Uchiha's personal opinion

This also attracted the attention of passing villagers from Konoha.

However, although the Sand Village genin were all very enthusiastic, quite a few of them were still distracted.

Although it was only their first time arriving in Konoha, the vibrant and beautiful Konoha, compared to the impoverished Sunagakure, still captivated many of the Sunagakure genin. In comparison, the oasis of the Land of Wind just didn't seem so appealing.

"The joint venture's new annual recruitment plan has been released!"

Just as the Sand Village members were absentmindedly encouraging each other, someone suddenly shouted loudly from the other side of Konoha's commercial street.

Suddenly, countless ninjas from Konoha, Amegakure, Kusagakure, and other ninja villages appeared out of nowhere and rushed over like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey, completely surrounding the notice board where the recruitment notice had just been posted.

"This is……"

The inexperienced Sunagakure genin were somewhat bewildered.

"The Uchiha clan's joint venture is recruiting ninjas on long-term contracts."

The Sand Village Jonin, who was leading the team, replied dismissively, "Only those good-for-nothing commoner ninjas or guys from small ninja villages would be so eager for these things."

"...Joint Company"

The Sunagakure genin silently memorized this name.

"After becoming a contract ninja for the United Company, although you'll have a fixed salary, free medical care, ninjutsu allocated based on your contributions, and low-cost apartments to buy, you'll also lose your personal freedom. You'll have to obey the orders of those higher-ups and work tirelessly, and you'll never experience the joy of being free again..."

The Sand Village's Jonin team once again launched into a lengthy and scathing critique.

"Yes, yes, yes! The teacher is absolutely right!"

The Sand Village genin nodded in agreement.

……

"The heroes of the ninja world are now in my grasp!"

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of his office on the top floor of the Konoha Police Department headquarters building, Uchiha Tokumitsu looked down at Konoha and felt a surge of ambition and high spirits.

Chapter 301 Where is Home?

Water flows downhill and people strive for higher places; this is perfectly reasonable.

Therefore, it is perfectly justifiable for the joint venture to recruit the elites of Xiaonin Village with relatively high salaries and a comprehensive welfare system.

This is similar to how prestigious schools recruited top students in Uchiha Tokumitsu's previous life. It's all about mutual consent and benefit. As for the smaller ninja villages, the United Company doesn't treat them unfairly either, giving their village leaders a share of the profits.

Therefore, Kusagakure did not mind the United Company recruiting within its village, and Amegakure, led by Hanzo of the Salamander, also adopted a half-cover-up approach. In addition, Kirigakure had become a puppet of the Tokugawa Shogunate, so the United Company's source of grassroots employees was successfully resolved. Uchiha ninjas and affiliated ninja clans also became grassroots managers as the United Company expanded, and everyone had a bright future.

However, since the United Company mainly recruits junior ninjas from smaller ninja villages, when the Sunagakure genin secretly went to the United Company's recruitment point to inquire, the United Company ninjas on site did not dare to make a decision on their own. So they politely declined on the spot and then reported the Sunagakure ninjas' request to their superiors.

Considering Uchiha Tokumitsu's current attitude towards Sunagakure, the middle-level managers of the United Company did not dare to act on their own initiative, so they submitted the report layer by layer until it reached Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"What kind of nonsense is this...?"

Uchiha Tokumitsu was speechless when he saw the report about whether or not Sunagakure ninjas could be recruited.

Although Sunagakure is poor, it is still one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages and has always been known for its warlike nature and strong independence. Now, a genin carefully selected by a prestigious shinobi village is actually interested in the job posting from the United Company...

Uchiha Tokumitsu just couldn't figure it out.

This is so outrageous that it raises suspicions that Sunagakure might be deliberately impersonating someone else to send a spy to infiltrate United Corporation.

After thinking for a while, Uchiha Tokumitsu signed an instruction on the joint company's report—

"We understand their willingness to join, but we will not sign a contract at this time."

When the Kazekage arrives in Konoha for the final stage of the Chunin Exams, Uchiha Tokumitsu plans to discuss this issue with him again.

After all, compared to starting a war between ninja villages, this kind of "peaceful evolution" that only requires spending some money is much more cost-effective.

……

Jiraiya has been training at Mount Myōboku for almost a month now.

During this time, he pleaded with the sage Fukasaku to send a small nectarine back to the village to gather information, risking being wiped out by the police. He also learned a lot about the village's recent activities.

In particular, the final verdict of the police department regarding the voyeurism case.

However, what he didn't know was that, at Fukasaku's instruction, the intelligence ninja had concealed the fact that the police department had listed him as a "ninja with questionable loyalty."

Knowing the truth but not the whole truth, Jiraiya, feeling self-satisfied, prepared to bid farewell to the two sages, Fukasaku and Shima, and return to Konoha after a month's absence, once he was able to enter Sage Mode steadily on his own.

"...Don't go back to the village yet, after all, it's under the control of the Uchiha."

After learning of Jiraiya's plans, Fukasaku "voluntarily" offered words of comfort.

