Chapter 92: She Gave Too Much
In the Hidden Sand Village, nestled deep within the Land of Wind, Kazushi was taking stock of the gold, silver, and various treasures looted from a noble's mansion.
The nobles of the Land of Wind were truly a wealthy bunch. Just by raiding a single household, she had managed to seize an obscene amount of money. Ignoring the various real estate deeds, gold mines, and iron mines, the sheer volume of cash was enough to make the average Sand ninja dizzy.
A soft knock came from the door. A jonin from the Sand peeked in, his eyes alight with an admiration that bordered on worship. "Lady Kazushi, your guess was spot on. We found a hidden compartment in a back room. It led to an underground vault filled with… well, a vast amount of wealth."
"Very good," Kazushi said, her tone casual. "Bring it all here."
To be honest, with Kazushi's current status, killing a noble was a trivial matter. After she had dealt with the former Daimyo, anyone who had been quick to support the Daimyo's cousin was fair game. The noble she had just eliminated was one of the many who had participated in the earlier hunt for her. His fate was sealed the moment he chose a side.
As for managing the lands of the slain nobles, the Hidden Sand Village sorely lacked administrative talent and couldn't possibly take over. It was simpler to let other, more pliable nobles assume control. The village didn't have the strength Konoha possessed to occupy the entire Land of Wind, so they would have to make do for now. Besides, she was here to farm emotional value, not to unify a nation.
Regardless, building up the Hidden Sand required money—a lot of it. For things like infrastructure, wealth was the most critical factor.
"Wait," Kazushi called out as the ninja was about to leave. "Which squad do you belong to?"
The Sand ninja snapped to attention. "Lady Kazushi, our squad is from the Puppet Brigade."
"I see." Kazushi gave a slight nod. "After this mission concludes, every member of your squad will be rewarded with five hundred thousand ryo."
She didn't feel the slightest pang of regret spending someone else's money. If you wanted the horse to run, you had to let it eat its fill. As for what would happen when the money eventually ran out… that was a problem for another day. For now, the fortune was hers to spend as she pleased.
"Thank you, Lady Kazushi!" the ninja exclaimed, his voice thick with gratitude.
He had heard the rumors from his comrades—that following Lady Kazushi on a mission always came with incredible benefits—but he never expected her to be this generous. They had only been tasked with search and inspection after she had already dealt with the noble. They hadn't even had to draw a weapon, yet they were receiving such a lavish reward.
After the ninja departed, Kazushi tossed aside the brilliant gemstone she had been examining and sank into a chair, her interest already waning.
This trip to the Land of Wind was proving to be a truly miserable experience. The Hidden Sand Village was just too poor, and the air was perpetually filled with wind and sand. Crucially, the poverty meant the food was terrible. It was nothing like the bustling commercial streets of Konoha, where one could find any delicacy imaginable.
She couldn't even get a decent meal. She felt that if she stayed here much longer, she might just erode into a pile of sand herself. A gritty discomfort seemed to cling to her skin.
Just then, another Sand ninja escorted a new figure into the room: Kakuzu.
He had accepted a specific mission from an underground exchange: protect a client for a fee of thirty million ryo. As a desperate outlaw, Kakuzu had suspected it might be a trap, but the money was too good to pass up. He decided to at least check it out. After all, he was confident in his abilities; if he couldn't win a fight, he could certainly escape. True monsters were rare in this world.
But what Kakuzu never, ever expected was that the person who had hired him was the very same monster who had nearly killed him last time.
"You… you… you… you…"
Seeing Yankawa Feng Xu sitting there so casually, Kakuzu's blood ran cold. He spun on his heel to flee, but it was too late. In a blur of motion, she was already blocking the door.
"What are you running for?" Kazushi asked, a faint smile playing on her lips. "I'm hiring you. As a mercenary, you should at least have some professional ethics."
With his escape route cut off, Kakuzu felt the tendrils of a waking nightmare wrap around him. "You're really offering thirty million for me to protect you?" he asked, his voice strained.
Kazushi nodded. "Of course. I face countless poisoning and assassination attempts every day. Only an excellent ninja like yourself, Kakuzu, can ensure my safety."
There simply weren't enough 'sheep' to fleece in the Hidden Sand Village. She had to bring in the big gun, Lord Kakuzu, to make up the numbers.
For the sake of thirty million ryo, Kakuzu begrudgingly agreed. He was then handed a promissory note—the very same one he had been forced to sign under threat of death, forgiving Yankawa Feng Xu a debt of thirty million.
