Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"Advisor Danzo is truly magnanimous! You can even swallow the Seven-Tails... Capturing the Seven-Tails isn't impossible, Takigakure is just a small village, so it's not that difficult. However, the Seven-Tails is more troublesome. You're from Konoha, and I think you understand the difference between tailed beasts better than I do. It's not just about having a few fewer tails on the surface... I wonder how much Elder Danzo can offer?"

"Don't mention money to me! Tsunade lost several blocks of money to me yesterday. The people of Sunagakure are never short of money!"

As soon as Shinto finished speaking, he saw Danzo open his mouth and immediately interrupted him, reminding him that it was a bit much to negotiate with the people of Sunagakure by using money.

"...What do you want?"

Danzo nearly choked on his words. He had genuinely intended to discuss money with this guy at first, since Kakuzu had indeed used money to trade for the Four-Tails, which was perfectly reasonable. However, after being reminded, Danzo realized that these two were the true heirs of Sunagakure, and even the Daimyo of the Land of Wind weren't as wealthy as them...

"...Jie, you've read a lot, so calculate how much the purchasing power of the Seven-Tails' original transaction amount is compared to its current value. Our advisor Danzo is half the sky of Konoha, we don't need this little bit of money, so keep calculating!"

Zhen Dou gave the handsome Sasori's father a look, as if to say, "If a pig is delivered to your door, you'd be a bastard not to slaughter it."

...(▼へ▼メ)

Danzo gritted his teeth at Masato's smug face. What did he mean by "trying to calculate"? This was clearly treating him like a pig to be slaughtered.

But he was asking for a favor, and since this was the only one in the ninja world with a successful track record against tailed beasts, he had to put up with it even if he was tricked. Even though he had a lot of people with him, they couldn't beat them.

"...Let me do the math. If I'm not mistaken, the transaction between Takigakure and Konoha for the Seven-Tails over twenty years ago should have been 6.5 billion, right? Elder Danzo, over twenty years ago, the ninja world suffered from economic decline due to years of war. It's no exaggeration to say that 6.5 billion back then could almost buy two small, developed countries. And the two most developed small countries today are the Land of Waves, located on the Golden Triangle coast, and the famous Tea Country, which is situated at the seaport. Of course, it's almost impossible to buy these two countries now, so let's compare them based on today's economic growth rate. Let me do the math... I've calculated it. The purchasing power of 6.5 billion back then, converted to today's growth rate, is a total of 25.8 billion."

Handsome Scorpion's father was no slouch either. He lightly pushed up his non-existent glasses on his nose and pulled out an abacus from somewhere. While talking, his fingers flew across the abacus. His professional demeanor stunned everyone around him. Although they couldn't understand most of what he said, the lesson sounded very sophisticated. When Handsome Scorpion's father finally gave the result, although they felt it was a bit exaggerated, it also seemed quite reasonable.

"Two hundred and fifty-eight... We're quite familiar with Lord Danzo, so let's just deduct the odd eight hundred million. Two hundred and fifty is an auspicious number, which suits your temperament, Advisor Danzo!"

Elder Danzo, two hundred and fifty... that shouldn't be much, right? Let's calculate how much stuff our village is desperately needing. We can buy in Konoha with that two hundred and fifty. Give Elder Danzo a list. Elder Danzo, if you agree, we'll exchange the tailed beasts for the supplies. What do you think? I think with your current status in Konoha, two hundred and fifty... ten billion in supplies shouldn't be much, right?"

Shinto's eyebrows twitched. Although he didn't know anything about economics, 250...1 billion seemed like a pretty steep rip-off. Shinto couldn't bear to see Danzo being made to kneel on durians by Hiruzen Sarutobi afterward, so he rounded it down to a fraction of the amount. It was because he was soft-hearted!

It's just the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. This is much simpler than going to Iwagakure to release the Five-Tails and take down the Four-Tails. Takigakure itself is weak. As long as you know the location of the entrance to Takigakure, taking down the Seven-Tails will be much easier. And Takigakure happens to be Kakuzu's hometown. Just asking him will make things much simpler.

