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Chapter 89 - INAZ: Chapter 88

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Seeing Orochimaru's performance, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to age a dozen years instantly. Looking at Orochimaru's back, then at Kakuzu an

Seeing Orochimaru's performance, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to age a dozen years instantly. Looking at Orochimaru's back, then at Kakuzu and Shinji. If his choice back then wasn't wrong, then would today's scene never have appeared?

Harboring this thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked out of the Otokage office, looking at the villagers still farming outside, and the ninja academy that looked newly built not long ago. Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but walk over.

Upon entering the school, Hiruzen Sarutobi heard the cheerful laughter of students. These were all children aged 4-6. Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi enter, they politely greeted, "Hello, Grandpa."

"Are you happy studying here?" Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed his kind face.

"Yeah, very happy. The teachers here educate really well!" said a child with a runny nose. Following the child's guidance, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze and happened to see the teacher they mentioned.

Ordinary black hair, wearing glasses, currently smilingly explaining something to several children. Seemingly sensing Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze, the teacher slowly stood up, looked back, and was suddenly stunned upon seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi. Then, he opened his mouth and smiled.

"Long time no see, Teacher Hiruzen..."

"Orochimaru..." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked complexly at Orochimaru. He knew this was just Orochimaru's clone. Meaning, information wasn't synchronized in real-time between clones. This Orochimaru didn't know what happened in the Otokage office today.

And... Hiruzen Sarutobi looked down. Orochimaru's hand was still placed on the child's head, and the child looked worshipfully at Orochimaru. Turns out... Orochimaru had this side too? Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart felt mixed emotions. This appearance, this gentle Orochimaru, was the first time he had seen it.

"Why is Teacher Hiruzen here?" Orochimaru removed his hand from the child's head, first gently instructing him to go to class, then turned his head to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"I just came over to discuss your Otogakure's combat readiness weapons. Orochimaru, didn't expect you to actually use a clone to teach here..." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the few books beside Orochimaru's hand.

"After all, our Otogakure isn't as rich in teaching resources as Teacher Hiruzen's Konoha right now. Naturally, everyone has to work harder according to their ability. But... regarding being a ninja academy teacher, I myself was somewhat surprised..."

"Surprised?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked somewhat puzzledly.

"Didn't expect I'm actually so suitable for teaching~" Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. Although he used the Transformation Technique at this moment, he still exuded a snake-like aura.

"Hmm?" Hiruzen Sarutobi hummed. Did he really make some wrong decisions?

"Orochimaru, are you truly happy here?" Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly asked.

"Naturally. Being able to do my own things, without restrictions, isn't this kind of life happy?" Orochimaru said joyfully. Previously his focus was on research, but now he increasingly felt this kind of life seemed happier. Moreover, here in Otogakure, he could not only continue his research but also do various things, like teaching, like being Otokage. These were things unattainable back in Konoha.

"Happy is good. You are my disciple. If you are happy, I am even happier," Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly. What else could be done now? Better hurry up and repair the teacher-student relationship. Otherwise, when Konoha needed to buy combat supplies later, if the price increased due to some grudges, it really wouldn't be worth the loss.

"Teacher Hiruzen, fufufu, aren't you going to send those combat supplies over yet? Lord Raikage left non-stop," Suddenly, the Orochimaru before him didn't speak. Instead, Orochimaru's voice came from behind Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Lord Otokage!"

"Lord Otokage!!!"

"I also want to become Otokage like you!" Instantly, just as Orochimaru arrived, the surrounding students suddenly gathered around, directly surrounding Orochimaru. Moreover, each student's face was filled with worship and longing. It seemed Orochimaru was quite popular in this place. Unlike those adults, adults would fear Orochimaru's former reputation, but children were different. They worshipped more this Lord Otokage Orochimaru who could bring them stability and education. Moreover, among every child, there was a feeling of aiming to be the next Otokage.

And Orochimaru, seeing this group of children, showed no impatience on his face, instead revealing a gentle smile. "You are the future of Otogakure. Hope you can grow up. The next Otokage will be you," Orochimaru bent down slightly towards this group of children.

"Yay! Lord Otokage spoke to me!"

"Indeed, I am the next Otokage?"

"Lord Orochimaru, can I have an autograph?" Instantly, the emotions of all the children were mobilized by Orochimaru. It seemed this was the most suitable game.

Watching Orochimaru surrounded by children, a trace of trance suddenly flashed through Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart. It seemed the last time he went to Konoha Academy, he received this treatment too. But was he as patient as Orochimaru back then? Really... Hiruzen Sarutobi was lost in thought, somewhat stunned. He seemed to have lost something back then but couldn't remember what? This feeling of confusion made Hiruzen Sarutobi somewhat uncomfortable.

"Teacher Hiruzen, haven't you returned yet?" Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was lost in confusion, Orochimaru's voice came again.

"What?" Hiruzen Sarutobi replied subconsciously.

"This isn't like your style, Teacher Hiruzen. Actually getting stunned?" Orochimaru clearly didn't react immediately. In his impression, Hiruzen Sarutobi was always like that. Even when trying to bring him back before, he wasn't this stunned.

"Getting old, naturally will get stunned. But Orochimaru, I still hope the trade relationship between our Konoha and your Otogakure can proceed normally in the future," Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly seemed to firm up something, looking at Orochimaru.

