CH - 286 Where's the money, Danzo?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe, his eyes reflecting a complex mix of emotions as he gazed at the desolate figure of his old friend. A heavy sigh escaped him, mirroring the turmoil in his heart.

He reflected on the recent events... Danzo had left the village without permission, leaving Hiruzen anxious and concerned. But just as worry began to set in, Danzo suddenly returned—exhausted and covered in dust.

Upon his return, Danzo called for a Five Kage Summit, extending invitations to the leaders of the Stone Village, Cloud Village, and Mist Village. To everyone's astonishment, he managed to persuade the three Kage to form a ninja alliance under the pretense of punishing the so-called 'Grass Bandits,' which ultimately led to a declaration of war against Sand Village.

While the war was officially against Sand Village, in truth, it was a cleverly devised scheme to secure much-needed funds for Konoha.

And a few days later, After entrusting the situation to Danzo, Hiruzen returned to Konoha, his thoughts preoccupied with the village's safety. Yet, only a day after his return, shocking news reached him—Sand Village had disbanded. At first, he was stunned, believing that the ninja alliance had somehow managed to annihilate Sand Village in just a single day.

Then, a secret message arrived from Danzo: 'Everything is under control. Prepare the Flying Thunder Formation.' (The Flying Thunder Formation was a technique modified by Minato from the Flying Thunder God Technique, enabling three shinobi to form a barrier and teleport objects or people within it to another location.)

Though uncertain of Danzo's true intentions, Hiruzen hesitated briefly before deciding to comply. He discreetly dispatched the Genma Squad to carry out the task.

Just a few days later, Kakashi returned with nearly three billion ryō, recounting how Danzo had cleverly diverted the enemy's attention by fleeing in another direction. Hiruzen was deeply moved by the revelation. Despite the considerable losses Konoha had suffered due to Danzo's actions over the past few years, the fact that he had chosen to sacrifice himself to bring nearly three billion ryō back to the village in its time of need, reaffirmed Danzo's unwavering dedication and his belief in Will of Fire.

After hearing the news, Hiruzen had resigned himself to the possibility that Danzo, pursued by the three other villages, might not survive. He had even begun planning a grand funeral for his old friend when Danzo unexpectedly reappeared, once again covered in dust and muttering angrily about the 'Grass Bandits' audacity. But he was alive, and that was what mattered.

In the aftermath, the three villages pressured Konoha relentlessly. Yet, Konoha had managed to secure nearly two billion ryō, providing the village with much-needed financial relief.

As Hiruzen thought about the nearly two billion ryō, his hand trembled slightly as he held his pipe. A bad premonition flashed through his mind, and he was about to speak when Danzo, who had been lost in thought, suddenly turned around, surprised, and asked, "Hiruzen? Why are you still here?"

Hiruzen's heart skipped a beat at Danzo's unexpected question. The words he had been about to say caught in his throat. He took another long drag from his pipe, exhaled slowly, and finally spoke, "Danzo, isn't there something you might have forgotten?"

"Forgotten?" Danzo frowned slightly. "What do you mean, about the Grass and Sand affairs? I already reported everything when I returned, didn't I? What else is there?"

"Danzo… did you forget to hand over the remaining money?" Hiruzen asked, his mouth twitching with frustration. Although the village had secured nearly two billion ryō, it was all still in Danzo's hands.

…

In Konoha, the Third Hokage was grappling with the challenge of extracting funds from Danzo, who seemed more concerned about his dwindling finances than anything else.

Meanwhile, in Rain Village, Akihiko perused the latest intelligence reports, a thoughtful expression on his face. "It appears Danzo has managed to pull through after all. That's a relief."

He pondered how Danzo had managed to escape so effectively. Had he recently honed his skills in evasion? Where had he learned such mastery in the art of escape?

The outcome was indeed surprising. While the three great ninja villages hadn't actually engaged in battle, and splitting one billion ryō wasn't a complete loss for them, it was still astonishing to see the leaders of such powerful villages compromise so readily.

Akihiko had hoped to revisit Konoha with Obito, but unfortunately, that plan clearly wasn't feasible anymore.

He sighed inwardly and then looked around the meeting room. The new room in Rain Village was a stark improvement over the old, dilapidated one. It was now grand and dignified. Hanzo, seated with an air of authority, sat with his legs crossed, swinging back and forth, exuding a sense of superiority. Chiyo, sitting nearby, wore a dark expression, clearly annoyed by Hanzo's overt display of arrogance.

The pressing issue at hand was resolving the situation with Sand Village. Chiyo was determined to see Sand Village continue, rather than disappearing under her watch. In contrast, Akihiko was less concerned about its fate.

