"What are you all doing?" Pakkun Jūzō glared at the noisy Kiri-nin who had just returned from breakfast and shouted, "Hurry up and get ready."
What kind of time is this?
Still fooling around here? Do you still want to escape or not?
"Jūzō-sama, look." A Kiri-nin pointed excitedly at the dozen small gift boxes in front of them. "There are clothes, canned food, and even some shopping vouchers."
He… they, as jōnin, had never encountered anything like this before. The village had never given them any benefits.
Uzushiogakure…
It was simply unbelievable.
Pakkun Jūzō glanced at the welfare supplies they had just received from Uzushiogakure, then narrowed his eyes and scolded loudly, "What are you all doing?!" He looked at them with deep disappointment. "Have you forgotten the teachings of the Mizukage? Forgotten the village's kindness in raising you?"
"Are you really going to throw away your ninja principles over such trivial things?"
"Sorry." Hearing Pakkun Jūzō's words, the Kiri-nin immediately looked ashamed and said, "We'll prepare right away."
"Good." Pakkun Jūzō nodded in satisfaction at their reaction and sighed. "It seems we must act immediately."
Otherwise, with Uzushiogakure's sugar-coated bullets…
How many of them could resist?
Especially after seeing the lifestyle of that reform camp leader—it practically made people want to defect!
Because Uzushiogakure…
High wages, good benefits, easy work—compared to the village's life of killing and risking their lives for bounties, it was much more comfortable. Not to mention, half of the mission rewards had to be handed over to the village.
It was just too unfair.
"But, Jūzō-sama, these shopping vouchers are worth three thousand ryō each." A Kiri-nin waved the long paper slip in his hand. "Shouldn't we spend them before we leave?"
With so many of them, it added up to tens of thousands. And Uzushiogakure's prices weren't high—according to the Uzu-nin teachers, they were two or three times lower than the rest of the shinobi world.
With this much money, they could buy a lot of things. Maybe even bring some souvenirs back for relatives and friends in the village?
However…
Pakkun Jūzō narrowed his eyes and bared his sharp teeth in a cold grin.
"Sorry, Jūzō-sama." The Kiri-nin quickly lowered his head, looking remorseful. "As a shinobi, I was actually tempted by such worldly things."
"Forget it." Jūzō shook his head and sighed. "I don't blame you. This is all Uzushiogakure's cunning."
"But…"
Pakkun Jūzō stared intently at each Kiri-nin. "I hope you don't forget—you are shinobi of Kirigakure."
"Yes!" Hearing Jūzō's words, everyone straightened up and responded, "We understand."
Seeing this, Pakkun Jūzō nodded. "Then hurry up and prepare. See what can be used as weapons. Remember, we not only have to guard against Uzushiogakure's shinobi but also cross the sea. Neither of these is a small matter."
Especially since their chakra was currently sealed, making them practically no different from ordinary people.
So if they weren't fully prepared, trying to cross the sea would be suicide!
"Jūzō-sama." A Kiri-nin raised his hand. "What should we do with this?" He shook a can. "This is Uzushiogakure's special beef stew. It's said to have a shelf life of up to three months."
"Collect them." Pakkun Jūzō nodded. "Keep them as emergency rations. They might be useful during the sea crossing."
"Other supplies, like clothes and blankets, should also be prepared."
These would be crucial during their time at sea. Although the people of Kirigakure were all excellent swimmers…
Swimming across the ocean without chakra…
Was far too dangerous.
"Understood!" The Kiri-nin said. "I'll make sure everything is ready."
"What about lunch?" Another Kiri-nin hesitated but quickly corrected himself when he saw Jūzō's narrowed eyes. "Pfft, as if Uzushiogakure could tempt us with beef. I was just reminding everyone."
He straightened up and spoke righteously to the surrounding Kiri-nin. "We are disciplined elite shinobi of Kiri. What are mere sugar-coated bullets to us?"
"Right, Pakkun Jūzō-sama, Hoshigaki Fuguki-sama?" The Kiri-nin grinned at the two captains. "We will definitely succeed."
