Naruto: Mikoto and Tsunade, don't let either of them go.

Page 120

When Uchiha Kazuyama came out, everyone present was surprised to find that Kazuyama-sama had been in the room all along, and they all hurriedly greeted him.

"Kind-hearted uncle"—this is Naruto, who is always lively and energetic.

"Uncle," Karin Uzumaki said, somewhat surprised and stunned.

"Teacher" refers to Sasuke, who has been observing coldly from the sidelines.

"Lord Qiushan," Kakashi exclaimed, startled.

As for Tsunade and Shizune, they were already too familiar with Qiushan-kun to bother greeting him.

In response to the greetings from the crowd, Uchiha Kakuyama smiled and nodded at them before heading straight to the drunken old man Tazuna, causing the already guilty Tazuna to nervously swallow.

Chapter 370 Tazna in a sorry state

Chapter 370 Tazna in a sorry state

The drunken old man, Tazuna, immediately realized what was happening when the man suddenly appeared right in front of him. He shuddered violently. As the saying goes, old age brings wisdom, and Tazuna's age was no joke. With his experience, he knew very well...

Judging from the way this man appeared and the respect everyone showed him, he was definitely not an easy opponent. Moreover, now that he had come to him, he was definitely after him. For a moment, Tazuna could no longer pretend to be drunk, and his face turned ugly.

Uchiha Kakuyama approached Tazuna, looking at the old man who was still pretending to be stupid. He didn't say anything, but instead stood in front of him, smiling at him. However, only Tazuna, who was facing him directly, could clearly see that there was no smile in his eyes, but rather a coldness.

Tazna waited a while, and seeing that the man in front of him didn't speak, he had no choice but to cautiously ask:

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

Uchiha Kakuzan snapped his fingers, looked at Tazuna, and said meaningfully:

"I don't have anything important to say. I just received some interesting information. The information said that the Land of Waves has been taken over by the wealthy businessman Kado. I was just curious when I heard that you are from the Land of Waves."

"I wonder if you hired our Konoha ninjas simply to escort you back, or if you want them to fight Gato to the death."

Looking at Tazuna's grim expression, Uchiha Kakuzan continued:

"I just don't know if you know, sir, that in our village, missions below rank C are mostly taken on by genin and chunin, whose strength is limited."

A wealthy businessman like Gato, if he were to hire ninjas, would at least be a Jonin. Their strength would make it as easy as children to slaughter Chunin and Genin.

Or do you believe that if Gato's subordinates kill Konoha ninjas, it will anger Konoha, and Konoha will eradicate Gato completely, thus preventing him from causing trouble in the Land of Waves?

Tazuna was sweating profusely as he listened to what Uchiha Kakuyama said. After hearing the last words, he could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground. The flush on his face from drinking had long since disappeared, and his face was deathly pale.

Upon hearing Uchiha Kakuzan's words and glancing at Tazuna slumped on the ground, everyone in the Hokage's office understood what had happened and glared angrily at Tazuna.

Even Naruto, who is usually the most oblivious, realized what was going on at this point. For the first time, he witnessed the wickedness of human nature. He looked at Uchiha Kakuyama and then at Tazuna, somewhat at a loss for words. He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.

In fact, it wasn't just Naruto; everyone present reacted strongly. After all, Tazuna had schemed against everyone present, treating them all like fools. How could they not be angry? However, because the highest-ranking person present—the Hokage—hadn't spoken yet, they had been holding back.

Tsunade's expression was also not good. In her eyes, Tazuna was just a minor character. In normal mission assignments, this kind of C-rank mission was not the Hokage's job at all. It was only because the mission was assigned to the members of Team 7 that she personally assigned the mission to them. Whether it was Naruto or Sasuke, they were both the chosen ones in the prophecy. Otherwise, do you think the Hokage was very free?

This insignificant person, whom she would normally never have the chance to interact with, dared to play tricks on her, which made Tsunade's expression very unpleasant.

