Chapter 110 (Patreon)

There were still many details to refine in the prosthetic limb prototypes, especially the parts that connected to the body.

The joints couldn't be too rigid. After all, no two amputations were exactly alike. To qualify as a proper product, the prosthetics needed to accommodate most patients. Otherwise, they could only be considered custom-made pieces.

Custom-made products had been incredibly popular in Roy's previous life, but the shinobi world lacked the conditions necessary for such an industry to thrive.

Then there was the tamper-resistant security mechanism. At the very least, it couldn't be something outsiders could easily dismantle and decipher.

Even with those remaining problems, it wasn't difficult to imagine how much money Konoha would make once the prosthetics were sold throughout the shinobi world.

Hiruzen no longer doubted Kushina's ability to make money.

Moreover, the Civil Research Institute had produced several other results. Some were already mature enough to be developed into commercial products.

Hiruzen found his life as the institute's director far more comfortable than his years as Hokage. He no longer had to deal with the endless trivialities that had once made him want to tear out what remained of his hair.

These days, he often found himself grateful that Kushina had risen to the occasion and taken control of Konoha's helm. Otherwise, who knew how long it would have taken before he could finally retire?

That thought inevitably reminded him of Minato, filling him with regret once again.

If Minato were still alive, he and Kushina could have worked together. Konoha's development would likely have been both faster and more stable.

And whenever Hiruzen thought of Minato, his thoughts naturally drifted toward Danzō as well.

He had seen the Uchiha clan's present relationship with the village. There wasn't the slightest indication that they intended to stage a coup.

Kushina, who had inherited Minato's will, had completely resolved the problem surrounding the Uchiha.

Viewed from that perspective, Hiruzen's tenure as the Third Hokage appeared even more inadequate.

Still, he couldn't shoulder all the blame. If Danzō hadn't spent years whispering suspicions into his ear, his relationship with the Uchiha never would have deteriorated to the brink of collapse.

Fortunately, tragedy had been avoided.

Otherwise, Hiruzen wouldn't have known how to face the predecessors who had entrusted Konoha to him once he entered the Pure Land.

Whenever she had time to spare, Kushina also visited the Ninja Academy.

Recently, Roy had stopped accompanying her to work. The moment he woke up each morning, he headed straight for the academy instead.

At first, Kushina assumed he had finally decided to make a move on Yakushi Nonō.

Yet an entire month passed without anything happening.

Kushina had even tried asking Nonō about the situation indirectly, only to receive a completely bewildered look in return. Judging from her reaction, nothing had happened between them.

That only made Kushina more curious.

What exactly was Roy doing at the academy every day? Had he perhaps taken an interest in another woman there?

The Ninja Academy had recently recruited many teachers from the village's various shinobi clans. Quite a few of them were young and beautiful kunoichi.

Kushina didn't mind if Roy had found someone he liked, but he could at least let her meet the woman first. If that person couldn't get along with the rest of the family, it might create conflict and disturb the peace of their home.

However, after visiting the Ninja Academy herself, Kushina realized that she had allowed her imagination to run wild.

Roy had no intention of fooling around behind her back.

Every day, whenever Yakushi Nonō had no classes to teach, the two of them worked together to compile new textbooks. Judging from the educational plan Roy had drawn up, he even intended to extend the Ninja Academy's six-year program into a nine-year system.

In addition to the existing curriculum, he planned to introduce several new subjects, including ethics, natural science, and general education.

At the same time, he wanted to expand the academy and allow children without the talent to become shinobi to specialize in fields such as chemistry, physics, and biology.

Kushina didn't fully understand those subjects, but they certainly sounded impressive. After all, the ideas had come from Roy, and nothing about his plans appeared simple.

In truth, the textbooks Roy was compiling contained only the most basic and introductory knowledge.

There was nothing he could do about that.

