"So eager?"
" Hatake Sakumo hasn't even decided on a wife yet, and there's not even a hint of a son coming along."
Does he need to be in such a hurry for this agreement?
Uchiha Nan felt a pang of sadness; the legendary Hatake Sakumo the Ninja world during the Second Shinobi World War, had become what he was now!
Shrewd and calculating, cautious and prudent, and adept at spouting inspirational quotes.
Kakuzu, you are utterly depraved!
" Lord Hokage, you have no idea how many people outside want to kill this white-haired kid. Not only do many people want to kill him, but they are also extremely willing to spend money."
"As far as I know, there are spies in Konoha keeping watch on them, specifically targeting that white-haired kid, Hatake Sakumo. The Konoha police have already arrested four or five of them, but it's still a persistent problem."
"Besides, they've already used poison. If it weren't for Little White Hair's cautious nature—always cooking for himself, buying his own ingredients, and testing the food for poison before eating out—otherwise, hmph."
Kakuzu didn't finish his sentence, only letting out a few cold snorts.
Uchiha Nan's eyes widened in disbelief. The assassination attempts against Hatake Sakumo Hatake Sakumo become so rampant that it was no wonder he would sign such an agreement.
"Is there no follow-up action from the Konoha Police Force? Such a heinous incident should be thoroughly investigated according to regulations, and even my own Anbu will be involved."
When Uchiha Nan inquired about the follow-up developments of the incident, he mentioned that he had already issued a personal safety protection order for Hatake Sakumo, and that the Konoha Military Police Force and the Anbu would protect Hatake Sakumo's safety.
After all, no matter what, Hatake Sakumo risked his life for Konoha, even if his methods were a bit... cough cough.
But in the end, it was all for Konoha!
It would be one thing if Hatake Sakumo were assassinated outside Konoha.
Now, assassinations are actually happening in Konoha.
This is a slap in the face to oneself!
"The power behind this group is enormous. The members they sent out committed suicide as soon as they were captured, and their brains were specially treated. The Yamanaka Clan's mental techniques had little effect, and they only managed to gather a few clues."
"Tracing the source of spies is no easy task; it might even require tracing back to the Land of Lightning, crossing several countries in the process."
"Hmm, this is indeed a very difficult situation. They're not bounty hunters, they're all assassins."
Uchiha Nan frowned after hearing Kakuzu's words. The group that wanted to kill Hatake Sakumo was indeed very willing to spend money.
These are suicide squad members!
It wasn't those bounty hunters. Bounty hunters are only after money; they care more about their lives than money.
Only someone like Kakuzu could dare to commit crimes against Konoha, possessing immense strength and a willingness to risk his life for money.
Desperate after losing money in futures trading, he was even willing to go alone to the camp of Konoha's main force to the Hyuga Clan Head Family.
"It seems the Land of Lightning and the Kumogakure have made their move."
Uchiha Nan stated his judgment: assassins are not something that ordinary families can train. Either a big shot from the Land of Lightning has taken action, or the victims from the Kumogakure have made their move, or the two groups have joined forces.
"Then I can only wish Hatake Sakumo the best of luck."
"I wish him to find a good wife soon and have a healthy, chubby son. I'll give him a big red envelope then."
Uchiha Nan was also at a loss about this matter. There's no way you can guard against a thief for a thousand days if you're a thief for a thousand days. He had done all he could, and the rest was up to Hatake Sakumo's luck.
After all, Hatake Sakumo earned a considerable amount of money. Even if Konoha ninja of his rank worked hard for three lifetimes, he wouldn't earn as much as Hatake Sakumo did this time.
" Lord Hokage, I will tell the little white-haired guy!"
"Furthermore, before Hatake Sakumo gets married and has a son, I will find a way to protect him. After all, his family fortune is quite substantial, especially considering the profits from this Ponzi scheme. And..."
Kakuzu's green, beady eyes gleamed with cunning, determined to acquire Hatake Sakumo's fortune. Not only the fortune, but even Hatake Sakumo's body was something Kakuzu coveted.
Hatake Sakumo's head is worth more than his entire fortune!
Kakuzu an adult; he wants Hatake Sakumo 'Hatake Sakumo estate and his bounty!
Hopefully, Hatake Sakumo can work hard, get married soon, and have a son.
And those weaklings from Kumogakure also need to keep working hard. Ordinary ninjas can't kill Hatake Sakumo; a group of powerful ninjas must gather together to surround and kill Hatake Sakumo.
Knowing he had caused a great disaster Hatake Sakumo never stopped training. Only by becoming strong enough could he live longer.
