Chapter 426: A mission from a thousand years ago, getting rich

"Kakuzu, I advise you to stay away from those two, otherwise you'll regret it."

Chomei's sharp voice sounded in his mind. Kakuzu, who was trying to get on good terms with the two newcomers, was stunned for a moment and immediately stopped his deliberate flattery.

Little did he know that it was his act of pulling back from the brink that successfully saved the lives of one person and one beast.

"That... I have a mission here, let's talk next time we meet."

Adhering to the principle of listening to the beast and eating well, Kakuzu nodded to Senju Tobirama, who was brewing a killing move, and left this place of right and wrong in a hurry.

"Oh my, why did he leave? This guy with the pointed head doesn't look like a bad person~"

Senju Hashirama laughed and waved goodbye to Kakuzu, then turned his head with a look of regret. Senju Tobirama curled his lips coldly.

"Consider him lucky to have saved his life."

"Tobirama, you've expanded."

Shaking his head, Senju Hashirama had a look of solemnity on his face. Although his strength was halved now, he could still perceive the incomparably huge aura from Kakuzu.

If Senju Tobirama really fought the other party one-on-one, he might not last long, and in the end, he could only rely on the Flying Thunder God to hold his head and run away.

"He is the rogue ninja Kakuzu of the Land of Waterfalls, and also the Seven-Tails Knight."

"Ah? He is the guy Madara said had good strength?"

Senju Hashirama had heard his best friend talk about his impressions of other Tailed Beast Knights during tea and after meals. Even Uchiha Madara, who was always arrogant, praised the Seven-Tails Knight.

Evaluating the other party as a knight who knows how to protect.

"That's right, but definitely not your match, big brother."

It turned out that the reason Senju Tobirama was so arrogant was entirely because his big brother was present, so he dared to be loud to Kakuzu.

Properly relying on others to bully.

"Hard to say, my strength is not as good as before."

"That's not something any cat or dog can touch."

"Alright, alright, earning money is important."

After enjoying Senju Tobirama's commercial flattery, the satisfied Senju Hashirama waved his hand, and the two flashed into the Exchange Center, pouring the mission items from the storage scroll onto the counter, waiting for the staff to count them.

"Please wait a moment, two."

The staff naturally wouldn't fail to recognize this newcomer combination that had been in the limelight during this period. After all, the characteristics of the two were so obvious: one was ruthless and spoke little and was short, and the other was tall and liked to laugh foolishly with a super loud voice.

Because the "Black and White Double Evil" nickname Senju Tobirama had casually named earlier had been registered first by a mysterious person with black and white hair, the official Exchange Center randomly matched them with a nickname that fit their characteristics very well.

【No Brain and Unhappy】

Earlier when handing in the mission, Senju Tobirama heard this nickname and was so angry that he almost lifted the latrine of the Exchange Center.

Fortunately, Senju Hashirama made a move in time to suppress his furious younger brother, which prevented the nickname "TFboy" from falling on their heads.

Among the mission items on the counter, besides the corpses most common in the Exchange Center, there were also some scattered little gadgets. Some missions issued in the black market were not to take lives, but also ordinary missions like finding lost items or the whereabouts of people.

"Hello, it has been counted. After deducting the service management fee, it is a total of 6.805472 billion ryo."

Before long, another staff member came out with a storage scroll. After Senju Tobirama took it, he opened it for the first time. More than a hundred briefcases were neatly arranged together. He nodded with satisfaction immediately.

Moving his fingers, Senju Tobirama said to his brother beside him.

"Big brother, I'll count the reward first, you go see if there are any new missions."

"Hehe, leave it to me!"

Swish~ Swish~ Swish~

While Senju Tobirama turned into a ruthless money-counting machine, Senju Hashirama curiously took the bounty mission list from the staff member.

The ones in Senju Hashirama's hands were nothing more than bounty missions for murder and revenge, which made him lose interest.

Until he saw a yellowing missing-person notice, his eyes were filled with novelty, and he raised his hand to pull out this mission.

