Chapter 586: The Pot Won't Disappear, It Only Shifts to Where It Belongs

Early in the morning, before the sun had fully risen, a sliver of dawn light fell upon the silent streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, illuminating the figure of a quintessential workhorse.

Taro Inuzuka, thirty-five years old this year, was still a genin.

"The early bird gets the worm~"

Getting up early in the dark did not dampen Taro Inuzuka's good mood; the reason he had to rush was to snatch up more high-paying mission orders.

As a ninja who only passed the genin examination in his early thirties, Taro Inuzuka had managed to get on the payroll just barely within the age limit.

After "landing ashore," his back, which had been hunched for nearly thirty years, finally straightened; his parents, who usually bossed him around, had a 360-degree change in attitude, and little Mei next door, who used to ignore him, also began casting flirtatious glances his way.

Even his old dog Wangcai, who had accompanied him for many years, received custom dog food distributed by the clan.

After becoming a genin, Taro Inuzuka could earn rewards through missions, and the money he made was far more than his previous day-labor jobs; it was not only stable but also easy, and earning enough money to marry little Mei was just around the corner.

Everything was developing in a good direction.

"As expected, I'm the first one!"

Since it was not yet dawn and there were few people on the streets, Taro Inuzuka quickened his pace, and with his old dog Wangcai in tow, he arrived at the entrance of the Mission Hall in a flash; seeing the guards just opening the doors, a smug smile appeared on his face.

"The usual, D-rank."

Walking quickly into the Mission Hall, Taro Inuzuka found the mission clerk and familiarly reached out to ask for D-rank mission orders.

He had to work hard today; he wouldn't stop until he had completed fifty orders.

"Taro, you're as early as ever."

The clerk, who had just sat down at his station, looked up and recognized the man as the recent "mission grinding king," and immediately smiled as he handed over a stack of mission orders.

"Take a look and see if there are any suitable ones first."

"Thanks."

Taking the mission orders, Taro Inuzuka frowned slightly; he clearly felt that today's stack was much thinner than usual, but since making money was the priority, he suppressed his doubts for the moment and began to flip through them carefully.

As a result, from the beginning to the end, Taro Inuzuka's face grew darker the more he read; the stack was filled with extremely troublesome D-rank missions—either weeding hundreds of acres of farmland or clearing silt from river ditches—each one was extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive, yet the rewards were meager.

"Where are the errand-running missions?"

He placed the mission orders in his hand onto the table and asked aloud.

As a qualified member of the Inuzuka clan, Taro Inuzuka's greatest strength was running errands, especially after activating the Four Legs Technique; his speed far exceeded that of other genin of the same rank, allowing him to complete more missions in a short time.

"Oh, you mean those missions? They've all been taken by the crowdsourcing team."

Recalling the large-scale high-level personnel changes that had occurred in the Mission Hall yesterday, the mission clerk pondered for a moment before patiently giving him the answer.

"Crowdsourcing team? What the hell is that? Aren't missions first-come, first-served?"

Taro Inuzuka had never heard of such a team and immediately expressed the dissatisfaction he felt was warranted.

A genin of his age couldn't support a family if he had to rely on these time-consuming and labor-intensive D-rank missions; otherwise, he wouldn't come here every day before dawn to snatch orders—it was all for the sake of survival.

And now, his only channel for making money had been cut off; how could Taro Inuzuka not be angry?

"Sorry, we also received the notice on short notice. Not just today, but from now on, D-rank missions will be prioritized for the crowdsourcing team to choose from, and only the leftovers will reach ordinary ninjas."

The word "ordinary" in the clerk's words severely irritated Taro Inuzuka's fragile nerves.

"What 'ordinary ninja'? I am of the Inuzuka clan!"

No matter how much of a loser Taro Inuzuka was, he at least carried the name Inuzuka; in this era that valued bloodlines, ninjas with a clan to rely on were born with a sense of superiority.

"Sorry, according to the regulations, all ninjas other than the crowdsourcing team are ordinary ninjas."

The staff member strictly followed the newly issued regulations; even though he felt helpless inside, he couldn't fight the powers that be and had to follow the rules.

"Damn it, then give me some dog-walking or dog-training missions."

Seeing other ninjas walking into the Mission Hall one after another to pick up orders, Taro Inuzuka gritted his teeth, temporarily abandoning his entanglement with the new rules, and instead asked the staff for specific missions that only the Inuzuka clan could take.

Regarding dog-training missions, the issuers usually prioritized the Inuzuka clan, who were skilled at dealing with dogs.

Therefore, these types of missions were considered exclusive channels for the Inuzuka clan; the rewards weren't high, but they were efficient.

