Land of Lightning.
"Lord Raikage, this intelligence is rather unusual."
The one working in the Raikage Building was Ay, the Fourth Raikage, who had succeeded his father after the latter died in the Third Shinobi War. Suppressing his impatience, he examined the intelligence in his hand, and a grave look immediately appeared between his brows.
"It is indeed suspicious, but we cannot take it lightly either. Have the Intelligence Department test the waters first and verify whether it is genuine. If it is real, what do a little money and valuables matter?"
The Raikage did not let his guard down after reading the intelligence delivered by his subordinate, but neither did he take it too seriously. After all, every year brought several traitors like this.
Every nation had spies, and likewise, traitors. Some sold their village's interests for hefty rewards; some did it for ninjutsu, some for revenge, while others were simply greedy for life and afraid of death, caught by their enemy's spies and forced into submission.
In short, the Shinobi World had never lacked traitors. They had always existed. It was just that this traitor seemed to have an unusual identity, actually knowing some intelligence about Konoha's border.
"Keep a close eye on this lead. Find out whether this traitor is real or fake."
The Fourth Raikage spoke in a deep, measured voice. The ninja reporting to him immediately nodded respectfully. "Yes, Lord Raikage."
Of course, traitors of this sort could also be fakes. They would pass along genuine intelligence at first to earn trust, then, when delivering intelligence for a crucial mission, mix one falsehood among nine truths. That single lie could set a trap and bury many of their elite ninja. This was a tactic all nations excelled at.
Even knowing that false intelligence might be involved, the ninja of every nation still pursued it eagerly, because they all had specialized departments to analyze and confirm whether intelligence was genuine.
Land of Earth.
Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's office.
Ōnoki looked over the intelligence report sent to him. After scanning it at a glance, this experienced Kage showed no reaction at all, merely placing the report calmly on the desk.
"Have someone keep a close watch on this intelligence, and verify whether it is genuine."
"Yes!"
"If it is real, we can send even more money and valuables, so long as the intelligence is accurate."
Ōnoki had seen far too many traitors of this kind over the years. He did not pay this report much mind.
Land of Water, Kirigakure.
In a dark room, Suikazan Fuguki looked at the intelligence in his hand and revealed a savage grin. "Heh heh, so it's just a little bug. I hope your intelligence is real. Otherwise, I won't mind torturing a few Konoha ninja to death to vent my anger."
Land of Fire Border.
Uchiha Yoru returned to his tent with a relaxed expression. Looking at the operating funds Shisui had just delivered, he immediately broke into a smile.
Sure enough, nothing came faster than fleecing the sheep. The Uchiha Clan truly deserved to be called Konoha's Premier Noble Clan. They might all be arrogant as hell, but they were genuinely generous to their own people.
Not only had he received the one-million mission reward, but the clan had also specially sent over a considerable amount of funding. Once he converted it all, a pleasant chime rang out in his mind.
[Gold Coins: 280,000]
Seeing that number, Uchiha Yoru smiled. "Not bad. Looks like I need to work even harder. If I can become Orochimaru's disciple, I'll probably get even more resources."
The one-million mission reward came after he had openly run into Orochimaru in the Camp the following day and called him teacher. The Uchiha ninja had immediately sent the shocking news back to the clan. Naturally, the mission was considered completed, and the result had exceeded all expectations.
The clan had even sent him another mission: do everything in his power to become the disciple of Orochimaru, one of the Sannin. All the Uchiha Clan elites on the front line would fully support him.
Still smiling, Uchiha Yoru began forming hand seals with both hands. Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram.
Summoning Jutsu!
A puff of white smoke flashed past, and a gray Hawk appeared on his shoulder. It was the Summoning Beast he had purchased for thirty thousand gold coins.
A Hawk had no special abilities. It could not even understand human speech, and its intelligence was only slightly greater than that of an ordinary animal. That was precisely why he had chosen it.
Its lack of sentience meant that even if ninja captured it, genjutsu or memory-probing techniques would be unable to uncover any clear memories. There was no deeper reason—it simply could not communicate such things.
Yet it was an excellent means of transmitting 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. Uchiha Yoru rubbed his hands together and opened the Scrolls. When he saw the finger-thick gold bars inside, a satisfied smile spread across his face.
Recharge!
[Gold Coins: 330,000]
"Damn, murder and arson really do make you rich. The old saying was right after all."
Watching his gold coins soar to three hundred thousand, Uchiha Yoru's face filled with excitement and frustration. Damn it, why couldn't his talent have been a little better?
If his talent had been even slightly better, if he had graduated earlier, he would have made a fortune off the Third Shinobi War long ago.
What a waste! In the several years since graduating, he had worked himself to the bone and only earned five hundred thousand gold coins. That included the money issued by the clan, as well as the belongings and properties left behind by his parents.
Knowing they would have to relocate after Nine-Tails Night, of course he had sold the properties in prime locations early. That was how he had scraped together those five hundred thousand gold coins.
"Just preliminary information sold for fifty thousand gold. If I sell a few more pieces of intelligence, especially important intelligence..."
At that thought, Uchiha Yoru's expression turned excited, as though he were just one step away from shouting in delight.
As for whether selling Konoha's intelligence for money was shameful, he had only one response: bullshit! The Uchiha Clan was already heading toward destruction. He was saving the clan.
If the intelligence he sold was plentiful and significant enough to ignite war along the border, then that would be what truly saved the clan.
Once war broke out, even if it remained a series of local conflicts along the border, Konoha would be kept tied down at the edge of war. Then, even if they wanted to move against the Uchiha, they would lack the strength to do so.
How could this be called selling intelligence? He was clearly saving the clan, saving rotten Konoha.
"Three hundred and thirty thousand gold coins. I don't lack ninjutsu, genjutsu, or even taijutsu. My Kekkei Genkai isn't enough to upgrade either. So the only option is to improve my own abilities as quickly as possible."
Uchiha Yoru narrowed his eyes. This was likely Konoha's last peaceful period. Once Orochimaru defected, Konoha's borders would no longer be peaceful, and the turmoil of these local border wars would last for years.
In the original story, didn't the Land of Lightning come to Konoha to sign a peace treaty? That proved the two sides had fought at the border for who knew how many years. And Uchiha Shisui had returned from the battlefield against the Mist Ninja after ending the war there. Only then did Konoha finally become truly stable.
The Nine-Tails' Rampage and the death of the Fourth Hokage would be the fuse, causing tensions along the border to rise. Even he had noticed that some Small ninja villages wanted to provoke war between the great nations for profit.
Orochimaru's defection would likely mark the beginning of the local wars truly exploding. If the nations had not suffered such tremendous losses during the Third Shinobi War, this would never have remained merely a local conflict.
It was time to exchange for something.
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