Hayate Gekko summoned Zabuza and Haku, who had been waiting outside for quite some time already, and swiftly announced Lee's victory.
"No life-threatening injuries. Get him out of here now."
Haku only needed a single glance before immediately signaling Zabuza to haul the person away. That familiar way of carrying someone made the visiting ninja twitch their lips in amusement. Are the Konoha medics always like this?
"How did he lose?" Temari stood there stunned, muttering to herself with a dazed expression.
Sakura patted Temari's shoulder. "Don't be so upset. Don't worry, once you become part of Konoha, we'll definitely help boost Sand Village's economy. I might even go over there and help plant trees personally. Rest assured, we'll see to it that Sand Village lives it up from now on!"
Seeing her words weren't helping, Sakura quickly turned her head and shouted at Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, hurry over and comfort your fiancée!"
"Pfft!"
Shikamaru, who had just taken a sip of water because he was thirsty, spat it all out. "What are you talking about?! Since when do I have a fiancée?!"
"Isn't that right here?" Sakura pointed at Temari, then pulled out the contract. "She made this bet with me herself. Now that she's lost, she has to keep her promise and marry you! Even Lord Shikaku already agreed to this arrangement. You should come over and comfort your wife-to-be right away—or else who knows what kind of domestic violence you might face after marriage!"
Sakura spoke loudly enough for everyone in the arena to hear clearly. The crowd looked at them strangely—wasn't this supposed to be the Chunin Exams? Since when did it turn into a freaking engagement show?! And among them, none were more confused than the ninja from the Sand Village—especially Baki, whose face had gone completely blank. How did Temari suddenly become that pineapple-head's fiancée? What exactly happened during the time he went to visit Kankuro?
Chapter 201: Hinata's Vengeance Path – Part I
"What the hell is going on?! What exactly are you talking about?!" Baki's face twisted up like a bitter gourd. Please forgive him for not quite understanding what had transpired between these people just moments ago.
"Earlier, Temari made a bet with me," Sakura kindly explained while waving the contract in front of Baki. "If your Sand ninja won, I would provide goods worth one billion annually for free. But if Lee won, she would have to marry Shikamaru. And now the situation is clear—Lee successfully helped Shikamaru win himself a bride!"
Sakura smirked as she waved the signed contract around. "White paper, black ink, clear as day. It even has Temari's signature and a blood fingerprint. You Sand nin can't possibly try to back out now!"
Baki stood frozen, his shocked gaze shifting between Temari and the contract in Sakura's hands. So let me get this straight… He just stepped out to visit Kankuro for a moment, and suddenly, the daughter of the late Fourth Kazekage was engaged to that pineapple-headed guy?
"This gamble, I admit defeat," Temari said through gritted teeth. She had made up her mind—if during the Leaf Destruction Plan one month from now, she'd make sure to kill that damned pineapple-haired guy first. Once he's dead, the contract would naturally become void. And at that time, with Konoha too busy dealing with itself, there would be no time left to care about the contract.
"Accepting defeat is good enough," Sakura replied. She could tell from Temari's shifting eyes that she wouldn't back down—but she didn't really care. With Shikamaru's IQ, it shouldn't be hard to win her over eventually.
"Oh right, since you're practically family now, as a betrothal gift, we'll arrange for a certain amount of supplies to be sent to you every year. And once you officially get married, all of Shikamaru's salary will be under your control—you can buy whatever you want and send it back home without any problem."
Sakura thought for a moment. Knowing Shikamaru's character, even if he earned more money, he wouldn't bother spending it—so why not use it to please his future wife instead? "I've roughly calculated this already. Shikamaru earns about thirty billion yen per year. After marrying him, all that money will be yours to manage. You can do whatever you want with it!"
"Thirty... billion?!" Temari was just calculating things in her head when she heard Sakura's words. Her brain felt like it had been hit by a hammer.
"About thirty billion or so—not much, really!" Sakura said calmly. Just Kakashi's bounty alone could fetch several million. Though thirty billion sounded large, in reality, it wasn't that big a number.
A collective gasp echoed around them.
They must be dreaming, right? The salary from a ninja mission barely covered expenses, leaving almost nothing left. Just look at Sakura from the Boruto series—she was an elite medic-nin and personal friend to the Seventh Hokage, yet couldn't even afford her mortgage and ended up hospitalized because of financial stress. Clearly, being a ninja really wasn't a profitable profession.
"You're kidding, right?!" Temari's face stiffened; clearly these people were insane and just messing with her. How could a ninja possibly earn tens of billions annually?!
"I'm not kidding. Didn't I already tell you? The Celestial Society belongs to us. With how much money it pulls in, thirty billion a year is nothing," Sakura shrugged helplessly. The Celestial Society had expanded throughout the entire shinobi world, bringing in endless amounts of money each year—so much so that even the daimyos from various countries welcomed them warmly. In some sense, these people had long since lost their concept of wealth.
"Hahaha," Temari's lips twitched as she forced a smile, internally cursing furiously. Those bloody capitalists were infuriating—but so damn enviable.
"Cough cough! Excuse me, ladies above, maybe you could discuss your marriage plans later? Cough—we still need to proceed with the match."
Needless to say, even Hayate Gekko felt a sharp pang in his chest upon hearing this, thinking about his own pitiful bank account. *Well damn it, I feel like committing robbery.*
"Hinata Hyuga from Hidden Leaf vs. Muyue from Cloud Village—please both contestants step onto the arena."
"Oh? From the Cloud Village, huh? Perfect."
Hinata sitting in the spectator stands lit up excitedly, her knuckles cracking loudly as she clenched her fists. She remembered clearly how Cloud Village had once tried to kidnap her years ago. Originally, Hinata had planned to figure out a way to retaliate against them when she had time. Now, unexpectedly, the opportunity had arrived far sooner than expected.
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