With Rain Village now stabilized, there was a vibrant exchange between the two villages. They benefited from mutual learning, with ninjas from both villages frequently interacting. The teachers from their academies even shared insights, akin to academic exchanges between universities—except, in this case, it was a sharing of jutsu techniques.

Akihiko viewed Rain Village as a kind of specialized ninja academy and intended to apply the same approach to Sand Village. By preserving each village's unique qualities while integrating their strengths, the three villages could compete with each other effectively.

In his previous world, such a setup might have ranked among the 'top 100 ninja universities' in the world, though, unfortunately, in the current shinobi world, there probably weren't even 100 ninja villages in this entire shinobi world, let alone such a concept of ranking.

Jokes aside, the real challenge now was determining where to rebuild Sand Village. The Land of Grass was too small to support two ninja villages, so finding a suitable location for the reconstruction was critical.

"The foot of the mountains on the Rain Country's border could be offered to Sand Village," Hanzo suggested thoughtfully. With a touch of mockery, he added, "Though I doubt the Puppet Granny would find such a place desirable."

"And why wouldn't I?" Chiyo responded with a smile, her gaze fixed on Hanzo. "Though, If you're Rain Village, I'd be even more appreciative, you old windbag!"

Hanzo's face darkened. "Old hag, don't push it too far!"

Chiyo leaned in, her smile widening. "What if I am pushing it, huh?"

"Old hag!" Hanzo snapped, his irritation evident in his roar.

"Old Windbag!" Chiyo shot back, equally loud.

The others could only watch in resignation as the two senior figures, both in their sixties, engaged in yet another heated argument. Ebizō, in particular, couldn't help but smile wryly. His sister, usually so composed and indifferent, seemed to revert to her old ways whenever she clashed with Hanzo, always eager for a verbal sparring match.

Ebizō gently tugged at Chiyo's sleeve, leaning in to whisper, "Sister, our priority should be resolving the issue of Sand Village."

He had to admit that after everything they'd endured, his attachment to the idea of rebuilding Sand Village had waned. Whether they were absorbed into Grass Village or Rain Village mattered little to him now, as long as they weren't ostracized. He believed his sister felt the same deep down, but once she started arguing with Hanzo, her pride wouldn't allow her to back down. "Mark my words," she insisted, "Sand Village will eventually become wealthier than Rain Village!"

Chiyo snorted coldly, turning away from Hanzo. "I'm done arguing with you, you smug old windbag!" Then, she faced Akihiko. "Leader Akihiko, the truth is, I no longer—"

Before Chiyo could finish her sentence, a Rain ninja rushed into the room, bowing respectfully. "Leader Akihiko, Leader Hanzo, a messenger from the Land of Wind has arrived. They seek to hire Rain ninjas."

The room fell into stunned silence, particularly among the Sand ninjas, who had once served the Land of Wind. Now, they found themselves in an awkward and unexpected situation. The Land of Wind was here to hire Rain Ninja? It seemed that, after losing Sand Village, the Land of Wind had begun to face an influx of foreign or rogue ninjas, causing concern in the Daimyo's government.

But why turn to Rain Village? Hadn't the Daimyo's office maintained a longstanding partnership with Konoha? Could it be that they were running out of funds and could no longer afford the services of a great ninja village?

"The Land of Wind?" Hanzo muttered, raising an eyebrow as he examined the meager reward offered by the Daimyo's office. "They want to hire us, the Rain ninjas, with this little money? Tsk tsk, it seems the Land of Wind took quite a beating in this war."

In this conflict, Konoha had walked away with more than a billion, the three great ninja villages had split another billion, They had secretly made nearly a billion, and Sand Village had fled entirely. When you looked at it, the Land of Wind was the only one left truly bearing the brunt of the losses.

Hanzo glanced at Chiyo, who seemed ready to speak, but before she could say anything, he dismissed the rain ninja with a wave. "Tell the Land of Wind that Rain ninjas are unavailable. Let them—"

However, before he could finish, Akihiko interrupted, "No! Rain Village can't take the job, but Sand Village can!"

Everyone in the room was taken aback. Sand Village? How could they accept the job now? And why would the Land of Wind, having driven Sand Village out, come back to hire them? This seemed like an affront.

Before anyone could voice their confusion, Akihiko continued, "We can accept the Land of Wind's request, but in exchange..." he paused, narrowing his eyes and pointing to a section of the desert on the map near the border of the Land of Rain, "...we'll need to borrow some land from them!"

…

A few days later… Just when everyone thought the shinobi world was settling back into peace, a piece of news shook the entire ninja world to its core: Sand Village has been rebuilt? And it's still within the Land of Wind?

What on earth was happening? Was the entire previous conflict nothing more than an elaborate ruse? Had all that tension and drama merely been over a simple relocation? The shocking revelation left everyone questioning the true nature of the events that had just unfolded.