Who'll Be the Fifth Hokage? / Shingen Grew Up Reading the Will of Fire

On the other side, Nagato comforted Konan and looked at the two of them.

"Kakuzu, Sasori," Nagato asked, "Are you interested in joining Rain Village?"

Chapter Six: Who Will Be the Fifth Generation Leader?

Sasori of the Red Sand and Kakuzu are now treating Amegakure like their own backyard.

But they are definitely not from Amegakure; at best, they are external hires.

But during all this time, Nagato never mentioned it to them, and of course, the two of them were completely uninterested in it.

He'd had enough of organizations and such long ago; Sasori had even served as Kazekage candidate.

Both bigwigs stated that the ninja village was nothing but rotten dog shit.

I'm fine now, I'm free.

But then Nagato mentioned this to them, which caught the two of them off guard.

Both were seasoned veterans of the Ninja World, and comparing Nagato's noticeably Nagato face and imposing presence, they understood the situation perfectly well.

Nagato, he couldn't protect Akatsuki.

"Is it Uchiha Shingen?" Sasori asked.

Nagato dared to say yes, he would immediately go back and pack his bags.

He will remember this friendship, savor the bittersweet memories, and embark on the next journey, hoping that when we meet again, we will still be just as vibrant as ever.

This isn't like back in Sand Village. The current Uchiha Shingen could definitely kill him, one hundred percent.

Nagato is a good person, but making friends isn't something you should risk your life for.

Sasori of the Red Sands, even after his own Kazekage was killed, is still alive and kicking. He wasn't killed by the Fourth Hokage's money because he's always observant and quick to act, never hesitating when things get tough.

"No." Nagato shook his head. "Leaf Village is an ally of Rain Village. As long as this identity remains unchanged, Uchiha Shingen will not attack Rain Village."

Sasori of the Red Sands nodded.

It turns out it wasn't Uchiha Shingen, and it wasn't Leaf Village either, so everything's fine now.

Leaf Village is truly a place of monsters; it's a den of monsters disguised as a ninja village.

"Nagato, you know me." He stared intently at Nagato. "I hate ninja villages the most, but it wouldn't be right to reject you like this. After all, I have feelings for the Akatsuki, and I would feel very uncomfortable if I suddenly changed my identity."

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu became alert.

His gaze sharpened, and he thought to himself that if this scoundrel dared to try and steal the money from the vault, he would teach him a lesson.

"Kakuzu, what about you?" Nagato didn't answer Sasori for the moment, but looked at Kakuzu first.

Kakuzu's attention was immediately diverted.

Scorpion was just a petty thief; this guy in front of me was capable of emptying the vault in one go.

Just make a big plan.

Even though it wasn't money he earned himself, Kakuzu still felt a pang of heartache.

"If I join Rain Village, will I no longer have control over Akatsuki's public funds?"

"That's the principle," Nagato said, "But over the years, Akatsuki's funding has largely come from Rain Village, so Akatsuki actually owes Amegakure ..."

"Okay, I'll join!" Kakuzu immediately agreed.

He made up his mind: the first thing he would do after joining Rain Village was to ask Akatsuki for money.

Even close brothers should keep clear accounts; if he doesn't pay back the money, his former colleague will still beat him up!

"Are you serious?" Sasori exclaimed in shock. "You joined already? Didn't you hate ninja villages the most?"

"I won't mind if you let me manage the money." Kakuzu's answer was simple, "From today onwards, I'm no longer in charge. Without a receipt, you can't take a single penny."

"Are you still not done? Then I'll join too!" Scorpion roared. "I demand the authority to formulate the village's financial plan!"

Konan looked at the two of them.

She immediately understood why Nagato valued these two so highly within the Akatsuki.

"You can participate, but the decision rests with me." Nagato wasn't surprised; after all, he knew these two's temperaments very well. "However, I will fully consider your opinion."

Money is not a reason for them to agree.

But when other conditions are met, money can be a valid reason.

They've been partners for years, so they understand each other perfectly well.

"What exactly happened before that made you make this decision?" Kakuzu ignored Sasori and asked Nagato.

"It's Uchiha Madara Impure World Reincarnation." Nagato didn't hide anything. "For certain reasons, we're currently in a cooperative relationship. He probably has his eye on Akatsuki, so this is a good opportunity to cut ties."

