Iwagakure Tsuchikage Building.
The only Third Tsuchikage still in office, Ōnoki, was looking through the various intelligence reports in his hands.
Among them were reports from major villages such as Konoha and Kumogakure.
"Hmph, Sarutobi Hiruzen has stepped down, huh."
"The Yellow Flash... hmph, just a kid."
"Hey! Kurotsuchi, don't pull Grandpa's beard!"
Ōnoki, who had been brimming with imposing momentum just moments ago, was suddenly grabbed by a small hand tugging at his beard. How much strength could a child really have? Ōnoki was putting on quite the act.
A small baby could be seen sitting in his arms, softening the originally stern expression on his face.
This was his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, just recently born.
"Father, it's time to give Kurotsuchi back to me. It's time to eat."
Kitsuchi was sitting off to the side helping process documents, but after glancing at the time, he immediately stood up and walked toward Onoki.
He reached out, intending to take his daughter back.
Ōnoki immediately showed a displeased expression, but when he thought about Kurotsuchi needing to eat, he silently agreed.
"Oh right, a group of merchants from the Land of Frost came to the village. They're selling seafood. Do you want to buy some?"
"It seems they have big yellow croaker, the kind you like."
Kitsuchi took his daughter and was about to head home when he suddenly remembered the merchant caravan and mentioned it to Ōnoki.
Hearing this, Ōnoki nodded and casually asked, "Did you investigate them? The source is fine, right?"
"Yeah, we checked. They really came from the Land of Frost. After entering the Land of Earth, they hired a group of workers in a coastal city and delivered the goods all the way to the village."
"What about security?"
"There shouldn't be any issues. Quite a few people have already bought from them."
"Then it's fine. I'll go buy two big yellow croaker. This stuff makes great soup. I'll let Kurotsuchi taste her grandpa's cooking!"
Ōnoki flexed his biceps, his face full of excitement.
Then he directly pushed open the window and flew out, leaving Kitsuchi with a blank expression.
"Fish soup? For Kurotsuchi? Are you kidding?"
How old was Kurotsuchi? She hadn't even been weaned yet, and you're giving her fish soup?
...
Central district of Iwagakure.
Gekko Chizan sat on a chair inside a building, watching the workers in front of him frantically receiving customers buying seafood. He was smiling so hard his mouth nearly twisted.
"Chizan, you really are something. Not only did you make another round of money off them, you even screwed them over again."
"But why did you make me lower the effect of the scale powder so much?"
"Wouldn't it be better to just increase the dosage?"
Chōmei watched as more and more people bought the seafood, feeling puzzled. After all, even though all these seafood items contained his scale powder, the dosage was less than one-third of before.
"Chōmei, our goal is to disgust the Iwagakure ninja, not to kill them outright. Look—there are plenty of civilians buying fish too."
"If the scale powder's effect is too strong, these civilians won't be able to handle it. When that happens, if Ōnoki goes berserk, he might just lift a mountain and come looking for revenge."
"Anyway, I've already made the money. They'll still suffer the side effects. Why not?"
Gekko Chizan was absolutely clear-headed. Iwagakure, as one of the Five Great Villages, was a major force meant to oppose Uchiha Madara. No matter how unhappy he was, he wouldn't wipe them out in one go.
But when it came to spreading rumors, the other side had to pay a price.
Just as his thoughts were running wild, a small old man suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
His arrival caused many ninja and civilians to greet him.
"Oh? That's Ōnoki..."
"That old man actually came too?"
Seeing this, Gekko Chizan didn't hesitate and immediately activated Transparent Release, hiding his presence. He had no intention of letting that old man see him.
This old man who possessed Bloodline Elimination was still terrifying. Even in his current state, Gekko Chizan didn't want to face him.
"Tsuchikage-sama, you're here to buy fish too?"
"Hahaha, this old man also wants to eat big yellow croaker. You all go ahead—I'll wait in line."
"Tsuchikage-sama, come over here. I'll go to the back."
"No need. Hurry up and buy. I still need to go back and make fish soup!"
Ōnoki was extremely popular in Iwagakure. Though he looked like nothing more than a doddering old man, as a Kage, he was undeniably successful.
However, Ōnoki's arrival also caused the buying speed to increase noticeably. At the very least, everyone ahead of Ōnoki moved with great efficiency.
Pay the money, take the fish—fast and clean.
When Ōnoki reached the front of the shop, the workers immediately greeted him.
"Tsuchikage-sama, want some big yellow croaker? Or big squid? Or big octopus?"
Gekko Chizan hid to the side, silently waiting for Ōnoki to make his choice.
In fact, his earlier conversation with Chōmei hadn't ended there.
According to Gekko Chizan's instructions, the amount of scale powder injected into the big yellow croaker, big squid, and big octopus was different.
Among them, the big yellow croaker had the least, because it was the cheapest and more suitable for civilians. Squid and octopus were much more expensive seafood.
So the scale powder in the big yellow croaker was minimal, while the squid and octopus had a larger amount.
"Hehehe, I'll take big yellow croaker. Give me plenty—this old man likes fish."
"Hm? Where's your boss?"
Ōnoki smiled as he took out his money, while his eyes subtly scanned the situation inside the shop.
What he didn't see was what he wanted to see—the boss selling the goods was not present.
"Our boss has been busy all day. He probably went to rest."
"Tsuchikage-sama, don't worry. All our goods are shipped from the Land of Frost. There's absolutely no problem."
"In our boss's words, he's an old sea wolf!"
Sea wolf? Hearing this strange title, Ōnoki didn't ask further. If he wasn't here today, so be it—he could always come back tomorrow.
As Tsuchikage, he paid close attention to travelers who came to the village to do business.
After all, the war had just ended. Who knew if they might be spies sent by another ninja village?
"Mm, this big yellow croaker is good. Give me more."
"Coming right up!"
After buying the big yellow croaker, Ōnoki left, slowly floating upward until he reached the top of a building, from where he could clearly see the shop below.
Soon, four ANBU appeared beside him.
"Tsuchikage-sama."
"Mm. Keep an eye on them. Confirm there's no problem before withdrawing."
"Yes."
"And take this too. Bring it to the medical department for testing and see if there's any issue."
As he spoke, Ōnoki handed over the big yellow croaker in his hand. Clearly, he was still cautious.
Unbeknownst to him, all of this was being watched by Gekko Chizan, who was currently on a rooftop not far from Ōnoki.