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"Lady Hokage, saving money is certainly a good thing."
At this point, there was no need for Kaito to explain further. Homura took the initiative to speak:
"The problem is, the price of explosive tags simply won't drop. And now, a batch of cheap yet high-quality explosive tags has suddenly appeared on the market. Don't you find that strange?"
"Well... that does seem a bit odd."
The reason explosive tags were expensive wasn't just because they were troublesome to make—the materials themselves weren't cheap either.
The sudden appearance of a batch of cheap explosive tags could only mean one thing…
"The Akatsuki!!!"
Tsunade nearly jumped out of her seat as the realization hit her.
"Unbelievable! While the Five Great Shinobi Villages have been searching everywhere for their traces, the Akatsuki has been operating right under our noses! And they even sold explosive tags to us—this must be that woman Konan's doing, right?"
In the entire shinobi world, only Konan, with her mastery of Paper Style, could mass-produce cheap yet high-quality explosive tags.
This was a consensus among the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
The sudden influx of affordable, top-tier explosive tags on the market was more than enough proof.
"Elder, through what channels were these explosive tags purchased?"
"That's still unclear. We'll need to investigate."
"Unfortunately, it probably won't be that easy. Either the sellers are connected to the Akatsuki, or the Akatsuki themselves conducted a one-time deal."
Kaito didn't believe the Akatsuki would be foolish enough to leave obvious traces.
Even if the organization was short on funds, Konan selling explosive tags in small quantities would be too slow. Selling in bulk would raise suspicions. The simplest method would be a single, large transaction—sell once and then disappear, leaving no trail to follow.
"Moreover..."
Kaito suddenly hesitated.
Tsunade understood his meaning and gave Homura a meaningful look.
Elder, perhaps you should take your leave for now?
"..."
The silent dismissal made Homura's heart sink.
I'm not even allowed to be involved in this?
Compared to the treatment he used to receive, things had truly changed…
Though reluctant, he had no choice but to comply.
"Then I'll take my leave. The Logistics Division still has plenty of work waiting for me."
"Mm, thank you for your hard work, Elder."
Homura left with a heavy heart, and neither Tsunade nor Kaito made any move to stop him.
Once someone had been excluded, there was no point in bringing them back—doing so would only invite more complications.
With the unnecessary personnel gone, Tsunade sat back in her chair, her sharp eyes scrutinizing Kaito. She had a feeling he didn't want to get further entangled in this matter.
"Your idea is to pass the information along to others?"
"Exactly."
Kaito didn't mince words.
"Right now, chasing after the Akatsuki isn't particularly meaningful for the village. Our top priority should be development—rebuilding our economy and restoring the village's strength, not obsessing over the Akatsuki. Even if we do keep an eye on them, it shouldn't be us doing the heavy lifting. Kumogakure and Iwagakure have spent years acting like they're the true leaders of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, haven't they? Let them handle it."
Passing the burden to rivals and letting them deal with the headaches was Kaito's usual strategy.
Unless it was absolutely critical, Konoha had no reason to involve itself. Not only was it exhausting, but it also wasted resources.
Investigating the Akatsuki required sending highly skilled shinobi, didn't it?
Deploying such shinobi meant assigning them missions with corresponding rewards.
All that back-and-forth effort—was it really worth it?
Let Kumogakure and Iwagakure take the lead. If they wanted to play the role of the big shots, they could have it.
Konoha would quietly focus on its own development, letting others draw the Akatsuki's attention.
"The problem is, we might think this way, but Ōnoki and A will likely feel the same."
Tsunade crossed her arms. She didn't believe A and Ōnoki were foolish enough to fall for it.
With other matters, Konoha could casually toss out a few clues and watch them scramble. But this?
It didn't seem likely.
Kaito smiled—a bright, sunny smile. Yet, to Tsunade, it carried an unsettling edge.
Every time she saw him smile like that, she knew he was up to no good.
And indeed, he was.
"Handing the information directly to Iwagakure and Kumogakure obviously won't work. Instead, we'll pretend nothing happened. Just let the news spread naturally within the village—slowly, in a controlled manner. Let the outside world know that a batch of cheap, high-quality explosive tags has recently appeared on the market. I'm confident the other villages' spies will take care of delivering the intel for us. After all, isn't information gathered by one's own people far more credible than what's handed to them?"
"..."
Tsunade stared at Kaito with a strange expression before letting out a deep sigh.
"Thank goodness you weren't born in another village. Otherwise, I'd have no idea how to deal with a schemer like you—one who never runs out of ways to trap others."
"So, do I get a reward?"
Kaito raised an eyebrow.
"Get lost."
You've already given me enough headaches. And now you want a reward? Dream on.
"There's no reward, but there are plenty of troubles waiting for you. Want some?"
"Nah, you handle them yourself. I'm not touching that."
Kaito decisively made his exit. If Tsunade said there was trouble, then there was trouble.
He had no intention of burdening himself with unnecessary problems.
Those were matters for the Hokage to worry about.
---
"Hey, have you noticed? There's been a batch of cheap explosive tags on the market lately."
"Aren't those just fakes? You've got to be careful—this stuff isn't something to joke about. Better stick to the real deal."
"No, they're legit. Try them if you don't believe me. The weapon shop owners are already complaining, saying someone's messing with the market prices."
The rumors began to spread. Some were deliberately planted by Konoha, while others stemmed from shinobi who had genuinely purchased the tags from outside markets.
A shinobi's money didn't grow on trees—everyone was happy to save where they could.
As the news spread, the remaining cheap explosive tags were quickly snapped up.
And this wasn't just happening in the Land of Fire—similar cases had been reported in other nations as well.
By the time more people gathered their funds, ready to buy, the supply had mysteriously dried up.