Chapter 204: Curing Tsunade and Itachi's Sickness, Share Economy!

Konoha Village – Mission Commission Center

Tsunade—dressed in a dark green robe, with light golden hair, a shapely figure, and accompanied by Shizune—arrived at the mission commission center to find one of Senshi's Wood-Style clones.

Noticing Tsunade, the Wood-Style clone wondered why "Baachan" would come to the commission center. Before that thought had even finished, Tsunade walked right up to him.

She got straight to the point, saying,

"Senshi, I want to work with you on a few collaborations."

At this, the Wood-Style clone perked up and smiled.

"Baachan, what sort of mission collaboration did you have in mind?"

Tsunade: (O_O)???

This felt off. She had heard that Senshi and Orochimaru called each other "brother," so why was she being addressed like an aunt now? She didn't realize that Senshi also referred to the Third Hokage and Ōnoki casually as "Sarutobi bro" and "Tsuchikage bro." By comparison, Tsunade was the oldest among them, which bumped her up to aunt status in his eyes.

Meanwhile, a swirling portal of pitch-black energy opened up not far behind Tsunade and Shizune. An adult-and-child pair with bright red hair—a clear sign of Uzumaki lineage—stepped out in front of the two women.

Karin glanced at Tsunade and was taken aback.

I thought Mei Terumī-nee was already unbeatable, but it looks like there's an even stronger competitor!

Senshi had no idea what "Foolish Karin The Many" was thinking. He just turned his attention back to Tsunade, eager to hear about the mission.

He had already burned through his accumulated Employment Points, and although he'd just earned another billion ryō in Sunagakure, he figured he'd need more if he wanted to unlock the advanced gacha feature.

Tsunade spoke again, wasting no time since Senshi's real body had joined them:

"Senshi, I'd like you to cure my fear of blood—and collaborate with me on a medical research project, something similar to your arrangement with Orochimaru."

Senshi: (O_O)???

Hearing this, he was momentarily puzzled. He wanted to say, Baachan, why not just say you want to copy Orochimaru's homework since no outsiders are listening? But realizing she'd explained her needs, plenty of ideas popped into his head.

Sure, Tsunade might be a legendary "cash cow" with a gambling habit, but if she got a little help, she could easily become a top earner.

She was an outstanding medical ninja, after all. She could help incorporate ingredients like the Hero Water, Senzu Beans, and other high-level materials into "Flying Rain Terrace," possibly in collaboration with Karin and the many White Zetsu.

Just like Orochimaru, once Tsunade got into a steady money-making rhythm, she would need to buy large amounts of high-end raw materials from him, and that would earn him even more commissions and Employment Points.

Satisfied with this line of thought, Senshi beamed.

"Baachan, you've come to the right person. I can handle all of that. Curing your fear of blood costs 100 million ryō. As for collaborating on a research project, it's another 100 million ryō per project plan."

Tsunade: (O_O)???

Shizune: (O_O)???

They were both floored. Tsunade knew better than anyone that hemophobia wasn't exactly a serious illness; sure, she couldn't cure it herself, but 100 million ryō for therapy sounded downright extortionate. And on top of that, Senshi wanted another 100 million ryō per project plan? That was pushing it.

After thinking for a moment, Tsunade frowned.

"Fear of blood isn't so serious that it warrants a 100-million-ryō fee. And charging another 100 million for each collaboration plan is unreasonable."

Of course, Senshi had quoted an inflated figure—standard "ask high, then negotiate" procedure. After Tsunade refused, he made a counter-offer:

"All right, Baachan, how about this? I cure your hemophobia and provide you with two project plans—with all the related support—to ensure you'll have ongoing profits. The total fee for the whole package is 400 million. How about it?"

She instantly felt tempted. Senshi's reputation for fulfilling commissions was impeccable. If he claimed these projects could earn her sustained profits, then it would happen.

And unlike before—when he was merely providing plans—now he was also offering implementation support, ensuring the ideas would actually work. But there was a catch: Tsunade didn't have 400 million. She only had 300 million.

After some thought, she proposed, "I'll pay you 300 million ryō for the entire package you just described. Deal?"

"Deal!" Senshi responded without hesitation.

[Mission Accepted]

[Client: Tsunade]

[Goal: Cure Tsunade's fear of blood and collaborate with her on two business proposals, including support]

[Reward: 300 million ryō]

[Rank: S]

[Bonus: 300,000 Employment Points]

Naturally, Senshi had already planned on teaming up with Tsunade. Getting paid for it was a pleasant bonus. His quick agreement left Tsunade feeling slightly uneasy, suspecting she might've still been ripped off somehow.