Moreover, giving the Seven-Tails to Danzo seems like a good idea. Keeping the Seven-Tails in Takigakure would just be a waste of a nuclear weapon, with an alarmingly low appearance rate. It would be better for it to have a higher exposure rate in Danzo's hands. In addition, Danzo's strength has greatly increased, which would make Konoha even worse. From any perspective, it is something that Sunagakure should be happy about.

"Two hundred and fifty billion! You really think highly of me! (-"-Angry)"

As soon as Shinto finished taking down Danzo, he jumped up. He watched as these two bastards sang in unison, wishing he could blow them back to the Land of Wind with a single Wind Release technique. Although he was happy to be respected, he couldn't be treated like a pig and slaughtered, could he?

What does 25 billion yen mean? That's equivalent to the Shimura clan's entire casino revenue in Konoha for ten years! And this bastard still says it's not much, especially since it's supplies, not cash!

Konoha is indeed rich in resources, but it's not up to him to decide everything. Besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, there are also his two companions, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, who are in charge of logistics.

"What?! You, the Hokage's childhood friend, the pillar of Konoha, the chief advisor to the head of the three elders, can't even get such a tiny bit of supplies? No way! Impossible! Is this how Hiruzen Sarutobi treats his comrades after he took over?! σ(⊙▽⊙a)"

Seeing Danzo's fierce and volcanic-like expression, Shinto stared at him in shock, as if to say, "Are you kidding me? A Konoha elder's status is not even as high as mine, a retired idler in Sunagakure!"

"...Too much! I can't come up with that much, eight billion! The most I can provide is eight billion worth of supplies! ヽ(ー_ー)ノ"

Danzo looked at the guy's face and really wanted to slap his size 32 shoe on it. "Would you die if you didn't tell the truth?" ヽ(ー_ー)ノ.

126. Hiruzen Sarutobi: I wronged Danzo.

"Eight billion!... Danzo, you're really good at bargaining. It's a waste that Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't make you a diplomat. Eight billion? Keep it for your own coffin! Let's go... What a waste of your expression. I thought you were a big boss, but you're just a pauper..."

Shindou was also frightened by Danzo's bargaining skills. Without saying a word, he grabbed Sasori's father and tried to leave, muttering contempt to himself.

"Damn it... wait! 15 billion, that's the limit of my ability."

Danzo seemed to be provoked by Shinto's words about being poor, and he gritted his teeth and shouted angrily.

"Two hundred and fifty, that's my bottom line. Elder Danzo, you should have thought this through before coming to me. I'm only giving you this amount because you're someone who does big things. Believe me, if I were to give the Seven-Tails to Hiruzen Sarutobi, I believe it would be worth far more than this. However, if the Seven-Tails falls into Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands, I can't say for sure what else, but his historical status in Konoha will definitely rise by one or two places. I wouldn't dare say he'll surpass Hashirama Senju, but he'll definitely surpass Tobirama Senju. At that point, even if you, Elder Danzo, can do hurdles and overturn tables, it won't matter. How many second-place figures in history are truly remembered..."

"Sigh! Actually, from the very beginning, I believed that with Elder Danzo's talent and ability, you were the most qualified person to become Hokage. It's a pity! Who told Hiruzen Sarutobi to be the current Hokage..."

Shinto, seemingly oblivious to Danzo's gritted teeth, continued speaking.

"...Okay! I promise you! It'll be 250, I hope you can do it quickly! Let's go..."

Danzo's mind was also blown by Shinto's words. He imagined a giant like Hiruzen Sarutobi looking down at him, who was only the size of a toe. He couldn't sit still for a moment!

Especially Masato's last line, "How many runners-up have there been in history!" was a memorable line that completely hit his sore spot. Seeing Masato's resolute refusal to lower the price, he gritted his teeth and stomped his foot!

After saying that, he didn't even glance at the list that Handsome Scorpion's father had drawn up, stuffed it into his clothes, and turned to leave with his underlings. His resolute appearance was as heroic as if he were preparing to go to the battlefield.