Having witnessed many major events, Tsunade wouldn't easily let the matter slide just because Tazuna collapsed on the ground.

Tsunade slammed her hands on the table, making a loud noise that startled Tazuna and even Naruto and the others.

"Tazuna, is it? Don't you have anything to say? Or do you think that playing tricks on our Hidden Leaf Village is a much smaller price to pay than angering that so-called Gato?"

Upon hearing Tsunade's words, Tazuna twitched in resentment again. He was merely a citizen of the Land of Waves, not the Land of Fire, and therefore not a citizen of Konoha.

The prestige and reputation of Konoha Village were not earned through charity, but through the hard work of generations of Hokage and Konoha ninja. It is because of the appeasement policy implemented by the Third Hokage in recent years that many people have forgotten that Konoha Village is the number one ninja village in the entire ninja world.

Even though they've been somewhat weak in recent years, they're not someone anyone can afford to mess with.

After hearing the Hokage's words, Tazuna instantly understood. Compared to Konoha, Gato was nothing. He didn't know what he was thinking, daring to deceive Konoha.

Realizing what had happened, Tazuna scrambled to the desk, prostrated himself on the floor, and kowtowed several times in anger. Ignoring the blood streaming down his face, he cried out in a terrified voice:

"Lord Hokage, please forgive me. I didn't mean to deceive you. It's just that the Land of Waves is too poor. Even if we pooled all our money, we wouldn't be able to issue any missions of rank B or higher in Konoha."

Moreover, if I were to tell Konoha about the situation in the Land of Waves, it would likely require more than just one Jonin to be dispatched, which would be an unbearable burden for the Land of Waves. That's why I came up with this terrible idea.

I am old now. If, if it could cost me my life in exchange for the demise of the Kado Group, I would be willing.

After Tazna finished speaking, he angrily kowtowed several times to the ground, then pressed his head to the ground and lay there without moving, awaiting the final judgment.

No one present expected things to develop to this point. For a moment, the entire office was quiet. Everyone looked at Tazuna lying on the ground without saying a word, while Shizune and Karin, who were somewhat soft-hearted, had tears in their eyes.

At that moment, Naruto, who had been furious, softened. He looked at Tazuna, then at Tsunade, and finally stepped forward. He approached Tsunade and stammered:

"Grandma Tsunade, please don't be angry. Uncle Tazuna had no choice. Please don't punish him anymore. At worst, just banish him from the village and make sure he never sets foot in the village again."

Naruto, being simple-minded, thought for a long time and came up with this solution.

Chapter 371 The Country of Surveillance

Chapter 371 The Country of Surveillance

Naruto is still kind-hearted. After hearing Tazuna's words, he immediately forgave him and even stood up for him.

Just after Naruto finished pleading for him, Kakashi, who was standing to the side, immediately reprimanded him sternly:

"Naruto, the Hokage has his own way of handling things, so don't interrupt."

Kakashi stepped forward for two reasons: firstly, Naruto was now his subordinate, and he bore half the responsibility for Naruto's actions; secondly, Naruto's intervention before the Hokage had even spoken was inappropriate.

Secondly, it was also a way of pleading for Naruto's life. By stepping forward and reprimanding Naruto, even if the Hokage wanted to severely punish Naruto, he couldn't bring himself to do so.

Tsunade was fully aware of Kakashi's little tricks, but since she had no intention of punishing Naruto, she simply ignored him.

However, the way to deal with Tazuna is not to simply expel him from the village as Naruto suggested. If that were the case, others would follow suit, and with Tazuna as a precedent, what would become of Konoha's prestige if they were left unpunished?

However, if she dealt harshly with a pitiful little person like Tazna, she would feel reluctant and appear heartless.

Uchiha Kakuzan noticed Tsunade's predicament, and after a moment's thought, took two steps forward and said:

"Lord Hokage, leave this matter to me, I will handle it."

Tsunade looked up at Qiu Shan-jun with some surprise. In her memory, Qiu Shan-jun was not the kind of person who would meddle in other people's business, especially such trivial matters. He usually wouldn't bother with them.