"Can this also be accepted?"

"It can be, it's just..."

Seeing the missing-person notice in Senju Hashirama's hand, the staff member frowned slightly.

"Just what?"

Seeing the staff member's appearance of wanting to speak but stopping, Senju Hashirama's curiosity was instantly hooked.

"This mission has existed since the establishment of the Exchange Center. Someone once reserved a large sum of money as a reward, but after so many years, this mission is still hanging in the list."

"As long as there is a reward, we'll take it."

It's just a mission to find someone. Even if they can't find it, they won't lose.

"But..."

"Is there any problem?"

Senju Hashirama, who was already starting to filter other missions, raised his head in confusion and looked at the staff member who wanted to speak but stopped.

"No Brain adult, this mission is a bit weird."

Perhaps due to the certain affinity Senju Hashirama brought with him, the staff member of the Exchange Center couldn't bear it, so he quietly reminded him.

"Weird?"

Senju Hashirama narrowed his eyes, knowing that this mission was not simple.

"Take a look at the release time of this mission."

Hearing this, Senju Hashirama backhanded and took out the yellowing missing-person notice he had just put away, and saw a strange time mark in the lower right corner.

【Year 478 of the Ancestor Country】

"Ancestor Country? Never heard of such a country?"

Senju Hashirama's knowledge reserve was not low, but he really hadn't heard of any country called the Ancestor Country in the Ninja World now.

"The Ancestor Country, isn't that the country that perished more than a thousand years ago?"

On the other side, Senju Tobirama, who finished counting the money with the power of speed, saw his big brother secretly whispering to the staff member. Driven by curiosity, he leaned over, just in time to hear the three words "Ancestor Country."

"I didn't expect Unhappy adult to be a scholar, actually knowing the Ancestor Country."

If it weren't for the admiration in the eyes of this staff member not looking fake, Senju Tobirama would have sent him to see the old ancestor of the Six Paths long ago.

"If according to what you said, this mission was originally released in the Ancestor Country a thousand years ago?"

Senju Hashirama's little hand shook with fright, and that yellowing missing-person notice fell on the counter. The gazes of the three fell squarely on the portrait of the mission target.

That was a middle-aged man with a plain face. Judging from his clothing, he should be a traveling monk who was popular many years ago.

Besides that, there were no other obvious characteristics.

Furthermore, the description of the mission target below was sparse, and more of it was a self-description by the mission initiator, the most eye-catching of which was:

"I met a divine monk by chance at the age of thirteen, listened to the Sanskrit sound, met again at the age of sixty-three, the divine monk's appearance remained the same, I sought him, but never saw him again."

"Another idiot seeking immortality."

After reading the content of this missing-person notice, a look of disdain hung on Senju Tobirama's face.

The initiator of this mission met the same monk twice in his youth and old age, and as a result, found that his whole life had passed, and the other party was still the same as when they first met. He then wanted to seek the method of immortality, but when the monk heard it, he slipped away directly.

So this mission initiator spent a huge sum of money to launch this missing-person notice, just to find this immortal monk and learn the method of immortality.

As a result, until the mission initiator died, he never saw that immortal monk again, but before he died, he specifically instructed his descendants to find this immortal monk and learn the method of immortality.

As a result, a thousand years have passed, the person is dead, but the mission is still there.

"Why are you accepting this kind of expired mission?"

Senju Tobirama rolled his eyes at his big brother and threw the missing-person notice to the staff member.

"And you guys, why don't you burn this kind of waste paper? Keeping it for Qingming?"

A thousand years have passed. No matter how good that monk is at maintaining his youth, he is destined to have turned into a handful of yellow earth.

"Oh my! Phew..."

The staff member who took the missing-person notice in a flurry had his expression gradually become strange. After taking a deep breath, he said in a low voice.

"Two adults, this mission has not expired."

"Ha?"

The Senju brothers were stunned upon hearing this. What kind of mission has such a long shelf life that it hasn't expired in a thousand years?

