Minato gave Hanzo a very strange feeling.
However, this strangeness wasn't enough to make him swallow his pride and assassinate a child who was only a few years old, let alone the fact that Minato was an envoy from Konoha.
Although their stances were opposed, it hadn't reached the atrocious level of killing envoys.
In the ninja world, while assassinating enemy geniuses was a common occurrence, no one ever dared to admit they did it. Some things simply couldn't be brought to the surface.
Otherwise, you might really end up with a situation where a Village Kage is spawn-camping outside a Ninja Academy.
---
After leaving the Hidden Rain Village, Nawaki had a look of indignation on his face.
"Damn it, that bastard! How dare he talk about the Hokage like that!"
Minato chuckled lightly. "But he wasn't wrong, was he? Konoha has indeed never cared about the Hidden Rain's thoughts."
"Ugh—but the Hidden Sand invaded us first, didn't they?"
Nawaki pouted. "It's all the Hidden Sand's fault! Why do those guys always target us?"
"Because Konoha has money and resources."
Minato answered casually, " The Land of Wind is entirely desert. Arable land is extremely scarce, which leads to a lack of supplies and a struggling economy. Poverty means the common people can't pay taxes, and naturally, the Daimyo's mansion doesn't have the money to fund the ninja village."
Nawaki frowned deeply. "Isn't that just a dead-end cycle?"
"Not necessarily. It's just that the cost of solving problems through force is lower."
Seeing Nawaki's solemn expression, Minato smiled. He felt it was necessary to teach him some relevant knowledge, lest he be fooled by some illiterate thoughtful-looking types in the future.
"Take an example. The Land of Rain has rain all year round and the environment is equally harsh. However, it borders six countries, three of which are the great nations of Wind, Fire, and Earth. It could completely become a transportation hub connecting the economies of multiple nations."
Las Vegas was a classic example, not to mention that casinos in the ninja world were legal businesses.
"But—once a war breaks out, what's the use of being prosperous?" Mikoto asked, puzzled.
"What if the investors behind this prosperity were the nobles and wealthy merchants, or even the officials and Daimyos of those surrounding countries?"
Hearing Minato's words, Mikoto suddenly had an epiphany.
It would be like two countries going to war, but the savings of Country A's high-ranking officials were all in Country B's banks.
"Hehehe—human society develops comprehensively. It involves mutual progress in culture, economy, technology, systems, laws, education, and many other fields. As society progresses, people's ideologies will also change, and wars will only become fewer and fewer."
Orochimaru spoke calmly. He had always believed in the concept of technology changing the world.
Especially after meeting Minato, in order to keep up with Minato's thinking mode which was far ahead of the current era, he had dabbled in quite a few other areas of knowledge.
Orochimaru patted Nawaki's head. "Although it's a bit cliché, Nawaki, you should read more books. And not just about ninjutsu."
"I know, I know—"
---
After traveling a distance away from the Hidden Rain and sensing no Rain ninjas around, Minato finally used the Flying Raijin Jutsu to flash the group back to the camp.
The three of them followed Orochimaru into the command tent to report on the mission.
Orochimaru slapped the scroll onto Homura Mitokado's desk. "Hanzo demands we withdraw from the Land of Rain, otherwise there's nothing to talk about."
Homura Mitokado frowned. "Could he be planning to ally with the Hidden Sand?"
"That's even less likely. At least we Konoha still have some manners. The Hidden Sand has never cared about the life or death of the Hidden Rain."
Orochimaru chuckled. "In fact, the Land of Rain is also one of the Hidden Sand's invasion targets."
"Then he couldn't possibly be thinking of fighting both the Hidden Sand and us Konoha at the same time, right?"
Homura Mitokado was puzzled. But seeing Orochimaru's expression of 'that's only natural,' he suddenly froze. "Is he crazy?"
He didn't doubt that Hanzo had Kage-level strength, but the Hidden Rain wasn't Konoha!
Orochimaru didn't speak. If Minato and the others weren't there, he might have fanned the flames a bit to get this war started faster.
"Forget it—let's not talk about this for now."
Homura Mitokado shook his head and said nothing more.
Actually, he had somewhat expected this result. After all, even a rabbit will bite when cornered.
Konoha and Hidden Sand had been fighting on Rain territory for so long; it would be strange if Hanzo didn't have a temper.
He turned his gaze to Minato. "Minato, you will stay in the camp for the time being. Don't go out randomly. We just received intelligence that there is already a bounty on your head in the black market."
"A bounty?!"
Nawaki's face changed. "How much money?"
"One hundred million ryo!"
Homura Mitokado said in a deep voice.
"One hundred million?!"
Nawaki's eyes widened instantly.
Mikoto covered her mouth with a soft gasp, while Minato raised an eyebrow slightly.
About the price of three Asumas————
As a first-time bounty—wait, this isn't One Piece.
"This price... it's a bit of an insult to Wood Style, and even more of an insult to Minato-kun's strength."
Orochimaru laughed softly. "Needless to say, it must be the work of those paupers from the Hidden Sand. So stingy!"
Homura Mitokado: "————"
Do you think this is a good thing?
He looked at Minato. "For this period, Minato, you will be responsible for the camp construction work. You can coordinate the specific details with Tsunade. From now on, you'll live next to the command post."
"Understood."
Minato nodded. If it was just building houses, that wasn't so bad.
"What about us?"
Nawaki suddenly felt something was wrong and pointed at himself. "What about me and Sister Mikoto?"
Homura Mitokado said calmly, "You are a squad, so naturally you have to move together. Otherwise, Minato wouldn't be at ease, right?"
"Nawaki, you go help Tsunade for now."
Orochimaru said indifferently, "As for Mikoto, you stay with Minato-kun. We can't dump all the work on Minato-kun alone."
"Yes, Teacher!" Mikoto nodded.
Nawaki didn't speak; he looked a little emotionally shattered.
From the moment he stepped onto the battlefield until now, he hadn't encountered a single enemy!
Is this really the front line?
---
After handing in the mission, Orochimaru stayed at the command post, while Minato found Tsunade and began his infrastructure (slacking off) mission.
As the person in charge of logistics and medical care, the first building Tsunade asked Minato to construct was the Medical Department.
"Wood Style: Frontline Position Life-Saving Blessing Hospital Jutsu!"
Under the indescribable gazes of Tsunade and the other two, a field hospital capable of accommodating two hundred beds rose from the ground!
"Whoa! Is this Wood Style?"
"So amazing!"
"That kid is the rumored Wood Style genius, right? I remember his name is Minato Namikaze?"
"His chakra volume is astonishing too!"
Unlike the small wooden hut he built before, this building occupied a large area and required clearing the site in advance, so it attracted a lot of attention.
Many people were secretly sizing up Minato, full of curiosity about this rumored Wood Style genius.
"Phew—so tired!"
Seemingly due to excessive chakra consumption, Minato stumbled and fell backward.
Behind him, Tsunade smoothly caught him, and the two's chakra connected with a tacit understanding.
[Isn't the acting a bit too much?]
[It doesn't matter, who would know?]
Just as Minato had to return to his room to rest due to "excessive chakra consumption"...
---
Hidden Rain Village.
Hanzo fell into deep thought as he looked at the intelligence report delivered by his subordinate:
Black Market Bounty: Minato Namikaze.
Konoha Village Wood Style Kekkei Genkai. Age: Eight. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Bounty: 100 million ryo—
Related Intelligence: Masters the Flying Raijin Jutsu. Single-handedly defeated a Hidden Sand frontline unit of one hundred men—
"He's fcking eight years old?!"