Chapter 298: Hashirama, Let's Go Find That Kid

"Madara, how much money do you think Lian Ye actually grabbed?" Senju Hashirama leaned in curiously beside his friend and asked.

Bai Mao only said that the money Lian Ye seized at the Exchange House was of incalculable value, but did not specify exactly how much it was.

One hundred million, three hundred million, five hundred million, or a billion?

That amount could buy his life, but no Bounty Hunter dares.

In the Ninja World, ninjas are merely tools, their own worth far less than the value they create. Even the Elite Jonin Asma has a head bounty of only thirty million taels.

Far less than the value he could generate while alive, which is why his reward is still considered high.

Only if it truly threatens someone's interests could a reward exceed market value. For example, a certain Daimyo spent five hundred million to place a reward on a Hokage's head.

At the Exchange House, once a reward is posted, the full bounty must be paid upfront; if a Bounty Hunter completes the assassination, the Exchange House deducts a handling fee and then gives the remaining bounty to the Bounty Hunter.

The reward remains posted until the target dies; otherwise the Exchange House keeps the reward displayed indefinitely. Of course, the employer can apply to cancel a posted reward, but half of the bounty is deducted to cover the Exchange House's daily operations.

This is why an Exchange House's vault can contain such enormous wealth.

"That kid..." Madara Uchiha raised an eyebrow, a fleeting surprise flashing in his eyes.

How did we not think of robbing the Exchange House from those Bounty Hunters when Hashirama and I founded the village?

When the village was first built, every side required massive financial support. Relying solely on the wealth of the Uchiha and the Senju Clan was merely a drop in the bucket.

Forced by circumstances, they could only petition the Fire Country Daimyo for fiscal allocations. The Daimyo, however, was very displeased with Hashirama's act of establishing the village.

Historically, every family in the Fire Country has a fixed channel for receiving missions; even though ninjas fight to the death for resources, essentially no family takes an interest in their employers.

This brings up the reputation issue of ninja families. Ninjas earn by taking missions for payment; if they start killing their employers, which employer would still dare to assign them tasks?

A deal struck with a hammer must not be interfered with!

Even during the Warring States Period, ninjas fought each other, while the Daimyo and employers comfortably sat on the fishing platform.

Even when ninjas shed rivers of blood, those wealthy people could still maintain relatively comfortable lives.

Especially the nation's Daimyo!

Ninjas are tools for carrying out missions; just spend some money and you can have them sell their lives for you...

Senju Hashirama and Madara Uchiha halted the conflicts among ninjas and jointly founded a ninja village that accommodates all ninja clans.

From the Daimyo's perspective, what else could this be but a rebellion?

First they establish a ninja village, then they attack the Daimyo of this country!

The Daimyo has wealth and authority, but lacks formidable power. Senju Hashirama and Madara Uchiha are not only powerful, they also intend to jointly build the village.

Their actions clearly threaten the rule of the Fire Country Daimyo!

At least that's how the Daimyo sees it...

When faced with Hashirama's request for funding, the Daimyo naturally refused without hesitation.

What a joke!

If they were allowed to build the village, my position would be taken over by someone else.

Even though Hashirama repeatedly pledged loyalty to the Fire Country and the Daimyo, the Daimyo simply refuses to believe it.

Wanting to do something and being able to do it are two different matters.

Even if Hashirama wouldn't rebel, the Daimyo still wouldn't gamble his own life!

During that period, the village lacked financial support, and other ninja clans simply refused to join Konoha; even Hashirama personally bowing and inviting made no difference.

The ninja clans each have their own mission channels; why join a destitute Konoha Village?

Hashirama and Madara could only look for other ways to make money, but with little success; even though they continuously undertook S-rank missions, the earnings were insufficient to keep the village running.

Later, Senju Feijian himself went to the Daimyo's Residence to negotiate, using threats and incentives to force the Daimyo to compromise, and finally the Daimyo agreed to allocate funds to Konoha Village.

If they had thought of robbing the Exchange House back then, perhaps things wouldn't have been so troublesome.

"Madara, how much do you think Lian Ye took?"

Madara Uchiha came to his senses, shook his head, "I'm not sure, but it couldn't be less than several tens of billions of taels."

Even Dao Ba says the value is incalculable, which only shows the money is countless.

"Tens of billions of taels!" Senju Hashirama's eyes lit up. With that sum, the village would definitely develop even better!

It's just unknown whether Lian Ye is willing to invest the money into the village's construction.

If Lian Ye isn't willing, he won't force it.

In the end, that money is hard-earned by Lian Ye, and how he spends it is his own freedom.

Senju Hashirama knows his younger brother Feijian's temperament very well; if Feijian learns of this, that huge fortune would no longer be under Lian Ye's control.

Of course, the prerequisite is to let Feijian know...

But Hashirama simply doesn't know whether Lian Ye will tell Feijian about this.

If he does tell him, hopefully Feijian can leave Lian Ye a little share of the hard-earned money.

"Hashirama, let's go find that kid," Madara Uchiha said suddenly.

Lian Ye hasn't returned since he left last time; the two staying in a mountain cave every day isn't the same thing, and staying too long will eventually cause mental problems.

... It's time to go out and take a look.

On the way, they'll also find Lian Ye and have that kid cook them a meal.

Hmm, so they happily decided that!

"Shall we go see Lian Ye?" Senju Hashirama's expression was conflicted. Honestly, he didn't want Madara and Lian Ye to get too close.

If Lian Ye really gets duped by Madara into joining the Moon's Eye project, that would be disastrous!

But faced with his friend's suggestion, he had no reason to refuse. Moreover, it had indeed been some time since he saw Lian Ye, and he genuinely missed the taste of good food.

"Alright..."

After a moment of hesitation, Hashirama finally agreed.

Madara Uchiha naturally saw his close friend's thoughts, but he was too disdainful to explain.

Before carrying out the "Moon's Eye" project, they will not invite Lian Ye again.

This time we went simply because we wanted to eat good food.

The two left the cave under cover of night and headed to Lian Ye's location.

……

In the forest of River Country.

"Where are we going next, meow?" Dao Ba lay beside the campfire, watching Lian Ye grilling Grilled Fish, and asked.

"Wind Country isn't far from here; let's go to Wind Country," Lian Ye glanced at the Ninja World Map, planning to head to Wind Country after sunrise.

Come to think of it, it's been a while since we went to Wind Country; after all these years, I wonder if Sand Hidden Village has developed.

"Got it, meow," Dao Ba nodded.

Although Wind Country's environment is equally harsh, it's considerably better than Rain Country's.

At least its fur won't get soaked by rain……