Chapter 111: Sudden Wealth, Reaction Afterwards
Upon returning to his traditional home, Izayoi indulged in a simple bath before warming a flask of sake. Activating the open-air setting, he ambled to the private hot spring pool clad only in swimming trunks, ready for a soak.
Sipping the sweet sake, he mentally summoned the light curtain to review his earnings for the night.
[Points: 281379]
"What a pity..."
Gazing at this figure, Izayoi felt no elation, only a sigh tinged with regret. "If the Blood Mist Village didn't exist, the Hidden Mist Village would have been the ultimate treasure."
Regardless of the world, war served as the key to fortune.
During his six years at the Ninja Academy, Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and all his classmates had collectively provided Izayoi with over 20,000 points.
And now, merely the Konoha Crush and the "Akatsuki" organization's assault on the Hidden Cloud Village had caused Izayoi's points to skyrocket from a little over 10,000 to more than 280,000.
This surge was primarily due to the fact that at least half of the casualties in the Hidden Cloud Village had fallen victim to the Wood Clone's meteor shower and the Super Shinra Tensei.
While meteor showers and Super Shinra Tensei triggered numerous guaranteed bonuses, they were utterly incomparable to the explosion rate of his puppet army.
Moreover, ninjutsu held prominence in the Hidden Cloud Village due to the scarcity of bloodline limits within its borders.
Most ninjas began with white and green entries, with blue entries being the highest.
Upon decomposition, a blue entry yielded only a random three-digit score.
Izayoi's harvest this time was solely accumulated through sheer volume.
This couldn't help but remind Izayoi of the Hidden Mist Village.
Among the five great ninja villages, the Hidden Cloud Village, the Hidden Stone Village, and the Hidden Sand Village were all "poor relations" with exceedingly rare bloodline limits. Only Konoha and the Hidden Mist Village boasted a significant number of bloodline limits and secret ninja clans.
Unfortunately, these two "wealthy families" had been squandered by their own internal conflicts and Uchiha Obito's machinations.
The Hidden Mist Village, in particular, was in the most lamentable state.
The ninja village with the most bloodline limit families had seen individuals with such abilities become monsters, reviled and hunted by their own people.
Now, the overall strength of this once-great ninja village had plummeted to the bottom, even lagging behind the Sand Village.
Without the existence of the Blood Mist Village, Izayoi could only imagine the potential bounty of the Mist Village.
Bloodline limit entries were predominantly purple level, each yielding a random four-digit score upon decomposition.
An attack on the Mist Village, targeting only those ninjas with bloodline limits, could have at least doubled his harvest tonight.
Alas, "if" held no sway in reality.
Currently, only two paths lay before Izayoi.
Explode the red entry for decomposition, or instigate a war, preferably one where the enemy was dealt with by his human puppets.
However, tonight's battle had exposed the shortcomings of his puppet army.
Their movements were stiff, devoid of life, and their focus was easily рассеянным. Even with multiple Wood Clones controlling them in unison, the puppet army still couldn't unleash its full potential, failing even to decisively defeat a major ninja village devoid of a single powerful individual.
To effectively utilize the puppet army for a substantial point harvest, he would either need to exploit chaotic situations like the Konoha Crush or undertake further enhancements.
"The butterfly effect has completely altered the narrative. I'm truly curious about the direction it will take next..." Izayoi murmured, cradling his wine glass between two fingers and savoring the warm sake.
At that moment, the sound of the door sliding open reached his ears.
"Karin, are you still awake?" Izayoi said with a smile, recognizing her presence without looking.
"Hehe... Yes, I'm becoming increasingly energetic. Even if I used the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to clean the entire garden, I wouldn't feel tired at all." Karin knelt behind Izayoi, first refilling his wine glass, then placing both hands on his head, locating pressure points and gently massaging them. She smiled and said, "Izayoi-kun, I recently asked Hinata and Hanabi for massage techniques and pressure point methods. Let me give you a massage."
"Then I appreciate your hard work, Karin, but you should come down and massage me. The weather has been getting colder recently." Izayoi looked up and smiled. Noticing that Karin was wearing the same Squirtle loungewear as Hinata, yet it retained its shape perfectly, he couldn't resist pulling her into the hot spring.
"Izayoi-kun, turn around and lie down by the pool. I'll give you a head massage first," Karin said excitedly.
"Okay."
...
Just like the Uchiha clan massacre, the Konoha Crush, and the Wood Release ninja incident,
The news of the Akatsuki organization's attack on the Hidden Cloud Village, resulting in the complete annihilation of the Land of Lightning's military base, swiftly spread to every corner of the ninja world, even reaching the distant Land of Water and the Hidden Mist Village via summoning beasts.
Instantly, the entire ninja world was thrown into shock.
