Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

As he finished speaking, Masato looked up at the ceiling at a 45-degree angle and secretly gave himself a thumbs up.

I'm a fucking genius...

"Sog! The Sage of Six Paths is amazing! He can even turn the gas in his stomach into a tailed beast!"

"Who can argue with that? After all, he's an immortal; he's bound to be somewhat different..."

After hearing the story, the crowd below couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

The Sage of Six Paths is awesome!

"...What a wicked creature!!! (-"-Angry)"

In an unknown space above the crowd, a strange old man with round eyes and a long staff was glaring angrily at the wretched creature below. If he weren't worried about being discovered by his nominal younger brother, he would have loved to resurrect and beat this despicable and shameless wretched creature to a pulp with his staff!

Since discovering the strange abilities of this monstrous creature decades ago, and since his eldest son's reincarnation is still alive and his youngest son is still waiting in line to be reincarnated, he has been following this monstrous creature around, hoping to use its appearance to help it recover any missing memories.

Did he actually do anything wrong while drunk...?

Otherwise, why would this kid's abilities be so powerful, already beyond the scope of a normal ninja, almost on par with his two biological sons?

Unfortunately, despite observing this wretched child for years, he couldn't confirm whether he had made a mistake while drunk. However, he did find that aside from being eccentric, foul-mouthed, and of questionable character, this wretched child was otherwise quite decent. Although somewhat despicable, he adhered to his principles and bottom line, didn't take advantage of his power to promiscuity, deeply loved his family, and remained faithful and devoted in his relationships—a trait he resembled his father in...

In any case, even if it wasn't a mistake he made while drunk that led to his reincarnation, he still won her heart.

But now this wretched creature dares to slander him just to make money. How could the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Muhachi, be such a lowly person who would burp before he died?

What a damned wretch!

You just wait, one day you'll pay! (▼he▼メ)

.........

"Alright, the story is over. Does anyone have any questions? If not, we can start filming. The Tailed Beasts only last so long; once this opportunity is gone, it's gone forever!"

Masato was unaware that he had been blacklisted by an old man. After finishing his story, he urged the audience to start filming.

Seeing the reactions of the crowd below, he had achieved his goal. As for this counterfeit tailed beast, he didn't care. However, it was best to see things through to the end, lest the will of the Six Paths old man see through his disguise.

"1.1 billion!"

"1.2 billion..."

"1.3 billion...1.4 billion...1.5 billion..."

"Stop, stop, stop! Lord Takikage, I understand your excitement, but this is a proper auction venue, not a vegetable market. How can you bid like this? Everyone should take turns bidding. You've already bid for everyone, so why haven't others bid yet..."

As soon as Shinto finished speaking, a chaotic uproar erupted below, with all sorts of wailing and howling, like a vegetable market. Although these small countries and ninja villages didn't have many resources and weren't as wealthy as the big ninja villages, they could still come up with tens or hundreds of billions. Tens or hundreds of billions could buy a nuclear weapon for the village, so it was a worthwhile deal no matter how you looked at it!

Compared to those small ninja villages, Takigakure, which was once known as the sixth largest ninja village in the ninja world, was much more prestigious. The Takigakure village didn't care about tens or hundreds of billions of yen. If it weren't for the concern about monopolistic practices, he would have wanted to cap the price directly.

Because he was too excited, he shouted out several prices in a row, which aroused the glares of a group of people. Even Masato couldn't stand it anymore. It was really too outrageous!

Anyone who didn't know better would think he was a plant he found somewhere.

"Sorry, I got excited... I got too excited!"

Takikage noticed the angry glares from the group around him. Although Takigakure had its own strength and didn't care about the attitudes of a couple of small ninja villages, the sheer number of them united made him uneasy. Even ants can devour an elephant if they keep doing it, let alone someone who wasn't an elephant...

But you can't blame him for that; he was just too excited because the starting price for this tailed beast was incredibly cheap!

Back then, the Seven-Tails that Takigakure bought from Konoha cost several billion, which left Takigakure reeling for many years. But today, with soaring prices, this tailed beast is only worth one billion, which is incredibly cheap!