"I see, it's him." Kakuzu put on an act. "He's definitely a troublesome guy. It seems Orochimaru created him. He's caused the organization so much trouble. Let's go kill Orochimaru."

"I have no objection to that." Sasori nodded. "Let's kill him. Consider it a celebration of us joining Rain Village. I've disliked him for a long time."

"No, let's keep Orochimaru and let him mess with Uchiha Madara." Nagato had originally considered getting rid of Orochimaru, but then he thought that if Uchiha Madara took over the Akatsuki, Orochimaru would be a perfect ally.

Orochimaru is known for being unreliable except when he's conducting experiments.

Not only is he unreliable, but he's also incredibly ruthless when it comes to betraying his teammates. Ironically, he's also exceptionally good at surviving and has a knack for bringing out valuable assets when they meet again, making it difficult for others to take advantage of him.

Of all the people he's worked with, only Uchiha Shingen was never truly betrayed by him, since Uchiha Shingen was his biggest client.

Even so, Orochimaru was attacked by Uchiha Shingen before the Joint Chunin Exams. He was clearly back to his old ways, wanting to eat at several tables at once.

Therefore, there is no one in this world that Orochimaru wouldn't dare to trick.

With such an utterly despicable personality, Nagato himself wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he didn't let him cause trouble for Uchiha Madara.

How can such good teammates turn against each other over a mere disagreement?

"Tsk..." Scorpion had turned himself into Human Puppet, and his expressions weren't as rich as when he was still alive, but his tone clearly reflected his mood. "That bastard, he's got a good life!"

"Fine, then we won't kill you," Kakuzu said magnanimously. "But we're not part of the same organization anymore, so the discounted prices will be canceled, and credit sales will be even more prohibited."

"It's up to you." Nagato settled the matter promptly. "Alright, let's go in. We need to discuss the rest."

The group returned to the house, where the four former core members of Akatsuki, now legitimate leaders of Amegakure, sat down at a small round table and began their discussion.

Sasori of the Red Sand and Kakuzu's joining Amegakure increased the village's number of Five Kage- level ninjas to four, making it the village with the second-highest level of combat power after Hidden Leaf Village.

As for what kind of turmoil this change will cause in the Ninja World, that's a matter for the future.

For Hidden Leaf Village now, what the majority of Konoha Ninja care about most is not outside the village, but inside the village.

Having regained their dominant position, the Konoha Ninja clearly felt the change in their environment.

In the past, Leaf Village's mission quotas outside of the Land of Fire mainly came from another major country Land of Wind, and small neighboring countries without ninja villages.

After the Fourth Shinobi World War, this situation was completely reshaped.

First, Leaf Village and Sand Village renegotiated their agreement. Sand Village, on other conditions, regained all of the mission quotas from the Land of Wind and joined the association system.

Hidden Leaf Village gained priority access to all resources from the Land of Wind. Resources that were previously restricted to private trade and could only be obtained through smuggling were now open for trading, with prices jointly set by both countries.

Meanwhile, Iwagakure and Cloud Village paid a heavy price. The Land of Earth, which had already been ravaged, was expelled from the association system. Iwagakure also lost the confidence it had during the Third's era. This time, it had to make huge compensation to Leaf Village and reduce its military strength. The mission exchange in the Land of Grass was also re-established. Lacking the ability to make sufficient compensation, Iwagakure had to borrow money from Leaf Village by mortgaging its mission funds.

As for Cloud Village, on the surface, they were treated well by Leaf Village and were not required to make any additional compensation. The stated reason was to avoid escalating the hatred.

However, when Uchiha Shingen conquered Kumogakure, he had already plundered too much from them. He took away the entire set of Cloud Village's proud Lightning Release Nintaijutsu, as well as countless precious ninja tools and other Ninjutsu materials. Leaf Village also took away the materials on training Perfect Jinchuriki.

Even more critically, Leaf Village began to absorb a large number of missions from the Land of Lightning.

The amount of the mission from the Land of Lightning is more than double what Leaf Village took from the Land of Wind.

The Konoha Ninja were all so busy they couldn't keep up.

Under these circumstances, the expansion of the ninja force was put into process.

At the same time, the retirement system has been formally put on the agenda.

