Chapter 305: Since It's All About Making Money, Why Shouldn't I Be the One to Earn It?
Compared to Naruto, Sasuke's life, though tragic in its own way, was still somewhat better.
At the very least, Sasuke had once known the warmth of having a family. Naruto, on the other hand, had been an orphan for as long as he could remember.
Strictly speaking, that alone should have made Naruto's tragedy less severe than Sasuke's. After all, Sasuke had personally witnessed the extermination of his clan. But the problem was that Naruto had been ostracized, isolated, and bullied since childhood.
He did not know what his parents looked like. Whenever he went home, he returned to an empty room. He lived in Konoha like an outsider. The only bits of warmth in his life were probably the old man Hiruzen and, later, Iruka.
Yet even under those circumstances, after learning that he carried tremendous hidden power within himself, Naruto never thought about taking revenge on the people of Konoha who had treated him badly. Instead, all he wanted was to become Hokage and earn everyone's acknowledgment.
...Honestly.
At times like this, Amamiya Kenichi almost suspected that Hiruzen had secretly asked Shisui to use Kotoamatsukami on Naruto back then.
"I wonder how that kid Naruto is doing now. Has he managed to extract chakra yet?" Amamiya Kenichi propped up his chin in boredom.
He had taught Naruto the basics of chakra extraction that day, and now that he thought about it, quite some time had already passed.
He just did not know whether Naruto had successfully extracted chakra during this period. Even if he had, though, it probably would not help him much right now.
"I'll go see Naruto after I finish the experiment. While I'm at it, I can also study Kurama inside him."
Amamiya Kenichi rubbed his chin.
He already had Naruto's blood and genetic samples, but now he wanted to study the Nine Tails itself.
Of course, there was another important reason.
Sasori had told him before that Unit One needed Nine Tails chakra as an energy source. Amamiya Kenichi had already used up all the Nine Tails chakra he had on hand, so it was time to replenish his supply.
"What are you doing, Naruto?"
Meanwhile, in Konoha, Hiruzen looked at Naruto with curiosity.
The boy was fishing, which in itself was not unusual. Hiruzen knew that Naruto often came here to fish. What really caught his attention was what Naruto was doing now.
"Becoming a ninja!" Naruto declared smugly.
He was currently practicing chakra extraction according to the method that strange older brother had taught him that day.
"Oh?"
Naturally, Hiruzen recognized what Naruto was doing.
As Konoha's Hokage and a true ninja scholar, he was no stranger to chakra extraction.
He had even developed his own approach to it.
However, chakra extraction methods varied from person to person. Each physique was different, so the ideal extraction method was different as well. That was why powerful ninja often ended up developing their own distinctive way of extracting chakra.
And the chakra extraction method Naruto was using now...
It had an unmistakable Hokage flavor to it.
Hiruzen had never personally taught Naruto chakra extraction. His original intention had been for Naruto to learn it at the Ninja Academy. But now Naruto had suddenly begun practicing it on his own, and the method he used felt extremely familiar.
In fact, it was almost exactly the same as the one Hiruzen had once taught to his own disciples.
He had only passed that method on to the Sannin and a few younger members of the Sarutobi clan. No one else.
Which raised a very obvious question.
How had Naruto learned it?
Hiruzen was certain that he himself had not taught the boy. As for the less promising younger members of the Sarutobi clan, they did not even know Naruto's true identity. Most of them only ignored him or looked down on him, so it could not have been them either.
That meant only one thing.
Someone else had taught Naruto.
The Sannin?
Tsunade? Or Jiraiya?
As for Orochimaru, Hiruzen did not even consider the possibility. He knew perfectly well that Orochimaru had not shown up here, and if it really had been him, Naruto would probably have already been in trouble. So it definitely was not Orochimaru.
Between the remaining two, Hiruzen considered Tsunade more likely.
After all, he understood Tsunade well. And Jiraiya had only just returned to Konoha. It was hard to imagine him already getting involved with Naruto like this.
"Was it a big sister who taught you?" Hiruzen asked with a smile as he watched Naruto reel in a large fish.