"Big brother, are we really going to help him capture the Seven-Tails? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Watching Danzo and his underlings' backs, Sasori's father frowned and said, "Although Sunagakure obtained a lot of supplies from this transaction, these supplies are all consumables. Bringing them back to Sunagakure is just a drop in the bucket and they will run out sooner or later. But if the Seven-Tails stays in Konoha, it will permanently enhance Konoha's strength. No matter how you look at it, I feel like I'm losing out!"

"Don't worry, I know what you're worried about. This Danzo is different from Hiruzen Sarutobi. Giving him to Hiruzen Sarutobi might strengthen Konoha, but giving him to Shimura Danzo might not be so certain. He might even surprise us from time to time. Besides, it's a waste to leave the Seven-Tails in a small place like Takigakure. It would be good to give it a more luxurious place to live..."

Shinto knew what Sasori's father was worried about, but knowing who Danzo was, he wasn't worried at all. Besides, it was just a Seven-Tails; how much could it enhance Konoha's strength? Almost everyone in the Akatsuki, who would be able to carry a bag of rice up several floors in the future, had been a Jinchuriki. The Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts were actually just so-so. If that silly protagonist didn't have a few halos around him, he might not be any better off.

......

"Lord Hokage, we found the bodies of Root members in Shiki's room. Afterwards, Shiki and the Sand Village's genius puppeteer are supposed to meet with Lord Danzo..."

Meanwhile, at Hiruzen Sarutobi's house, Hiruzen was wearing pajamas and slightly hunched over, not wanting Toastmaster to notice anything amiss. After hearing Toastmaster's words, Hiruzen's already simmering anger flared up.

Today, I finally didn't have to work overtime, and since we're newlyweds and still feeling a bit excited, I thought I'd take advantage of the evening to discuss the great undertaking of conceiving with my wife. The atmosphere was getting right, and we even took some blue bottles. Just as we were about to finish the game, my good buddy, that jerk, started causing trouble again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi is truly a disgrace to Danzo! (▼he▼メ)

However, this is something we really can't just sit idly by. The Golden Lion's ability to cause trouble is already proven, and Danzo, his best friend, is someone he's known since childhood. He knows Danzo best, and while he absolutely acknowledges his friend's love for the village, Danzo is just a bit too extreme. Although Danzo has caused trouble in the village in recent years, it's all been minor incidents and not a big problem.

But things are different now. Two guys, one who keeps causing trouble in his own village and the other who keeps causing big trouble in their village, have gotten together...

The key point is that Danzo took the initiative to invite them, and just thinking about it gives him a headache.

During the time that Shiki of Sunagakure was with Konoha, he couldn't eat or sleep. He was on tenterhooks every day, afraid that Shiki would cause trouble. The key thing was that Shiki had once again sent Konoha's brother, Konoha, back to the Senju clan. He wanted to kick him out but couldn't bring himself to do it. For several days, he hadn't seen any movement from Shiki, and his own leader was also keeping an eye on him. Only today did he have the mind and temperament to study the great undertaking of creating humans. But it seemed that this dog of a friend was going against him. He had to do something at this particular time.

"Sigh... Notify Danzo to come see me. You continue to keep an eye on Shiki and the other guy..."

After thinking for a while, in the end, bromance prevailed over the blue devil. Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said to Sakumo Hatake, "Try to persuade your best friend to turn back before he completely turns evil!"

The mirror is broken, Toru is confined to a wheelchair at home, Menyan is utterly useless, Haru is just an old maid, and among his friends, Danzo is the only one who can be of any real use...

"Hokage-sama, Captain, Golden Lion and Gong Liejie have just left the village..."

Just as Sakumo Hatake was about to turn around, a henchman from the Anbu appeared and said something.

"Gone? (⊙_⊙)?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was completely dumbfounded. He had just finished a date with his best friend and instead of causing trouble in Konoha, he had left... He was still preparing to welcome Shiki the Golden Lion's antics.

Could it be that his best friend saw how troubled he was lately because of the Golden Lion's affairs in the village, so he went to see the Golden Lion in secret for him, and then somehow made some kind of shady deal with the Golden Lion to get rid of him?

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought about it more and more and felt that this was possible. His best friend had become dark, but his original love for the village had never changed. It must be so!

Moving!

