Bang—!
Hiruzen, what exactly are you thinking?!
Danzo Shimura slammed his hand on the table, looking at the pile of reports sent from the Hokage Office, utterly baffled. Hiruzen Sarutobi was no longer watching him as closely as before, and he had been very compliant, changing the way he trained Anbu and temporarily halting the recruitment of Root members.
He had conceded so much, so was Hiruzen Sarutobi provoked? Why was he watching him again?
Danzo Shimura truly couldn't understand. Even with his boldness, he wouldn't dare send Root Ninja to spy on Uzumaki Mito, who possessed the ability to perceive good and evil. Naturally, he didn't know that Hiruzen Sarutobi had been scolded by Uzumaki Mito like a misbehaving Ninja Academy student.
Hokage Building
In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting in his chair with a pipe in his mouth, finished the last page of the forbidden book he had been eagerly following. He remained silent for a long time, took a deep puff from his pipe, and slowly exhaled smoke.
"Such an ending isn't bad either."
Hiruzen Sarutobi closed the book, opened a drawer, and put the book inside, thinking with a hint of anticipation.
He wondered if this author named Miya would have any new works.
The hot spring town was as lively as ever, with many people coming to visit.
Inside a tavern, at a window seat.
"Here are the book sales royalties and manuscript fees."
The publishing agent, Mr. Goro, had a respectful attitude. Faced with Miya, who had become a hot novelist with her first book, the publishing house naturally wanted to keep her and not let her be snatched by other publishers.
"Thank you for coming all this way, Mr. Goro."
Orochimaru reached out and took the paper bag Mr. Goro handed her. From its shape, it was clear it contained stacks of something, obviously money.
"Mr. Miya, may I venture to ask you a question?"
Goro asked cautiously.
"Mr. Goro, please speak." Orochimaru made a gesture for him to continue.
"Do you have any ideas for a new work?"
Goro quickly added: "Of course, this is what the boss of the publishing house asked me to inquire about."
"The new book is still in the conceptual stage. I still need time, Mr. Goro."
Orochimaru placed her hands on the table, fingers intertwined, and said with a smile: "Once I have an outline for the new book, I will contact you immediately. Mr. Goro, I hope our cooperation with your esteemed company can continue."
Orochimaru was quite satisfied with the income from writing. The money earned from missions, writing, and gambling, plus the funds received from Danzo Shimura, were still a bit tight for purchasing scientific research equipment.
At the current rate of saving money, she estimated it would take until she was 12-14 years old to have her own Laboratory, and that was assuming the money-making went smoothly. If a mission failed, it would all be for nothing.
The key issue was whether to build the Laboratory in Konoha. If she had to pack up and leave one day, she would waste time moving all the scientific equipment.
If not in Konoha, where would she build her Laboratory?
In the Land of Rice Fields?
Speaking of which, the Daimyo of various countries were also very wary of Ninja. Before the Fourth Shinobi World War, when the Allied Shinobi Forces were established, they were still worried about Ninja revolting. In reality, if they truly wanted to revolt, these Daimyo, who weren't particularly strong, would all die.
Ninja are more skilled at destruction than production. Daimyo manage entire countries. Would Ninja, who can't even manage their own Village well, manage a country?
That would be like asking Li Kui, the Black Whirlwind, to put down his twin axes and pick up a brush to compete for a job with Wu Yong, the Strategist.
Doing something they are not good at would only lead to a country being mismanaged, chaotic, and messy.
Now, with the Ninja World just recovering peace, the Daimyo of various countries had to rely on the power of Ninja to maintain the safety of their nations. But once peace lasted too long, the Daimyo would feel that spending so much money on Ninja Villages was not cost-effective.
It's been so long without war, why do you still need so much money?
Cut it by a third!
Once the Daimyo started cutting funds, the Ninja Villages would have to reduce the number of Ninja, and their overall strength would plummet.
In the original story, the Daimyo of the Wind Country kept cutting the Hidden Sand Village's budget, perhaps thinking that the Land of Wind's environment was too poor, and there was nothing worth coveting. It didn't matter whether the Land of Wind had the Hidden Sand Village or not. What was the point of seizing a desolate place full of sand?
If the Hidden Sand Village hadn't had Rasa, that crazy gold prospector, it would probably have been finished long ago. He probably got sand in his brain while prospecting for gold, otherwise he wouldn't have done something so idiotic as forcing his docile and obedient youngest son to become a lunatic.
"Mr. Miya?"
Goro saw Miya lost in thought and, thinking he might be conceiving a new book, quietly stood up. Before leaving, he painfully used his 'gold-release' to instruct the tavern staff not to disturb him.
If she were to establish a Laboratory, or even her own faction, in the Land of Rice Fields in the future, she absolutely could not be constrained by such matters.
Make money, must make money!
To hell with the Daimyo. I don't want to deal with you, and don't you dare provoke me.
Orochimaru glanced at Goro's retreating back, put away the paper bag of money, stood up, and walked out.
For Orochimaru, whose mind was solely focused on science and Ninjutsu, changing the world's system held no interest for her. Old systems would be replaced by new ones; it was simply not yet time.