Chapter 129: The Carrot and the Stick

"It is not difficult for Lady Tsunade to obtain funding with your abilities."

Kitazawa looked at the angry Tsunade and said with a smile.

"What methods are there to obtain funding?"

Tsunade took a deep breath, but still spoke through gritted teeth.

She had returned precisely because of the unlimited funding Hiruzen Sarutobi had promised.

But now, with so many rules, she was very dissatisfied.

"Create new ninjutsu."

Kitazawa gave an example, "As long as it relates to psychological medical ninjutsu, even a low-level technique can be exchanged for one million ryo."

Generally speaking, only S-rank missions can earn a reward of one million ryo.

And S-rank missions often carry extremely high risks and require a long time to complete.

Even for Tsunade, completing an S-rank mission is not a simple matter.

"That is actually quite generous."

Tsunade frowned slightly and said, "But creating ninjutsu takes time. Is there a faster way?"

"There is, but the funding obtained would be much less."

Kitazawa replied.

"Then what is the point?"

Tsunade curled her lip and said, "I'll go find the old man; if he doesn't give me the money, I'm leaving!"

"Lady Tsunade!"

Shizune felt a jolt of alarm and quickly called out.

She did not want to live a life of wandering and being chased by creditors.

"I have a way."

Kitazawa blinked and said.

"What way?"

Tsunade raised her head to look at him.

"Among the fund expenditures, there is an item for the costs required to treat Yakumo."

Kitazawa said pointedly, "Lady Tsunade could draft a list of medicinal ingredients, picking the most expensive ones."

"Oh?"

Tsunade was stunned for a moment, immediately understood, and asked, "Why are Itachi willing to help me cheat again?"

"I didn't have a choice before, but now I am on Lady Tsunade's side."

Kitazawa said solemnly.

The best way to motivate someone is the carrot and the stick.

Blindly following Hiruzen Sarutobi's rules would only drive Tsunade away, which would be detrimental to the mission.

Besides, the choice between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade was self-evident, for the sake of the children.

"Very good."

A smile appeared on Tsunade's face; she reached out an arm, draped it over his shoulder, and said, "Itachi kid are not bad at all!"

Caught off guard, Kitazawa almost tumbled into her embrace.

Tsunade noticed his embarrassment and also realized her behavior was not entirely appropriate.

She withdrew her hand and patted him on the shoulder as she did so.

"Let's go, come home with me."

Tsunade said, beaming.

As the most excellent medical ninja, she knew all too well how much the prices of medicinal ingredients fluctuated.

She could easily earn the price difference while treating Kurama Yakumo.

Shizune looked at Kitazawa, her eyes widening in disbelief.

I thought Itachi were a ninja of iron-clad integrity; how did Itachi choose to defect in the blink of an eye?

Your bottom line is far too flexible.

"Where does Lady Tsunade live now?"

Kitazawa asked, following behind Tsunade.

"Itachi'll know soon enough."

Tsunade said casually, while pondering which medicinal ingredients to write down.

Kitazawa did not ask again upon hearing this.

After walking for a while, he found the nearby buildings becoming increasingly familiar, and they finally stopped at the front door of Kurenai Yuhi's home.

"Shizune and I live right next door."

Tsunade pointed to the house on the left and said, "This is mainly to facilitate the development of our project."

Kitazawa nodded and stepped forward to knock on the door.

"Kitazawa? And Lady Tsunade?"

After Kurenai Yuhi opened the door, she was stunned for a moment before quickly saying, "Please, come in."

Tsunade stepped forward, bent down, and took off her shoes.

Shizune followed closely behind.

Kitazawa walked in last, closed the door, and headed toward the living room.

As soon as he reached the living room, his eyes lit up.

Because from large to small, four pairs of fair, long legs and jade-like feet entered his view.

Tsunade was wearing long pants, revealing only a pair of feet painted with red nail polish.

While Kurenai Yuhi, Shizune, and Kurama Yakumo all had their fair calves and bare feet exposed.

"Get me paper and a pen."

Tsunade sat on the sofa and spoke.

"I'll go get them."

Kitazawa turned and went upstairs.

"It seems Itachi all get along quite well."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and said with a hint of playfulness.

"Kitazawa and I are classmates."

Kurenai Yuhi's heart skipped a beat, but she said without changing her expression.

She did indeed have a favorable impression of the current Kitazawa, though it hadn't reached a certain level yet.

"Lady Tsunade."

Kitazawa reappeared and handed her the paper and pen.

Tsunade crossed her legs and placed the paper on her fleshy thighs.

She bent over, and her heavy burden tilted forward.

Kurenai Yuhi subconsciously looked down and felt an indescribable gap.

"How far have Itachi progressed with your self-created ninjutsu?"

Tsunade asked while writing.

"We have already created two ninjutsu: the Talk Therapy Technique and the Truth-Spilling Technique."

Kurenai Yuhi introduced the effects of the two techniques.

"Not bad ninjutsu."

Tsunade pondered for a moment and said, "Very targeted."

"It was Kitazawa's idea."

Kurenai Yuhi did not take the credit.

"Itachi guy are quite capable of surprising people."

Tsunade subconsciously glanced at Kitazawa and said.

"Thank Itachi for the praise, Lady Tsunade."

Kitazawa paused and then brought up the third ninjutsu they were researching.

"The idea isn't bad, but there are some issues."

Tsunade thought for a moment and said, "Factors causing psychological illness are not just negative emotions, but also genetics, physical health, and personality."

A sentence immediately surfaced in Kitazawa's mind: this is what professional looks like.

"The approach of modifying the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique is very good; it just needs further optimization."

Tsunade smiled and said, "Let's discuss this again tomorrow; today, let's first purchase the medicinal ingredients Yakumo needs."

"Alright."

Kurenai Yuhi didn't think much of it and agreed.

With Tsunade's participation, she and Kitazawa would be able to save quite a bit of effort.

Shizune shook her head helplessly upon hearing this.

Busy purchasing medicinal ingredients? It was clearly Tsunade wanting to embezzle.

"Kitazawa, let's go."

Tsunade finished writing the list of medicinal ingredients and said with a smile on her face.

"Alright."

Kitazawa didn't mind stealing a bit of the Hidden Leaf Village's money.

Moreover, given how much Tsunade valued the Hidden Leaf Village, she wouldn't go too far; at most, she would take a small advantage.