Selling One Piece of Intel to Three Buyers

Land of Lightning.

"Lord Raikage, this intelligence report is a bit unusual."

At that moment, the man working in the Raikage's office was the Fourth Raikage, Ay, who had succeeded his father after his death in the Third Shinobi War. Suppressing his irritable temper, he scanned the report in his hands, and a look of gravity crept across his brow.

"It's definitely suspicious, but we can't underestimate it either. Have the Intelligence Department probe it first and verify its authenticity. If it's real, a little money is nothing."

The intelligence handed up from below didn't make the Raikage let his guard down, but he didn't take it too seriously either—after all, how many such traitors didn't pop up every year?

Every nation had its spies, and likewise its traitors, selling out their own village's interests for hefty rewards. Some did it for jutsu, some for revenge, and some were simply cowards caught in the clutches of their own spies.

In short, the shinobi world never lacked traitors; they'd always been around. But this time, the traitor's identity seemed a bit unusual—they actually knew some intelligence about the Land of Fire's border.

"Keep an eye on this lead. Find out if this traitor is real or fake."

The Fourth Raikage muttered in a low, measured tone, and the ninja reporting to him nodded respectfully. "Yes, Lord Raikage."

Likewise, such traitors could be fakes—feeding real intel upfront to build trust, then, during a critical mission, delivering nine truths and one lie. That final lie could set a trap to wipe out plenty of their elite ninja. It was a tactic every nation excelled at.

Even knowing fakes were possible, the ninja of every nation still played along eagerly. They all had their own specialized departments to analyze and confirm the truth of intelligence.

Land of Earth.

Iwagakure, the Tsuchikage's office.

Ōnoki looked over the intelligence report in his hands, skimming it in a single glance. The seasoned Kage showed no reaction, merely setting the report down on his desk with indifference.

"Have someone keep a close watch on this report, and verify its authenticity at the same time."

"Yes!"

"If it's real, even spending a bit more money is fine, as long as the intelligence is accurate."

For the existence of such traitors, the experienced Ōnoki had seen far too many to be fazed. He didn't take this particular report too seriously.

Land of Water, Kirigakure.

In a dim room, Suikazan Fuguki looked at the intelligence in his hands, a vicious grin spreading across his face. "Heh, so it's a little bug. Hope your intel's real, or I wouldn't mind torturing a few Leaf ninja to death to let off some steam."

Land of Fire border.

Uchiha Yoruro returned to his tent with a relaxed expression, glancing at the operating funds Shisui had just delivered. A broad smile spread across his face.

Sure enough, fleecing the sheep was the fastest way. The Uchiha Clan really lived up to being Konoha's Premier Noble Clan—arrogant as they all were, they sure were generous to their own.

Not only had he pocketed a mission reward of one million, but the clan had also sent over plenty of extra funds. After converting it all, a crisp, pleasant chime echoed in his mind.

Code
[Gold Coins: 280,000]

Seeing that number, Uchiha Yoruro smiled. "Not bad. I'll have to step it up. If I can become Orochimaru's disciple, I'll probably get even more resources."

The one-million mission reward came from the day before, when he'd boldly run into Orochimaru at the camp and called him "teacher." The Uchiha ninja there had immediately sent the shocking news back to the clan, and naturally, the mission was considered complete—even better than expected.

On top of that, the clan had now given him another mission: do everything in his power to become a disciple of the Sannin, Orochimaru. All Uchiha elites on the front lines would support him fully.

With a full smile, Uchiha Yoruro began forming hand seals: Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram.

Summoning Jutsu!

A puff of white smoke burst forth, and a gray hawk appeared on his shoulder. This was the Summoning Beast he'd bought for thirty thousand gold coins.

A hawk. No special abilities, couldn't even understand human speech, and its intelligence was only slightly above that of an ordinary beast. That was exactly why he'd chosen it.

No intelligence meant that even if a ninja caught it, genjutsu or memory-probing jutsu couldn't extract clear memories. Simple reason: there was nothing to connect to.

But it was the perfect way to pass intelligence. The gray hawk on his shoulder slowly opened its beak and spat out three scrolls.

Then the gray hawk vanished in a puff of white smoke, and Uchiha Yoruro rubbed his hands together as he unrolled the scrolls. When he saw the finger-thick gold bars inside, a satisfied grin spread across his face.

Top-up!

Code
[Gold Coins: 330,000]

"Tsk, tsk. 'Crime pays, gold lines the belt.' The ancestors sure knew what they were talking about."

Watching his gold coin balance instantly jump to over three hundred thousand, Uchiha Yoruro's face lit up with excitement mixed with regret. Damn it, why couldn't his talent have been a little better?

If his talent had been just a bit better, he'd have graduated early and cashed in big on the Third Shinobi War.

What a waste! In the few years since he'd graduated, he'd barely scraped together five hundred thousand gold coins through hard work. That included the money the clan handed out, plus the inheritance and property his parents had left him.

Knowing they'd have to relocate after the Nine-Tails Night, of course he'd sold off the prime real estate early. That was how he'd scraped together the five hundred thousand.

"Just the initial info sold for fifty thousand gold. If I sell more intel, especially something important..."

At that thought, Uchiha Yoruro's face flushed with excitement, and he nearly shouted out loud.

As for whether selling Leaf's intelligence for money was shameful? He had only one thing to say: bullshit. The Uchiha Clan was heading toward extinction—he was saving it.

In fact, if the intel he sold was enough, big enough, to spark border conflicts, that would be the real way to save the clan.

Once war broke out—even if it was just constant skirmishes on the border—Leaf would be tied down on the front lines. Even if they wanted to move against the Uchiha, they wouldn't have the strength.

How was this selling intel? He was clearly saving the clan, saving a rotten Leaf.

"Three hundred and thirty thousand gold coins. I'm not short on ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu, and my Kekkei Genkai isn't ready to upgrade. So the fastest way is to boost my own abilities right now."

Uchiha Yoruro narrowed his eyes. Right now was probably the last peaceful stretch for Leaf. Once Orochimaru defected, the border would get turbulent, and this localized border conflict would drag on for years.

In the original story, the Land of Lightning coming to Konoha to sign a peace treaty was proof that the two sides had been fighting along the border for who knows how many years. And Uchiha Shisui had only returned after ending the war on the battlefield against the Mist ninja; only then did Konoha finally settle down completely.

The Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Fourth Hokage dying in battle—that was a spark. The atmosphere at the borders began to grow tense. By then, even he could sense that some small ninja villages were trying to provoke war between the great nations for their own profit.

When Orochimaru defected, that was probably the real beginning that triggered localized war. If not for the fact that all the nations had suffered massive losses in the Third Shinobi War, it definitely wouldn't have stayed at just localized conflict.

Time to exchange for something.

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