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Chapter 188 Konoha Knows We Don't Have
"But even so, those unruly people from the Land of Waves aren't satisfied. Just because I need to recoup the costs of the bridge I built, they're charging tolls, and they want to have someone blow up my bridge so they can build their own." Gato complained incessantly. "Hokage, the average moral standard of the people in the Land of Waves is far inferior to that of our Land of Fire."
Uchiha Toko was also baffled by Gato's words. When did the unruly people of Konoha become something to talk about in terms of moral standards?
But when he thought that Gato was comparing Tazuna from the original story—who concealed mission information, played with the lives of hired ninjas, and then morally blackmailed them after the truth came out—Uchiha Toko's lips twitched, and he didn't refute Gato.
"Perfect, then let the three of them come with you." Seeing this, Uchiha Toko simply handed the task over to his three disciples.
"This... Your Hokage," Gato glanced at the three boys beside him, "It's not that I don't trust you three young masters, but according to the intelligence my subordinates have sent back, the opponent has the help of Zabuza Momochi, an elite Jonin from Northern Mist Village. Although you three young masters are exceptionally talented, it's still too dangerous for you to face such a veteran elite Jonin."
"Oh? He's here too?" Uchiha Touko almost couldn't hold back his laughter. Good heavens, does Zabuza really have to be the boss of this beginner village?
However, Uchiha Touko wasn't worried about their strength. With their current strength, even if they encountered a weaker Kage-level powerhouse, such as the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, they might not be able to defeat him, but they could still escape unscathed. Zabuza's dream of having the Sixth Hokage on his left, the Seventh Hokage on his right, and Indra under his feet, like in the original timeline, was probably out of the question.
Moreover, upon hearing Zabuza's name, Sasuke and Neji became excited.
"Momochi Zabuza?" Sasuke sneered. "Is he the wielder of the Executioner's Blade that my father beat to a pulp? Perfect, I'll use him to sharpen my Purple Lightning. My teacher's Lightning Strike could crush an entire village with a single strike; my Purple Lightning could easily overpower half of Kirigakure."
"A ninja from Northern Kirigakure? Sounds like someone of considerable importance among them?" Neji pondered for a moment before looking at Uchiha Touko. "Teacher, if we capture him alive, will the village help us exchange him for the Byakugan that our Hyuga clan lost?"
"You three should capture him first," Uchiha Touko said. "Capturing him alive is much harder than killing him."
"Capture him alive, right, Neji? I'll help you," Naruto said, rubbing
his hands together eagerly. "Alright, go back and prepare, then set off. Neji, this mission is your responsibility, is that alright?" Uchiha Touko asked.
"Of course," Neji nodded.
"So, is there anything you three young masters need me to prepare? If you have any needs, please feel free to let me know, and I will do my best to meet them," Kado said, seeing that Uchiha Touko seemed determined to entrust this task to his three disciples. He then turned to the three and said,
"Uh, Uncle Kado, may I stop by Qingquan Town on the way to eat their ramen?" Naruto suddenly raised his hand at this moment.
"Of course," Kado laughed. "Ramen in Siqing Town, is that right? I'll arrange it right away and make sure you can eat the best ramen there when you arrive."
"Naruto, don't cause trouble for your mission employer!" Neji reminded him at this moment.
"Young Master Neji, don't be so polite. We're old acquaintances. You helped me deal with troublesome enemies, so it's only right that I help you with some of your daily difficulties." Kado laughed.
"In that case, then prepare a set of shuriken and explosive tags for me." Sasuke didn't stand on ceremony with Kado at this moment.
"Okay, is there anything else you need?" Kado asked. "Young Master Neji, do you need me to prepare ninja tools for you?"
"No need." Neji shook his head. "Let's set off as soon as possible."
"Alright." Kado nodded. "Then, shall we meet at the south gate of Konoha in three hours?"
"Okay, let's arrange it like that." Neji nodded.
…
After Neji and the others left, Uchiha Inaho also entered the office and placed an invitation on Uchiha Touko's desk.
"What's this?" Uchiha Touko asked curiously.
"It's an invitation from the Fifth Mizukage. Next week marks the third anniversary of the Fifth Mizukage's official inauguration, and he plans to hold a ninja parade," Uchiha Inahisa explained. "The Fifth Mizukage wants to invite you to attend."
"Couldn't Commander Fugaku just attend?" Uchiha Touko frowned. "I remember saying that Fugaku could make all decisions regarding the Land of Water's garrison."
"It's like this," Uchiha Inahisa explained, "Commander Fugaku needs to arrange for the Konoha garrison to participate in their parade."
Uchiha Touko: ???
"Our Konoha ninja army is participating in their Kirigakure parade?" Uchiha Touko felt he had misheard and asked repeatedly, "Under what pretext? As specially invited guests?"
"No, under the pretext of the Mizukage's garrison, and according to the arrangement, they're the final act." Uchiha Inahira said, utterly speechless. Takagi Seiman's shameless behavior completely shattered his worldview. What, as if he wanted other countries in the ninja world to know that Southern Kirigakure was Konoha's dog?
"Is Takagi Seiman crazy?! When did the ninja world start including garrison formations in parades?" Uchiha Touko said incredulously.
"According to the Mizukage, this is a testament to the friendship between our two countries," Uchiha Inahira said.
"Go tell Fugaku that I won't be going. Let him represent me at the parade, and send him a Hokage short-sleeved shirt." Uchiha Touko said. To be honest, even he, as the Hokage, felt a little ashamed to participate in such a parade.
At this moment, in the Mizukage's office in Southern Kirigakure.
Takagi Seiwan sat in his office chair, instructing his subordinates on the details of the military parade.
