novelhk Chapter 111 Meeting, Bounty
Chapter 111 Meeting, Bounty
Chapter 102 Meeting, Bounty
Time slipped away quietly as the group cultivated themselves.
Suddenly, a loud eagle cry rang out from the sky.
Hoshino Senju's expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "I'm going to attend the Jonin meeting. I'll leave a shadow clone here; feel free to ask me any questions."
"Yes, teacher," the group quickly replied.
After forming a hand seal and creating a clone, Xingyuan Qianshuo hurriedly left the consultation room.
In front of the Hokage Building, Jonin kept hurrying to arrive.
When Hoshino Senju saw Tsunade rushing from home and Minato walking beside her, he smiled and went to greet them.
The three of them walked into the conference room together.
Compared to the last Jonin meeting, everyone seemed noticeably more relaxed this time.
They are usually busy with their work and rarely get together, so they exchanged pleasantries and chatted, creating a very warm atmosphere.
From time to time, familiar Jonin would greet them, and usually all three of them at the same time.
Xingyuan Qianshuo has now made a name for himself in the village through his own abilities.
He glanced around discreetly and noticed that the number of attendees was significantly higher than last time, around seventy people.
Each ninja clan was represented by its clan head or elder; the extra attendees were naturally defense personnel who had just been withdrawn from the various borders.
Apart from the northwest border, the rest of the area was generally calm. Even when small groups of enemies crossed the border to conduct reconnaissance, they were easily repelled.
However, Orochimaru did not show up this time, likely because he was busy with his secret human experiments again.
Of the three legendary Sannin of Konoha, only Tsunade is present at the moment.
Soon, the four high-ranking officials of Konoha entered the conference room, and the noisy scene immediately quieted down.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression remained unchanged, his seriousness tempered with a hint of gentleness;
Shimura Danzo, as always, had a gloomy face and a sinister look in his eyes;
Koharu and Homura, however, wore smiles and looked relaxed.
Xingyuan Qianshuo glanced at the seated executives and thought to himself, "This group of four is truly a match made in heaven—one good cop, one bad cop, and two 'lubricants'."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept across the entire area.
Although his expression was serious, he was in a good mood.
In the morning, he and Koharu went to the City of Fire to report the battle situation to the Daimyo and successfully secured a large amount of funding.
Although Konoha and the Daimyo cooperate on an equal footing, Konoha is nominally subordinate to the Daimyo system: Konoha controls the military, while the Daimyo controls the finances and political prestige.
This time, Konoha successfully resisted the invasion of Iwagakure, which also deterred other ninja villages. Both morally and logically, the Daimyo must repay them.
After a moment of contemplation, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "The main purpose of this meeting is to summarize the recent tense situation on the border."
"Thanks to Konoha's proactive response, apart from Iwagakure, the other ninja villages were unable to invade the Land of Fire."
"Thank you all for your hard work and vigilance."
"On the northwestern border, Iwagakure took advantage of the situation to launch a harassment attack, deploying more than 3,500 ninjas. Our side fought bravely against a superior enemy force, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy and causing more than 500 casualties among Iwagakure's troops, successfully repelling their invasion."
"Hereby, I pay tribute to all those who defend the northwestern border."
After a brief summary, he paused for a moment, his expression turning grave: "In just a few days, two hundred and two comrades from Konoha have sacrificed their lives in this battle. Now, please all stand and observe a moment of silence."
Inside the meeting room, all the Jonin stood up solemnly and bowed their heads in silent tribute.
This is not a formality.
Everyone was heavy-hearted.
Ninjas have always lived on the edge of a knife, constantly facing death. Who knows when they might become one of those cold, hard numbers?
Xingyuan Qianshuo is particularly sensitive to this number.
Young, silent, and pale faces flashed through his mind—the faces of the victims he had seen while sealing their remains.
Some of them even gradually lost their body temperature during the process of his personal resuscitation efforts.
Tsunade was also heavy-hearted at this moment, her fingers trembling slightly, and her face showing sorrow.
These cold, hard numbers easily stirred up her dormant memories.
Xingyuan Qianshuo bowed his head in silent mourning, his right hand quietly clenching Tsunade's left hand beside him.
Warm and firm palms silently convey comfort and strength to each other.
Three minutes later, the moment of silence ended, and everyone took their seats.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a moment, then continued in a deep voice, "We will never forget their sacrifice. The families of those who sacrificed their lives will—"
He announced a series of compensation policies and benefits for the families and descendants, then turned to Koharu Tsurugi, who was standing to the side: "You are in charge of this matter, and you must ensure there are no mistakes."
Xiaochun, who had just moved to the next room, replied solemnly, "I will personally oversee the process to ensure it is implemented effectively."
"Yes." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.
This was Xingyuan Qianshuo's first time attending such a post-war debriefing meeting, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "No one wants to sacrifice themselves more than to receive compensation. In a sense, this is also a show for the living."
In the conference room, most of the Jonin were already familiar with this.
Compared to the major clans, commoner ninjas and ninjas from small clans place greater emphasis on these guarantees—they are not afraid of death, but they also hope that their families can live peacefully after their death and that their bloodline can continue.
"Many commendable individuals have emerged during this war on the northwestern border. Jiraiya, the Jonin who commanded the northwestern border, always charged ahead, single-handedly holding off the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki of Iwagakure; elite Jonin Akimichi Kenki and Nara Hideki—"
After the announcement of the compensation arrangements, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to commend the outstanding ninjas.
Xingyuan Qianshuo heard his name on the list, after Shuimen.
He understood: "The Hokage ranking is not only based on battle achievements, but also implicitly includes considerations of seniority and background."
