Naruto: The Ninja World's Life Buyer

Chapter 217 The Reins of the Hokage: Mathematics is the Most Honest Thing

Hokage Building.

Orochimaru sat behind a large desk.

He was surrounded by piles of documents.

"How boring!"

Orochimaru picked up a report about the repair of the village's sewers and casually tossed it aside.

The taste of power is certainly wonderful, but the administrative chores that come with it are wearing down the scientist's patience.

"Knock knock".

A knock came at the door.

"Enter."

The door opened.

Rena Yamashiro walked in.

She was holding a thick stack of documents in her arms. Her eyes, behind her black-rimmed glasses, remained as calm and rational as ever.

"Lord Hokage."

Rena walked to the table and bowed slightly.

"This is a summary of the flow of goods to Takaya Shokai this month, as well as a tax accounting report."

She placed the documents on the table.

Orochimaru did not look at those documents.

"Reina."

Orochimaru's voice was hoarse.

"That's not what I want."

"What I need is—the bottom line."

"That Takaya Sousuke guy definitely keeps two sets of accounts. One is for the village to see, and the other is for himself."

"You're his personal assistant, and an elite member of the intelligence analysis team. You should have a backup plan, right?"

Orochimaru stretched out his hand, his pale fingers tapping on the table.

"Give it to me."

This is an order.

As the Hokage, he had the authority to access all village intelligence. He wanted to see what that intriguing merchant was up to behind his back.

Rena's expression remained unchanged.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I don't have the secrets you mentioned."

"lie."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. A faint killing intent emanated from him.

"Lying to me is not a wise choice."

"I didn't lie."

Rena's voice remained steady.

"Regarding all the shady transaction records involving the Takaya Trading Company in the Land of Rain and the Land of Thunder, as well as the actual data on the repatriation of funds —"

"I have already organized and archived everything, and handed it over to the Jonin Squad Leader, Lord Nara Shikaku, half an hour ago."

The air froze instantly.

"Shikaku?"

Orochimaru's eyes turned cold.

"Why give it to him? I am the Hokage. You should report directly to me."

"According to the Konoha Information Management Regulations."

Rena recited the terms.

"When intelligence involves critical strategic materials and there is a risk of high-level officials being suspected of violating regulations, intelligence personnel have the right to activate a dual-filing mechanism."

"The intelligence will be submitted to the Hokage's support organization (Jonin Team) to ensure its security and — impartiality."

"Fairness?"

Orochimaru laughed. His laugh was somewhat sinister.

"Are you doubting me?"

"No, I'm just executing a program."

Rena stared directly into Orochimaru's eyes.

"I followed the same procedure when I was compiling the investigation report on the scene of the Third Hokage's death."

Orochimaru's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints.

"Oh?"

He leaned forward slightly, and that massive, cold chakra pressed down on Rena.

"What did you discover at the scene?"

In that battle, he had clearly cleaned up all traces, even turning over the soil.

"Although the scene was cleaned up very well."

Rena's face turned pale.

That was the instinctive fear of a apex predator. Her legs were trembling, but she stood ramrod straight.

"However, as intelligence analysts, we look at more than just the surface."

"Soil samples from the site contained trace amounts of unique protein denaturation."

"That's the bodily fluid of some organism, its molecular structure—"

Rena paused.

"It has a 99% similarity to the saliva of your summoning beast, Lord Orochimaru."

Dead silence.

The office was deathly silent.

Orochimaru looked at the woman in front of him.

A highly skilled ninja. A clerical worker who specializes in dealing with numbers and words.

They actually deduced the truth from that tiny, insignificant remnant.

"Since you know that I killed that old man—"

Orochimaru slowly stood up.

A white snake slipped from his sleeve, coiled around his arm, and flicked its tongue.

"Aren't you afraid—I'll kill you right now?"

The murderous intent was no longer a test, but a tangible reality.

The temperature in the room instantly plummeted to freezing. Rena felt a cold hand grip her throat.