He was testing him.
If it really was Tsunade, then that was fine. More importantly, her status and position were already fixed. If she wanted to do something, Hiruzen could not stop her anyway.
In fact, he had even once considered passing the seat of Hokage to her.
He was old, and Biwako's death had drained the spirit from him. If Konoha had not truly lacked a suitable successor, he would have abdicated long ago.
But after regaining power, his desire to step down had gradually faded.
The feeling of holding power was simply too good.
When he walked through the village, everyone respectfully called him Hokage sama. When he returned home, he found gifts sent by his clansmen. His household wealth continued to grow, and the younger members of his clan praised him to the heavens.
So for now, he had no real intention of relinquishing power.
At most, he could use this time to train Tsunade gradually in handling Konoha's affairs.
"No, I can't say!" Naruto replied instinctively.
Then he immediately shook his head.
He remembered that older brother had specifically told him not to reveal his identity casually.
"Hm?"
Hiruzen's brows furrowed.
Of course he understood what Naruto's first reaction meant.
So it was not a big sister.
Could it be Jiraiya?
Given Jiraiya's personality, something like that was entirely possible.
"Then was it a white haired old man?" Hiruzen asked again.
This time, Naruto said nothing at all.
He was a man who kept his promises. Since he had said he would not tell, then he would not tell.
Seeing that, Hiruzen chose not to push further.
Still, he remembered clearly that the ANBU teams monitoring and protecting Naruto had never reported anyone suspicious approaching him, nor had they reported Jiraiya's presence.
So what exactly had happened?
"Grandpa, do you want some grilled fish?" Naruto asked, already skewering the fish.
Although he hated wasting food, he still cleaned out the innards the way Amamiya Kenichi had taught him earlier.
"Then thank you, little Naruto," Hiruzen said with a warm laugh.
But as he looked at Naruto, something complicated flickered in his eyes.
Fourth... you should understand my painstaking efforts, right?
Still, it seemed Naruto's protection needed to be strengthened again.
Hiruzen wanted to see exactly who had contacted Naruto and taught him that chakra extraction method.
If it was Jiraiya, then there was no issue.
But if it was someone else...
He hoped his guess was wrong.
"I wonder how Konoha is doing right now."
Sitting aboard his airship, Amamiya Kenichi looked ahead thoughtfully.
He had already entered the Land of Fire, but to make sure Koyuki remained safe, he had still left a Shadow Clone behind in the Land of Snow.
In the end, though, this trip was only meant to let him check on Naruto and siphon off some of the Nine Tails' chakra. There was no need to fight.
He only needed to stay hidden.
He had also entrusted the observation work to a Shadow Clone. With Koyuki present, there was no need to worry about Yayoi Yusuke trying anything. As for the other test subject, there was even less to worry about.
To ensure the experiment's accuracy, Amamiya Kenichi had even gone out of his way to activate the Uchiha bloodline genes in that genin, allowing her to successfully become a two tomoe user. He had then found another genin and turned her into a one tomoe user as well.
That way, he could properly verify whether parasites were affected by the Sharingan in all three stages.
In truth, Amamiya Kenichi felt that one stage should have been enough.
After all, Yayoi Yusuke himself had already reached three tomoe. If even that did not affect the parasite, then one tomoe and two tomoe would obviously be even less of a problem.
Still, for the sake of reliable experimental proof, and to avoid unexpected variables, he had gone through the full, cumbersome process.
"However, Konoha now has some anti air capability. Flying there directly might attract attention."
Amamiya Kenichi was currently thinking through how he should enter Konoha when he recalled the airborne objects Konoha had used before.
He had to admit that the Ninja World did not lack geniuses.
They had even managed to replicate airships.
He wondered...
Then, just as that thought crossed his mind, Amamiya Kenichi noticed something strange.
He had only just entered the Land of Fire, yet in the sky near the border, he spotted several black dots.
"...But isn't this progress a little too fast?"
Looking at those distant shapes flying through the air, Amamiya Kenichi's mouth twitched.