After spending so many years as an overworked employee in his previous life, he had long since returned most of what he had learned to his teachers. He still remembered fragments from many different subjects, but organizing that scattered knowledge into a complete and systematic curriculum was extremely difficult.

His goal was merely to lay the foundations and awaken the children's curiosity.

As for the deeper and more specialized fields, future generations could research those themselves.

Orochimaru had become one of the shinobi world's foremost researchers without anyone guiding him down that path. Now that Roy was providing a proper foundation, he believed Konoha could nurture entire generations of talented researchers in the future.

Of course, science also demanded talent.

Not everyone could be expected to understand calculus at the age of ten.

For that reason, Roy intended to introduce an even wider range of subjects later, including civil engineering, architectural design, animal and plant research, mechanics, and many other practical fields.

If Earth Release didn't exist in this world, he might even have added a course on operating excavators.

There were two reasons Roy devoted so much effort to the academy.

The first was simply that he found the work interesting.

He didn't need to fight or kill anyone. Passing his knowledge on to others and watching them learn gave him a unique sense of accomplishment.

The second reason was naturally Kushina and Kaorui.

Roy finally understood why people said that a man would move mountains for the woman he loved.

The tenderness, affection, and care the two of them showed him made it impossible for him to remain at home, enjoying their attention while contributing nothing in return. If he did that, he would hardly consider himself a man.

There was one other unexpected discovery.

After spending an entire month constantly exercising his mind while compiling the textbooks, Roy noticed that his reiatsu had improved slightly.

The increase wasn't particularly large, but he could clearly feel that it had grown.

Meanwhile, in Iwagakure...

Ten days earlier, Deidara had returned to the village with his older sister, Delisa, after she completed her studies in Konoha.

Only after returning home did he realize that his heart had already been left behind in Konoha.

There was still so much he wanted to learn about explosions.

Whenever he caused even the slightest commotion in Iwagakure, the adults immediately complained. In Konoha, however, no one had stopped him. Instead, they taught him how to control an explosion's power, shape, and range.

Deidara now wished he could become a citizen of Konoha immediately.

A report concerning him had already been placed on Ōnoki's desk.

Originally, Deidara had only accompanied Delisa to Konoha because no one else was available to care for him.

During the journey, however, he had somehow learned how to mold chakra. That led to the discovery that he could infuse chakra into clay and transform it into explosive clay.

Even after tracing his family records back several generations, Iwagakure found no history of anyone possessing Explosion Release. His ability might have emerged because of an unusual genetic mutation.

If properly nurtured, Deidara could become an extraordinary Explosion Release shinobi.

However, he was only three years old.

No one could say with certainty what he would become in the future. The shinobi world had seen plenty of children who were hailed as geniuses, only to lose that brilliance as they grew older.

Ōnoki therefore decided to enroll Deidara in the Ninja Academy for several years. If the boy continued to display the same extraordinary talent, Ōnoki would personally take him on as a student.

While Ōnoki was pleasantly surprised by the discovery of Deidara's abilities, the mood in Kumogakure was entirely different.

As usual, Mabui reported everything she had observed regarding Yugito's situation in Konoha. Her latest report contained no notable differences from the previous one.

During the meeting, one of Kumogakure's senior officials studied the information Mabui had brought back and spoke with a worried expression.

"Could Yugito have already...?"

Before he could finish, A frowned and turned his gaze toward him.

The official noticed the Raikage's displeasure, but the matter was too serious to leave unspoken.

"Please think about it. If Kumogakure were holding a shinobi from another village as a hostage, would we truly allow that person to wander around without surveillance?"

No one answered.

"Even if Konoha's Hokage is genuinely broad-minded enough to grant Yugito that much freedom, then Yugito should have been able to obtain a considerable amount of information about Konoha. But after all this time, has she sent us anything?"

The man swept his gaze across the others.

"Forget valuable intelligence. She hasn't sent us a single piece of information. Can any of you honestly call that normal?"

"Enough!"