With the mission formalized, Senshi took out one of the "youth version" Sage Talismans he'd pulled in the gacha.

He'd done around forty sets of 100-pulls, so he had a decent stockpile—previously he'd assumed he might use them to cure Itachi. But it turned out Tsunade would be the first.

He slapped the youth-edition Sage Talisman onto Tsunade, and immediately, the glowing green light flowed into her body.

A short while later, Tsunade felt a tangible transformation from the inside out. She could tell, without even being tested at a hospital, that her hemophobia had been cured under that power.

After healing Tsunade's fear of blood, Senshi pulled out a blank scroll and used his near-master-level sealing skills to craft a sealing jutsu for a summoned creature.

Tsunade, Shizune, and Karin all watched curiously, unsure of what he was up to. It didn't take him long to finish, and he handed the newly-made scroll to Tsunade.

"Tsunade, our first joint project is 'shared summoning.' You've previously suggested that every three-person squad should include a medical ninja to boost survival rates, right? But there's another way—if medical ninja are in short supply, we don't necessarily need to change the three-person squad structure. Instead, we can have each three-person team acquire medical abilities."

"That's actually not very difficult. All a squad needs to do is rent a 'shared slug' from Baachan."

Just like that, he imported a "sharing economy" concept into the shinobi world. Normally, only Tsunade or Sakura could sign a contract with Katsuyu in the Shikkotsu Forest.

But that slug's medical abilities were extremely valuable for ordinary shinobi as well. Senshi's proposed plan: he'd supply Tsunade with a "100-card" increase in chakra capacity so she could summon, say, about one-tenth of the main slug's body.

That large slug would then split into numerous little slugs, which would stay in a specialized sealing scroll until needed to heal a ninja in the field.

The scroll he designed contained an environment comfortable for the slugs. As long as Tsunade negotiated with the Slug Sage, this idea would work.

During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Tsunade and Sakura had summoned a massive part of Katsuyu's main body to heal everyone on the battlefield. Tsunade could presumably do that on her own if she had more chakra. And now Senshi was planning the same approach, just in a new, commercial framework.

He explained his thoughts, step by step, to Tsunade, Shizune, and Karin, who initially found them rather puzzling. The idea of a "sharing economy" didn't exist in the shinobi world.

Tsunade carefully processed the information and then asked,

"So you'll help me boost my chakra by 100 cards, and I'll talk to Katsuyu to see if it's willing to do this? If the slug agrees, then I'd seal a bunch of smaller slugs inside this scroll and rent it out to all sorts of shinobi—did I get that right?"

Smiling widely, Senshi nodded.

"Exactly. You could charge a monthly fee of, say, 100,000 ryō for a summoning-slug scroll. Whether it's Konoha's own shinobi or someone from another nation, they just pay a deposit and rent one. If you manage to rent out a thousand of these slug-scrolls, that's 100 million ryō in monthly income. If you rent out ten thousand, that's a full billion every month!"

"With that money, you can come back to me to further strengthen yourself, or expand into other ventures."

Tsunade: (O_O)???

Shizune: (O_O)???

Seeing the logic of a sharing-based system left them momentarily speechless. Neither of them had ever thought it could be that profitable. Tsunade quickly declared:

"I'm definitely doing this. I'll do my best to get Katsuyu's approval!"

She figured it was a great arrangement—she'd earn plenty of money every month, and non-medical shinobi squads would have a better chance of survival. Without healing abilities, injured shinobi often died before they could even make it back to the village.

Having clinched the first project, Senshi pulled out another scroll and handed it to Tsunade:

"This contains 100 cards of chakra that'll raise your maximum reserves. If you end up with extra funds later, you can always come back and buy more of these chakra scrolls. Maybe someday you'll manage to summon all of Katsuyu's main body from the Shikkotsu Forest."

Tsunade knew that would be incredibly difficult—and not really necessary. Still, she recognized that once she started making money, she could keep boosting her strength over time. She was extremely satisfied with their first collaboration. So, she couldn't help asking,

"What about our second collaboration plan?"

Senshi had been waiting for that. At last, he pulled Karin forward.

"Tsunade, meet my assistant, Uzumaki Karin. Karin, this is Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin—Konoha's 'Princess Tsunade.'"

