Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 162 The Sky Over Konoha is Too Narrow for Me

"I see. Then please guide me in the future."

Aokiji ran his finger across his forehead, behaving frivolously, and called out, "Brother Kakuzu."

Regarding Aoki's behavior of bowing to the dock when he came up, Jiaodu snorted coldly, looking very cold.

Feeling snubbed, Aokiji coughed twice to cover his embarrassment: "Then it's time to divide the spoils, shall we?"

"Um……"

In order to continue cooperation in the future, Kakuzu has no intention of taking it all for himself.

In his view, the Sharingan's abilities were quite convenient, whether for hypnosis or for extracting information. This successful robbery was also thanks to Aokiji's Sharingan.

Not long after, the two of them came to the place where the treasure was stored. Due to the rush of time, the two of them did not even confirm the valuable things they got from the house.

Now that we have some spare time, we should definitely make sure to check it carefully.

The first step is to classify the treasures. Gold, silver and jewelry should be placed in a box, banknotes should be placed in a box, rare treasures, antiques, calligraphy and paintings should also be placed in a box.

There are many valuable items, and classifying them is not an easy task.

After sorting through the treasures for an unknown amount of time, Aokiji found an ancient-looking treasure chest among the pile of treasures. Out of curiosity, he wanted to open it to find out what was inside, but he couldn't open it because he didn't have the key, and the outside was also very hard, so Aokiji couldn't pry it open no matter how hard he tried.

"Tsk, this thing is pretty sturdy."

As they were talking, a hand reached out and, without saying a word, took the treasure chest.

"Feed..." Aokiji complained.

He ignored the horn and used a secret technique. Tentacles emerged from his hand, drilled into the keyhole, fiddled with it for a bit, and opened the box. Inside was a half-black, half-white scroll.

Roller?

Generally speaking, things recorded on a roll are usually quite valuable.

Kakuzu spread it out, his eyes darting left and right a few times, his initial enthusiasm immediately turning to disinterest, ready to toss it to Aokiji at any moment.

Aokiji asked, "What's recorded inside...?"

Jiao Du wasn't very interested: "Just see for yourself..."

Out of curiosity, Aokiji picked it up and glanced at it briefly.

They are all things like the Seven Losses and Eight Benefits, the Ten Movements and Ten Stillnesses, which are obscure and difficult to understand as a whole. The two words that are most involved are Yang and Yin. Then, two people need to cooperate, with their bodies touching, and borrow each other's other hand to form hand seals. Through the connection between people, a deep level of chakra exchange can be achieved.

Considering that this technique requires two people, Aokiji thought he could bring Tsunade along for research and practice, and have a gradual exchange of ideas.

Seeing Aokiji's eyes light up, the eldest brother, Kakuzu, couldn't help but pour cold water on him: "You don't actually believe what's on the scroll, do you?"

Chakra has existed for over a thousand years, and in the process, many ingenious ninjutsu techniques have been created.

Naturally, there were others who tried to develop this kind of ninjutsu, but without exception, they all failed. The scroll in Aokiji's hands was ultimately just a theory.

How will you know if you don't try?

"boring."

"Brother Kakuzu, how old are you this year?"

"Don't pry into my past."

"I bet you've never had a girlfriend, never been in a relationship."

Kakuzu snorted coldly, realizing he had been right.

All he wants right now is to make money; he has no interest in any of that bullshit love story.

Aokiji shrugged, deciding to test the waters first to pave the way for continued exploration in the future, so that the relationship between the two sides could gradually become more stable.

Suddenly remembering something, Aokiji became listless.

Kakuzu looked puzzled.

"Nothing?" Aokiji shook his head, feeling a little sad that he was too young to spar with Tsunade this year. He changed the subject: "Brother Kakuzu, can I ask you something?"

"What's wrong?"

Where do you usually keep your earnings?

His words could easily put him on alert.

"Don't get me wrong, I mean where do you usually spend the money you earn? You don't seem like the type to spend money extravagantly to me."

Kakuzu remained silent.

Aokiji covered his mouth in surprise, looking at Kakuzu with an expression as if he were an idiot: "Could it be... that you've saved all your money?"

In the future, Kakuzu will be criticized by Hidan for working to earn money while on a mission. Generally speaking, people with a real sense of financial management would not do something so time-consuming and laborious.

Aokiji guessed that Kakuzu's personality was somewhat similar to that of an NBA star. He had an extremely strong ability to attract attention, but because he was uneducated, he was not good at managing money and gave most of his money to his agent.

"Is there a problem?"

Jiao didn't have the habit of spending money; he would entrust his usual money to his trusted confidants to manage.

"Don't you know how stupid that is?"

Kakuzu's expression was slightly angry; it was the first time someone had ever insulted him like that to his face.

Aokiji held up two fingers and casually gave two examples: "Do you know what the time value of money is, and what inflation is?"

angle:???

It sounds very high-end and classy.

Aokiji smiled slightly and, picking up on what others had said, gave a general overview of the two theories.