Mirroring the actions of Konoha and the Hidden Sand Village, the Hidden Cloud Village and the Land of Lightning made no attempt to conceal the details of this incident. They compiled intelligence on the Akatsuki organization and released it in its entirety, informing everyone that the Akatsuki organization had crossed a critical line.
In this incident, the Hidden Cloud Village was unequivocally the victim! The puppetry technique, surpassing even that of the Hidden Sand Village, could transform a corpse into a human puppet. This puppet not only retained the abilities and bloodline limits of its previous life but could also utilize ninjutsu that the original body was incapable of performing. Almost on the very day that the Land of Lightning disseminated this information, the bounty for Sasori, ranked second in the black market, soared to 548 million ryo.
Sarutobi Asuma's bounty was a mere fraction of his.
And topping the list was no longer Izayoi, but Tendou Pain, wielder of the Sage's Eye, who had utterly decimated the Hidden Cloud Village with a single devastating technique, commanding a bounty of a full 1 billion ryo! There was no doubt that the Land of Lightning had invested a substantial sum, and simultaneously, they were gripped by fear.
This terrorist organization, which so brazenly disregarded all boundaries, was truly terrifying.
Having summoned meteor showers to bombard the Hidden Cloud Village today, they might very well unleash a similar catastrophe upon the Daimyo's mansion tomorrow.
Compared to these two perilous elements, the Wood Release Ninja who had just graduated this year and had yet to mature was hardly worth a mention.
...
"Huh..."
In the Hidden Rain Village, Kakuzu located Sasori, who had arrived for the meeting, and said with a short breath, "Sasori, I heard that you have transformed yourself into a human puppet. In that case, can you transfer your heart and contribute your current body to the organization? I can offer the Earth Grudge Fear technique for free."
"Get lost!"
Sasori, his form concealed within the Scarlet Flow Amber, retorted coldly in a low voice.
Kakuzu appeared slightly regretful, then addressed Tendou Pain, "Leader, can I switch teammates? I suddenly feel that Sasori is my most ideal partner."
"Kakuzu, what are you talking about? Am I not worthy of being your teammate?" Hidan exclaimed, clearly displeased.
"Get lost, Brother Sasori is my partner," Deidara echoed, equally dissatisfied.
However, these two oblivious individuals failed to grasp Kakuzu's true intentions.
"No," Tendou Pain stated icily.
"What a pity."
Kakuzu periodically glanced at Sasori, then shifted his gaze to Tendou Pain, his eyes filled with longing.
After delivering his curt refusal, Tendou Pain surveyed all the members present, excluding Uchiha Obito, and said in a deep voice, "This time I have summoned your true bodies for this meeting to inform you of something. The report released by the Land of Lightning is false. The Konoha Crush and the Cloud Village incident were both orchestrated by a mysterious individual who possesses the Sage's Eye, just like me."
"The other party's objective is likely to incite a war within the ninja world, using the five great ninja villages to weaken our Akatsuki organization, or even to target me, the wielder of the Sage's Eye."
"Therefore, you must exercise extreme caution in your future actions outside the village. With the exception of myself and Sasori, as well as Itachi and Kisame, the information regarding the rest of you has not been exposed. I grant you permission to remove your uniforms and lie low. Should you encounter danger, you may seek my assistance through your rings."
Hearing this, the other members of the S-rank rogue ninjas remained unconcerned.
Unless confronted by a significant number of elite ninjas or an opponent with a counteracting elemental affinity, there were very few individuals in the ninja world capable of posing a threat to them.
And these individuals typically held high positions, making an unexpected encounter highly improbable.
Kakuzu's eyes gleamed as he inquired, "In other words, our Akatsuki organization has become a public enemy, and a large number of powerful individuals with bounties will be coming after us in the future?"
Tendou Pain: "..."
Nagato, operating behind the scenes, felt utterly exhausted, yet he still controlled Tendou Pain to convey the second reason for their summoning: "The Hidden Cloud Village will undoubtedly retaliate for this incident. According to the information gathered by Zetsu, the Hidden Cloud Village possesses both the Two-Tails Jinchuriki and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki. Both are perfect Jinchuriki capable of fully transforming into their tailed beasts and utilizing the Tailed Beast Ball. They also possess the Space-Time Ninjutsu of the Heaven's Concealed Transfer Technique and may be able to airdrop a Tailed Beast Ball into the Hidden Rain Village."
"Simultaneously, we cannot rule out the possibility of them initiating a full-scale war against us."
"Therefore, for the immediate future, you will all remain within the Hidden Rain Village and assist in establishing barrier techniques."
The members of the Akatsuki organization finally adopted solemn expressions. They did not fear the attacks of standard ninja teams.
However, if one of the five great ninja villages mobilized its forces en masse, the situation would be entirely different.
"Leader, do you not intend to relocate our base?" Kakuzu inquired.