Hiruzen Sarutobi is so damn touching!

Danzo! I misunderstood you!!!

127. The chances of being reincarnated in Konoha in the next life are relatively high.

"Masato, this is the money from selling the Four-Tails. You should know the situation in the Land of Demons, which is right next to your Land of Wind. This is indeed the cash they can come up with, and it's the highest offer from everyone—a total of 9.2 billion. I'm just helping out with a small favor this time; half is fine, it's not a big deal. Why did they ask me to come here...?"

Emerging from the cave in the Land of Fire, Kakuzu, now a top-tier celebrity, showed no airs whatsoever. He treated Shinto like a brother. During this time, he had truly enjoyed the benefits of being a top celebrity, making a fortune in just two months. Back when he was a nobody, he would haggle with customers for ages, sometimes even resorting to violence, whenever he went out to do business. But now, he didn't even need to ask for prices; the customers offered him prices higher than his ideal range!

All of this was brought to him by his "brother". If he hadn't promoted himself in Konoha and spread his fame throughout the ninja world, he wouldn't have had such a high profile. He would have had to work hard for at least another one or two decades to build a good reputation to reach his current level.

So when Kakuzu arrived at the agreed location and saw Masato, he was incredibly friendly, his eyes practically glowing with a green light. His good brother had invited him here, so it was bound to be another big meal!

"Look at what you're saying. We're brothers for life. If we say it'll be split in half, it'll be split in half. There's no way you can take back what you've said. It's not easy for you to survive in the ninja world alone. It's good to have some savings just in case. By the way, I came to ask you if you remember the entrance to your Takigakure village, right? We have a deal with Danzo from Konoha. We're giving him the Seven-Tails. Anyway, the Seven-Tails is useless in Takigakure."

Shinto, upon receiving the sealing scroll from Kakuzu, was utterly astonished to hear that the Four-Tails had been sold for over nine billion. Don't be fooled by the low price they were making in Konoha; that was pure hype for economically illiterate Danzo, coupled with Konoha's undeniable wealth. Kakuzu, an expert in the history of world economics, was clearly squeezed dry by selling it to a tiny nation like the Land of Demons. The Land of Demons is a vassal of the Land of Earth, and while they frequently organize gold rushes to the Land of Wind, coming up with over nine billion in such a short time would likely leave those gold diggers with at least several tens of pounds thin...

After giving him half, I forcibly shoved it into his hands, acting as if he wouldn't accept it if he wasn't my brother. Kakuzu was so moved that he wished he could end his own life right now and start over, to be reborn in Sunagakure in his next life.

However, considering that someone as talented as him has a high chance of being reincarnated in Konoha in his next life, he gave up on the idea.

"The entrance to Takigakure is well-hidden but easy to find. It's right below the largest waterfall. Walk this way, and then..."

Kakuzu showed no reaction when he heard that Shinto was going to attack the Seven-Tails of Takigakure. He had been a traitor for decades, and the village had changed hands more than three times. Even if there were any old friends, they were all dead. For someone with such a deeply ingrained traditional ninja mentality, there was no lingering warmth he felt for the village. After all, he had indeed been deeply hurt back then. He picked up a stick from the ground and began explaining the entrance to Takigakure without any psychological burden.

Kakuzu also stood up for himself. This was a deal between Sunagakure and Danzo, unlike their private dealings. Besides, he'd already made enough money lately, so he wouldn't get involved. After all, in the ninja world right now, the only one who dared to target tailed beasts for business was probably this guy. He was already worried when he had the Four-Tails, and now he's even more audacious, with three tails added. He wouldn't be surprised if this guy set his sights on the Nine-Tails someday, especially since this guy could even defeat a Shinigami...

.....

Takigakure is surrounded by four major nations, but due to its well-hidden location and its stronghold of Konoha, it has remained untouched by war for many years. Even during World War I, when all the villages and nations in the ninja world were affected, Takigakure, located in the center of the world, perfectly escaped the impact of the war because of its seclusion; no one could find the way to it.

"What a wonderful place! I wish our Sunagakure had a waterfall this big!"

