Naruto: The Ninja World's Life Buyer

Chapter 182 Medical Fraud, Bribes That Cannot Be Refused

Bellflower Pavilion. Breakfast.

Xiyan is struggling with a fried egg, cutting it into neat little cubes with a fork.

"Mom, your skin looks so much better lately!"

Yugao suddenly looked up and stared at Kaori's arm.

"Yeah?"

Kaori touched her arm.

"It seems the ointment is working."

"Mom is getting more and more beautiful!" Xiyan praised without reservation.

"Eat quickly, or we'll be late."

Kaori smiled and pushed a glass of milk in front of Yugao.

Just then.

Knock knock knock.

A knock came at the door.

"Jōnin Takaya. Someone's looking for you. It's—the village administration department."

Longma came to report.

Management Department.

That's the department specifically responsible for ninja files, mission assignments, and personnel recruitment.

Sosuke put down his bread and wiped his mouth.

"Let them in."

The door opened.

Two Chunin wearing green vests walked in. They were carrying documents and had serious expressions.

"Is this the residence of Special Jonin Takaya Sousuke?"

The leading Chunin asked, his gaze sweeping around the room before settling on Kaori.

"We're here to see her. Kaori Uzuki."

Kaori stood up.

"That's me."

"Kaori Uzuki, formerly ANBU number X-79, is currently on indefinite leave, right?"

Chunin flipped through the documents in his hand, his tone indifferent.

"Yes. I have submitted my retirement application."

"The application has not yet been finalized."

The chuuni closed the file and said coldly.

"According to the fourteenth amendment to the Wartime Ninja Mobilization Law: when a village encounters a major manpower shortage, all ninjas on leave or retired who are not completely incapacitated must be re-evaluated."

"If the assessment is satisfactory, they will be forcibly recalled to active duty."

The chunin pulled out a red conscription notice.

"Come with us. The medical team needs to examine you. If everything is fine, you'll be assigned to the Fourth Reserve Team next week and head to the front lines in the Land of Grass."

Kaori's face turned deathly pale instantly.

The Land of Grass. That's Iwagakure's main target, now a meat grinder.

She is not afraid of death.

But what will happen to Xiyan if she dies?

Moreover, is the stable life we've finally achieved really going to just shatter like a bubble?

"I----"

Kaori's voice was dry and hoarse.

As a ninja, she couldn't refuse the conscription. It was treason.

"I'll go with you."

She lowered her head.

"Wait a minute."

Sosuke spoke up.

"Who gave you permission to take my family away?"

The two Chunin from the management department were stunned for a moment.

Although Sousuke is a special Jonin, the administration department reports directly to the Hokage and has wartime privileges.

"Jōnin Takaya, this is the village's rule."

The leading Chunin frowned, his tone firm.

"The situation at the front is critical, and every bit of fighting strength is precious. Kaori Uzuki is an elite Chunin, and she has a duty to fight for the village. This is for the Will of Fire."

"The Will of Fire?"

Sousuke smiled.

"I respect the Will of Fire."

Sosuke did not refute.

"However, Kaori Uzuki is the security supervisor of the Takaya Trading Company's Konoha No. 14 Military Supplies Factory."

"She possesses the core secrets of my cooperation with the Uchiha clan. If she goes to the front lines, is captured by the enemy, and is interrogated to reveal the factory's production secrets—"

"This has led to an increase in the enemy's ninja tool production capacity, putting the front lines in a critical situation. Can your management department bear this responsibility?"

The two Chunin looked at each other in bewilderment.

That hat is way too big.

If the transfer of one person leads to the leakage of military factory secrets, even a hundred heads wouldn't be enough to behead them.

"We're just following orders."

The leading Chunin was sweating profusely, and his momentum weakened somewhat.

"But the conscription order is mandatory. Unless—"

"Unless what?"

"Unless the medical team issues a certificate proving she is incapacitated."

97

The chunin pointed at Kaori.

"But she looks very healthy."

Indeed. After a long period of recuperation, Kaori looked radiant and didn't look like a disabled person at all.

Sousuke sneered.

