Chapter 68: Money is Needed!

"Snake Bro, I've already told you most of what I know about the Sharingan."

"Hand on your heart—do you think charging you a hundred million ryō for a pair of three–tomoe Sharingan is really that expensive?"

Senshi had just rattled off a bunch of "hot facts" about the Sharingan to Orochimaru.

Sure, they're effectively hot-swappable, ready to use once transplanted. But without a special constitution, simply being unable to deactivate them at will becomes a huge liability.

Look at Kakashi, an undisputed genius—he's been dragged down to a '50-50' reputation largely because of his Sharingan. His chakra consumption has become the stuff of legend; people practically use him as a measurement unit for chakra.

So while obtaining a Sharingan might be relatively easy, getting one that you can fully and perfectly utilize is a whole different problem.

Granted, thanks to his system's rewards, Senshi actually wouldn't have any real trouble handling it. But if he didn't make Orochimaru sweat a little, how else could he drive up the price?

Thus, Senshi continued his pitch. "I've already told you: There are only three Uchiha left in the entire shinobi world. Obito and Itachi are both useless to you. That leaves only Sasuke."

Orochimaru rocked his snake-like head, thinking it over. "That's true."

"But Sasuke's just a kid," Senshi pointed out, shrugging. "And now that you've got the power of the Yamata no Orochi Fruit in your body, are you really going to give that up just to take over a little Uchiha boy? Or wait until he grows up?"

At that, Orochimaru fell silent.

Senshi's argument wasn't without merit. Once Orochimaru realized neither Obito nor Itachi could be of any real use to him, he had briefly considered Sasuke. But the kid wasn't his priority at all.

Yes, in the original timeline, Orochimaru eventually decided on making Sasuke his new vessel—though that was more out of desperation. Kimimaro was on death's door, and Orochimaru's own body was failing. Even so, Orochimaru, convinced of his success, ended up getting reverse-killed by Sasuke. Though he survived in a fragmented form, he was out of action for quite a while.

Senshi absolutely did not want that repeating in this world. He was trying to talk Orochimaru out of it, worried that if Orochimaru did set his sights on Sasuke, not even having eight lives would be enough to keep him safe.

Let's not forget that Sasuke currently has a tutoring contract with Senshi. If Orochimaru also came after Sasuke, then Sasuke would be learning from both Senshi and Orochimaru simultaneously. Add in Sasuke's own stubborn, obsessive personality and the rage that drives him, and his growth would skyrocket. Soon enough, Sasuke would be far beyond Orochimaru's control.

And if that ended badly, Orochimaru might wind up dead. As for Senshi, that would mean losing out on future mission rewards. That was unacceptable.

Luckily, Orochimaru wasn't all that fixated on Sasuke right now. For one, Orochimaru was still strong and healthy, with both his arms intact—he was in his prime and didn't see much worth in a mere Uchiha child. For another, raising Sasuke would require time and resources. It'd be more cost-effective to rely on Senshi, the "walking task-completion machine."

After all, up to this point, with Senshi's frightening abilities and extensive intel network, there was no task he couldn't accomplish.

Having worked it through in his mind, Orochimaru's expression shifted to a sly grin. "Yes, indeed. Which brings us to the real question: How exactly do you plan on getting me a pair of Sharingan that I can use perfectly?"

Senshi put on a pained look. "It's definitely tricky—though I do have a rough plan in mind, it's just that…" He trailed off, letting his gaze linger on Orochimaru.

Having dealt with Senshi for so long, Orochimaru instantly grasped his meaning. Gritting his teeth in reluctance, he snapped, "Fine. One hundred million is one hundred million!"

But then Orochimaru changed the subject. "I agreed to pay a hundred million for the Sharingan, but the Byakugan is a different story, isn't it? The Hyūga clan is still living in Konoha. All you'd have to do is sneak in and grab someone. Wouldn't that easily net you a pair of Byakugan?"

"I've even heard that over in Kirigakure, there's some 'Byakugan Killer' who already snatched one Byakugan. Doesn't that prove it's not that hard?"

Hearing that, Senshi rolled his eyes. "Ugh, Orochimaru, are you planning to be a 'one-eyed snake?' If you don't mind that, sure, I can go harvest that single Byakugan for you. Don't worry—it'll cost less than a hundred million."

Orochimaru was momentarily at a loss for words. He obviously didn't want just a single Byakugan.

Scowling, he said, "But if the Kiri shinobi could get hold of one, you definitely wouldn't be weaker than them. Right?"