I must say, Golden Lion is a really good person!

1066. Takikage's character is really not good.

Back then, Takigakure was eligible to buy a Seven-Tails because of Hashirama Senju and Sunagakure because they had a One-Tailed Beast and therefore didn't participate in the tailed beast auction. However, unfortunately, the Seven-Tails went berserk and wreaked havoc on the village, and they were powerless to stop it. The previous Takigakure, who was also his teacher, had no choice but to ask Shiki to take the Seven-Tails away. In the years without the Seven-Tails, although the village lived a stable life by relying on Konoha, being someone else's lackey and constantly following along wasn't a good thing.

Whether it's to become the first person in the village's history or to enhance the village's national self-confidence, he must bring this tailed beast back to the village.

"Alright, this not-so-low-key Takikage has asked for 1.5 billion. Is there anyone asking for more?"

Regardless of whether Takikage, who didn't know how to be modest, was excited or not, Masato pulled out a small wooden hammer and shouted in a serious manner.

In his view, the only one who still hopes to take away this artificial tailed beast is Takigakure. After all, in terms of village strength, Takigakure's foundation is obviously much stronger than all the other villages present. Moreover, there is only one tailed beast, so there is no reason for them to team up. Although Takigakure has been out of the stage of the sixth largest village in the ninja world for many years, it has been developing steadily over the past few decades due to its geographical location, and its economic strength is still undeniable.

When Shinto saw Takigakure appear, dressed like the Second Tsuchikage, he knew that the artificial tailed beast had basically been reserved by Takigakure.

As for what other people think about auctioning off tailed beasts, that's none of his business. How could a mere artificial tailed beast make him take off?

Besides, Kakuzu might visit Takigakure in a year or two, so taking off is impossible. Hopefully, Kakuzu won't cause too much bloodshed when he encounters these younger generations...

"You think you can buy a tailed beast for 1.5 billion? That's wishful thinking. Our Land of the Moon will offer 1.6 billion!"

"I'll offer 1.7 billion..."

"1.8 billion..."

"nineteen....."

As soon as Masato finished speaking, the leader of the Moon Kingdom couldn't hold back any longer. However, as soon as the leader of the Moon Kingdom finished bidding, another round of passionate bidding broke out. If everyone had been relatively restrained before, now that they knew that this guy who was dressed like the Second Tsuchikage was Takikage, everyone's bidding became much more unrestrained. Before the bidding cooldown was over, one person after another raised the price.

Takikage has really provoked everyone this time. Everyone knows why Takikage would bid for a tailed beast. It's obvious to everyone that he wants to restore the glory of the Sixth Great Shinobi Village.

After the war ended, Kumogakure's overall strength declined rapidly due to a coup, and it was almost overtaken by Takigakure, which was unaffected by the war. It was only because of the existence of the super tough Third Raikage that Takigakure was unable to replace Kumogakure. Just kidding, the Third Raikage was a fierce man who fought the Eight-Tails hand-to-hand, and Takigakure's Seven-Tails couldn't protect him.

Even though it failed to replace Kumogakure as one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, it was from that time that it got the title of the Sixth Great Ninja Village. However, later, because the Seven-Tails of Takigakure was taken away by Shiki the Golden Lion, and the Land of Rain produced Hanzo the Salamander, the Sixth Great Ninja Village changed hands. In order to survive, it has served as Konoha's little brother for many years.

Now, Takigakure wants to use the same old trick of tailed beasts to regain its position as the sixth strongest ninja village, which is the last thing the small ninja villages around Takigakure want to see.

They were all in the same boat, and the eldest should not be second. Now, it is not what they want to see that their teammates, who are clearly in the same boat, suddenly want to take the position of leader. It is already difficult enough to survive among several major ninja villages. If they were to take the position of leader, especially if it is the rebellious and hidden Takigakure, whose home is not easy to find, their lives would be even more difficult!

