Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Besides, it's over 10 billion! With such a wealthy younger brother around, even if he were the Raikage, he wouldn't feel at ease.

Therefore, considering the factors on the side of Kumogakure, this leader of the Land of the Moon hesitated somewhat.

The situation in Kumogakure is different from that of Konoha, which has been under constant scrutiny for many years. Konoha might have to consider many factors and the reactions of the major ninja villages before taking action against that village. But Kumogakure doesn't need to consider any of these things if they want to wipe out the Land of the Moon; they can do it without hesitation. The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is still in their Land of the Moon...

"It seems Takikage is very determined! 10 billion, Takikage has offered 10 billion, is there anyone else bidding?"

Honestly, even Shinto, who's been so wealthy these past few years that he's had no concept of money, was taken aback by Takikage's determination. He even felt a little guilty towards Takikage. If the Akatsuki were to attack this artificial tailed beast and descend upon Takigakure, I wonder if Takigakure would be devastated—they bought it for 10 billion yen and it's gone in less than two years...

However, Shinto also gave Takikage a verbal commendation in his little notebook, thinking that he would talk to Kakuzu about it sometime so that he would commit fewer sins.

"..."

Seeing that neither the two leaders of the Kingdom of Commerce nor the Kingdom of the Moon spoke, the others naturally fell silent as well.

One hundred billion is far too much. Even if they sold their daimyo, they wouldn't be able to come up with that much money. They can only secretly plan to find a team after the event and see if they can pull off a heist after Takikage leaves the Land of Iron.

"Ten billion at a time!"

"Ten billion twice!"

"One hundred billion three times! Congratulations to everyone in Takikage for winning a Tailed Beast with one hundred billion! However, there's one thing I need to tell you: I don't offer after-sales service. The Tailed Beast is sealed inside this old man's stomach, but this old man is weak; he's already an idiot after just two punches. But because of this, he's not in any immediate danger. However, I can't guarantee what will happen when you take him back to the village to replace the Jinchuriki."

Seeing Takikage trembling with excitement, Masato still spoke up to remind him.

The Seven-Tails' previous rampage was caused by their ineffective sealing techniques. While Takigakure's sealing techniques were better than those of Sunagakure before they obtained the Uzumaki clan's legacy and Konoha's tailed beast sealing techniques, they probably weren't that much better. After all, the Uzumaki clan could seal the Seven-Tails, while Sunagakure couldn't even seal the One-Tails before.

Moreover, although this artificial tailed beast is far less powerful than the Seven-Tails, the dark chakra that Orochimaru mentioned can influence a person's mind, and he was unsure whether Takigakure could protect it.

If things don't go well, don't blame it on him.

"Rest assured, Your Excellency, I understand. The money is ready. Please check it."

As a result, the foolish Shennong, who was thrown over like trash by Zhendou, could indeed sense the powerful chakra in Shennong's stomach. Without rushing to check, he very readily took out the sealing scroll and handed over the goods.

"Forget about the inventory. You, the head of Takigakure, have no reason to lie to me for such a small amount of money. Kakuzu is my sworn brother; I'll have him go home and pay respects to his elderly parents sometime..."

Without even checking the sealed scroll, Shindou stuffed it into his pocket and raised an eyebrow at Takikage.

Just kidding. If he asked Kakuzu to go and do something in another village, Kakuzu might hesitate because the Akatsuki group needs to develop in a low-key manner right now.

But if Kakuzu were to return home to pay respects to his elderly parents, he would absolutely be ready to draw his sword and attack; older people are most prone to homesickness...

1069. Be careful they place your order.

"...Haha, please excuse my rudeness. We Takigakure people are very clear about our business dealings, and naturally we won't shortchange you..."

The Takikage who didn't know how to be modest twitched at the corner of his mouth. If there was one thing that the two generations of Takikage least wanted to hear, it was the name Kakuzu. It was clearly the old guys from the previous two generations who did something despicable when they were out of their minds, but in the end, the two generations of Takikage had to bear the blame.

Ever since Kakuzu's name became famous in the ninja world, everyone knew about the despicable things the previous two generations of high-ranking officials had done. They actually sent Kakuzu to assassinate Hashirama Senju. That would have been one thing, but a young man who deeply loved the village, was willing to risk his life for it, and dared to kill the God of Shinobi was a huge asset anywhere. Moreover, it is said that Kakuzu could fight Hashirama Senju for a hundred rounds without dying. Such a courageous and powerful person, and those bastards just gave up on him like that. I really don't know if those bastards have something wrong with their brains.