Although he had known Konoha might eventually put airships to military use, he had not expected them to move this quickly.
And were they really not worried about the secret leaking?
But after thinking it over, they really might not care anymore.
The existence of hot air balloons and airships would inevitably be noticed by spies. Even if Konoha tried to hide them, it would be useless. Sooner or later, the news would get out.
And if that was the case, Konoha was very likely...
"Damn!"
Amamiya Kenichi slammed a foot down in sudden realization.
How had he missed something so obvious?
Since Konoha could not hide the existence of airships, then they would definitely use them to earn huge profits, especially from places like Iwagakure and Kumogakure, both of which would surely be interested in such a thing.
Iwagakure, in particular, had always prided itself on its mountainous terrain and natural defenses. Those cliffs and rocky peaks were supposed to protect the village from invasion.
But with airships, those vaunted defenses became a complete joke.
"I wonder if Konoha has already started negotiating. If they have..." Amamiya Kenichi suddenly felt genuine annoyance.
That was supposed to be his money.
"No, that's not quite right."
He paused, then quickly found the flaw in the situation.
Konoha could indeed make money with hot air balloons, but the problem was that hot air balloons were one thing, and true airships were another. Konoha still had not mastered the technology needed to make proper manned airships.
Which meant...
He still had the upper hand.
Konoha could earn some money, sure, but it would only be small money, and they might not even have started yet.
He, on the other hand, could go straight for the big profits.
Originally, Amamiya Kenichi had not intended to reveal airship technology so casually. But now that Konoha had already begun replicating the concept, true airships were only a matter of time.
In that case, he might as well seize the opportunity and make money first.
He could extort a massive sum from all the great ninja villages.
As for whether they would pay?
Unless they were complete idiots, they absolutely would.
After all, if other villages obtained airships while they did not, how exactly were they supposed to deal with enemies from the sky?
His nickname, Heavenly Demon, proved the point clearly enough. Before he appeared, the Ninja World had never seriously considered aerial enemies at all. The one exception had been Konoha, which had sealed away the relevant technology and let the old Sky Ninja Village vanish into history.
"That's true, but if I go alone, there may be problems. So..."
Amamiya Kenichi rubbed his chin.
He needed outside help, an ally strong enough to help pressure the others.
He did not know whether all the ninja villages would be willing to cooperate with him. Kumogakure, in particular, had a huge grudge against him. Given the personalities of A and B, they might very well rush out singing and rapping before trying to beat him to death.
So it was necessary to bring along someone truly dangerous.
Which meant...
"So you came to me?"
Orochimaru looked at his disciple with a faintly amused expression.
Amamiya Kenichi had stated his little scheme outright, which amused Orochimaru. Still, he also felt that what he said made sense.
Since there was money to be made, there was no reason to let Konoha be the only one profiting from it.
Experiments were extremely expensive. Nothing could be done without money, and Orochimaru himself was not exactly flush with funds.
"That won't be a problem. Oh, and by the way, I already handed over the Sharingan transplant matter to Konoha. I'll give you five hundred million."
Orochimaru tossed over a scroll.
Amamiya Kenichi immediately caught it and stored it away.
Five hundred million.
That was not a small amount.
He could make several thermobaric bombs with that alone. It would make later negotiations much easier.
"Let's go. Since we're dealing in information, the sooner the better."
Orochimaru stood up.
He understood the value of time sensitive intelligence. The Ninja World had no laws protecting intellectual property. Everyone copied whatever they could.
No one needed permission.
Only books had something close to intellectual property, and even that was flimsy. There were pirated versions of Jiraiya's novels everywhere.
"Alright, Sensei. Just wait a moment while I grab a few things."
Amamiya Kenichi hurried back to the lab to pack what he needed, then followed Orochimaru aboard the airship.
"Sensei, where do you think our first stop should be?" he asked.
"Hm. Sunagakure first. Then Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and finally Hidden Mist."
Orochimaru made the decision almost immediately.
Amamiya Kenichi had no objection. He did not particularly care about the order, and if Orochimaru had chosen it, then there was probably a reason for it.
.....
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