The Kannabi Bridge, Repaired

Leaf Village is rich, but it's also short of money.

This is the exact opposite of Sand Village does.

Uchiha Shingen was very satisfied with the negotiations. Dodai was very straightforward; he didn't need to bring out what he had prepared.

Moreover, Namikaze Minato finally realized how despicable it was for a Hokage to slack off during negotiations, and this time he didn't.

It's not that he's unwilling to take responsibility, but he'd rather go out and fight than take on a negotiation mission.

This is exhausting.

The long period of peace has finally arrived.

The Uchiha Clan did not enter a period of high tension with the Hokage Building as they did in the original timeline, so the matter of hanging things on telephone poles can be considered over.

Now he can live a good life.

As for whether the extra compensation owed to Kumogakure might lead to desperate measures later, he wasn't worried at all.

This person is afraid of comparison.

A simple comparison with the Kumogakure reveals that the Land of Fire's hands are the cleanest.

The money shops in the Land of Fire are all governed by the association's self-discipline agreement, and they are quite disciplined in their business dealings. Those who do not follow the rules will have their membership revoked.

Compared to the small advantage gained through irregular means, this is a huge loss.

However, this only applies to the Land of Fire.

The money shops in the Land of Water and the Land of Earth don't have such rules.

Uchiha Shingen never intended to help them establish rules; these money shops were merely peripheral partners of the association, and memberships would not be issued to them.

Without membership, they can only sell the association's products; they can't do anything else.

Uchiha Shingen's reason was also quite valid—insufficient aptitude.

The more you compare, the less likely you are to succeed. You can imagine that even if the Kumogakure really erupts, the target won't be the Leaf Village, since those two idiots will draw all the hatred away there.

During the debt repayment period, Hidden Leaf Village will mediate, but will not interfere.

The reasons are more than sufficient. Kumogakure fully fulfilled its obligations as Leaf Village's debtor. The agreement is written in black and white, and it includes a clause that states that as long as there is no breach of contract during the period of obligation fulfillment, Leaf Village and Cloud Village will be considered temporary allies.

Since both sides are allies, the only recourse is to mediate.

If I don't keep my promise to Cloud Village, does that mean I don't have to keep my promise to you either? If you agree, then I'll do it.

In conclusion, Uchiha Shingen felt that he had done his job perfectly.

As a self-employed individual, he is clearly very responsible, so he deserves to treat himself.

The day after the negotiations were completed, Uchiha Shingen strode confidently into the Hokage's office and presented his leave request to Namikaze Minato.

"Lord Hokage, I need to ask for leave! A long leave!"

He spoke with righteous indignation, his voice was loud, and he was smug.

Namikaze Minato found it very interesting.

Shingen, that little brother, is good in every way, except that he doesn't have a deep enough understanding of himself.

Who gave you the confidence to think you could take a long leave?

Will the monthly budget meeting still be held?

Should we proceed with investment decisions for so many projects?

If I agree, the Hokage Building will be in an uproar.

Okay then, I'll grant you special permission to take a long vacation in your dreams!

"Shingen- kun~~" Namikaze Minato drawled, "Come, come, sit down and have some tea."

"Lord Hokage, you still have so many documents to approve." Uchiha Shingen became alert.

You're not approving all these documents? Are you going to be summoned for tea?

You're deliberately working overtime, aren't you?

"Oh, no rush." Namikaze Minato Uchiha Shingen to sit on the sofa and began playing with the tea set.

Uchiha Fugaku's calligraphy skills were incredibly sophisticated, yet his ugly handwriting could fetch high prices on the black market.

Namikaze Minato's handling of tea utensils wasn't very skillful, but his tea-brewing technique was quite good.

"Lord Hokage, I don't eat goji berries!" Seeing Namikaze Minato habitually reaching for the jar of goji berries, Uchiha Shingen quickly reminded him.

"Huh? Don't you have a girlfriend now?" Namikaze Minato was taken aback. "Haven't you been staying at your girlfriend's place lately?"

Thinking about this, he suddenly realized something.

It's only just begun.

"Sigh, Shingen, don't be careless," he earnestly advised. "Maintaining health is like drinking water; you can't wait until you're thirsty to drink."

Uchiha Shingen gave an awkward but polite smile.

"Lord Hokage"

"Um?"

"I'm a new car."

Namikaze Minato: "..."

Is this a mockery of him? It must be!

Well, Shingen! You've gone astray now!

"Fine, I won't put goji berries in it." Namikaze Minato withdrew his hand from the jar.

Young man, you don't know the benefits of goji berries now, but you'll regret it sooner or later.

Then, hmph...

"Shingen- kun~" Namikaze Minato poured boiling water into Uchiha Shingen's cup, and a wisp of white steam rose from it. "Where are you planning to go on this long leave?"

"The world is so big, I want to go and see it all."

"No, I won't approve it," Namikaze Minato said. "Dream on! We're all exhausted, and you're going out to play?"

"How can you call it playing?" Uchiha Shingen said. "I'm learning from my seniors. Look at Lord Jiraiya, he also used the guise of traveling to constantly send information back to the village."

"There are plenty of people in Leaf Village outside, we don't need you." Namikaze Minato picked up his teacup, blew on it, and said, "Besides, you know why Jiraiya -sensei can be away for so long. It's a special case. At that level, you can't always see him."

