062: Let's pool our money and get the Hokage out of here!

"What's going on? Those Uchihas just abandoned us and ran off in a hurry." In a narrow alley, Matsumoto Kofu, tied up on the ground, wriggled like a caterpillar.

"It seems like there's a fierce battle happening in the northwest."

"Earlier, there were only sporadic sounds of fighting, but now they're all concentrated in that direction." His companions were also tied up and immobile.

Sure enough, the fighting in the northwest intensified, the loud roars gradually.

"This is our chance! Quick, use your teeth to bite through the ropes, we need to get out of here fast." 

All the Uchihas were drawn to the commotion.

"No problem, let's all huddle together."

Quickly, Matsumoto Kofu and his companions wriggled together, gnawing at the ropes binding their hands.

"Crack, crack!"

"Damn it, this hemp rope is so tough."

"Don't worry about it, just try harder! If we're too late, those Uchihas will finish off their enemies and come back for us."

"Makes sense, watch this! Haaa~~ Crack!!!"

"Ow~"

"What's wrong?"

"It's so hard, I chipped a tooth."

"…"

Just as Kofu and the others, like hamsters, desperately ground at the ropes with their teeth, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Uncle, do you need help?"

It was Tenten, who, conforming to the rules of the domain, could freely wander within it, returning after a brief absence.

Matsumoto Kofu looked at the rope, frayed and almost broken, and then at the two teeth he had chipped off onto the ground beside him. 

Tears welled up in his eyes.

An angel! Why didn't you come sooner? 

But, thank you anyway! I'm so touched, I finally don't have to gnaw anymore.

"Th…Th…Thank you!" The words whistled out from his mouth, missing two front teeth. 

Kofu and his companions, their mouths full of rope fragments, exchanged glances.

They wept…

…

Facing the third wave of resurrected Uchihas, the ANBU finally couldn't hold on any longer.

"Lord Hokage, it's no good, we can't hold on much longer."

"Fighting like this is pointless, we have to find another way."

"Izumi hasn't made a move. I suspect she's asleep in her own world. Perhaps we can wake her up and break this ability."

"It's useless. Even this much loud noise can't wake her. We have to get closer and physically wake her up."

"But we can't get close to her! The closer we get, the more frantic those Uchiha ghosts become, trading blows with us like they don't value their lives.

"Uh, sorry, I almost forgot they've already lost their lives. And they can keep reviving." The ANBU ninjas resisted while searching for other solutions.

"This kind of rebirth can't continue indefinitely. It must consume a huge amount of power.

"Don't be discouraged! Victory is right before our eyes.

"You create an opening, and let me get close to Izumi."

Worthy of being called the Professor, Hiruzen immediately noticed the various hidden weaknesses of this domain.

But because he had come in haste, with limited ANBU forces, he now had to step in himself.

Facing several Jonin-level Uchiha combatants, coupled with their Sharingan's potent ability to copy jutsu and grant enhanced visual perception, even elite Jonin found themselves struggling.

"Sigh… I'm getting old after all." 

This kind of relentless, suicidal fighting style was even proving troublesome for the Third Hokage.

However, he firmly believed that the enemy couldn't sustain this power to continuously resurrect the dead indefinitely; the power sustaining them had to run out eventually.

Unfortunately, the Third Hokage didn't notice the exquisite badge on Izumi's chest, hidden behind her mother Hazuki, glowing and continuously replenishing her ocular power.

"The sixth wave…damn it, we've wiped them out six times.

"Why haven't they disappeared yet?

"Could my analysis be wrong?" Hiruzen thought to himself, his scalp tingling. 

He felt he couldn't wait any longer, lest he die here before exhausting the enemy.

Just as he was about to summon his powerful partner, Enma, a shout came from the southeast.

"Lord Hokage!"

"Lord Hokage, we know how to get out!"

"Don't fight them head-on!" Several Konoha ninjas ran over, leading three groups of anxious villagers. 

One of them, missing two front teeth, ran at the forefront, his speech slurred.

"What? You know something about this place?" Hiruzen quickly disengaged from the fight and questioned the approaching crowd.

"That'th right, Lord Hokage!"

"Ath long ath you give them enough money, you can leave thith ghothtly place." Matsumoto Kofu hurriedly shared the information he knew.

"There's such a thing?"

"How much money do we need?" After listening to their account, the Third Hokage was overjoyed. 

Not fighting was indeed good; he preferred to resolve everything peacefully. He immediately reached into his pocket. 

Perfect! He had a wad of cash on him.

"It seems like it costs 10,000 Ryo per person!"

"What? Say that again?"

"A little girl who saved us just now used 10,000 Ryo to gain safe passage." Hearing this, the Third Hokage quickly counted the money in his pocket. His face darkened.

He was 5,000 Ryo short.

Seeing the Hokage staring at him, Matsumoto Kofu quickly patted his empty pockets. "I have nothing left, Lord Hokage! I was captured earlier precisely because I didn't have enough money."

