Chapter 79: Unified Funding
He had heard many things recently—especially after being ambushed several times by Root ninja. From their mouths, he learned that the Uchiha clan had been wiped out because they were "evil by nature."
But now, seeing these other ninja clans so shamelessly exposing their greed after gaining power, how were they any different from the Uchiha?
Sasuke sneered coldly to himself.
From his perspective, Konoha was no longer a place worth staying. Not if it continued down this path.
To avoid falling behind in the Reincarnation Game, he had to form his own group—one that could grow stronger together.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Haruno Sakura's eyes filled with emotion. She hadn't expected the usually cold Sasuke to think of her at all.
Sasuke, expression indifferent, replied, "Don't get the wrong idea. I just don't want anyone dragging us down."
Revenge was all that existed in his heart. Love? Not even close.
The more Sakura acted infatuated, the more disgusted he felt. If she could prove herself capable—if she showed she could stand alone—then maybe he'd look at her differently.
Asuma took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Merchant, we'd like to purchase everything."
Ten Trial Tokens—ten chances to become players.
As for the Mission Scrolls, their purpose wasn't entirely clear yet, but anything in the merchant's possession that could influence the rules was bound to be valuable, even if the price was steep.
"No problem."
Fang Yi never turned away a full buyout.
"Please wait a moment."
Asuma gave a respectful bow, then quickly turned to leave.
Unlike in other villages, even though he was captain of Konoha's game division, Asuma didn't have much discretionary control over reward points. Every major decision still had to go through the Hokage and his senior advisors.
He soon arrived at the Hokage Tower.
Sitting behind a large desk, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wearing his traditional hat, looked up and smiled faintly. "Asuma, how was your interaction with Mr. Fang Yi?"
Asuma nodded. "The merchant is very approachable. He seems to have a good impression of Konoha."
"Any chance we could win him over?"
That was what Hiruzen cared about most.
If they could recruit this mysterious merchant and have him remain in Konoha, the power and equipment he possessed could make their village the undisputed leader of the ninja world.
Asuma shook his head. "I didn't ask, but I don't think it's likely."
He didn't have any real hope of winning Fang Yi over.
To the Hokage and his advisors, Fang Yi was just the representative of some otherworldly power, a merchant of fantastical goods.
No matter how much he tried to explain, they simply couldn't see otherwise.
But Asuma, a player himself, understood the truth.
The power constantly emanating from the Reincarnation Game was enough to reshape the world entirely.
And the man who created it—this "merchant"—was no less than a god.
He wielded a power equal to that of a mythic being.
Asuma smiled bitterly inside.
Trying to recruit someone like that? Konoha had no bargaining chips.
Hiruzen recalled the brief image he had seen of Fang Yi through the crystal ball—young, handsome.
"What about a political marriage? A seat on the advisory council?"
For a marriage to work, it had to involve one of the village's noble clans.
The Hyūga daughter was barely the right age, but that would only empower the Hyūga too much.
Tsunade?
Flawless beauty, noble heritage, once one of Konoha's top-tier elites—but… a little too old.
"Probably not," Asuma answered.
Then he mentioned their desire to buy the Trial Tokens.
He didn't want to keep the merchant waiting too long.
Hiruzen frowned slightly. "Trial Tokens—are you certain they guarantee player status?"
Konoha's game force had only a few hundred members. Gaining ten more players would be a massive boon.
Five thousand reward points apiece.
Expensive, yes. But thanks to recent monster hunts and a successful auction of Ghost Iron Ore, the village now had around 130,000 points in reserves.
They could afford it.
Asuma shook his head. "The merchant said the only way to earn player status is by completing the trial. The difficulty…"
Hiruzen's expression tightened. "The Reincarnation Game is great, but it costs too damn much."
If not for the merchant's terrifying ability to reverse-cast the Telescope Technique and target the Hokage Tower, he'd have called him greedy to his face.
Hearing that success wasn't guaranteed, Hiruzen hesitated. He didn't want to waste points on something uncertain.
"We can't be stingy now," Asuma said firmly.
Every faction with any foundation was scrambling to get their elites into the game.
Right now, they had ten Trial Tokens in front of them. Even if the chance of success wasn't 100%, the potential reward was too great to ignore.
Hiruzen countered, "What about the silver materials?"
More than player slots, he wanted to prioritize forming a family.
With a game family, combined with the Sarutobi clan's manpower and wealth, he could further consolidate control of the village—suppressing the increasingly arrogant ninja clans.
Asuma had obtained a defective family token. It required twenty [Sarina's Heart] silver materials to activate.
Thanks to Naruto's outrageous luck, they were now just five hearts short of activation. The 100,000 points in reserves were meant for acquiring the rest.
Asuma looked calm. "All clan funds should be centralized under village control."
It was a proposal he had submitted repeatedly.
But it had always been rejected—harshly criticized by both the Hokage and senior advisors.
In fact, because of this stance, Asuma—despite being the Hokage's son—was now treated almost like an outcast, watched with suspicion, much like the Uchiha once were.
It was a unified tactic by the ninja clans: pressure him until he gave up.
Hiruzen fell silent, then said, "Asuma, this isn't wartime."
Unifying all clan finances was something not even done during wars.
Aside from the First Hokage, no one had ever fully suppressed the ninja clans.
The Second Hokage had created the ANBU, the Academy, and other institutions to subtly curb them—but even that hadn't reached fruition yet.
Even the loyal Ino-Shika-Chō clans—
If Hiruzen declared a financial unification now, they might band together and distance themselves from the Hokage faction.
Asuma's expression remained serious. "Father, war is coming. I don't believe for a second that the other villages entered the Chunin Exams just to flaunt their players' strength. They're looking for an opportunity to strike Konoha—we must prepare."
He had already received reports from logistics players that material trading in the game had surged. Factions were stockpiling low-tier materials and potions in massive quantities.
That wasn't normal.
Hiruzen took one last puff from his pipe, then exhaled slowly. "Have you considered the consequences?"
Even Sakumo Hatake, a man who had once intimidated the Legendary Three, had been ostracized and blamed by the entire village. The ninja clans had played a role in that as well.
That classified mission's failure had damaged both the village and the clans.
Compared to that, the decision to unify all funds was even more drastic.
What fate would await the man who proposed it?
"Just death."
Asuma answered without hesitation—
As if he had prepared himself long ago.
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