After celebrating briefly, Natsume got down to business.
They had escaped Konoha for the moment.
But the danger was far from over. This was no time to let their guard down.
"Nichiyo, how many people made it out? What were our casualties?"
"Including you, Young Clan Head, 419 people escaped in total. Three clansmen were killed during the escape, and another five were captured..."
The young Uchiha Nichiyo was one of the outstanding allies Natsume had won over. He had just turned seventeen and recently joined the Konoha Military Police Force. Though he was a Special Jonin, he was also decisive and meticulous—a man worth trusting.
Natsume furrowed his brow, deeply displeased.
Although his battle with Fugaku had drawn away most of Konoha's ninja, it was no easy feat to get more than four hundred people out safely.
"So we lost eight people?"
"Hmph! Konoha's ninja really didn't hold back!"
"Let's set that aside for now. I'll find a way to rescue the captured clansmen later."
"Toh, did it work?"
Natsume turned to another clansman on his right and asked gravely.
"Reporting to the Young Clan Head, it was a success!"
"These are the funds we looted from Konoha's Vault. As you instructed, we took only half, for a total of 78 million ryō!" (One ryō equals 10 yen, or about 0.6 yuan, so that comes to roughly 48 million yuan.) (The Vault held actual gold and silver; the other billion-plus in paper currency reserves was managed by the Administrative Department.)
Uchiha Toh quickly opened his backpack, revealing a large number of Space Scrolls.
There were more than ten of them!
Each one was packed with the money they had looted from Konoha's Vault.
Konoha probably never would have imagined it.
That Uchiha defectors would dare to raid the Vault!
As a result, the guards outside were no match for the Uchiha ninja skilled in genjutsu.
Natsume couldn't help but beam at the sight.
This fortune was the real treasure!
In fact, looting Konoha's Vault amid the chaos had been one of Natsume's plans.
After all, he had brought more than four hundred clansmen with him when he defected from Konoha.
Once they built a village and settled down, they would need money for everything: food, clothing, housing, and transport. It would be a bottomless pit.
And building a village in the first place would cost a fortune!
Natsume had led his clan away from Konoha in pursuit of a richer, better life.
He hadn't brought them along to live like savages!
Besides, as Konoha's defectors, they would find it hard to take missions from the great nations and earn money for the foreseeable future.
That made the money they had looted from Konoha's Vault their start-up funds!
Seventy-eight million ryō wasn't much compared to the Five Great Nations.
But it was more than enough for them.
They had taken only half instead of emptying the Vault.
That was to keep Konoha from "cornered-dog desperation"!
If they took everything and crippled Konoha's economy, plunging it into a financial crisis, then Sarutobi and the others would probably...
Lead the whole village in hunting them down.
"Well done! With this money, our clan will surely rise to glory again!"
"It's all thanks to the Young Clan Head's wisdom and foresight!"
Uchiha Toh grinned excitedly as he praised Natsume.
After all, he'd never even dared to dream of raiding Konoha's Vault!
In his more than twenty years, he'd never pulled off anything this satisfying!
It was all thanks to the Young Clan Head!
"Enough with the flattery."
"Spread the word: take one minute to get ready, then we move out. Our destination is the Land of Fields!"
"I've already sent people ahead. They'll welcome everyone and help them settle in. Tell them not to worry."
Natsume issued his orders quickly, without the slightest delay.
"Understood!"
"Once you're ready, go on ahead. I need to meet someone. I'll catch up soon."
"Yes!"
A few minutes later, with everything proceeding in an orderly fashion, the more than four hundred Uchiha clansmen set out once again.
They headed for the Land of Fields.
The Land of Fields bordered the Land of Fire, lying to its north.
At an ordinary ninja's pace, it would take just over a day to get there.
But more than half of the four hundred clansmen were elderly people, women, and children—not ninja.
Their stamina and pace were weak. It would take them around three days to reach the Land of Fields.
Along the way,
they would need to erase their tracks,
hold off Konoha's pursuers,
and solve problems like finding food and water... among other things.
This was no small undertaking. One mistake could spell disaster.
Of course, those were all problems to deal with later.
Right now, Natsume had another problem to resolve.
"Come out! You can stop hiding!"
Natsume called out sharply.