Therefore, the subsequent auction saw fierce bidding. No one showed any mercy; even knowing they might lose to Takigakure due to their inferior resources, they wouldn't let their opponent have an easy time. Several leaders from smaller ninja villages and countries had already exchanged knowing glances, realizing that even if Takigakure ultimately obtained the Tailed Beast, they wouldn't allow him to bring it back to Takigakure...

"Fifty billion! That's a huge offer! Mr. Bighead Fish from the Kingdom of Commerce has offered fifty billion. Anyone else willing to bid...?"

Shinto never expected that Takikage, who didn't know how to be low-key, would have such a bad character. After everyone learned Takikage's identity, not only did they not give him face, but the competition became even more intense than before. In less than ten minutes, the price of the artificial tailed beast was raised to 5 billion.

Don't think that just because the leaders of the five great nations gamble away tens or hundreds of billions, this 5 billion isn't much. It's not even enough for Tsunade to live a carefree life for half a year.

This is different. In the Naruto world, apart from the Land of Water far overseas, most of the inland areas have been divided up by the other four great powers. Those small countries and ninja villages only occupy a small portion of the land. These small ninja villages and small countries are called countries, but in reality, they are just small city-states. All their land combined cannot compare to the land of one of the four great powers. Even the Land of Merchants is just an alliance of merchants. Although the country's GDP per capita seems high and its economic strength is second in the entire ninja world, slightly lower than the Land of Wind, the country has a small population and a small territory. It is already remarkable that it can come up with 5 billion at once. Many small countries and ninja villages cannot even come up with that much money.

But now, in order to go head-to-head with Takikage, one after another they are arguing until their faces are red and their necks are thick, as if they are going to sell their pots and pans. This makes Masato re-evaluate the character of Takikage, who dared to take on such a role without consulting Onoki.

He was quite familiar with the previous Takikage. Back then, for the sake of the village's future, he was willing to give up the Seven-Tails, a nuclear weapon, and ask him to take it away. In this respect, the previous Takikage was indeed a qualified Takikage. Although serving as Konoha's subordinate was somewhat servile, he was the one who brought peace to the village for decades. As for the current Takikage, he didn't really know him. However, the fact that he came to participate in the Tailed Beast Auction without keeping a low profile showed that he was also someone with a heart full of love.

The ninja world has never lacked ambitious people, but one must have the strength to match that ambition. This Takikage clearly does not have the strength to match that ambition. After all, he was once beaten up by a tailed beast, but he did not learn his lesson. Years later, he has the same idea about tailed beasts again, without considering whether he can protect them.

Adding to the fact that he's currently being attacked by a group of leaders from small ninja villages, his character is probably not very good...

1067. Takikage is also very wealthy.

"Lord Golden Lion, raising the price one hundred million at a time is too cumbersome. How about I set a price? If no one continues to compete with me, the Tailed Beast will belong to Takigakure. If someone continues to compete, we can continue. What do you think?"

Having been in charge for so many years, Takikage wasn't stupid. He could easily see through these people's plans. However, Takikage was now financially secure and didn't panic. If these villages had united to launch a major battle against Takigakure, he might have backed down. But now it wasn't a contest of strength, but of wealth, so he wasn't worried at all. Decades ago, Takigakure could afford to spend billions to bid for the Seven-Tails, let alone today with its skyrocketing prices.

Although Takigakure isn't as adept at making money as the Kingdom of Merchants, the village has remained unaffected by wars and enjoys a relatively good geographical location. This has attracted a steady stream of investors to Takigakure, leading to a leap in their economic strength. While they may not have the tycoons of the Five Great Nations who readily possess hundreds of billions, they can still scrape together a hundred or two hundred billion by selling everything they own.

He said that for two reasons. First, he genuinely found adding up to hundreds of millions at a time troublesome. Second, he wanted a rare opportunity to show off in front of so many people, especially in front of Golden Lion, and his deeds might even be recorded in history and remembered by future generations.

"Huh?! I wonder how much you'd like to add, Lord Takikage?"

