Konoha Notes.

Chapter 226 The Bill

Chapter 226 The Bill

Karin is Naruto's classmate.

"As for my relationship with her..." Shuji thought for a moment, "In the end, I did something that was good for her and her mother."

As for the process, since Kusagakure is now an ally, even if Wuwei saw Karin and Hagi in Konoha, he wouldn't react in any other way, and Shuji felt that there was no need for him to make a fuss about it.

"That's good..." She didn't press further, instead asking, "Mr. Shuji, are you going to the Ninja Academy again?"

"It's a mission after all." Shuuji nodded.

"Does the Konoha Ninja Academy allow outsiders to visit?"

"Can."

"Well then, I'll take my leave."

After walking for a while, Shuji suddenly remembered something and asked, "Miss Samui, speaking of which, does the Cloud Village have a preferred naming scheme for the practical exchange activities?"

Samyi remained silent for a few seconds.

"Lord Raikage's idea is: Raiho: Sword and Fighting Tournament."

"Um?"

Has something strange appeared?

"...It's not just about swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, is it?"

"Yes, Mr. Tsuchida thinks it's inappropriate, so he needs to discuss it with Mr. Shikaku."

-

Watching others make money is more painful than losing money yourself.

Ohnoki has come to fully understand the meaning of this statement over the past two years.

The Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Leaf Village are teaming up again with some new tricks. What's wrong with the ninja world? Ninjas are no longer focused on missions and life-or-death battles on the battlefield; instead, they've become gladiators for others to judge.

But... making money is really great.

Missions require risking one's life; teams that survive need long-term support, while those that die require substantial compensation payments.

The temptation to fight fiercely in the arena and still make money peacefully is hard to resist.

The Sand Village lost money on its own Chunin Exams this year, but the Iwagakure Village made a real profit from the joint Chunin Exams held last year.

The location was not a cost at all for Iwagakure, which had a large number of Earth Release ninjas.

Medical expenses? Perfect for the village's medical apprentices to practice on; killing two birds with one stone.

If we disregard the extreme diplomatic predicament, Iwagakure would have actually been preparing for another Chunin Exam much earlier this year.

The reason for delaying the announcement is that they don't want to clash with Konoha.

After all, they clashed with them last year. What if Konoha does the same thing this year? The first year was an accident, but this year they want to form a four-village alliance again, leaving Iwagakure to do its own thing... Once "isolending Iwagakure" becomes the tacit understanding of the other four great ninja villages, then the situation will truly be irreversible.

However, the "practical exchange activity" that Konoha and Kumogakure held in August did provide a new perspective.

Since it is no longer held under the name of the Chunin Exams, there are no risks associated with traditional political and public opinion. The only concern is what the long-term consequences will be if the battles between ninjas are so directly entertained and commercialized.

This is something Ohnoki needs to consider.

"Exchange, huh..." the Third Tsuchikage muttered to himself, "That's not a bad pretext."

But who should Iwagakure "communicate" with?

Perhaps we could use a broader name...

"Western Ninja Exchange Tournament..."

Huang Tu said in a deep voice, "Lord Tsuchikage, would you consider Sunagakure?"

"No need, this is fine."

Ōnoki calculated that, setting aside political factors and considering it purely from a business perspective, inviting other major ninja villages to participate would not yield significant benefits for Iwagakure; in fact, it would require sharing a considerable amount of profits.

With Iwagakure's absolute influence and control in the Land of Earth and the surrounding area, they could easily mobilize a large number of wandering ninjas to participate in the competition. The smaller ninja villages in the surrounding areas wouldn't dare to refuse, and would usually send some people. Add to that Iwagakure's own ninjas, and the lineup and the spectacle would be more than enough.

The ninjutsu of those wandering ninjas is varied and unsystematic, making them vulnerable on a real battlefield. However, in an arena where visual effects and novelty are valued, they might be more attractive than the standardized ninjutsu of the five great nations.

Just as Onoki was engrossed in planning Iwagakure's path to wealth, there was a knock on his office door.

Wenya was carrying a struggling blond boy.

"Lord Tsuchikage! Deidara is using his technique outside the village again."

That's a nice way of putting it.

Ohnoki knew the actual situation.

"Let me go, ugh!" Deidara grumbled. "That's art! You guys don't understand! Ugh!"

The veins on the Third Tsuchikage's forehead bulged instantly, and his blood pressure soared.

"Throw him out of the village!" Onoki's voice was as cold as ice. "Let him reflect on his actions in front of a rock! He can come back when he understands how to properly use a ninja's power!"

That brat, if it weren't for his talent...

The young, promising talent has a jumble of random thoughts in his head and talks about "art" all the time.

Even the not-so-young Jinchūriki, Rōshi, is a troublesome character.

If it weren't for the alliance of the four villages that put Iwagakure in a diplomatic crisis last year, revealing its weakness, that guy would probably have already left the village. Although he hasn't left yet, his attitude is rather ambiguous, and he's probably still observing the situation, ready to leave at the first opportunity.

They can't kill them, and they can't arrest them.

After all, Han's attitude was ambiguous at this time.

His gaze fell on the silent and composed Huang Tu beside him, and the pent-up frustration in his heart dissipated slightly.

Fortunately, there's loess and ivory; and in the next generation, besides that problem child Deidara, there's black soil and red soil...

Let's make money first. He took a deep breath and brought his attention back to the report on the table. Deidara's mess still needed cleaning up, and that required money.

-

"It's money again..."

Inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade looked at the documents submitted by Shuji—regarding the adoption of Ebisu's suggestion and the follow-up arrangements for the Ninja Academy's plan to raise the standards for graduates—and couldn't help but let out a sigh.

The ninja academy itself is free, and students who cannot graduate will usually repeat a grade unless they exceed a certain age.

"Shuji, haven't we spent a bit too much money this year?"

"A necessary investment," was all Shuji could say.

"...That share just arrived and I have to go out already." Tsunade slammed her head on the table. "The advisory board is going to question me about the expense details again."

"The short-term funding gap isn't entirely unmanageable," Shuuji said, putting down his pen and pondering for a moment. Expenses were indeed increasing; that was a fact. "Last year, there were many betting projects targeting sporting events."

"Most of them are doing alright, right?" Tsunade raised her face, her chin still resting on the table.

"That doesn't mean there aren't any problems, so it's only natural that the village intervened in the investigation," he said.

While ninja villages cannot directly establish such projects, they can participate indirectly.

"After all, if it's not standardized, there will always be people who take risks."

"As for the expenses of combating illegal activities," he paused, then offered his thoughts, "as beneficiaries of the legitimate business order, those businesses that depend on the event for survival should bear a portion of the costs."

"Raising funds under this pretext should be able to make up for part of the shortfall."

(End of this chapter)