When that sharp, unique swordsmanship was unleashed, all that could be seen was a flash of white light. Even Kakuzu and Hatake Sakumo would feel their scalps tingle, and Kakuzu could lose his life in the blink of an eye.
"It seems that signing this agreement with you is quite a good deal for Hatake Sakumo."
Looking at the radiant Kakuzu, Uchiha Nan smiled and couldn't help but speak.
"Of course!"
" Lord Hokage, I won't linger here any longer. I need to discuss a business deal. The common people of the Land of Waves are pooling their money to hire Konoha's construction team to build a giant bridge."
"Not only that, we also need to hire Konoha ninjas to drive away the surrounding ronin."
"These poor bastards can't squeeze much out of us, they definitely can't afford this money. But once the bridge is built, it will become the only transportation hub connecting the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire. So I plan to give them a loan and get a portion of the operating rights for the bridge. Then we can just sit back and make a fortune in tolls."
"Moreover, building Canned Food Factory in the Land of Waves would definitely be very profitable. It's a coastal country with abundant fish resources, and the Land of Waves people there have been fishermen for generations. Most of them own boats, so it would be easy to hire a large number of skilled fishermen who bring their own production tools."
"A single investment yields enormous profits! Absolutely huge profits!"
Kakuzu started talking about investments, he became quite eloquent, pulling out a portable calculator from his pocket and rattling off a series of calculations: this deal had low initial investment but potentially substantial returns.
Uchiha Nan listened patiently to Kakuzu's plan, nodding in agreement from time to time, his face full of admiration for Kakuzu. This was the kind of employee he had always dreamed of!
Bringing Kakuzu into Konoha was an incredibly wise choice.
Uchiha Nan did have some recollection of the small country of the Land of Waves.
A small island nation near the Land of Fire, weak and impoverished, and in the original Hokage manga, it was the location of Team 7's first mission.
At that time Land of Waves was still ruled by a third-rate character named Gato. In order to stop the construction of the bridge, this third-rate character even enlisted the Zabuza of Kirigakure ninja from Kirigakure.
However, these are all irrelevant matters now, Uchiha Nan doesn't care about them.
The only thing that Uchiha Nan cared about was this bridge. After the bridge was built in the original Hokage, it did indeed benefit from the Land of Fire, and the spring breeze of industrialization reached the Land of Waves.
In just a few years, the Land of Waves became increasingly prosperous.
Go for it, I trust your judgment.
" Lord Hokage, I'll be taking my leave now."
After finishing his sentence, Kakuzu hurriedly left Uchiha Nan's office.
Afterwards, Uchiha Nan stretched and walked to the map hanging in his office. He carefully looked at the map and found the Land of Land of Waves, marking it with a sign.
Another country is about to fall to Konoha, and cheap labor, markets, and raw materials will all be opened to Konoha because of a bridge!
Good days are coming for the Land of Waves!
The kindness of Konoha's father is about to shine on the Land of Waves. It feels so good to win without bloodshed!
The next moment, the appearance of black, sticky liquid on the soles of his feet interrupted Uchiha Nan's reverie.
"Brother, I'm back."
" Otōto, you can come in through the front door next time. Don't appear out of nowhere like this at my feet."
As Uchiha Nan spoke, he habitually touched Black Zetsu's bald head. It was sticky and slippery, with a peculiar feel, but it was quite comfortable.
"Okay, I understand, elder brother."
Black Zetsu closed his eyes, enjoying Uchiha Nan's caresses.
"How's your investigation of the Sky Ninja Village going?"
Uchiha Nan returned to his seat and inquired about information regarding the Sky Ninja Village. Black Zetsu should have been keeping watch in the Sky Ninja Village, but he had returned without a word, so he must have something important to report.
" The Sky Ninja Village's forces set off the night before last, carrying the Zero-Tailed Beast and Air Fortress."
"They're heading towards Konoha?"
Uchiha Nan's tone revealed his impatience. He had long wanted to find an excuse to destroy the Sky Ninja Village, but the situation in the Ninja world was changing too quickly, so he kept putting it off.
However, there's nothing that can be done about it; Uchiha Nan isn't a god, and he can't possibly plan everything.
Now that the Sky Ninja Village has willingly offered its head to Konoha for a beating, they can't blame Konoha.
"No, elder brother, they went towards the direction of Kumogakure )."
"What, Kumogakure?"
Uchiha Nan exclaimed in surprise, "Why are they heading towards Kumogakure?"
According to the original work, the Sky Ninja Village was a powerful and well-equipped force at this time.