"Naturally. Just like we said from the beginning, our Otogakure is a neutral village. Naturally, there won't be any favoritism. All trading partners are treated equally," Before Orochimaru could speak, Shinji's voice suddenly came from behind Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Boss Shinji, this is also what I hope to see. I have no intention of being your enemy," Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at this duo. Once upon a time, if he could have handled it well, Shinji, Orochimaru, these two high-level combat powers, how could they possibly leave Konoha. Besides, he knew Orochimaru's background quite well. But Shinji, or rather Zhongli, Orochimaru truly didn't know his depth... Making enemies with such a person, this was something Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't want to see.

"Naturally. We also open for business. Lord Hokage can naturally rest assured about these matters," Shinji said with a smile.

"I understand. Then I'll leave first," Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, seemingly this result made him feel aged by several years.

"Wait," Suddenly, Shinji stopped him.

"I can send you off..." After a flash, Shinji and Hiruzen Sarutobi vanished before Orochimaru.

"Really, Boss Shinji took the opportunity to slack off again..." Watching this scene, Orochimaru shook his head somewhat helplessly.

"Lord Otokage~ Can I have an autograph?"

"Of course."

Time flew like a white steed flashing past a crack. Over the next half month, the most famous thing in the entire ninja world wasn't anything else. But the kunai and shuriken that appeared on the battlefield between Konoha and Kumogakure.

Two countries at war, people from other countries would have some intelligence groups observing nearby to collect intelligence; this was very normal. But these intelligence groups were surprised to find. The kunai and shuriken that were previously common everywhere, which ninjas rarely retrieved after throwing, were now rarely seen on the post-battle battlefield. Remember, although previous post-battle battlefields were cleaned somewhat, the recovery of these kunai and shuriken wasn't that diligent. Scattered weapons were visible everywhere. But this time, these abnormal phenomena made the other villages feel something was wrong.

When Konoha and Kumogakure shifted battlefields again, Iwagakure was the first to arrive at the original battlefield. Soon, those experienced intelligence team ninjas discovered a very hidden kunai. After these abnormal phenomena, the intelligence team quickly sent these kunai back to the village.

Under Ōnoki's personal experimentation, he actually discovered these kunai and shuriken, whether in sharpness or usage strength, were a notch higher than those they used before! This discovery made even Ōnoki somewhat alarmed. He had walked step by step to the position of the current Third Tsuchikage amidst turmoil; naturally, he could see some clues from these well-equipped weapons. After testing, he could further confirm that if these weapons were truly equipped on Konoha and Kumogakure, then if war broke out between himself and them.

The unprepared Iwagakure would definitely be caught off guard by this new type of blade tool. Might even lead to some snowballing scenarios! This discovery made Ōnoki somewhat restless. He immediately decided to find out the origin of these ninja tools. Because after he personally took them to the general of the Land of Iron, he confirmed they weren't works of the Land of Iron. Moreover, the Land of Iron was also somewhat confused about the material of this new type of ninja tool.

When did their forging technology, which they relied on for survival and had always led other countries, actually get surpassed unknowingly? This discovery made even the Land of Iron itself somewhat restless. They relied on these to live; how could they let others snatch the business away silently?

Under the order of the Land of Iron's general, relying on the markings above, the Land of Iron finally discovered some clues. The marking above was Otogakure's mark. And after inquiry, it was learned that dozens of blacksmiths who weren't valued in the Land of Iron had recently applied to leave the village, and the place they went before leaving was precisely Otogakure! This discovery made the general of the Land of Iron somewhat stunned. What exactly was going on?

And the other villages that received the news also began sending their ninjas towards Otogakure's location. For no other reason than to find out the origin of these ninja tools. And when they learned these ninja tools were truly manufactured and produced by Otogakure, they placed orders one after another.

Now Otogakure's orders were already scheduled almost into next year. Moreover, remember these were all settled with prepayment. Meaning, after deducting costs, these prepayments were almost covering the cost of raw materials! This let Kakuzu, seeing the dawn, feel somewhat tearful. Finally seeing new incoming account information!

Instantly, all villages knew Otogakure's new technology could raise the strength and sharpness of kunai and shuriken to an unbelievable level. For a time, large numbers of orders from the Land of Iron rapidly transferred to Otogakure's side! This made the general of the Land of Iron grit his teeth in hatred.

If his Land of Iron weren't a neutral country, he probably would have directly sent people over to besiege Otogakure! But the Land of Iron couldn't do such things. At the very least, they couldn't be the first to make this move. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. If a neutral country initiated an attack first, that would be breaking the rules. The result would be giving those who had long coveted the Land of Iron's technology and wealth an opportunity to attack!

Fortunately, however, due to the expensive price of Otogakure's kunai and shuriken, the major ninja villages only equipped their elite. So ordinary kunai and shuriken still had some orders in the Land of Iron. Just that the order volume plummeted.

"Lord Shinji, looks like our Otogakure has become famous~" Early in the morning, Karin bounced over to Shinji's side.

"Yeah. But this was also expected. Our technology is so good, naturally it will become famous," Shinji lay on the reclining chair, seemingly completely unsurprised by this result. Winter had already arrived; the streets were already covered with a layer of pure white snow.

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