Chapter 315. Isn't That Completely Normal?

Chapter 315. Isn't That Completely Normal?

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Speaking of which, over on the other side—

At this moment—

Orochimaru had already returned to his own base, carrying with him the investment funds from Yuto Group and the collaborative capital from Root Studio.

He had no choice.

He was out of money!

Even with so many bases, if the income didn't keep up, it would all fall apart sooner or later.

Something was bound to go wrong again.

He still hadn't forgotten about the last time those rebellious subordinates got fed to Manda.

If this continued...

He might lose everyone and have to start from scratch again.

He didn't know what Danzo wanted him to do, but for the sake of his dream, for the secrets of the Ninja World… there was no shame in it!

Making money wasn't the goal, but only money could support dreams.

To be honest—

The Ninja World had changed so fast, even he felt a little sentimental.

Those once-loyal underlings of his...

He'd just holed up underground doing experiments for a few years, and now that he was back—everyone was chasing after money?

Where was their original intention?

Their original will to become a ninja?

Their desire to change the Ninja World?

How could they all just forget?

Everyone had dreams—how could they be talking about money?!

Sipping tea poured by a subordinate, Orochimaru sighed, shaking his head with emotion as his gaze drifted toward the pile of money nearby.

"This Ninja World is already tainted."

"You're absolutely right, Orochimaru-sama!" the underling said awkwardly, seeing how much Orochimaru had changed after just one trip out.

Everyone remembered that terrifying incident when the striking ninjas were fed to Manda—it hadn't been that long!

It was still fresh in everyone's mind.

Too scary!

But thinking about the current state of all the bases, the underling glanced at the pile of money and hesitated before speaking. "Orochimaru-sama, it's been a long time since any subsidies have been issued. Many of the officers are starting to feel discontent. Quite a few ninjas, unable to get missions, have secretly gone off to deliver food elsewhere. They return very late, which delays their work. Some have even started slacking off. So this time…"

He trailed off.

Seeing Orochimaru frown, the underling was panicking inside. But he had no choice—it had to be said!

Everyone else is recharging 648 over and over, while we're still out here grinding online and working 007 offline, and the pay is pathetic.

"Don't worry~" Orochimaru, seeing the clearly nervous subordinate, didn't get angry. He licked his tongue and said with a smile, "I'm not mad! So, how much do all the bases still need?"

"After all these years, and with so many bases added up…" the underling sighed with relief and cautiously replied, "We're still short… 2 billion."

And that didn't even include benefits, insurance, or pensions!

After a moment of silence—

"…"

That much?!

Orochimaru was stunned for a second. The 1.5 billion wired over by Yuto Group could have supported him for four or five years back in the day.

Was inflation in the Ninja World really this bad?!

He narrowed his eyes at the underling. "Are our expenses really that high?"

"Orochimaru-sama… we've been behind on payments for over a year now!" The underling, seeing Orochimaru's dangerous look, broke out in a cold sweat and quickly explained, "Plus, experimental materials are much harder to acquire now. We can only buy from the Yuto Mall. They ship internationally with seven-day express delivery, but that costs extra. Because of the volume, we negotiated with the suppliers to settle accounts quarterly. But it's already been two quarters—they're demanding payment. No money, no materials! So…"

He hesitated, pulling a stack of invoices from his robe. "It really does add up to that much. Here are the receipts, Orochimaru-sama—please take a look."

Orochimaru stared at the stack of so-called receipts taken from a ninja pouch with a complicated expression.

You know, back then, he'd never needed to pay for materials at all!

Now this Ninja World… had become so vulgar.

Where was the pure Ninja World?

It was really nostalgic!

He waved his hand, sighed, "Take these away for now. And if anyone's dissatisfied…" He licked his tongue again, flashing a sinister grin, "Have them come see me personally. Manda—"

Ah right~, Manda was gone. He heard that Manda had nearly been turned into snake stew by a group of hateful rich people!

"It just so happens that I still need some materials for my experiments! Also~ tell them to behave. If I find out anything fishy… don't blame me for being rude!"

If it weren't for the shortage of qualified people right now, he would've just sacrificed the whole lot of those lost fools!

"Understood~" The underling shivered, quickly responded, and took the money before hurrying out.

Orochimaru… watched him rush off, let out a helpless sigh, and the usual smile faded from his face. He shook his head, gaze blankly drifting across the now-empty chamber.

"The Ninja World… has already been corrupted."

Just as he finished—

[I'm rich! I'm rich! I'm rich! I'm rich!]

A weird ringtone echoed.

Seriously—

That phone Danzo gave him had this kind of ringtone?

Disgusting.

Still, he hadn't expected the Yuto Group to build that signal tower so quickly.

Although… the distance was a bit far, and the signal was terrible—just loading a page took ages!

