Chapter 574: Making Money Isn't Shameful

Just as Senju Hijiri was sinking deeper into the abyss where power and money intertwine, the Konoha S3 season arrived quietly.

This sudden change in leadership was not only the focus of the villagers, but even the other great ninja villages had shifted their attention toward it.

Who would ultimately become the next leader of Konoha would directly influence their attitude toward the village.

In the Hidden Cloud Village, the burly Shi clenched his fists in great excitement and proposed his valuable opinion to Jin Jiao, who sat upon the Raikage's throne.

"Senior Brother, now is Konoha's most vulnerable moment. Let's send troops south!"

Jin Jiao, whose hair was already slightly graying, looked at the intelligence in his hands with a grave expression. His gaze swept over the photos of the various candidates and finally stopped on a handsome middle-aged man.

Uchiha Izuna.

Mr. Gin's little brother, after all.

"No."

As one of the only two people in the ninja world who knew the identity of Uchiha Gin as the Kamen Rider, Jin Jiao still had his wits about him.

Konoha's most vulnerable moment?

That was entirely a facade put on by Konoha.

"Senior Brother, you are muddled! Don't worry about that bullshit peace agreement. From the moment Senju Hashirama went missing, the agreement became a scrap of paper. Don't worry about the consequences of falling out with Konoha; those so-called rising stars, added together, are not a match for me in a single exchange!"

Fall out with Konoha?

Let's wait until Mr. Gin is no longer around to talk about that.

"Shut up. Am I the Raikage, or are you?"

Glaring fiercely at his junior brother, who was so anxious he was jumping up and down, Jin Jiao once again rejected the request to invade the Land of Fire. His weathered face carried an inexplicable meaning.

"Konoha is not as simple as you imagine. It looks like a pool of clear water, but it is actually bottomless."

"Hmph!"

An indignant Shi crossed his arms and sat back in his seat with a sour face. He truly could not understand why, now that the two heroes of the ninja world were gone, there was anyone in Konoha worth his Senior Brother fearing so much.

In the Hidden Sand Village, the slightly aged Shamon was taking his disciples to familiarize them with the village's political affairs. Facing the news of Konoha's leadership change brought back by the Sand Anbu, he only glanced at it before tossing it aside.

"Teacher, aren't we going to do something?"

Chiyo picked up the intelligence and read it over roughly. A look of worry appeared on her fair face.

Konoha was currently in its most vulnerable period; as a staunch ally, shouldn't the Hidden Sand Village make a gesture to provide them with some necessary support?

"Chiyo, you must now look at things through the eyes of a leader. On the issue of Konoha, doing nothing is the same as doing everything."

Shamon shook his head with profound meaning. A woman's intuition for politics was indeed slightly weaker, and she was still somewhat emotional when looking at problems.

Although the Hidden Sand Village had made leaps and bounds in development over the past few years, it was still slightly weak compared to the other great ninja villages.

Taking sides rashly at this time would likely invite targeting from other ninja villages.

Moreover, although Konoha looked weak right now, the village still had a powerhouse like Uchiha Izuna sitting in command. Even if he was not as strong as the missing heroes of the ninja world, he was still stronger than an ordinary Kage-level ninja.

"But..."

Chiyo's pretty face tightened, and her heart was filled with mixed feelings. She felt that by doing nothing, she was letting down someone in Konoha.

"If you really want to do something, wait until Uchiha Izuna succeeds to the position of Hokage, then publicly issue congratulations."

Looking at his disciple's dim expression, Shamon sighed inwardly and offered a suggestion with some helplessness.

"Okay!"

Chiyo's face immediately lit up with joy, and the guilt she felt toward Uchiha Gin instantly vanished. Seeing this, a warm look appeared on Shamon's old face.

After a while, he suddenly stood up and walked to the window overlooking the entire Hidden Sand Village, his eyes filled with a longing for a beautiful future.

"According to the prophecy of Kamen Rider, the child who can bring prosperity to the Hidden Sand Village should be born this year. When the time comes, I will be the one to train him."

"And what about the village?"

"It is left to you, Third Kazekage."

However, compared to the neutral stance of the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Sand, the Hidden Stone and Hidden Mist had already secretly begun to enter a state of combat readiness.

"Hehehe! A Konoha without the two heroes of the ninja world is just a paper tiger. I want to take back the money they swindled from Grandpa back then, with interest!"

In the Hidden Stone Village, Onoki's short figure slowly floated up. Looking at the massive map of the ninja world before him, he drew a sharp line with his red pen, marking a large 'X' over the most fertile region of the Land of Fire.

"Lord Tsuchikage, but Konoha still has Uchiha Izuna. Although his strength is not comparable to Uchiha Madara, he cannot be underestimated."

The aide behind Onoki frowned. From the intelligence he had gathered, it was basically certain that Konoha's Third Hokage would be Uchiha Izuna.

