Chapter 14: Konoha Unlimited Irresponsible Corporation

After delivering their spoils to a nearby outpost, Ryuto's squad resumed their journey southward to begin their patrol mission.

In the blink of an eye, a week passed. The squad, having traveled through a peaceful and uneventful journey, finally arrived at Yugakure, the Village Hidden in Hot Water, within the Land of Hot Water.

Despite being known as a shinobi village, Yugakure was famously dubbed "The Village That Forgot War."

Rinjin had been here once before, but due to the nature of his mission, he hadn't stayed long before traveling with the Katō family caravan to Konoha.

Now, after a week of roughing it in the wilderness, the four of them finally found a place to rest.

As its name suggests, Yugakure was abundant in hot springs, with countless hot spring hotels and inns scattered throughout.

In fact, this village's prosperity ranked among the best in the entire ninja world.

Hot springs, casinos, kabuki theaters, luxury hotels—this place was a haven for indulgence, filled with all kinds of dens of pleasure and extravagance.

It was also a favorite destination for daimyos and wealthy merchants from various nations.

Walking through the bustling streets, Ryuto, Yui, and Kohaku gradually let their taut nerves relax.

Although Yugakure's combat strength was essentially nonexistent, its rate of disturbances was remarkably low.

After all, you never knew if the person you brushed past on the street might be the son of a daimyo or some wealthy tycoon.

In such a precarious environment, even passing gas required caution, lest it offend someone important.

However, as members of Kumogakure, Ryuto and his team didn't share such concerns.

Because, well, the situation went something like this:

A normal village leader: "What? You hit the daimyo of the Land of Water? This is terrible! Lock this guy up immediately!"

The Third Raikage: "What? You hit the daimyo of the Land of Water? Excellent! Finally, an excuse to pick a fight! Brothers, let's go!"

As evening approached, lanterns began to light up across the village.

Trailing behind the squad, Rinjin's gaze was suddenly drawn to a particularly dazzling location.

It was a sprawling compound, its traditional walls adorned with exquisite lanterns of various colors, each bearing the large character "花" (Flower).

The grand entrance bustled with activity, with carriages coming and going, and men laughing and walking arm-in-arm as they entered this mysterious estate.

Looking up at the scene, Rinjin's lips curled into a sly smile as he murmured to himself, "So this is the legendary Hanamichi Ichome Honban, huh?"

As Rinjin was lost in thought, Yui, walking ahead, twitched her ears curiously.

Soon, the four of them found a shabby inn without hot springs to stay in for the night.

Inside the room, Ryuto wore a serious expression as he addressed the other three.

"Take a day to gather intel on your own. Meet back here tomorrow night. Remember, we're still on a mission. Don't do anything unrelated to the task!"

With that, he led the way out of the room.

Seeing this, Rinjin stood up and followed him out.

Finding a secluded spot, Rinjin carefully sensed his surroundings before making a one-handed seal. In an instant, his figure vanished.

The next moment, Rinjin appeared in a pitch-black underground chamber.

Suddenly, a matte kunai was pressed against his neck, and a cold yet familiar voice rang out.

"Don't move. Who are you?"

Rinjin slowly raised his hands and weakly asked, "Dog Bro, is that you?"

Silence. After a long pause, a candle was lit, its warm glow dispelling the oppressive darkness.

"Don't call me Dog Bro," grumbled the voice as the kunai was withdrawn from Rinjin's neck.

At the same time, a slightly exasperated voice sounded from behind him.

Rinjin scratched his head with a sheepish grin and turned around to throw an arm around Tsuchinu's shoulders.

"Dog Bro, it's been a month! Why are you acting so distant? Remember when we used to share a bed and—"

Before Rinjin could finish, Tsuchinu clamped a hand over his mouth.

Beneath his mask, Tsuchinu's face darkened.

He knew exactly what Rinjin was referring to—the time he had released the "monster" inside him. That incident had scared him so badly he fell off the rafters and ended up being hugged by the creature all night, nearly wetting himself.