Especially after creating the Zero-Tailed Beast -Zero-Tailed Beast, a unique artificial creation, and utilizing its ability to absorb negative human emotions and transform them into Dark Chakra for large fortresses, they also created Air Fortress and flying ninjas, thus completely controlling the air.
This led to their arrogance spiraling out of control, to the point that they believed the Sky Ninja Village could rival Konoha, and they became complacent after their temporary victory in the air raids on Konoha.
They then provoked the other three major ninja villages, using the characteristics of their air force to launch an air raid that destroyed ground facilities, followed by repeated air raids to eliminate the remaining forces of the ninja villages.
Relying on such unscrupulous tactics, they were invincible in war, and eventually even arrogantly believed that the Sky Ninja Village could unify the Five Great Nations with its air force.
However, this idea was quickly slapped in the face by Konoha.
Taking advantage of the aerial fortress's resupply on the ground, Konoha launched a surprise attack. The Sky Ninja didn't even have a chance to take off before being wiped out by Konoha Ninja.
In that battle, the Sky Ninja Village was almost destroyed, and all the spoils of war went to Konoha, including the Zero-Tailed Beast.
Only the remnants of the Sky Ninja remained, led by Sky Ninja, barely surviving in the Ninja world. They disguised themselves and raised funds during the two Ninja world Wars, hoping to restore the Sky Ninja Village to its former glory, only to be brought back to its original state by Naruto.
Uchiha Nan recalled the events surrounding the Sky Ninja Village, noting that the first target in which the Sky Ninja Village established its authority in the Ninja world was Konoha.
It has now become the Kumogakure.
It seems that the Sky Ninja Village wanted to pick an easy target, but Konoha was too tough. Coincidentally, the main force of the Kumogakure was all in the Land of Earth, giving the Sky Ninja Village a golden opportunity.
Kumogakure is truly... miserable!
Their elite troops were all sent out to seek revenge, and now their hometown is about to be destroyed.
His own butterfly effect eventually impacted the Kumogakure.
Uchiha Nan silently mourned for Kumogakure for three seconds. He had gotten used to these plot changes, after all, the current storyline was completely different from the original.
Even the big boss Madara Uchiha, was still in Konoha's factory fixing screws.
Even Uchiha Nan couldn't quite figure out Madara Uchiha's thought process.
Regardless, this is a good thing. As long as he is willing to retire in Konoha and doesn't cause trouble, he can do whatever he wants!
Madara Uchiha likes screwing in screws, so let him shine in the factory; it'll be a good opportunity for him to contribute to Konoha.
As competition among Konoha factories intensified, it became increasingly common for ninjas to "neglect their duties" and work in factories.
It's not as easy to get promoted quickly in the factory by using your ninja identity as a means as it was a few years ago. Everything is based on performance evaluations now; whoever does more and faster will get promoted quickly.
Madara Uchiha was always one of the best, even a leader. Even after becoming the factory manager, he was still recognized and honored, transforming from a model employee into a model factory manager.
Uchiha Nan also consciously wanted to mold Madara Uchiha into a typical character similar to Orochimaru.
A true representative of someone who rose from a low-level employee to factory manager, whose struggle was filled with the dream of Konoha and the Will of Fire of the new era by Uchiha Nan!
Konoha TV is preparing an interview with Madara Uchiha, hoping he will share his experiences fighting in Konoha and convey the Will of Fire of Konoha to the entire Ninja world.
"Brother, what should we do now?"
" The Air Fortress of Sky Ninja Village is crucial to saving Mother. Although it's an alternative plan, we still can't give up on it."
Black Zetsu spoke somewhat anxiously, Uchiha Nan patted Black Zetsu's head again, signaling it to calm down.
"As long as we don't give up, there's always a way. The actions of the Sky Ninja Village are beyond just evil; they don't even respect the Five Great Ninja Villages anymore. If they dare to attack the Kumogakure today, they'll dare to attack the Hidden Konoha Village tomorrow!"
Uchiha Nan spoke righteously, determined to obtain the Zero-Tailed Beast and the large group of technicians from the Sky Ninja.
The Kumogakure Sky Ninja Village's provocation of those mad dogs is bound to end badly. After all, even a broken ship has three thousand nails. Even Konoha doesn't want to fight the Kumogakure at this time.
Originally, they planned to sit back and watch the four great ninja villages fight it out, letting them bleed slowly and weaken their strength. But now they have to take action.
Konoha needs to find an excuse to get involved!
Uchiha Nan sat in the chair and began to ponder.