Time passed day by day.
The Shinobi World remained unusually calm and incident-free at the moment. All factions took this opportunity to recuperate and strengthen their own forces.
Chinya remained hidden within Otogakure, gathering intelligence through various means.
He also discovered that his name, along with Kushina Uzumaki's and Uzumaki Sōnagi's, had appeared on wanted posters in the underground Black Market Bounty Network.
There was no need to guess who was behind it—Konoha was obviously responsible. Whether or not it originated from Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, it certainly required his approval.
After all, Chinya's bounty was an astounding 120 million ryō, more than three times the future bounty of Asuma Sarutobi, which would later be 35 million ryō.
Such a massive sum couldn't possibly come from ordinary people. Even for Konoha, releasing such a large amount of money definitely needed authorization from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Kushina Uzumaki had a bounty of 15 million ryō, while Uzumaki Sōnagi's was 5 million ryō.
Upon hearing this news, Chinya's first reaction was amusement.
Originally, he considered placing bounties on others in retaliation. But both Otogakure and the Xiao organization were struggling financially, and all of Chinya's funds had already been given to Yahiko for developing Otogakure. Since he was completely out of money, he could only let it go.
Under Yahiko's leadership, Otogakure, though still poor, was improving day by day.
Because Otogakure hadn't yet trained enough ninja to properly take on missions and earn income from them, it wasn't generating significant revenue just yet.
However, since Oto now controlled the Rice Country, Yahiko, acting as its representative, established commercial partnerships with several nations including the Land of Iron, the Land of Waterfalls, and the Land of Hot Water.
Among these, the Land of Iron was the one Yahiko valued most for cooperation.
This nation maintained its own independent culture, authority, and military force as a neutral country. Though it didn't possess ninja, it was protected by a fighting group known as samurai.
The Land of Iron was especially rich in mineral resources. Yahiko arranged trade using goods from the Rice Country in exchange for ores from the Land of Iron. Then weapons were forged from those ores and resold at a profit to countries harboring ninja villages, thereby making substantial profits from the price difference.
That single trade deal alone brought in more profit than all the other allied countries combined.
Yahiko poured nearly all the earned funds directly into building up Otogakure.
Within merely one year, nearly all infrastructure development for Otogakure had been completed.
Once the infrastructure development was nearing completion, Yahiko immediately began work on establishing a Ninja Academy within Otogakure.
Ultimately, ninja formed the foundation of a village like Otogakure.
For Otogakure to become powerful, the quantity and quality of its ninja must be guaranteed.
As for ninjutsu knowledge, there was no need for Yahiko to worry.
With Orochimaru—a veritable Ninjutsu encyclopedia—at hand, there would never be a shortage of techniques.
Once the academy was built and qualified instructors found, students could be recruited and formal education begun right away.
Additionally, Yahiko was preparing plans to construct a Ninja Hospital for Otogakure.
However, constructing a hospital ranked lower in priority compared to the Ninja Academy.
Since Otogakure currently had relatively few ninja, even if completed, it wouldn't be used immediately.
Moreover, training Medical Ninjas was even more challenging than training ordinary Ninjas.
Fortunately, Nonou Yakushi was available.
Yahiko had already spoken to Nonou Yakushi about it, and she had started teaching a few children Medical Ninjutsu.
Once the Ninja Academy was built, Yahiko planned to set up a dedicated class for training Medical Ninjas in Medical Ninjutsu.
Then, once the Ninja Hospital was completed, Nonou Yakushi would serve as its Headmistress.
In this way, trained Medical Ninjas could directly join the Ninja Hospital upon graduation.
Otogakure was steadily moving forward according to plan.
Meanwhile, Chinya's Xiao organization was also carrying out its own tasks.
With only a small number of members, the Xiao organization split into two teams to take on Underworld missions and earn rewards.
Pakura and Raiga Kurosuki formed one team, while Zabuza still teamed up with Haku.
Considering that Otogakure was still facing financial shortages, the Xiao organization aimed to be self-sufficient whenever possible.
Orochimaru kept himself locked away in the Base, buried in his research.
Although Kimimaro Kaguya's hereditary illness couldn't be fully cured yet, Orochimaru had at least managed to keep it under control to prevent sudden worsening.
Currently, Kimimaro Kaguya acted as Orochimaru's representative, handling external affairs in his place.
At this time, Kimimaro Kaguya's duty was to search outside for individuals willing to undergo experiments in exchange for power.
On his first mission, perhaps by fate's will, Kimimaro brought back Jugo.
Jugo naturally possessed the ability to absorb Natural Energy. However, once significant amounts of Natural Energy entered Jugo's body, he would lose control, descending into an uncontrollable bloodlust.
When Kimimaro Kaguya encountered Jugo, it happened to be during one of Jugo's rampages.
Kimimaro forcibly subdued Jugo's out-of-control state.
Once Jugo regained his senses, he became close friends with Kimimaro Kaguya, finding in him emotional stability and support.
Therefore, when Kimimaro invited Jugo to join Otogakure and explained that Orochimaru might find a way to control his rages, Jugo immediately agreed.
Afterward, every time Kimimaro Kaguya went out, he returned with new recruits.
Among them were Kidomaru, Jirobo, Tayuya, and the twin brothers Sakon and Ukon.
Now, Orochimaru didn't just carry out experiments on them recklessly anymore. They were preceded by meticulous planning, prioritizing the preservation of their lives during testing.
In Orochimaru's eyes, these youths were the future of Otogakure.
Orochimaru's personal charisma shone brilliantly; this loyalty to him only grew stronger over time.
Uzumaki Miyuki, who wasn't particularly fond of combat, remained in Otogakure to assist Yahiko in managing the village instead of departing.
Kushina Uzumaki stayed alongside Uzumaki Miyuki, learning from her for a period before helping manage Otogakure.
As for Uzumaki Sōnagi,
since his teacher Kakashi was still in Konoha, he now sought anyone he could find for training.
Generally speaking, though, he trained with Chinya since Chinya seemed to have the most free time.
As the leader, Chinya indeed had quite a bit of free time, since gathering intelligence didn't require his personal involvement.
Therefore, he was more than happy to personally mentor Uzumaki Sōnagi. Others with potential, such as Kimimaro Kaguya, also received direct guidance from Chinya.
Seeing how Uzumaki Sōnagi improved almost day by day, Chinya felt a bit worried for Kakashi.
Kakashi hadn't officially taught Uzumaki Sōnagi yet, and no one knew when Kakashi would return to Otogakure.
Chinya truly feared that once Kakashi returned, he wouldn't be able to beat his own disciple, Uzumaki Sōnagi.
That could really backfire...
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