Shoving those traumatic memories aside, Tsuchinu rolled his eyes and grumbled in his deep voice, "Do you have intel or not?"

"Nope!" Rinjin replied cheerfully, shaking his head without hesitation.

"Then why are you here?"

"I missed you."

Tsuchinu nearly spat out a mouthful of blood at Rinjin's earnest expression.

Taking a couple of deep breaths to calm himself, Tsuchinu finally growled, "What do you want?"

"Well..." Rinjin hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Dog Bro, I have an idea."

"What kind of idea?" Tsuchinu asked warily.

As someone who had dealt with Rinjin the longest in Konoha, Tsuchinu knew him all too well.

To put it simply, Rinjin wasn't inherently dangerous. But the moment he got one of his bizarre ideas, he became extremely dangerous.

So, any "idea" needed to be nipped in the bud!

Rinjin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, oblivious to Tsuchinu's guarded stance, and began explaining, "I want to start a company!"

"A company? What's that?" Tsuchinu interrupted.

"It's like a kabushiki kaisha," Rinjin clarified.

"Are you short on money?" Tsuchinu interrupted again.

"Yes!" Rinjin nodded. "So I was thinking—"

"How much do you need?" Tsuchinu cut him off a third time, desperate to derail Rinjin's train of thought.

Rinjin shot Tsuchinu a puzzled glance before raising his fingers to calculate.

"Not much. Just a billion or two in startup capital. Why don't you lend me some?"

At those words, Tsuchinu's head shook violently as he backed away repeatedly.

What the hell?!

Not much? A billion or two?!

Fine, just tell me your dangerous idea already!

Seeing Tsuchinu's frantic headshaking, Rinjin didn't mind. Instead, his face lit up with excitement as he shared his vision.

"I'm planning to name the company: Konoha Unlimited Irresponsible Corporation. And our goal is to achieve world peace."

Tsuchinu was utterly speechless.

Unlimited... Irresponsible...

"And so!" Rinjin's persuasive voice rang out again, "I want to invite you to join as our first-ever general manager!"

Although he had no idea what a "general manager" was, Tsuchinu shook his head firmly.

"No, no, no. I was born a man of Konoha, and I'll die a ghost of Konoha. I absolutely won't join your irresponsible company!"

"It's Konoha Unlimited Irresponsible Corporation!" Rinjin corrected him. "And besides, our company isn't an organization. We won't restrict your comings and goings. To put it simply, you can leave whenever you want, no strings attached."

Even so, Tsuchinu continued to shake his head.

Seeing this, Rinjin adopted a disappointed look, as if lamenting Tsuchinu's lack of ambition. He sidled up to him, draped an arm around his shoulders, and spoke in a coaxing tone.

"Dog Bro, don't you want to earn some extra cash? Let's be honest here—your monthly salary of ten thousand ryō is barely enough for anything! You won't even be able to afford baby formula in the future!"

Tsuchinu weakly replied, "Rinjin, I make twenty thousand ryō a month."

What?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi told me it was ten thousand!

That old geezer even said, 'All of ANBU gets ten thousand. Don't complain.'

Damn it, I've been scammed!

Hiruzen Sarutobi... hmph! Danzō Shimura, I'll remember this grudge!

Taking two deep breaths to suppress his frustration, Rinjin forced a businesslike smile back onto his face.

"Fine, even if you make twenty thousand a month, it's enough to support a family. But what about your time? You're in the ANBU, working day and night, going on missions that last months or even years. What about your kids? What if your wife ends up with the guy next door?"

He leaned in closer, his tone growing more intense.

"Think about it. One day, if you fail a mission and die, the guy next door will spend your pension, sleep with your wife, and beat your kids. Can you accept that?"

Overwhelmed by Rinjin's relentless rhetoric, Tsuchinu shrank back and mumbled weakly, "Rinjin, there's no one in our village with the surname Wang."

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