Naruto: The Ninja World's Life Buyer

Chapter 181 The Fire at the Orphanage, Sosuke's Revenge

That night.

The air in Konoha was filled with a strong, burnt smell.

"What happened?"

Sousuke, who was already lying down at Kikyo-kan, heard the commotion in the street.

He went out into the street.

The crowd was buzzing with discussion, pointing in the west.

"I heard the orphanage caught fire!"

"Oh dear, what a pity for those children—"

"Is it due to aging electrical circuits? Or was it arson?"

An orphanage?!

Sosuke's heart clenched.

He immediately used his teleportation technique to rush towards the orphanage.

Konoha Orphanage.

It had by then turned into ruins.

Black smoke was still billowing. Among the ruins, charred furniture could be vaguely seen.

The Water Release ninjas are cleaning up the scene.

Sosuke rushed into the crowd.

"Nonou!"

he shouted.

Under a big tree, he saw Nono.

She was kneeling on the ground, bandaging several injured children.

Her face was covered in soot, a section of her golden hair was singed, and her nun's habit had several holes in it.

She looked up when she heard Sosuke's voice.

Her eyes, usually gentle and smiling, were filled with fatigue.

"Mr. Sosuke——"

Her voice was hoarse.

Sosuke rushed over and caught her.

"How are you? Are you hurt?"

The snake's eyes activated, rapidly scanning her body. Chakra was depleted, but there seemed to be no danger.

"I'm fine—but the children—"

Nonou turned around, looked at the ruins, and sighed.

"The fire started too quickly."

"It was late at night. If everyone hadn't practiced handling emergencies, things might have turned out differently—"

"But two children still died."

"It's Shin-chan and Mimi—they're hiding in the closet and haven't come out—"

Sosuke's eyes were cold.

Circuit aging? Accident?

Do not make jokes.

He paid for the renovation of this building, using the best materials. How could it have aged? Moreover, the fire spread so quickly that someone clearly used an accelerant, or even a fire-based technique.

This was done by Genbu. Before he could even arrange for the security team to patrol the area the next day, Danzo struck first in the middle of the night!

Sousuke never expected Danzo to be so crazy.

"Mr. Sosuke, what should we do now—"

Nono looked at the children who were still in shock.

If she continues to refuse Danzo, something even worse will happen next time—she cannot gamble with the children's lives.

"Don't be afraid."

Sosuke hugged her.

"I'm here."

"A house can be rebuilt after it burns down. I'll do the math."

He had to retaliate. And he had to strike Danzo where it hurt. But the most urgent task was to settle the children.

"Nonou".

Sosuke helped her up.

"Take the children to the Uchiha Armory."

"An arsenal?" Nonou was taken aback. "But there's no room for so many people there—"

"There's enough room."

Sosuke is beyond question.

"I will have someone set up a temporary warehouse overnight."

"From today onwards, the orphanage will be relocated to Uchiha territory."

■a8■8■

That night, the Uchiha Armory became extremely crowded.

Dozens of children were crammed into the warehouse and slept on the floor.

Although the conditions are basic, at least it's safe. With the Uchiha clan here, it's one of the safest places in Konoha.

The study is located on the third floor of the Kikyo Pavilion.

Sousuke, Hyuga Masaru, and Ryoma were all there. Kogami was also there; he had just returned from the Land of Rain to report for duty.

The atmosphere was heavy.

"Danzo has overstepped his bounds."

Hyuga Katsu said coldly.

"He even kills children. He doesn't deserve to be a high-ranking official in Konoha."

As a member of the Hyuga branch family, he hated this kind of oppression the most.

"Boss, just say the word."

The serrated edge touched the large knife.

"I'll go and block the entrance at the base right now. I'll kill them all, leaving no one alive."

"calm."

Sosuke waved his hand.

"Charging in is a poor strategy. That would be making an enemy of the entire Hidden Leaf Village. We should target Danzo's weaknesses."

Sousuke thought.

What was Danzo's foundation?

"It's power, the control over the dark side. And—money."

Although the village provides funding, the clandestine experiments and military expansion require massive amounts of money.

Danzo also had his own ways of making money.

"Ryoma".

Sousuke looked at Ryoma Aburame.

"You're from the Aburame clan, and you've served under Mitomon's advisors, so you're well-informed. Do you know where Danzo's secret stash of money is?"