Pakkun Jūzō nodded in satisfaction and smiled. "Good. After we return, I'll put in a word with the Mizukage for all of you."
"You've all maintained your principles despite being here for so long, uncorrupted by Uzushiogakure's sugar-coated bullets. That makes you all commendable."
"Unlike that… what's-his-name… Yōya?"
"He's a disgrace to shinobi!" Pakkun Jūzō clenched his fist and said earnestly. "I hope you all understand in your future ninja careers what should and shouldn't be done."
"Only then can you become successful shinobi."
Clap clap!!
All the Kiri-nin, moved by Pakkun Jūzō's words, applauded excitedly and shouted, "That's right! We are the real shinobi. That Yōya is just a rotten apple in the bunch!"
"How could a traitor live so well? There's no justice in the world!"
"He'll get divine retribution sooner or later!"
"Exactly." Hoshigaki Fuguki chuckled nervously, wiping sweat from his brow. "We absolutely refuse to be shinobi's shame."
He glanced cautiously at the impassioned Kiri-nin around him. For some reason, Hoshigaki Fuguki felt a little uneasy.
"What's wrong?" Pakkun Jūzō frowned at Hoshigaki Fuguki. "Is it that hot? Why are you sweating?"
"Ah, just my body type, just my body type." Hoshigaki Fuguki averted his gaze, feigning indifference as he replied flatly. "Seems like I need to train more after returning to the village."
"Otherwise, my body's too weak. Always sweating."
"You really should lose weight." Pakkun Jūzō patted Hoshigaki Fuguki's shoulder and sighed. "Look at you—you've gained a whole layer of fat during our time in Uzushiogakure."
The labor here wasn't hard—much easier than their usual shinobi training. Plus, with three meals a day, all including meat…
Practically everyone had gained some weight, but Hoshigaki Fuguki's was especially noticeable.
"I will." Hoshigaki Fuguki wiped his sweat and said with narrowed eyes, "I'll lose weight as soon as we return. The moment we're back, I'll start dieting."
"In that case, everyone, hurry up and prepare." Pakkun Jūzō looked at the high-spirited Kiri-nin and ordered loudly, "Once the time comes, we act immediately. Understood?"
"Understood!!"
"You, girl, had enough yet?" Madara Uchiha grumbled as he watched Uchiha Mikoto return with yet another pile of snacks. "Finish up quickly. It's time to move somewhere else."
Staying in one place for so long was boring.
And besides…
The Uzumaki Clan's festival setup was actually somewhat interesting.
Madara-sama glanced at the civilians and shinobi, all wearing smiles on their faces.
The corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted slightly.
"Sorry!" Uchiha Mikoto apologized to Madara, then said cheerfully, "But there's just so much delicious food today!"
She handed him a bowl of sweet tofu pudding.
"I noticed Madara-jii seems to like sweet things, so I asked the vendor to add extra sugar."
"Hmph!" Madara snorted, taking the tofu pudding. Tobi had bought this before, so he'd already tried it. It was quite tasty. Then, he frowned at the paper-wrapped item in Uchiha Mikoto's hand. "What's that?"
"Oh, this is a hand-pulled pancake." Uchiha Mikoto waved it. "I didn't get one for Madara-jii because I was worried your teeth might not handle it."
"But I heard there's a shop ahead that sells double-layer milk pudding. It's similar to tofu pudding but tastes different. Let's go try it later."
"I'm sure it'll suit Madara-jii's tastes."
"..."
Madara fell silent for a moment, then said flatly, "Go buy another one."
"Huh?" Uchiha Mikoto blinked in confusion. "But this one's a bit…"
Before she could say "hard," Madara-jii's sharp glare made her stick out her tongue and go buy another one.
"Hmph!" Watching Uchiha Mikoto leave, Madara snorted and muttered, "Who said my teeth are bad?"
"My teeth are perfectly fine!"
He could even bite through milk candies. How could they be bad?
"The Uchiha these days…"
"Not only are they weak, but they don't even know how to respect their elders. Truly…"
"Each generation is worse than the last!"
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