radiothebook Chapter 584 We Must Make Money!
Chapter 584 We Must Make Money!
He raised his head, his resolute eyes meeting Onoki and Chiyo's gaze for the first time, his voice carrying the coldness and ruthlessness of an actuary.
"And what you gain in return is the village's rapid development over the next fifty, or even one hundred years. This is an open conspiracy, one that you cannot refuse, nor can you find any reason to refuse."
"Now, please tell me,"
Danzo gently placed the summary report in the center of the table and pushed it toward the two men. "Do you have any further objections to this method of war reparations?"
Inside the tent, there was a deathly silence.
Onoki and Chiyo stared blankly at the report, then at the glaring charts and numbers on the whiteboard.
war?
What war?
Who still remembers the war?
Dignity? Glory? Hatred?
Faced with astronomical expected returns, and with the tangible benefits that would ensure villagers have enough to eat and wear and make the village prosperous, everything else seemed so pale and powerless.
Chiyo's hands were trembling slightly. Her mind was no longer focused on avenging Ebizo; all she could think about was the "300 percent" increase in grain production.
As for Onoki, even his rock-solid heart had been shattered by a series of economic data. He stared at the red curve representing soaring trade volume; its arc was so beautiful, so… intoxicating.
His noble head finally bowed slowly before these strings of numbers.
Only one thought was swirling wildly in his mind.
We need to make money! We absolutely must make money!
No... we absolutely have to join this Ninja League and make money with Konoha!
Anyone who dares to hinder Iwagakure from making money is an irreconcilable enemy of Iwagakure! Even if that person is himself, it's still unacceptable!
This is not war reparations at all; it is a ticket to heaven.
Just when Onoki and Chiyo were almost blinded by the enormous profits and were about to completely surrender.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been sitting calmly and sipping his hot tea, finally put down his teacup.
The bottom of the cup collided with the table, making a crisp "click".
The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap, abruptly pulling everyone's attention away from that devilish plan.
Onoki and Chiyo snapped back to reality and looked at the man who had a gentle smile on his face the whole time.
They saw Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly stand up.
The movements were slow, yet they carried an indescribable sense of oppression, like a dormant volcano awakening.
"Cough cough."
Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat, his gentle smile still on his face, but his words resounded like a great bell throughout the entire tent.
"A robber plunders others in order to survive."
He paused, looked around at the various expressions on the faces of the people in the tent, and finally fixed his gaze on Onoki and Chiyo, whose faces were filled with shock and greed.
"And the United Nations,"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice suddenly rose, filled with a sacred and inviolable meaning, "It's so that this kind of grilled meat can be placed on the table of every commoner in your village today!"
boom!
These words shattered the last bit of pride that belonged to the strong of the old era in Onoki and Chiyo's hearts.
robber?
Are they... robbers?
Onoki's body trembled violently.
He thought of the cracked land of Iwagakure, parched from lack of water, and of the villagers who lived year-round in poverty and dust storms. Didn't they wage war simply to seize more fertile land and more resources?
In essence, how is this any different from being a robber?
At that moment, Onoki felt that his proud Will of Rock had been crushed to dust in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi's plain words, leaving not even a trace.
He didn't lose because of strength, he lost because of his level of understanding, and he was utterly defeated!
The Fourth Raikage, A, sitting opposite him, paused slightly in the hand holding the skewers of grilled meat.
When he heard Hiruzen Sarutobi's words again, he was filled with mixed emotions.
Perhaps... this is the true strength that my father pursued throughout his life, a strength that transcends hatred and war.
Just as Onoki and Chiyo were completely disarmed by these words and were about to nod in agreement.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's aura suddenly changed. The terrifying killing intent that had pierced through the Hidden Mist Ship and killed the Third Raikage with a single blow was unleashed without reservation, instantly enveloping the entire tent.
"certainly,"
His voice turned icy cold, each word dripping with boiling murderous intent, "If anyone insists on flipping the table and continuing to be that hungry robber..."
Before the words were even finished!
Suddenly, Hiruzen Sarutobi swung his right arm downwards.
It was just a simple, seemingly ordinary punch.
"Then Konoha wouldn't mind."
"Smash him, table and all, to pieces!!"
Boom! ...
A visible chakra shockwave spread out from the center of Hiruzen Sarutobi's fist.
The entire sturdy command tent was violently swirling and groaning under the shockwave, as if it would be torn to shreds at any moment.
The hard ground, reinforced by special earth-escape techniques, cracked instantly at the spot where Hiruzen Sarutobi's fist landed, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading wildly and covering the entire tent floor in the blink of an eye.
The entire camp seemed to have been struck by a violent earthquake.
Oonoki and Chiyo were so terrified by the sudden and terrifying power that they fell backward uncontrollably, tumbling over with their chairs, looking utterly disheveled.
Dust flying everywhere!
A dead silence!
Just moments ago, Hiruzen Sarutobi was gentle and refined, preaching the ideals of peace like a saint. But now, he has transformed into a demon who has returned from hell.
He presented the ultimate dual choice—to feed you meat or to send you to hell—to everyone in the most direct and violent way, leaving a bloody and stark impression.
Standing to the side, Fugaku Uchiha watched his Hokage's unparalleled domineering demeanor, and an indescribable fervor and reverence welled up in his chest.
This is the Hokage of Konoha!
Compassionate heart, ruthless methods!
He can be incredibly gentle with his family; but with his enemies, he transforms into a raging inferno that burns everything!
Raikage A and Hanzo were also horrified, but they were glad they had made the right choice.
To make an enemy of such a monster is simply suicide.
Beneath Toshiro's blindfold, his single eye was wide open to its limit.
His mind was racing, trying to analyze the scene before him, only to find that all his strategies and wisdom were pale and powerless in the face of Hiruzen Sarutobi's unreasonable absolute power and righteous schemes.
He could only come to one conclusion in the end:
Hiruzen Sarutobi... is the most terrifying monster in the history of the ninja world!
After a long while, the flying dust slowly settled.
Inside the tent, everything was in a mess.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly withdrew his fist, glanced at the deep fist mark on the ground, and resumed his calm and collected demeanor, as if the world-destroying man just moments before was not him.
He sat back down in his chair, picked up the cup of tea that had escaped the disaster, and gently blew on it.
Then, he looked at Onoki and Chiyo, who were getting up from the ground in a disheveled state, their faces filled with fear and blankness, and his gentle smile returned to his face.
He spoke softly, breaking the suffocating silence.
"So, now..."
"Do you have any further objections to this method of war reparations?"