Both women looked confused as to why he introduced them, so they turned to Senshi for an explanation. He went on:

"Karin brewed a special type of liquor called 'Flying Rain Terrace.'"

With that, he activated his Kāma spatial ability and retrieved a bottle of Flying Rain Terrace from Karin's Kamui Dimension. The moment Tsunade heard the word "sake," she perked up. She eyed the bottle in Senshi's hand curiously:

"Is it a particular kind of sake from Amegakure?"

Before Senshi could respond, Karin cleared her throat.

"Ahem! This isn't typical Amegakure sake. It's a high-grade brew derived from an ancient Uzushio recipe. Flying Rain Terrace involves dozens of complex steps in production, and to perfect its flavor, we nearly sacrificed several tasters in the process. Only after countless attempts did we end up with the final product."

Tsunade: (O_O)???

Shizune: (O_O)???

Tsunade loved her drink but had never heard of such a "premium" brew. Karin's grand talk sounded surprisingly convincing, and Senshi was pleased to see her "graduated" from his tutelage, able to pitch like a pro.

Karin then produced cups from her Kamui space and poured a sample for Tsunade and Shizune. Tsunade downed her portion in one go, while Shizune sipped hers more cautiously.

Both women soon showed expressions of surprise. Even Shizune, who wasn't particularly fond of alcohol, recognized the high quality of this sake, having been around Tsunade for years. Tsunade offered high praise:

"This is delicious—really crisp and aromatic. I love it!"

Then she peered at Senshi.

"So our second project is…selling this sake together?"

Senshi nodded slightly. "Yes, though not this exact version. I plan on adding more to it."

As he spoke, he pulled out several items from his system storage space. Handing them over for Tsunade to see, he explained:

"This is a purified form of the Hero Water. It's normally a Takigakure specialty; under normal circumstances, the Tree of Taki produces only one bottle every hundred years, and it comes with side effects. It's so hard to acquire that probably only three or four bottles exist in the entire shinobi world."

"However, I have a special means of getting 'pure' Hero Water without any side effects, so I can get a bit more than usual."

He didn't say how he actually had 30 or 40 bottles stashed away—way more than the global supply—because that would be suspicious and ruin his ability to sell it at a premium.

Tsunade, who'd heard of Hero Water due to Konoha's alliance with Takigakure, was still taken aback to see it in person, especially a purified version without side effects.

Her gaze moved to another item in Senshi's hand, a small green bean, and she asked curiously,

"What's that?"

Clearing his throat, he said,

"These are 'Senzu Beans,' said to be left behind by the legendary Sage of Six Paths."

He had no idea what the real Sage of Six Paths might think of him using his name left and right—he'd previously claimed the Stone Mask was also something the Sage had left behind.

Both Tsunade and Shizune were stunned once more. Tsunade probed,

"What do these beans do?"

"They can heal any injury—no matter how severe—but they can't cure illnesses or diseases, only physical wounds," Senshi explained. "What I'm proposing for our second partnership is that you and Karin combine the essence of these Senzu Beans, Hero Water, and other high-end raw materials to create a superior 'health beverage' under the Flying Rain Terrace brand. We'll market it across the entire shinobi world."

Tsunade agreed right away:

"No problem. I do have one condition, though: let me handle Flying Rain Terrace sales inside Konoha."

Senshi didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned to Karin.

"What do you think?"

Karin tilted her head. "I'm cool with it."

Flying Rain Terrace had already become popular, but if they added Senshi's high-end materials, nobody else in the world could duplicate it. It would become a uniquely premium product—one of a kind in the shinobi world.

Thus began a fruitful collaboration. Tsunade and Karin got busy setting things up, while Senshi provided the necessary guidance and top-tier ingredients. As the supplier, he'd reap major profits later on whenever they needed more raw materials, translating into more Employment Points for him. He figured once they got fully operational, the points would come rolling in.

…

Meanwhile…

Business was booming for Madara and Obito as well. Copying Senshi's successful model, they'd become pretty famous in the black markets of the Land of Earth, where there was no shortage of missions, and clients had confidence in their abilities.

Although they weren't as fast or flashy as Senshi, they were still leagues above the average mercenary.

At the moment, Madara and Obito were counting their money in an open area of the black market. Madara glanced at Obito.

"With what we have now, can we buy the three remaining Tailed Beasts?"