"I don't always see them. There's a contact frog, and I'm a contractor of Mount Myoboku now, so I can go back anytime."

Call me anytime, see if I answer.

"The liaison frog also told me that you caused quite a stir at Maze Mountain, even summoning Matatabi." Namikaze Minato felt the water was at the right temperature, took a sip, and said, "Shingen, do you have a prejudice against Mount Myoboku?"

Before Uchiha Shingen could answer, he advised, "Don't take this too seriously. It's true that the concept of the Child of Destiny is quite mystical, but Lord Jiraiya's long absences aren't entirely due to that. You also know about the Legendary Sannin."

"Yes, I know." Uchiha Shingen nodded. "And I've already signed a contract with the Toad."

In this first playthrough, he discovers that Jiraiya had already begun his travels through the Ninja World long ago.

In a sense, the departure of the Legendary Sannin was one of the reasons why the Hokage Building in the original timeline maintained constant pressure on the Uchiha Clan.

Leaving Jiraiya Orochimaru and Tsunade, the environment would have been completely different if Jiraiya had stayed in Leaf Village.

As it turns out, the so-called chosen one was originally in Leaf Village.

Before Uchiha Shingen changed everything, he harbored considerable resentment towards Mount Myoboku because of this.

Because of the marketing efforts at Mount Myoboku, his operations became significantly more difficult.

The reason he caused trouble at Maze Mountain was because he was annoyed by the Toad's defensive behavior, and then he remembered this incident and decided to vent his anger by causing a scene.

"Lord Hokage, I really have something to attend to when I go out," said Uchiha Shingen. "How about this, you leave behind a Flying Thunder God Seal?"

Namikaze Minato left a mark on his vest last time, but the vest was damaged in a later battle, so he threw it away.

"Personal matters?" Namikaze Minato asked.

He was a little curious because Uchiha Shingen's expression was quite serious.

"It can be considered a private matter, but it's related to cultivation."

"I see..." Namikaze Minato somewhat troubled.

While the Hokage Building certainly couldn't function without Uchiha Shingen, the importance of individual training for a ninja goes without saying.

So he came up with a compromise.

"Okay, you have to promise to come back once a month. You have to come to the budget meeting, right? We can always handle things after you come back."

Uchiha Shingen thought about it and decided it wasn't a bad idea.

After all, we now have a useful Toad.

"No problem."

"Okay, then remember to come back for the meeting on the 15th of every month."

"Alright!"

Seeing Uchiha Shingen's quick agreement, Namikaze Minato was naturally magnanimous as well.

He readily approved a note for Uchiha Shingen.

"Oh, right." Namikaze Minato suddenly remembered something and called out to Uchiha Shingen, who was about to slip away, "You've come at the right time. The administration department has drafted an engineering plan. Why don't you come with me to the meeting before you leave?"

Uchiha Clan glanced at the note in his hand and made a decision...

Since he successfully got leave, he'll fire him this time!

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Kannabi Bridge

Uchiha Shingen's actual departure was still delayed until the next day.

Meetings are so annoying.

Of course, before leaving, he had a meal with his friends.

I also visited Pakura and Sakurako.

Finally, he gave Bai a word of advice, telling him not to overwork himself.

After everything was settled, he happily embarked on his trip.

Stepping out of the Konoha Gate, he first stretched and then headed towards his first destination.

Our first stop, of course, is the former site of the Kannabi Bridge.

I haven't seen Lao Hei in a long time and I miss it very much. I just don't know if it has moved yet.

Uchiha Shingen began heading northwest.

As the heart of the continent and a rich grain-producing region, the heartland of the Land of Fire remained orderly even during times of war, while the border areas appeared desolate. However, as Uchiha Shingen began to approach the border, the towns here revived, and people's expressions were relaxed, full of anticipation for life.

Peace has spread completely.

The roads traveled by Uchiha Shingen were bustling with merchants traveling between the Fire and Earth kingdoms.

When Uchiha Shingen entered the Land of Grass, this country, which had suffered greatly from the battles between the armies of Iwagakure and Leaf Village, presented a thriving scene.

Trade between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire has been steadily increasing, and the Land of Grass, as an important trade route between the two countries, has benefited considerably.

Even Kusagakure's life became easier.

Of course, they did not forget their duty. When Uchiha Shingen appeared in the town of the Land of Grass, the ninja squad stationed there by the Kusagakure was already kneeling to welcome the old Buddha.

The Kusagakure was terrified of Uchiha Shingen.

As Uchiha Shingen is now a key research subject for various countries, at least in terms of strength, there is no doubt that his abilities have been underestimated. As the biggest second-hand information broker in the Ninja World, Kusagakure gets sweaty whenever he thinks about how he almost clashed with Uchiha Shingen back then.

Uchiha Shingen has appeared in the Land of Grass again. Although we don't know what he's here for, the Kusagakure is very united this time.

This is a big shot; we have to treat him well.

No one doubted that if they didn't serve them well, the Land of Grass would really be crushed by Leaf Village and Iwagakure together.

It's no secret that Iwagakure wants to take down Kusagakure; they just haven't found an excuse yet.

The reason for finding an excuse is not for anything else, but because attacking Kusagakure without a valid reason might lead to misunderstandings with Leaf Village.