She will die.

She would die here if Orochimaru simply moved a finger.

"Of course you can kill me."

Reina spoke with difficulty.

"However, I have already handed over the analysis report on the soil samples, along with the Chamber of Commerce's account books, to Captain Shikaku."

"Captain Shikaku is a smart man. He didn't release this report because Konoha is currently too vulnerable to turmoil."

"You are the Hokage. We need you to end the war."

"but----"

Behind Rena's glasses, a flame called "principle" burns in her eyes.

"If the Hokage betrays the village and the Will of Fire."

"Then, this report will appear on the daimyo's desk and in the hands of every Jonin."

"I am loyal to the Hokage. But I am even more loyal to—the order of this village."

Orochimaru looked at her.

The woman trembled under his murderous aura, yet she did not retreat an inch.

a long time.

"Hehehe—hahahahaha!"

Orochimaru threw his head back and laughed loudly.

Laughter echoed in the office, tinged with a hint of madness and a touch of admiration.

"Interesting. Very interesting."

Orochimaru withdrew his killing intent.

The white snake retracted into its sleeve.

"Nara Shikaku—and you."

"You clever people always like to use these pointless rules to bind the strong."

"However, you're right."

Orochimaru sat back down in his chair.

"Konoha is definitely not in a state of chaos right now."

"Since that trouble-averse guy Shikaku chose to suppress the report, it means he has already made his choice."

"Isn't this also a kind of transaction?"

He waved his hand, as if shooing away flies.

"Get lost."

"From now on, you don't need to report matters related to the Takaya Trading Company to me anymore. Just report them to Shikaku."

Rena felt the pressure on her body suddenly disappear. Her back was already soaked with cold sweat.

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

She bowed and turned to walk towards the door.

Her steps were somewhat stiff.

"Reina."

Orochimaru's voice rang out again as her hand touched the doorknob.

"You are excellent. It's a pity you're too rule-abiding."

"In this world, people who are too rule-abiding usually don't live long."

Rena did not turn around.

"Thanks for reminding me."

She pushed open the door and went out.

I walked out of the Hokage Building.

Only when the sunlight shone on her did Rena feel a little warmth.

Her legs went weak and she almost knelt on the ground, but she quickly grabbed the wall for support.

"Whoosh—whoosh—"

She was gasping for breath, her heart pounding. Just now, she really thought she was going to die.

She took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

Then, she took a piece of candy out of her ninja tool bag.

I unwrapped the candy and popped it into my mouth. It was Sosuke's new product, sea salt lemon candy.

Salty, sour, and sweet flavors explode on the tip of the tongue.

The sugar boosted her blood sugar and calmed her down.

"We survived!"

She took a deep breath.

Instead of going home, she turned and walked towards the Takao Estate.

She was going to report this to her other "boss".

That man was equally dangerous, but at least he was reasonable.

Gaowu Manor, Study.

After hearing Reina's report, Sousuke didn't show much surprise. He had already guessed it.

"It was a smart move for you to hand over the information to Shikaku."

"Shikaku is an absolute rationalist. He knows the truth, but he also weighs the pros and cons. As long as Orochimaru can still bring benefits to Konoha, Shikaku will help him keep this secret."

This creates a delicate balance of power.

Orochimaru wouldn't dare to act too recklessly because Shikaku had leverage over him. And Shikaku, for the sake of the village's stability, would fully cooperate with Orochimaru's work.

Sousuke looked at Reina.

This woman is not only an excellent accountant, but also a top-notch political strategist.

With a report, she put the reins on the arrogant new Hokage.

"However, you dared to report to me after revealing my secrets without my consent? You could have kept it from me."

"Takaya-sama."

Rena's voice was steady, showing no sign of panic.

"You should thank me."

"If I don't hand over that secret record, Captain Shikaku or Lord Orochimaru will find out more than just a simple matter of gray industries and smuggling."

"They will find out—a miracle."

Sousuke's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

Rena walked to her desk and pulled out an inventory list.