"Sorry, those types of missions have already been taken."

"Huh? Is there an Inuzuka who got here earlier than me?"

Looking at the shaking head of the staff member, Taro Inuzuka asked in disbelief.

He was the man who got up earliest in the Inuzuka clan; could it be that a new workhorse had been born?

"No, those missions were also taken by the crowdsourcing team."

"I want to file a complaint!"

Taro Inuzuka was trembling with rage; he had to report this situation to the higher-ups of the Mission Hall. The existence of that so-called crowdsourcing team was completely encroaching on the survival space of genin like them.

"Sorry, the complaint office was demolished last night; it's said it's being converted into a snack shop."

"I'm so sour!"

After cursing, Taro Inuzuka realized he had wasted too much time here; at his usual pace, he would have almost finished his third mission by now.

"Fine, fine, I'll come back to report the situation to your leaders after I'm done with my work today. Just give me those missions from before."

Cursing was one thing, but life had to go on; if he didn't run a few D-rank missions, he might not even have money for food today, so Taro Inuzuka chose to compromise and picked up the mission orders he had just discarded.

"This one, this one, and this one."

Selecting three relatively decent missions from the stack, Taro Inuzuka prepared to sign his name on the mission orders, only to notice something amiss in the reward commission column.

"Wait, hasn't the mission commission always been 10%? Why has it become 30% now?"

Don't underestimate the difference; it added up to a significant amount.

"The 'Ten Billion Village Subsidy' campaign has ended. Starting today, the mission commission has risen to 30%, but don't worry, this is only temporary; it might even rise further in the future."

The Ten Billion Village Subsidy campaign was a welfare activity initiated by Izuna Uchiha out of his own pocket to stimulate mission volume and completion rates.

It was intended to keep every ninja doing missions enthusiastic and to ensure they completed missions issued by employers with a 100% serious attitude, thereby improving the Hidden Leaf's mission satisfaction and establishing a good reputation for the village for long-term future development.

"The campaign ended? That's not what Lord Izuna said! He promised that as long as he was still here, the Ten Billion Village Subsidy would never stop!"

Taro Inuzuka recalled the first day he came to pick up missions, when he happened to run into Izuna Uchiha giving a speech in the hall; the man had promised under the witness of everyone that the Ten Billion Village Subsidy would be implemented indefinitely.

It was precisely because of Izuna Uchiha's promise that Taro Inuzuka would get up early and work late every day to snatch orders, all to enrich himself while repaying Lord Izuna's generosity.

"Lord Izuna did indeed say that, but now..."

Speaking of Izuna Uchiha, a look of nostalgia appeared on the mission clerk's face; as he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed in a direction in the hall. Taro Inuzuka shifted his gaze, and an expression of shock instantly flooded his entire face.

At the position in the far east of the hall, the plaque that should have been hanging with the Uchiha clan's emblem had been taken down at some point, replaced by a clan emblem that was somewhat familiar to Taro Inuzuka but whose name he couldn't recall.

"That is?"

"Lord Izuna withdrew from the Mission Hall yesterday. The current Mission Hall is managed entirely by the Shimura clan."

"Huh?"

At the same time, other ninjas who shared the same plight as Taro Inuzuka all let out a cry of surprise in unison.

One had to know that under Izuna Uchiha's orderly management, the mission completion rate had remained high, and the satisfaction of both employers and ninjas had repeatedly hit new records.

Even Tobirama Senju, who was at odds with him, had praised Izuna Uchiha's exceptional management skills.

"The Shimura clan..."

Hearing this name, Taro Inuzuka's brows furrowed tightly. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he questioned loudly:

"That crowdsourcing team, it wouldn't be..."

"That's right, it's the official organization of the Shimura clan."

"Damn it!"

This Shimura clan was truly despicable; not only did they cancel the Ten Billion Village Subsidy, but they also established a crowdsourcing team that could prioritize picking missions with high rewards and low difficulty—they were simply treating them like Japanese workhorses.

"Are you taking them or not? There are people waiting in line behind you!"

Looking at the exasperated Taro Inuzuka, the mission clerk, knowing he couldn't change the status quo, saw his expression gradually turn cold.

His job was no longer as easy as it was during Izuna Uchiha's tenure; his performance was now tied to the daily order completion rate. If Taro Inuzuka continued to waste time here, he would earn much less money today.

"I'll take them!"

In the end, Taro Inuzuka bowed his head to life, gritted his teeth, and accepted the missions that the Shimura clan had left behind, successfully transitioning from an ordinary workhorse to a professional one.

"Damn it! The Shimura clan is going way too far!"

