Chapter 264. My Real Uncle!
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With [RootTalks Finance]'s exit, more than half of the Land of Earth instantly fell into chaos.
After all, Danzo had really done something big by bringing so many people to the Land of Earth this time.
Therefore, the range of impact was quite wide.
Probably because of this, he wanted to run away at the last moment. Otherwise… around this time next year, Sarutobi Hiruzen might have had to come to the Land of Earth in a suit, bringing flowers to pay homage to Danzo.
The legend of a pyramid scheme mastermind had come to an end.
Of course.
In reality… Danzo drove off, the Land of Earth plunged into turmoil, and Iwagakure was shrouded in depression—apparently because quite a few of its ninjas had also invested in the scheme!
However.
Despite the scale of the incident… not many outsiders knew about it.
After all.
Iwagakure did not have internet access, so there wasn't much information online about this massive pyramid scheme, which far exceeded the last one.
Moreover, the fact that even Iwagakure had been scammed was an embarrassment. While not many from the village had actually been deceived, the fact remained that they had been tricked. And to make things worse, the Third Tsuchikage had been mocked in the process.
Therefore, this time was simply a disgrace for Iwagakure.
You know…
Iwagakure was one of the five great ninja villages!
Ninjas always gathered intelligence before executing missions. Unless necessary, they would never act without sufficient preparation, ensuring they could take down their target in a single strike.
Especially Iwagakure's old stubborn leaders—they were extremely cautious.
Therefore, the village was intentionally trying to erase traces of this incident while secretly dispatching numerous ninjas to investigate. They needed to find out exactly which bastard had dared to come to the Land of Earth and pull off such a massive scam!
This was really too much!
Rumor had it… when that paper was laid out before him, the Third Tsuchikage was so furious that he destroyed his own desk.
Throughout his life, the only other time he had suffered such humiliation was back when that Uchiha monster humiliated him. And now… after all these years, as the Third Tsuchikage, he had been bullied again—yet he still hadn't even found the culprit!
Unacceptable!
Iwagakure had never been so humiliated.
Danzo probably never expected his partners to be so capable, gathering intelligence at a level not inferior to Anbu. No wonder he was caught even though he ran away so secretly.
Of course.
Even though Iwagakure tried to suppress the incident, the fact remained that half of the Land of Earth was affected. So, spies from other villages stationed in the region inevitably gathered some strange intelligence.
…
Meanwhile.
Time passed quickly.
Morning.
After a long absence, Asuma had finally returned to the village. Last night, he had slept incredibly well.
And this morning… he felt refreshed, more energetic than ever.
After a simple wash-up, he sat down in the living room to eat the meal his mother had left for him.
He had returned a bit late the previous night. His old man and mother had already gone to bed, and this morning, they were also out. Of course, Asuma had a good idea of what they were up to.
His mother was probably off dancing with her fellow sister friends.
And his old man…
He met the wrong person and was burdened with huge debts, so early in the morning, he was probably either delivering food or working as an extra.
How sad!
Thinking about it, as a son, Asuma couldn't help but sigh. He had called Danzo "Uncle" in vain! He hadn't expected that when Danzo encountered danger, he would run away directly, leaving his old man with such a huge debt.
That affection he had for him… it was gone.
It was gone!
Danzo could forget about being called "Uncle" again.
Asuma had worked so hard to earn money in the city—who could understand his struggles?
After finishing his mother's meal, Asuma left the house.
Last night, he had specially messaged Obito-sama and the others. After being away for so long, they must have missed their handsome, kind-hearted buddy Asuma.
There was nothing he could do about it.
He was just that popular!
However.
Just when Uncle Asuma arrived at the agreed meeting place with great enthusiasm, ready to give them a chance to welcome him…
There was only one person in front of him…
He…
Silence.
"Yo~" Shiranui Genma removed the senbon from his mouth and greeted him. "I didn't expect you to come back so soon. You've gained a lot of weight! It seems the city is quite nourishing!"
"…"
Asuma didn't respond. He frowned, glanced around, and hesitated. "It's almost afternoon. Where are the others? Haven't they gotten up yet?"
"Don't think about it." Shiranui Genma picked at his teeth with the senbon and shrugged. "I just got back from a mission a few days ago and was taking a break. The others? They're all busy these days!"
"Then what about my welcome-back party?"
"Want to grab some Ichiraku Ramen?"
"…" Asuma's mouth twitched as he grumbled, "Damn it! I was really looking forward to this!"
"Relax, we'll all get together later when everyone's back~" Shiranui Genma didn't seem to care as he put the senbon back in his mouth. "I heard you made a fortune in the city this time—35 million ryo! So why are you still acting so stingy?"
"You really think I can actually cash out that 35 million ryo?"
"…" Shiranui Genma frowned slightly and thought for a moment. "It's possible to cash out, but because of what happened with Danzo-sama, you can only get 80% of it now—that's 28 million ryo. After all, they have to cover their risks too."
"…That old fox Danzo really screwed people over!" Sarutobi Asuma sighed, eyes brimming with tears. Of course, as one of the victims of that past disaster, he had no intention of playing wildly like Danzo. He leaned against the railing, shoulder to shoulder with Shiranui Genma. "Is everyone really that busy now? No one's around! What are they all up to?"
"Besides Rin working in the Medical Department, everyone else has started mentoring new recruits." Shiranui Genma lazily rested on the railing as well. "Of course, Guy still does delivery runs when he's free. He is actually the richest among us now. I went to his new home last time. Just the training area alone is half the size of my entire Shiranui clan's estate."
Hearing this, Asuma sighed and nodded with emotion. "Guy… has always been a very important brother to me!"
"…" Shiranui Genma rolled his eyes, ignoring Asuma's dramatic antics. Sure enough, this guy hadn't changed.
Then he noticed Asuma pulling out a cigarette and raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you start smoking?"
"Competition in the city is fierce, and the pressure is insane. On top of that, there's constant scheming between colleagues. You already know why I came back this time. Sigh… Sometimes, when you're feeling down, a cigarette helps." Asuma took a drag and flicked the ash off. "What about Obito and Kakashi?"
"Obito is still chasing his dreams, but I heard he recently got an online female friend from Kumogakure. It seems like he's doing pretty well." Shiranui Genma continued, "As for Kakashi… he's recently become addicted to racing. I heard he bought several cars and even ordered parts from Sunagakure to modify them himself, but the problem is… he drives way too fast. Every time he takes new students on missions, they come back… and many of them can't stand it and quit being ninjas altogether. The Fourth Hokage even gave him a serious scolding for this."
"…"
So much had changed while he was gone.
One of them fell in love online, another learned how to drive fast, but he was the only one... working hard in the city.
What did he have to show?
Only 35 million ryo.
Really sad!
But then.
Shiranui Genma suddenly turned to him with a smile. "Welcome back, Asuma!"
"I'm back." Asuma took a deep breath, shaking off his disappointment, then shouted loudly, "Uncle Asuma is back!"
The moment his words fell—
Suddenly.
Whoom~ Whoom~ Whoom~
A convoy of luxury cars slowly drove past them.
Both of them instinctively turned to look, eyes widening in surprise at the line of high-end business vehicles.
"Aren't these the luxury business cars that just launched in the Land of Rain?" Shiranui Genma was stunned. "Who is this? How could he buy so many? Is it Boss Yuto?"
Damn, that's a lot of money!
But then—
"No. Not Boss Yuto."
Asuma shook his head with a serious expression. He paused for a moment, flicked the ash from his cigarette, and spoke with emotion.
"That's my uncle! My real uncle!"
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