That's not all. After all, many years have passed, and those bastards got their comeuppance, being killed by Kakuzu, who also defected. They thought the matter was over and wouldn't affect the village's future. However, with Kakuzu's sudden rise to fame, that incident has been brought up again. Over the years, Takigakure's reputation has suffered considerably. Abandoning someone willing to risk their life for the village is despicable in itself, but the key issue is that Kakuzu obtained Takigakure's forbidden technique, "Earth Grudge Fear," and is still alive. Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will live for many more years. As long as Kakuzu lives, Takigakure will continue to be seen as the epitome of betrayal. The crucial point is that Kakuzu is a true double-crown slayer, and Takigakure has no ability to kill him. Instead, they worry that Kakuzu will recall his past experiences and return to Takigakure to vent his frustrations, which would be a tragedy.

Hearing Shiki say this, Takikage's smile was more like a grimace. He had almost forgotten that their village's most notorious rogue ninja was Shiki's sworn brother...

"Just kidding. My brother Kakuzu is a man destined for great things. How could he possibly have time to wander around your Takigakure village? He'd rather close a few more deals, wouldn't you say, Lord Takigakure? But speaking of which, Lord Takigakure, you should hurry back and deal with this Tailed Beast issue. After all, so many people saw you photograph it. If that guy is ruthless enough to place an order on the black market, and if the price is right, my brother Kakuzu might actually come looking for you to talk about life..."

Masato patted Takikage on the shoulder and reminded him.

This wasn't meant to scare him. He'd just seen the leaders of several small ninja villages exchange knowing glances as they left. Having witnessed so many auction scenes in his past life, he could roughly guess what they were up to. Although those people weren't elite Jonin, not even at the level of a Red Stick-rank Quasi-Kage, this Takikage was only a Quasi-Kage himself. Without any special abilities, the difference between an elite Jonin and a Quasi-Kage wasn't significant; it could be compensated for by numbers. This Takikage just happened to be a Quasi-Kage without any special abilities. His strength was even weaker than Kurenai Yuhi, who was slapped into a meat sandwich by Kurama back then. Aside from the Uchiha's Sharingan, few could escape Kurenai's genjutsu.

As for Takikage, although his appearance is similar to the Second Tsuchikage, he doesn't possess advanced skills like area-of-effect attacks. An ordinary near-Kage level Red-ranking ninja could easily be wiped out by a few ordinary elite Jonin. Moreover, even if these people don't attack, if they go to the black market to place an order, the allure of the Tailed Beasts or the money would easily attract Kakuzu; after all, he's also a seller. Adhering to the principle of honest business dealings, Shinto felt it necessary to remind Takikage, lest this guy be killed the moment he leaves the Land of Iron, and those who don't understand the situation think it's Shiki the Golden Double-crossing him...

"Thank you for the reminder. I'll leave immediately..."

Takikage, who was still basking in the joy of obtaining a tailed beast, immediately snapped out of his daze upon hearing this and nervously carried the silly Shennong outside.

It's too early to be happy. Before the Tailed Beast returns to the village, he's not the first person in Takigakure's history to do so. Besides, he's certain those bastards won't let him bring the Tailed Beast back to the village so easily; after all, if it were him, he would have done the same...

......

"Haha, Brother Mifune, thank you so much this time. This is just a small token of my appreciation. Although it's not a famous sword, it's still the renowned Uchiha Greatsword of Sunagakure, made of pure gold. As the saying goes, a fine sword is a gift for a hero. This is just a small token of my respect. If you have time, come visit Sunagakure. I'll pay for the whole dragon dance!"

A substandard tailed beast amassed 10 billion for free, not only emptying the Hatake clan's coffers but also allowing him to go to Konoha to have some fun with Tsunade. He couldn't wait to say goodbye to Mifune.

The main problem is that if he stays in Mifune's mansion any longer, he'll really fall into depravity. The life of a samurai is just... too damn decadent.

"I'll definitely go when I have time. Have a safe trip."

Mifune carefully accepted the exquisite scabbard that Shinto handed him. It was a golden sword made of 24K pure gold. Although their Land of Iron was a producer of famous swords, and the craftsmanship of this pure gold sword was excellent, it was nothing special to Mifune, a swordsman who owned several famous swords. In his eyes, it was just a beautiful work of art. However, the gift was small but the sentiment was great. Just the fact that it was given by the Golden Lion was enough to show that the significance of this golden sword was greater than its value.

As a samurai, he greatly admired the Golden Lion's swordsmanship, after all, it was a swordsmanship that could split Uzushio Village and the battlefield in two. He had studied it for so many years but still couldn't figure out what kind of swordsmanship could be so powerful.

