"Lord Hokage, you're misunderstanding me. How could I possibly have that many explosive tags out of nowhere? That's just impossible!" Akira's expression turned serious as he shook his head immediately.
"Then let's start by talking about the ten thousand explosive tags you sold to the Sand Village. Where did they come from?" Fugaku wasn't convinced and followed up with another question.
"I got them from a friend!" Akira replied with a sincere face. Whether Fugaku believed him or not, Akira seemed to believe it himself.
"Who is this friend of yours? Introduce him to me. In the future, if we need to restock, I can deal with him directly. It would save you the trouble of being the middleman every time," Fugaku suggested.
"It's no trouble, really. For the sake of the village, a little effort on my part is nothing!" Akira said with a righteous tone, his expression earnest.
"Alright then, tell me—if we were to order a hundred thousand tags, what's the price?" Though Fugaku remained skeptical of Akira's mysterious friend, he recognized the necessity of preparing for the chaos that would follow. The Five Kage Summit had ended, and the Akatsuki's power was indeed terrifying. Stocking up on explosive tags was a prudent move for Konoha.
A thin piece of paper that could cause destruction equivalent to a B-rank ninjutsu—it could save a lot of chakra if used effectively.
Therefore, Fugaku felt that stocking up on explosive tags was indeed a wise decision.
"A hundred thousand tags, huh? That's a big order. Currently, the market price for explosive tags is about two thousand ryō each, so for a hundred thousand tags, it would be around two hundred million ryō," Akira explained.
"If we make them ourselves in Konoha, the cost is roughly twelve hundred ryō per tag. What kind of discount are you talking about?" Fugaku asked.
As the Hokage, Fugaku was well aware of the market price of explosive tags.
"Let me talk to my friend and see if we can bring the price down," Akira replied after hearing Fugaku's response.
Akira knew very well that Konoha could produce their own explosive tags. However, their production costs couldn't compare to Konan's techniques—it was like having a human printing press.
"One thousand ryō per tag—this would save Konoha labor costs. Otherwise, we might as well rely on our own production lines," Fugaku stated the price he was willing to accept.
"Lord Hokage, you're cutting the price in half—this is unreasonable," Akira said, looking troubled.
"You mentioned an eighty percent discount earlier—that's sixteen hundred ryō per tag. Can't I at least try to bargain?
"Tell your friend to consider it. Konoha is the largest market in the shinobi world."
"Small profit, big sales," Fugaku said, emphasizing the word "friend" with a skeptical tone. It was clear he still doubted Akira's claim, suspecting the tags were Akira's own supply all along.
"Alright then, I'll talk to my friend and see what we can do," Akira replied, pretending not to notice Fugaku's implication, his face showing reluctance.
Whether Fugaku believed him or not, Akira had to make it look convincing.
After discussing some other matters, Akira received the reward of one hundred million ryō from Fugaku before leaving the Hokage's office.
After stepping out of the office, Akira sighed to himself.
A hundred million—it was barely enough for a tenfold draw.
He thought back to a few months ago when he had extorted Iwagakure and received a commission of a hundred million. Even after splitting tens of millions with Kakashi and the others, he still felt incredibly rich.
But now? A hundred million didn't even make his heart skip a beat.
His funds had been running dry for days, and Akira hadn't used the Life Simulator in a while.
Now that he had replenished his funds, Akira started a round of life simulation on his way back.
Ten million ryō vanished in an instant, and the Life Simulator activated, lines of text scrolling rapidly before Akira's eyes.
[Three days later, Iwagakure held a funeral for Tsuchikage Onoki.]
[A week later, internal conflict erupted in Iwagakure. Led by Jinchūriki Roshi, Jinchūriki Han, and Onoki's daughter Kurotsuchi, a fierce battle broke out for the position of Fourth Tsuchikage.]
[A mysterious figure appeared and attacked Iwagakure, successfully capturing Roshi and Han. Kurotsuchi became the Fourth Tsuchikage.]
[The shinobi world was shaken, with rumors claiming that it was another attack by the Akatsuki.]
[Half a month later, Iwagakure demanded an explanation from Konoha, asserting that the attacker had Byakugan and was therefore undoubtedly a member of the Hyuga Clan.]
[Half a month later, you accidentally discovered Naruto Uzumaki in close company with two mysterious individuals. One of them was a child with blue eyes and golden hair, much like Naruto.]