"Because fifty-two years ago, there was still a record of witnessing this mission target."

The staff member's voice wasn't loud, but it rolled up a monstrous wave in the hearts of the Senju brothers.

"Is it possible that someone can really live for a thousand years? And it's not like they are a turtle."

Senju Hashirama couldn't help but mutter to himself, while Senju Tobirama on the side also had a solemn face, his eyes full of thought.

Suddenly, the two seemed to have been electrocuted, raised their heads in unison to look at each other, a look of realization flowing in their eyes.

"It seems, it's not impossible."

"Haha, it seems we thought of the same thing."

Looking at his younger brother's pained expression, Senju Hashirama laughed.

Asking for the missing-person notice again, in the monk's blurry portrait, the two finally found what they wanted.

"Sure enough, I said it, how

Pointing at the monk's chin in the portrait, Senju Tobirama was full of mockery. Upon closer inspection, there was a diamond-shaped mark there, identical in shape and size to the one on someone's forehead.

"So, this mission is real?"

"If the eyewitness records from fifty-two years ago are true, then this monk who has lived for a thousand years might truly exist in some corner of the Ninja World."

Solemnly putting away the missing person notice, Senju Tobirama, a researcher with extremely strong curiosity, was destined to never let go of such a rare research subject.

A living, thousand-year-old antique.

"We'll take it!"

Konoha.

As the Hokage election approached, the entire Uchiha clan compound was a scene of bustle. All Uchiha clansmen were very clear that their clan leader taking office as the Second Hokage was a done deal, so popping champagne at halftime was not excessive at all.

Among the crowd of celebrating Uchiha clansmen, one youth appeared out of place. He was not laughing and joking in groups of three or five like the others; instead, he held a small notebook, writing and calculating incessantly, his delicate brows furrowed high.

"I absolutely cannot miss this good opportunity to make money."

The fifteen-year-old Uchiha Fuyou, although noble as the grandson of the former clan leader and son of the current deputy clan leader, had not developed an arrogant or domineering personality.

Not only that, his mind was much more delicate than the average Uchiha clansman, and he wouldn't just glare with red eyes to scare people at every turn.

"Lord Fuyou, how do you have time to return to the clan today?"

A sharp-eyed clansman discovered Uchiha Fuyou's presence and immediately stepped forward with a smile to greet him.

"I've come to discuss something with my father. Everyone, eat and drink well."

Uchiha Fuyou also nodded and responded with a smile, looking like a humble gentleman.

Inside the clan leader's office, Uchiha Izuna was discussing the matter of this year's clan dividends with Uchiha Madara.

"Big Brother, the recent finances are a bit tight."

Due to two new forces settling in Konoha, the pie that was originally split in two by the Uchiha and Senju was torn into three pieces.

For those ninja clans just sipping the soup, it had no impact, but for a towering tree like the Uchiha, it was no small blow.

"What do you mean?"

Uchiha Madara, who never asked about finances and just reached out to his cousin whenever he needed money, furrowed his brows slightly.

He was about to become Hokage, and the future of the Uchiha clan was destined to be handed over to this kid Izuna. Yet, at this critical juncture of the New Year, he was being told there was no money?

Wasn't this just asking for a beating?

"It's because the Land of Waves and the Land of Whirlpools are fighting a price war with us, eating away quite a bit of the market share that originally belonged to us."

Uchiha Izuna, under the pressure of his big brother's might, had to dump the blame for his own poor leadership onto the two countries that had just settled in Konoha.

"Especially that Land of Waves; they are simply shameless. Whatever we sell, they sell. They've even stolen the Uchiha family's traditional crafts, and their imitations are so identical that even the elders in the clan can't tell the real from the fake."

Speaking of the Land of Waves, Uchiha Izuna was full of anger. Their Uchiha clan excelled at making cat-related handicrafts and merchandise, but the Land of Waves' "Windy Street" had the exact same items, and they looked even more exquisite than theirs.

"Is this true?"

