Early the next morning, a piece of news quickly spread across Uzumaki Village.
"Have you heard about it?"
"Of course! But whose kid is that? Who spends this recklessly? Must be loaded—probably got mines at home."
"I heard he's from Konoha. Wears a black trench coat and walks around super arrogantly."
"A black trench coat? Sounds like someone from the Uchiha clan."
"Could be. Isn't the majority shareholder of the newly opened Commercial Street in Konoha an Uchiha? With that kind of spending power, he's either some rich second-gen or just a spoiled brat wasting family money!"
"Isn't that basically the same thing?"
Outside the largest ninja equipment shop in Uzumaki Village, many people had gathered, clearly shocked by this wealthy spender's extravagance.
"You think the kid will actually come here?"
"No matter how rich the Uchiha are, there's no way he can buy everything in this store! He's probably just some naive rich kid coming to show off."
"Genius deduction, mate. You truly open my eyes."
"That's right. Back in my day, I used to—"
"Look quick! There's that kid!"
Suddenly, someone shouted loudly from within the crowd, interrupting the older villager who was about to share his stories.
He turned his head sideways as the crowd began dispersing, and instantly gasped inwardly.
That child, around seven or eight years old wearing a black trench coat, was exactly the one they'd been talking about—the so-called extravagant Uchiha heir.
Young Master Shen strolled leisurely into the middle of the crowd, proudly smirking under the gazes from both sides, the path naturally clearing for him.
"This entire store? I, Young Master Shen Uchiha, am buying it all!" Standing at the entrance of the ninja equipment shop, young Shen energetically waved his small hand, ready to go on a shopping spree.
Inside the ninja equipment shop, the previously unenthusiastic shop owner perked up immediately upon hearing those words.
However, when he hurriedly stepped outside only to find his buyer was just a little kid, he felt uneasy. "Kid, you're not joking, right? You should know my prices—"
"Boss, are you looking down on us Uchihas? Do I look like someone short on cash?" Shen retorted confidently, pulling out a small scroll, opening it, then ostentatiously placing a large, bulging money bag at the store entrance.
"Eh… I must've had eye strain. Didn't expect such a distinguished Uchiha guest! Please, please, come right this way." Seeing the moneybag, the shop owner's eyes sparkled with excitement, suddenly flashing a fawning smile as if his face had completely changed expression.
Considering the commotion outside earlier, apparently hadn't caught much of his attention.
After tossing two small Sealing Scrolls to the shopkeeper and telling him to start packing, Shen crossed his arms, waiting patiently.
Suddenly, mischief flickered across his face—like he'd just gotten great news.
Still inside preparing to package items after grabbing the scrolls, the shop owner felt quite puzzled. As far as he could tell, although these scrolls looked beautiful, their storage capacity probably wasn't very big.
But given his own well-honed instincts, he figured better not to say anything.
We all gotta eat, right?
"Securing chakra supplies from this location should be enough. With the Uzumaki clan's chakra reserves, it shouldn't be a problem. Plus, my shadow clone just confirmed those people have already arrived in Uzugakure. Perfect timing to eliminate some expendable targets."
Thinking about this, the flashy rich guy Shen whose eyes sparkled with greed turned toward the large group of onlookers: "Anyone interested in earning a little extra cash?"
"What kind of side hustle?" The older brother who hadn't finished sharing his story yet showed interest first.
"Nothing big, just trading some chakra for quick cash. Pay's pretty sweet actually," the wealthy Shen said temptingly.
This older brother immediately agreed: "Count me in! How much do you need?"
"As much as you've got!" After achieving his first objective, the rich Shen once again revealed a devilish smile across his face.
Meanwhile, the defected allied forces had gathered on a beach near Uzugakure after landing. This location marked a flaw in the barrier system set up by the Uzumaki clan.
"Oh? Looks like the Rain ninjas are moving in tonight," Kumogakure Captain fell into thought upon receiving the intelligence report.
