-year-old kid. Because of this little butterfly (his father), his father didn't die young. Instead, the pressure he'd endured since childhood made him unusually sensitive. Even when talking to him, Zhenba has to mentally rehearse his lines, carefully considering whether he'll say anything that might trigger the child's sensitivities, for fear that the kid might suffer some kind of shock and leave a note or hang himself in the middle of the night. He certainly doesn't have a son that old to take care of Mada...

If Xiao Mada were the same type of person as in the original story, he wouldn't be flustered. But this Xiao Mada's composure and other qualities are just on the surface; he's too sensitive inside. Who knows if he'll break down mentally the first time he cuts someone?

"Lord Shindou, Lord Kazekage requests your presence."

The four had barely entered the village when, as expected, Masato's ANBU underlings appeared.

"I'm going to be criticized by those two old men now, you all go back first..."

Shinto waved to the three kids and followed the ANBU underlings towards the Kazekage Building, using the Seven Star Step.

This time, his taking kickbacks is a minor issue; the real problem is the loss of face for the village. Plus, he's now got a new "stingy" label on Sunagawa. What really irked Sunagawa was that that red-nosed, short bastard Onoki probably leaked news a while ago that Iwagakure and the Land of Iron had done business together, and they didn't even bother with haggling or discounts. Isn't that just reinforcing Sunagawa's new "stingy" reputation...?

634. I know the triangle offense better than you do.

Sunagawa was a remarkably competent Kazekage, possessing both tolerance and a broad perspective. Otherwise, he wouldn't have tolerated his junior brother having a higher status than him, the Kazekage. In the ninja world, when people talk about Sunagakure, they first think of Shiki the Golden Lion, and only then of Sunagawa, the Kazekage. Aside from his frequent public displays of shamanistic dancing that damage the village's image, there's really nothing wrong with him. Moreover, Sunagawa is exceptionally good at taking the blame; his mental fortitude is outstanding. Over the years, he's taken the fall countless times without going insane. Whether he's causing trouble in Konoha or raiding the Land of Earth, Onoki and Hiruzen Sarutobi always pin the blame on Sunagawa, believing it to be his scheme—after all, he's the Kazekage...

But none of that touched Sunakawa's last line of defense: he couldn't be called a stingy person or a poor person.

For someone who possesses Magnet Release and was born in the Land of Wind, a place overflowing with gold, this was a tremendous insult to his character. So when he heard someone label Sunagawa as a stingy person, he knew that he would definitely be invited to the Wind Shadow Pavilion for coffee when he returned to the village.

"Knock knock knock!"

Is Lord Kazekage here?

Upon arriving at the Kazekage Building, Masato didn't bang on the door as usual. After all, he had caused Sunagawa to suffer personal humiliation because of his own actions. To avoid being verbally attacked by Sunagawa and Ebizo later, he politely knocked on the door before entering the Kazekage's office.

The ANBU underling, who was just about to leave, almost stumbled and glanced at Masato in shock.

"What the hell? This boss actually knows to knock?! (⊙_⊙)?"

He'd been Lord Fengying's errand boy for over a decade, and this boss always broke down doors—even titanium-alloy security doors were smashed to pieces with a single punch. What's wrong with him today...?

“…”

"..."

The office was completely silent...

"Knock knock knock!"

Is anyone home?

"..."

"......"