Senshi shook his head. "Snatching a Byakugan isn't the hard part. But do you think simply getting them solves all the problems? Look at Ao from the Kiri—once he took that Byakugan, Konoha slapped him with a high-level wanted notice.

"And unlike the Kirigakure, which can take care of its own, I'm just a small-time wandering shinobi. Could I really afford to ignore Konoha's bounty on my head? I wouldn't be able to eat or sleep soundly. If I ended up mentally unstable from all that pressure, who'd be responsible then?"

Orochimaru couldn't help but stare at Senshi, who was now putting on a melodramatic show of anguish. In just a few days, Senshi's shamelessness seemed to have grown even faster than his power. This was the so-called "strongest mercenary" of the black market—the number of people out there who want him dead is basically infinite. And he's worried about a Konoha bounty?

Before Orochimaru could respond, Senshi continued, "Besides, the Hyūga Clan is divided into the Main House and the Branch House. Killing a few Branch members might not be a big deal, but if you kill someone from the Main House, you're basically kicking a hornet's nest.

"And anyway, sure, the Branch House Byakugan can be transplanted, but it's branded with the Caged Bird Seal. Is that really what you want?"

Hearing that, Orochimaru's eyes flickered with thought. He certainly knew about the Caged Bird Seal, a technique specifically designed to prevent Hyūga eyes from falling into enemy hands. Even if someone did manage to snatch those eyes, the seal would destroy them. That's why almost all Byakugan remain strictly within the Hyūga clan.

Obviously, Orochimaru wasn't interested in any sealed "Branch House eyes." Even if the clan slipped up and the eyes somehow escaped the seal intact, he had no interest in that sort of 'defective product.'

After pondering it carefully, he realized Senshi's point was correct. Getting a fully functional pair of Byakugan was no easier than getting Sharingan in perfect working order.

Still suspicious, Orochimaru cast a sidelong glance at Senshi, who just gazed back with supposedly sincere eyes. But Orochimaru had a strong hunch that Senshi had some shady trick up his sleeve. And right now, only Senshi seemed capable of pulling it off.

So Orochimaru swallowed his doubts and said, "Fine—two hundred million it is. As long as you deliver the goods, two hundred million is no problem."

[New Employment Mission Accepted!]

[Client: Orochimaru]

[Goal: Acquire a pair of Sharingan and a pair of Byakugan, both fully usable]

[Reward: 200 million ryō]

[Rank: S-Rank]

[Mission Bonus: 200,000 Employment points]

Senshi looked at the system screen, clearly delighted. Good fortune puts one in a great mood! Even Orochimaru's grim, constipated expression now looked oddly handsome to him.

Seeing Senshi had accepted the job, Orochimaru asked, "So, Senshi, how do you plan to get the Byakugan, exactly?"

At that, Senshi shot Orochimaru a meaningful glance and spoke in a cryptic tone, "Perhaps granting the Branch House freedom from the Caged Bird Seal could earn their loyalty. At that point, obtaining Byakugan would be an easy matter."

With those words, Senshi invoked the power of his "Kāma" ability, disappearing from the spot. He left Orochimaru there, shocked into silence.

…

Outside the black market.

Senshi stepped out of the distorted space. The story he'd just spun to Orochimaru was largely nonsense. He could accomplish the real process more simply. But how else could he stress how 'hard' his job would be—and justify that hefty fee?

When you're out in the field, you have to inflate your own importance. Think of how massive this plan sounded—just to get Orochimaru two pairs of eyes he could use. Didn't that deserve a 200 million ryō payout?

With that in mind, Senshi hummed a tune as he headed back inside the black market. Obviously, he wasn't going to deliver the Byakugan or Sharingan to Orochimaru right away. He figured he'd do a few black market missions first and drop them off later. The pay for these smaller black market missions wasn't huge, but even the smallest crumbs add up.

"Never underestimate the value of small tasks," Senshi mused. With that, he pushed open a door and said, "Itachi, I'm back! You must be bored after such a long break. It's time we teamed up again for some missions!"

He was referring, of course, to Uchiha Itachi—an incredible 'brand name' just sitting here. Letting him go unused would be a crime.

But when he opened the door, there was no one around. A bad feeling settled in Senshi's gut. Could it be that his beloved partner, his dear brother in arms, his perfect collaborator, Uchiha Itachi, didn't wait around like they'd agreed?

"No way…" he muttered. He hurried forward, spotting a note on the table. Picking it up, he read only four concise words:

"Summoned by the organization. Don't worry."

Behind them was a small crow's mark. One glance was enough for Senshi to know who had left this message.

The sky seemed to fall.

Itachi… ran off?

