The Temptation of Returning to the Village

Unlike regular missions, where any unexpected gains a ninja obtains during the mission belong entirely to them, in large-scale combat operations like this, thirty percent of all acquired spoils must be turned over based on their value.

In truth, this isn't a loss, because ninja are forbidden from indiscriminately slaughtering civilians. And in reality, aside from looting, only a few ninja clans cultivate talent specifically for business—most ninja gain very little income, with the bulk of their earnings still coming from mission bounties.

But for regular missions, fifty percent of the reward goes to the squad leader, and only the remainder is split evenly among the others.

Inside the command tent, Orochimaru was tallying his gains.

"First Company turned in thirty-one Explosive Tags from their confiscated stock? With how brutal this battle was, how could there be this many? Changed! Twenty-one!"

The remaining ten are mine now.

"Seventh Reconnaissance Squad discovered a secret supply depot set up by Sunagakure? Turned in eight hundred kunai, one thousand shuriken, and twenty ninja swords!"

Shouldn't Sunagakure have already distributed these items long ago?

Forget it. Swallowing everything would be too obvious and easy to catch. I'll just shave off a zero from each and report it.

Jiraiya walked into the tent and saw Orochimaru hunched over the desk, scribbling furiously with an excited expression. He assumed the thrill of the great victory hadn't worn off yet.

In truth, his own spirits were running pretty high too.

Hearing the noise, Orochimaru only glanced back. Seeing it was Jiraiya, he paid no further attention and continued writing at the desk—this was all funding for his research!

Jiraiya clasped his hands behind his head and plopped down casually across from Orochimaru.

"Yo, Orochimaru, being Deputy Commander is this exhausting? I can hardly imagine how much work the old man has to do."

Jiraiya looked at the mountain of documents beside Orochimaru, then at Orochimaru himself, whose hand was moving so fast it left afterimages as he processed files. He couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

The old man probably spends his office time peeping with the Crystal Ball Jutsu! I bet he's a slacker too—not like my Orochimaru here, working overtime for Konoha's sake, burning the midnight oil on paperwork!

"You planning to leave again?"

Orochimaru didn't look up, his pen still flying as he altered the data.

Funding, funding, funding—so much experimental funding!

"Yeah, this Hero thinks I've found the Child of Prophecy!"

Jiraiya hesitated, holding back from mentioning the Rinnegan. He feared that Orochimaru, so devoted to Konoha, might try to eliminate a potential threat to the village's future.

"Jiraiya, don't let that vague prophecy shackle your life."

Orochimaru rarely lifted his head to glance at Jiraiya, then lowered it again to the next document.

"Well, Orochimaru, rest assured. This Big Daddy is the Toad Sage, the free-spirited Hero Jiraiya—even the position of Hokage can't bind me."

Jiraiya didn't directly answer Orochimaru's words. Deep down, he held great respect for the Great Toad Sage; without Mount Myōboku's help, he wouldn't have achieved what he had today.

"Orochimaru, I'm leaving the matter of Tsunade to you. If you need anything, I'll come back to help."

Jiraiya was referring to the circumstances behind Danzō Katō's death that Tsunade had mentioned. He now intended to train Nagato, whom he believed to be the Child of Prophecy, and wouldn't leave until at least Nagato and his two companions had enough strength to protect themselves.

Orochimaru nodded.

"This matter can't be rushed. The investigation is progressing very slowly. The people behind it have significant backing, and with the authority I currently hold, continuing the investigation will be very difficult."

Orochimaru's authority was temporary, and it wouldn't last long. With the war over, his position as wartime Deputy Commander would certainly be revoked.

But fortunately, he had used this opportunity to win over many Konoha ninja who leaned toward him, like Mito Uzumaki.

Jiraiya grasped the key point and bid Orochimaru farewell. Next, he would report to the Third Hokage. Luckily, with the war now ended and the village still having high-level combatants like Sakumo and Orochimaru available, Hiruzen Sarutobi likely wouldn't refuse his request.

Orochimaru continued raking in the money.

"Discovered 120 grams of Chakra Metal? Something this precious couldn't possibly be 120 grams—it's clearly 70, no, 50 grams that's reasonable! Pocket the rest!"

Seeing the words "Chakra Metal," Orochimaru remembered the Raijin's Sword in Aoi Rokushō's hands back in Amegakure.

Like the White Fang Shortsword, it was forged from Chakra Metal.

Generally, a shortsword of 70 to 90 centimeters was ideal; any longer would require too much Chakra Metal, so the weight usually ranged from one to one and a half kilograms. These 120 grams of Chakra Metal might barely cover a fraction of that.