Shinto raised an eyebrow at the somewhat pretentious Takikage, but he didn't refuse the suggestion. Although he didn't care about money, he didn't think he had too much. He originally thought that selling this kind of weak artificial tailed beast for two or three billion would be enough. Anyone who had seen a real tailed beast and had the ability to sense it would be able to tell the difference between this artificial tailed beast and the others. Naturally, he wouldn't risk his reputation to cheat them for a few more stinking bucks. Back then, Hashirama Senju sold those tailed beasts for billions of dollars. In that economically impoverished era, billions of dollars was a fortune. Otherwise, Iwagakure wouldn't have borrowed money from Sunagakure.

But this is an artificial tailed beast, the kind that can't be revived after death—essentially a one-time use weapon. Once it dies, it's gone. And its strength is incredibly weak. Even in this era of soaring prices, he couldn't ask for too high a price. The price of 5 billion from the head of the Land of Commerce was already beyond his expectations. 5 billion would be enough for Tsunade, that spendthrift woman, to live a life of luxury for a long time, and she could easily pay back the money she owed White Fang...

However, judging from what Takikage is saying, it seems like he's going to cap it out!

Since someone offered him money, he had no reason to refuse. It was just a way to show off in front of him. He was one of those hot-tempered young people who wouldn't care about such things. Besides, plenty of people had shown off in front of him over the years. He couldn't deny him the right to show off, could he? He might admire Uncle Ban first, but he would only take Uncle Ban's good points as his role models. As for what merits Uncle Ban had that he could learn from, that was another matter.

Please allow him a few days to think it over...

"Ahem, I'm offering 10 billion. Does anyone have a higher offer?"

Takigakure, who was unaware of whether he had paid the copyright fee to Onoki, was surprised that Shiki would agree to let him show off. After a moment of astonishment, he didn't hold back. He cleared his throat, raised the volume slightly, and tried to make sure that everyone present could hear him, while also making sure that the ladies from the Land of Iron who were having fun outside could hear him, thus showcasing the arrogance of Takigakure.

"hiss.....!"

"Good heavens, this Takikage who looks like the Second Tsuchikage is incredibly dashing!"

"Yes, that's a whopping 5 billion right off the bat. That's incredibly extravagant, and judging from his tone, it seems like that's not even the limit..."

Sure enough, Takikage, who looks like the Second Tsuchikage, achieved a small peak in sales. The effect of buying 10 billion yen was simply amazing. The young ladies who were watching the spectacle couldn't help but gasp when they heard the number. Some middle-aged single women who were living in dire straits even "unintentionally" and subtly gave Takikage, who looked like the Second Tsuchikage, a few flirty glances.

Who wasn't a beauty in their youth? It's just that when you're young, your standards are too high, and you only seek blind love. Unfortunately, you're not destined to be with a talented young man who is rich and powerful. Now, it's not bad to compromise and live a wealthy life, but the rich and powerful man prefers someone even younger.

Although Takikage, who resembled the Second Tsuchikage, was somewhat repulsive due to being completely wrapped in bandages, his ostentatious wealth and power, displayed with every wave of his hand, deeply captivated them...

"this..."

However, the onlookers were impressed by Takikage's wealth, and even the leaders of the small countries and ninja villages inside fell silent. Some even gave up when the leader of the Land of Commerce offered 5 billion.

Let alone 10 billion, they couldn't even come up with 5 billion if they sold everything they owned.

As for the idea of ​​just shouting slogans without taking any money, that's just wishful thinking. They don't even consider who's collecting the money. These small businesses can't withstand the power of the Golden Lion's forty-meter-long sword...

Among these people, only the Land of the Moon and the Land of Commerce currently have the strength to compete with Takikage. However, the leader of the Land of Commerce retreated to the back of the group after Takikage's call and did not intend to compete. Their Land of Commerce is located in a remote and low-lying area, on the edge of the ninja world map. They do not have a high demand for nuclear weapons like tailed beasts. After all, the ninja world war does not affect them. They still drink and dance as usual during every ninja world war. After the war, those great ninja villages even beg them to come and help them recover their economy. The reason they came all the way to participate in this tailed beast auction is just to have an extra security guarantee. After all, no matter how much wealth they have, they have to be able to withstand it. If those great ninja villages go crazy with poverty and turn their attention to them one day, they will have a nuclear weapon to make those great ninja villages wary.