He reached down and picked up the backpack at his feet, running his hand over the many Space Scrolls inside.
[Congratulations, you have obtained 78,200,000 Value Points]
[Would you like to recharge 78,200,000 Value Points and exchange them for 7,820 Gold Coins?] (Note: The physical ryō used for recharging will not disappear.)
[Recharge successful. Congratulations, you have received 7,820 Gold Coins]
[Current balance: 7,828 Gold Coins]
Looking at the system notifications in his mind,
and the enormous sum that had just been credited, Natsume was overjoyed.
He had spent ten years saving his New Year's money in Konoha.
Starting at the age of seven, he'd worked countless odd jobs.
He'd even used knowledge from his past life to make money on the sly.
Only then had he managed to save ten million ryō, recharge a thousand Gold Coins, and exchange them for the Mangekyō Sharingan!
Now, in just a moment,
he'd gained nearly eight thousand Gold Coins. This was a real windfall!
From now on, all those expensive abilities in the system were within reach!
Flying Thunder God, Sage Mode, Eight Inner Gates, Rinnegan, Baryon Mode... He wanted them all!
Sure enough, working for a living...
couldn't compare to robbery when it came to making money!
This sudden windfall of nearly eight thousand Gold Coins gave Natsume a huge boost of confidence.
He felt much calmer about the formidable foe who was about to appear.
Of course, Konoha's Administrative Department likely held even more paper currency than the village's strategic Vault—at least a billion or so in reserves.
But that money couldn't be exchanged for Gold Coins, and the Hokage Building's Administrative Department was much more heavily guarded. That was why Natsume hadn't sent anyone to raid it.
After Natsume called out,
a short while later,
a blurry figure in the distance behind him gradually solidified and came into view.
There was no doubt about it. It was Obito, who had tracked them all the way here.
With Kamui, he could travel far faster than an ordinary ninja.
As long as he knew which direction to go, catching up with the Uchiha who had defected wouldn't be difficult.
"I didn't expect you to notice me!"
Obito jumped down from a tree branch and faced Natsume, surprise and wariness in his eyes.
He really had been right. The Uchiha Clan always seemed to produce geniuses out of nowhere!
Shisui in the past.
Itachi now.
And Natsume standing before him.
They were all monstrously gifted talents!
At Natsume's age, he himself had still been a dead-last!
And this kid had already awakened the third power, Susanoo!
He had even led his clan in a successful defection, manipulating mighty Konoha as if it were in the palm of his hand.
It was truly terrifying!
"Someone this gifted can't be allowed to live!"
"Otherwise, he might interfere with my Eye of the Moon plan!"
Obito made his decision in silence.
To him, any threat that might prevent him from creating a "new world" for Rin had to be eliminated!
"Sharingan? Are you an Uchiha, too? Or did you steal those eyes?"
Natsume asked, though he already knew the answer.
He didn't recklessly expose Obito's identity or reveal his plan.
If he did, Obito would almost certainly be forced to fight him to the death!
Natsume was strong, but killing a slippery ninja like Obito, who wielded Kamui, wouldn't be easy.
And defeating the whole Akatsuki head-on would be even harder.
Especially Nagato. Natsume didn't have invincible Talk no Jutsu.
So it was too soon to make an enemy of the Akatsuki.
The best option was to beat Obito up and make him back off, buying himself more time to grow stronger.
Once he had enough Gold Coins, he'd be able to crush them all.
"You don't need to know!"
"Soon, you'll be dead."
"Don't worry. I'll catch up with the clansmen who escaped and take care of them, too!"
Obito declared coldly.
Other than Rin, he had never cared much for the Uchiha Clan.
Besides, this was a world full of war and twisted cruelty.
As for Natsume, he was gifted, a genius.
But he'd just fought a fierce battle with Fugaku and must have used up a great deal of strength.
This was the perfect chance to kill him!
Obito had come that night to wipe out the Uchiha Clan and collect their Sharingan.
He wasn't about to show the slightest mercy.
"Come on, then. I hope you can take a beating better than that old dog Danzo!"
Natsume didn't waste words either.
With a cold laugh, he attacked without hesitation.
The battle erupted in an instant.
Aside from that kid Naruto's Talk no Jutsu,
there was no more effective way for ninja to communicate than through battle.
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