Too bad he was set to return to Konoha tomorrow.

With Hanzo of the Salamander stationed in Amegakure, there was no way he could set up a plan in just one night.

Taking down Aoi Rokushō without alerting Hanzo would be very difficult.

Suddenly, Orochimaru's brow twitched. He didn't have time, but that didn't mean someone else didn't...

Orochimaru pulled out the contact information Kakuzu had left behind.

Back when Kakuzu and Orochimaru had made a big deal, Kakuzu had deemed Orochimaru a wealthy, high-quality client and left this note with a location as a means of contact.

The location on the note was an underground black market, where someone was one of Kakuzu's men.

A small white snake slithered out from Orochimaru's sleeve. Orochimaru grabbed a scroll, wrote down his bounty and the request for the employer to bring back the Raijin's Sword, and stuffed it into the small snake's open mouth.

The snake crawled into a dark corner to hide. It would head to the underground black market to contact Kakuzu once all Konoha personnel had withdrawn.

Aoi Rokushō was still only a Chūnin. Even with the Raijin's Sword, he could at most put up a fight against a Jōnin, but he was no match for Kakuzu. As long as Kakuzu found an opportunity to avoid Hanzo, it wouldn't be a difficult task for him.

Orochimaru went back to processing documents.

He had already finished handling the spoils he could skim from. Next came the battle merit reports—there wasn't much profit to be made there, and it was easy to stir up trouble. Orochimaru had no intention of seeking gains in that area.

Opening the first page, the image that appeared was a handsome young man with dazzling golden hair and a smile as bright as sunlight on his face.

This was Jiraiya's disciple, Minato Namikaze.

Though he had not yet mastered the Flying Thunder God, Minato still possessed incredible speed, and paired with his well-honed Wind Release, he was already a force to be reckoned with.

Although this was Minato's first time participating in such a large-scale war mission, he had still earned considerable military merit. Both his strength and achievements met the standard—if he passed the theoretical exam, this fourteen-year-old would have no trouble becoming a Jōnin.

After all, among the Three Ninja, Tsunade and Jiraiya had also become Jōnin at this age. Orochimaru was a year younger, becoming a Jōnin at thirteen.

Rows upon rows of ninja rosters and merit records lay before him. Orochimaru only needed to verify whether the achievements were falsified.

He was also taking this opportunity to scout for promising talent, to see if there was any chance of drawing them to his side.

Orochimaru worked through the entire night before finishing the paperwork.

The next morning, a silver-white crescent moon hung at the edge of the sky. Dawn gradually revealed a rosy hue, and the morning light shone upon the earth, reflecting off puddles on the ground like gems embedded in the soil.

Heaven was kind—the Land of Rain had a rare spell of good weather.

As a ninja, one often had to carry out assassinations, infiltrations, and other missions where timing was everything. Staying up two or three nights in a row was routine, let alone for a Kage-level powerhouse like Orochimaru.

The weather was growing colder. The winter of Konoha Year 36 was approaching.

Orochimaru handed the processed documents to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen was somewhat moved. He knew how much work he had given Orochimaru, yet Orochimaru had completed the assigned tasks overnight.

In truth, it was because Orochimaru had been too excited to sleep after suddenly acquiring so much money in the first half of the night, so he simply finished the paperwork on the spot.

Patting his beloved disciple on the shoulder, Hiruzen gave the documents a cursory glance. He didn't notice Orochimaru's falsified accounts; instead, he seemed quite satisfied, as if he felt the results were acceptable.

The Konoha ninja were dismantling the camp, packing up everything usable to take with them. Most of them had smiles on their faces—they no longer had to worry about whether they would die in battle tomorrow. Soon, they would return to the village and see the faces of their wives, children, and loved ones.

The Second Ninja War had erupted in Konoha Year 31 and was now ending in Konoha Year 36.

Because of Orochimaru's increased strength, which brought many positive effects, the war ended somewhat earlier than in the original timeline.

Even so, it had been a full five years of war. A small portion of the ninja were utterly exhausted, having held on in this hellish battlefield for five straight years.

The first batch of ninja to set foot on the battlefield five years ago had suffered the heaviest casualties. Though there had been occasional rotations back to Konoha for rest over the years, as long as they weren't dead or wounded, they would only get a few months of respite before having to pack their ninja tool pouches again and head back to the front lines.

Every day on the battlefield demanded their nerves be stretched taut. Without sufficient willpower, they would never have made it this far.

But thankfully, they could go home now.