"Do not consider such matters for the time being," Tendou Pain stated indifferently. "It is merely a Cloud ninja village; it is not worth mentioning. What that mysterious individual can accomplish, I too am capable of."
Recalling the circulated photographs and information, the members of the Akatsuki organization were suddenly taken aback.
It seemed they had underestimated their leader.
Two wielders of the Sage's Eye?
This was simply an alternative "God of Shinobi" and "Shinobi World Asura."
Could it be that this era would be defined by a war of the Sage's Eye? And at the war's conclusion, would a new "Valley of the End" showdown be staged?
...
"Deidara, did you join such a dangerous organization?"
In Iwagakure, Ohnoki examined the information in his hand, his expression grave, and muttered to himself, "I thought Wood Release would be the greatest threat in the future, but I never anticipated that such a dangerous individual would be hidden within the ninja world of this era! Akatsuki, what is your purpose?"
In normal circumstances, Ohnoki would have long since invaded the Land of Lightning upon witnessing Kumogakure's heavy losses.
The Third Great Ninja War had its genesis when Kumogakure discovered the disappearance of the Third Kazekage of the Sand Village, leading to their invasion of the Land of Wind.
The loss of a single key figure in the Sand Village could trigger a Ninja World War, let alone the direct obliteration of the Cloud Village, one of the five great ninja villages, with massive casualties.
At this moment, it was undeniably the opportune time to strike while the iron was hot.
However, upon reviewing the information in his hand, neither Ohnoki, nor the Sand Village, which had once been invaded by the Cloud Village, nor Konoha, which had clashed with the Cloud Village and suffered humiliation at their hands nine years prior, entertained the notion of adding insult to injury.
Because in this era, super-standard combat power akin to the God of Shinobi and the Asura of the Ninja World had resurfaced.
No one understood the terror of super-standard combat power better than the five great ninja villages.
The tailed beasts were frightening enough. Even if the Jinchuriki was one of their own, the villagers and ninjas would reject and fear them.
Yet, this power had been distributed to each ninja village by the God of Shinobi, and Konoha hadn't even considered it a significant issue.
Now, the super-standard combat power capable of easily wiping out a ninja village or even destroying a country had reappeared after many years, and it was still a dangerous element that disregarded all boundaries.
Not only was the Land of Lightning fearful, but the other three major countries of the Ninja Continent shared their apprehension.
Kurotsuchi, who had delivered the intelligence, inquired, "Father, should we contact Deidara? Have him reveal some intelligence about Akatsuki, or help us ascertain the Akatsuki leader's intentions?"
"It serves no purpose," Ohnoki shook his head and stated. "An individual wielding such combat prowess will inevitably harbor commensurate ambitions. Such an existence cannot be swayed by external forces like 'companionship'."
"Go and summon the Perception Corps, the Barrier Corps, and the Technology Corps," Ohnoki instructed. "We must fortify the village's barrier to prevent the disaster that befell the Hidden Cloud Village from befalling us."
"Yes!"
Kurotsuchi nodded and was about to depart.
At that moment, a knock echoed at the Tsuchikage's office door, followed by a Stone Ninja respectfully pushing it open and announcing, "Lord Tsuchikage, the envoys of the Hidden Cloud Village wish to see you."
Hearing this, Ohnoki's eyes flickered, and he then directed Kurotsuchi, "Kurotsuchi, you go and receive them."
"Yes!"
...
"The balance has been utterly shattered. The future of the ninja world and the Hidden Sand Village fills me with unease."
In the Hidden Sand Village, Chiyo was the only one among the leaders of the major ninja villages who felt a sense of powerlessness.
The Hidden Cloud Village possessed the A-B duo and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, the Hidden Stone Village had Ohnoki and two Jinchuriki, and Konoha boasted the legendary Sannin and Wood Style ninjas.
In contrast, the Hidden Sand Village had only two aging figures, herself and her brother, and Gaara, a Jinchuriki who had yet to mature.
If war erupted at this juncture, she couldn't imagine the precarious position the Hidden Sand Village would find itself in.
The sole source of her relief was that her grandson was still alive and had developed into the most formidable puppeteer, surpassing his predecessors.
However, the use of corpses to create human puppets had led Chiyo to realize that the disappearance of the Third Kazekage was likely connected to her grandson.
Her grandson might have strayed down a dark path.
This thought filled Chiyo with sorrow, and she couldn't help but dwell on the technique that was currently under development.
She wondered if that technique could redeem her grandson once it was completed. "Sister, we may have to seek assistance from Konoha," Ebizo suggested. "The primary beneficiaries of the Whirlpool Country incident were the Cloud Village, the Stone Village, and the Mist Village. We in the Sand Village received no barrier scrolls."
"Without a large-scale defensive barrier, we might face an even more dire fate than the Cloud Village when confronted with a meteor shower attack."
After all... fire
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