"The rarest card in the set is Lord Madara's. Only a few have appeared so far. I remember the last one was about a week ago. Let me think... It was a ninja from the Uchiha clan. He bought more than a hundred packs in one go before drawing it. I was so jealous!"
Sosuke recalled the scene when the Madara card appeared last time. It had been incredibly lively. The instant the card appeared, that student became the object of admiration and envy among the ninja academy students.
The power of money was truly terrifying!
On one hand, it was to satisfy their need to compare themselves with others. On the other hand, as long as they collected every card, they could meet Haru and get his personal signature.
The rich young masters from the ninja clans did not lack money at all. Some lucky students who pulled rare cards in one pack would immediately be offered a high price for them.
Among the ninja academy students, who did not worship the great Third Hokage?
"If only I could draw Lord Madara's card."
Sosuke's tone carried deep expectation. As long as he drew Madara's card, he could definitely sell it for a high price.
He knew very well that he had no hope of collecting all the cards, but if he drew the rarest card and sold it for a good price, it would definitely ease his mother's pressure. Life was always hard for a single mother and her child. The pressure of the mortgage was both hope for the future and a mountain pressing down so heavily that it was hard to breathe.
Even so, Sosuke had never thought of spending his hard-earned money on drawing cards. He did not believe such heaven-sent fortune would fall on his head in one pull.
"You really want to draw Madara's card?"
Madara was delighted inside. The smile at the corner of his mouth was almost impossible to suppress. Although it was only a child's admiration, it still felt wonderful.
"Yeah. If I draw it and sell it, my mom won't have to work so hard."
Yesterday, Madara had already figured out Sosuke's family situation very clearly, so he understood Sosuke's thoughts. After all, he was a child from a poor family.
It is time for me to act!
He had eaten a meal from this child. Although it was only one meal, he, Madara, did not like owing children favors.
"Then I'll try."
"Grandpa... I think you really shouldn't. This depends a lot on luck. Buying one pack is really expensive!"
Sosuke really did not want Madara to fall into the trap of the card-drawing game. Spending money on card draws was a game for rich people. Poor people like them should just watch the excitement from the side.
"Don't look down on me. I am Uchiha... cough, cough. When I was young, I was a powerful ninja!"
After Madara finished speaking, he confidently walked forward and took out what little money he had left, buying one pack first to test the waters.
"Watch me!"
"Lord First Hokage again!"
"As expected."
Sosuke's mood was somewhat downcast. Although he had already expected this result, there had still been a faint expectation inside him.
What if?
Maybe that heaven-sent fortune would actually smash down onto his head.
"Hmph. Again!"
"Lord First Hokage again."
"Again!"
"First Hokage."
"I don't believe it!"
"This one is a little better. It's Lord Second Hokage!"
"Tobirama? Unlucky. I would rather have Hashirama."
"Continue!"
"First Hokage."
"One-Tail. First Hokage. Second Hokage."
In just a few minutes, Madara opened more than twenty packs. Without exception, they were all low-value cards. Hashirama and Tobirama made up the overwhelming majority. Rare cards like the Nine-Tails, the Eight-Tails, and even his own card did not appear once.
"Grandpa, stop drawing. I'm scared!"
Madara still had not given up. This was how people became obsessed with paid draws. Unless all the money was spent, they would not give up. Besides, Madara had stolen this money from someone else, so he did not care much about these worldly possessions in the first place.
But Sosuke was truly afraid. This was simply wasting money. No matter how he looked at it, Madara did not seem like someone with much money.
"Hmph. Again."
Madara did not take Sosuke's words seriously. He wanted to draw his own card so he could show off in front of this brat. Cough, cough. So he could help Sosuke solve some family difficulties.
After drawing more than ten packs, Madara still looked like an unlucky ghost and did not draw anything.
Sosuke anxiously watched from the side, but soon, he no longer needed to worry. His lunch break had ended, so worrying was useless now.
"Grandpa, really, stop drawing. You're so old. Why are you still being so stubborn?"
"Stubborn? I am..."
"Brat, hurry up and go to class. I will definitely draw the rarest card today!"
Madara's mentality had already started to collapse. The last time he had encountered such a troublesome matter that left him helpless was when Hashirama's wooden giant had pinned him down and beaten him.
