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"My apologies... Lord Shendu, my subordinates have failed you..."

Deep beneath the Daimyo Mansion in the Land of Fire, the secret passage had been completely renovated by Enshi Shu. The once-dusty, gloomy room had been transformed into a "luxury suite" adorned with opulent wallpaper and antique gold and silver ornaments.

"Do not be discouraged, child. Those who oppose you are none other than Qi Magic users who have inherited the mantle of the evil Saint Warrior."

"That old man can cast all sorts of powerful Qi Magic, and that pink starfish also possesses special powers. It is understandable that your subordinates failed..."

"If we cannot best them in raw strength, perhaps we should change our approach..."

"Change our approach?"

Listening to Shendu's riddle, Enshi Shu looked up in confusion, though he felt a sense of awe.

"I can feel it. My Talismans are resurfacing in clusters from the earth. Those wretched Qi Magic users cannot possibly keep track of all the Talismans at once, and neither can our warriors."

"Since that is the case, why not play to our strengths?"

"Strengths?"

It must be said that listening to riddles was truly exhausting. If it weren't for the fact that the other party was his beloved "Lord Shendu," Enshi Shu would have slapped him across the face long ago.

"Our strength is that we have money. With the wealth I have accumulated over these past thousand years, we can offer a worldwide bounty for those Talismans. Some Talismans may be useless to ordinary people, but I do not believe money is the same..."

Shendu's plan was highly effective. After all, this was a cutthroat world where, aside from strength, money was the most important thing. Furthermore, the Tiger and Sheep Talismans were of no use to ordinary people. Wouldn't it be sweet to "exchange cold Talismans for warm banknotes"?

As Qian Yu randomly scattered the Talismans, Enshi Shu released a "Lost Property Bounty" to the entire Ninja World.

A bounty of one hundred million ryo per Talisman was enough to shock people across every nation in the Ninja World. The Daimyos of the other four great nations were left scratching their heads, whispering among themselves, "Since when did the Daimyo of the Land of Fire have such a family heirloom?"

One hundred million ryo might not be a fortune to these rulers of nations, but it was certainly not a small sum either. One had to remember that the reward for an S-rank mission was only a million ryo. "Is that newly appointed Daimyo of the Land of Fire a fool?!"

While the Daimyos of the four nations were making such assessments, other talented and eccentric individuals in the Ninja World also saw the enticing bounty notice.

Standing atop a mountain valley, holding a corpse and forcibly ripping out its heart, a man with numerous black tentacles extending from his armpits and arms saw the staggering bounty. His face, which had not shown any emotional fluctuation for decades, revealed a trace of surprise, immediately replaced by joy and excitement.

"Looks like a big job is coming..."

"Yo! Isn't this Lord Kakuzu? It's been a long time, and you're looking younger than ever!"

At the Bounty Office, the person in charge showed an expression of fawning respect the moment he saw the visitor's face.

Indeed, the visitor was none other than the "Takigakure missing-nin," the "Akatsuki financial director," the "man who walked away unscathed from the First Hokage," and one half of the Immortal Duo—"Kakuzu"!

Although the Bounty Office was vast and its operations covered the entire Ninja World, they still had to show some courtesy when facing a "living Yama" and "top-tier killer" like Kakuzu.

"Cut the crap. Calculate how much these heads are worth."

Kakuzu's expression remained unchanged. He simply dumped all the heads out of the large sack on his back and impatiently told the person in charge to hurry up.

"A total of 40 million ryo. Please, take it."

"40 million ryo, is it..."

Kakuzu put away the suitcase full of banknotes and thought to himself, "As expected... nothing good this time..."

After pondering for a long time, he finally decided to take out a small portion of the money—though it still pained him—to inquire about the Talismans.

Sunagakure, Kazekage's office.

"What on earth is the new Daimyo of the Land of Fire playing at..."

