Chapter 22: The Village's Plan

With ten thousand taels in hand, Rinto returned home happily.

Money gives a person confidence. With wealth, Rinto felt like he could walk with the wind.

Moreover, he had already made an agreement with Sarutobi Hiruzen that he would be able to enroll in the Ninja Academy in a week.

Going to school wasn't the main goal. What mattered was that training at the academy would officially make him a member of the Konoha shinobi ranks.

Although he still had to take necessary precautions, at least he now had the opportunity to go on missions. At the same time, being able to openly use ninjutsu would be beneficial to his future plans.

For the next week, Rinto worked at the forge every day, producing many finished weapons and accumulating a lot of iron waste.

Following the principle of not wasting anything, he melted the iron waste, ground it into iron powder, and stored it within his body.

This was the same weight-bearing training method he had used in the cult's base, but back then, he hid dirt and other debris in his body. Now, he was fully committed to refining the technique.

Iron powder was significantly heavier than soil, and its weight distribution was more balanced. Compared to dirt, it was a much better material for resistance training.

Even though his body ached constantly, Rinto enjoyed the process.

He was inherently lazy—too lazy to schedule proper physical training—so he relied on this 24-hour weight-bearing method to enhance his strength.

In less than a week, he found the results surprisingly effective.

The total weight of the iron powder was about 200 kilograms, evenly distributed throughout his body. Although the pain was constant, Rinto's body was constantly being conditioned whether he was walking, sitting, or lying down.

Looking at his darkened palms, Rinto sighed.

"What Hidan lacks most isn't strength or intelligence—it's imagination."

There were so many ways to utilize immortality: the Eight Inner Gates, Tandem Paper Bombs, Flying Thunder God…

If given the chance, Rinto even wanted to try out the Shiki Fūjin or obtain a tailed beast for experimentation.

Since he was truly immortal, there were endless possibilities that he hadn't dared to consider before.

If he went all out, forget Madara—even Kaguya would be forced into a corner.

Of course, war wasn't an option. He had no interest in fighting a war. He just wanted to make a few hundred million taels and live comfortably.

His favorite character was Kunizo, the jeweler's son from that old play—

The "Money Escape Technique," the "Prince's Mouth Escape Technique," the "Nibari Disguise Technique," and "Ōtsutsuki Ichiraku's Face Escape Technique" were the four most powerful escape techniques in existence.

---

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a week had passed. It was time for Rinto to go to school.

"Rie, get up." Rinto put on his clothes and shook the little girl sleeping beside him.

Rie muttered something, turned over, and continued sleeping.

"Rie, get up. I'll take you to school!"

Rinto wasn't in a hurry. He continued shaking her gently, kneading her soft, chubby cheeks like dough.

"Brother! I want to sleep!" Rie groaned, her patience running thin.

"Why are you sleeping? Who sleeps? Only losers sleep!" Rinto, who never got enough sleep himself, was envious of kids like Rie who had such a carefree lifestyle.

Seeing that she was still reluctant to get up, Rie pouted, sat up groggily, and rubbed her eyes with her tiny hands.

"Brother, I... I want to go to the Sensō-ji Festival with Aunt Kyoko today."

"Sensō-ji Temple? Where's that? I've never heard of it."

"Um… Aunt Anzi said it's a branch of the Fire Temple, and it's in the village."

Seeing Rie's eager expression, Rinto sighed.

"You don't really care about the festival. You just want an excuse to eat and drink."

However, he didn't stop her.

It was obvious that this was an attempt by Konoha's higher-ups to influence her.

Their method was simple but clever, and Rinto didn't resent it at all.

One of his reasons for coming to Konoha was to give Rie a happy childhood.

As the most powerful village among the Five Great Nations, Konoha not only had a good climate and environment but also a relatively peaceful atmosphere.

In this world where human life was often meaningless, the Will of Fire had indeed protected a small piece of innocence.

The village leaders' plan was obvious: influence Rie and, in turn, influence Rinto's decisions.

They were overthinking it. Even without Rie, he would have cooperated with Konoha.

And if Rie eventually became a Konoha ninja and embraced the Will of Fire, so what? Would that make her unhappy? Hardly.

Shrugging, Rinto decided to let things play out. Overthinking made life exhausting.

"Alright, but you have to get up now! If you stay in bed, I'll tickle you until you cry!"

Rie ignored his threat, instead grabbing his sleeve with a bright smile and wide, excited eyes.

"Brother! You really agreed?!"

Rinto nodded, and the little girl wiggled around happily in her blanket like an overjoyed caterpillar.

"Okay, get dressed."

She nodded obediently.

---

A short while later, Rinto and Rie arrived at the dining area.

Uncle Ippongi was sitting at a low table, yawning sleepily. When he saw Rinto enter, he childishly turned his back on him, clearly still sulking.

This guy was still upset about Rinto attending the Ninja Academy. In his opinion, making money was the only serious profession—ninjas were just troublemakers.

Aunt Anzi, who was serving food, playfully smacked her husband before smiling and waving to them.

"Rinto-kun, Rie-chan, come on, today's breakfast is tomato omelet rice!"

Hearing this, Rie's eyes sparkled as she eagerly pulled Rinto toward the table.

As usual, Uncle Ippongi sipped his tea leisurely, Aunt Anzi sat Rie on her lap, and little Mosu focused on eating.

Rinto ignored the tempting omelet rice. Instead, he took out an envelope from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"Aunt Kyoko, I'm heading to the Ninja Academy today. Since Rie will be going to the festival with you, this little money should cover her expenses."

He pushed the envelope toward her.

Anzi shook her head, waving her hands in refusal.

"No, no, Rinto-kun. I love Rie, and taking her to the festival doesn't cost much."

Rinto shook his head, pushing the envelope forward firmly.

Though he was young, the serious look in his eyes carried an air of maturity beyond his years.

Anzi, realizing she couldn't convince him otherwise, sighed and accepted it. The envelope wasn't thick, but the texture was solid.

As someone who handled money often, she quickly estimated—

There were eight to ten banknotes, each worth a thousand taels.

She couldn't help but be amazed.

For her, 10,000 taels wasn't much, but for a child who had just arrived in the village, it was a significant amount.

"This kid... he really cherishes his sister."

---

After breakfast, Rinto handed Rie a scroll.

"This has the Chakra Extraction Technique. You're old enough to study on your own now. Don't expect me to remind you every time."

Rie nodded obediently. "I'll work hard!"

Rinto smirked and ruffled her hair.

"Do what makes you happy. Now, I'm off to school."

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