"Nagato! Don't! What's outside is... SHIT!"

Konan's startled cry rang out, but it was already too late.

Nagato's Shinra Tensei detonated everything outside, rain and waste combined, in one massive golden explosion that bloomed like an enormous firework and blanketed the entire Land of Rain.

Only then did Nagato snap back to what was happening. Far, far too late.

The Land of Rain had a very distinctive smell that day.

On the other side of the world, Obito Uchiha was dragging itself out of a mountain of filth and a sea of waste, absolutely wretched.

The moment Obito clawed free, the single remaining Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly.

"Damn it! Who did this?!"

Obito still hadn't fully come to grips with the situation, assuming someone had used underhanded means to launch an attack. But the next instant, Obito froze.

That cursed waste. Those public latrines. They had come bursting out from inside the Kamui Dimension.

Which meant all of it had been stored inside the Kamui Dimension.

But how?

Obito had never once used the bathroom in there.

In this entire world, the only one who could enter the Kamui Dimension was Obito.

That thought hit, and Obito's pupil contracted sharply.

Wait.

Wrong.

If there was one other person in this world who could open the Kamui Dimension, just one, then it could only be him.

Kakashi Hatake!

Which meant everything crammed inside the Kamui Dimension was Kakashi Hatake's doing.

"AHHH! KAKASHI HATAKE! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Meanwhile, Nagato was guiding the Six Paths of Pain through the air above the Akatsuki's base, trying to make sense of it all. This much waste didn't just appear out of nowhere.

Then Nagato heard it, Obito Uchiha's absolutely furious screaming.

"Yahiko — what's all this about Kakashi Hatake?! And where did all this filth come from?! Don't tell me Kakashi Hatake attacked our Akatsuki with this stuff?!"

A pair of paper wings spread open behind Konan as Konan rose into the air.

Across the Land of Rain, the citizens were beginning to realize something was wrong. What was falling from the sky wasn't rain. It was something else entirely.

In an instant, the whole nation started losing its mind.

Screams and furious cursing erupted from every direction.

And the name of the dung-flinging ninja, Kakashi Hatake, echoed across the entire Land of Rain that day.

From that moment on, every ninja in the Land of Rain regarded Kakashi Hatake as the single most terrifying existence in the entire Shinobi World.

Obito had zero desire to explain anything about Kakashi Hatake right now. Obito was covered head to toe in golden filth. The only thing Obito wanted in this moment was a bath.

.........................................

Land of Fire. Hidden Leaf Village.

Dawn was just beginning to break.

After nearly an hour of work, Kakashi Hatake had finally managed to seal every last one of those public latrines, and every last bit of accumulated waste, into the Kamui Dimension.

What Obito Uchiha had gone through as a result of all this, Kakashi Hatake had absolutely no idea.

By this point, the chakra in Kakashi Hatake's body was nearly bone-dry.

That was more than a little frustrating. Today was the day the Hidden Leaf Village was set to declare war on Kumogakure, and yet after all of this, Kakashi Hatake was in no condition whatsoever to fight.

On the other side of the village, Hirofumi Ito sat composed in the Hokage's office.

He hadn't slept all night. Neither had a lot of people in the Hidden Leaf Village.

The powerful figures revived through his summoning. The Konoha 11. The employees of the East Konoha Corporation.

Kakuzu had gone into a near-frenzy tallying every last coin earned from the previous night's concert.

"Boss! We didn't sell a single entry ticket, and yet the money we pulled in was beyond even my expectations!

One night. Advertising fees, stall rental fees, food and drink sales, latrine fees, plain water fees, tissue fees, tea fees, tips, all of it combined. Our East Konoha Corporation earned a grand total of 2.3 billion ryo last night!"

Kakuzu's voice was trembling. Because this was, after all, 2.3 billion.

And within that 2.3 billion, there was a share that belonged to Kakuzu personally. Hirofumi Ito had promised to set aside ten percent as a dividend, to be split equally among all East Konoha Corporation employees.

Two hundred and thirty million ryo, divided among the staff.

