The Wager

Today marked the start of the Two-Village Exchange Meet.

Before it began, Uchiha Yato made another proposal, hoping to organize a different kind of exchange meet.

The setting in which Uchiha Yato raised this suggestion was rather interesting.

He happened to bring it up while Chiyo and Hiruzen Sarutobi were discussing matters.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had to consider Konoha Village's reputation and could not let Chiyo see internal discord within Konoha, so he agreed.

Chiyo, meanwhile, had to act like a reasonable guest. Since the hosts had a request, she could only accept it as best she could.

This allowed Uchiha Yato to successfully drag Hiruzen Sarutobi along once again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Uchiha Yato's temperament all too well, so he simply treated it as entertainment.

After all, Uchiha Yato was one of the main players in this event. Hiruzen Sarutobi refused to believe that Uchiha Yato would dig a pit for himself.

At worst, he could drag the Sand Shinobi down with him.

Perhaps influenced by Uchiha Yato's wild ideas,

the Uchiha Clan had become remarkably adept at construction. As long as Uchiha Yato provided the blueprints and project details, they could make it happen.

Classic examples included Uchiha Kindergarten and the Konoha Court.

This time, Uchiha Yato had transformed the battle arena into a forward-facing performance hall.

A massive stage stood in the center, surrounded by rows of seats serving as spectator stands. It was not much different from the previous battle arena.

But Uchiha Yato was not about to stop there. He added ambient lights to the center of the arena, and the opening act featured a fiery dance by the Uchiha Girl Group. (Imagine the outfits and dance moves yourselves. I'm afraid describing them would fail review.)

The stunning Uchiha kunoichi wore outfits designed by Uchiha Yato and began performing a hot, energetic dance. With that, the opening ceremony came to an end.

It was enough to make every man present feel his blood surge, forcing them all to walk hunched over.

Uchiha Yato had long told the Uchiha kunoichi that this was fashion, and that they did not need to care about the lecherous old perverts' stares.

Even Jiraiya had sneaked back in hoping to gather material, but Uchiha Yato immediately filed a report, and Tsunade came to drag him away.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, meanwhile, privately regretted not getting one of Uchiha Yato's recording devices. His crystal ball had no recording function either.

While watching the event in person, he had to maintain his composed and kindly image, so he could not show too much emotion.

At that moment, a female Sand Shinobi said, "Konoha really loves all this flashy nonsense. I honestly don't know what gives you the right to occupy such good land."

The speaker was none other than Pakura, known as "Sand Village's Tsunade" and "the Ninja World's Most Beautiful Back," wielder of Scorch Release.

Several of Konoha's senior officials at the front were displeased by Pakura's remark.

But they could not say much. Her status, strength, and seniority were all there.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was actually pleased, hoping Uchiha Yato would step forward and fire back. Yet Uchiha Yato had completely shut out the outside world.

He was wholly focused on the Uchiha Girl Group's performance and audience feedback.

After all, no one knew that Uchiha Yato possessed an Emotion Coin System. He intended to use this wave to rake in a massive number of Emotion Coins.

At that moment, Hyuga Hiashi stepped forward and said, "Take back that absurd statement. What we do with our land is our business. What does it have to do with you?"

There was nothing wrong with that statement, and it even startled Uchiha Yato a little. He had not expected Hyuga Hiashi, who usually seemed as stiff as a block of wood, to say something like that.

Whether in the original story or in this world, Hyuga Hiashi gave people the impression of being wooden, rigid, and stubbornly conservative.

Pakura did not follow up on that point. Instead, she sneered, "It would be interesting if you lose during the exchange. I wonder what sort of opponent they'll arrange for me."

Pakura's eagerness to jump out like this was not without reason.

She had not originally been part of the exchange delegation and had only joined at the very end.

At first, she had been unable to travel with the delegation because she was on a mission. Later, after a series of events, Chiyo applied to the Third Kazekage and requested that Pakura be added.

Chiyo had initially not cared about victory or defeat, but the peeping incident had damaged her reputation somewhat.