"No matter. The user of the Five-Tails Card is already ready for battle. With the two of us joining forces, a mere Uchiha Izuna is nothing to worry about."

After so many years, the Hidden Stone Village had finally cultivated a user capable of using the Five-Tails Card for a short time.

Although the cost of using a Tailed Beast Card was enormous, for the sake of the village's development, every sacrifice was worth it.

"I remember Lord Mu once said that the power of the Tailed Beast Knights must never be used in war."

"That skulking fellow hasn't appeared for how many years? He probably died in some corner of the ninja world long ago."

The village now had two Tailed Beast Knights, and Onoki's self-confidence had expanded unprecedentedly; he did not take the Knight Agreement issued by Kamen Rider back then to heart at all.

"But..."

"Hmph! No 'buts'! Such powerful strength, if it isn't used in war, then it is meaningless."

A light called ambition flickered in Onoki's eyes. In order to obtain the fertile land of the Land of Fire, he decided to take a gamble.

If he won, he would leave a legacy for future generations.

If he lost, he would just start over from the beginning.

Sharing the same thoughts as Onoki was the Third Mizukage, Gui, who was in the Hidden Mist Village. But compared to the proactive Onoki, his invasion of the Land of Fire was truly out of helplessness.

"Lord Mizukage, our maritime routes have been snatched away by the Land of Whirlpools three more times. If this continues, the entire Hidden Mist Village will soon become an isolated island."

Listening to the bad news from his subordinate, Gui rubbed his temples with a headache.

Ever since the war with the Hidden Stone Village lasted for several years, the Hidden Mist Village had long since emptied its meager savings. Now that the final path to wealth was being eroded by the Land of Whirlpools, if they continued to sit and wait for death like this, the village would likely dissolve before the new year.

"I know. How is the assembly of the ground forces going?"

"They have already assembled, it's just that..."

"What is it now?"

Gui, who already had a headache, felt his head ache even more the moment he saw his subordinate's difficult expression.

"Those Kekkei Genkai clans are unwilling to provide their elite combat forces and have only sent some Chunin and Genin to make up the numbers."

"Hoo—a bunch of short-sighted parasites!"

Upon hearing this, Gui gritted his teeth. The Yuki clan behind him was also a Kekkei Genkai clan, yet they had given their all for the development of the village, never refusing any difficult missions, and had suffered countless casualties without a single word of complaint.

In contrast, the other Kekkei Genkai clans not only failed to share the village's burdens but were actually dragging their feet at this critical moment; they were truly damnable.

"What exactly do they want?"

The collective strike of the Kekkei Genkai clans definitely had some ulterior motive.

As soon as Gui finished speaking, the door to the Mizukage's office was slammed open from the outside.

"We just want to take back Lord Hozuki Gengetsu's relic."

A lean, middle-aged man walked in with a group of ninjas of various appearances. The middle-aged man in the lead narrowed his eyes and stated their demand.

"Wasn't Senior Brother's relic sent back to the clan long ago?"

Looking at the representatives of the Kekkei Genkai clans who showed no respect whatsoever, Gui's face was extremely ugly. He might be the least authoritative of all the Mizukages in history.

"No, no, no. What we want is... that."

The representative of the Hozuki clan shook his head and lifted his finger slightly. Gui's gaze followed the direction indicated, and the expression on his face became even gloomier.

That was where the portraits of the past Mizukages hung. The flashy Hozuki Gengetsu, in order to highlight his own temperament, had specifically hired someone to take a full-body portrait.

And he had deliberately worn his driver on his waist, striking a transformation pose as a memento.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, a cold air emanated from him, and the air in the office began to freeze at a speed visible to the naked eye. Frozen ice crystals began to drift around everyone in an instant.

"The Knight System is the property of the village. If you want it, you must produce the corresponding qualifications."

His body already beginning to crystallize, Gui spoke with thick killing intent.

The Hidden Mist Village had always granted Kekkei Genkai ninjas certain privileges in order to protect the interests of the Kekkei Genkai clans. He had not expected these fellows to not only be ungrateful but to actually push their luck and reach for the village's secret treasure.

"Lord Mizukage, don't be agitated. Since we have made this request, we have naturally made sufficient preparations."

The abilities of the Yuki clan happened to counter the Hozuki clan. The Hozuki representative, who had been slightly arrogant just a moment ago, now had a shrinking expression, and his tone had softened significantly—at least enough to make one less angry.

"If Lord Mizukage can hand over the Knight System for our Kekkei Genkai clans to study, the items on this list will be entirely at Lord Mizukage's disposal."

While speaking, the Hozuki representative pulled a scroll from his bosom and handed it to the cold-faced Gui.

Rustle~

Gui frowned as he opened the scroll, but upon seeing the contents, his eyes, which had been narrowed into slits, suddenly widened.

"You actually have so much..."

He closed the scroll with a complex look in his eyes. Just how much blood had these Kekkei Genkai clans sucked from the village?

