Just as the two gatekeepers had said, the inside of the village was indeed a tiny bit more impressive than the entrance.
The grandest and most luxurious building was a house situated in the center of the village. It stood two stories tall, though from the outside, it was only about the size of a single regular room in Tsunade's original residence.
There weren't many people on the street leading to the house, and those who were present had vicious looks on their faces. If he didn't know any better, Kaito would have thought he'd stumbled into a den of bandits.
"Honored guest, this is our Sunlight Grass Village's Administrative Hall. The leader is inside," one of the gatekeepers said, pointing at the "luxurious" house with a bow.
"Mm. Let's go in."
Kaito took the lead, a thick wad of cash in hand, and walked inside. With this ultimate weapon, he passed by the guards without any trouble. They all stared at the colorful bills, their longing plain to see.
Kaito had already used his Aura to map out the building's layout. He went up to the second floor, walked down a long, winding corridor, and stopped in front of a door. Before the Grass ninja trailing behind him could speak, he yanked it open.
He found himself in a spacious conference hall. Numerous Grass ninja were kneeling on both sides, and on a large chair at the head of the room sat a stout man with thick eyebrows and large eyes. He had his legs crossed and looked at Kaito with an obvious smile. Curled up on a cushion beside him, a cute little fox was sound asleep.
Kaito's abrupt entrance made many of them frown, but when they saw the money in his hand, their tone softened. "Sir, are you here to ask for our help with something?"
"That's right. I have a very important commission. Who is your leader?" Kaito looked around the room and pointed at the stout man at the head. "Is it you?"
The moment he spoke, a tall, skinny, long-haired young man shot to his feet and barked, "Do not be disrespectful to Leader Souta!"
As if on cue, the others all stood up and glared at Kaito, their voices rising in a chorus of accusations. The large conference hall instantly became as noisy as a street market.
"Enough!"
A cold shout came from the head of the room. The clamoring Grass ninja immediately fell silent as cicadas in winter and knelt back down.
"What's all the shouting about?" Souta slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair, his voice filled with anguish. "Sigh. How many times have I told you? The customer is God! They are our benefactors! We must not be rude to them, understand?"
"Understood!"
"Understood, my ass! Especially you, Wulei. Stop that giggling. You're always the first one to jump up and cause trouble. You need to fix that bad habit of yours. Stop being so jumpy."
"Leader, I can't help it," Wulei said with a pained expression. "The moment I hear someone speak ill of you, my heart aches, and I can't control myself."
The surrounding Grass ninja rolled their eyes, cursing him silently. Tch, shameless!
"Alright, I'll let it slide this time. Don't let it happen again!"
"Yes, sir!"
After settling his internal affairs, Souta turned to Kaito with a broad smile. "Honored guest, my apologies. I have failed to discipline them properly."
"It doesn't matter. Can we talk business now?" Kaito said impatiently.
"Of course, of course. So, what would you like to commission us to do?"
"It's confidential. I'd like to speak with Leader Souta alone."
"Absolutely not!" Wulei leaped up again, his voice full of agitation. "Leader, be careful!"
"Are you questioning my strength?"
"No, no, that's not what I meant, sir. I'm just worried for your safety."
"You don't need to worry about my safety! All of you, get out! Guard the perimeter, and don't let so much as a fly in!"
"Yes, sir!"
After shooing all the Grass ninja out, only Souta and Kaito remained in the room.
Kaito casually set up a soundproof barrier and said with a smile, "Not bad, Leader Souta. In just a few days, you've become the boss of the Grass Village and have these guys completely under your thumb." He put extra emphasis on the name "Souta."
Souta first recalled the drowsy little Eevee into his body, then stood up with a laugh. "Hahaha! With my intelligence, isn't this to be expected?"
"That's true." Kaito nodded in deep agreement, then changed the subject. "I'm very curious what you've been through these past few days to get the Nine-Tails."
"It's too much trouble to explain. You should just see for yourself."
"Fine."
He recalled the Chakra Plate and dispelled the shadow clone. Instantly, a massive flood of memories poured into his mind. Even with Kaito's exceptional talents, his head felt as if he had pulled two all-nighters, groggy and throbbing with a splitting headache. Thankfully, the feeling subsided after a few seconds.
"It's been less than ten days. If a clone doesn't return for three to five years, would my head just explode?" Kaito thought with a shudder, quickly making a mental note. "At the very latest, shadow clones must be recalled once every six months!"
Sitting in the large chair, Kaito began to sort through his new memories. After a while, he opened his eyes, a strange expression on his face. "So that's what happened?"
As the story went, on that day, after giving himself and little Kurama their new names, the chakra clone had set off for the Land of Grass. He had traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping here and there to enjoy the scenery, as if on a spring outing.
Two days later, just like Kaito, he had arrived at the so-called "Sunlight Grass Village." Unlike Kaito, however, the chakra clone's fine clothes had attracted the greed of the Grass ninja, who had tried to rob him.
What a joke. Kaito was always the one doing the robbing; he would never let someone rob him. In a fit of rage, a river of blood had flowed. Anyone with malicious intent, including the former leader who was the village's only jonin, was slain. All that remained was a group of sycophants who bent with the wind, and they immediately prostrated themselves before the powerful chakra clone. The chubby one named Wulei was the most "outstanding" among them.
Thus, the chakra clone had, without question, become the new leader.
After questioning Wulei and the others, he learned that the Grass Village had fractured after being nearly wiped out by the Land of Rain, a conflict in which the leader of the Land of Grass had also died heroically. The few remaining jonin refused to submit to one another and had each established their own "Grass Village." The Sunlight Grass Village was one of them. It was named "Sunlight" because its founder was named Tenko. He was a classic idiot who had no idea how to run a village and had turned a ninja village into a bandit camp. If not for the fact that the other places were even worse, his subordinates would have deserted him long ago.
Realizing how chaotic the Land of Grass was, Kaito naturally began to have ideas.
"While the major nations aren't paying attention to this place, I might as well take over the Land of Grass, turn it into a mercenary nation that works for whoever pays, and make a fortune in this war."