......

"Lord Mifune, this Golden Lion really knows how to do business. He made 10 billion in one go."

After Shinto left, Mifune's underlings looked on with envy. He had helped maintain order at the previous auction, but he had witnessed firsthand how the leaders of those ninja villages were really red-faced over a tailed beast. If it weren't for Shiki the Golden Lion, they probably would have started fighting. In the end, Takikage's bid was capped at 10 billion, which shocked him even more.

Although he was born into a samurai noble family and was a trusted subordinate of Lord Mifune, at least the second or third in command in the Land of Iron, and was not someone who hadn't seen big scenes, the way Golden Lion easily amassed 10 billion was truly exaggerated.

1070. Just how many people has this guy killed over the years?

"If you had his strength, you could do business like that too. Ever since Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the tailed beasts have been regarded as tigers by the world. Only Shiki has the ability to use the tailed beasts as a tool for making money. Every time that super rogue ninja Kakuzu sold tailed beasts, Shiki was involved. Compared to that, I am more curious about the golden sword that Shiki gave to you, sir. I heard that Shiki used a pure gold sword. I wonder if it is this one?"

Mifune's other henchman, gazing at the pure gold greatsword in Mifune's hand, couldn't help but wipe his drool. However, his drooling wasn't because the sword was made of pure gold; the key was the sword itself. Everyone knew that Shiki's sword wasn't some famous blade, just an ordinary, albeit rather ornate, pure gold greatsword, also known as the "Uchiha Greatsword" (everyone speculated that this was because Shiki's idol was Uchiha Madara, hence the common name...). To think that an ordinary greatsword, even softer than iron, could unleash such power demonstrates just how strong Shiki's swordsmanship truly was.

"Heh, that golden sword of his has been with him for decades, how could he just give it away so easily? A sword is a swordsman's life..."

"Clang!"

"How despicable! Although it's made of pure gold, the blade exudes an astonishing chill, and it even has a trace of red bloodstains on it. How many people must one have killed to acquire this? It's practically a weapon of death! Could it be that the Golden Lion really gave his sword to you, sir?"

When Mifune inadvertently drew the "Uchiha Greatsword," the three of them were instantly stunned by the chilling aura emanating from it.

Although the golden sword had many chips on its blade, clearly caused by years of use and neglect of maintenance, essentially a second-hand item that wouldn't last a third time before becoming unusable, the three men, all possessing renowned swords, naturally didn't care about such things. What shocked them was that this great sword was clearly the Uchiha Great Sword that Golden Lion had used for decades. Otherwise, it was hard to imagine who could have cut an ordinary pure gold great sword so badly that it was almost a weapon of mass destruction. How many people would it take to see it reach this level?

To understand a ninja's career, having a few hundred kills is already considered impressive. A typical ninja might only have double-digit kills in their lifetime, enough to brag about to kids after retirement. To reach that level of ferocity, you'd need at least a thousand kills, and even one or two thousand wouldn't be enough.

They really didn't expect that the Golden Lion would actually bring out the greatsword that he had had for decades.

However, looking at the numerous cuts on the greatsword, it hasn't broken even after decades. I wonder how the Golden Lion is used...

What they didn't know was that for Shinto, who had mastered Armament Haki to its maximum, even a fire poker, as long as it was covered in Armament Haki, could go toe-to-toe with Hiruzen Sarutobi's supposedly hardest black stick. The quality of the sword didn't matter to him. Of course, the better the weapon itself, the greater the power he could unleash. Almost all the cuts on this Uchiha Greatsword were made by White Fang's ancestral short ninja sword in his early years.

Originally, Shinto really didn't intend to give it away. As the old saying goes, you develop feelings for a dog after raising it for several years, let alone a dog that has been with him for decades and fought alongside Madara's greatsword. Even if it meant retiring him and entering the village's Hall of Fame, he wouldn't give it away like this.

However, the thought of facing either Madara Uchiha or his mother in the future made him realize that this ordinary pure gold greatsword couldn't fully unleash the power of his swordsmanship. His skills were too powerful; such an ordinary pure gold greatsword would immediately crumble. He hadn't changed it for so many years because there weren't any strong opponents in the ninja world who could force him to fight at full strength. He hadn't thought about this until he spent over half a month in the Land of Iron, surrounded by famous swords. Only then did he remember this: the Uchiha greatsword definitely wouldn't be enough to handle the opponents he would face in the future; it was time to change swords.

