Splurging

After Sasori and Hidan were done, Hyuga Shin performed his usual inspection. He found nothing unusual, and the seal was stable, which put his mind at ease.

"Good. You can feel it when my consciousness enters, right?" Hyuga Shin then asked the three of them about the specifics.

Though it had worked, he still wanted to hear about their experience using it.

"Definitely. The moment your will entered, Boss, I sensed it. I could also receive further feedback from the consciousness inside the soul space."

Kakuzu was the first to answer.

"Same here. It seems to work really well," Sasori added.

"I feel the same way," Hidan said, agreeing with his two teammates.

"Good, then. Next, we need to choose a location for setting up the Small Space Barrier. Do any of you have any suggestions?"

Seeing that the three of them agreed, Hyuga Shin was no longer worried. He then asked for their opinions.

"Are there any specific requirements for the location, Boss?" Kakuzu asked.

"It should be somewhere with few people around, a good environment, and abundant energy. It'd be even better if it were secluded."

Hyuga Shin laid out his requirements.

"That might be hard to find on short notice."

"Hidan, Sasori, do either of you have any good suggestions?"

Kakuzu thought it over, but couldn't come up with anything, so he asked his two teammates.

"I can't think of anywhere suitable for now."

"Me neither."

They were still young and hadn't been to many places, so neither Sasori nor Hidan could think of a suitable location.

"Then we'll put this off for a little while. Everyone should put their heads together and look for promising locations as soon as possible, then report them to me."

"Establishing our base is crucial to Spark's future! The sooner, the better!"

Hyuga Shin knew they might not find a suitable place right away, but he still wanted them to take the matter seriously.

All three said they'd keep it in mind and find promising places as soon as possible, then let Hyuga Shin choose among them.

With the matter temporarily set aside, Hyuga Shin recalled Kakuzu's earlier comment that the organization needed money to grow.

He needed to take that issue seriously, too.

"Kakuzu mentioned earlier that the organization needs money to grow. I'll admit, I hadn't paid enough attention to that."

"Besides, of the three of you, Kakuzu's probably the only one with any assets. Sasori and Hidan, I bet you're both broke."

"Come with me to the bank in the Land of Wind's capital in a bit. I'll transfer a sum to each of you. Getting stronger takes a lot of resources, after all."

Hyuga Shin decided to give them some support, and to allocate some money to Kakuzu to manage as the organization's reserve fund.

"Really, Boss? Thank you so much!" Sasori exclaimed, delighted.

Of the three, Sasori was the one who needed financial help most. His Puppet Technique was a huge money sink, and he probably barely had a few coins in his pocket.

"Boss, I don't need any. Save it for the organization's reserve fund," Kakuzu said. Though he was greedy for money, he always put the organization first.

"Boss, give me a few tens of millions of ryo! I want to buy some evil ninja to sacrifice to Lord Jashin!"

Hidan had finally grasped roughly how much a million ryo was. The moment he heard Hyuga Shin was handing out money, he immediately made an outrageous demand.

He wasn't shy about it at all. Ever since he'd learned to bargain, he'd been getting more and more brazen.

"Let's go!"

Hyuga Shin didn't delay. He casually dispelled the Sealing Technique on the barrier, led the three downstairs, paid the bill of over a hundred thousand ryo, and headed for the bank in the Land of Wind's capital.

Next came the exciting part: handing out cash.

At the bank, Hyuga Shin transferred twenty million ryo to Hidan's account.

The main reason was that Hidan's strength depended entirely on the Evil God, so money wouldn't do much for him.

Besides, if he really used the money to put bounties on ninja and sacrifice them to the Evil God, he'd attract far too much attention. Spark might be exposed and become a target for everyone.

It was enough to give him some spending money.

As for Sasori, Hyuga Shin transferred fifty million ryo to him.

Puppeteers were always a huge money sink, and Hyuga Shin had faith in Sasori's talent. He hoped Sasori would use the money to improve his strength as much as possible.

Finally, it was Kakuzu's turn. Hyuga Shin transferred a whopping five hundred and fifty million ryo to him!

When Kakuzu saw the newly entered balance in his bankbook, he could barely control his breathing.