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through; he suddenly understood that saving money could actually cause it to depreciate...

I've learned something new.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

After saying this, Kakuzu found it somewhat amusing that someone his age would ask a thirteen-year-old kid such a question like a student.

But what they said really makes sense.

Aokiji smiled slightly, adopting a mysterious and inscrutable expression: "That's why I said I wanted to invest."

"Investing money in the country, right?" Kakuzu recalled the idea he had just mentioned.

"That's right. In this world, every business carries the risk of losing money, but there is one exception: a business that guarantees a profit."

Kakuzu asked, "What?"

Aokiji said in a deep voice: "Monopoly."

"monopoly?"

"The state is not only a violent machine, but also the biggest monopolist."

Kakuzu pondered the logic of these words: "That makes a lot of sense, but how can you be sure that the daimyo of a country will obediently listen to us? As far as I know, those daimyo are all quite arrogant fellows."

Aokiji smiled and said, "He will listen."

Why?

"It's very simple. All we need to do is support the daimyo. More precisely, all we need to do is have the daimyo serve us. With that, aren't you afraid the daimyo will obey us?"

Kakuzu listened with great interest: "How do we do it?"

"First, we need to find a prince-like figure who has fallen on hard times due to a coup, and then we will help this prince restore his kingdom. In this way, we will have control of the country."

Kakuzu understood his thoughts, but one question remained: "Where do we go to find a prince in distress?"

"If there are no conditions, we'll go for it; if there are no conditions, we'll create them," Aokiji said with a smile.

"Hmph, this kid's keeping me in suspense, isn't he..." Angle grinned.

Aokiji smiled and said, "Who knows..."

"Alright, stop pretending to be profound with me. Just tell me what you want to do. For the sake of money, I will definitely support your plan."

"It's very simple. We just need to provoke those ambitious and powerful people around the king, and then we can cause some minor mishaps for the lord. At that time, with power vacant, the ambitious ones will definitely seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stage a coup. And at that moment, the young prince will surely be protected and taken away by his loyal guards. This is the most common tactic."

Kakuzu understood the line of thought and continued, "And then we'll be helping this prince restore his kingdom, right? Gaining his trust, right?"

Aokiji shook his head: "How could that be? I've already said it, what I want is for this daimyo to be my subordinate, not our collaborator."

Kakuzu was taken aback.

Aokiji smiled: "How much do you think a person changes over a few years?"

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu understood and laughed: "It'll probably be very big."

"That's right, we can just find someone to impersonate him, and then launch a counterattack under the banner of this prince. At that time, the people who have suffered exploitation under the new king will surely line the streets to welcome us." Aokiji clenched his fist into the air with one hand: "And at that time, the whole country will be ours."

Kakuzu laughed, "I don't know whether it's a misfortune or a blessing for Konoha to have someone like you."

Aokiji turned his back, stood with his hands behind his back, and gazed at the sky at a 45-degree angle. His eyes were like a deep sea as he said in a deep voice, "The sky over Konoha is too narrow for me..."

There's no way around it that Aokiji and Kakuzu are so open and honest with each other.

Kaku knows everything about himself, and Aokiji can't beat him. Since he can't kill him, the only option left is to pull him into his camp and tie their interests together.

To make Kakuzu a part of the same group, Aokiji needs to constantly act arrogantly and act like a saint in front of others to highlight his own value.

Of course, his frankness with Kakuzu was, in a way, a deliberate attempt to create a weakness in Kakuzu's mind so that Kakuzu would feel comfortable cooperating with him.

Aokiji continued, "And once you reach this point, you can clear your name and go ashore."

Upon hearing this, Jiao was taken aback.

Aokiji laughed and said, "You're not planning to be a bounty hunter for the rest of your life, are you? Once we take control of this country, you'll be able to transform into the head of the country's tax bureau, and you'll have control over the entire country's economic lifeline."

"The tax bureau chief?"

This is yet another completely new name that no one has ever heard of.

Aokiji hummed in agreement and explained, "This is a new term I invented. You can think of it as the Minister of Finance."

"And at that time, your daily work will be mostly collecting taxes from the people, which is legal and compliant, much safer than being a bounty hunter. I think you would like it."

Upon hearing the promised position, Kakuzu's eyes became glazed over. However, he still didn't quite understand what the connection was between plotting to seize power and investing in the country. Thinking of this, he told Aokiji about his doubts.

Aokiji laughed and said, "You should invest all the money you've collected into this country to improve the living standards of its residents."

What?!

Upon hearing that he would have to use his own money to help the people with infrastructure construction, he, who was always stingy, immediately became unhappy.

In his mind, the first thing to do after gaining control of the country should be to amass wealth. There's no reason for him to give away money on his own.

"I think you need to give me an explanation," he asked.

"Don't worry, I won't let you suffer."

Aokiji smiled slightly: "I think you need to understand two concepts at this time: the lower structure determines the superstructure and sustainable exploitation."

(End of this chapter)