[The other was a man in his thirties wearing a black coat and a top hat. He seemed quite interested in you.]
[Two months later, the Akatsuki and the mysterious man fought, causing a huge disturbance in the shinobi world. The Two-Tails was taken from the Gedo Statue.]
[Half a year later, in a battle for the Nine-Tails, you encountered the mysterious man. He indeed possessed the Byakugan, but also had a golden Rinnegan on his forehead!]
[You were killed by him. You died!]
This life simulation left Akira completely stunned.
The storyline was something he had never seen before!
A mysterious figure had appeared in the shinobi world—someone with Byakugan and a golden Rinnegan on his forehead?
This form looked all too familiar to Akira. Wasn't this the form of the Six Paths Mode?
Kaguya Otsutsuki had Byakugan, but also a blood-red Rinnegan with nine tomoe on her forehead.
The legendary Sage of Six Paths also had a blood-red Rinnegan on his forehead.
Even Madara Uchiha, in his Six Paths form, had a nine-tomoe Rinnegan when using Infinite Tsukuyomi.
But this mysterious person had a golden Rinnegan on his forehead.
Could this be a powerful member of the Otsutsuki Clan intruding into the shinobi world? The plot had deviated way too much!
In the original story, the Otsutsuki Clan had never appeared this early!
Now, even before Madara had emerged, an Otsutsuki appeared first?
Strange, truly strange. Akira stared at the life simulation in front of him, deeply bewildered.
Something felt very off.
"They're going to attack Iwagakure? Appearing there in just a week? The timing is so pressing!"
…
"Reaching the capital of the Land of Iron in five days was already insane. Now I need to reach Iwagakure in seven days to confront a supposed Otsutsuki?"
"It seems like this hundred million in funds was given to support me making the journey to Iwagakure in seven days."
Akira muttered to himself, feeling a growing determination to head to Iwagakure and lend a hand.
It wasn't that Akira genuinely wanted to help Iwagakure—it was simply that if the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.
The life simulator had clearly stated it: At first, this Otsutsuki member had Byakugan, and Iwagakure mistook him for a member of the Hyuga Clan, even demanding an explanation from Konoha.
But eventually, when eight of the nine-tailed beasts had been captured and they were targeting Naruto Uzumaki in Konoha, the golden Rinnegan had already awakened—meaning this figure had reached the Six Paths level.
Since a confrontation seemed inevitable, Akira felt it was best to act before his enemy acquired the power of the tailed beasts.
…
If he waited for the enemy to obtain that power, they would only grow stronger!
Considering the distance, given his previous feat of reaching the capital of the Land of Iron in five days, Akira thought that seven days to Iwagakure seemed achievable.
With that thought, Akira decided to go all out once again and head to Iwagakure.
Without further delay, he set off, using the Body Flicker Technique, moving as swiftly as lightning toward the outskirts of Konoha.
This wasn't the time when he was acting Hokage, so he had no obligations holding him back.
However, as Akira dashed out of the village, he suddenly felt something.
In the sky not far away, two figures appeared out of nowhere and descended.
Akira furrowed his brow and came to a sudden halt.
The two figures landed agilely, showcasing their exceptional skills.
"Is this… a space-time ninjutsu?" Akira muttered, his expression growing serious.
Anyone with space-time ninjutsu was no ordinary foe. These two had appeared suddenly near Konoha—Akira couldn't afford to ignore them. He needed to understand what was going on.
One of the newcomers appeared to be about twelve or thirteen years old. Judging by his features, he bore a striking resemblance to Naruto Uzumaki.
Particularly notable were his golden hair and bright blue eyes.
The other figure seemed to be around thirty, with handsome features, black hair, and dark eyes.
However, his hair was long, partially covering the left side of his face, leaving only his right eye visible.
"Black hair and dark eyes? An Uchiha?" Akira wondered aloud, surprised as he looked at the older man.
"Are you… an Uchiha?" The man, who had also been observing Akira, seemed equally astonished.
Upon their first encounter, both assumed the other to be Uchiha, leaving them both bewildered.
Akira's curiosity was sparked by the man's striking features—his black hair and dark eyes.
Meanwhile, the man's gaze had lingered on the Uchiha crest emblazoned on Akira's clothes—a fan-shaped symbol unmistakable in its meaning.
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POWER STONE!!!
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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 300+ at patreon.com/Emik01.