Inside the magnificent palace of the Daimyo's Mansion in the Land of Lightning.
“Bang—!”
A valuable celadon teacup was violently smashed to the ground, and the splashing fragments cut a servant's cheek, causing blood to seep out, yet no one dared to move.
“Useless, all useless!”
The Land of Lightning Daimyo’s face was ashen. He suddenly grabbed the remaining cups on the table and threw them out with force.
He had just heard the servant's report.
The Second Raikage had entered the Land of Lightning with the Hidden Leaf Emissary Group and would soon arrive at the Daimyo's Mansion.
This made the Daimyo extremely furious.
“I told him to assassinate Senju Tobirama, but he, on the contrary, personally escorted them back!” The Daimyo gritted his teeth, the rage in his eyes almost turning substantial. “When did the Ninja of Hidden Cloud Village become the Hidden Leaf’s guard dogs?”
The retainers kneeling on the ground were drenched in cold sweat, no one daring to look up.
The Daimyo suddenly turned, his luxurious robes sweeping the ground. He stared at the scenery outside the window, his fists clenching with a grinding sound.
“Senju Tobirama…” He sneered, “Coming to the Daimyo's Mansion himself? Good, does he really think there’s no one in my Land of Lightning?”
Since the Second Raikage couldn't be relied upon, he could only let the Dark Guards he had cultivated take action.
In recent years, the Daimyo had recruited many powerful Ninja with vast sums of money, believing these Ninja would surely be able to kill Senju Tobirama!
He didn't care about losing money; mere gold and silver were but a drop in the ocean for the Daimyo's Mansion, which possessed numerous mines.
What he cared about was his reputation!
Senju Tobirama’s actions were clearly a slap in his face!
The dignified Land of Lightning Daimyo was actually approached by an enemy village’s Hokage to demand compensation.
How would the Daimyo of other countries view him?
Those fellows would probably laugh their heads off, and he might never be able to hold his head up in the Daimyo circle again.
All of this was due to Senju Tobirama, and the Raikage, having failed the assassination, also bore responsibility!
“Pass on my order.” The Daimyo slowly calmed his breathing and said coldly, “Have the Dark Guards assassinate Senju Tobirama…”
The so-called Dark Guards were the wandering Ninja he had recruited over the years. They were completely capable of dealing with the Hidden Leaf Emissary Group!
Well, at least he thought so.
“Yes!”
“Wait…”
The servant was about to leave when he was called back.
“Starting next year, Hidden Cloud Village’s military budget will be cut by forty percent.” The Daimyo said coldly.
“Your… Your Excellency Daimyo!” A retainer in charge of finance finally couldn't help but look up, “This… won’t this be too…”
“Too what?” The Daimyo narrowed his eyes. “Since the Raikage defied my orders, he should bear the consequences.”
He slowly sat back in his main seat, his fingertips gently tapping the armrest.
“As for Senju Tobirama…” A sinister arc curved on his lips. “Since he’s come to the Land of Lightning, he shouldn’t expect to leave easily.”
As long as Senju Tobirama was killed, his reputation could still be salvaged. He could also use this to tell other countries that the Land of Lightning Daimyo’s authority was not to be infringed upon!
The retainers in the hall had various expressions, but no one dared to speak up in protest.
Late at night, in the side courtyard of the Daimyo's Mansion.
Several wandering Ninja sat around a flickering candle, their faces pale. One of them clutched the newly received secret order in his hand, his fingers trembling slightly.
“Assassinate… Senju Tobirama?!”
The middle-aged man with a scar on his face, who was the leader, repeated the words with a dry voice, unable to believe his eyes.
“What a joke!” Another man slammed the table and stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with terror. “That’s the Hokage of Hidden Leaf, the Ninja God’s brother!”
“Isn’t this sending us to our deaths?”
The room fell into a dead silence, the faint candlelight illuminating their terrified expressions.
Upon hearing the news, they felt as if the sky had fallen.
