"Pay up, pay up!"
After slipping out of Iwagakure amidst the chaos, Naruto took out the Gate of the Underworld, and directly jumped through space to the Land of Grass.
"How could we succeed so easily?" Ajisai reluctantly reached into her pocket and handed her bet moneyto Naruto. It can be said she essentially paid to work.
Naruto had never mentioned salaries. After all, while employees got wages, Ajisai had been 'gifted' to him by Konan, so she's more like a loaned asset.
Regarding salary, she should ask Konan for it. After all, she was still technically an Amegakure's Shinobi. How can he pay her salary? No way was he spending a single ryo on her.
As for Yakumo, she is even more special. Ajisai was 'voluntold', but Yakumo had joined willingly. As long as she can become a Shinobi, she can pay any price.
As for the three from Kumogakure, Mabui, Samui, and Yugito, they were high-ranking members in Kumogakure. They were all enjoying paid vacations, so he didn't have to worry about them.
"Where is this?" Ajisai finally asked after handing over the money.
"The Land of Grass, a country that's neither too big nor too small, I want you to stay here for a while. Specifically, I want you to do some work, but don't worry about the details yet."
Naruto shrugged and spoke, "The Land of Grass is full of good and bad people, so you don't need to be too careful. If someone pisses you off, just attack them directly. This isn't some top-secret mission, and there won't be much else afterward."
Hearing this, Ajisai glanced around, 'Why did we already change maps right after the last mission? This is too fast, shouldn't he give us some breather?'
'Damn it! This guy's a tyrant!'
"Okay." As always, Yakumo agreed without question. She would listen to whatever Naruto said anyway. Who didn't love an understanding little sister?
"Um... Master." Ajisai smiled, clasped her hands behind her back, and said awkwardly, "For missions like this... we usually need some funds, right?"
"Funds?" Naruto blinked. He didn't have much money left. To be more precise, he was very broke.
"Yeah, funds." Ajisai said naggingly, counting her fingers, "You see, it costs money to find a place to stay and eat in the Land of Grass, and in case of unexpected situations, we also have to spend money."
"Money, money, money. Money is needed everywhere. Without funds, you can't do anything."
Naruto wanted to give them money, but unfortunately, even a boss like him has no money. His days of splurging were long gone, and now, he could only rely on the tens of thousands of ryo of Land of Fire's currency to barely scraping by.
The one million ryo he got from Yugao last time have already been used to buy supplies. While he had some Land of Fire's currency Land of Fire's currency left, that wasn't much help.
"Cough… The funding issue is... well noted." Naruto turned his head and looked elsewhere, and began to answer perfunctorily, "Funds are... currently plentiful."
"It's just that as a Shinobi, sometimes you don't have to follow the rules so much, and you can... appropriate justice where needed."
"What do you mean?" Ajisai tilted her head, already sensing Naruto's reluctance to part with money. Her hands trembled with rage, 'This cheap bastard is too stingy!!'
"The Land of Grass has always been chaotic. There are too many wealthy businessmen who got their fortunes by taking advantage of others' money. It shouldn't be difficult to take the initiative to secure some funds, right?" Naruto said with a shameless look on his face.
"Hah?" Ajisai was dumbfounded, 'This guy wasn't even pretending anymore!'
"What 'hah'? If you run into trouble, just call for backup. I'll find a way to help you deal with it." Naruto said righteously, "This is such a sweet deal, you can do whatever you want."
'Damn, what an absolute scumbag.'
Ajisai had seen bosses dangle carrots before, but never one who outright encouraged his subordinates to rob people. This wasn't just exploitation… this was reverse exploitation! Not only were they working unpaid, they had to fund the operation themselves.
'As expected of you, Uzumaki Naruto. You utter bastard!'
Naruto wasn't even bothering to hide his true colors now. Seeing how smoothly he spoke, Ajisai suspected he'd done this many times before.
"Okay, I've got things to do, so I'll leave first!" Naruto waved at them, then opened the Gate of the Underworld and left.
Right now, he was in a hurry to deal with Kurotsuchi, as he needed to convince her to become Jashin's follower. In this way, the Third Taskline of Jashin's followers would be one step closer to completion.
Jashin's followers Taskline required ten followers in total. Currently, there are already five followers, which are Ajisai, Yakumo, and Kumogakure's 'three peaks'. He needed five people to complete it.
He doesn't have much time left, and Naruto doesn't want to drag it on any longer. It would be best if he can complete the remaining Jashin's followers Taskline before the end of this year.
The current situation in the Shinobi World is not optimistic. The Otsutsuki could descend at any moment, and who knew what nonsense Black Zetsu and Obito were scheming?
The various Shinobi Villages are also on the brink of war over resources.
Naruto's idea is simple, whatever troubles come, just get rid of them all at once.
Because he was afraid that the blind old geezer would disturb his retirement, he'd just unify the world. As long as all the Great Shinobi Villages were his people, there would be no struggle.
As long as he lived, no one was allowed to move.
As for the Otsutsuki, He'd gather the entire world's technological might, drag those so-called 'gods' down from the heavens, and confine them like pigs and dogs.
This was the quickest, simplest and crudest way he could think of.
Since he has the numbers and the power, he'll have the final say.
However, Naruto did not intend to unify the Shinobi World, let alone interfere with the operation of the Shinobi Village.
Naruto had no control over conflicts between villages or between great countries, nor did he bother to care about them. But if someone wanted to cause trouble in his place, he would kill whoever showed up.
Currently, the layout at Kumogakure has been completed by half. Yondaime Raikage is surrounded by traitors, and the village's confidentiality system is like a sieve. There are no secrets at all.
Now, all they have to do is wait for an opportunity. Yugito alone cannot control Kumogakure, whose strength is almost equal to that of Konoha.
Konoha needed no intervention, while Sunagakure hasn't been approached yet. As for Kirigakure? It's best not to mention that mess.
He accidentally did something stupid, but he has to say that Mei is pretty impressive even though she's already in her early thirties.
Iwagakure relies entirely on the captured 'Leg Kage', Kurotsuchi. This young lady is no ordinary person, as she is not only the beloved granddaughter of the current Tsuchikage, Onoki, but also Iwagakure's next Tsuchikage.
In a few years, she will have the final say in Iwagakure. In other words, if he controls Kurotsuchi, he will also control Iwagakure, killing two birds with one stone.
…
In the desert of the Land of Wind, Naruto stepped out of the Gate of the Underworld and found a shaded dune to settle on. Without hesitating for too long, he entered the sealed space directly.
In the sealed space.
Kurotsuchi had already woken up. When she opened her eyes, she looked at the huge space and the pile of materials neatly arranged like a warehouse. She couldn't help swallowing her saliva.
She only remembered a sharp pain on the back of her head, and then she fainted, 'Could it be that...'
Looking at the situation, it was very likely that she was kidnapped, but she felt that was too far-fetched.
'Why would someone kidnap me?' Kurotsuchi couldn't figure it out. Although Iwagakure worshipped the Will of Stone and they had offended many people over the years, no matter what, they wouldn't kidnap her, right?
What's the purpose? To threaten Onoki? But that doesn't make sense at all. What kind of thinking would come up with threatening Onoki by kidnapping her?
The Iwagakure is already like that, so is there still any value in being extorted?
Just as her thoughts spiraled, Naruto appeared out of nowhere from mid-air. After landing gracefully, he glanced at her and then spoke, "Long time no see."