The Third Kazekage looked at the lost property bounty in his hand and fell into deep thought. Logically, a ruler of a nation would not do something as foolish as giving away money. But what did the Land of Fire's Daimyo's thoughts have to do with him? It just so happened that Sunagakure was short on funds, and the Land of Fire wanted to give money away.

However...

"We must be careful of any tricks."

The one who replied was the most respected person in Sunagakure, the wife of countless Naruto mobile game players—Elder Chiyo.

"Elder Chiyo is right, but given the village's current lack of funds, it would be best to send a special operations team to test the waters."

Although the Third Kazekage deeply respected Chiyo, an advisor who had contributed to the village since the Warring States period, as a Kage, he had to have his own considerations.

The main issue was that Sunagakure was truly poor... The Third Kazekage's Magnet Release controlled Iron Sand, which was worth something, but it couldn't compare to the Gold Dust of the Fourth Kazekage, "Rasa."

Kirigakure, Mizukage's office.

"Elder Genji, what do you think?"

The political structure of Kirigakure was vastly different from other nations in the Ninja World. In Kirigakure, besides the Mizukage, there were "Elders" whose power and status were equal to the Mizukage.

The Mizukage handled external affairs and had to be the strongest ninja in the village. The Elders handled internal affairs, responsible for all matters within the village, and were primarily civil officials.

"Hmm... Lord Mizukage, this old man believes that the new ruler of the Land of Fire is telling the Ninja World that he has successfully ascended to the throne and completed the transfer of power."

After the previous Daimyo of the Land of Fire was assassinated, what would people from other nations think when they saw that the new Daimyo was just a green kid?

Politicians and high-ranking officials from all countries had only one thought: this new Daimyo was a puppet with neither money nor power.

However, Enshi Shu had proven himself. By allocating hundreds of millions of ryo at once, he was surely declaring to the world that he had mastered the financial department and was by no means a puppet!

"Uh..."

Regarding Genji's conjecture, although the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, felt it was a bit strange, it seemed to be the only explanation that made sense.

"Then what about us...?"

"Naturally, we collect these so-called talismans, see what kind of medicine the new Daimyo of the Land of Fire is selling, and make some money while we're at it!"

As the saying goes, "Only a fool turns down easy money," and who would ever say no to profit?

Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's office.

Ōnoki's thoughts were very simple: the evil Konoha was up to some sinister, cunning trick again.

But money was still worth earning. "Kitsuchi... you should make the trip..."

Before Ōnoki could finish his sentence, a somewhat raspy voice suddenly came from outside the Tsuchikage's office: "Let me go!"

"Roshi?! What are you doing here, you brat?!"

Roshi, the Four-Tails jinchūriki and a ninja who mastered Lava Release, had a personality that clashed with Ōnoki. The two bickered all day long, neither willing to yield.

"Hmph! I just want to get as far away from you old stubborn fools as possible!"

"Ha?! Who gave you the right to speak to me like that? Don't even think about it! As a jinchūriki, you should stay in the village!"

"Then I'll become a rogue ninja!"

The two went back and forth, neither showing any sign of weakness. Roshi was so angry his mustache was crooked, but despite the arguing, Ōnoki had no way to stop him from leaving the village.

After all, he was Iwagakure's jinchūriki. Could he really let him become a rogue ninja? Are you kidding?! No nation would ever voluntarily give up its "nuclear weapon."

"Roshi, mark my words! Come back immediately after the mission is finished; no wandering around!"

Faced with Ōnoki's instructions, Roshi merely waved his hand and left with a dashing silhouette, instantly causing a sharp pain in Ōnoki's lower back that sent him collapsing onto his desk.

Kumogakure, Raikage's office.

Compared to other villages, Kumogakure's decision was clearly simpler and more brutal. After all, in Kumogakure, only the strongest ninja inherits the title of "A" to become the Raikage, ruling the village with intense charisma—it would be no exaggeration to call them a dictator.

The Third Raikage's thinking was also very simple: earn the money first. As for traps? Kumogakure has always met them head-on!

He immediately dispatched his fine son, the future Fourth Raikage, and the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer B.