Senshi glared at the slip of paper, grinding his teeth. That precious 'living brand name' had vanished. Of course his mission efficiency would plummet now, costing him time and money—both in direct rewards and Employment points.

And whose fault was that? Itachi's. That guy was now indirectly depriving him of who knows how many Employment points. Wait… if you think about it, those were Senshi's to earn, so if they vanished, that means Itachi now owed him that much!

Clenching the paper, Senshi cursed, "Itachi, how dare you run off like that! Do you know how much you've made me lose— how much you've cost the organization?" The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became.

But Itachi was broke. There was no way to squeeze any money out of him. Yet Senshi just couldn't swallow this frustration.

At last, he made a ruthless decision: he'd train Sasuke into the strongest "Pokémon" possible. Once Sasuke encountered Itachi, he'd unleash some real payback—and Itachi would learn the meaning of "true cruelty."

That thought brought a mysterious smile to Senshi's face. If Karin were around, she'd know that whenever Senshi smiled like this, someone was about to have a very bad day.

…

Meanwhile, a weary Itachi had returned to the Akatsuki hideout. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine, as if something terrifying had locked onto him. He could guess who it was—Senshi must have noticed his absence.

Even so, Itachi felt no regrets. Just three days at Senshi's side had been more exhausting than his entire tenure in the Anbu. Another few days, and he might die of overwork before ever reuniting with Sasuke.

"Senshi is definitely not someone I want to get mixed up with again," Itachi thought with lingering dread. He yawned, quickly laid down in his room, and finally succumbed to a deep sleep he hadn't enjoyed in a long time.

…

Senshi had his own concerns, but Danzō had bigger problems on his end. The Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, in his ninja career, completed a massive number of missions. But even if we take the lowest reward for each mission and then account for Konoha's split of the earnings, that legendary Kage-level ninja only racked up around 100 million ryō in personal income over his entire career.

Yes, even someone as great as Minato earned only about 100 million ryō through missions, after all the standard splits and minimum payouts.

And yet Danzō had "misappropriated" 1 billion (ten times that)—which basically required the combined lifetime efforts of ten Kage-level ninjas like Minato to accumulate.

…

Konoha, Root Division.

A member of the Shimura clan walked up to Danzō, looking nervous. His name was Shimura Isshin, responsible for expanding the clan's territory.

Glancing at Danzō, who was seated high above him, Isshin spoke in a trembling voice, "Lord Danzō, our latest application… was denied again."

Danzō frowned, displeasure written all over his face.

Seeing that, Isshin hastily added, "It was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, who rejected it. There's nothing we could do…"

Hearing that, Danzō slammed his fist on the desk. With a bang, the wooden tabletop broke into splinters.

"Again with this nonsense!"

"I've served Konoha from the shadows my entire life—and this is how the village treats the Shimura clan?"

Furious, he waved Isshin away, then called over another subordinate. "That assignment I gave you—how's it going?"

The kneeling Root ninja bowed his head. "Lord Danzō, Lord Sarutobi Hiruzen has cordoned off the area for his own 'vital matters.' Right now, only the Anbu are allowed in. We of Root have been shut out completely."

Danzō's anger flared even hotter. "He's even pushing his reach into Root, is he?" he snapped. "I want to see what Sarutobi Hiruzen's plotting. Does he think this village is his personal property?"

With that, Danzō stormed out and marched to the Hokage's office in a fury.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, pipe in hand, looked a bit surprised to see him. In a friendly tone, he said, "Danzō, what brings you here instead of Root?"

"Hiruzen, what exactly are you trying to do?" Danzō snarled, face twisted with rage. "It's only been a few days, and already you've reassigned all members of the Shimura clan from their posts, rejected every Root request, and sealed off every mission site we planned to go to—barring us from entry."

"What is your goal here, Hiruzen? This is Konoha, not the Sarutobi estate. I'm not dead yet!"

At that, Sarutobi Hiruzen dropped his genial facade. His face grew cold as he said, "Yes, Danzō. This is Konoha, not the Shimura estate or your Root. You took one billion ryō from the village treasury—without a single word."

"That's one billion, not a million or ten million. On a normal day, if you borrowed a bit, I'd turn a blind eye. Even a hundred million or two, maybe I'd pretend not to see. But one billion? Even for Konoha, that's an astronomical amount!"

Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane (the two advisors) turned their gazes on Danzō, waiting for his response.

Glaring, Danzō insisted, "I never took that money!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a mocking laugh. "I don't care if you did or didn't—until that one billion ryō reappears in Konoha's treasury, you'll keep being blocked at every turn."