He pulled out the phone, saw the caller ID, narrowed his eyes slightly, and answered with a smile. "Danzo-sama, with so little money, you're making this very difficult for me~"

To make money... this is not shabby.

After all—

Everything he did was for his dream!

It had been how many years, and that old geezer still expected him to work for free?

Why couldn't he learn from Boss Yuto?

Just transfer the money up front!

…

"Achoo!"

Yuto rubbed his nose. Why did it feel like someone was thinking about his money again?

But then he thought—there were too many people thinking about it anyway, so he didn't care.

As a rich man, he had that kind of awareness.

As for the Caged Bird and Sharingan stuff... once he handed over all the materials and money to Orochimaru, he stopped worrying. From here on, he only cared about the results.

Looking at Yakushi Kabuto, whom he had invited into the shop to warm up, Yuto pondered for a moment, then asked, "How's it going in the medical department lately?"

"Not bad," Kabuto replied casually.

The relationships were too complicated—what was there to care about?

He thought for a second and added, "Just a bit busy. Konoha's anorectal techniques are really advanced, so now every ninja village is hoping to invite Konoha's medical ninjas to give lectures in their departments to help improve their own skills."

Rumor had it—

Konoha's Anorectal Department… was full of blood, sweat, and tears.

He didn't look too deeply into it. In any case, things were going well in the medical department.

At that moment—

"Hey~! Doctor Kabuto's here for milk tea too! And Boss Yuto, hey there! Manager Sato, the usual—extra hot, max toppings! It's freezing today!"

A familiar voice called out. Kabuto and Yuto turned to look at the bearded figure and gave a slight nod and smile in greeting.

Then—

They turned back around.

Yuto looked at Kabuto in surprise. "You're that close with Asuma?"

They seemed to have a pretty decent relationship.

"It's alright," Kabuto's eyes flickered with a complex look, then he shook his head lightly. "I've just done a few surgeries for him. Over in the medical department..." he paused, "everyone's pretty familiar with him."

A regular client!

Then Kabuto gave Yuto a suspicious glance. "Why'd you suddenly call me in? If you're looking for the director... she probably went home already!"

"???" Yuto blinked. Asuma goes to the hospital that often?

But he didn't dwell on it. Not like he was his son—why bother?

He kept his gaze on Kabuto. "You mean Nono? She's been pretty busy lately too. But today, I came specifically to see you. A few days ago, Nono told me you've been learning medical ninjutsu really fast, already hitting a bottleneck—basically a solo-level medical ninja. But if things keep going like this, you'll be on your own, so... she came to me, hoping I could take you to meet Tsunade-sama!"

"The director discussed this with you?" Kabuto gave Yuto a complicated look but still nodded. "So? What's your plan?"

"It depends on you~. If you want to visit Tsunade-sama, it's no problem."

He still had this face. And if not... well, he could always throw money at it.

But—

Thinking about Kabuto's future potential—not just a medical genius, but a biological genius—Yuto considered a bit and added, "I actually have a partner. If you go with him, you won't just learn medical knowledge, you'll pick up all kinds of skills. You'd just need to stay there for a while."

With Orochimaru... it'd be even simpler.

When he finished—

"There's someone who can rival Tsunade-sama in medical ninjutsu?" Kabuto froze slightly, then furrowed his brows, pondering. "I'll need to think about it."

After all, it meant leaving the village for a while... who knew how long. He was a little reluctant.

"Don't worry. If you want to come back, just come back with a car ride." Yuto seemed to read his thoughts and smiled. "It's a bit far, but not a hassle."

Just then—

Suddenly—

"Yuto! Yuto! I knew you'd be here!"

A flustered figure ran inside.

It was Jiraiya!

Except his anxious face made it seem like something serious had happened.

Yuto and Kabuto immediately stopped talking and looked at one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin with curiosity. "What's going on?"

"Ahh! I need your help right now." Jiraiya grabbed a nearby untouched hot milk tea, jabbed the straw in, took a big sip, and as the warmth pushed away the cold, he looked seriously at Yuto. "You have... special relationships with lots of women, right? You must know—"

Before he could finish—

"What nonsense are you spouting?! Don't believe rumors, don't spread them! Just normal relationships! All normal!" Yuto cut him off immediately, turning to Kabuto with an awkward smile. "Don't listen to him! Really! It's nothing like that!"

He said they were normal—why didn't anyone believe him?

However—

"They're all 'normal relationships,' I get it," Kabuto rolled his eyes. Who didn't know already?

He adjusted his glasses, ordered another milk tea from Manager Sato, then stood up. "I'll go talk to the director about it!"

After speaking—

He turned and left.

Leaving Yuto a bit emotional. He helplessly shook his head and turned to Jiraiya. "Alright, spill it. What's the issue?"

"It's serious!" Jiraiya had calmed down a bit and sighed. "For some reason, Tsunade seems to hate me more and more these past few days!"

"Isn't that completely normal?"

"???"

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