She laid the list out in front of Sosuke.

"This is the total amount of high-purity silver that Takaya Trading Company has purchased in the past six months."

Five tons.

Rena gave a number.

"Nominally, this silver is a raw material used to produce purified water. According to your formula, each bottle of purified water requires approximately 0.5 grams of silver powder."

"Based on this calculation, the total amount of purified water you have sold in the past six months should have consumed approximately 4.8 tons of silver."

"Theoretically, there should only be two hundred kilograms of silver left in the warehouse."

Rena raised her head and looked directly at Sousuke.

"However, Lord Takaya, I discovered a problem when I was taking inventory of the warehouse last week."

"Those five tons of silver—are still there, not a single piece missing. In fact, it's far more than five tons."

"They were piled up at the very back of Warehouse No. 3, covered in dust."

Sousuke's pupils dilated instantly. His heart skipped a beat.

One hundred dense and one sparse.

He possesses the ability to generate an infinite amount of gold and silver. He produces purified water by directly creating a suspension of nano-silver powder using his ability, without needing to consume any real-world silver.

However, in order to cover his tracks and to legitimize the source of the purified water, he had to pretend to purchase raw materials.

So he ordered Takaya Jiro to buy up silver on the market.

This purchase lasted for two years.

The money was spent, the goods came in. But he never used them. Because he didn't need them.

The silver just kept piling up in the warehouse, and it kept piling up.

He was too busy with politics, human experimentation, and dealing with Danzo, and he completely forgot to address this huge physical loophole.

He was used to creating something from nothing, but forgot about the conservation of matter. A terrifying blind spot in his thinking.

"If you really used silver to produce clean water, then the silver in the warehouse should have disappeared."

Reina's precise analysis.

"But if you didn't use silver—where did those hundreds of thousands of bottles of purified water containing real silver powder on the market come from?"

"If Captain Shikaku or Lord Orochimaru were to trace this line of raw material consumption—"

"They will find that you have conjured up so much silver out of thin air."

Sosuke took a deep breath.

indeed.

While illicit activities are a crime in Konoha, they are negotiable as long as the profits are substantial enough.

But can something be created out of thin air?

This is a miracle, this is heresy.

Once exposed, he will be dissected and studied. Orochimaru will be the first to tie him to the operating table.

"so----"

Sousuke looked at Reina with complicated eyes.

"You handed over the bottom line to divert attention?"

"Yes."

Rena nodded.

"Captain Shikaku is very smart. The problems I can spot, he'll spot sooner or later too."

Rena continued.

"If he sees this inventory list and compares it with the water purification output, even if he's slow to realize something's wrong."

"Therefore, I voluntarily handed over the bottom line to Captain Shikaku."

Rena pushed up her glasses.

"When Captain Shikaku sees you engaging in shady activities—he'll feel like he has all your dirt on you."

"Human attention span is limited. He thought that once he caught the big fish, he wouldn't bother looking through those dusty warehouse inventory records anymore."

Sosuke leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

After a long while, he burst out laughing.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

"Rena, you really are—"

He didn't know what to say.

This was the first time he had ever lost his composure in front of a subordinate.

He always thought that as long as he maintained good interpersonal relationships and distributed benefits properly, everything would be fine. But he forgot that the most honest thing in the world is mathematics.

Sosuke sat up straight and regained his composure.

"Rena, why did you help me?"

She is a spy sent by the village. If she tells Shikaku or even Orochimaru this secret, she will be of great merit.

Rena's eyes held a complex expression.

"Because—the medicine you gave me is really effective."

She said softly.

"My brother twitched his finger yesterday. This is the first time he's reacted in six months."

Her only family member was her paralyzed younger brother, who was bedridden.

"However, this is not the most important reason, Lord Takaya."

Rena's tone returned to its usual cold and hard tone.

"I've said it before, I'm a person who follows the rules."

"I've simply discovered that your secret doesn't harm the village, so I'm willing to keep it a secret for you—"