Reinforcements Arrive
"Go."
Lin Ke didn't overly criticize his companions' sympathy.
To put it cruelly, with his two companions being upper-Genin, slightly short of Chunin in combat power, if an opponent he couldn't handle really appeared, the two of them would basically be delivering food.
Doing something within their capabilities was good enough.
Xia breathed a sigh of relief and nodded vigorously. She knew how unreasonable her request was, and felt the kindness and softness in her leader's heart. She went over and began to provide first aid to the most severely injured samurai.
Pulling out the sharp weapons stuck in the wounds, using Chakra to stop the bleeding, bandaging...
While she was striving to save lives, the Land of Fire's wealthy merchant, sitting on the only sofa in the hall, wore an impatient expression. The noise made by the injured samurai was too much, and the treatment process involved constant bleeding, which looked very bloody—
The master couldn't bear to see such cruel things.
Why not let them all die outside?
However, although he was a bit of a pig, he wasn't stupid enough to fall out with the highest combat power protecting him. He wouldn't say what he was thinking, so he simply lay down and closed his eyes to think about his next actions.
The other competing merchants were dead, the Land of Wind's merchants were dead, and even the bidding officials were dead, which meant that he had regained the opportunity to own the gold mine.
If he could get the ownership of the gold mine, then everything he had experienced would be worth it.
A smile appeared on his face.
At the same time, Xia, pale and covered in sweat, returned with a somewhat dejected expression. Even after her rescue efforts, another samurai had died due to severe injuries.
Most of the surviving samurai were in a coma, and whether they could survive depended on their own fate.
Ordinary doctors could only do so much without medical tools. Even Ninja Doctors could only improve the chances of survival. Only Medical Ninja, those who could release high-level medical ninjutsu, could save people from the brink of death.
Lin Ke patted Xia's shoulder to comfort her. She had done her best, and there was no need to be harsh on an eleven-year-old child.
Yuan Wei stood guard at the door, glanced back at Xia, who was too tired and had quickly fallen asleep against the wall, with something indescribable in his eyes.
Time passed little by little. About an hour later, Nara Yan Shui returned. After entering, he first confirmed that none of his three subordinates had any problems, then glanced at the bored and already sleeping Land of Fire merchant, and then looked at the treated samurai on the ground.
He smiled almost imperceptibly.
...
Late at night, a new hotel.
Being able to instantly increase a large amount of Chakra and enhance physical fitness, if I'm not mistaken, that thing is likely Orochimaru's Cursed Seal...
Lin Ke, who had already slept and had a good meal, was on night watch, leaning against the wall, his mind involuntarily recalling the scene from the daytime.
The black patterns spreading from the back of the middle-aged ninja's neck, who should have been waiting to die in place, were truly unforgettable.
He had always thought that it was Akatsuki who was killing the Rain Hidden Village ninjas, because the conflict between Akatsuki and Salamander Hanzo was irreconcilable. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been internal strife in the Land of Rain for so many years.
In the manga, Akatsuki's leader, 'Pain,' even said that he needed a lot of money—
Although the reason for needing money was unknown, the Cyberpunk-style Rain Hidden Village that was being built when Pain appeared suggested that he was probably investing the money in the construction of Rain Hidden Village.
The new bar that suddenly appeared when Jiraiya infiltrated didn't attract anyone's attention, probably because the appearance of new buildings and shops in the Rain Hidden Village under construction wasn't very noticeable.
Considering the destructive power of Deva Path Pain to buildings, Rain Hidden Village should have suffered severe damage when he killed Salamander Hanzo. Coupled with the need for development, reconstruction was inevitable.
Even the wealthiest Konoha Village needed financial support from the Land of Fire for reconstruction after Pain's Almighty Push. It was only natural that Rain Hidden Village (Akatsuki) was short of money.
So Lin Ke's first reaction was that Akatsuki wanted the gold mine.
The motive was too complete. Whether it was for money or to strike at Salamander Hanzo's forces, there was reason to do such a thing.
But similarly, after discovering that the attacker was suspected of using a Cursed Seal, he realized that another person also had sufficient reason to act—
Orochimaru.
Why did Sand Ninja Village launch the Konoha Crush Plan? Because they were poor. Poverty led to the village's decline. Unable to tolerate their ally's continued growth, they needed to seek development opportunities through risky means.
Whether it was defeating Konoha Village to obtain sufficient benefits or attacking the Land of Fire to take over, Sand Ninja Village could obtain considerable gains.
But this process would definitely require the sacrifice of countless lives. The Fourth Kazekage's willingness to go there in person proved that he was gambling with his life. However, the Fourth Kazekage's Quicksand Gold was the village's last resort. Directly blocking the last resort and abandoning it proved that Sand Ninja Village was already making a desperate gamble.
Being driven to the point of a desperate gamble was not something that could be decided in a day or two, nor by one or two events.
What was needed was a completely dead end, to the point where they had to be willing to be destroyed like a shattered jewel.
Under such circumstances, there was only one person who had reason to promote the Konoha Crush Plan: Orochimaru.
Orochimaru had every reason to harm Sand Ninja Village, even briefly hold Sand Ninja Village by the neck, so that they could implement the Konoha Crush Plan with him.
Under this logic, destroying the Sand Ninja Village's opportunity to obtain the gold mine threatens the sales of Quicksand Gold...
So, will the Land of Fire give up this gold mine that they have a chance to obtain? Lin Ke frowned tightly. This is a blatant scheme. Even if Orochimaru's conspiracy is revealed, the Land of Fire and Konoha Village will not let go of the gold mine they might obtain.
The Sand Ninja Village can continue to send people and find merchants to purchase it, but destruction is always much easier than construction. If they can do it once, they can do it a second time.
A pure conflict of interest will inevitably push the dissatisfied Sand Ninja Village to the opposite side, thus bringing about the Konoha Crush Plan next year...
[Someone is approaching!]
Lin Ke quickly cleared the thoughts from his head, decisively released a Clone Jutsu, and then prepared for battle.
"Don't be nervous." A woman's voice sounded, and then the female ninja, whom he had met once during his first B-Rank Mission, appeared in front of him using Body Flicker Technique, followed by two ninjas wearing green vests who also landed.
"Kurenai, you're here." Nara Yan Shui appeared only a little later, greeting them familiarly.
The female ninja called Kurenai smiled at Lin Ke and said, "Jonin, Yuhi Kurenai."
As expected, it's her, the Jonin who is proficient in Genjutsu...
Or, to be more specific, Asuma's pregnant girlfriend.
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