This agenda was also initiated by the Uchiha Clan.

The reason for initiating this is quite valid—given Uchiha Setsuna's sudden passing, ensuring that ninjas enter formal retirement at the appropriate age has become an undeniable reality for Leaf Village.

This topic is very popular.

Nobody thinks living to be a hundred is bad.

To put it bluntly, everyone knows that Uchiha Setsuna died from overwork; he only started to have an easier time in recent years.

However, this system is a crucial one that truly affects the vital interests of every Konoha Ninja, and it is destined to be a decision that cannot be made hastily.

It became the first thing in Leaf Village's history to conduct a public opinion poll.

Nowadays Leaf Village Konoha, if you go out without discussing your views on the retirement system, you're considered ashamed.

On the commercial street, in a high-end restaurant designated by the Leaf Village Hokage Building as a place for Jonin to relax, gather, and chat, Uchiha Shingen sat by the window, contentedly holding his glass, sipping his drink while watching the bustling scene of people coming and going on the street.

Leaf Village has now fully recovered its former glory.

It is more prosperous than ever before.

"Hey kid over there, did you invite this beautiful lady here just to let me drink my sorrows away?"

Across the table, Princess Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, was slamming her fist on the table in obvious dissatisfaction.

Then he casually downed the drink in his glass.

"The wine is quite good." She licked her lips. "Bring ten jugs first, to tide us over!"

"Lady Tsunade, this sake is very expensive," sighed Uchiha Shingen. "If you drink it so fast, you won't be able to appreciate its flavor."

"Drinking should be done in big gulps." Tsunade's eyes lit up immediately after tasting the good wine. "Come on, I'm your elder, aren't I? You can't even bear to part with a little bit of wine?"

"No, that's not it. You can just take more back with you later," Uchiha Shingen said. "Actually, the main reason I invited you here today is that I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Stop dawdling, just get to the point." Tsunade had already downed four or five cups of wine as she spoke. "Isn't it just about who will be the Fifth Hokage? Heh... this position is finally yours Uchiha Clan!"

Chapter Seven: Shingen grew up reading The Will of Fire.

"Yes, it seems like that's the trend."

Upon hearing Tsunade's words, Uchiha Shingen felt a pang of sadness.

But he not only sighed, he was also very vigilant.

Uchiha Tekka was a big mouth, as evidenced by the fact that Uchiha Fugaku's secret was leaked.

Beating him up won't help; he's the typical Uchiha Clan— "I know I'm wrong, but I can't change. Go ahead and beat me up."

But this time, his mouth was big enough.

The second brother was absolutely right, those Uchiha Clan are fucking evil!

Whenever Lao Tzu was outside the clan's territory, wasn't he always robbing others?

But once I entered your Uchiha Clan territory, you took advantage of me!

"Lady Tsunade, look at this..." Uchiha Shingen leaned forward with a mysterious expression, "This Fourth Hokage was doing a great job, and now he wants to retire? He even wants to use my internal retirement system, saying he should be the first pilot. Do you think he has any shame? Is early retirement something he's supposed to be prepared for? He really has no self-awareness at all."

Tsunade glanced at Uchiha Shingen.

It's not like you don't want to retire...

Namikaze Minato has any shame is another matter, but that Wu Zu Uncle Wuzu is quite Wu Zu, very much in the style of Uncle Wuzu.

Although Uchiha Shingen vehemently denied this relationship and even produced a family tree to prove it,...

None of the people who have lived to her age are materialists; they are all idealists.

I think you are, so you are!

At the very least, just based on that same cheeky look, Tsunade was certain that this was Uncle Wu Zu's child, pure as could be.

"What's the point of telling me this? Go tell the Hokage." Tsunade scoffed. "If he won't listen to you, you two can just fight."

"How can that be?" Uchiha Shingen's expression was extremely serious. "As a Konoha Ninja, I absolutely cannot tolerate the existence of such disorganized and undisciplined individuals. You should know that I like the Fourth Hokage the most. Anyone who dares to usurp the throne and force him to leave, I will be the first to not let them go."

Tsunade wanted to roll her eyes at that.

You probably want to just send him away!

If Namikaze Minato continues Hokage overtime like this, he'll definitely become a carbon copy of Uchiha Setsuna.