It was simply too much!

He couldn't understand why Hyuga Shin had transferred so much money to him.

After they left the bank, Hyuga Shin explained why he'd divided the money that way, so they wouldn't feel he was treating them differently.

Everyone understood the reasons for Hidan and Sasori's amounts.

The main thing he needed to explain was Kakuzu's situation.

Hyuga Shin wanted Kakuzu to serve as the organization's chief financial officer. Kakuzu loved money, but he had excellent self-control and wouldn't waste it.

Kakuzu was right: the organization's growth would depend on financial support.

And Hyuga Shin might have other urgent matters to deal with next. He couldn't stay by their side at all times.

Orochimaru wouldn't be able to join them for a while, either.

That meant the task of growing the organization would probably fall to the three of them.

So Hyuga Shin appointed Kakuzu as Spark Organization's chief financial officer and entrusted him with most of the reserve funds.

As they recruited members and needed money, they could simply apply to Kakuzu for funding.

That way, they wouldn't have to ask Hyuga Shin for money again.

Once he explained, Hidan and Sasori had no objections. They were still too young to manage the money, after all.

Kakuzu, however, felt a lot of pressure. He loved money, but this money had to be used to grow the organization, and there would surely be plenty for him to worry about.

Even so, Kakuzu was delighted that Hyuga Shin trusted him without reservation.

It felt wonderful to be valued, needed, and entrusted with an important responsibility!

The money had been handed out, and nearly everything Hyuga Shin could deal with for now had been taken care of. All that remained was choosing a location.

Just as Hyuga Shin had said, the sooner, the better. He was worried the Sage of Six Paths wouldn't give him much time.

So Hyuga Shin decided to travel around the Shinobi World himself.

He'd see if he could find a suitable location, and look for promising recruits along the way.

Then he took Kakuzu, Sasori, and Hidan out of the capital and found a quiet place to discuss their next steps.

"I'm going to lay out the organization's plans and offer some advice. After you've heard me out, feel free to share any thoughts."

"Your next task is to search the Shinobi World for promising sparks and handle the groundwork."

"Once I find a suitable location and successfully set up a Small Space Barrier, you can try inviting the people you think are promising to join the organization."

"Also, keep a low profile. It's not time for the organization to emerge into the open yet. Make sure you carefully evaluate everyone you select."

"I need to travel around the Shinobi World and see if I can find a suitable place to set up the barrier. Kakuzu will organize your operations while I'm gone."

"Remember, staying alive is always the top priority! We can only achieve our ideals if we're still alive."

"There's no shame in running when you can't win. Refusing to run when you're outmatched—that's just stupid!"

"Don't trust what people say too easily, especially when you're fighting them. If you run into someone who likes debating ideals and beliefs with you—"

"If they're within your power, kill them quickly. If not, get away as soon as you can!"

"Because you never know whether the person arguing with you is even the real one!"

As Hyuga Shin went over the plans, he also cautioned the three of them, making sure to keep them on their toes.

He didn't want Kakuzu and Sasori to end up with the same ridiculous fates they'd met in the original story.

"I hope you'll keep my advice in mind. Do you have any questions or suggestions about my plans?"

Hyuga Shin looked at Kakuzu, Hidan, and Sasori, who had listened attentively, and asked.

"Boss's advice is very sound. I have no objections to the plans," Kakuzu said, the eldest of the three, taking the lead as expected.

"I'd like to ask, Boss: should we operate separately or together?" Sasori asked, sharing what was on his mind.

"You can work separately or as a group. Either is fine."

"But you and Hidan are still young and inexperienced, so you should stick with Kakuzu for now."

Hyuga Shin answered Sasori's question and offered his advice.

Now that they had a firewall, they were much safer.

"Understood, Boss. I have no objections," Sasori replied.

"I don't have any questions. I'll remember everything you said, Boss." When Hyuga Shin looked at him, Hidan readily agreed.

"All right, that's enough for today. The rest is up to you."

"Go find promising sparks and bring light and hope to this dark, twisted world. Your future is full of possibilities!"

Hyuga Shin's words rang with passion.