Assassinating the Hokage, wasn't that just asking for death?
They were Special Jonin, recruited by the Daimyo and treated to good food and drink every day. While they were fine protecting the Daimyo's safety, assassinating the Hokage was just suicide, wasn’t it?
After a long while, the scar-faced Ninja took a deep breath and slowly stood up.
“Pack your things.” He said in a low voice, “We can’t stay in the Daimyo's Mansion; we’re running tonight.”
“But what about the Daimyo…” Someone hesitated.
“Do you want to go assassinate the Second Hokage and become a corpse, or do you want to take your gold and flee tonight?”
The scar-faced Ninja sneered, tearing off the Ninja tool bag hanging on the wall. “Don’t forget, we’re just hired Ninja, not the Daimyo’s death retainers!”
The few exchanged glances, then quickly began to act.
Daimyo's Mansion warehouse.
“Take more, the Daimyo has plenty of money anyway!”
“This vase is nice, it’s mine!”
“Wait, take this box of gold bars too!”
In less than half an hour, the Dark Guards who were originally responsible for protecting the Daimyo transformed into thieves ransacking the Daimyo's Mansion.
They carried bulging packages and, under the cover of night, climbed over the high walls, disappearing into the vast mountain forest.
“We’re on the run, brothers, we’re on the run!”
“Hahaha, with this money, we won’t have to take any more missions for the rest of our lives.”
…
The next morning, inside the Daimyo's Mansion hall.
“Damn scoundrels!” The Daimyo’s roar echoed through the empty hall.
He had discovered that the treasury had been completely ransacked this morning.
Although this amount of money was nothing to him, he hated the feeling of being betrayed most of all.
“Go and catch them for me!” He roared, smashing the teacup in his hand. “I’ll tear them to pieces!”
The retainers knelt on the ground, trembling.
A trusted aide bravely looked up, “Your Excellency Daimyo, then… the matter of assassinating the Hokage…”
The Daimyo’s face was gloomy, and he slowly sat back in his chair.
The Dark Guards were clearly no match for Senju Tobirama, so they had absconded with the money.
To assassinate the Hokage, he would have to reconsider.
After a moment of silence, he said coldly, “Go to the black market, offer a bounty of one hundred million Ryo, no, two hundred million Ryo!”
…
In the dim underground exchange, candlelight flickered.
“Senju Tobirama… two hundred million Ryo!”
Kakuzu stood in front of the bounty board, his breathing slightly ragged beneath his mask.
The amount marked in cinnabar seemed to transform into a small mountain of stacked gold coins in the flickering firelight.
His Adam’s apple bobbed; it was the first time he had seen such a high bounty.
If he killed Senju Tobirama, two hundred million Ryo would be his!
Thinking this, he tore the bounty from the wall without hesitation.
“The Ninja God’s brother, huh?” He murmured softly, “Let me show you the new power I’ve acquired!”
Having fused with Takigakure Village's secret technique, Earth Grudge Fear, he was confident he could kill Senju Tobirama.
After all, Senju Tobirama’s strength wasn’t as monstrous as Senju Hashirama’s, so there was still a chance to kill him!
Kakuzu’s mind couldn’t help but conjure the image of Senju Hashirama, and the Uchiha brat beside Hashirama!
He had been defeated by that brat back then, not only nearly poisoned to death but also inexplicably indebted for a large sum of money.
Because he had to repay the debt, he became a bounty hunter.
As time passed and his wealth grew day by day, Kakuzu began to enjoy making money.
Seeing Senju Tobirama’s two hundred million Ryo bounty, wealth moved his heart.
He decided to give it a try.
…
…
PS: I did the math, I owed 9 chapters on the 11th, and the total of electricity and gifts these days is 5 and a half chapters, let's say 6 chapters. I owed a total of 15 chapters, I've made up 10 chapters these days, plus 2 chapters today, for a total of 12 chapters made up. I still owe 3 chapters, finally going to pay off the debt, 嘤嘤嘤…