Earn Her Way Up the Mountain!

Passing through the courtyard's splendor, even the heavy formalin smell on Orochimaru was dyed into a rich cherry blossom fragrance.

Jiang Feng slouched against a large, soft bench by the window, nodding to Konan, who cast a concerned gaze from the courtyard, signaling that she need not worry—he was in no danger.

Konan had an instinctive fear of Orochimaru; anyone who saw him would feel the same instinctive dread.

Now, this viper who made all shrink in fear was himself flustered by a chain reaction set off by Jiang Feng.

The two engaged in a silent standoff.

In the end, it was Orochimaru who lost his composure first, handing Jiang Feng a scroll: "This is the quarterly dividend from the pharmaceutical factory. Count it and see if the amount is correct."

Jiang Feng took the scroll and gave it a rough tally. The money within was immense—so much that he could, like the chivalrous heroes in martial arts novels, spend gold like dirt without a blink, generously dispersing his wealth.

"Our medicine has no shortage of buyers. At the very least, those Aristocrats will love it. The untapped market is still vast. This quarter's profit has more than doubled compared to last month, and next quarter, it should double again."

Orochimaru briefly summarized the state of the pharmaceutical factory, which he and Jiang Feng had invested in through technology, with Konoha's officialdom handling promotion and sales channels.

He, the great Cold-blooded Orochimaru, had to raise research funds by developing and selling that kind of medicine—how disgraceful it was to say aloud.

Fortunately, Konoha's officialdom held the majority stake and handled the promotion and sales channels, so no one knew that little blue pill was his creation.

Orochimaru guessed that Jiang Feng, too, feared the shame of it being known, which was why he had pulled Konoha's officialdom in and stayed behind the scenes to quietly rake in the profits.

"Money—what a wonderful thing!"

Jiang Feng put away the scroll and sighed: "With the dividends from the factory, the village's days will be much better too."

Orochimaru nodded. He knew the factory's situation and agreed that money was a good thing.

Everyone knew that Uchiha Jiang Feng was best at making friends, making money, and killing people. Among these, making money was tied to this factory, which partnered with Konoha's officialdom and several clans.

Currently, the factory's main profit generators were, first, the Sildenafil, which Jiang Feng conceptualized and Orochimaru developed, targeting the Aristocrat male market and publicly marketed as a treatment for cardiovascular disease.

Second, a series of female skincare products, with formulas provided by Jiang Feng and herbs supplied by the Nara and other clans, targeting the Aristocrat female market. They claimed to beautify and nourish the skin, and indeed, they did.

All those skincare formulas originated from the [Template] of Yaoyue Lianxing, the two Palace Mistresses of Yihua Palace.

One man and one woman had cornered the Ninja World's Aristocrats. Everyone involved—individuals, clans, and even Konoha's officialdom—made a killing. This was also one reason Jiang Feng enjoyed such good connections and an exalted status in Konoha.

With money settled, it was time to talk about swords.

Orochimaru continued: "That Kusanagi Sword you asked me to forge is also taking shape. I've gathered all the raw materials and found a skilled swordsmith. It won't be long before the sword is in your hands."

The Kusanagi Sword in the Ninja World didn't refer to a single blade but a class of swords—sharp enough, with excellent Chakra conductivity, tough enough to be nearly indestructible.

To draw an analogy from the neighboring One Piece, it was like the Twelve Supreme Grade Swords.

A swordsman without a good sword was like a man without money. Jiang Feng, who often styled himself the Immortal Swordsman, naturally wanted a fine sword—a truly peerless one.

Not just powerful, but also stylish—a peerless good sword.

In the original story, Orochimaru had pulled out more than one Kusanagi Sword. Since their relationship was good enough, Jiang Feng naturally entrusted the sword-forging to him.

"Thank you."

Jiang Feng remained impassive. He knew this still wasn't the real reason Orochimaru had come to see him.

Orochimaru suddenly sighed: "You seem to know why I came to find you?"

"These past few days, anyone connected to the Hokage who comes to see me can only be here for that one thing," Jiang Feng said flatly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's plan was bold and unexpected, but Jiang Feng had read the original story. He knew the subsequent development of Sunagakure and Pakura's later experiences.

Combining that with information gathered through various channels, he could roughly deduce the current thoughts of Sunagakure's higher-ups, Pakura's situation, and Hiruzen's plan.

Hiruzen wanted to trick Pakura into "coming up the mountain."

In the original story, Pakura was collectively betrayed by the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and Sunagakure's higher-ups to Kirigakure. This wasn't a conspiracy theory—it was a conspiracy clearly stated in the databooks.

Because in the original story, Pakura was just a character glossed over. Why she was betrayed, Kishimoto never said. Jiang Feng could only deduce it based on the Ninja World's political situation and the information he had gathered.

Pakura was betrayed for two reasons: first, her personal ideals clashed with Sunagakure's higher-ups; second, she genuinely threatened Rasa's position as Kazekage.

Though Konoha and Sunagakure had fought to the bloody end in the Second Ninja World War, with deep-seated grievances, neither major village currently had any desire for expansion. In fact, they had been trying to mend their relationship, which aligned with both villages' interests and demands.

But Pakura was a pure Ninja—a brainless "tool" who couldn't see the situation. She only knew the world had fighting and killing, not that it also had human relations and social graces.

What made Sunagakure's higher-ups even more headache-inducing was that Pakura was popular among the village's grassroots: everyone loves a hothead.

Killing a Cloud elite today, killing a Konoha elite tomorrow—Pakura was naturally worshipped by Sunagakure's ordinary villagers. Good kills—enemy Ninja deserved to die.

Ordinary Sunagakure villagers and Ninja weren't rational enough to see that the village hadn't recovered its strength and couldn't afford war. Even if they could, they wouldn't care—they wanted to vent their anger.

Villagers and ordinary Ninja could be impulsive, but the Kazekage and Sunagakure's higher-ups couldn't. What Sunagakure needed most was to recuperate and make money, not war.

The higher-ups wanted to recuperate; the grassroots wanted war. Pakura was the vessel for the grassroots' hotheaded ideology.

As long as Pakura existed, Sunagakure's ideology could never be unified. She threatened not just the Kazekage's seat but also the village's long-term plans and internal harmony.

Under these circumstances, it made sense that in the original story, that madman Rasa betrayed Pakura, and Sunagakure's higher-ups collectively kept silent and secret.

The old fox Hiruzen saw Sunagakure's current situation clearly and wanted to repeat the trick he used on Uzumaki, setting his sights on Pakura.

Why bother betraying her?

Why not just marry her off to Konoha?

Konoha has always had a tradition of marriage alliances!

Konoha gained a powerful Kekkei Genkai ninja, Sunagakure eliminated internal threats and unified its ideology, and neither village had to bear the infamy of betraying a hero—two villages with no active desire for expansion could also enjoy lasting friendship.

How was this just a win-win? This was winning countless times over!

The only difficulty in this matter was how to handle Pakura. Most women only like men stronger than themselves; perhaps some women are exceptions, but Pakura absolutely was.

Moreover, Pakura was a beauty in the absolute sense. Konoha had to produce a man who was a perfect match for her in every way to give Sunagakure an explanation.

Minato Namikaze, Cold-blooded Orochimaru, and Jiang Feng—only these three in Konoha met the requirements.

Minato Namikaze could be ruled out. Kushina would never allow him to take another woman, and Minato Namikaze was not a fickle or promiscuous person.

Orochimaru could also be ruled out. First, he didn't like women; second, sometimes he wasn't human; and third, he could even be a woman.

So this arduous task could only fall on Jiang Feng.