Everyone: …
Facing the stares from the group, Tōshirō straightened his neck and shouted loudly, "What nonsense! The original mission was just B-rank. Don't tell me you're still planning to pay us a B-rank reward for this? What kind of joke is that? Idiots, pay us according to an S-rank mission rate!"
Tsunade rubbed her forehead, sighing deeply, feeling utterly speechless. In a way, she did misunderstand Tōshirō…
Kin'emon asked in a serious tone, "How much do you want?"
He had a vague feeling this was going to cost a fortune.
Tōshirō pretended to think deeply and held up a single finger without saying a word, trying to create the impression of being difficult to negotiate with.
The minimum reward for an S-rank mission was in the millions of ryō.
Tōshirō was planning to go big and ask for a hefty sum of 10 million ryō.
After all, these hosts didn't seem like good people to him. If he didn't milk them for every penny, he'd feel like he was betraying all the women who had been deceived by such men.
Seeing Tōshirō hold up one finger, Kin'emon roughly guessed the amount and turned pale. "Sir, you're taking advantage of a crisis for personal gain."
Indeed, Tōshirō's demand could be considered price-gouging and taking advantage of the situation. As ninjas from the Hidden Leaf, Tsunade and the others couldn't help but feel it was somewhat unethical.
Tōshirō noticed the judgmental stares from his teammates and waved his arms dramatically, like a frog swimming. "You three know my personality. I can compromise on anything else, but not money! There's an opportunity right in front of me—how could I possibly let it go?"
"I've always heard that Hidden Leaf ninjas value righteousness and virtue," Kin'emon tried to appeal to Tōshirō with reason and emotion.
Tōshirō nonchalantly picked at his fingernails, responding leisurely, "I'm not interested in your moral preaching. If you don't want to pay, you can find someone else. But if that prince ends up losing an arm or a leg, I won't be held responsible."
"You…!" Faced with Tōshirō's veiled threat, Kin'emon could only grit his teeth and give in. Rescuing the prince was the priority. Grinding his teeth, he growled, "Fine, you win!"
"Thanks for the compliment. Oh, by the way, I want you to write me a check now so you don't go back on your word later," Tōshirō added slyly.
By this era, checks were already in use.
With a grim expression, Kin'emon pulled out a checkbook. With a heavy hand, he wrote down the amount, then tore off the check with a loud "snap" and tossed it to Tōshirō . "One hundred million ryō. There, are you satisfied now?"
"That's more like it. A hundred mil—wait… uh…" Tōshirō's eyes widened in disbelief. His lips trembled as he stammered, "One hundred million ryō?"
Kin'emon, thinking Tōshirō was still unsatisfied and trying to push for more, burst out in anger, "Uchiha Aokiji, don't you dare go too far!"
"Uh…"
Tōshirō was dumbfounded.
I was only going to ask for ten million ryō…
Where did this hundred million come from???
Not only was Tōshirō in shock, but Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya were equally stunned.
One hundred million ryō. Combined, the three of them hadn't seen that much money from all their missions over the years.
"Well, I suppose I have no choice. One hundred million it is. I'll gladly take this money to help you reclaim your kingdom," Tōshirō said, barely containing his excitement as he pointed at Kin'emon. "You guys are the ones getting a great deal here!"
Carefully placing the check into his pocket, Tōshirō smiled to himself. With this sum of money, he could finally pursue the path of learning Sage techniques.
Of course, he wasn't planning to keep it all for himself. He'd set aside a portion for Orochimaru and the others. But the remainder would be more than enough to enroll in a Sage training program.
(PS: While 100 million ryō might sound like a lot, it's actually not that significant. In the movie Animal Panic on Crescent Moon Island, that chubby prince casually wrote a 1 billion ryō check to buy an entire circus just to entertain his son. So comparatively, 100 million ryō really isn't much.)
Having secured the benefits, Tōshirō's scowling face instantly transformed into a beaming smile. Rubbing his hands together, the drastic shift in his demeanor left everyone speechless.
"Alright, let's go rescue that guy!" Tōshirō swung his arms enthusiastically, ready to act.
Afterward, he double-checked the enemy intel and assessed their overall strength. Feeling slightly reassured, he determined the mission was still within his capabilities.
This rescue mission wasn't just about earning a fortune—it also held another significant detail. Coincidentally, the Land of Wano, the mission location, overlapped with a place Elder Itachi had specifically mentioned to him.
....
In the Land of Wano, at a hexagram altar.
"Lord Dokei, we've brought back Momonosuke," a respectful voice reported from behind.
Dokei turned to face the speaker and saw a young man with disheveled hair—Momonosuke.
But he no longer possessed his former air of elegance and charm. He was now in tatters, looking worse than a beggar.
Before arriving, he had endured inhuman treatment, including but not limited to being forced into interactions with pigs in heat.
"Please, just let me go. I only want to live a simple life," the utterly broken Momonosuke pleaded desperately. "I have no interest in restoring the kingdom."
Dokei curled his lips into a sinister smile. "That's not going to happen. You know the saying—'remove the weeds and eliminate the roots.'"
Dokei's clan had once been generations-long slaves to Momonosuke's family, suffering endless oppression. Until one day, a man had risen to lead a rebellion against tyranny. That man was Dokei. But before he could succeed, he fell into despair—until Uchiha Madara appeared. Using his overwhelming power, Madara helped overthrow the oppressive regime. From that moment, Dokei became Madara's most loyal follower.
During the rebellion, Dokei's exceptional contributions earned him the position of king.
As his first act as ruler, Dokei ordered the immediate eradication of all members of Momonosuke's family, sparing no one regardless of age or gender. He was determined to repay the humiliation his clan had suffered tenfold, a hundredfold, or even a thousandfold.
In the chaos of the purge, the infant Momonosuke was smuggled out by loyal remnants of the previous regime.
For years, Dokei relentlessly pursued Momonosuke—not just to torture and kill him but also to recover a certain item. That item, now in Dokei's possession, was a necklace he had taken from Momonosuke.
Placing the necklace on the altar, Dokei grabbed a spiked club and struck Momonosuke's head with a heavy blow.
With a bloodcurdling scream, Momonosuke's skull split open, and brain matter spilled out. Blood streamed down his head, pooling into grooves in the ground.
Dokei stood silently, staring at the altar as though waiting for something to happen.
After several seconds of stillness, nothing occurred. Dokei frowned, speculating that insufficient blood might be the issue. He grabbed the club again and struck Momonosuke's corpse multiple times. Still, there was no reaction.
"As expected, legends are just legends…"
Swinging the club, Dokei flung off the blood sticking to it.
He muttered that he had already received divine blessings and didn't need such superstitious nonsense.
Glancing at Momonosuke's lifeless body, now an eyesore, he kicked it aside with disdain. "What a waste of my time…"
As he headed back, one of his subordinates came running, panting as he spoke, "Lord Dokei, bad news! There's a rebellion!"
Dokei laughed loudly upon hearing this. "Leftover loyalists from the previous regime? Perfect timing. Saves me the trouble of hunting them down one by one!"
(End of Chapter)
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