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Under the promotion of the Daimyo and wealthy individuals from nearby small countries... a few months later, Kirigakure's economy rapidly developed due to the constant influx of tourists.
...
Meanwhile, Land of Fire, Konoha.
Ninja Academy students chaotically lined up beside the training grounds.
A group of children chattered incessantly. Iruka called out students two by two for sparring matches.
Naruto rested his chin on Sasuke's shoulder, hanging on him like a corpse, causing the girls nearby to glance over repeatedly.
"It feels like almost a year has passed. No news from Kuroshi-nii at all. Wonder when he'll come back."
"He said before he'd write letters and stuff, but I haven't received anything."
Naruto looked somewhat dejectedly towards the civilian school.
Since Hatake Kuroshi left, the teachers at that school no longer allowed him to sneak in and disturb classes.
He could only stay obediently inside the Ninja Academy every day.
"Only a dead-last like you would believe what he says."
"Maybe he died outside, so he stopped writing letters."
Sasuke retorted irritably.
Normally, when Naruto pestered him, he rarely responded.
But upon hearing Hatake Kuroshi's name, Sasuke flared up with anger; this remark had to be countered.
"Why do you always argue with me about this? Saying such things definitely means you don't understand Kuroshi-nii!"
"He's—super strong! And he definitely wouldn't just not write to me. Maybe there's nowhere to send letters from!"
"You're just jealous that Kuroshi-nii and I have a good relationship."
Naruto suddenly perked up, tilting his head and arguing back at Sasuke.
"Who would be jealous of something like that? Neither of you are popular guys anyway."
Sasuke, not to be outdone, stood on tiptoe, frowning with disgust.
The two bumped foreheads, looking ready to fight.
"Weren't you jealous before that Itachi-nii and Kuroshi-nii had a good relationship—Ouch!"
Before Naruto could finish, Sasuke punched him directly.
On one hand, he didn't want Naruto shouting Itachi's name in front of everyone. On the other, he absolutely didn't want to admit he was really jealous of Hatake Kuroshi.
"．～If you two want to fight, fight outside. Don't cause trouble in the line."
Iruka quickly separated the two with his attendance roster, pulling one with each hand, dragging them into the white practice circle.
Although the two often hung out together, their relationship was somewhat different from conventional best friends.
The orphan survivor of the Uchiha massacre and the isolated Nine-Tails Jinchuriki... there was a sense of shared suffering.
Iruka looked at the crowd of girls cheering for Sasuke beside them and sighed wearily.
The biggest difference between the two probably lay in Sasuke possessing the Uchiha clan's ancestral attraction to women, excluding Obito perhaps.
Sasuke and Naruto quickly formed the Seal of Confrontation and charged at each other.
In an instant, the surrounding noise quieted for a second.
In a flash, Sasuke directly knocked Naruto to the ground, looking down at him condescendingly.
"Anyway, that guy is not a good person."
After speaking, Sasuke got up and stood aside.
It wasn't that he truly disliked Hatake Kuroshi that much, but having his jealousy pointed out so directly was just very annoying.
"Alright, Sasuke wins. Get up and form the Seal of Reconciliation."
Naruto glared angrily at Sasuke, then at Iruka standing beside him.
Couldn't win the argument, couldn't win the fight. Naruto glared fiercely at the indifferent-looking Sasuke beside him.
"I don't want to! What he said is wrong!"
Naruto stuck his tongue out and made a face at the two, then vaulted over the iron fence surrounding the training grounds.
Naruto sulked silently as he walked towards the shopping street outside.
Not far along, the aroma of ramen wafted to his nose.
Naruto's stomach cooperated with a loud "Gurgle~". He then pulled out his green frog wallet from his pocket and checked the remaining cash inside.
"Yosh! It's already this time anyway, let's go eat first!"
Village of the Bloody Mist.
Kakuzu's footsteps halted not far from Kirigakure, his brow furrowing slightly.
News of Kirigakure's recent drastic reforms was spreading everywhere.
Kirigakure's reforms alone had attracted sponsorship from many people.
Whether Daimyo or some wealthy individuals involved in illicit activities, they had unexpectedly invested in Kirigakure.
From the past until recently, Kirigakure had mainly maintained a conservative and mysterious image; pervasive fog daily, hidden assassins everywhere.
But its current state seemed almost entirely unrelated to his memory of it.
The perennial fog had been dispersed. A water park was set up along the coast, waves of laughter echoing around.
"Not only attracting sponsors, but so many visitors must have made a fortune too..."
Kakuzu's face was buried behind the high collar of his Akatsuki cloak, revealing only a pair of dark green eyes.
His sense for money was extremely sharp. The person organizing these reforms behind Kirigakure must be raking in profits.