"Appearances can be deceiving. Can you see a ninja's hidden injuries with the naked eye?"

He grabbed Kaori's wrist.

"Let's go. To the hospital."

"Since you want to conduct an evaluation, then let the most authoritative person in Konoha do it."

Konoha Hospital, Director's Office.

Tsunade was suffering from a severe hangover and had a splitting headache.

"Bang!"

The door was pushed open.

"Who is it! Are you looking for death?" Tsunade raised her head angrily.

They saw that it was Sousuke and Kaori, along with two Chunin who followed them in.

"Lady Tsunade."

Sosuke didn't waste any words. He slammed the red conscription notice on the table.

"The management department thinks my family member is healthy and wants to send her to the Grass Country to fill in the gaps."

"But in fact, she suffers from severe chakra meridian spasm syndrome," and—post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Once on the battlefield, they may faint at any time, or even attack their teammates."

Sosuke was talking nonsense with a straight face.

The two ninja from the management department were completely bewildered. What kind of illness was this? They'd never even heard of it.

Tsunade held the conscription notice and glanced at Kaori again.

Kaori lowered her head, appearing quite frail. But Tsunade could tell at a glance that the woman was perfectly healthy.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

She saw through it. This was Danzo's doing. He wanted to use this method to clip Sousuke's wings.

"Chakra spasm—"

Tsunade reached out and placed her hand on Kaori's shoulder.

The Palm Immortal Technique is activated.

Under the watchful eyes of the management ninjas, Tsunade's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, eventually becoming extremely serious.

"really----"

Tsunade sighed and withdrew her hand.

"It's very serious."

"Her meridians appear fine on the surface, but internally they have developed irreversible fibrosis due to overuse in her early years."

"Normally, it's fine. But once I start refining chakra at a high intensity, my meridians will break like an old rubber band."

""

"Sending someone in this physical condition to the front lines would not only be suicide, but also a burden to their teammates."

Tsunade turned her head and roared at the two Chunin.

"Are you in the management department blind? Can't you even see this kind of hidden danger? Do you want more corpses on the front lines?!"

The oppressive aura of the Three Ninjas, coupled with the pronouncements of medical authorities.

The two Chunin were so frightened their legs went weak.

"But...but...her health is classified as Grade A in her records..."

"Files are static, but people are dynamic!"

Tsunade picked up a pen and scribbled a string of wild cursive on a diagnosis report.

[Diagnosis: Kaori Uzuki, severe fibrosis of the meridians, accompanied by intermittent mental confusion. Recommendation: Permanent non-combat attrition.]

"Snapped!"

The seal was affixed.

"Take this and get out!"

Tsunade tossed the diagnosis report to the Chunin.

The two Chunin, holding the "imperial sword," felt as if they had been granted a pardon and fled the office in a sorry state.

If possible, they also didn't want to offend Sosuke.

Inside the room, Kaori breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Tsunade.

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade."

"Don't thank me."

Tsunade rubbed her temples and poured herself another glass of wine.

"I'm helping myself."

"If a patient like you were sent to the battlefield, you'd still end up being brought here for emergency treatment. I don't have the time for that."

.

She looked at Sosuke.

"However, kid, you can only use this move once."

"Danzo isn't stupid. This piece of paper can block one conscription, but it can't stop his malice."

"Next time, he might assign her a mission that doesn't require combat but is still necessary. Like—logistics transport."

"I know."

Sosuke had already thought of that.

"I will solve this problem."

Management Department.

Sarutobi Seki, who had been promoted from head of the materials department to head of the management department, looked at the diagnosis report in his hand with a gloomy face.

"Meridian fibrosis? Mental confusion?"

He slammed the paper on the table.

"What a joke! That woman was buying groceries on the street yesterday, looking perfectly fine!"

"This is fraud! This is blatant defiance of draft rules!"

"Section Chief—" the subordinate said cautiously, "That's Lady Tsunade's autograph. If we have any doubts, we'll have to confront Lady Tsunade directly—"

Go find Tsunade and confront her?

