This wealthy tycoon from the Land of Fire was utterly shameless about it.

"I demand to see your Hokage! Does this tiny little Hidden Leaf Village actually think it's something?!

Without the Land of Fire's patronage, what exactly are you Leaf people worth?!

Back in the capital, not one person dares speak to me like this! And you — some lowly Genin — actually had the nerve to assault the warriors under my command?!

Outrageous!

This is absolutely outrageous!

Get your Hokage out here! Bring your Hokage to me right now!"

Hirofumi Ito had been free today and come over to check on how Kakuzu was handling things at the company. The last thing he expected was to walk up to his own front gate and get hit with that.

A wealthy tycoon from the Land of Fire, huh?

Interesting...

Truth be told, Hirofumi sometimes felt that the world of Naruto was deeply warped.

Beyond the Five Great Nations and their five hidden villages, there were plenty of small countries and smaller hidden villages scattered across the world, and really, as long as you had enough strength, money, and people behind you, you could build your own little village and call yourself its Kage.

Orochimaru had done exactly that in the original story, after all. He went and founded Otogakure.

That part wasn't the issue. What truly baffled Hirofumi was that villages built by ninja were still subject to the authority of great nations. No matter how he turned it over in his head, he couldn't make sense of it.

Take the Hidden Leaf Village. Yes, it received some financial support from the Land of Fire, but frankly speaking, the village was perfectly capable of sustaining itself. Ninja earned commissions on missions, and the village took a cut of each one, just that funding alone was enough to keep a village running indefinitely.

And yet ninja possessed extraordinary power. A group of people with extraordinary power, being governed by ordinary people, no matter how you looked at it, it was strange.

This world had no concept of patriotic devotion or loyalty to one's ruler, either. A country's Daimyo held an incredibly loose grip over their own land.

Before Hirofumi's time, even appointing a new Hokage for the Hidden Leaf Village had required the Land of Fire Daimyo's approval. Without it, a candidate simply would not become Hokage. Full stop.

But that was before him.

He had become Hokage without obtaining any such approval, which meant that in a certain sense, his ascension could be considered an act of rebellion. The Land of Fire Daimyo had never recognized him. As far as that side was concerned, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was probably still in charge.

And before him, almost no legitimate ninja had ever dared seize a wealthy tycoon's assets outright. The kind of people who pulled that sort of thing were basically the most desperate and violent Rogue Ninja the world had to offer.

Not just the Hidden Leaf Village, either. The other villages were much the same.

All things considered, it was no wonder that people in this world so often developed twisted minds and distorted spirits. The world itself was twisted to begin with.

Hirofumi thought all of that through, let out a yawn, and walked through the gates of his company.

"Honestly... I've barely set foot in my own company and there's already a dog barking?! Hidan, just what kind of security chief are you supposed to be?!"

The instant Hidan caught sight of Hirofumi Ito, Hidan snapped into a posture of total deference.

"Jas—"

"Hm?!"

"Lord Hokage!"

Hidan quickly corrected the address.

Before this, every single time Hidan saw Hirofumi, Hidan would shout "Lord Jashin." Eventually Hirofumi had grown genuinely tired of it, that sort of thing was a little embarrassing, after all. So in his capacity as Lord Jashin himself, he had issued a direct order: his most devout believer was not to call him Lord Jashin anymore. Lord Hokage from here on out.

Hidan's startled cry made the tycoon from the Land of Fire blink.

"Hey! You there! What did you just call this kid?! Lord Hokage?! Isn't the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi?! Since when did a little kid take over?!

You people! Changing your Hokage without authorization, does the Daimyo even know about this?!

And you picked a child?!

I'd say the Hidden Leaf Village isn't far from its own destruction!"

Hirofumi didn't even glance at the man. He turned to Hidan and gave a casual wave.

"Strip off every piece of clothing he's wearing. Not a single thread left. Confiscate every last bit of wealth he brought with him, not one silver ryo remains. Then throw him out!"

"Yes, sir! Lord Hokage!"

