Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

"Not being able to touch for fifteen years is really too cruel for a man."

"Who can argue with that? But Makoto... even if the Fourth Kazekage didn't say anything, he should at least tone it down."

"Perhaps... what Cheng wants is not a woman, but someone who can understand him and is willing to embrace him."

"If that's the case, then things become even more complicated."

Even for Konoha, the Fifth Hokage was a superhuman figure who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

This guy is great in every way, except his views on love are completely different from most people's.

He only likes people who truly love him, and he doesn't care about their background or abilities.

If he were anyone else, it wouldn't matter, but he happens to be the Hokage...

The Third Hokage and Jiraiya wanted to say something, but in the end, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything harsh.

The two of them knew how much suffering the fifth generation had endured as a child.

Although life wasn't easy for anyone in that era, however...

After sighing, the two went into the conference room.

This was a small meeting, with not many participants.

But each and every one of them is an outstanding individual in this world.

When the two entered, Hiruko, who was Kakashi in disguise, was talking to a representative from the financial sector.

The ninja world and the financial world didn't have much interaction at first, but the financial world prefers friends with strength and resources.

After a year of struggling in Birukho, he gained complete friendships within the financial circle.

After the three-wheeled vehicle project was launched, the financial sector and Konoha became as close as if they were born of the same mother—with the continuous production and research and development of three-wheeled vehicles, the traditional internal combustion engine vehicle industry was completely ruined.

It sounds unbelievable, after all, it's an industry that's been developing for many years, and it's just gone like that.

But that's what it is.

Nokia reigned supreme in the mobile phone industry for fifteen years. However, after the advent of smartphones, its market share dropped to 18% in the first year and its market value decreased by 90% in the second year.

Funding and technology are always so cruel.

Those who fail to keep up with the times will inevitably be ruthlessly abandoned by them.

Even if you were once the darling of the world, a true prodigy.

When Hiruko proposed the Currency Tide Project to a top figure in the financial world... what the people in the financial world hated most was why they couldn't have discovered Hiruko, this scheming guy, earlier and poached him from the ninja world to the financial world.

Why do you want to be Hokage? The financial world is your true home.

Despite the resentment, the relationship between the two families became even closer as a result.

The two meetings held today were actually to discuss two related matters.

"Hokage Assistant, regarding what you mentioned last time about bringing more small countries into the trade system centered on the Land of Fire, we believe it is feasible."

Anyway, hot money is rampant in our country, so it's fine.

"But there is another matter that we believe is worth discussing."

"How can we get those smaller countries to fully integrate into our settlement system? Paper money is different from precious metals, and as foreign countries, they will always have some reservations."

The events in the Land of Grass can only be considered an isolated case… We believe we should add a strong anchor to the Land of Fire's currency.”

Chapter 504

……

"Is this the king's residence...? It's not as magnificent as I imagined."

Inside the council chamber of the Bird Country's palace, important figures were engaged in heated debate about whether or not to recruit wandering ninjas into the Bird Country's military system.

The few wandering ninjas kneeling at the back were indifferent; they weren't listening to what those noble people were saying at all, but were rather interested in the decorations in the assessment room.

After all, ninjas have a very low political status in the Naruto world, and as wandering ninjas, their status is even lower.

After all these years, this is the first time they've ever been to a place frequented by such important people.

To be honest... I'm a little disappointed.

It wasn't much better than the mansions of the high-ranking officials and nobles in the Land of Fire.

Compared to the palaces of the daimyo, it was far inferior.

Especially the palace of the daimyo of the Land of Fire—that's truly magnificent.

Of course, the wandering ninja leaders also understood that, even if they were both rulers in theory, a small country could never compare to a large country.

Almost there.

How rich can a small country be? It's not like it's a country of grass or fields.

One country has recognized a thief as its father, while the other's waters are as deep as the sea.

But one thing is the same for both—after undergoing Konoha's modernization, these two small countries are now among the wealthiest of small nations.

...Who told them they had neither to worry about the market nor to build up military force?

The conditions in the Land of Birds are not as good as those of the two small countries, but these wandering ninjas have shallow roots, so having a country as a place to stay makes them feel at ease.