Sarutobi shrank back. He didn't dare. That Tyrannosaurus Rex would tear his office down.

"Damn Takaya Sosuke————"

Sarutobi Seki gritted his teeth.

This conscription was at Danzo's behest. If he fails to complete this task, Danzo may obstruct his next promotion.

Although he was a member of the Sarutobi clan and had the support of the Third Hokage, Danzo could still prevent him from being promoted.

"Since there's an excuse in medical terms, let's try a different approach."

Sarutobi Seki's eyes darted around.

"Since we can't go to the front lines to fight, we'll go to logistics."

"Transfer her to the 19th Supply Transfer Station as an administrator. It's in the heart of the Land of Fire, where there's no fighting. We can't say she can't move things just because her meridians are damaged, can we?"

"As long as we transfer her away from Konoha, we'll consider our mission complete."

Just as he was preparing to issue the second transfer order.

"Bang."

The office door was pushed open.

Sousuke walked in. Ryoma Aburame followed behind him.

Longma was carrying a heavy suitcase.

"Takaya Jonin?"

Sarutobi Seki watched him warily.

"This is the most important area for the management department—"

"I'm here on official business."

Sosuke walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"Section Chief Sarutobi, I have a suggestion regarding the deployment of frontline personnel."

"What suggestion?"

"Smack."

Sosuke snapped his fingers.

Ryoma placed the suitcase on the table and opened it.

Inside were stacks of brand-new banknotes with huge denominations. A full two million taels.

The box on the right contains a document.

[Donation Agreement Regarding Funding the Management Department to Improve Office Environment and Employee Welfare].

Sarutobi Seki's Adam's apple bobbed.

He was a corrupt official. Sosuke knew this very well.

"Jōnin Takaya, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to bribe me?"

Although Sarutobi Seki was envious, he still maintained a sliver of rationality. This was Danzo's mission.

"No, this isn't for you."

Sousuke smiled.

"This is for the entire management department."

"I heard that you colleagues have been working very hard overtime. This money is for bonuses and dormitory repairs."

"Once you sign this document, the money will be a legal donation."

"certainly----"

Sosuke lowered his voice.

"As the donor, I have the right to designate a portion of this money as a special allowance for you, Section Chief."

"Approximately one million taels."

Sarutobi Seki's heart pounded violently.

One million taels. He couldn't earn that much in a year.

However, Danzo's order—

"Section Chief Sarutobi, I know what you're worried about."

Sosuke saw through his thoughts.

"What Lord Danzo wants is to weaken my power. But he didn't say that he had to do it by taking my women."

Q

Sosuke produced another document.

"This is my alternative."

"The Takaya Trading Company is willing to fund, recruit, and equip a fifty-person civilian mercenary squad," all of which will be donated to the village and deployed to the front lines by the administration department.

"Fifty fully armed fresh troops."

"Find a female chunin with damaged meridians."

Sarutobi Seki's eyes widened.

Fifty people for one?

Even a fool could do the math.

Sending those fifty men to the front lines was a real achievement! It was all thanks to Sarutobi Seki's skillful command!

And there's also that one million taels—

"What about Lord Danzo? —" Sarutobi Seki was still hesitating.

"Lord Danzo did it all for the sake of the village."

Sosuke offered a way out.

"Fifty combatants are more valuable than one cripple. I think Lord Danzo will understand your wise decision. Even if he has objections, the Hokage will support this approach."

"And if you refuse—"

Sousuke's eyes turned cold.

"Think about it—personnel transfers are the norm. You can't stay in the management department forever. Maybe one day, I'll have the opportunity to become the head of the management department."

Coercion and inducement.

Sarutobi Seki took a deep breath.

He picked up the stamp and affixed it to the "Alternative Draft Agreement".

"Alright. For the sake of the village."

He put the box away.

"Kaori Uzuki's conscription order is revoked."

"Not only that—"

Sosuke added.

"I want her to be marked as a permanent non-combat casualty in the administration department's file. From now on, she shall not be transferred to any department except by the Hokage's own order."

"this----"

"Add another million taels."

"make a deal!"

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