Once all the Lords Daimyo who qualified to participate had arrived, the Five Kage directly rented an entire conference hall within the inn and began this highly unusual auction.
The auction featured only three items.
Despite the various hints, pressures, and thinly veiled suggestions from the assembled Lords Daimyo, the Five Kage—including Tsunade—reached a rare unanimous decision: the auction would be presided over by Mojiao from the Sacrificial Shop.
Mojiao, naturally, paid no heed to the so-called authority of the Lords Daimyo. Acting strictly according to the instructions of the Four Kage, he produced the first item.
"Fourth-grade Longevity Pill — Qingming Longevity Pill," Mojiao announced calmly.
"Extends lifespan by twenty years.
Starting bid: 500,000 sacrificial coins.
Minimum increment: 50,000."
The moment the price was announced, a silent shock rippled through the room.
Five hundred thousand… just the starting price?!
Every Lord Daimyo present knew perfectly well that the standard exchange price for the Qingming Longevity Pill at the Sacrificial Shop was only 240,000 sacrificial coins. None of them had expected the Kage to be this ruthless.
The Lords Daimyo of the smaller nations didn't dare voice their dissatisfaction. They immediately abandoned hope of competing for this pill and instead fixed their gazes on the remaining two items, silently praying they might still have a chance.
"600,000!"
The Lord Daimyo of the Land of Wind bid first, his eyes blazing with naked greed.
Behind him, the Third Kazekage Rasa wore an expression so dark it looked as though he wanted to slaughter someone on the spot.
This bloated scoundrel had already berated him for half an hour over privately hoarding longevity pills, then threatened to slash military funding, and finally extorted one million sacrificial coins outright.
That alone was barely tolerable.
What truly ignited Rasa's fury was the follow-up.
The Lord Daimyo had forcibly stripped Sunagakure of its mining rights, calling it "nationalization," and publicly declared that any private mining activity would henceforth be treated as theft of state property.
At that moment, Rasa had nearly lost control.
A temporary shortage of funds could be endured. But without mineral resources, where was Sunagakure supposed to obtain sacrificial coins? Slowly grinding through missions forever?
Enough.
If I don't show my fangs, does he really think I'm harmless?
When I return, I'll have the Anbu seize every mine.
Dig one vein, I take one vein.
Ask questions? Blame rogue ninja.
"700,000!"
The Lord Daimyo of the Land of Fire spoke next, his voice steady and imposing, adding a full hundred thousand without hesitation.
He was utterly unconcerned with the cost.
After all, he had secretly acquired a vast quantity of forbidden Ninjutsu insights from Danzo Shimura, and had long since sent his trusted retainers to the Sacrificial Shop to exchange them.
Konoha had indeed sold some intelligence—but far from all of it.
And Tsunade still had no idea.
If Konoha discovered the truth, the Hokage might very well flip the Daimyo's mansion upside down. But the Lord Daimyo wasn't worried in the slightest.
He already had a scapegoat prepared.
When the time came, everything would be pinned on Danzo.
"800,000!"
The Land of Earth followed immediately.
Their situation was no better.
The Lord Daimyo of the Land of Earth had not only extorted Iwagakure for sacrificial coins, but had gone a step further—confiscating all mining rights outright, including strategic reserve minerals already extracted for future wars.
Payment?
None.
"I'll owe you," was all he said.
The memory alone made Ōnoki grind his teeth. For a brief moment, he seriously considered secretly backing the Daimyo's son in a coup.
If he didn't teach this old parasite a lesson, he'd never swallow this humiliation.
"900,000!"
The situation in the Land of Water was even worse.
Not only had the Daimyo plundered massive amounts of sacrificial coins, he had also exchanged Hidden Mist Village's core secret techniques—without permission.
The sources?
Former Hidden Mist Anbu Suikazan Fuguki and Kuriarare Kushimaru.
Those traitors, along with their followers, had taken refuge in the Daimyo's mansion and sold everything they knew for protection.
As former high-ranking officials, they remembered nearly every major Ninjutsu and secret art. Even if they couldn't practice them, the training methods were etched into their minds.
After excluding techniques already sold, the remaining information alone netted the Land of Water Daimyo 2,760,000 sacrificial coins.
If Yagura Karatachi ever found out, he would likely use the Executioner's Blade to give the Daimyo a "new hairstyle"—and bury the entire family upside down in the city walls.
Leaving a corpse intact would already count as mercy.
"1,000,000!"
Among the Five Great Nations, only the Land of Lightning's Daimyo still retained a shred of restraint.
He didn't extort.
Instead, he negotiated—promising a major increase in military spending and emptying his own treasury to scrape together funds.
But everyone knew the truth.
If he walked away empty-handed today, how long would that conscience last?
"1,100,000!"
The Land of Wind immediately crushed his bid.
Before the Raikage could respond, bids from the Land of Earth and Land of Water followed in rapid succession.
"1,200,000!"
"1,500,000!"
The room erupted.
Where were these Lords Daimyo pulling such terrifying sums from?
Even Tsunade frowned slightly, her gaze sweeping across the Four Kage. Compared to her surprise—and the Raikage's restrained delight—the other three Kage looked increasingly grim.
Every increase in price meant less money they would ultimately see.
Worse still, once the auction ended, their own Daimyo might turn around and ambush them.
"2,000,000!"
The Land of Water Daimyo shouted hoarsely.
He was over seventy, his body long ruined by indulgence. Food tasted like ash. Women stirred nothing. Sleep came only in fragments.
Among all present, his hunger for longevity dwarfed everyone else's.
"2,100,000!"
The Fire Daimyo gritted his teeth and called out his final limit.
It was useless.
"2,500,000!"
The Land of Water Daimyo didn't even hesitate.
The hammer fell.
The Qingming Longevity Pill was his.
Under the watchful eyes of the Five Kage and a lurking Spirit Beast, no one dared interfere as Mojiao handed over the pill.
The transformation was immediate.
White hair turned black. A bent spine straightened. Wrinkled skin tightened. Muscles re-emerged.
In moments, a dying old man became a vigorous middle-aged ruler—younger than his own son.
"Hahahaha! Good! Excellent!"
He laughed like a child.
No one mocked him.
Only envy remained.
The second item followed.
"Third-grade pill — Longevity-Fixing Pill," Mojiao announced.
"Extends lifespan by ten years.
Starting bid: 100,000 sacrificial coins."
"500,000!"
The Land of Lightning Daimyo roared instantly, trying to crush competition in one stroke.
Instead, it ignited chaos.
"600,000!"
"700,000!"
"800,000!"
Mojiao stared, utterly baffled.
A third-grade pill? At these prices?
On the Douluo Continent, ten of these bundled together wouldn't fetch this much!
"1,000,000!"
The Land of Wind Daimyo stood, his massive body casting a shadow.
Others withdrew one by one.
The pill was swallowed on the spot.
Ten years secured.
The third pill ignited one last confrontation, but the outcome was inevitable.
The Land of Wind Daimyo claimed it as well.
As payments were finalized, tensions lingered thick in the air.
"Ōnoki," the Land of Earth Daimyo said coldly as he rose, "come to my room later."
He left without waiting.
The Land of Wind Daimyo sneered openly.
"Tsk… throwing weight around when you're broke."
Behind him, Rasa's smile was stiff—his killing intent carefully restrained.