A slammed his palm against the table, shattering it instantly.

"I don't want to hear another word of this!"

Despite his anger, the other senior officials couldn't simply dismiss their suspicions.

A shinobi who had an opportunity to gather information on an enemy village yet sent nothing back to her own village was clearly behaving abnormally.

If Yugito were under constant surveillance, they could understand her silence.

However, according to Mabui's observations, Konoha had placed no restrictions on her at all.

That left only two reasonable explanations.

Either Yugito had fallen under a genjutsu, or she had defected.

There could be no third possibility.

Based on Mabui's interactions with her, however, the likelihood that Yugito was being controlled through genjutsu was extremely low.

That was why they had begun to suspect that she had betrayed Kumogakure.

As for why she might do such a thing, one only had to consider how jinchūriki were treated during their early lives.

Yugito's gender had nothing to do with it. Even if the officials placed themselves in her position, they couldn't imagine feeling any genuine loyalty toward a village that had treated them that way.

Konoha was different.

Its first jinchūriki had been the wife of the First Hokage. Who would have dared bare their fangs at her?

Its second jinchūriki had become the wife of the Fourth Hokage, and now she was the Fifth Hokage herself.

Such a thing would have been unimaginable in any other village.

Even if some people in Konoha feared jinchūriki, they wouldn't dare display that fear openly.

At least on the surface, Konoha's jinchūriki undoubtedly lived far better lives than those of the other villages.

Kushina and Yugito were both women, and both were jinchūriki. It wouldn't be strange for Kushina to understand Yugito's heart and gradually draw her over to Konoha's side.

That also explained why Kushina, before she had even become Hokage, insisted on including a jinchūriki among the hostages demanded from Kumogakure.

Perhaps she had planned to win over Kumogakure's jinchūriki from the very beginning.

Everyone knew how close A and B were.

Kushina had appeared to give Kumogakure the freedom to choose its own hostage, but in reality, she must have already predicted that they would refuse to surrender the Eight-Tails and choose the Two-Tails instead.

Kumogakure's senior officials gradually reached the same conclusion.

The Fifth Hokage was even more calculating than her four predecessors.

They simply hadn't noticed it before because they had always believed Danzō was the only old schemer in Konoha.

Kushina's image as a cheerful and straightforward woman had been the perfect disguise.

Once they convinced themselves of her cunning, they began reconsidering Konoha's sudden decision to teach sealing jutsu publicly.

It was true that Kushina had taught them without concealing anything.

However, no village would offer its most advanced sealing scrolls in the first exchange.

Kushina had used several low-level foundational seals to earn the trust of the major shinobi villages. Looking back on it now, the depth of her supposed planning sent a chill through them.

Aside from A, Dodai was the only senior official present who didn't believe Yugito had betrayed Kumogakure.

Even so, he couldn't understand why she hadn't attempted to send any information back to the village.

Could her situation in Konoha be more complicated than what Mabui and the others had observed?

Kushina naturally knew nothing about the suspicions being raised during Kumogakure's meeting.

She did intend to win Yugito over, but her plan was to let Roy conquer the Two-Tails' jinchūriki with his personal charm.

Elaborate conspiracies had never suited Kushina.

She wasn't Danzō.

Roy had already entered Yugito's body once. All that remained was for him to draw his blade and establish deeper contact with her, yet he had made no move whatsoever.

Whether Kushina considered Yugito from the village's strategic interests or simply as a beautiful woman, she couldn't understand why Roy would be uninterested in her.

And it wasn't only Yugito.

He hadn't laid a hand on Yakushi Nonō either.

While watching them compile textbooks together, Kushina had clearly seen the admiration in Nonō's eyes. Roy only needed to give her the slightest encouragement, and there was little doubt that she would accept him.

Then there was Chiyuki, whom Kushina had deliberately invited to serve as a caretaker.

If Roy truly preferred women who already had children, Chiyuki would have been an excellent choice.

