The Days of Being the Richest Man in the Ninja World

Chapter 162. At Hokage Rock

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The incident happened not long after Yuto left.

One of the Three Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru, defected from Konoha. As for the reason… a rumor broke out among the village's ninjas that Orochimaru coveted Danzo-sama's body—so much so that he broke the village's rules and took action.

It was all because of money!

On the same day the event took place, Konoha's rescue response was swift. The most important figure of Konoha, Shimura Danzo, was completely unharmed.

Only…

Orochimaru managed to escape.

But deep down, Danzo was still very heartbroken!

He never thought that Orochimaru would turn against him!

You know, he was the only one who supported Orochimaru as the next Hokage. Even if there were selfish motives, their relationship was still a strategic partnership. Up until now, it could be said that he had never done anything to let Orochimaru down.

And yet—

In the end—

All he got in return was greed and betrayal.

Money.

Was it really that important?

Danzo felt exhausted.

So what if he let Orochimaru conduct a little research~

So what if he hadn't handed over the First Hokage's cells yet~

Did it really have to come to this?

Did he not want to start the research?

No!

That wasn't the issue!

The problem was—

There wasn't enough funding at the moment!

How could Shimura Danzo not want to possess the invincible power to dominate the ninja world?

But there was simply no money!

With a heavy heart, Danzo looked at the Root ninja in front of him. "How much did we lose?"

"The research facility was severely damaged. Many machines were destroyed, and…" The Root ninja hesitated. "Orochimaru managed to steal a portion of the Hashirama cells."

Silence.

Danzo didn't respond.

After a long pause—

He shook his head again sadly. This unexpected disaster had made the already struggling Root organization even worse off.

It hurts!

Did he really have no other options left?

Danzo clenched his fists. Then, as if remembering something, he picked up a flyer beside him.

[Yuto Entertainment Co. Ltd is now accepting movie submissions!]

[Are you still worried about not having enough money? Are you still worried about having a story in your heart but not being able to tell it? Are you still envious of other people's stories?]

[Come and make a movie! As long as your story is attractive, we will accept it!]

[Your film will be screened in all of Yuto Cinema and will be sought after by everyone!]

[Revenue share! Buyout! Collaboration! It's all up to you!]

[What are you waiting for?]

[Start filming your story now!]

Next to the text was an illustration of a masked man giving a thumbs-up, with a caption: "My story! Do you dare to film it?"

"Make a movie?" Danzo hesitated. His mind was in turmoil. He thought about the endless stream of people at the cinemas. After some investigation, he knew that the profits were ridiculously high—no, insanely high!

No wonder that brat quit being a ninja back then.

Even he, the leader of Konoha's Root, had to admit that Uchiha kid had an exceptional business sense!

It was no accident that the Uchiha kid was able to build such a huge business at such a young age!

However…

"This always makes me feel like I've lost again!"

He—

Except for Hiruzen—

No one else could make him lose!

He had originally planned to let Orochimaru crack these technologies… but he didn't expect that Orochimaru would secretly attack him in the end!

He was Hiruzen's best friend!

How could Orochimaru turn on him?!

Danzo's expression darkened. He thought about his current situation and sighed again. Then, he turned to the Root ninja. "What has Hiruzen been up to lately?"

"The Third Hokage has been grinding at the Naka Shrine, trying to farm materials and hoping to get the Paralyzing Nine-Tails… and he even formed a guild."

"…"

Danzo's eye twitched.

He suddenly remembered—

Just yesterday, the two of them had been clearing a dungeon together.

And what was worse—

Hiruzen was playing as an Uchiha!

"Hiruzen has also fallen!" Danzo shook his head. Then, he asked, "Where is he now?"

"The Third Hokage… has been spending most of his time at Yuto's internet cafe!"

…

"What kind of scam is this?! High drop rates! High EXP! Exclusive dungeons! It's all lies! False advertising!" Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a sigh, rubbing his stiff lower back as he stepped out of the internet cafe.

People get old.

If he sat for a long time, his whole waist would ache!

He found an open space near the entrance, squatted down, pulled out his smoking pipe, and lit it while gazing at the village's sunset. Taking a deep drag, he shook his head and muttered to himself, "I'm really getting old..."

Just a few nights of staying up, and his body already felt weak.

Not long ago, when he tried to deal with Orochimaru, he couldn't even catch him, letting him escape.

Really.

It wasn't on purpose!

Of course—

Hiruzen never expected Orochimaru to turn out like this… Was it because he wasn't chosen as Hokage that his heart began to darken?

How could he do anything to Danzo?

Greed!

"It's getting late, and I'm almost out of money. In a few days, Asuma should be back from his mission." Hiruzen furrowed his brows, taking another puff, and muttered, "Looks like I won't be able to top up 648 for now. I'll have to wait for Asuma to return."

Ever since he had invested all his savings into a business with Danzo, he'd been short on cash, surviving on subsidies from the village every once in a while.

As for the Sarutobi clan's money? That belonged to the Sarutobi family!

"I can't even buy a computer… Biwako will kill me!"

With a long sigh, he rubbed his lower back and stood up. It was about time to go home. The last few nights of gaming marathons had already made Biwako suspicious—she thought he was with Danzo again.

Seriously…

Not to mention that he wasn't… Even if he was, so what? They were best friends! What kind of nonsense was she even thinking?

Women!

However—

Just as Hiruzen was about to take a step forward, he froze slightly, staring at the familiar figure in front of him.

He went silent.

Then, he smiled slightly. "What a coincidence!"

Even though they'd met online recently and had seen each other during Orochimaru's defection a few days ago, meeting like this… It had been a long time since they had stood face to face like this, in silence.

"You came looking for me?"

"Yeah!" Danzo smiled, nodding slightly. He looked as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Come on! Let's continue working together!" His tone was serious. "This time, I've got another plan! It will definitely succeed!"

"Just accept it, Danzo!" Hiruzen sighed. He looked at Danzo's determined gaze, then shook his head. "We are ninjas! We shouldn't waste time on pointless things!"

"You've fallen, Hiruzen!"

"Maybe."

His voice was calm as he lowered his head, avoiding Danzo's gaze, and walked past him without another word.

There was no point in arguing now.

However—

"Do you really want to keep going on like this?! Let everyone laugh at us?!" Danzo turned around and roared, "The so-called Darkness of Konoha and Light of Konoha actually lost to some brat?! Keep falling like this! Grinding dungeons every day! Farming materials to get Paralyzing Nine-Tails! Raiding the Uchiha Naka Shrine! Have you really fallen, Hiruzen?!"

The words struck deep.

Hiruzen's small figure trembled slightly. His right foot, already stepping forward, paused for a moment. When Danzo noticed it, his lips curled into a knowing smirk.

"I'm broke! If we go bankrupt again, you better top up 648 for me!"

"Hah! Fine! I'll top up for you!" Danzo smirked confidently. "Not just 648—we'll both top up 1888, and we'll buy the most expensive computer! We'll let everyone know—we haven't lost yet! We'll even bring in Homura! He's got free time too! Let's do this together!"

"Heh!" Hiruzen scoffed. "Let's talk when you actually succeed."

"We will succeed! Tomorrow! Tomorrow! If you still haven't given up yet—meet me at Hokage Rock tomorrow!"

With those words—

Danzo looked at Hiruzen, who waved to him but did not stop and continued to walk forward. The sun bathed Danzo in its warm glow. His lips curled into a confident smile. "This time… it will definitely succeed!"

With his wisdom and Hiruzen's reputation, how could he keep failing?!

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