"Does anyone else have any Ryo left? Let's pool our resources."

"Right, let's have the ANBU stop fighting first." Matsumoto Kofu hurriedly ran out, shouting, "Everyone from the Uchiha Clan, stop fighting! We're here to pay the toll; we mean no harm."

Sure enough, as soon as he said these words, the Uchihas gradually stopped. 

"It actually worked! Quickly withdraw your killing intent; don't provoke them again." Seeing this, the exhausted ANBU ninjas also quickly stopped fighting and retreated.

"We just have to give them 10,000 Ryo each to not be attacked?"

"Wow, these bastard Uchihas, even in death they don't forget to rake in the dough."

"Crap, I only have 800 Ryo."

"I only have 300 Ryo, just enough for a few meals."

"Let's pool our money together and get Lord Hokage out first so he can find reinforcements and break this place. Then we'll all be safe."

"Okay, count mine in! I have 150 Ryo."

"You're amazing, 150 Ryo, you made it sound like 15,000 Ryo."

Stacks of Ryo bills were gathered into the Hokage's hands.

Hiruzen's hand trembled as he held the money. "I'm the Hokage; I can't leave this place and leve you all alone here. Just choose one person to go out and seek help.

"With me here, we can at least hold on. Just give us a little more time to figure out this place, and we'd be able to break out of here without a problem."

Matsumoto Kofu quickly shook his head. "No, Lord Hokage! You are the thpider (pillar) of our Konoha. You mutht get out firtht (first)."

"That's right, Lord Hokage, if you don't leave, neither will we!"

I really don't like hitting people to mske them understand! Can someone stand up for me? 

Hiruzen's forehead was covered in black lines.

But he put on an expression of reluctant acceptance. "Alright, let's not waste any more time. Once I'm out, I'll immediately mobilize troops to break this cage and rescue everyone…"

"Thank you, Lord Hokage!"

"We will definitely hold on!"

Hiruzen, carrying the crowd-funded 10,000 Ryo, walked towards the Uchihas. 

Behind him were more than a dozen ninjas, including ANBU, and dozens of Konoha villagers. The ninjas were all bruised and swollen.

"Hello, this is… my tollfee…" Hiruzen found it difficult to speak. 

He actually had to pay a toll on his own territory? What kind of logic was that?

Sigh… The Third Hokage took a deep breath, forcing himself to endure. 

He had endured all kinds of hardships over the years, and he absolutely couldn't lose his cool over such a small matter, even if there was only a 1% chance of things going wrong.

Truly worthy of being a generation's hero!!!

Sure enough, after receiving the money, the Uchihas ignored Hiruzen. 

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief and was about to leave to gather troops, a soft groan came from the rooftop ahead.

Izumi stretched and woke up completely.

Alas, 

Mother in this domain is indeed not a truly living person. 

Izumi had just told her so many secrets, but once the minute mark was up, her mother forgot all those things.

Still, this was enough, truly enough.

Only then did Izumi have time to look at the crowd below. 

The first thing she saw was the bruised and battered Konoha ninjas, and the Third Hokage.

"What happened to everyone?" Izumi couldn't help but ask.

The Uchiha captain who had received the money quickly took out all the bills and leaped to Izumi's side. "Lady Izumi! This is from Konoha, in appreciation of our Uchiha's contributions; they spontaneously raised these funds to improve our food and equipment."

Despicable! Shameless! Seeing the Uchiha captain blatantly lying, the Konoha crowd was speechless, suffering in silence.

"This… thank you everyone," Izumi said gratefully. 

"Konoha is the place where I was born and raised. I didn't expect to receive such a warm farewell before I leave to eradicate the evils of the ninja world."

"Thank you again, I will come back." After saying that, Izumi deactivated the domain and stuck out her adorable tongue.

Everything that had happened in the domain flashed through her mind like frames in a film.

Afraid of being blamed by Natsuki, she quickly flapped her fiery wings and soared into the sky, disappearing over the horizon in the blink of an eye.

"Pfft!!!" Having just paid the money, only for the other party to wake up and remove the domain, the pent-up frustration in Hiruzen's chest reached its peak. 

He suddenly chocked in his own saliva and collapsed to the ground.

"Lord Hokage!"

"Lord Hokage!"

The ANBU ninjas quickly surrounded him.

"No one is allowed to speak of what happened just now. Everyone present will receive 20,000 Ryo as compensation," Hiruzen instructed weakly. 

As the Hokage, he was actually forced to pay a toll in his own village. 

If word got out, it would greatly damage his personal reputation.

The next moment, thinking about the enormous cost of post-disaster reconstruction, he felt a pang of heartache, his head lolled to the side, and he fainted completely. 

I shouldn't have rushed out of the Hokage Tower after hearing that loud noise… I didn't gain anything noteworth, but I ended up with a whole lot of trouble…

As the domain dissipated, the clamor of the outside world gradually filtered in. A dense crowd and fully armed Konoha ninja forces came into view.

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