"Lord Mizukage, are we really going to invite the Konoha garrison to our parade?" one of Takagi Seiwan's subordinates hesitated. "If we do, there will be even more voices of discontent in the village."
"Discontent with me? Do those people even know who they're talking to?" Takagi Seiwan's eyes narrowed. "During this time, have the guards strengthen their control over the village. I don't want our distinguished guests to hear any discordant voices!"
"Yes, sir!" Takagi Seiwan's subordinate acknowledged the order and left.
"Also," Takagi Seiwan looked at another subordinate, "our Kirigakure ninjas must dress smartly on the day of the parade! Let the rest of the ninja world see the spirit of Kirigakure!"
"Yes!" the Kirigakure ninja nodded. "Are we trying to show Konoha that we can also protect the Land of Water?"
"No, we're trying to let the civilians of the Land of Water know that we are protecting the Land of Water, and that Konoha knows we don't!" Takagi Seiwan said.
...
While this ridiculous parade was being prepared, Naruto and his two companions arrived in the Land of Waves with Gato.
"Is this the bridge?" Neji looked at the bridge spanning a strait, connecting the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire, and turned to look at Gato.
"That's right." Gato nodded. "I funded the construction of this bridge. After its completion, the journey between the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire has been shortened from 3 hours by boat to 20 minutes, greatly increasing the convenience of trade between the two countries."
"This is a good thing for the Land of Waves, right? With improved trade with the Land of Fire, the living standards of the common people in the Land of Waves should also improve, so why would they hire ninjas to sabotage it?" Neji said.
"What's the toll rate here?" Sasuke glanced at the checkpoint on the Land of Fire's side, where the staff were busy collecting tolls, and then turned to Gato to ask.
"The toll fees I charge are absolutely reasonable," Gato said. "The current toll fees are based on rigorous calculations of the current traffic volume and the cost of building this bridge. I estimate the payback period has been extended to 15 years, so the toll fees are not unacceptable for merchants."
Gato was joking; he was now a business tycoon in the ninja world, long past the stage of accumulating capital through unscrupulous means. He was now focused on fame, and the money this bridge could generate was nothing to him.
"So, it's the people from the Land of Waves who feel you're taking what they deserve," Sasuke said, looking at the checkpoints on the Land of Fire's side of the bridge. Whether crossing from the Land of Fire or the Land of Waves, the toll booths were always on the Land of Fire's side.
"Uncle Gato, you employ people from the Land of Fire on this bridge, right?" Sasuke analyzed.
"Of course, these job-creating opportunities should definitely be reserved for the Land of Fire. As for the poor people of the Land of Waves, they've already earned far more money in the trade between the two countries than they ever could before. What more could they want?" Gato said.
"It's not poverty that's the problem, but injustice," Sasuke said, frowning. "Not everyone in the Land of Waves can make money in the cross-sea trade, but the people on their coast see our residents making money every day. Naturally, they're envious."
"That's true. The ones who hired ninjas to cause trouble are probably the villagers living on the opposite coast," Neji said.
"What are you talking about?" Naruto overheard their conversation, but he was completely confused, not knowing how his two companions had come to this conclusion.
Sasuke and Neji ignored Naruto and instead looked at Gato. "However, I didn't expect them to be able to hire an elite Jonin. Have the mission prices in Northern Mist Village dropped this low?"
"Young Master Sasuke, you may not know this, but in Northern Mist Village, income relies entirely on the mission earnings of the village's ninjas. They also owe Kumogakure a large debt, so they accept any mission offered." "
That explains it. Supply exceeds demand, naturally leading to lower mission prices," Sasuke said. "However, even their ninja swordsmen need to take on these low-paying, demanding missions. It seems Father is putting a lot of pressure on them." "
Young Master Sasuke knows about economics?" Gato looked at Sasuke in surprise.
"Hehe, my teacher taught me a little bit about it," Sasuke chuckled.
"No wonder," Gato said. "His Hokage's unique insights into economics sometimes surpass even those of someone like me who has been navigating the business world for many years."
Gato sighed as he sized up Sasuke. In Gato's mind, Sasuke's importance had risen again. Judging from the current situation, Sasuke was very likely to succeed Uchiha Tokō in the future. So, Sasuke was the person he and his successor would rely on for their livelihood.
"So what do we do now? Should we just wait for the people who planned to destroy the bridge to show themselves?" Naruto asked.
"No need." Sasuke shook his head. "Uncle Gato, please spread the word that you plan to hire some civilians from the coastal areas of the Land of Waves to work on the bridge, but on the condition that they tell us the whereabouts of the ninjas who destroyed the bridge and the identities of the people who hired them."
"I think it won't be long before some of them can't resist." Sasuke looked at the sparse villages along the coast of the Land of Waves on the other side of the bridge, a meaningful smile on his face.
"Yes, I'll arrange it right away." Gato nodded, giving Sasuke a meaningful look. Sasuke was already beginning to resemble Uchiha Touko.
...
At this moment, in Tazuna's home in the Land of Waves, Zabuza sat imposingly at the head of the table, eating a meager meal.
"Mr. Zabuza, try this." Tazuna placed a piece of meat in front of Zabuza, who silently accepted it and devoured it.
"Um, Lord Zabuza, when will your village's reinforcements arrive?" Tazuna asked.
"What's the rush?" Zabuza coldly glanced at Tazuna and said, "Don't forget, after we helped you destroy this Konoha bridge, Kirigakure will take a 40% stake in the bridge your Land of Waves built."
"Of course," Tazuna replied with a forced smile.
"Something terrible has happened!" Just then, a boy rushed into Tazuna's house, panting, "Gato has sent word that he wants to hire people from the Land of Waves to work on the bridge, but he's demanding we reveal the whereabouts of the ninjas he's hiring. Some people from the village have already headed towards the bridge!"
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(End of Chapter)