Chapter 25 Should we just give up and slack off together?
The Third Hokage, along with the current Hokage, the Fifth Hokage Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, entered the venue together.
This immediately caused a stir among the attendees.
After all, it is said that Tsunade, the Konoha princess who left Konoha and has a notorious reputation as a "fat sheep" in the outside world, and Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin, have returned.
Many of the people present were old acquaintances of Tsunade.
When Tsunade came in and saw them, she subconsciously shrank back, because many of them were her creditors.
As a legendary "fat sheep," many wealthy people were willing to lend her money.
She believed she had the ability to repay the money, not only because she was Tsunade, the princess of the number one power in the ninja world, but also because she was the number one healer in the ninja world.
For the super-rich, money is no longer so important; life is far more important.
Therefore, the money Tsunade owed them was a favor they could ask Tsunade to help them with once.
That being said, it is precisely because these wealthy people value Tsunade's favors so highly that Tsunade feels it is very difficult to repay them.
Upon seeing so many creditors present, she instinctively felt uncomfortable and wished she could leave immediately.
Damn, if I'd known these guys were here, I shouldn't have come.
She glared fiercely at Jiraiya, "It's all your fault for stopping me!"
Jiraiya gave Tsunade a forced laugh.
Since they were already there, they couldn't just leave like that, so they all took their seats.
Orochimaru, as the Hokage, naturally sat in the main seat.
As the former Third Hokage, now that he has stepped down, he serves as the Chief Hokage Advisor, sitting in the second seat, right next to Orochimaru.
The other two advisors, Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu, sat on the other side of Orochimaru.
Yakushi Nonou stood behind the Third Generation.
Jiraiya sat next to the Third Hokage, and Tsunade sat next to Jiraiya.
Looking at the Konoha camp before them, the wealthy merchants from the Land of Fire who had received Konoha's invitation all felt a great deal of pressure.
The Third Hokage, the Fifth Hokage, and Tsunade, the Konoha princess who was also one of the Legendary Sannin alongside the Fifth Hokage, as well as Jiraiya, the hero.
This lineup is absolutely amazing!
There was a previous legend that Konoha was greatly weakened after the Nine-Tails' attack.
But now it seems that even though it has weakened, with the lineup in front of us, Konoha is still the incomparably powerful number one ninja village in the ninja world, the undisputed strongest ninja village, Konoha Village!
There are rumors that Tsunade and Jiraiya left Konoha and became estranged from the village.
But now it seems, what are these rumors true? Look, Konoha just summoned them, and they came back right away.
It is believed that once this message is spread, those who were pessimistic about Konoha will have more confidence in the village.
Seeing the shocked expressions on the faces of the people present, Orochimaru, the Fifth Hokage, was quite pleased.
It was worth it for him to assemble such a lineup.
In this way, even if the plan goes wrong, the message from the scene will provide enough deterrence to prevent other ninja villages from taking any rash actions.
Furthermore, if this plan to obtain funding fails, it can also boost everyone's confidence in Konoha and secure a larger share of missions.
Orochimaru didn't ponder for long, because everyone was waiting for him, the host, to speak, and he wouldn't keep them waiting for long.
bump.
He gently tapped the table.
"Gentlemen, it is my honor to participate in the inauguration ceremony."
"Lord Hokage, what are you saying?
It's our honor!" Immediately, a kind-faced merchant smiled and bowed somewhat humbly in response.
Orochimaru recalled the information about this person in his mind.
According to the information, he was a smiling tiger, and many black markets in the Land of Fire were controlled by him.
Furthermore, he had a close relationship with Danzo, or rather, the reason he was able to dominate many black markets in the Land of Fire was because of Danzo's support.
He was also one of Danzo's sources of funding.
It was no secret to him that Danzo had been dismissed and that Root had been devoured by Orochimaru, the new Hokage.
Therefore, she was so humble towards Orochimaru.
They were probably thinking of bypassing Danzo and getting in touch with Orochimaru.
Does he hope that Orochimaru, the Hokage, will come to his aid?
To be honest, if it weren't for the plan proposed by his teacher, Orochimaru would actually be tempted to seize these shady funding channels.
However, this option is currently a secondary choice.
It depends on the situation.
Orochimaru smiled.
After a series of polite responses.
He said, "There is a very important matter that I have gathered you all here today."
They've arrived.
The business tycoons present looked at each other in bewilderment.
After receiving the invitation and learning that other prominent businessmen in the country had also been invited, they began to speculate.
Surely Konoha must have had a purpose in summoning these big merchants from the Land of Fire?
And what do these big businessmen have? Money.
What did Konoha, fresh from the Nine-Tails' attack, lack most? Money.
So the answer is simple: Konoha summoned them to raise money directly from them.
That's really something.
But can they refuse?
This is the number one ninja village in the ninja world!
They're giving you such a big favor by inviting you; how could you dare not to? That's impossible.
As for not coming?
hehe.
So they had no choice but to accept it, since Konoha wanted money, they had to give it to them.
Of course, they are not incapable of retaliating against Konoha, for example, by sharing mission quotas; in the future, that will depend on other ninja villages.
"Lord Orochimaru, just tell me how much you want!" The smiling tiger who had been the first to flatter Orochimaru spoke up before Orochimaru could explain.
This made the other merchants glance at him with resentment.
Konoha is, after all, the number one ninja village.
Even if they don't care about manners this time, they will try their best to be considerate within those constraints.
They should be able to negotiate a better deal.
But you're being so generous from the start, how are they supposed to respond later?
Could this be a plant arranged by Konoha?
The other merchants looked at him suspiciously.
Actually, he wasn't a plant.
Orochimaru glanced at the smiling merchant and knew he wanted something, which was why he was willing to pay.
Of course, if the plan failed, he also intended to simply make a quick buck off these big businessmen.
As for whether this will lead to a loss of task share?
At worst, they can seduce other ninja villages and get them to follow Konoha's example and make a quick buck off their own country's big businessmen.
After all, they had all experienced the Fourth Shinobi World War, were exhausted and injured, and were short of money.
Seeing Konoha take the lead, with just a little push, other ninja villages would find it hard to resist the urge to follow Konoha's example and make a quick buck.
In this way, if Konoha were to give up, and the other ninja villages were to give up as well, it would be as if Konoha hadn't given up at all.
So, do large domestic businessmen have any better options?
Wouldn't this prevent the loss of task quota?
Moreover, of the five great nations, the Land of Fire is the richest.
In other words, even if it's just a small profit, Konoha can make more than the other four hidden villages.
Thinking about it this way, Orochimaru was somewhat tempted.
Of course, it depends on the situation, if the plan doesn't work out.
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End of this chapter...