"You lot, keep your mouth shut... We'll all be colleagues from now on, don't make things awkward and embarrass everyone!"

"Yes, brother."

After muttering a few words to each other, the group quieted down and waited for the nobles' decision. On the surface, they seemed to be arguing fiercely and unable to reach a consensus, but the wandering ninjas knew very well that they would agree.

In the current situation, small countries have no human rights whatsoever.

Especially those small countries that don't even have armed forces are like persimmons that can be easily squeezed and manipulated.

However, building one's own ninja village is no easy task.

Even with ample financial resources, building a ninja village requires a considerable amount of time to accumulate resources; it's not something that can be done overnight.

Bloodline ninjas need to be recruited, secret techniques need to be collected or created... There are countless things to consider.

Now that they have come seeking refuge and are asking for a low price, they are not worried that the Bird Kingdom will not agree.

If the Land of Birds were a bit stronger, it would definitely be more inclined to spend a lot of money to build its own ninja village.

Well-funded countries always prefer reliable things.

If the Bird Kingdom were any weaker, it wouldn't need to worry about these things—as long as the profit from attacking me is less than your fuel costs, then I am invincible.

Choosing wandering ninjas like them, who are essentially selling at half price, is naturally the best option for the Bird Country.

Admittedly, this is a very disadvantageous situation for the wandering ninjas.

Even if a ninja's life is cheap, it's not something to be sold like this.

The reason the brothers followed their leader was naturally because they wanted to live a better life.

But if the eldest brother doesn't care about the lives of his younger brothers, he probably won't be able to win their respect.

But... they had no other choice.

The leader of the wandering ninjas was used to roaming the martial arts world. Although he was not very strong, only at the level of a master of a special skill, he still keenly sensed the changes in his surroundings.

The war is now over, and the five great ninja villages have formed the Five Kage Summit.

After getting through the initial painful adjustment period, people have begun to get used to its existence and rely on it to fight for their own interests.

To put it more practically, the five great ninja villages stopped fighting each other with weapons and instead tried to resolve issues with words.

For the ninjas of the five great ninja villages, this is naturally a good thing, since no one wants to be cannon fodder.

For the wandering ninja, this was utter doomsday.

Regardless of rank, every ninja has a stance.

While it's common for people to use veiled allegiances, there really isn't a ninja village that would directly betray its own country—if you betray your own country, which benefactor would entrust you with a mission? As for wandering ninjas, they don't have that concern.

They are truly opportunistic.

Because of the chaotic environment of the time, the wandering ninjas had a tough life, but their income was actually quite good. If they didn't have this income, who would be willing to do such dangerous work?

But as the chaos ended, their good days came to an end.

The tasks offered by our sponsors are becoming fewer and fewer.

After all, there's no need to fight anymore.

Although they could manage to stay afloat for the time being, the group of wandering ninjas realized that they needed to find themselves a place to stay.

And so, the current situation has come to be.

It can be described as a typical example of a two-way journey.

The Bird Country wants a ninja army, but it doesn't have the money.

They wanted a place to settle down and weren't too concerned about income for the time being... It was a perfect match, as both sides got what they needed.

Of course, this is only on the surface.

The leaders of the wandering ninjas knew very well what kind of people the nobles were.

The five great ninja villages were already furious with these guys, let alone these wandering ninjas.

Once they've fully joined, all sorts of accusations and extortion will surely follow...

This has nothing to do with their abilities; it is entirely determined by the extremely greedy nature of the nobles, a special human species.

They won't stop extorting you just because you're strong.

Extracting marrow from bones has always been in their nature.

Having traveled far and wide for many years, the wandering ninjas had seen all sorts of scoundrels, and they didn't find these guys from the Land of Birds particularly special.

However... this is only a temporary measure.

The Bird Kingdom wants them to be its free henchmen, and they also want to seize supreme power in the Bird Kingdom.

This score will have to be settled sooner or later.

The idea of ​​ninjas ruling a country sounds outrageous, almost like a fantasy, but that's exactly what they're planning to do next.