Just like the last time they heard that the former daimyo of the Land of Earth had gambled so badly with the daimyo of the Land of Fire that the Land of Earth had lost everything, they were on tenterhooks for a while, fearing that Onoki might go crazy from poverty and cross thousands of miles to attack them. It seems that Onoki really did have that idea at the time, and it seems that the merchants of the Land of Commerce offered to pay an extra 20% commercial tax to keep Onoki in check.

That experience instilled in the leader of the Land of Commerce a desire to strengthen the village. However, 5 billion was his limit. After all, bringing the Tailed Beast back carried risks. What if it went berserk? The strongest in their village were Jonin, considered capable in their remote mountain village, but against their leader, who couldn't even withstand the double-flower red staff, they were nothing more than the Sage of Six Paths suffering from indigestion...

1068. As people get older, they tend to miss their hometown.

As for the Land of the Moon, their national situation is similar to, or even more so than, that of Takigakure. They are caught between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. During World War I, they were considered a neutral country. However, because the Second Raikage and Tobirama Senju were killed in the Land of the Moon, and the Third Raikage became the powerful ruler, the current leader of the Land of the Moon was immediately impressed by the Third Raikage's charisma and chose to become his disciple and obediently serve as a subordinate to the Land of Lightning.

After all, the negotiation between the Second Raikage and Tobirama Senju took place in the Daimyo's mansion in the Land of the Moon. The fact that Kinkaku and Ginkaku could sneak in with their gang of followers in such a place without a sound suggests that even if the leader of the Land of the Moon at that time was not involved, he was still implicated. The only solution was to choose between the two and become a subordinate of Konoha or Kumogakure. It must be said that the leader of the Land of the Moon at that time had quite the courage and vision.

At that time, Kumogakure had just experienced a coup, and half of its clans had been wiped out by the Third Raikage. Kumogakure was at its weakest point in history. On the other hand, although Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju had both died, Konoha's overall strength was still formidable. If a normal person were to make a choice, they would definitely choose to cling to Konoha's powerful backer.

However, the person in charge of the Land of the Moon insisted on joining forces with the Third Raikage. In his view, Konoha was already strong, and joining forces with him would only be icing on the cake. But it was different with Kumogakure. Joining them when they were still weak was like sending charcoal in snowy weather, and the return on investment would be absolutely fantastic!

Moreover, the Third Raikage was a well-known super tough guy. Compared to Konoha, a village known for its cunning and ruthless people, the promises of these muscular men from Kumogakure were obviously more reassuring.

And these decades have proven how right the ruler of the Land of the Moon was. Over the years, the Third and Fourth Raikage father and son have truly treated the Land of the Moon like their own younger brother, never mistreating this little brother. Every time they went out hunting, they would share some of their spoils with this little brother. Even when the Land of the Moon had minor conflicts with neighboring small countries and was bullied, the Third or Fourth Raikage would personally take the lead. After the Fourth Raikage took power, he even sent his sworn brother, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, to the Land of the Moon to serve as their henchman.

Therefore, although the Moon Kingdom's strength has not been very strong over the past few decades, with the Hidden Cloud Village protecting it, its economic strength is solid. Although its foundation is not as strong as that of the Hidden Takigakure Village, it can still come up with 10 billion.

However, the leader of the Land of the Moon was also hesitant. It was no problem for him to spend tens of billions to compete with Takikage, but the key was to consider the thoughts of his elder brother, the Land of Lightning. He had previously worried that his elder brother had designs on his competition for the Tailed Beast, so he reported his idea of ​​competing for the Tailed Beast to the Raikage before taking action. The Raikage's reply was that he should just play around and not compete too deliberately.

So, two or three billion is fine, you can say it's just for fun. But this time it's a hundred or more billion, so it's not just for fun. But Lei Yin might think that he has some bad intentions for competing for this tailed beast so hard, and then he'll really be in trouble.