Just thinking about it made Kakuzu feel blood pressure shooting through the roof.

"Boss... um... well..."

Hirofumi watched Kakuzu's barely-contained excitement and knew exactly what was coming. Wasn't it just about the promised dividend?

"Relax." Hirofumi waved a hand. "You'll get every ryo you're owed."

The powerful figures and the Konoha 11 seated around the room were suddenly finding it very hard to sit still.

No ticket sales. And yet 2.3 billion?

What kind of money-making ability even was this?

Was Kakuzu actually terrifying?

Hashirama Senju sat nearby, counting on his fingers, lips moving.

"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands, hundred-thousands, millions, ten-millions, hundred-millions...

Madara, how much money is 2.3 billion, exactly? I don't think I've seen this much money in my entire life!

Back when we first founded the Hidden Leaf Village, earning a few tens of millions of ryo in a whole year was already impressive, wasn't it?!

And now — 2.3 billion in a single night?!"

Madara Uchiha's expression stayed perfectly flat. But inwardly, the shock was immense. Who could have imagined that something as simple as a concert could earn this much money?

This Kakuzu. A genuine talent. No wonder that little brat Hirofumi Ito had made Kakuzu the manager of the East Konoha Corporation. Putting someone like this in any other role would be an outright waste.

Madara turned and looked at Kakuzu.

"Kakuzu, in the domain of making money, I, Uchiha Madara, am willing to call you the greatest!"

Kakuzu gave a slight smile.

"Kekekekeke... You flatter me, Lord Madara. I merely made a small move, and we've already hit the upper limit of what the Hidden Leaf Village can deliver.

The days ahead are long. The opportunities to earn are many.

I'm already looking forward to the day we hold concerts in the other villages." Another dry laugh. "Kekekeke...

Because that — that is when the real earning begins!"

The moment those words landed, every single person in the room felt something stir in their chest.

Because who doesn't love making money?

Go to the other villages. Take their money.

Wouldn't that be even better?

➤ Next: Three Hundred Elite Jonin

Chapter 256 - Three Hundred Elite Jonin

Right at that moment, Itachi Uchiha spoke up.

"Lord Hokage... although I'm now an employee of East Konoha Corporation, there's no need for a dividend — please take my share, Lord Hokage.

When I came back to the Hidden Leaf Village, I had already made my resolve...

I will spend the rest of my life atoning for my sins. So please, take all of it.

I hope Lord Hokage can use that money to resurrect the members of our Uchiha Clan... I know this amount is only a drop in the bucket for the clan as a whole, but I'll work hard from now on."

Zabuza Momochi and Haku gave a casual wave of dismissal.

"Well... Haku and I don't have much use for money anyway. The company covers our food and lodging, and on days we need a little cash we can always pick up a mission or two from the village. So, Lord Hokage, forget the dividend for us."

Kisame Hoshigaki was the same.

Then again, Kisame was under Hirofumi Ito's Kotoamatsukami, so in Kisame's mind Hirofumi Ito's standing ranked higher than Kisame's own parents. When it came to devotion toward Hirofumi Ito, probably only one person in the room could match Kisame, and that was Hidan.

Hidan snatched up the share of money, shot across the room in an instant, and planted right in front of Hirofumi Ito with an expression of absolute fervor.

"Lord Jashin! Please accept this most devout offering from your faithful follower! Lord Jashin!"

Kakuzu looked around at the whole group with a helpless expression.

Every single one of you is doing this, which makes me look like I have no sense of the bigger picture at all.

Am I really going to be the only one who actually takes the dividend? Doesn't that look a little bad?!

But... but I really, really want that money!

Then Kakuzu thought it over carefully. This was only East Konoha Corporation's first round of earnings, and they'd already made this much. The company's income was only going to keep growing from here.

As general manager, setting a good example was naturally part of the job.

If Kakuzu passed on the dividend this time, surely the boss wouldn't shortchange Kakuzu down the road?!

The moment that thought landed, Kakuzu's expression turned to one of absolute resolve.

