Chapter 82: Apparently, So Far Only Sunagakure Has No S-Rank Ninja
"If we're talking about the most profitable profession during peacetime, it's probably being an idol."
Ever since the Ōtsutsuki attack, Shunhi had been obsessing over how to make money.
He couldn't help it—after all, he'd just hit a streak of absurd good luck and unlocked a branching function of the system, opening up the marketplace.
During times of peace, idols were definitely the most lucrative, but obviously, someone like Shunhi—a middle-aged man—would never have fans. Uchiha Itachi's image would raise suspicion in other villages, and the cartoon versions of Minato, Kushina, and Orochimaru would only appeal to broke little kids.
"Then again… maybe I should start with making a movie…"
If it's going to be a movie, the choice of subject and audience becomes key.
First off, forget big-budget popcorn flicks with lots of special effects—those wouldn't impress an audience used to seeing ninja throw fireballs and summon water dragons on a regular basis.
"Come to think of it, Sasuke is currently out investigating the Umbrella Organization."
It was Orochimaru who informed Shunhi that Sasuke was leading Team Taka on an investigation of the Umbrella Organization. With Karin's exceptional sensory abilities, it was only a matter of time before they unearthed the organization's underground base.
The moment Shunhi brought up something related to Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi—though expressionless—automatically sharpened his focus.
"Shuyu, I've got a mission for you later."
At the moment, the only one staying by Shunhi's side was Uchiha Itachi. Apart from the fact that he was Shunhi's son, the most important reason was that he considered Shunhi the most dangerous person in all of S.H.I.E.L.D.
As for Minato and Kushina, they had been lying low ever since their return—playing guardian angels in secret within Konoha, quietly protecting their grandchildren. They would only act if Shunhi forcibly took control.
But unless absolutely necessary, Shunhi didn't want to control people so closely tied to the main characters and force them into things they didn't want to do.
After all, messing with protagonists was a great way to get yourself killed. If he really got flagged as a villain and ended up dying by protagonist plot armor, who would he even complain to?
Shunhi just wanted to enjoy the feeling of having a system. He'd gone half his life without one—how could he not experience it now that it had finally appeared?
---
Konoha Village.
Hokage Tower.
"Strictly speaking, I should've called everyone together for a discussion right after the Ōtsutsuki attack. Sorry it's taken this long," Naruto said as he sat at the head of the table, glancing around at the village leaders before him.
The other four Kage were present. After all, when Naruto had been abducted by the Ōtsutsuki, the other village leaders had immediately withdrawn. Even Gaara—who genuinely cared about Naruto—had been forcibly taken away by his fellow Sunagakure shinobi.
This gathering wasn't so much a discussion as it was a reckoning.
They had all promised to share blessings and bear hardship together. But while they were more than happy to share the blessings, when hardship came, Konoha had faced it alone. No matter how good-tempered Naruto was, even he had his limits.
In the past, Konoha might not have dared confront all four villages at once. But now, with the strength to face them all head-on, they could act with impunity.
"At the time, every village was in chaos. That's why it took so long to convene—it's not your fault, Naruto," Kurotsuchi said, offering a convenient excuse for her own hasty departure back then.
After all, even the strongest among them—Naruto—had been defeated. It was hard to imagine any of the others standing a chance against the Ōtsutsuki. But who could've guessed Naruto would return safe and sound?
"This meeting's about the Ōtsutsuki, right? Considering how important this is, we invited the former Kage as well," Chōjūrō said, gesturing toward the three seated at a separate table.
He was also hoping Konoha would show some respect to their predecessors.
"Three of a kind," said the Fourth Raikage, A.
"Can't beat it," replied the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi.
"Hey! Kakashi, we're supposed to be on the same side!" the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumī, protested.
"Oh, right, right. I forgot. But still, Shunhi's invention is pretty fun," Kakashi replied sheepishly.
"Would you people please get serious? We're talking about the Ōtsutsuki here!" Kurotsuchi said exasperatedly, watching the three former Kage casually playing cards.
"At this point, panicking won't help," A said, barely glancing at her as he returned his focus to the game. "Bomb? I'll pass."
"Once you've accumulated as much experience as we have, you stop getting rattled by every little thing," Mei added, contemplating her next play.
"You're worried the Kaguya-type scenario might happen again, and that's understandable. But we can't let ourselves fall into disarray... Wait—double jokers!" Kakashi threw down his hand.
"This game is rigged!" Mei angrily tossed her cards aside.
"Hey! Cut it out already! Can't you play cards after the serious talk?" Kurotsuchi yelled, clenching her fists at the bickering trio.
---
"Ah, now this is a rare visit. I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. had forgotten all about me."
In the underground base of the Umbrella Organization—codenamed Hive—Shunhi and Uchiha Itachi arrived before Orochimaru, bringing along Katasuke, who was under genjutsu control from the Sharingan.
"We just didn't want to disturb your research, Gray Wolf," Shunhi said to Orochimaru. Meanwhile, Itachi was scanning the surroundings, especially the modified Hulk units.
He'd seen Hulk before, but the ones here were different—modified by Orochimaru. Each of them had a large white snake coiled on their shoulders.
"My research has yielded some results," Orochimaru explained. "I've enhanced the Hulk units—they now possess not only overwhelming physical strength but also the ability to use ninjutsu without chakra consumption."
He was well aware that S.H.I.E.L.D. would eventually uncover these upgrades, so he figured he might as well be upfront about it—and maybe earn some goodwill while he was at it.
"Is that so? In that case, let's run a test on your enhanced Hulk units."
Shunhi wasn't particularly concerned about Gray Wolf's true intentions. With the system's control in place, it wasn't like Orochimaru could suddenly go rogue.
And besides, Shunhi was quite pleased. He'd just found the perfect final boss for the first movie in his Umbrella film series.
"Right now?"
Orochimaru had half-expected this request.
"Of course not. And we're not the ones fighting the Hulk—it's Sasuke."
"Gray Wolf, your next job is to start producing clones. No need to give them consciousness. Also, you and Katasuke will be researching rapid-fire scientific ninja tools."
As Shunhi spoke, he handed Orochimaru a prototype of one such tool.
"What an interesting little toy," Orochimaru said, fiddling with it.
Neither cloning nor developing advanced scientific ninja tools posed much of a challenge for Orochimaru. The only real cost was time.
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