Fleece the Hao Family's Wool

"Shisui, do you remember what I told you? On the surface, Teacher Orochimaru is the overall commander of the border, but in secret, he's also in charge of a certain classified research project."

At that moment, Uchiha Yoruro hesitated for a moment, then lifted his head to look at Shisui and spoke his true feelings—words he had carefully summarized after thinking them over hundreds of times in his mind.

Uchiha Shisui listened and nodded solemnly, a hint of admiration even coloring his face. "You've said all this before. Did something happen?"

"Because of the current turmoil in Konoha, Teacher Orochimaru's research has stalled due to a lack of funds. The funds the clan is providing now can just fill that gap for him."

"But—but!" Yoruro looked troubled and a bit embarrassed. Under Shisui's puzzled gaze, he let out a helpless sigh. "Teacher Orochimaru made me sign the Summoning Scroll for Ryūchi Cave. As for Uchiha Itachi, he said that with Konoha on the verge of upheaval and him burdened with a secret mission, he can allow Itachi to adapt on the front lines for a while."

He didn't say no, but he didn't say yes either. In short, Orochimaru was too busy right now—not only the border's overall commander but also handling covert missions in the shadows. He had no time. When he did, he'd take a look at Uchiha Itachi's talent.

That was Yoruro's meaning. But when Shisui heard it, his face first showed shock, then erupted into wild joy.

"The Summoning Scroll for Ryūchi Cave! Brother Yoru, you! You've become Lord Orochimaru's disciple!"

In his excitement, Shisui was clearly incredulous. This was one of the Sannin, after all—and a political investment to boot.

"Brother Yoru, what the Uchiha Clan needs now is a clansman who has become Orochimaru's disciple. It could be Itachi, or it could be someone else—as long as it's an Uchiha."

Shisui was thrilled. For the first time, he truly saw a future where the clan and the village could reconcile.

But Yoruro just sighed. "I only hope the clan head won't be disappointed."

At those words, Shisui's expression turned resolute and righteous. He nodded firmly. "Brother Yoru, rest assured. When the clan head learns you've become Orochimaru's disciple, he won't be disappointed—he'll be overjoyed."

See? This was the real genius fighting for the Uchiha Clan.

Watching this, Yoruro nodded with emotion, then finally revealed the true purpose he had been plotting and laying the groundwork for all this time.

"Sigh, even though the research can continue now, funds are still severely lacking. Teacher says that with the losses from the Nine-Tails' Rampage and the border instability, Konoha simply can't spare much money. The clan's funding can only sustain it for a month at most."

First, he brought up the upheaval caused by the Nine-Tails' Rampage. Even though the Uchiha Clan hadn't orchestrated that conspiracy, the blame had already been pinned on them.

Sure enough, Shisui's face showed a flicker of embarrassment. Even though it wasn't the Uchiha's doing, there was no changing it now. But when he heard the rest, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as Lord Orochimaru didn't suspect or ostracize the Uchiha Clan over this, it was already a stroke of luck. So what if the research was in a tight spot? That could be handled!

Even if it wasn't the Uchiha's fault, if they didn't do something, and Orochimaru ended up resenting the clan, that would be a real loss.

"Brother Yoru, don't worry. I'll report this to the clan. We'll provide a steady stream of funds."

At this point, Shisui was actually relieved. Other problems might give the Uchiha Clan a headache, but when it came to money, that was the easiest issue of all.

Ninjutsu was a clan's foundation—they might be reluctant to share that. But money? For a wealthy house, especially the Uchiha Clan, the strongest in the ninja world, this was nothing. Mere external possessions—they could earn more.

Sure enough, seeing Shisui's reaction, Yoruro smiled with satisfaction. "Shisui, this way Teacher Orochimaru can continue the village's classified mission. And with the clan helping out so much this time, when he becomes the Fifth Generation, he definitely won't forget the Uchiha."

That was exactly what the Uchiha needed most. They lacked nothing—not wealth, not jutsu. What they truly needed was to reconnect with Konoha and return to the village's center of power.

Yoruro narrowed his eyes slightly. He had given half the funds to Teacher Orochimaru today. Now he checked his balance.

Code
[Gold Coins: 1,530,000]

After seeing the balance, Yoruro looked at Shisui's smile and felt delighted himself. Profit, pure profit! Missions? Forget it. Doing missions was not only grueling and time-consuming, but the pay was terrible.

This was much faster—fleecing the clan. In one go, over one point five million gold coins. That was already the full reward for an S-Rank Mission. And everyone knew the village took a cut from any mission reward.

S-Rank Missions were usually handled by teams of Elite Jonin. Even if you didn't team up, it was a near-death gamble, taking ages, with all sorts of tool costs along the way.

More importantly, did he even have the ability to complete an S-Rank Mission? Not at all. But this way, fleecing the clan gave him an S-Rank's worth in one shot. Tsk, he almost wished Orochimaru wouldn't defect so soon, so he could keep milking it.

Just two or three years—with the Pay-to-Win System, he'd definitely become an Elite Jonin, and an elite among the Uchiha Clan at that.

Thinking this, Yoruro muttered under his breath, "For the clan, for the Uchiha!"

"Oh, Shisui."

Now Yoruro put on a cautious air, glancing around, then produced a mission scroll. In a low voice, he said, "A classified village mission. With the border instability, Root can't spare any elites. Teacher Orochimaru urgently needs to complete the village's tasks, so some unsavory missions might require the Uchiha Clan's finest."

As the scroll slowly unrolled, a flash of shock passed through Shisui's eyes. He quickly composed himself, frowning as he studied the scroll gravely.

"Brother Yoru, this is—!"

Yoruro nodded firmly. "That's right. As you can see, these are materials Teacher Orochimaru needs for his research—Human Experimentation. With the border in chaos, spies from various nations and ninja from minor countries are all snooping around. They'd make perfect test subjects."

But Shisui, looking at his Brother Yoru, who spoke so openly without a shred of shame, was stunned. This—this! Wasn't Human Experimentation forbidden!

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