Obito shook his head. "We're still short. Buying the Six-Tails, Seven-Tails, and Eight-Tails requires 2.1 billion ryō, total. Right now, we only have 1.2 billion. Should we buy the Six-Tails first, or wait until we have 1.3 billion to get both the Six and Seven at once?"

Madara thought it over. "Let's just gather another billion, then buy those two beasts from Senshi together."

"Alright," Obito agreed. They actually already had enough to buy the Six and Seven Tails, but Obito had been secretly stashing away a portion in his private vault. That was why they were a bit short. Earning another billion wouldn't take them long, though.

…

Kirigakure—Outside the Mission Commission Center

Uchiha Itachi, who had spent the last six months grinding missions day and night, showed up at the local commission center. Thanks to that half-year of effort, he'd accumulated enough funds. Spotting one of Senshi's Wood-Style clones, he walked right up.

"Long time no see, Ichi-ni-san!" Senshi greeted him cheerily. "What brings you here all of a sudden?"

Wasting no time, Itachi pulled out five checks, each worth one hundred million ryō, and set them before Senshi.

"I'd like you to cure my illness and enhance my strength as much as possible. Is that okay?"

Senshi's Wood-Style clone nodded, then asked,

"What about Kisame? How come he's not with you?"

"He's aiming to save up a full billion ryō before coming to see you," Itachi answered casually. "He's still a bit short."

As the clone and Itachi talked, Senshi's real body teleported in via Kāma. Seeing Itachi in person, he smiled:

"Ichi-ni-san, you can indeed issue me a commission, and I'll handle the rest."

Although Itachi didn't fully grasp why Senshi insisted on operating through formal missions, he decided to go with it.

"Senshi, I'd like to hire you for 500 million ryō: cure my disease and maximize my power."

[Mission Accepted]

[Client: Uchiha Itachi]

[Goal: Cure Itachi's illness and raise his strength as much as possible]

[Reward: 500 million ryō]

[Rank: S]

[Bonus: 500,000 Employment Points]

Seeing that system prompt, Senshi grinned. Initially, he hadn't imagined this sickly Itachi would earn him so many points. After finalizing the mission, Senshi promptly took out another youth-version Sage Talisman and smacked it onto Itachi's body.

"Whummmm!"

A mysterious power enveloped Itachi, who felt his body being healed bit by bit, while old wounds deep in his heart were being soothed by means he couldn't comprehend. Slowly, he felt the same transformation Tsunade had experienced. The illness was gone, just like that.

Having cured Itachi, Senshi then handed him a sealing scroll and a handwritten coupon.

Itachi: (O_O)???

He stared blankly. "Senshi, what are these?"

Senshi put his arm around Itachi's shoulders.

"Itachi-san, these are good things. The scroll contains 100 cards of chakra to raise your total reserves. And this handwritten, permanent coupon gets you a 1% discount (99% price) on Flying Rain Terrace sake—forever!"

Itachi was happy about the chakra boost, but confused why Senshi was advertising a certain liquor to him. He asked,

"Why recommend this sake to me specifically?"

Senshi smirked.

"It's no ordinary sake. We're turning it into a 'high-end wellness drink' that includes Hero Water, Senzu Beans, and other premium ingredients, so it's good for your health and can enhance a ninja's abilities. With this coupon, you and Hoshigaki Kisame can buy huge quantities of Flying Rain Terrace at a discount and sell it for profit in Kirigakure. That'll net you extra funds to hire me again or get more upgrades—whatever you need."

Itachi found the idea intriguing. Kirigakure's economy was flourishing more and more these days, and Senshi's suggestion seemed perfectly viable.

He decided to bring this up with Kisame and stop relying solely on mission-grinding. In the current shinobi world, unless you're extremely talented at missions, it makes sense to diversify.

Having taken care of Itachi, Senshi didn't linger in Kirigakure. Once the job was done, he headed back to Konoha. Itachi also left the mission center to find Kisame and discuss starting up a new venture in the Mist.

…

Konoha Village – Hokage's Office

Tsunade once again stood before Konoha's "F3" (the Third Hokage plus the two councilors). The last time she had come, it was to refuse the Hokage position and complain about the Anbu who had been searching for her. But this time was different—this time, Tsunade was here to make progress.

She spoke directly to them:

"I've thought it through. I've decided to stay in Konoha from now on and contribute to the village. First, I'd like to serve as the head of Konoha's Medical Department—to train medical ninjas, treat our wounded, and conduct medical research for the village."