[Land of Lightning, Kumogakure]
A gasped, shooting up from his chair like a spring. "S-six… six hundred billion exploding tags?! One tag costs three hundred ryō, so six hundred billion would be one hundred eighty trillion ryō. Is that woman even sane?!"
He couldn't even imagine how many resources that would consume. With that kind of money, the entire village of Kumogakure could be hired to work for her.
He had thought that the Akatsuki's leader, Nagato, was already formidable enough—a single man capable of destroying a village.
But now A realized that Konan was even more terrifying. Combined with Obito's elusive space-time ability, every hidden village was basically sitting on a pile of explosives.
Six hundred billion exploding tags would be enough to wipe out all Five Great Villages together.
"Raikage-sama."
Dodai was thinking along the same lines. "This Konan's ability is extremely troublesome. We must strengthen surveillance on her. If she were to slip into the village unnoticed, the damage would be catastrophic."
"I know!"
A cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Pass down the order: increase surveillance on the Akatsuki. Especially that Konan—find out where she gets all those exploding tags from!"
Dodai nodded and scribbled furiously in his notebook.
---
[Land of Earth, Iwagakure]
Ōnoki was floating in mid-air when he wobbled and nearly fell. Kitsuchi quickly reached out to steady him.
"Akatsuki… where did they get such deep pockets? If they're that rich, why are they even taking missions?"
Kitsuchi's mouth opened and closed several times before he finally managed to say, "Exactly, they could have made a fortune just by selling explosive tags."
"That Konan is no simple character. Six hundred billion exploding tags—that's not just about money. It takes time, manpower, and more importantly, where did she get the means to produce them?!" Ōnoki was completely puzzled.
"Kitsuchi, have the ANBU gather all intelligence on Konan—as detailed as possible."
Just as Kitsuchi was about to leave the Tsuchikage's office to arrange the task—
Ōnoki spoke again. "And… contact the Akatsuki. Ask if we can purchase some exploding tags from them. We've cooperated for so long, and we'd be buying in bulk—tell them to give us a discount."
Kitsuchi stood frozen for a long moment before finally responding with a nod.
It seemed he still had a long way to go to reach his father's level.
'So this is how a Kage thinks?'
---
[Land of Water, Kirigakure]
Mei's eyes were wide with shock. Konan's terrifying "money power" had left her speechless.
Chōjūrō stood beside her and asked cautiously, "Mizukage-sama, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Mei took a deep breath. "It's just… I feel we're too poor."
Chōjūrō opened his mouth but didn't know how to respond.
---
[Land of Wind, Sunagakure]
Rasa was dazed, the only number echoing in his mind was one hundred eighty trillion.
How long would he have to dig sand to earn that much money?
Chiyo sat nearby, watching Rasa's dazed expression, and for once, she refrained from mocking him.
"Kazekage-sama," Ebizō said quietly. "Are you alright?"
Rasa snapped out of it, his voice hoarse. "I'm fine. I just feel like I've lived my life in vain."
Chiyo sighed. "Haven't we all."
---
[Konoha, Year 20. Hokage Office]
Tobirama remained calm, maintaining his usual aloof expression. He stared at the sea of exploding tags on the screen and suddenly spoke: "Hiruzen, what do you think would happen if this girl learned my Gojō Kibaku Fuda (Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags)?"
Hiruzen felt a chill run down his spine.
'What would happen?'
'…She might blow the whole Shinobi World to smithereens!'
Forget the Akatsuki building weapons of war—Konan 'herself' was a weapon of war.
"…Sensei, I think she must never be allowed to learn that Jutsu." Hiruzen swallowed hard, steadied his nerves, and answered seriously.
Tobirama gave a noncommittal hum, but inwardly he was thinking of gathering more information on Konan.
Whether she learned the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags or not didn't matter to him—what mattered was understanding her Jutsu well enough to leave Konoha a stronger foundation for the future, to handle whatever came.
As the Sky Screen faded, the murmur of discussion gradually died down, and the gathered crowds dispersed, returning to their daily lives.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Training Ground]
Sunlight poured down from the sky, bathing the village of Konoha in gold.
"Ahem… ahem…"
After exchanging a glance with Jiraiya, Kakashi coughed twice to draw the attention of his three young charges.
"Alright, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura—the broadcast's over. It's time we set out on our mission."
Hearing that, Naruto's face instantly lit up with excitement. He pumped his fists in the air. "Great! We finally get to go out! Hahahaha… my Rasengan is ready for action!"
Sasuke kept his hands in his pockets and said nothing, but he was quietly eager as well. He had finally mastered the Chidori—it was time to put it to use in real combat.
Sakura smiled too, clenching her fists with a faint crackle of her knuckles. "Come to think of it, we're probably the first in our class to leave the village for a mission, aren't we?" She looked at Kakashi.
Kakashi nodded slightly. "Mm."
"Woo-hoo! Awesome!" Naruto bounced on his heels in excitement. "Where are we going, Kakashi-sensei? Where?"
Kakashi slowly uttered the words: "The Land of Waves."
Naruto and Sasuke looked puzzled.
Land of Waves? Never heard of it.
The two searched their minds for a while, but drew a blank.
Sakura, however, remembered instantly. "The Land of Waves? It's a small island nation, surrounded by water, not very developed…"
Kakashi glanced at her with an approving nod. Sakura's knowledge base was clearly better than the other two's.
Naruto scratched his head. "So what are we doing there?"
"The mission is," Kakashi unfurled the mission scroll. "to protect a client and oversee the completion of a bridge."
"Ohh!" Naruto's excitement reignited.
Sasuke asked, "Mission rank?"
"C-rank."
Naruto blinked. "Only C? My Rasengan can take on a Jōnin!"
Kakashi shot him a look. "Master the Rasengan without it falling apart first."
Hearing that, Naruto instantly deflated.
Sakura suddenly asked, "Kakashi-sensei, isn't Jiraiya-sama coming with us?"
Naruto perked up. "Yeah! Is the Pervy Sage coming too?"
Jiraiya leaning against a tree, his arms crossed, laughed heartily. "I won't be going with you. This is Team 7's mission. What would I be doing there? Stealing your spotlight?"
Naruto pouted. "You just don't want to go."
Jiraiya made no reply, simply waving his hand.
"Alright, get ready. Time waits for no one—we leave soon," Kakashi said.
In truth, for Naruto and Sasuke's safety, Jiraiya would definitely be tailing them from a distance.
He couldn't let these two kids go out into danger on their own—especially after the screen had revealed their future identities.
At the same time, he wouldn't interfere unnecessarily, so as not to stunt their growth. He would act more like a guardian, stepping in only when their lives were truly at risk.
'I hope these two grow up fast.'
Jiraiya looked at the youthful Naruto and Sasuke and sighed inwardly. 'As embarrassing as it is to admit, the future of the Shinobi World sounds like a lot of trouble, and it'll need these two to shoulder the burden.'
'All this old bones of mine can do is shield them from the storm until they're ready.'
*****
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