Order received, Hidan's face split into a wicked grin as Hidan stalked toward the tycoon.

The tycoon was genuinely starting to panic now. It had simply never occurred to him that these damned ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village would actually dare do this.

"Damn you! I am a merchant from the capital of the Land of Fire! You cannot do this to me!

I have an audience with the Daimyo! I will report every last one of you! You changed your Hokage without authorization! You dare lay hands on me!"

Hirofumi narrowed his eyes and looked the tycoon over.

"Hmm... go on back and tell your Daimyo, then.

I want to see whether that person has the guts to strip me of my title. Whether that person has the guts to come pick a fight with the Hidden Leaf Village over a piece of trash like you.

Honestly... being a Hokage is already enough trouble. I really don't have much interest in becoming a Daimyo.

But if that person absolutely insists on handing it over, I suppose I'll have no choice but to take it...

Hidan, what are you still waiting for?!

Throw him out!

Kekekekekeke..."

Hidan grabbed the man, stripped him bare, and launched him straight out of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Every last bit of wealth the tycoon had brought along was confiscated along with him.

The whole scene left every person in line watching without daring to breathe a word. Plenty of them had been quietly displeased, many were figures of some standing, after all, and the wait had not been short. But after seeing what just happened to the tycoon, every one of them swallowed that discontent whole.

"Senior Kosuke Maruboshi, good to see you!"

"Why, it's Lord Hokage! Ha! I really didn't expect Lord Hokage to have such boldness. But... Lord Hokage, this could well bring trouble."

"Trouble?! Trouble is the last thing I'm afraid of. Besides, what I said was the honest truth, being a Hokage is tiring enough as it is. I have no interest in becoming a Daimyo. But if that person absolutely insists on making me one, then I'll just have to accept it..."

Kosuke Maruboshi smiled and watched Hirofumi Ito without saying much more, simply sighing inwardly, again and again, worthy of being the disciple of hashirama senju and madara uchiha.

With generations of legends standing guard over the Hidden Leaf Village, it seemed like there really wasn't much to worry about.

If the Daimyo truly applied pressure on the Hidden Leaf Village this time... well, things might just end with a new Daimyo being installed.

➤ Next: The Mangekyō Money-Wheel Eye?

Chapter 226 - The Mangekyō Money-Wheel Eye?

After wrapping up the matter with that wealthy Land of Fire tycoon, Hirofumi Ito headed into the company and went straight to Kakuzu's office.

The place was packed. People were lined up all the way through the building, some wanting to rent food stall spots for the concert, others after advertising slots. The queue stretched on and on.

Hirofumi stared at the crowd. He'd known Kakuzu could make money. He had not known Kakuzu was this monstrous about it.

And the Kakuzu sitting in that office right now bore no resemblance to the one Hirofumi normally saw.

Kakuzu was firing on all cylinders. Something radiated off that figure, an indescribable aura of absolute dominance that filled the entire room.

BANG!

Across the desk sat a tycoon draped in gold and silver, apparently mid-sentence.

Kakuzu's hand came down hard on the desk.

"You think this advertising slot is too expensive?! I think it's too cheap!

Turn around and look at those people in line, especially tycoons like you with businesses to run. Who wouldn't want a better slot?!

Especially the ones closest to the stage. That's the most eye-catching spot of all!

The slot on the left side of the stage was just taken, two million ryo! A full two million ryo! And that two million only covers two songs!

Two songs, then the ad changes!

The spot you want isn't quite as prime, but the value for money is excellent. It's not far from the stage, and the price is lower.

For the entire duration of the concert — just five million ryo!

Value this good, and you still want more?!

You don't want it? Fine. Plenty of others will!"

Hirofumi walked into the office just as Kakuzu finished. Both Kakuzu and the tycoon looked over.

"Boss, you're here?!"

Kakuzu threw a greeting his way. The tycoon heard how Kakuzu addressed Hirofumi and their eyes lit up immediately.

"Oh my! You must be the owner of East Konoha Company, young man?! What a fine-looking person! I am Oinu Mogene, a merchant from the capital of the Land of Fire! I came hoping to rent an advertising slot for your concert...