In other words, she had played him for a complete fool.
Lord Kakuzu was furious. But Lord Kakuzu was also a pragmatist, and he chose to submit. He decided he would stick around for now and slip away the first chance he got.
Of course, Kazushi knew exactly what he was thinking. It was time to bring out her trump card.
"The thirty million is just the deposit," she said smoothly. "From now on, your salary will be one thousand ryo a day, paid daily. Room and board are included. Additionally, for every assassination attempt you successfully thwart, you'll receive a bonus ranging from ten thousand to one million ryo, depending on the difficulty."
Kakuzu's mind reeled. Legs, move! Get out of here! Don't get tangled up with a freak you can't beat; you'll only get screwed over!
But Kazushi continued to raise the stakes. "Can you cook? Your food doesn't taste bad, right?"
Kakuzu nodded, dazed.
"Excellent. Add five hundred. Your daily salary is now one thousand five hundred."
These past few days, Kazushi had made a strange discovery: the food she cooked herself was utterly unpalatable. Finding a bodyguard who could also cook was a perfectly reasonable solution.
Hearing this, Kakuzu felt as if a golden path to immense wealth had suddenly opened before him.
"I can also wipe tables, sweep floors, serve tea, wash clothes, and sew…" he offered, a hint of desperation in his voice. "Can you add a bit more?"
"Five thousand a day!"
"Deal!"
Kakuzu was satisfied. Since he couldn't run away, he might as well earn back some of his losses from this woman before making his escape in a few days.
And so, the procession of bandits—no, of Hidden Sand ninja—returned to their village, fully loaded from their raid, marching in a grand display of newfound prosperity. Along the way, Kakuzu's eyes were glued to the chests overflowing with gold and silver. He prayed that one would tip over, allowing him to snatch a couple of treasures as a reward for his suffering, but his wish went unanswered.
The moment they arrived back at the Hidden Sand Village, Matsumoto Akira, that ever-loyal lackey, rushed to greet them. He began fanning Kazushi while launching into a torrent of flattery.
"As expected of Lady Kazushi! With just a casual move, you settled that traitor. He's probably in hell right now, repenting to the late Lord Takashi."
Kazushi mused that Matsumoto Akira didn't seem like the son of a guard so much as the son of a butler. His most frequently used phrase was 'As expected of Lady Kazushi.' If that wasn't a butler's catchphrase, what was?
After securing all the wealth in the village storehouse, Kazushi began her routine distribution of the spoils. The moment she called for a meeting, the crowd of ninja who had come to greet her erupted in cheers.
Lady Kazushi was truly considerate of her subordinates. What if they got injured on a mission? Give them money!
What if they died on a mission? Shower their families with money!
What if a department was short on operating funds? Still, throw money at it!
In short, ever since Lady Kazushi had joined the Hidden Sand, they had never worried about money again. In fact, they had never lived such wealthy lives.
One by one, they began to chant, "Long live Lady Kazushi!" as they crowded around her, walking toward the main administrative building. Civilians who passed by saw her and enthusiastically called out her name.
From the distant Kazekage Building, Shamon stood on the top floor, watching the scene unfold with an expressionless face. He had already grown accustomed to it.
Ever since Kazushi had blown up the Daimyo's Mansion, he had expected to continue walking the tightrope he always had, struggling to keep the Hidden Sand Village alive until he could find a path for development.
Instead, events had taken a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.
Kazushi had joined the Hidden Sand Village, bringing with her the "inherited property" of the Daimyo's Mansion. That's right, she was that overbearing. She had essentially bought her way into the village by throwing an astronomical amount of money at them, a move Shamon had never anticipated.
Of course, he didn't know that Kazushi was only there to fleece them. Being a Daimyo wasn't nearly as efficient for farming emotional value as hanging around him and Chiyo.
At the time, what was it that Yankawa Feng Xu had said?
"The corrupt system of the Daimyo will eventually drag the Land of Wind to ruin. Since I have already destroyed the Daimyo's Mansion, I cannot, in good conscience, re-establish it. Therefore, I have decided to join the Hidden Sand Village as an ordinary ninja."
"A country cannot have two voices. Only a unified government can allow a nation to grow strong. I hereby announce that from this day forward, there will be no more Daimyo in the Land of Wind. The Hidden Sand Village shall be the supreme authority!"
Such touching words. Whether anyone else believed them, Shamon certainly didn't. But he couldn't stop her. He couldn't refuse her.
Because she gave too much.
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