Though she claimed not to mind, she was still uncomfortable deep down. She had to find a way to regain some face, which was why she had summoned a powerful jonin from the village to hold up the scene.

Only then did Uchiha Yato come back to his senses. Looking at Pakura, he said, "How about this? Shall we make a private wager?"

Pakura knew too little about Uchiha Yato to say much, but was it really appropriate to bring up private gambling in front of such a crowd?

Tsunade's gambling instincts immediately stirred when she heard the word wager, and she wanted to join in. But then Uchiha Yato said,

"If you lose, you'll become a wife to our Konoha Village."

The first person to react excitedly to those words was Chiyo.

The Sand Shinobi were already impoverished. It had not been easy for them to produce an elite female ninja, and if they lost such an outstanding shinobi over a few words, it would be a painful loss indeed.

Tsunade also muttered to herself below, Has that kid Uchiha Yato reached that age already?

But before Chiyo had a chance to object, Pakura boldly declared, "Bring it on. I'm not afraid. I'll take the bet."

She then asked Uchiha Yato, "And what if you lose? You'll come to our Sand Village."

The moment Pakura finished speaking, Chiyo immediately backed down. "No, no. It's just a spar between shinobi. Don't turn it into human trafficking."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had nearly agreed. Uchiha Yato could be considered Konoha's biggest cancer.

He was not only a cancer within the Uchiha Clan, but a cancer throughout all of Konoha Village. If Uchiha Yato left, dealing with the Uchiha Clan would become simple and easy.

When Danzo Shimura heard that Uchiha Yato might leave, he nearly jumped on the spot and shouted, "Well done!"

At the thought of that scene, the Third Hokage and Danzo wore relaxed, contented expressions. (Relaxed and content image.jpg)

Seeing that, Chiyo immediately took a step back, unsure why these two middle-aged men had suddenly made such expressions.

When the two old men came back to themselves, they also felt somewhat awkward. They did not say anything more, merely coughed and continued watching the argument below.

Uchiha Yato said, "If I were to leave the village, I'm afraid Lord Hokage would be reluctant to let me go."

"How about this instead? Pick any three things you saw in the Uchiha Clan, and take them with you."

Chiyo was somewhat tempted by this wager. There was the delicious food from the welcoming banquet when they had first arrived, the clothes from the later outings, and the Uchiha Clan's ninjutsu.

All of these were rather scarce for the Sand Shinobi. However, Chiyo was worried that Uchiha Yato might not have the authority to decide for the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Kei then said, "Please rest assured. Yato has full authority to speak for the Uchiha Clan. As long as the wager is established, we are willing to provide whatever he promises."

Uchiha Kei was not worried at all about what they might have to hand over if they lost. Even if it was the Uchiha Clan's ninjutsu, he would not so much as blink. The reason was simple.

Anything that left Uchiha Yato's hands would be reclaimed several times over. That guy was like a pixiu—he only took and never gave.

With that, all the terms were settled. Rasa was somewhat concerned because the stakes involved Uchiha assets.

It was highly likely that Uchiha Yato would face Pakura, which meant he would have no chance to test himself against Uchiha Yato. He could not help feeling a little disappointed.

Uchiha Yato then returned to his position as host. The large screen behind him lit up, and he introduced it to everyone present.

"We are about to begin the first spar of the exchange tournament. Allow me to introduce the function of this screen."

"It can freely display images from around the arena and show information about the combatants. It also allows you to watch the match from every angle without blind spots."

To explain it more clearly, Uchiha Yato thoughtfully called up an Uchiha shinobi and had him stand on the stage and perform a few ninjutsu.

The large screen instantly split into several smaller images, showing the scene from different angles.

This immediately piqued Hiruzen Sarutobi's interest. It was an excellent device for recording.

Chiyo, meanwhile, found it somewhat astonishing. She marveled at Konoha's abundance of talented people, while also sighing deeply over its vast land and rich resources.

After the introduction was complete,

Uchiha Yato continued, "Now, let us welcome the first match."

"Hyuga Hiashi versus Pakura."