"Naruto: Ice God"Chapter 114: This Child Is Just Like Me
In Amegakure, after completing his friendly exchange with Yahiko and the others, Feng Bai hurriedly departed, leaving behind a Flying Thunder God kunai and carrying handwritten letters from Yahiko's group for Jiraiya.
"Dad, I traded one hundred million ryō for a massive silver mine!"
Returning to Danzō's encampment, Feng Bai couldn't wait to share the good news, announcing that he had successfully established friendly relations between Konoha and Akatsuki on the village's behalf.
"A silver mine?"
Danzō didn't even look up, simply extending his hand to signal his son to produce the signed contract.
"Just a moment."
Seeing Danzō's gesture, Feng Bai suddenly remembered he'd casually tossed the contract to Kakashi. He rushed outside, retrieved it from Kakashi, and immediately handed it to Danzō.
"Hmm..."
Danzō leaned back in his chair with a casual posture, like an old man reading a newspaper on a street corner, remaining silent for a long while.
"One hundred million ryō for five years of mining rights to a silver deposit—certainly not a loss. But do you know that ninja are forbidden from privately mining resources?"
Putting away the contract, Danzō threw cold water on Feng Bai's enthusiasm.
"Huh?"
Hearing Danzō say this, Feng Bai was completely bewildered.
Ninja aren't allowed to mine silver?
What bastard made up that rule?
"According to regulations, ninja serve as military organizations hired by the daimyō and are completely divorced from production. Even if they engage in business, it can only be conducted on Konoha's territory—they absolutely cannot own assets on the daimyō's lands."
Straightening his posture, Danzō gave his foolish son an expressionless lesson.
So that means...
I spent one hundred million ryō for mining rights I can't even use?
If Sarutobi-sensei finds out, won't he beat me to death with Enma?
After all, the contract bears my signature. As Hiruzen's disciple, I'm naturally part of Hiruzen's faction, so he'll have to deal with the consequences.
"So, what do you plan to do now?"
Looking at his son, Danzō's eye flickered with an enigmatic gleam, hoping to hear the answer he desired.
The daimyō, the daimyō—if the daimyō truly forbids mining, then the cautious Hiruzen would never permit today's actions.
No matter how wealthy Konoha might be, they wouldn't simply hand over real money to Amegakure, even if the loan could only be used to purchase necessary supplies from Konoha.
What if I bypass Hiruzen and the daimyō entirely?
Feng Bai suddenly considered another possibility.
What is a daimyō anyway? Just someone sitting on high, wielding their meager authority, yet able to make ninja bow and scrape.
Even if I really sent people to mine that silver deposit, what could the daimyō do?
Send forces to eliminate me?
With just his samurai?
But if I bypass the daimyō, what about the loan?
Though the money doesn't need to actually be handed over, the supplies must genuinely be purchased.
Who would provide those supplies?
For a moment, the flood of information in his mind made Feng Bai flush red once again.
[Sigh, his intelligence really...]
Seeing Feng Bai's face turning red again, Danzō helplessly closed his eyes, finally convinced that his son had no praiseworthy qualities beyond fighting ability.
No, even his combat thinking was overly simplistic.
"Bypass the daimyō directly and forcibly mine the silver."
Just as Danzō was preparing to bail out his foolish son, Feng Bai finally made his decision.
Start mining the silver first—deal with the supply issue later!
Hearing his son finally reach the conclusion he wanted to hear, Danzō's single eye brightened, though he quickly concealed it and asked with feigned indifference: "Once the mining begins, what about Amegakure's supply purchases?"
"That's where you come in, Dad~"
Feng Bai drew out his voice, fawning as he moved closer to massage Danzō's shoulders.
Hiruzen cares about the daimyō, but Danzō doesn't.
Rather, Danzō has always maintained an indifferent attitude toward the daimyō.
Quite satisfied with his son's massage, Danzō nodded: "Not completely stupid—at least you know to come to me."
After letting Feng Bai massage for a while, Danzō waved him back to his original position, then stood up, preparing to give his son a lesson in ninja history.
"During the Warring States era, the daimyō suppressed ninja numbers by hiring various clans to slaughter each other. Back then, with their large samurai armies, the daimyō did indeed hold the advantage in combat power."
Clasping his hands behind his back, Danzō recalled the stories his elders had told: "But ever since the First Hokage's village system was established, the combined ninja clans possessed enough power to challenge the daimyō's armies. Therefore, they had to use production restrictions and other measures to suppress ninja strength."
"Even so, the samurai under the daimyō could no longer halt the ninja's advance. Thus, the Great Ninja Wars became perfect venues for attrition."
"In the commission environment deliberately created by the daimyō and other high-ranking nobles, ninja from the major hidden villages compete against each other for those meager commission fees to improve their villages' survival conditions."
"Hmph, do you know why Root doesn't appear in the village's fiscal budget yet maintains such a massive scale?"
Reaching the crucial point, Danzō turned to face Feng Bai directly.
"You mean..." Feng Bai was beginning to understand.
"On the surface, I use the Shimura clan's assets to subsidize Root. But secretly, I've used my power to control fallen nobles, using their identities to conduct business that the daimyō strictly forbids ninja from touching."
Holy shit, no wonder he's such a master schemer!
No wonder in the original story, when Hiruzen was still worrying about village commissions, Danzō not only supported ANBU but also provided Orochimaru with endless research funding.
When it comes to ignoring the daimyō, my old man is the expert!
Feng Bai's face showed pure admiration.
Seeing Feng Bai's expression, Danzō nodded with internal satisfaction.
If Hiruzen's followers, or even Hiruzen himself, heard these words, they would surely cry treason and throw him straight into prison.
But his son showed no nervousness—instead, he looked excited.
This child is just like me.
Feng Bai's reaction strengthened Danzō's determination to push him toward the Hokage seat.
If previously he'd acted to remedy his own regrets, now he truly sought to realize his vision of the ninja world.
"So..."
Danzō deliberately paused.
"So?"
Feng Bai eagerly awaited Danzō's answer.
"A mere one hundred million ryō worth of supplies—I can handle that easily. As for mining the silver, you needn't worry about it at all."
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