"Boss! Forget my dividend too! Everyone knows what you're capable of now, and war with Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning is right around the corner, this money should be spent where it counts! As for the future... I trust the boss won't shortchange me!"

Hirofumi Ito hadn't expected every single one of his employees to be this principled about it.

"This was all voluntary, you know... I'm not some exploitative capitalist cracking a whip, and I'm certainly no slavemaster driving you into the ground, rest assured, I won't shortchange any of you down the road. Kehehehehe..."

He looked at the two billion three hundred million sitting in front of him and funneled every last ryo straight into the system.

"System — charge my balance! All two billion three hundred million, right now!"

[Received!

2,300,000,000 ryo detected!

Converting to Wealth Value...

Congratulations, Host has obtained 2,300,000,000 Wealth Value!]

[Summoning System

Host: Hirofumi Ito

Wealth Value: 3,150,000,000

White Summon: 0

Green Summon: 0

Blue Summon: 0

Purple Summon: 0

Gold Summon: 0

Prismatic Reanimation: 0]

Three billion one hundred and fifty million Wealth Value, sitting right there in the system space.

Hirofumi Ito felt an indescribable wave of satisfaction wash over him.

So this is what it feels like to have money.

Kehehehehe...

With a pile like this, not doing a round of summoning immediately would be an insult to every ryo.

The only question was exactly how many elite jonin the Hidden Leaf Village had produced since its founding, but whatever the number, it would certainly break three hundred. That was before counting all the warriors from the various clans buried at the village going all the way back to the Warring States Period.

Push it far enough and that number could reach into the thousands.

With that in mind, Hirofumi Ito decided to hold back one hundred and fifty million Wealth Value in reserve for emergencies.

"System! Use three billion Wealth Value and convert all of it into Purple Summons!"

One Purple Summon cost ten million Wealth Value per draw. The tier it unlocked was elite jonin.

[Received!

Congratulations, Host has consumed 3,000,000,000 Wealth Value and obtained 300 Purple Summon draws!]

The number 300 blazed next to Purple Summon on the system panel. The corner of Hirofumi Ito's mouth curved upward, and the gaze swept across everyone present.

"Kehehehehe... Everyone! The moment to witness a miracle has arrived. There's a real chance some of your relatives are about to walk out of that array!

Although the Hokage Residence office is a bit cramped... probably not enough room in there. Everyone, follow me outside!"

Outside the Hokage Residence, Hirofumi Ito turned to Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.

"Both of you, teachers... the people coming back through the summoning will almost certainly include members of both the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan. You need to get control of the scene the moment they appear, because if any of those revived turn out to be warriors from the Warring States Period, they might start fighting each other on the spot."

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha both nodded.

Everyone else was vibrating with excitement. From the Warring States Period right up to the present day, who among them didn't have powerful relatives already gone? There was a real chance some of those people were about to come back.

Neji Hyūga was wound tight with anticipation. A father... was there any chance a father could come back too?

Hirofumi Ito finished the preparations.

"Summoning Technique!"

This time, rather than calling them one by one, Hirofumi Ito activated all three hundred draws at once.

A massive purple ritual array exploded into existence before everyone's eyes.

The purple array for a Purple Summon, nothing new to Hirofumi Ito at this point. Gold Summons produced a gold array. The earlier Prismatic Reanimation had produced one that shifted through every color imaginable.

Flames of souls began rising from within the array.

Not one more, not one less. Exactly three hundred.

One by one, the flames condensed and took shape, silhouettes becoming figures, figures becoming people.

Everyone present stared, utterly still, watching each form solidify.

The moment Tobirama Senju recognized one of the silhouettes, the composure broke immediately.

"Big brother! Father! Look — isn't that our second uncle, Kusama Senju?!

And... and..."

Across the way, Izuna Uchiha grabbed Madara Uchiha by the arm.

"Big brother! Look! That's our third uncle! And it's not just our third uncle, there are so many Uchiha Clan members! So many clanspeople I recognize!

Though there are also so many faces I don't know... they must be clanspeople from after the Hidden Leaf Village was founded..."

➤ Next: The Reunion Gathering — Kumogakure Has Arrived!