Uchiha Madara narrowed his eyes. Although there was no such thing as intellectual property rights now, the Land of Waves' undisguised plagiarism indeed touched the bottom line of the Uchiha clan. As one of the power-holders in Konoha, he had to do something to set the record straight.

"Absolutely true!"

Knock, knock, knock~

"Come in."

"Greetings, Uncle, greetings, Father."

Uchiha Fuyou, who pushed the door open and entered, saw Uchiha Madara sitting in the main seat, a flash of worship in his eyes.

"It's Fuyou. Are there any parts of your training you don't understand lately? Uncle happens to have some time, so I can answer your questions and clear up your doubts."

Looking at his eldest nephew, who had already become a dragon among men, Uchiha Madara nodded with satisfaction.

He had seen the name Uchiha Fuyou quite often at the mission hall; despite his young age, he had already completed many high-difficulty missions and was dubbed a genius by many.

"Thank you, Uncle. If I have questions, I will definitely come to you first."

Nodding with a smile, Uchiha Fuyou shifted his gaze to his father, his face filled with excitement.

"Father, I've come this time because I have a great idea—"

"Stop! Don't talk about your 'way of making money' again. Training hard is what you need to be doing right now."

Uchiha Fuyou's enthusiasm was extinguished by Uchiha Izuna's frown before it could even rise.

Watching his son gradually go astray, Uchiha Izuna rubbed his temples with a headache.

Fuyou was good at everything, but he didn't know when he had started to love making money. Moreover, he had quite the financial luck; several investments had yielded significant returns, which had surprised his mother, Mieko, endlessly.

But in Uchiha Izuna's view, this was simply neglecting his proper work. The future of the Uchiha clan might very well be handed over to Fuyou; if he neglected his training now, how would he support the entire clan in the future?

Not to mention that most of the Uchiha clan were still dreaming of a hereditary Hokage.

"Uncle taking office is such a good opportunity; if we don't seize it, it would be too much of a pity!"

Seeing his father being stubborn, Uchiha Fuyou showed a look of anxiety. Uchiha Madara, hearing that it concerned his own inauguration as Hokage, spoke up curiously.

"Izuna, you shut up first. Fuyou, you tell me."

"Big Brother!"

"Does my word no longer count?"

"Fuyou, tell your uncle the truth clearly; you must not add oil or vinegar to the story."

Facing his big brother's cold gaze, Uchiha Izuna felt his nerves tighten and had to choose to compromise.

"Uncle, you are about to become the Second Hokage. As long as we do the preliminary publicity, a lot of tourists will definitely come to Konoha during the inauguration ceremony."

Hearing this, Uchiha Madara nodded in deep agreement.

His name was already a household word, known to everyone.

The low-key Realm of Shadows.

The mysterious Nine-Tails Knight.

And now, adding the Second Hokage, with these layers of buffs, naturally, many curious ordinary people would want to come and catch a glimpse of his noble countenance.

The Land of Fire was already the most populous and prosperous of the five great nations. Coinciding with the New Year, everyone had money and time, so they would naturally take this opportunity to visit Konoha.

"These people definitely won't come for nothing. If they don't spend heavily, how can we live up to Konoha's warm hospitality?"

As he spoke, Uchiha Fuyou's eyes shone with golden light, filled with a desire for banknotes.

"At that time, we can ask the First Hokage to call his son and daughter-in-law back. The title of Princess of the Land of Fire also has quite a bit of appeal. Of course, if we could invite the Daimyo to attend the ceremony, that would be even better~"

"You kid, you have quite a few tricks up your sleeve, but how is our Uchiha clan going to make money?"

"That's simple. Let the clan produce a batch of merchandise themed around you, including cheering fans, dolls, figurines, toy ninja tools, limited-edition collectibles, and so on and so forth..."

"These things should be easy to copy, right?"

Hearing this, Uchiha Izuna frowned. These types of products would definitely sell out, but with the craftsmanship of those guys in the Land of Waves, they would copy them perfectly within three minutes.

