Chapter 202: Deidara’s Explosive Business Plan
“Senpai, are you sure he’s really going to be all right?”
“Him? Don’t worry.”
Gen glanced at Yakushi Kabuto, who was still clutching his head and trembling faintly, and gave a small nod.
“This guy will behave from now on. At the very least, as long as I’m here, he won’t be pulling any tricks.”
Who knew—perhaps in the future, he wouldn’t even need the Puppet-Cursing Sphere to keep Kabuto in line.
“Karin, you should head back first.”
Looking at Kabuto’s condition, Gen thought for a moment, then smiled as he spoke.
“You know the situation is delicate right now. I’m worried the ANBU might show up any minute, so…”
“All right, Senpai. You take care too.”
Karin nodded quickly, her head bobbing. Even though she had Tsunade and Kitagawa Gen’s protection, she still treaded carefully—this life of hers was hard-won!
Of course, she also understood that Gen surely had his own matters to deal with. Everyone had their secrets, after all.
'Besides, I already know some of Senpai’s secrets myself…'
With that cheerful thought, Karin turned and ran off, leaving Gen and Kabuto alone.
After a while, Gen finally shifted his gaze back onto Kabuto.
“Now—do you know who you are?”
“Yes, Gen-sama…”
Kabuto’s face was still twisted with pain, but the Puppet-Cursing Sphere’s effect had already taken hold. Weakly, he nodded.
“Good. Then act as though nothing happened. Continue your contact with Orochimaru. Everything he has—I want it.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Now thoroughly docile, Kabuto was exactly as Gen wanted. It was proof enough of the power granted by the Tenseigan.
As for Orochimaru’s creations—even if Gen himself had no direct use for them, they might yet provide inspiration.
After all, Orochimaru was the “scientist of the shinobi world.” Who knew how many hidden secrets and inventions he had unearthed?
At the very least, Gen could always put them to use elsewhere. His research into the Uchiha and Senju bloodlines, or Impure World Reincarnation, for example.
And besides, Kabuto himself possessed considerable skill in research and development…
With that thought, Gen let out a quiet chuckle. His figure flickered—and he vanished from sight.
Only Kabuto remained, still in faint pain but now fully under control, bowing slightly toward the place where Gen had disappeared.
...
“You’re finally here. I thought you were going to stand me up.”
Elsewhere in the forest, Deidara grumbled when he saw Gen approach. Terumi Mei, too, couldn’t help but ask, “Did something unexpected happen?”
“No. Just a bit of preparation.”
Gen smiled faintly before continuing, “Since we’re all here, then…”
“We move out!”
...
“Finally, we’re off!”
Perched atop the great bird, Deidara was in an exceptionally good mood.
Watching Konohagakure grow smaller and smaller in the distance, his excitement only grew.
“This time, I’ll blow the entire Kumogakure sky-high!”
“Tch. To me, it just feels like you’re looking to play around.”
Kitagawa Gen rubbed his chin. He felt his guess wasn’t wrong at all.
“All that talk about ‘glory belongs to everyone, responsibility rests on me alone’… Tch. Are you supposed to be Lieutenant Deidara or something?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, if a riot broke out in your own village, what would you do?”
“How could that even happen—don’t joke around! But if it really did, I’d blast them all into the sky!”
“…”
Terumi Mei couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that, while Gen let out a sigh.
Reaching out, he patted Deidara on the shoulder before speaking in a faint voice.
“Why blow them up into the sky? Wouldn’t it be easier to just send out your troops with iron rods and beat the rebels into the ground?”
“…Huh?”
Deidara looked a little lost, and Terumi Mei only felt a headache coming on. That method didn’t sound very reliable either…
“All right, enough joking around. Let’s talk about the real follow-up issues.”
Seated on the bird, Gen thought for a moment before speaking.
“Kumogakure is no small place, and the interests tied to it are extensive. How we divide them is something we’ll need to discuss carefully.”
“Uh… can we even decide that? We haven’t even…”
Terumi Mei’s expression grew strange. They hadn’t fought the battle yet, and he was already discussing the spoils of victory?
“Hm, hm. I think it’s worth discussing.”
Deidara grunted twice in agreement, then fell silent. He had no idea how to talk about this sort of thing.
Seeing this, Gen simply went on.
“They’ve got abundant mineral resources, and they’ve plundered countless secret techniques from shinobi villages and clans."
"On top of that, they hold significant interests in the Land of Hot Water, and they’ve got two tailed beasts besides.”
“They’ll never hand over the tailed beasts. Sunagakure already made that perfectly clear.”