The large-scale changes to the Mission Hall's rules soon spread throughout the Hidden Leaf. The members of the Ninja Clan Alliance who learned the inside story were all gnashing their teeth in anger.

The Shimura clan was, after all, a member of the Ninja Clan Alliance; logically speaking, having obtained such great authority, they should have been seeking benefits for other members of the alliance.

But now, not only was there not a single cent of benefits, but exploitative clauses were being added one after another.

It looked like the Shimura clan was going to completely tear off the mask and fall out with the other ninja clans for the sake of profit.

"Kenichi, what you're doing is indeed somewhat inappropriate."

Soon, Sasuke Sarutobi, having received complaints from members, rushed to find Kenichi Shimura, who was at home drinking and eating pork head meat. Looking at the man's glowing, flushed face, he frowned and said.

"Inappropriate? What's inappropriate about it? The mission commission in other villages is already 30%. Our Shimura clan isn't as rich and imposing as the Uchiha."

Kenichi Shimura, who was chewing large mouthfuls of fatty pork head meat, put down his wine cup and glanced indifferently at the cold-faced Sasuke Sarutobi.

"The commission is one thing, but I'm talking about that so-called crowdsourcing team. By doing this, don't you want the grassroots ninjas to survive?"

Sasuke Sarutobi could turn a blind eye to the commission, but the crowdsourcing team was indeed being boycotted by all the grassroots ninjas, and its dissolution was imminent.

*Slap—*

"They want to survive? Then who's going to let me survive!"

Kenichi Shimura, who had been squinting while eating, suddenly erupted, slamming his hand onto the marble table; his two eyes, which had been narrowed into slits, suddenly widened.

"Sasuke, ask yourself, how much has our Shimura clan contributed to the future of the Ninja Clan Alliance?"

"Uh..."

"Hmph! Let me tell you! Fifty billion! Do you know how long it takes to save up fifty billion?"

"This..."

Pushed against the wall by the aggressive Kenichi Shimura, a bitter smile appeared on Sasuke Sarutobi's face.

Fifty billion is no small sum; according to the annual financial report of the Sarutobi clan, if they wanted to save that much, every member of the clan would need to tighten their belts for ten years.

"Sasuke, don't worry, I only take on D-rank missions; as soon as I've saved enough, I'll stop."

The reason Kenichi Shimura chose to target D-rank missions for crowdsourcing was, on one hand, because D-rank missions are plentiful and filling, and on the other hand, because the difficulty is low—any ninja can do them.

"Then at least give the dog-training missions back to the Inuzuka clan!"

"Can't our Shimura clan have someone with an innate dog-raising constitution?"

The employer's note says to prioritize the Inuzuka, but it didn't say it *must* be the Inuzuka; it's just training a dog, feed it some pork and it will absolutely listen obediently.

"You! You'd better watch yourself."

Watching Kenichi Shimura refuse to budge, a frustrated Sasuke Sarutobi threw down a sentence and left without looking back.

In the following period, the incident at the mission hall fermented further; because the crowdsourcing had snatched away a large number of high-quality orders, the ninjas with no work began to cause a scene collectively, threatening to report it to the village high-ups and demand they uphold justice.

Among these ninjas, there were no shortage of members from clans allied with the Shimura clan; they went straight back to their clans to complain, requesting their respective leaders to demand an explanation from the Shimura clan.

Konoha main street,

Having just walked out of the clan grounds, Shimura Danzo keenly sensed several sneaky figures behind him; at first, he didn't take it to heart, assuming they were just fanboys and fangirls admiring him.

As a result, the moment he prepared to turn his head to greet them, a rotten egg flew straight at his face.

Splat—

With a crisp sound, the rotten egg blossomed on Shimura Danzo's head, and a foul stench immediately rushed toward him.

"Young Clan Leader!"

The clansmen accompanying Danzo saw this and immediately stepped forward to help him clean off the filth.

Before long, the egg liquid wrapped around Danzo's head had vanished without a trace, but that foul stench could not be gotten rid of no matter what.

"Bastards, I'll go catch them right now and leave them for the Young Clan Leader to deal with!"

"No need, the meeting is more important."

Danzo shook his head with an expressionless face; today was the day of his first meeting as a newly promoted elder, and he absolutely could not be late because of such a trivial matter.

Creak~

Standing at the door of the Hokage's office to brew his emotions for a moment, Danzo adjusted his attire and pushed the door open to enter.

"Monkey, I'm here—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been waiting in the office early, was holding a cup of freshly brewed sweet water and had just taken a vigorous sip when an inexplicable foul stench simultaneously drilled into his nose.

"Blech—what is this smell? Danzo, did you not wipe your butt clean?" (End of chapter)