"As long as it's endorsed by Uncle, no one will dare to copy it."

After all, the Hokage has portrait rights.

"Fuyou, this is a good idea. Izuna, leave this matter to you. I want to see the clan's dividends double this year."

After thinking about it briefly, Uchiha Madara felt that his eldest nephew's plan was feasible, so he instructed Uchiha Izuna to cooperate fully, striving to let all clansmen receive big red envelopes and have a good New Year.

"Actually, there is another method that can earn even more."

Seeing that his plan had received initial approval, Uchiha Fuyou let out a long sigh of relief. With a slight movement of his eyes, he spoke again.

"Oh? Let's hear it."

"If the previous plan succeeds, our clan will naturally make a fortune, but our production capacity is limited after all. We only have so many workshops and personnel, so we are destined to be unable to handle the endless stream of tourists."

"So, according to you?"

"It would be best if we had extra massive labor."

Imagining the scene of himself establishing an underground sweatshop, Uchiha Fuyou shook his head and spoke slowly.

"If not, then we can only cooperate for mutual benefit."

"You mean..."

Uchiha Izuna's pupils shrank. He couldn't believe that his fifteen-year-old son had such a vision.

"That's right, I want to unite with the Land of Waves' Chamber of Commerce. If there's money to be made, we should make it together."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Shaking his head like a rattle-drum, Uchiha Izuna called it impossible. He knew better than anyone that those guys from the Land of Waves were very difficult to get along with.

When Uchiha clansmen met people from the Land of Waves on the street, the other party would deliberately avoid them, as if they were very disgusted by the Uchiha.

"How do you know if you don't try? No one will turn away money."

"You talk a good game, so I'll leave the task of negotiating the cooperation to you, kid."

Looking at his son, a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, Uchiha Izuna reached out his hand in frustration.

Hmph! I don't believe you can persuade those guys from the Land of Waves. When you come back crying and calling for your father, I will definitely mock you well.

"Izuna! Is this appropriate? How old is Fuyou?"

"There's nothing inappropriate about it. At his age, I was already pitting my wits against the Dutch."

On the principled issue of educating children, Uchiha Izuna was rarely tough for once. He did not blindly follow his big brother's words and resolutely let Uchiha Fuyou go to negotiate cooperation with the Land of Waves.

"No problem, I definitely won't let Father and Uncle down!"

With the opportunity to get rich right in front of him, how could Uchiha Fuyou easily let it go? He stepped forward and accepted the task with a solemn vow, his eyes filled with deep determination.

After leaving the clan compound, Uchiha Fuyou kept his head down, calculating costs and benefits in his little notebook. If his plan really succeeded, the Uchiha wouldn't have to worry about food and expenses for at least a few years.

"Phew... it seems I spoke too soon."

After the excitement, Uchiha Fuyou, who had calmed down, suddenly felt a bit of worry in his heart.

Uchiha Fuyou had never dealt with people from the Land of Waves. Now, going to negotiate cooperation rashly, without any connection, the other party would likely ignore a little brat like him, unless he could find an introducer.

"Yo~ isn't this Fuyou? Haven't seen you in a few days, you've grown taller~"

"Great-Uncle!"

Hearing the voice that couldn't be more familiar, the muscle memory Uchiha Fuyou had formed in his early years began to take effect.

Thump!

"Nephew is here to wish you an early New Year. May your fortune be as vast as the Eastern Sea, may your longevity be as high as the Southern Mountain, and may you live a hundred..."

"Stop, stop, stop! You don't need that part!"

Watching Uchiha Fuyou skillfully bow down, Uchiha Gin nodded with great satisfaction and quickly called a halt to the blessing that was more like a curse.

Scrambling to his feet, Uchiha Fuyou patted the dust off his body and smiled as he took the gold brick Uchiha Gin handed over. His eyes lingered on the other party for a moment, and he suddenly remembered a certain rumor in the streets.

"Great-Uncle, everyone says you have wild connections. Are you familiar with the people from the Land of Waves?" (End of chapter)