Inside the Tsuchikage’s office in Iwagakure, the atmosphere fell into complete silence after Seigen spoke those words.
The village elders and Onoki had all expected Uchiha Seigen to demand an outrageous price.
Instead, he only asked for half a month’s mission payment to be deducted.
So that’s it…
He just wants to deduct a little money.
Everyone quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Judging from what he had said, it seemed his intention to hire Iwagakure’s ninjas wasn’t a lie after all.
“Uh…
ah…
Very well.
This old man agrees.”
Onoki took a moment to recover.
The newly appointed leader of the Hidden Flame Village certainly had a way of keeping people on edge.
“Good.
Then let’s sign the contract.”
Without even bothering to read it, Onoki picked up the pen and signed his name.
The contract itself wasn’t especially binding, but at least it carried some weight on the surface.
If Iwagakure shamelessly tore it up, then the Hidden Flame Village’s Gundam pilots would make them understand the consequences of breaking their word.
It would also give the Hidden Flame Village the moral high ground if they ever had to retaliate in the future.
Besides, given Iwagakure’s current financial situation, there was no way they would willingly violate the agreement.
In times like these, who would turn down money?
After the contract was signed, Uchiha Seigen secretly rejoiced.
Did they really think he was some kind of philanthropist in the ninja world?
Once large numbers of Iwagakure ninjas moved into the Hidden Flame Village for work, he was certain merchants from all over would come flooding in.
When that happened, the village’s tax revenue would soar.
Providing free food and lodging wasn’t just generosity.
His real goal was to use money to gradually erode their old ninja lifestyle.
The cafeteria only needed to serve meals on the same standard as ordinary villagers.
He refused to believe those Iwagakure ninjas wouldn’t spend money in his village.
After a hard day’s work, everyone wanted to reward themselves.
Although feeding all of them would put some pressure on the village’s grain supply, he could charge merchants an entry fee to set up businesses in the Hidden Flame Village.
Alternatively, he could conduct business in the surrounding areas under the Uchiha name.
That would bring in another wave of income for the village.
As for housing, it wouldn’t take much space.
He could simply build dormitories modeled after those from his previous life.
Besides, the construction would be done by the Iwagakure ninjas themselves.
Once the buildings were finished, they’d open snack stalls, restaurants, and entertainment venues nearby.
Let’s see how long you can resist opening your wallets.
He firmly believed the day when the Hidden Flame Village generated wealth every single day was not far away.
In the end, after the workers received their wages and handed over the required portion to Iwagakure, wouldn’t the rest just be spent right back in the Hidden Flame Village?
He was truly grateful to the good people of Iwagakure for making such a tremendous contribution to his village’s economic development.
After the signing ceremony ended, Onoki stopped Seigen just as he was about to leave.
“Flame Shadow, this is my guard, Clay.
He’ll lead a four-man squad and accompany you back to the Hidden Flame Village first.”
Onoki intended to send people ahead to investigate, just in case.
He couldn’t completely rule out the possibility that Uchiha Seigen was using the recruitment as a pretext to eliminate Iwagakure’s remaining fighting force in one fell swoop.
It was better to be cautious.
At the same time, Clay could relay a message to his son—telling him not to come back, to stay in the Hidden Flame Village, and secretly gather intelligence there.
That useless boy!
He even got himself captured!
“No problem.
I also need to arrange some training for your village’s ninjas.”
The buildings in the Hidden Flame Village weren’t like those elsewhere.
They were constructed with reinforced concrete.
If these ninjas arrived at the construction site without any training, were they supposed to build mud houses instead?
Seigen intended to turn the Hidden Flame Village into the future commercial capital of the ninja world, not just another small village.
“Then I’ll take my leave, Tsuchikage.”
Clay and his three teammates departed the village together with Seigen.
After Seigen was gone, the elderly man beside Onoki finally spoke.
” Tsuchikage, what do you think the Hidden Flame Village’s true objective is?”
“It doesn’t matter.
As long as it benefits the village, that’s enough.”
Onoki didn’t care what Seigen was really planning.
As long as he was willing to hire Iwagakure’s ninjas, that was all that mattered.
“Cancel the operation against Konoha.”
Onoki felt both relieved and worried.
He was relieved because there was no longer any need to wage war against Konoha.
After all, the village had only been preparing for war because it had reached the point where it couldn’t survive without plundering resources.
But he was also worried.
Once he passed away, there would be no one capable of carrying the village.
When that day came, Konoha would surely seize the opportunity to deal with Iwagakure.
“Matsuishi, gather every ninja in the village.”
Onoki gave the order to the elderly man in charge of the village’s finances.
The village desperately needed something to restore hope to its people.
The Hidden Flame Village’s recruitment was the perfect morale boost.
“Yes, Tsuchikage!”
Matsuishi accepted the order and immediately sprinted home.
His own family was nearly out of food as well.
Twenty minutes later, more than four hundred ninjas had assembled beneath the Tsuchikage Building.
There were elderly veterans in their fifties and sixties, as well as teenagers barely in their teens.
Anyone seeing the scene would have thought Iwagakure was about to launch another war against Konoha.
“What do you think Tsuchikage called us here for today?”
“Could it be another offensive against Konoha?”
“Great!
I’ve been waiting for this day for ages!”
The gathered ninjas chatted excitedly among themselves.
“Silence!”
“Today, I’ve gathered all of you here to announce some good news.”
Onoki then explained the cooperation agreement reached with the Hidden Flame Village.
When he finished speaking, the crowd fell silent in astonishment.
The next instant, the entire gathering exploded with excitement.
“So we’re not attacking Konoha?
Wait…
Tsuchikage said it’s a mission?”
“One person can earn the reward of an A-rank mission?”
“And all we have to do is use Earth Release to help the Hidden Flame Village build houses?”
“This is incredible!
We finally have work!”
Cheers erupted from every ninja in Iwagakure.
None of them had ever dreamed of such a safe and lucrative mission.
Watching the jubilant crowd, Onoki smiled with heartfelt satisfaction.