Ryoma pushed up his sunglasses.

"The Roots have several secret strongholds outside the village. One of them is in the Black Iron Mine in the eastern part of the Land of Fire."

"On the surface, it's an abandoned mine, but in reality, it's Root's arsenal and a black gold transit point. They illegally mine chakra ore there and smuggle it to other small countries."

"very good."

Zongsuke's eyes were stern.

"Since he burned down my workshop, I'll blow up his vault."

"Sawtooth".

"exist!"

"You don't need to go to the Land of Rain for now. Take the best members of the Wind Demon Clan with you."

"Also, bring enough explosive tags, as many as you can."

"Go to the black iron mine. I want to turn it into a pit. Don't leave them even a scrap of iron."

"in addition--"

Sousuke looked at Hinata Katsumi.

"Sheng, submit a report to the Hokage Building in the name of the Hyuga branch family."

"The Hyuga clan's Byakugan detected abnormal chakra fluctuations at the Black Iron Mine, suggesting possible espionage activities by an enemy country."

"We need to finish up the remaining work in advance."

This is retaliation, a declaration of war.

"Yes, ma'am."

The group accepted the order and left.

Sosuke remained alone in the study.

"Danzo—"

Sosuke clenched his fist.

"You will pay the price for everything you've done."

"Since you've touched my assets, how could I possibly let you get away unscathed?"

three days later.

In the eastern part of the Land of Fire, at the Black Iron Mine.

late at night.

The mine, which had long been "abandoned," was brightly lit inside.

The Root ninjas are supervising the work, and the miners are digging for ore.

"Hurry up! This batch of goods needs to be sent to be exchanged for cash tomorrow!"

A root squad leader reprimanded.

"Lord Danzo urgently needs these funds to expand his manpower."

Just then.

boom!

A loud bang suddenly came from the entrance of the mine.

"Who goes there?!"

"Enemy attack! Is it Iwagakure?"

The Root ninjas were shocked.

But it wasn't Iwagakure that rushed in.

They were a group of agile ninjas carrying huge shuriken.

The Wind Demon Clan.

The leader was Serrated, who carried a large knife and had a sinister grin on his face.

"Robbery!"

"Hand over everything valuable! Men, stand on the left; women—oh, there aren't any women here, then you can all die!"

"Arrogant!"

The root squad leader was furious.

"This is Root's territory! Kill them all!"

Battle broke out.

But the Roots soon discovered that this group of bandits was different. They had no sense of martial ethics.

Throw away shuriken and explosive tags without hesitation.

Moreover, that guy carrying the big sword was practically a monster; his strength and speed far surpassed theirs.

"That's about it."

Sawtooth glanced at the time.

"Sarah!"

"yes!"

Sasha makes a hand seal.

The detonating tags that had been placed at the top of the mine were detonated simultaneously.

boom!

The entire mine was blown open.

Flames shot into the sky, and the earth shook.

This black gold mine, which had been supplying Tuanzang for many years, collapsed completely that night and became history.

The second day of ng8a.

The Hokage's office.

Danzo rushed in, his face ashen.

"Hiruzen! That bastard Takaya Sousuke! He blew up my mine!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his enraged old friend and slowly took a puff of his cigarette.

"Danzo, do you have any evidence?"

"That mine, in name only, has long been abandoned. If you admit it's yours, then your unauthorized mining and smuggling of strategic materials—"

Hiruzen's eyes sharpened.

"Do you want me to handle this strictly by the book?"

The Tibetan leader was speechless.

He suffered in silence.

That's a black market operation. It's something that can't be done in the open. Even if you get bombed, you can't file a complaint through proper channels.

"and--"

Hiruzen produced the report submitted by Hyuga Katsumi.

"The Hyuga clan has long reported enemy spy activities in that area. Perhaps it's Iwagakure's Inui?"

"Hinata——"

Danzo gritted his teeth. Even the Hyuga clan had sided with that merchant.

"Okay. Very good."

Danzo turned and left.

"I'll remember this debt."

As Danzo walked out of the Hokage Building, he looked at the sign of the Takaya Trading Company in the distance.

"Since the covert approach won't work—let's make it explicit."

"The war continues. More manpower is needed on the front lines—"

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