It's just that five million ryo feels a little steep...

You're the boss, couldn't you bring it down even just a little? Just a little... and I'll sign right this instant!"

HMM!

BOOM!

Hirofumi hadn't even opened his mouth when Kakuzu's Chakra detonated. A pillar of Chakra light blasted straight up toward the ceiling.

The oppressive weight of it hit Hirofumi like a wall.

Wait. Was Kakuzu actually this strong?!

That Chakra output, it was on par with both of my teachers, wasn't it?!

Kakuzu fixed the tycoon with a dark, heavy stare, then turned and looked at Hirofumi with complete seriousness.

"Boss! If you have nothing urgent, please step outside! Don't interfere with me making money for this company! Business matters, leave those to me! I hope you won't stand here getting in my way!"

BANG!

Kakuzu spun around and slammed a hand on the desk.

"This advertising slot is five million ryo! Take it or leave it!

You don't rent it, someone else will!

Don't waste the manager's time! Every minute the manager spends standing here is worth hundreds of thousands, there's no time to sit around chatting!

Not renting? Then send in the next person!"

The words had barely left Kakuzu's mouth when Zabuza Momochi and Kisame Hoshigaki walked straight in, massive blades across their backs, fixing the tycoon with a look usually reserved for corpses.

The tycoon had never been through anything like this in their life.

And these two, one looked fiercer than the other, one had a more terrifying build than the other, and the blade on each one's back was bigger than the other's.

"You two... what are you doing?! Are you trying to force a sale?!"

A smile that was not quite a smile settled onto Kakuzu's face.

"Hehehehehe... Force a sale?! I'm warning you, don't insult our company's reputation! Since when has East Konoha Company ever done anything like that?!

Advertising slot. Five million.

Renting or not?!

Hehehehehe..."

While Kakuzu talked, a sharp scraping sound started up from Zabuza and Kisame. Both pulled the blades from their backs, produced whetstones from somewhere, and began sharpening with total dedication.

Zabuza running the Executioner's Blade across the stone at least looked the part. Kisame sharpening Samehada, on the other hand, was a sight that defied easy description.

Gulp.

The tycoon swallowed hard.

"I'll rent! I'll rent! Stop sharpening! I'll take the slot! Five million, fine, I'll take it!"

Kakuzu's mouth curved to one side.

"Hehehe... Five million? That was the old price. Now it's six million!"

"You — how can you raise the price now?!"

"Seven million."

Scrape scrape scrape scrape scrape.

The sharpening got faster.

"Fine! Seven million! I'll rent!"

"Heh heh heh... A pleasure doing business."

Kakuzu produced a contract instantly and, with a speed that left absolutely no room to react, seized the tycoon's hand and pressed it hard onto the contract, one firm handprint, right there.

"Done! Contract's signed. Go pay!

Hey — hey hey?! Zabuza, Kisame!

Why are you two still sharpening?! This is one of our big clients! We cannot frighten our big clients! Put those blades away right now!

Take our client to the VIP area for a proper rest...

Oh, right! Plain water is on the house. Big client discount.

Hehehehehe..."

Hirofumi stood to one side watching the whole thing, jaw completely on the floor.

"Kakuzu... you..."

"Hm?! Boss! Do you still need something? If not, don't hold up my money-making!"

"Uh... alright. My dear manager, please carry on."

Hirofumi swallowed hard. He was pretty certain the Kakuzu standing before him had awakened something extraordinary.

Especially just now, for a second, Hirofumi had genuinely thought Kakuzu had activated some kind of special ocular jutsu.

The pupils had completely transformed into the shape of silver ryo coins.

Could this be the legendary Mangekyō Money-Wheel Eye?!

Walking out of the building, Hirofumi glanced back at the queue stretching out like a dragon.

A thought drifted up, quiet and inevitable: maybe holding a few more concerts whenever things were slow wasn't such a bad idea.

➤ Next: Filming the Hidden Leaf Village Promotional Video