And Madara did not have much money left.
Originally, he had planned to keep it for food and lodging in the Leaf during this period. If he still could not draw it, then he would really have to send a clone to the bounty exchange to take a few bounty missions.
If he had to experience life and work in a factory at that time...
Perhaps that was fate.
Madara sent Sosuke away, hardened his heart, and went all in!
If he lost, he would work in a factory.
If he won...
Well, he would work in a factory anyway. This card was supposed to be given to that little brat Sosuke.
Afternoon.
Hokage Building.
Haru yawned, looking somewhat listless. After waking up, he had fought for another whole noon. One against two was ultimately a disadvantage.
This damned ninja world. No matter how strong a ninja was, when it came to physical constitution, the gap from ordinary people was still too pathetic. In this world, there were only oxen tired out from plowing. There was no field ruined by being plowed.
For now, he would call a truce.
He should go outside for a walk. He could casually go to the Hokage Building and check in to count as having come to work. As Hokage, skipping work for an entire day was still not good.
Tonight, he would fight them to the death again!
Haru walked into the Hokage Building. The ninja working there like office monkeys saw his figure, and looks of surprise appeared in their eyes.
The Hokage actually came to work today?
Wasn't it said that the Hokage had been obsessed with beauty...
Cough, cough. That he had exhausted himself working for the Leaf and had no choice but to skip work for a day?
"Hokage, you actually came?"
"Shikato, I'm the Hokage. What do you mean, I actually came?"
Haru was a little dissatisfied. Although he liked slacking off, liked being lazy, often left work early to take the twin sisters shopping before finding an inn and opening a room for some excitement, then arrived late the next morning or even skipped half a day of work and only came in the afternoon, sometimes not even coming in the afternoon...
Still, that surprised expression was too hurtful.
Was he, Haru, an unqualified Hokage?
This was ruling by doing nothing, and the world was at peace!
Sweat appeared on Shikato's forehead. The Hokage's private life was somewhat chaotic, and that was already famous in the Leaf. Which member of the Leaf's higher-ups did not know? Haru had twin sisters at home, the Uzumaki clan had sent one over, and the Hyuga clan had also stuffed one in. There were even rumors that the Hokage had once held a private gathering.
Five people...
Cough, cough. Of course, this was...
The gossip of important figures always spread quickly, and it was always exaggerated.
"Miss Chiyo has been waiting in the office for you for a long time. Kakuzu came to find you today for a signature and encountered Miss Chiyo."
"After Kakuzu chatted with Miss Chiyo for a while, Miss Chiyo became extremely nervous. I'm afraid Kakuzu discussed some matters related to business between the two villages with her."
Shikato instantly chose to change the topic. The Hokage's scandals and rumors were definitely things the Hokage himself did not know about. Even for a powerful person, an information cocoon existed. The ninja responsible for gathering intelligence would not be stupid enough to report this kind of gossip to Haru.
As for the women involved, aside from Kaede and Rin in Haru's home, each of the others had a high status. If the rumors were false but spread in such a convincing way, they would take the blame. If they were true, that would be even more frightening.
Do not get involved. Do not get involved.
As long as the Hokage had fun.
Haru had no idea that his personal integrity was worse than even he imagined. Which bastard was gossiping behind his back? If he had actually done it, fine. The key was that he had truly done nothing.
Takuya: Do not mention me.
Ashina: Same here!
"So that's how it is. It's fine. Kakuzu is obsessed with money. I forgot to tell him to be gentler during negotiations. But it doesn't matter. These trades were never meant to make money. Losing some money to do them is not a loss."
Since Kakuzu had accidentally played the bad cop, Haru would continue playing the good cop.
"Hokage, if these deals do not make money and may even lose money, why are we still forming an alliance with the Sand Village and doing loss-making business? The Leaf is no longer the Leaf of the past. There is no need at all..."
Shikato quickly entered work mode. As Haru's common assistant, he knew the Leaf's financial situation, development speed, and strength growth better than anyone.
For the Leaf, something like an ally had always been simple: if you were strong, you were my ally. If you were weak, you were a plate of meat.
"Back when the First Hokage was alive, the Sand Village was..."
The alliance relationship between ninja villages was more fragile than a sheet of paper. Even when forming so-called offensive and defensive alliances during war, one had to consider whether the other side would stab them in the back. Not to mention this was a time of peace. The Leaf forming an alliance and even spending money to support...