However, Tsunade was quite pleased that Uchiha Kazuyama had taken over the matter. After all, Kazuyama was quite reliable, and he would definitely handle it well once he took over. As for the reason, Tsunade didn't care and just assumed it was Kazuyama's whim.

So Tsunade readily nodded and said, "Since Minister Okayama is willing to take care of this matter, I'll leave it to you."

Upon hearing Tsunade's words, Naruto immediately looked at Uchiha Kagami and pitifully cried out:

"Kind uncle."

Uchiha Kakuyama nodded to Naruto, gave him a look to reassure him, and then walked up to Tazuna, looking down at him.

After hearing the Hokage's words, Tazuna knew that his fate was in the hands of the man before him. He knelt down, turned around, and looked at him pleadingly.

Ignoring Tazuna's pitiful gaze, Uchiha Kakuzan asked coldly:

“Tazuna, right? I’m going to ask you some questions. If you’re lying, believe me, I’ll make sure you never get a chance to speak again.”

After hearing what Qiushan-kun said, Tazuna naturally understood what it meant. If he lied again, at the very least, he would have his tongue cut out, an injury that could easily lead to blood loss and death.

On a larger scale, if someone is killed outright, they naturally won't have the chance to speak.

Having realized the consequences, Tazuna quickly said:

"Don't worry, Minister. If I lie again, you can do whatever you want with me."

Uchiha Kakuzan looked at Tazuna, nodded slightly, and asked:

"Tazuna, Gato has been committing atrocities in your Land of Waves, going so far as to do such a thing. Doesn't your country's daimyo care?"

Tazuna looked at Uchiha Kakuyama with some surprise upon hearing his words, not expecting the adult before him to ask such a question. However, he quickly explained:

"My lord may not know, but the Land of Waves is just something we boast about. In reality, our Land of Waves is just a small island not far from the mainland. If you are a good swimmer, you can swim from the island to the mainland."

The inhabitants of the Land of Waves, who are also the inhabitants of our small island, make a living by fishing.

Normally, they can come ashore and trade fish for necessities, so their lives are manageable.

However, since Gato arrived here, he has controlled sea traffic, making it impossible for us to enter the land and thus impossible for us to survive. I was only able to reach Konoha by taking advantage of the thick fog, thus escaping Gato's control.

Upon hearing Tazuna's words, Uchiha Kakuzan stroked his chin. He had already harbored suspicions about the Land of Waves, and Tazuna's words only solidified his belief.

He looked at Dazner again and asked:

"Your Land of Waves is so poor, why would Gato go there? Or rather, did Gato do anything unusual after he arrived?"

After hearing Uchiha Kakuzan's words, Tazuna thought for a moment and then said:

“I think I’ve heard someone mention that Kado wants to build a factory on our island, a closed factory, and nobody knows what will be produced in it.”

Tazuna Uchiha nodded in understanding. Indeed, the Land of Waves was a poor and remote place, and apart from producing, transporting, and storing some shady things, it really had no other value.

Meanwhile, Kado is secretly a villain who manufactures drugs and engages in smuggling. His desire to find a secluded island close to the mainland, where he can avoid attracting attention, is simply to build a secret base.

As for the island's residents, if Qiu Shanjun is not mistaken, they were either recruited into the factory by Kado with cheap wages, and once inside, they could not get out until their last bit of value was squeezed out and then disposed of.

Alternatively, just in case, it's possible that after sealing off the entire island, they would simply dispose of all the residents.

Anyway, once Kado has brought the situation on the island under control, the island's residents will no longer just face hardship.

Looking at the old man staring at him expectantly, Uchiha Kakuzan sighed inwardly and said:

"If that's the case, then your Land of Waves doesn't have a decent leader either. So, who has the highest prestige?"

