Naruto: Pay-to-Win Ninja System

After squeezing every last bit from [Three-Tails Isobu], he launched three [Tailed Beast Balls] toward the battlefield where Sarutobi and Onoki stood.

And after confirming all [Tailed Beast Balls] had exploded,

Shimoku left without hesitation.

As for how many people those explosions might kill, or whether they could directly eliminate those two old men, Sarutobi and Onoki?

It no longer mattered.

What mattered was making both sides believe this Tailed Beast attack came from their enemy.

That would be enough to deepen the hatred between the two villages.

Only by keeping that hatred burning could Konoha and Iwagakure remain locked in bitter hostility.

Which would best allow our [Homura Hidden Village] to secretly develop its strength and reap the benefits unnoticed.

...

After leaving Iwagakure's side,

Shimoku didn't rush home.

Instead, using the [Flying Thunder God Technique], he instantly teleported to the Hidden Leaf Village side.

Yesterday, he had already blasted apart the entire [Barrier Central Hub] of the Hidden Leaf's Sensor Division with a single strike, silently rescuing the remaining Uchiha clan members.

This enraged both the remaining Leaf ninja and the handful of surviving village leaders.

Especially Danzo.

Just imagining hundreds of potential eyes capable of awakening the [Sharingan] slipping through his fingers like that.

Even a bird in his grasp had flown away!

How could he not be furious?

He was so mad he nearly wanted to pummel Homura Mitokado into submission.

Unfortunately, considering Danzo's current condition,

Whether he could even defeat Homura Mitokado was now a huge question.

Meanwhile, with chaos erupting inside Konoha and panic spreading everywhere,

With Konoha's massive protective formation shattered,

At this moment, Shimoku moved around the Hidden Leaf Village like a ghost—completely unrestricted and unimpeded.

Soon, Shimoku found the Hyūga Branch House Root ninja who had already been turned by the [Recruitment Order]: Shinkawa Hyuga.

"Greetings, Lord Shimoku!"

"What's the update on your mission?"

"I've discovered two secret Root bases, both located outside the village. Here is a detailed map!"

With deep respect, Shinkawa presented a scroll containing exact markings of the two hidden Root division locations.

"Good. Keep digging!"

"As long as it remains safe, try to uncover all Root's secret facilities!"

Shimoku gave a satisfied nod.

Seems like bringing him on board wasn't a waste after all.

"Understood!"

"Oh, and how many Hyūga Branch House ninjas have you persuaded so far?"

"My lord, so far, thirty-eight Branch House ninjas have been convinced!"

Shimoku raised his eyebrows slightly, concealing a flicker of inner delight.

In such a short time, Shinkawa had already turned thirty-eight Hyūga Branch House members.

Clearly showing how much suppressed resentment existed among the Hyūga Branch members...

They must have secretly yearned to break free from the Hyūga Clan for ages.

They only needed a spark to ignite that explosive anger.

And the 'hope' Shinkawa brought forward was exactly what Branch members most desired—the freedom they craved desperately!

That very same 'spark' capable of igniting their rage!

No wonder so many Branch House members pledged their lives to him without hesitation.

"Lord Shimoku, shall we begin preparing for mass defection?"

"No, not yet."

"You must understand—there's no such thing as a free gift in this world. The cost of freedom will always be heavy!"

"Tell those Hyuga Branch House ninja who long for freedom: eight million ryo per person, and I'll remove the 'Caged Bird Cursed Seal' from them!"

"There won't be any restrictions either. Once freed, they can go anywhere they wish..."

Shimoku stated his terms.

Originally, with Konoha's main forces away on a mission and the village defenses weak,

it was also the perfect opportunity to take both the Uchiha Clan and willing Hyuga Branch House ninja away together.

However, Shimoku wasn't rash enough to hastily relocate all the Hyuga Branch House ninja just yet.

The reason was simple.

He simply couldn't afford it!

To remove the 'Caged Bird Cursed Seal' from each Branch Member ninja would cost at minimum one [Basic Recruitment Order] worth 500 coins.

That was an enormous sum—five million ryo!

If he were spending that solely on someone like Neji, a rare genius, it might be justified.

But if he paid the same for those low-potential Branch Members—those Genin and Chunin—

then even fifty people would total two hundred and fifty million ryo!

Such a colossal amount couldn't even be raised by selling off the entire Homura Hidden Village!

Moreover, there was still the risk that the [Basic Recruitment Order] might fail.

This was the real reason why Shimoku hadn't impulsively brought all the Hyuga Branch House ninja back to the Homura Hidden Village.

Now, having these Branch ninja who so desperately craved freedom prepare the payment themselves solved everything.

Huh?

Why had three million extra ryo been added?

Well, that's perfectly normal—he needed to earn a little handling fee, right?

Exchanging [Recruitment Orders] and lifting curses for others is hard work!

Anyway, the price was set at eight million ryo.

Though expensive,

compared to eternal freedom, it was actually a bargain.

Given the abilities of the Branch ninja, they could either earn or steal the money if they really wanted to.

After all, within Konoha, several wealthy noble ninja clans held plenty of riches.

Their secret family vaults might even contain more treasure than Konoha's public vault itself!

Of course, Shimoku didn't strictly enforce his conditions.

He made exceptions: Anyone under eighteen who's already mastered [Gentle Fist · Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms] and wants to join the Homura Hidden Village gets the same deal.

Anyone under twenty-five who's already mastered [Gentle Fist · Eight Trigrams One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms] and wants to join the Homura Hidden Village gets the same deal.

Anyone of any age who has comprehended the ultimate art [Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher] and wishes to join the Homura Hidden Village gets the same deal.

In short:

Freedom is possible,

but you have to offer either wealth or talent.

One way meant paying upfront; the other meant repaying through time and effort.

Plus, you've got to have some real potential—no point exploiting talentless nobodies.

Shimoku certainly wouldn't waste effort recruiting a bunch of elderly has-beens who couldn't even master basic Gentle Fist techniques.

In the end—

freebies?

Shimoku doesn't do freebies—none at all!

After receiving Shimoku's orders, Shinkawa Hyuga fully understood.

No one understood just how costly true freedom could be better than him.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have voluntarily joined Root, that blood-soaked and pitch-black abyss, just for a taste of 'freedom' back then!

And even though the cost was steep, didn't it feel… strangely comforting too?

If someone's really willing to go all out — without asking for anything in return — just to help you get what you've always wanted…

Then you'd better watch your back.

That person has a ninety percent chance of either having an interest in you — romantically or otherwise — or planning to get something huge out of you!

"Go ahead and spread the word."

"I'll come back again in half a month."

"Those who wish to regain their freedom should prepare their payment in advance."

"I've already handed them the opportunity. Whether they can grab it? That's up to them!"

Shimoku waved his hand and issued a low, stern warning.

"At once!"

Shinkawa Hyuga replied respectfully, stepped back a few steps, vanished into darkness, and quickly departed.

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