"It's okay~ At worst, we can just pay another bail."

Jiraiya didn't take it to heart.

"Here's what we'll do... I'll leave you a curse seal. If there's any special situation, you can activate the Reverse Summoning Technique to return to Mount Myōboku at any time. That way, there will be no risk..."

Fukasaku the Hermit seemed to ponder for a moment before offering a suggestion.

Although Jiraiya felt that Fukasaku was making a mountain out of a molehill, he thought that it was, after all, a kind gesture from an elder, so he readily agreed.

"The child's mother..."

Fukasaku led Jiraiya to a cave, and together they called on Shima to leave a frog-shaped talisman on Jiraiya's back.

"Jiraiya, you still need to be careful..."

Shima, unaware of Fukasaku's scheme, simply advised Jiraiya out of maternal instinct, "If it's not necessary, don't rush back. Stay here and I'll cook for you every day..."

"Well... I still need to go back..."

The thought of Shima's insect feast sent chills down Jiraiya's spine, further solidifying his resolve to return to the village for a lavish meal. "Besides, I haven't finished the task assigned by the Great Sage yet—finding and teaching a savior is my destiny!"

"No need to persuade him... Jiraiya's ambition lies in all corners of the world, how can he be confined to Mount Myōboku to grow old and die!"

The immortal, Fukasaku, quickly interjected.

"Master Fukasaku is right!"

Jiraiya laughed heartily, then bowed respectfully to the two immortals, "Then I'll be heading back now..."

He then dispelled the reverse summoning technique and left Mount Myōboku.

"This child is such a worry..."

Shima the Hermit shook his head and sighed, then swayed away from the cave.

The immortal Fukasaku stood frozen in place for a long time, his expression constantly changing.

"...It's all fate's arrangement!"

Suddenly, the voice of the Toad Immortal echoed in its mind.

"...I understand, Great Immortal."

The immortal sighed and bowed in the direction of the palace.

……

Upon returning to Konoha, Jiraiya immediately held his breath and lay low for a long time. Only after finding nothing amiss did he take a stroll around his house.

It's obvious that someone broke in while he was away from the village, but they didn't damage anything inside. Judging from the traces left at the scene, it's highly likely that it was some novice ninja.

"...The police department has actually degenerated to such a low level!"

Jiraiya grumbled as he cleaned up the traces in the room, while simultaneously casting a scathing glance at the police department's investigation ninjas with disdain.

After carefully clearing the area, Jiraiya disguised himself and then used the Earth Dive Technique to cautiously slip into a small alley before leisurely walking onto the main street of Konoha.

The reason for not using the Transformation Technique directly was to avoid the chakra fluctuations being sensed by the sharp-witted Hyuga or Uzumaki ninjas, thus preventing them from interrogating them.

As a seasoned Jonin, Jiraiya understood the importance of intelligence. Although he had the Greninja to gather information for him, he still decided to see for himself, considering that the Greninja, being an anomaly, might have some inconveniences in Konoha and might miss some things.

"No abnormalities were found in the police department..."

After strolling leisurely around the streets, Jiraiya stopped in front of the West District Police Station, seemingly out of curiosity, watching the Uchiha ninja mediating the conflict between the Grass Ninja and the Rain Ninja.

Besides him, there were many Konoha villagers watching the spectacle, so Jiraiya's presence there didn't seem out of place at all.

What are they doing?

Jiraiya asked a Konoha villager dressed as a peddler, who was curious about him.

"They've started fighting!"

The villagers of Konoha answered cheerfully.

"...Weren't they here to participate in the Chunin Exams? Why are they fighting before the exams even started?"

Jiraiya continued to ask.

"It's said that the Rain Ninja stole the Grass Ninja's recruitment quota, so they got into a brawl in the streets. Apparently, quite a few people were arrested in the East District."

The Konoha villagers, clearly enjoying the spectacle, enthusiastically explained to Jiraiya, "Honestly, even though they're from a small ninja village, their fights are really entertaining—they're all bleeding from head to toe!"

"Heh, is that so..."

Jiraiya was speechless. He chuckled twice and then casually walked over to the police station's bulletin board to look at it.

"Looks like there's nothing special about it after all..."

Aside from routine security reports and information about the recent Chunin Exams, there was nothing unusual on the cluttered bulletin board.

Jiraiya was completely relieved. He then wandered over to the villagers of Konoha and squatted down to watch the excitement, just like they did.

"By the way, has anything interesting happened in the village lately?"

Jiraiya asked casually.

This was his usual method of gathering intelligence: chatting with idle street urchins who liked to join in the fun to find out about things that were not widely known but were not important on the surface, and then deducing some hidden information from them.

"Aside from the Chunin Exams, the funny things that happened during the joint recruitment drive were all..."

The Konoha villagers, clearly also enjoying themselves, said with a smile.

"By the way, you didn't know any of these things?"

The villagers of Konoha seemed somewhat surprised.

"I went to Daming Prefecture to purchase supplies a while ago and just got back yesterday."

Jiraiya's expression remained unchanged.