Beside him, Kirigakure Captain sneered contemptuously: "Do we even need to discuss it? Tonight, once they've worn each other down, we'll slip in wearing their uniforms. If we kill that entire squad of jonin too, there's no way Amegakure won't take the fall for this."
"I think your mindset is still quite behind, Mist ninjas. Don't forget there's a Konoha squad currently stationed in Uzumaki village," Takigakure Captain clearly disapproved of this plan.
But Kirigakure Captain remained unconcerned: "What can Konoha ninjas possibly do? We can just eliminate them along with the rest!"
"Eliminate? What if someone escapes? Don't botch framing the Rain ninjas only to draw heat from Leaf!" Taki's captain carefully pointed out the flaw in their plan.
"Tsk, I knew you smaller nations always lack vision. Do you really think Konoha dares start wars against all four of us at once?"
"Well of course great nations like yours aren't scared. But when Leaf's wrath comes, it'll be we smaller nations facing it!" Understanding the deception, Takigakure Captain realized these three would surely let some Konoha ninjas escape during tonight's operation.
Seeing things had been made clear, Kumogakure Captain could no longer pretend ignorance: "Alright, alright. Both of you calm down - why don't we make our first target tonight the Konoha ninjas? If they somehow still manage to escape, guess we'll just have to chalk it up to bad luck."
"That works perfectly fine!" Having secured this commitment, Takigakure Captain stopped raising objections.
"Then this shall be our plan. Now everyone, follow these safe routes and conceal yourselves," Iwagakure Captain, who hadn't spoken until now, took out several maps to distribute among the others.
Kirigakure Captain took his map with a glance before sarcastically commenting: "I must say, Rock ninjas truly excel at keeping secrets. Even within Uzugakure's hidden, secure routes, you've managed to obtain them all. I'd wager you've got spies in every single village."
Instead of getting angry, the Iwagakure Captain actually smiled slightly: "You're not so different yourselves. Rumor has it your Mist ninjas maintain the most mysterious network of spies across the shinobi world. Why don't you tell us more about them?"
"You...!"
"Enough! Both of you remain calm! We can resolve any disagreements after tonight!"
The Kumogakure captain stopped the two before they were about to start fighting.
He couldn't afford any unexpected variables before completing his plan.
Meanwhile, just as the four traitorous captains finalized their strategy, a loud wail rose outside the largest ninja equipment shop in Uzumaki village.
"I'm telling you—I'm totally dry! Not a drop left!"
"No no no, mister, squeeze harder! There must be more!"
"Are you some kind of demon?"
After completely draining the last bystander, the flashy rich guy Shen took out a brand-new money pouch and placed it on the ground before walking away.
He figured his stash wasn't enough yet, so he decided to hit up another busy spot.
"These Uzumaki folks sure do dish out generous amounts! Back in Konoha, this would cost at least fifty percent more, huh? Hehe." The flashy rich guy Shen looked like he was already hatching plans involving the Uzumaki clan.
"Ah, it's you, Shen. Thought you'd still be catching Zs." Orochimaru remarked while heading out to check on a certain white lab mouse. He spotted Shen on the street.
Shen immediately burst into laughter, pulled Orochimaru aside, and began whispering something mysteriously into his ear.
"You're serious? You do realize the Uzumaki clan won't agree to leave their land, right?"
"What are you afraid of, Snake Uncle? Whether this Uzumaki village will exist two days later remains to be seen."
"What do you mean?"
"That's because—"
Then Drama King Shen spun another wild story, only deepening Orochimaru's bewilderment.
"It's like this—the black-clad old man is actually good deep down. Think about it, he must know something, that's why he led us here to Uzumaki village!" Drama King Shen declared with absolute certainty, revealing the "true purpose" behind someone else's mission.
"But how could that possibly benefit him—"
"Just believe me, Snake Uncle! I've known that old man inside-out for ages—because One Truth Prevails!" After adjusting his imaginary glasses, Shen tugged Orochimaru along toward Uzumaki's detention chamber.
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