"And I don't mean for a day or two—I mean indefinitely, Danzō. Do keep that in mind."

It was obvious he was refusing to back down.

Danzō was stunned; Hiruzen was sounding more like the fearless 'God of Shinobi' he had once been, not the old man he'd grown used to. Even so, Danzō believed it would only be temporary. He was convinced that, by rights, he should be Hokage. If not for certain events back then…

He bit down his resentment. All he needed was the power of Hashirama's cells. If he could re-create another Senju Hashirama for Konoha—even if only partially—he could bring the entire ninja world to its knees under his command.

And here came Hiruzen, constantly trying to thwart him. Proof that Hiruzen was unfit for the Hokage's seat!

Smoldering, Danzō hissed, "You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"

In response, Hiruzen shot back, "Danzō, I'm the Hokage!"

Neither man would yield. The tension was thick, each glare like a dagger.

At that point, Koharu and Homura intervened. "Danzō, this time you really went too far. That sum of money must be returned to the treasury. Otherwise, how could we explain it to the Daimyō?"

Danzō turned to look at them, realizing that basically all of Konoha's top brass had sided with Hiruzen. Seeing no way to fight them all simultaneously, he left without another word.

Indeed, as Hiruzen had said, this was Konoha, not the Shimura estate nor Root. If Danzō had actually been Hokage… well, that one billion would all be used 'for Konoha,' not a single coin going to himself. Right now, he could only hope Orochimaru would hurry up with some breakthrough.

He imagined the scene: if Orochimaru cracked the secrets of Hashirama's cells, maybe he could awaken True Several Thousand Hands or Deep Forest Emergence—some technique that would let him personally humble those three old codgers. Then all his troubles would be solved.

"Hmph!"

With that thought, Danzō snorted and stomped out. Sarutobi Hiruzen watched him go, then sighed.

Danzō was growing more reckless by the day. Could it be that he is just too old to rein him in? Shaking his head, Hiruzen turned to Homura and Koharu. "We can't allow Danzō to run amok like this any longer."

…

Back in Root, Danzō unleashed his rage: "Damn that Sarutobi Hiruzen! This time he's even convinced Koharu and Homura to take his side… Hokage! That seat should have been mine!"

He roared and ranted, letting off steam, but he knew full well that all of Konoha's upper echelons had turned against him. If this continued, the Shimura clan and Root would have no room to operate. That gave him a pounding headache.

Waving over a trusted subordinate, he barked, "Go give Orochimaru a message—find out how his research is going!"

Just as the Root ninja was about to depart, Danzō stopped him. "Also tell him that no matter what, he needs to produce some tangible results soon!"

The subordinate nodded and vanished.

Left alone, Danzō could only stifle a groan and pin all his hopes on Orochimaru. If Orochimaru could at least show some preliminary finding—anything at all related to Hashirama's cells—then Danzō could use that to pacify the Third Hokage. Just proving the funds had been put to good use would force Koharu and Homura to back off, leaving only Hiruzen. And Hiruzen alone wasn't enough to remove him.

…

Root's courier moved quickly, and soon Orochimaru got Danzō's message. But Orochimaru had no intention whatsoever of catering to that old man's wishes.

What a joke—showing off something just to please Danzō? Orochimaru could see perfectly well that the man had already paid out that "jackpot" of one billion ryō. He had no more 'oil' left to squeeze out. Why should Orochimaru stick around to indulge him?

Still, with Danzō's eyes on him, staying too close to Konoha was now inconvenient. Not that Orochimaru was scared of him, but the old fool would keep pestering him.

Moreover, Orochimaru had another idea altogether. So he summoned Kabuto. "Kabuto, pack up. We're leaving."

Kabuto obeyed, though he asked, puzzled, "Lord Orochimaru, if we're leaving now, where are we going?"

Eyeing Kabuto, Orochimaru smirked. "To Kumogakure."

Hearing that, Kabuto was even more confused—Kumogakure? What were they going to do there? Orochimaru, spotting the unspoken question, explained:

"That Senshi fellow is indeed convenient: anything we want, he can get. But his prices are atrocious. Even though we have a few hundred million ryō on hand, at the rate Senshi collects payment, we'll be broke soon enough.

"So I have a plan to squeeze a hefty sum out of Kumo…"

As Kabuto listened, excitement glinted in his eyes. He had long coveted Orochimaru's Yamata no Orochi Fruit. If Orochimaru's plan worked and they made a fortune, Kabuto might be able to afford such a fruit for himself.

Eagerly, Kabuto packed up their things and set off with Orochimaru to Kumo.

~~~

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