Soon, Hiruzen Sarutobi praised several outstanding Jonin and several Chunin who had made contributions.
The medical team as a whole was also praised.
These kinds of commendations are more honorary in nature; the actual reward is merely adding to the mission completion record, which can be used to exchange for ninjutsu or other rewards.
Xingyuan Qianshuo felt a little regretful at this moment. He should have known better than to use two S-rank mission records to exchange for "Sword Technique: Leaf Willow".
He has a system with him and Tsunade by his side, so exchanging swordsmanship for money is not as practical as just taking the money.
However, the thought only flashed through his mind, and he didn't dwell on it.
After the commendation ceremony, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not elaborate on the "Will of Fire"—a sacrifice had already demonstrated everything through his actions, and words seemed inadequate.
He announced in a deep voice: "A memorial service for our fallen comrades will be held at the cemetery at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Jonin who are not on missions are required to attend."
""
After pondering for a moment and confirming that there was nothing else, Hiruzen Sarutobi adjourned the meeting.
The Jonin left one after another, and the higher-ups also got up and walked out.
At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly spoke up: "Minato, Senju, come here for a moment. Tsunade, you come too."
This final summons drew the attention of the other three high-ranking officials.
Koharu and Homura Utatane stopped and turned to look: Danzo Shimura paused, his face grim as he walked away alone.
Most of the Jonin who hadn't gone far turned back to look, each with their own thoughts. This greeting seemed even more special than the previous praise given to the two.
Confused, Hoshino followed Minato and Tsunade upstairs to the Hokage's office.
In the past, Tsunade harbored resentment towards this teacher, and her expression was always unpleasant whenever they met.
She has now overcome her hemophobia and her mindset is much brighter. She didn't say much, but quietly accompanied Qian Shuo up the stairs.
Entering the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi cut to the chase: "Minato, Senju, I called you up here to inform you of something. The Anbu have received information that you two have bounties on your heads at the underground gold exchange."
"snort!"
Tsunade's face darkened, and she said coldly, "Those filthy worms in the gutter should all be wiped out!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at her helplessly.
It sounds easy, but the relationships behind this are incredibly complex and cannot be explained away so easily.
Xingyuan Qianshuo and Shuimen, on the other hand, remained calm, as if it were none of their business.
"Was it that old bastard Onoki who did this?" Hoshino Sensaku thought to himself, "He really can't accept defeat."
Tsunade stared at her teacher and asked irritably, "You, the Hokage, aren't planning to do nothing, are you?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not give a direct answer.
He took a deep drag on his pipe, exhaled slowly, and then said in a deep voice, "The Anbu will clean up the gold exchange locations around Konoha."
Tsunade snorted coldly, curled her lips, and ultimately said nothing more.
Xingyuan Qianshuo was not surprised.
He didn't know if the exchange had any powerful backers, but its continued existence must have some secrets.
There are many underground strongmen who make money by accepting bounties, the most famous of whom is Kakuzu, who is powerful, difficult to kill, and only believes in money.
He was probably the most popular bounty hunter at the gold exchange.
Under normal circumstances, the Gold Exchange would not offer bounties to ninjas from the Five Great Ninja Villages. In the original story, they offered a bounty on Asuma when Konoha was weak.
The fact that bounties have been placed on him and Minato is most likely due to Onoki pulling the strings behind the scenes.
As his thoughts raced, Hoshino Senju became interested in the bounty amount: "Third Hokage, does the Anbu know the specific bounty amount?"
"Hmm, Minato's is eight million ryo, and yours is five million ryo," Hiruzen Sarutobi said thoughtfully.
"That's so little, only one-seventh of Asuma's." Hoshino Senju thought to himself.
"I'm telling you this to remind you to be more careful when you carry out missions in the future," Hiruzen Sarutobi continued. "Underground bounty hunters are greedy for money, and it's hard to guarantee that no one will take the risk."
"The Dark Side will compile a list of information on the bounty hunters that they have. Don't worry too much, but don't be careless either—they have some secret techniques that can be quite troublesome."
"Yes, Third Hokage," Hoshino Sensaku and Minato replied in unison.
"Yes, I believe in your strength." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "You can go back now."
He was confident in the true strength of Minato and Chisaku, and believed that as long as he was cautious, he could put up a fight even against powerful underground opponents.
The three said their goodbyes and left.
It was around 4 p.m.
Xingyuan Qianshuo has no intention of returning to the hospital—one shadow clone is enough to fill in for him, and another shadow clone is enough to teach his disciples.
On his way back to the Senju residence, he asked Tsunade in detail about the underground gold exchange.
Indeed, this institution has a long history.
During the Warring States period, ninja clans fought amongst themselves, and many missions were carried out through the exchange of gold, which was still relatively open at the time.
After the establishment of the ninja village system, it went underground.
Behind this, there are likely powerful figures from various countries, such as daimyo or nobles, which serves as both a check on the power of the ninja villages and a practical necessity.
Those ninjas who do not belong to the ninja villages, especially rogue ninjas, need ways to make money; and some nobles or local forces also have tasks that are inconvenient to be openly commissioned.
Even a cunning and shrewd Kage like Onoki would use bounty hunters to suppress or test the enemy.
Xingyuan Qianshuo didn't care much about the bounty.
But Tsunade's face remained gloomy.
Even if she acknowledged Qian Shuo's strength, having a bounty on her meant she would be constantly watched by bounty hunters and inevitably be targeted by them.
Seeing this, Xingyuan Qianshuo didn't know how to comfort her, so he just held her hand even tighter.
>