Though it all felt far-fetched, Terumi Mei still followed along with Gen’s line of thought.
“Beyond that, their maritime trade is strong, they control quite a few nearby islands, and they hold plenty of fishing grounds.”
“Then we’ll carve up their mineral resources, and as for the fishing grounds—they’ll be handed over to you.”
Gen stroked his chin and spoke decisively.
“Beyond that, we’ll have them surrender every secret technique and all of their research data. On top of that, they’ll owe us enormous war reparations!"
"And their mission shares in the Land of Hot Water, the Land of the Moon, and the Land of Frost—all of that goes to us.”
“…”
Terumi Mei sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. She realized this man was ruthless to the core. Wasn’t this no different from forcing Kumogakure into death?
For shinobi, their lifeline was precisely their mission shares and the support of their daimyō.
“Shhh…”
Suddenly, she sensed that Gen had another agenda entirely.
“Uh, should we restrict the number of shinobi they’re allowed?”
Just as Terumi Mei was lost in thought, Deidara suddenly asked with curiosity.
“I heard the old man say once that even though Kumogakure fought in the Third War, their fronts weren’t many, so the number of shinobi they deployed wasn’t that high.”
“Although that Third Raikage did die at our hands, it made them withdraw from fighting against you. In the end, they never actually clashed with us either.”
Indeed, Kumogakure had taken losses in the Third War—such as their Third Raikage.
But in terms of true damage, they probably suffered the least of all the villages.
They hadn’t gone head-to-head with Konohagakure to the bitter end, nor had they engaged too deeply with the other villages.
Compared to Iwagakure or Sunagakure, they might have lost face badly, but they had retained a huge number of battle-ready shinobi.
That was precisely why they later dared to march into Konoha, frame them over the Hyūga incident, and nearly spark a war!
“This proposal isn’t bad at all.”
Kitagawa Gen stroked his chin, clearly tempted.
“In any case, their mission shares absolutely need to be cut down. Keeping that many shinobi around is pointless—it really does make sense to limit their numbers.”
“Yeah, exactly! Since all their missions will be ours anyway… oh, should we also make them cede territory?”
Deidara perked up with excitement, his question making Gen tilt his head slightly.
“That’s worth considering. And besides, with so many of their shinobi retired, leaving them idle would be troublesome. Shouldn’t we have them sent out to work in other countries?”
“That doesn’t sound bad either. I’ve heard they’re built like oxen—might as well send them to the Land of Earth to dig mines.”
“…Deidara, that’s too much. What’s next, make them plant cotton?”
“Huh? That’s not impossible either—”
“As I thought, you’re just an evil blond.”
“Eh?”
“…”
Watching the two of them drift further into absurdity, Terumi Mei fell silent. They hadn’t even fought the battle yet, and they were already talking like this?
Unable to take it anymore, she finally interrupted.
“Hold on—you two are overthinking this. I say we keep it practical. Let’s focus first on how we’re actually going to handle this battle.”
“Hmm, I suppose you’re right…”
Though interrupted, Gen only froze for a moment before turning to Mei with a smile.
“But don’t worry. Whether we succeed or not, we need to keep our confidence. After all, the three of us aren’t ordinary, are we?”
“Uh…”
Terumi Mei was momentarily taken aback, but Gen continued.
“At worst, I can still guarantee I’ll get all of you out safely. That much I promise.”
Looking at Gen’s smile, hearing the firmness in his tone, Terumi Mei felt her nerves settle.
Even if the mission still felt unreliable, with Kitagawa Gen around, she couldn’t help but feel reassured.
“Mhm, mhm! And I promise I’ll definitely blow them all sky-high!”
Deidara chimed in, nodding earnestly, leaving Mei with no choice but to shake her head.
“All right, then. Take out your intel—we should at least go over the battle plan first.”
“Eh, I was thinking maybe we could relax a bit instead.”
But at that moment, Gen’s gaze shifted forward.
There, in the distance, lay the Land of Hot Water.
“I’ve been to the Land of Hot Water a few times, but every single time I couldn’t visit the hot springs. Should we give it a try this time?”
“Huh? Why wouldn’t they let you in?” Deidara asked curiously.
Gen let out a sigh.
“Minors aren’t allowed. But now, without Kakashi-sensei or that Pervy Sage around, we can just use Transformation Jutsu!”
“Is that so? Hm! Should we go take a look?”
“Sure!”
“You two—”
Before they could finish, Terumi Mei—her face flushed red—grabbed both of them by the collars.
“Enough already, you bastards!”
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