After wandering around various famous sword shops in the Land of Iron, he finally found one he liked: the Sakura Ten. It was jet black and forged from an unknown meteorite. The blade was incredibly hard. Although he didn't know if the shopkeeper was exaggerating, the Sakura Ten was indeed very tough. After breaking dozens of famous swords in the shop, it still showed no signs of damage. It was probably even tougher than the Kusanagi sword that Orochimaru gave to Nawaki. Such a tough greatsword was perfect for his style, so Shinto had no reason not to buy it.

Upon inquiry, it turned out that the sword itself wasn't expensive. Its origin was unknown, and although it was quite hard, it wasn't famous, so it was only cheaper than an ordinary greatsword. However, the famous swords that he had used for testing and broken were extremely expensive. In addition, many of those famous swords were already pre-ordered by Mifune, and he had already paid a deposit, but he hadn't come to pick them up yet. As the highest-ranking general of the Land of Iron, Mifune naturally liked to collect famous swords, but before he could take them away, he had used them for experiments.

This kind of thing can't be settled with money. Besides, Mifune's family isn't short of money, and Shiki isn't the type to bully the weak. He's the one who's unreasonable, so he can only reluctantly part with the Uchiha Greatsword, which he's had for decades and which he used to fight Madara, without telling Mifune. After all, Shiki is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, and this Uchiha Greatsword, though a bit worn and broken, is still a famous sword in the hands of a celebrity like him. Giving this renowned Uchiha Greatsword as an apology to Mifune means that even if Mifune finds out later, because... perhaps... maybe he won't want to lose his dozen or so broken swords?

Is his Golden Lion's sword really inferior to those random famous swords?

He's really not up to it anymore.

However, when leaving the Land of Iron and heading towards Konoha, Shinto still flew, and kept accelerating, just in case that old bastard Mifune wouldn't be so quick-witted as to insist on paying him back for those dozen or so famous swords. He'd end up paying him back with nothing...

.....

"Hiss...Whew! Next time this bastard comes to the Land of Iron, don't even bother telling me, just lock the gates and unleash the dogs! Bastard, my legendary sword...(#｀皿′)"

In the Land of Iron, Mifune, who had just returned home and was about to admire his pure gold greatsword, which had been with him for decades, received a message from the owner of the famous sword shop. His anger instantly flared, but his long-standing aristocratic composure prevented him from erupting like others. Instead, he took a deep breath, suppressing his rage, and spoke to his two henchmen. After speaking, he couldn't help but feel a pang of inexplicable heartache; the gleaming gold junk in his hand suddenly lost its appeal…

That was his savings from all those years as a general!

1071. Tsunade is at her peak even more than Orochimaru.

"So? You made quite a bit of money this time, didn't you? Why would you think of selling something so dangerous? What if Takigaku couldn't protect it...?"

Hatake, bored, counted the banknotes in his hand and looked at the bastard sitting in front of him who was treating this place like his own home, and said speechlessly.

The story of Takikage defeating all rivals at the auction to buy the ownerless tailed beast from Shiki at a price of 10 billion has been the talk of the ninja world. Everyone knows about it now. Moreover, according to intelligence from his ANBU underlings, Takikage has been on the run with his foolish Jinchuriki, constantly being hunted by various bounty hunters, rogue ninjas, and leaders of small ninja villages. To be honest, it's hard to say whether Takikage can survive this period. The only thing that makes Takikage feel fortunate is that so far, someone as formidable as Kakuzu hasn't made a move.

Konoha already knew about Takigakure's purchase of the Tailed Beast, but according to Kakashi's description, the Tailed Beast wasn't very strong. After all, if even a weakling like his son could fight it to a draw, the Tailed Beast couldn't be that strong either. So he wasn't worried at all. Although his condition had declined and he wasn't as strong as he was at his peak, it was still a small tail at its peak. He couldn't handle the Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine Tailed Beasts, but he could still give the One, Two, Three, Four, and Five Tailed Beasts a run for their money. Therefore, he and Tsunade didn't care about this Tailed Beast.

However, Takigakure had served as Konoha's subordinate for so many years. While it was indeed unethical for Takigakure to send someone to assassinate the First Hokage, they had received their just deserts. Considering their years of service, Konoha should still be concerned about things on Konoha's behalf...

"It's just a small business, just enough to make a living. You know Tsunade squanders all my monthly allowance. If I don't find some way to make money, how am I going to pay off your family's debts? Besides, it's just a piece of trash. It's useless to keep it. I might as well sell it while it still has some value."

The man shrugged, seemingly unconcerned about the real fight.

