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The List of The "ANBU" Member:
-Lord_Clamiral
-Cain
-Shahzaam
-Goha21
-Jacob Mooe
-Nathan king
-Varun Madhu
-Sombra Rey
-Ruzzzy
-Notraa
-Sarabjeet Seehra
-heavenascendance
-sean collins
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"It's normal for the other villages to react this way. After all, their attention is now focused on the Akatsuki. By the way, where's the money?"
Tsunade raised her hand, rubbing her thumb and index finger together—a clear gesture meaning, 'Hand it over. That's village funds.'
"Here."
Kazuki took out a scroll and tossed it to Tsunade.
Inside was the 200 million ryo from selling the intel.
With this money, the village's financial strain would ease significantly. Two hundred million could do a lot.
"Perfect!"
Hugging the scroll, Tsunade's eyes practically sparkled as she started calculating how to spend it.
Kazuki watched the scroll now nestled between Tsunade's chest and suddenly wished he could trade places with it.
"Kazuki, here's your tea. You've worked hard."
Shizune cheerfully brought over the tea.
As the Hokage's assistant, she knew exactly how tight the village's finances were.
Thankfully, many expenses had been cut, and Tsunade's complaints had squeezed another round of funding from the Daimyō.
But it still wasn't enough to fill the massive financial pit left by the Third Hokage.
The Shimura, Sarutobi… these clans had drained the village's resources ruthlessly.
This wasn't something that could be fixed overnight.
If it were just a few shameless clans, it might've been manageable. But there was also 'Root', which burned through money like crazy. That was the real killer.
Overwhelmed by money troubles, Tsunade had been pulling her hair out lately—literally.
"Thanks."
Smiling, Kazuki took the tea from Shizune and teased,
"You've gotten even prettier since I last saw you."
Shizune froze, her face quickly turning red as she waved her hands.
"N-No way! I've always looked like this!"
She even fanned her flushed cheeks for emphasis.
Snapping out of her money-induced trance, Tsunade set the scroll down and grumbled,
"Alright, that's enough. You just got back, and you're already flirting with my assistant? Why don't you take me along too?"
She had meant to shut Kazuki down, to tell him to behave and stop teasing Shizune.
'Can't you see she already has a soft spot for you?'
"Really? You'd allow that?"
To Tsunade's shock, Kazuki seized the opportunity, looking genuinely tempted.
Her fist clenched, veins bulging on her forehead.
Shizune glanced between Kazuki and the fuming Tsunade, instinctively shrinking back with an awkward laugh.
"Cut the crap. You think I'm some naive little girl?"
Glaring daggers at him, Tsunade plopped back into her seat, arms crossed.
"Keep your eyes to yourself. Also, I've mostly settled the tutoring program. You handle picking the Uchiha participants—don't mess around. And about what you said before—Uchiha funding a new commercial district. Does that still stand?"
Kazuki wasn't wrong. Keeping the village's shinobi busy could indirectly boost the village's income. It wasn't a joke—the taxes alone would bring in a lot.
It would also let many shinobi earn money, easing the village's burdens.
"Sure. But the Uchiha get half the shops in the new district. Those shops will belong to the Uchiha permanently. The village can't reclaim them arbitrarily. We'll need a contract."
The Uchiha had money, but it didn't grow on trees.
Investing in a new commercial district was a solid opportunity, and the Uchiha were happy to put money into it.
But the village had to guarantee their interests.
"One-third at most."
'It's the village's land, and you Uchiha are just providing the funds. Half the shops? Isn't that too greedy?'
"No deal."
Kazuki refused outright. Half was already a bargain—one-third wasn't worth it. He wouldn't screw over his own clan.
"It has to be half. We can bring other clans in too."
"There are plenty of clans with money but nowhere to spend it—like the Hyūga, or the Ino-Shika-Chō. If they all invest, funding won't be an issue. As for shares, they'll split the 50% based on their contributions. Half is the absolute minimum."
The clans would invest and gain long-term profits, while the village only needed to provide land and shift its focus. A win-win.
At first glance, the village seemed to benefit more, but that wasn't entirely true. Making the new district thrive required significant effort.
The clans wouldn't lose either—it was a stable, long-term return.
You can't grow fat in one bite, and monopolizing gains never ends well. Sharing risks and profits was the smarter move.
'Everyone wins—that's the real victory.'
Hogging everything would just invite trouble.
Kazuki figured they could bring in the Hyūga, Ino-Shika-Chō, and others.
As for the Sarutobi and Shimura?
'They can go kick rocks.'
Letting them keep what they'd already taken was mercy enough. Did they really expect a slice of the new pie?
'Keep dreaming.'
Kumo's commercial success had shown Kazuki that Konoha could support multiple business districts.
Given its prime location and large population, Konoha's commerce could easily rival Kumo's.
"Deal!"
Though half the shares were gone, without the clans' investments, the village couldn't fund the project anyway. A true mutual benefit.
"Shizune and I will draft the plans. I'll contact you once the documents are ready."
"Fine. I'll head back and rest then."
Kazuki stood to leave.
As he reached the door, Tsunade suddenly asked,
"About Koharu's death…"
"Had nothing to do with me. I didn't expect her skills to have deteriorated that badly. By the time I stepped in, it was too late."
"Good. Go rest. I'll handle the rest."
In this matter, Kazuki hadn't lifted a finger.
At most, he'd exchanged a few extra words with Juzo.
Koharu's death?
Just bad luck. No one else to blame.
Her death had shaken the Third Hokage deeply.
Despite Tsunade's objections, the retired Hokage took ANBU and began another spy purge—uncovering several infiltrators in the Medical and Logistics Divisions.
The evidence proved Kazuki had no involvement.
The spies never expected their transported supplies to be escorted by Kazuki's team.
And the Akatsuki certainly didn't anticipate that a simple supply raid would end up stirring a hornet's nest.