Upon hearing Uchiha Kakuzan's words, Tazuna felt as if he had grasped at a last straw. His eyes immediately lit up, and he raised his hand, saying somewhat nervously:

"It is I, the oldest among us, and the island's inhabitants treat me with respect. If there is anything, I can make the decision."

Uchiha Kakuyama nodded knowingly, just as he had guessed, and then continued:

"Alright then, given that your Land of Waves deceived our Hidden Leaf Village by misrepresenting the mission level, from this moment forward, your Land of Waves will be under the jurisdiction of our Hidden Leaf Village."

"No matter what business the residents of the Land of Waves do, they must hand over a cut to Konoha Village. Konoha Village will also periodically send people to the Land of Waves to monitor your accounts."

Chapter 372 Naruto's Dissatisfaction

Chapter 372 Naruto's Dissatisfaction

Uchiha Kakuyama looked at Tazuna again and then said:

"Of course, once your Land of Waves has paid back the commission for this mission to our Hidden Leaf Village, you can also apply to the Hidden Leaf Village to no longer be under its jurisdiction."

Uchiha Kakuyama said meaningfully, "Don't worry, as long as you apply, I can approve your request."

Upon hearing what Uchiha Kakuyama said, Tazuna immediately understood its meaning. His face beamed with undisguised joy, and he quickly kowtowed deeply to Kakuyama, his voice trembling with emotion as he cried out:

"Thank you, sir. On behalf of the residents of the Land of Waves, Tazuna expresses his heartfelt gratitude to the kind sir."

Tazuna lay on the ground, tears streaming down his face, dripping onto the floor.

Originally, Tazuna was already in despair. He lied about the mission and almost caused the death of the Konoha ninja, but he was discovered.

The best outcome would be being expelled from Konoha, extinguishing his last hope.

Most likely, he would be imprisoned in Konoha's jail for several years, leaving the residents of the Land of Waves, who held onto his last hope, to die a tragic and desperate death at the hands of the Gato Group.

To his surprise, the official who appeared later, despite his stern expression, was unexpectedly easy to talk to.

He only offered a suggestion, which not only spared him from punishment but also protected the Land of Waves with a small amount of money. That's why Tazuna was so grateful to Uchiha Kakuzan.

Looking at Tazuna, who was extremely grateful to him, Uchiha Kakuzan suddenly revealed a wicked smile and said with a laugh:

"Don't thank me so quickly. My appearance fee is very high. Considering how difficult it is for your Land of Waves to even collect the commission for a B-rank mission, I wonder when you'll be able to pay back the fees I paid for the missions?"

Tazuna, after hearing Uchiha Kakuyama's words, looked up at Kakuyama with a bewildered expression and asked:

"What do you mean, sir? I really don't understand."

Seeing this, Kakashi was somewhat speechless at Lord Qiushan's rudeness, but he still sighed helplessly and stepped forward to introduce him:

"Tazuna, standing before you is the leader of our Konoha Village's Anbu, Lord Uchiha Kakuzan, who reports directly to the Hokage. He can be considered the strongest fighter in our Konoha Village."

Kakashi looked at Tazuna with some pity as he spoke, and continued:

"So, if you ask this person to handle your mission, then the mission level will be directly raised to S-level, S-level, understand? The mission commission will be dozens of times that of B-level."

Kakashi ignored the dumbfounded Tazuna and turned directly to Qiushan-kun, pleading:

"Lord Qiushan, I can handle this small task. There's no need for you to take the trouble. It would be a waste of your talents."

To be fair, Kakashi is a guy with a cold exterior but a warm heart. He couldn't bear to see Tazuna burdened with such a huge debt, which is why he volunteered.

Uchiha Kakuzan glanced at Kakashi after hearing his words, but that glance made Kakashi's heart skip a beat, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his back.

Just then, Tsunade, who had been sitting silently to the side, suddenly spoke:

"Kakashi, don't stick your neck out. Do you really think that Qiushan-kun cares about that little bit of commission?"

I've heard of Cardo before. Although his reputation isn't great, he's still a well-known wealthy man.