Shikato wanted to persuade Haru to abandon this so-called alliance agreement. It was completely thankless. Although the Leaf had a deep foundation now, having money did not mean throwing meat buns at dogs. Besides, this dog might bite the Leaf in return.
"Shikato, when will you truly broaden your vision? You know very well what kind of situation the Sand Village is in. It is all sand. Food, medicine, and daily necessities are extremely scarce. The big merchants supplying them are almost all forced over there by the feudal lord of the Land of Wind. If they had a choice, they would rather go to the Land of Rivers. Those merchants do not want to do business that is tiring and low-profit."
"Think about it. If the Leaf's merchants slowly replace those merchants from the Land of Wind, and use our increasingly powerful industrial strength to fully infiltrate the Sand Village's sources of daily life within a few years, we may lose money at first, but the Leaf's influence will thoroughly radiate into the Sand Village. For example, public opinion. When the time comes, once we cut off their..."
"Also, I have already discussed it with the Sand Village. They will send the children of their higher-ups to study in the Leaf. These people will all become children inclined toward the Leaf in the future. We can even choose some valuable children from among them. If the Leaf supports a Fourth Kazekage, wouldn't that be interesting?"
Haru's few simple sentences directly made Shikato's back go cold. Their source of life would be completely controlled by the Leaf, their public opinion would be infiltrated by the Leaf, and even the Sand Village's higher-ups would be bought over by the Leaf.
The Sand Village was finished sooner or later.
In the past, the contests between ninja villages had always been on the battlefield. Now, Shikato's perspective was once again broadened by Haru.
"Hokage, your insight is brilliant!"
Shikato looked at Haru with fear and reverence in his eyes. This alternative method of subverting a ninja village made Shikato feel a chill inside.
In the future, the Leaf would probably devour the entire ninja world step by step like this.
"Since you understand, I'll handle the Sand Village's higher-ups. You and Kakuzu will handle the rest. I've already given you the direction. I only want results."
Haru gave Shikato a little pressure, making him work hard. Whether they were ordinary working monkeys or ninja, Haru always treated them equally. They were all targets that could be exploited.
"As you command!"
These methods, which had already been played to death in Haru's previous life, were already extraordinary methods in front of the Leaf ninja, who only liked using force to solve problems.
Although Leaf ninja worshiped force, they were not dead brains. War killed people. They still remembered the meat-grinder horror of the First Ninja World War. Being able to solve the Sand Village, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages alongside the Leaf, without bloodshed was simply a huge blessing.
Going to war still cost money.
If the bald eagle's Mr. Smith had embezzled a little less money and chosen to directly spend money buying off Afghanistan's soldiers, they would never have fought into that kind of mess.
Shikato's tone was excited. Although his workload had increased again, this completely new form of warfare made his blood heat up. A strange emotion appeared in Shikato's heart.
"I'll go calm Chiyo down. Go find me the list of everyone who entered and exited the Leaf over the past three days. I have an important matter to investigate!"
Shikato was puzzled by Haru's sudden action. Normally, the Hokage would not even glance at this kind of miscellaneous matter. The Leaf's traffic flow was extremely large now. Checking all registered people from the past three days would be very troublesome.
"Yes, Hokage."
However, Shikato still obediently went to carry out Haru's order.
Click.
"Hokage!"
Haru pushed open the door. The moment Chiyo heard the sound, she hurriedly stood up. When she saw that the one entering was Haru, she immediately rushed in front of him.
"Miss Chiyo, sorry to keep you waiting. I was delayed by something today. Please do not take it to heart."
As Haru walked to his seat, he said polite words to Chiyo.
"Hokage, it's all right. I didn't wait that long. The environment here is so comfortable that even sitting here for a whole day would be a kind of enjoyment."
Chiyo did not care at all that Haru had stood her up for the entire morning. Setting aside the psychological factors, the environment in Haru's office was already a form of enjoyment for Chiyo, who had lived in the Sand Village all year round. There was air-conditioning, a sofa to sit on, and unlimited desserts and drinks.
"Hokage, about the alliance agreement between the Leaf and the Sand Village..."
Chiyo's tone was humble.
(End of Chapter)
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