"Small business? Not small at all, that's 10 billion... The origin of that tailed beast really was... the gas in the Sage of Six Paths' stomach?"

At this moment, Kakashi, who was watching Jiraiya's masterpiece, chimed in with a question.

It's no wonder he wasn't curious; the story sounded like utter nonsense. Naruto had asked Kurama about it before, and Kurama had sworn that there were only nine tailed beasts in the world, and that there was no tenth tailed beast. But when Naruto told Kurama about the tailed beast they encountered in the Land of Sky and the old man's story, Kurama's attitude became very uncertain, which made him very curious. Putting aside the fact that the Sage of Six Paths was a legendary figure and it was unknown whether he had actually existed, Kurama kept saying that the tailed beasts were born from the Sage of Six Paths, which was exactly the same as what the old man said about Kurama's origin in the Land of Iron.

If that's the case, then the origin of that tailed beast in the Land of Sky seems to be just as this old guy said—it's the gas from the Sage of Six Paths' stomach.

After all, the Sage of Six Paths could even create tailed beasts, so it doesn't seem unreasonable for a combination of gas and chakra to form a tailed beast...

"Who knows? I made that up. You intellectuals don't even know the origins of the Tailed Beasts, how would I know where it came from? Making up this story is just artistic embellishment to enhance the Tailed Beast's authenticity and legitimacy. Otherwise, do you think Takikage could have offered such a high price? Those guys may not be very good at practical skills, but they're all shrewd people. They're not so easy to persuade..."

Shinto raised an eyebrow at Kakashi.

“…”

Kakashi rolled his eyes when he got the answer. This old guy is still alive, it's just that no one can hit him.

This kind of thing can actually be used for artistic purposes? If people found out, they'd probably be besieged at the door...

"By the way, what's the reaction after Nawaki became Hokage? Although I don't want to criticize Nawaki's talent, with his intelligence, his abilities shouldn't be a problem, right? After all, he's Tobirama Senju's grandson... This Tailed Beast incident has caused such a big stir, how come your half of Konoha hasn't made a single move? This doesn't fit his character at all!"

Shinto, ignoring Kakashi's deadpan expression, turned to White Fang and asked, "Since Nawaki took over, Konoha hasn't had any major news lately. Although Tsunade's rise to power suddenly gave Konoha two powerful double-flowered red-robed generals, making their lineup stronger than when Hiruzen Sarutobi was alive, since Hiruzen was old and his condition had declined significantly, while Tsunade, due to her Yin Seal and Hundred Healings Technique, remained at twenty years old, even more so than Orochimaru..."

What puzzled him most was Danzo. Danzo had always been an ambitious man with great aspirations. Now that the Tailed Beasts incident had escalated so much, Danzo might not have done anything in his hands. But it would be different in the hands of this Takikage. Even the leaders of those small ninja villages couldn't help but form groups to take action, and the leaders of small countries without power were also going to the black market to place orders, just as he had guessed.

But so far, this "half of Konoha" hasn't made a single move, which is really damn strange.

"Although he lacks experience, you're right. Nawaki is, after all, a descendant of the First and Second Hokage, so he can handle this. However, Tsunade still needs to keep an eye on things for now. As for Danzo, he's probably struggling to maintain even normal operations. What other ideas could he possibly have..."

Hatake Sakumo didn't really hide anything, after all, these weren't secrets. Ever since Nawaki took over, on the surface Nawaki was the Hokage, but in reality, the powerful Tsunade was "controlling the government." After all, Nawaki had never been involved in these matters since childhood, while Tsunade was different. Although she hated politics, Tsunade was a proper high-ranking official in Konoha before leaving, so she was much more familiar with it than Nawaki. As soon as Nawaki came to power, Tsunade immediately weakened the power of Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, especially in the logistics department. Now, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura are still respected as Hokage advisors, but in reality, they are just two people who keep score.

Because Tsunade weakened Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, this indirectly affected Danzo's Root organization. Root had been developed by Danzo for decades. Although they weren't good at killing people, their power was no less than that of the Anbu. Maintaining such a large organization was extremely expensive. Tsunade now tightly controlled the logistics department because Danzo's attack on Nawaki was like a knot in her heart. Although she couldn't directly eliminate the old man, retribution had come. Previously, the power of the logistics department was in the hands of her two comrades, and Danzo could still get funding. But now, both of her comrades' power had been hollowed out, and all the power was in Tsunade's hands. Even if Danzo came to her door to apologize, it would be impossible.

Once a woman holds a grudge, even gods and ghosts will avoid her.

Danzo can barely afford to support his underlings now, and he still has the idea of ​​having an egg.