"What does Lord Mizukage think?"

Extremely satisfied with Gui's shocked expression, the Hozuki representative asked with a chuckle.

"These alone are not enough."

Although the supplies on the list were very tempting, he did not want to compromise so easily.

"Lord Mizukage, don't be too greedy."

The Hozuki representative's brow furrowed slightly, and his eyes darted toward the representatives of the Kekkei Genkai clans behind him. Everyone received the signal and began to secretly refine chakra; a bloody coup was about to unfold.

If you, the Mizukage, refuse to cooperate, then we will change the person.

"I won't take a single cent of what is in here."

"Oh?"

"Then what is it you want?"

"I want you all to fight for the Hidden Mist Village!"

Hearing these deafening words, the representatives of the Kekkei Genkai clans were stunned in unison. They looked at Gui, whose face was full of determination, in disbelief. Upon realizing he was not feigning it, a trace of shame suddenly and involuntarily arose in their hearts.

"Deal!"

Just as the various factions were surging with undercurrents, the Konoha election assembly was held as scheduled, with the location still inside the tallest building in the Hidden Leaf Village, the Hokage Building.

Since only ninja at the jonin level were qualified to vote, the chunin, genin, and ordinary residents could only squat outside the Hokage Building and wait for the results.

As one jonin after another verified their identities and entered the Hokage Building in an orderly queue, the surrounding onlookers were all so anxious they were scratching their heads, one after another guessing who the new leader would be.

"Gin, are we not going to vote?"

In a building adjacent to the Hokage Building, Uchiha Hikari, standing by the window, nudged the yawning Uchiha Gin beside her.

"Vote? You are a civilian, I am a genin; what qualifications do we have to vote?"

Uchiha Gin rubbed his sleepy eyes, reached back to pat the genin forehead protector strapped to his waist, and asked back with a serious air.

As a secret war weapon cultivated by the clan, the young girl naturally could not show her face, and those who knew Uchiha Hikari's true identity were few and far between, most of them no longer in the Hidden Leaf Village.

Therefore, Uchiha Hikari was not a registered ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village, and on the household register, she was merely a civilian of the Uchiha clan.

As for Uchiha Gin, he simply found it troublesome; after refusing several promotions, he had always held the title of the No. 1 genin.

"Curly-haired baboon! The thing you ordered has arrived."

Just as the two were conversing, a bustling figure burst in.

Senju Itama held a large, wrapped display board high in his hands and asked with a face full of curiosity,

"Is this a cheering sign you prepared for your younger brother?"

In her view, the thing Uchiha Gin ordered was nine times out of ten a light sign to cheer for Uchiha Izuna.

"Tsk~ I wouldn't spend money on that blade-hilt."

Reaching out to take the display board from the girl's hands, Uchiha Gin curled his lip and turned to walk downstairs.

"Huh? What kind of tricks is he trying to pull?"

The two left behind looked at each other, unable to understand the meaning of Uchiha Gin's words for a moment.

"Make way, please make way~"

After going downstairs, Uchiha Gin charged straight into the middle of the crowd. The onlookers were instantly attracted by the huge display board in his hands.

"Eh? Gin-san, he isn't here to vote, why did he run into the crowd?"

The members of the Ninja Clan Alliance who were queuing to go upstairs also looked at the strangely behaving Uchiha Gin with eyes full of curiosity.

"Hmph! Have you forgotten? He has no qualifications to vote."

Shimura Kenichi snorted coldly, pointed at the genin forehead protector at Uchiha Gin's waist, and said sarcastically.

"That is truly a pity; perhaps the Uchiha were just one vote short of Gin-san's."

The members of the Ninja Clan Alliance who had a better relationship with Uchiha Gin shook their heads with regret, and a bit more guilt appeared in their eyes as they looked at him.

Sorry, Gin-san, we spent money this time.

"Phew, this position is just right~"

Uchiha Gin, who did not know he was being watched, finally chose the best position in the crowd.

"Rip~"

Amidst the curious gazes of the people around him, he swiped and tore open the sealed packaging covering the display board.

"Huh? That is..."

Uchiha Gin stuck the sign in his hand into the ground, took out a megaphone he had prepared in advance, and the deafening sound instantly drowned out the noise of the entire scene.

"No betting, no excitement!"

"You and your dreams are only one guess apart!"

"Hidden Leaf Betting, exciting because of you!"

"Supporting charity, starting with betting~"

"..."

"What the hell is that guy doing?"

Seeing Uchiha Gin's embarrassing behavior, the Uchiha clansmen who were queuing felt their faces burning with shame. Facing the strange looks from the people around them, they wished they could bury their heads in their crotches.

But our protagonist did not care about other people's gazes at all. Instead, he grabbed a stunned young onlooker and tempted him with a smile,

"Little brother, what are you still waiting for? Why not hurry up and cheer for the candidate in your heart!"

(End of chapter)