Instead, Roy usually kept his distance from her, as though he feared that one careless moment might end with him slipping inside her and coming into contact with the blade at her waist.

Kushina found the entire situation incredibly frustrating.

She watched Roy sitting inside the academy, scratching his head in distress as he struggled to compile the textbooks.

He didn't have to work so hard, yet he continued pushing himself.

Kushina wasn't being conceited when she believed that at least part of his determination came from his feelings for her.

Roy might not ask for anything in return, but Kushina couldn't pretend not to notice his efforts.

If she continued accepting everything he gave without offering anything herself, the imbalance would eventually create distance between them and cause their feelings to fade.

She didn't know what else she could give him, so this was the only place she could think to begin.

She wanted him to relax completely and release all the pressure he carried during his free time.

Unfortunately, that created another problem.

In the past, Kushina would never have willingly allowed more women to share Roy's affection if she had any choice in the matter.

Now, however, she and Kaorui could no longer endure all his energy by themselves.

Whenever the two of them were completely exhausted, they could still sense that Roy had plenty of strength remaining. It was obvious he hadn't fully relieved his pent-up pressure.

Kushina had never imagined that she would one day worry about finding more women for her own man.

The entire situation was simply absurd.

Meanwhile, in Sunagakure...

After completing his studies in Konoha, Monk Hōichi immediately began working with Sunagakure's sealing experts to seal the One-Tail inside the Fourth Kazekage's youngest son.

Sunagakure was poor and possessed very few Uzumaki sealing scrolls.

Because of that, they had sent Chiyo to negotiate with Konoha. She complained endlessly about their poverty, argued at every opportunity, and specifically demanded a sealing technique powerful enough to restrain a Tailed Beast.

Sunagakure's previous sealing techniques had all been developed by former Kazekage through experiments involving the One-Tail.

Those seals worked, but they were far from ideal.

Bunpuku had devoted his life to Buddhism and managed to coexist peacefully with the Tailed Beast, so the seal's flaws had never been particularly obvious.

A different jinchūriki, however, wouldn't necessarily be able to achieve the same harmony.

That was why Sunagakure had risked everything once Konoha announced its intention to publicly teach sealing jutsu.

Now that the One-Tail had been successfully sealed without the slightest trace of its chakra leaking out, Rasa finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He ordered his people to take his youngest son, Gaara, away and care for him properly. Then he turned toward Hōichi and thanked the monk for his hard work.

Afterward, Rasa convened a meeting with Sunagakure's senior officials to discuss commercial cooperation with Konoha.

Konoha would undoubtedly earn a fortune from the partnership, while Sunagakure would be fortunate to receive a small share of the profits.

However, they couldn't afford to break their agreement now.

If Sunagakure ruined its reputation, no other village would be willing to cooperate with them in the future.

But if they could learn from Konoha's commercial methods during the partnership, perhaps there would eventually be an opportunity to remove Konoha from the arrangement and continue the business independently.

Sunagakure—and indeed, the entire Land of Wind—was undeniably barren.

However, the country wasn't completely devoid of unique products or local culture. If it were, merchants from other nations would never travel to such an unforgiving place.

In truth, Sunagakure was the only one suffering from such severe poverty.

The village lacked an understanding of commerce and relied almost entirely on Rasa's ability to extract gold from the desert. That could never serve as a sustainable foundation for its economy.

The Land of Wind's daimyō conducted business with other nations, proving that the country possessed goods worth selling.

What Sunagakure lacked was commercial knowledge and experience.

Rasa's proposal surprised Chiyo and the other senior officials, and a heated discussion immediately broke out.

In the end, they reached a unanimous conclusion.

Cooperation with Konoha was necessary.

If they refused, how else would they gain the experience they desperately needed?

Before long, a letter requesting that Konoha begin the cooperative project as soon as possible was dispatched to the Hokage's office.