Chapter 14: This is a Revolution for the Ninja World

"That is how things stand."

Asuma knelt on one knee, reporting with a solemn expression.

Sarutobi Hiruzen continued to puff on his pipe, his expression shifting uncertainly.

On the chairs beside him sat the two high-ranking advisors; in such a special situation with such wide-reaching implications, even the Hokage could not make a decision alone.

"Hiruzen, you are too weak!"

Bang.

The door to the Hokage Office was pushed open.

Danzou, who served as the Leader of Root, walked in and said with a cold expression: "As long as we drag out the mastermind behind the scenes, all problems will be solved."

Asuma remained in a kneeling position and retorted: "We have collected too little intelligence; we don't even know the hiding place of the mysterious game merchant, nor do we even know if the other party is in the ninja world. How are we supposed to drag them out?"

Danzou insisted stubbornly: "I am certain the mysterious merchant is hiding within the game's Novice Village. As long as we conduct a carpet search..."

"Danzou!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his hand on the table, signaling for him to be quiet.

The mysterious merchant possessed all sorts of unfathomable power; it was best not to make an enemy of them before investigating clearly.

Had his old friend stayed in the darkness for too long, to the point where his brain no longer worked well?

"Hiruzen!"

Danzou opened his single eye without showing any weakness, looking at the Hokage with great intensity.

In the end, he was defeated and walked over to sit beside the two advisors.

With messy hair and wearing glasses, Mitokado Homura said calmly: "Since Kirigakure has invested funds into the Samsara Game, we cannot fall behind. We can allocate two hundred million first."

"Not enough. I need one billion."

"I object!"

Wearing traditional headgear and meticulous attire, Utatane Koharu shook her head repeatedly and said: "The Daimyo of the Land of Fire intends to weaken the presence of ninjas and has cut funding year after year. The village has no extra funds to squander."

Although the Land of Fire was wealthy, the Ninja Village did not engage in production, and most of its funds had to rely on state appropriations.

She was in charge of the finances of Konohagakure; let alone one billion, even two hundred million would require sacrificing certain areas.

She was a conservative, and regarding the Samsara Game, she believed it was likely the conspiracy of some special faction and did not want to waste funds in vain.

"In that case, let us discuss this matter later."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was very familiar with the scene before him; although the dispute was not intense, it provided him with a sufficient way out.

He did not want to make decisions without answers, as it could very likely lead to bad consequences.

As Hokage, he only needed to diligently handle the matters at hand.

For a ninja, his age was no longer young, and he could clearly feel the decline in his physical condition and the passing of his vitality.

He no longer had the ambition of his youth and only wanted to safely resign from the position of Hokage and enjoy his twilight years.

If a major decision-making error occurred at this time, he, as Hokage, would be nailed to the Pillar of Shame.

"No!"

Asuma's tone suddenly became sharp as he said: "As someone who has experienced it firsthand, I know far better than you the mystery and power of the Samsara Game."

"Have you all forgotten?"

"Once, the ones who possessed power in this world were the samurai, while ninjas were nothing but Laoshu in the gutters, doing unspeakable deeds."

"The appearance of the Sage of Six Paths changed the way the world lived. The samurai gradually withdrew from the historical stage, with only a few samurai families in the Iron Country still lingering on."

"I have a premonition that the Samsara Game can likewise change the world!"

Asuma said with a firm gaze: "This is a revolution for the ninja world. If the village misses this grand change, it will become a sacrifice just like the samurai!"

"Silence!"

Danzou's eyes were sinister as he stood up abruptly. He said: "Just because of some bizarre methods you haven't seen before, you dare to point fingers at the decisions of the village's high-level officials, Sarutobi Jonin?"

He appeared to be speaking to Asuma, but his eyes were secretly glancing at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen only felt a headache; looking at Asuma, he felt a sense of melancholy and complex emotion.

It was as if he were seeing his younger self.

Back then, when surrounded by countless enemy troops, he was also this passionate and high-spirited, willing to sacrifice his life to block the retreat.

Was he truly old?

Utatane Koharu closed her eyes and said softly: "A merchant who sells games and covets Ninjutsu—can they really be compared to the Sage of Six Paths? Besides, even the Sage of Six Paths is merely a legend."

Clang.

Asuma opened his inventory and took out the exchange item, placing it on the table.

History of the Ninja World, 500 Reward Points.

It recounted the reasons and history behind the birth of ninjas, including the Otsutsuki Clan that appeared in the distant past, the God Tree fruit, and the birth of the Ninjutsu Sect.

The scroll was passed around; everyone present frowned after reading it, feeling it was utterly absurd.

Mitokado Homura shook his head repeatedly and scolded: "Nonsense! The identity of the mysterious merchant is a mystery. How can the history of the ninja world in the Samsara Game be taken seriously? You are too muddled!"

Visitors from outer space, God Tree chakra... are we all vegetables?

Foolish.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was silent for a long time before saying softly: "Asuma, the History of the Ninja World you exchanged from the Mall is too bizarre; we cannot believe it for the time being..."

Asuma looked steadily at his father, whose figure was somewhat hunched, his eyes full of disappointment.

"Thirty million!"

"What do you mean?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Asuma in confusion.

Asuma said with a calm expression: "I was once a Guardian Ninja for the Daimyo. My head is worth thirty million, and I am willing to bet it on the Samsara Game."

According to the rules, the collateral can be leveraged tenfold, which is three hundred million ryo.

"This is truly insane!"

Shimura Danzo said this with his mouth, but his eyes were filled with a look of keen interest.

As long as he could see Hiruzen Sarutobi being annoyed, he felt inexplicably comfortable.

The atmosphere in the Hokage office building was very oppressive.

Such an intense argument had not occurred for a long time.

Finally, with the support of Mitokado Homura, Sarutobi Asuma used his own head as a guarantee to obtain one billion in funds to be used in the S-Rank 【Samsara Game】 mission.

It is worth ten thousand Reward Points.

Among this, Sarutobi Asuma voluntarily gave up all property belonging to him in the Sarutobi Clan as collateral.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi was shocked, unable to believe that Asuma would go to such lengths for the Samsara Game.

Behind the screen,

Fang Yi also marveled at Asuma's decisiveness; as the heir to the Sarutobi Clan, he was able to completely abandon all his assets.

That is a clan that, during the Fourth Shinobi World War, was able to field a Fire Release unit of three thousand ninja.

The Sarutobi Clan,

does not have any special Bloodline Limit, and their overall talent simply cannot be compared to the Uchiha or Hyuga.

Being able to cultivate such a massive number of ninja, their logistical funding must be absolutely terrifying.

They could even split off independently and become a separate Ninja Village.

Even Terumi Mei, who serves as the Wudai Mizukage, only managed to pull out two hundred million in funds.

This time, Fang Yi made a fortune.

"Yes, just keep competing like this!"

"I don't have high expectations for Sunagakure since they are too poor, but what about Kumogakure and Iwagakure?"

Fang Yi opened the System Panel.

【Fang Yi】

Reincarnation Architecture: Novice Village (Level 1)

Pollution Source: Sealed.

Reward Points: 158600

"The Reward Points are sufficient; once the players break through the perimeter of the Castle Ruins, I will perform a game update to thoroughly mobilize the players' enthusiasm!"

(End of this chapter)