When Sasori's father and Shinto arrived at the bottom of the waterfall following the route given by Kakuzu, Sasori's father looked up at the magnificent waterfall that seemed to be falling from the sky and exclaimed in amazement.

If we're talking about what the Land of Wind lacks most, it's water. Water is the source of all things, and it's because of the scarcity of water resources that the Land of Wind is so poor. Now, seeing such a huge waterfall, even Scorpion's father's eyes turned red.

"There are no 'what ifs' in this world. If you could persuade your mother and those people, we could go in now, slaughter everyone inside, and move the village here... I'm just afraid your mother and those guys won't agree."

They patted him on the shoulder and said that.

"......"

Handsome Scorpion's dad rolled his eyes. Move out? Dream on! The Land of Wind may lack resources, but it's got tons of money! Look at Big Brother, even his greatsword is gold! While Takigakure's location is good, with mountains and water, it's not bad for burial. Moving it here is out of the question...

boom!!!

Roar! ! !

"Huh? It seems someone got here before us? Is it... an Iwa ninja? (⊙_⊙)?"

As they entered the waterfall, following a path for a short while, they heard a deafening roar, the howls of a monster, and the chaotic sounds of fighting emanating from the innermost part. Shinto activated his Observation Haki and saw that Takigakure was no longer the idyllic paradise it once was; it was in complete chaos. A gigantic, beetle-like creature swarmed overhead, occasionally hurling spittle at the village below. Below, two groups were locked in combat: one group of Takigakure ninja, and the other, to Shinto's surprise, of Iwa ninja. Although they were all concealed, only their eyes visible, their aura revealed them to be Iwa ninja. Moreover, despite the giant beetle, the Takigakure ninja were still being suppressed by the Iwa ninja.

This left Shinto completely bewildered. Logically, since Iwagakure had half its village destroyed by the Five-Tails, shouldn't they be rebuilding by now? When did Onoki develop such ambitions of conquering cities and unifying the world? (⊙_⊙)?

Although Onoki didn't come this time, quite a few Iwa ninja did, including two Red-Rank level quasi-Kage among their leaders. He searched through Takigakure and found that the strongest among them was a middle-aged man standing in the center of a group of Takigakure ninja, wearing a Takigakure robe, with a pale face and blood trickling from his lips. His strength was only at the quasi-Kage level, nowhere near Kakuzu's. The fact that they hadn't been wiped out was largely due to the giant beetles in the sky. While the beetles seemed to attack indiscriminately, they were likely repaying Takigakure's years of "nurturing" by targeting Iwa ninja.

128. Onoki is probably going to cry.

"Hurry up and do it! Forget about them, sealing the tailed beast is the priority!"

After one of the Iwa ninjas felled a Takigakure ninja next to him, a red-clad ninja from the Iwa ninjas cut him down. Looking at the tailed beasts bombing them from the sky like bombers, he gave orders to his underlings. Seeing the Takigakure ninjas falling one after another, he really didn't know that the Iwa ninjas were so powerful!

If he could, he really wanted to rack up more stats and then become famous throughout the ninja world like a bounty hunter after this incident was exposed.

However, the Tsuchikage had repeatedly instructed them to bring the Seven-Tails back to the village as quickly as possible without giving anything away. This time, they were led by two junior kage. If they didn't hurry and the Tsuchikage got impatient, they would be in for a beating!

In times of peace, it's not easy for people like them who only know how to fight and kill to make a living, especially now that the village is still being rebuilt and their Tsuchikage is in a bad mood. If something goes wrong and the Tsuchikage "accidentally" uses a Dust Release technique, they'll be finished!

"Damn it! Their target is Nanami Shichimei! Quick! Stop them!"

After the leader of the Iwa ninja finished speaking, the leader of the Takigakure ninja also realized what was going on. This group of incredibly strong fighters, who were hiding their heads and tails, had somehow found out about their entrance and suddenly stormed into the village three days ago. At first, he was a little confused and thought that their senior, the now infamous bounty hunter rogue ninja, had led his men to attack. However, these people didn't say a word, and they just attacked the Takigakure ninjas as soon as they saw them, as if they were looking for something. This was completely inconsistent with their behavior of coming back for revenge.