Previously, in the Land of Water, or even the entire world, no place had reformed its village to this extent.
Almost completely open without reservation.
Who knows how the people here managed to persuade those stubborn old folks in Kirigakure.
Kakuzu walked towards Kirigakure's main gate with curiosity. Surrounding villagers distributed flyers with smiling faces.
There were even two ordinary women with radiant smiles standing at the entrance.
"Welcome to Kirigakure. The entrance fee is six ryo. Please pay separately for hot springs, water park, and accommodation."
"For other requests, please present pre-booked credentials."
Kakuzu looked inside thoughtfully. The entrance fee was quite cheap, indicating a broad target audience.
Entrance fee charged, internal activities also charged; this place certainly knew how to make money.
The entrance fee was basically pure profit.
Kakuzu's mind raced as he took the ticket and walked into Kirigakure.
The 'other requests requiring credentials' was a code phrase unique to Kirigakure.
Credentials could be bought at high prices in various black markets. Ostensibly, this place was a water park and hot spring resort.
Secretly, it was a sanctuary.
Kirigakure boasted countless ninjas skilled in assassination. If you were targeted, you could directly pay for safety and hide here.
After all, Kirigakure produced assassins; letting peers deal with peers was the most reassuring option.
Playing both sides, black and white; plenty of people rushed to offer money.
Inside Kirigakure was also a scene of prosperity. Renovated shops, the scent of money everywhere.
Because the smell of money was too strong, it paradoxically felt somewhat extravagant.
Kakuzu looked past the bustling market towards the towering Mizukage Tower.
Really curious, what kind of money-making genius sits inside there?
...
Hatake Kuroshi had a separate finance office, right next to the Mizukage's office, with a door connecting the two walls.
This was to facilitate Mangetsu Hozuki running back and forth, as both offices were excessively large.
Hatake Kuroshi sat boredly on the desk, resting his cheek on his hand while watching the ANBU members constantly running back and forth outside the door.
Since gaining income from tourism, Mangetsu Hozuki had turned down some assassination missions.
After all, those missions seemed like life-and-death struggles, yet earned less than a single day's operation in the village.
So the ANBU, previously busy with various missions, were now mostly staying to operate the water park and hot springs.
"Last month's income from hot springs and water park was 10,122,000 ryo. Total rent from the shopping street was 1,420,000 ryo."
"Accommodation fee income hasn't been fully tallied yet. Forty-five shops have opened."
"Last month, 400 ryo were sent to the Uzumaki family in Konoha."
"Cost expenditure..."
An ANBU member half-knelt, presenting a stack of income and expenditure statements while reciting rapidly.
Mangetsu Hozuki was previously just an ungraduated child, with little concept of money, only knowing these sums were enormous.
Genji and Ao listened beside them, utterly shocked, involuntarily swallowing hard.
Good heavens, when did Kirigakure ever earn so much money monthly?!
Even during wartime, with constant demand for assassinations, they rarely earned this much in a month.
Although aware there were cash flow or other accounts, just the income alone exceeded ten million ryo!?
An S-rank mission or higher only paid 100,000 ryo upwards; this one month was equivalent to over a hundred such missions.
Ninjas taking missions meant immediate large sums; even D-rank missions started at 500 ryo.
Hatake Kuroshi set the entrance fee ridiculously low, but that portion was direct net income.
Whether further consumption occurred or not, the entrance fee had to be paid.
Then, an ANBU member rushed in from outside, holding several photos, eagerly presenting them to Mangetsu Hozuki and Hatake Kuroshi.
"We also took photos outside regarding the clothes you mentioned earlier."
"A man wearing a black cloak with red clouds and a straw hat."
Hatake Kuroshi and Mangetsu Hozuki leaned their heads together, looking at the person in the photo.
Although only charging an entrance fee, Kirigakure still dispatched personnel to screen incoming individuals.
After all, times like this, with open doors, were when strange people were most likely to slip in.
Such as ninjas from other countries gathering intelligence, or desperate criminals on assassination missions.
Paying granted entry, but people were stationed at the entrance responsible for taking photos.
Any suspicious individual would be immediately reported to the Mizukage.
If Hatake Kuroshi was also in the office, their authority was equal.
Of course, eighty percent of the time, Hatake Kuroshi would be outside playing with ordinary people.
S-rank missing-nin were definitely listed as high-priority targets. Others might try to conceal their identities, disguise themselves.
But people like the Akatsuki organization, with their band-like, collectively conspicuous attire, practically had 'I am an S-rank missing-nin' written on their faces.
Naturally, they were reported directly.
"Kakuzu, huh..."
The person in the photo clearly had different eyes from others, appearing to have black sclera and green irises.
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