They're promoting the "Konoha threat" theory, and spouting nonsense about the Hidden

Chapter 167 Black Zetsu, what do you know about academic matters?

To be honest, after Black Zetsu's performance, if it were someone else, they might actually be fooled by this thing and then mobilize Kirigakure to do their best for this "illusory" clone of the Sage of Six Paths.

As for now... Hozuki Shingetsu's idea is how to cooperate with Black Zetsu to perform this act well, and then guide it to his own advantage.

Putting everything else aside, this complete version of the Chakra Cannon is related to the safety of the entire ninja world.

That's great! There are still some things missing in the process of developing the Chakra Cannon. In order to develop it as soon as possible and quickly rescue the Sage of Six Paths' incarnation, you should at least use the characteristics of this planet's will to help out, right?

"Of course, although this is for the benefit of the entire ninja world, I won't let you work for nothing. I'll cover all the funding your Hidden Mist Village needs for developing this chakra cannon!"

Black Zetsu, seeing Hozuki Shingetsu's silence, assumed he was distressed about the money spent on developing the chakra cannon, and immediately took on the responsibility of covering the expenses.

Although it is currently penniless, as an existence that has traveled through the ninja world for a thousand years using the Mayfly Technique and thought about how to break the war in the ninja world every day, it knows better than anyone where there are gold mines and what rich resources are in the ninja world continent.

It's not just the resources of the Ninja World Continent; even the resources of the Eastern Continent on the other side of the distant ocean can be found by Black Zetsu if he wants them.

And even if it can't make it alone, there are still 100,000 White Zetsu in the Divine Tree!

With so many White Zetsu unleashing this Mayfly Technique together, no matter how deeply hidden the resources of the ninja world are, they cannot escape their detection!

Besides, if all else fails, it can always steal money from the homes of powerful and wealthy people in various countries of the ninja world!

With its mayfly technique and disguise technique, it might be a little difficult to steal the Book of Seals from Konoha in this vast ninja world, but money is a piece of cake.

"I've heard that the black markets in the ninja world often keep large amounts of cash. You could go check them out when you have some free time... Also, the bounty hunters have quite a lot of savings, especially one guy named Kakuzu. I've heard he's a simple person who just likes to save money. If you have time, you could go and take a look..."

Black Zetsu thought about it intermittently. It had simply looked down on this money before, but now, if it needed it, it had a million ways to raise a large amount of money.

"Are you planning to reimburse all the funds spent on developing the Chakra Cannon?"

Upon hearing this, Hozuki Shingetsu immediately snapped out of his reverie, a hint of excitement appearing on his face.

If he doesn't seize this golden opportunity to extort money, he'll be wasting his title of "Ninja Fox Demon"!

"Since the consequences of developing this chakra cannon are so severe, then for the sake of peace in the ninja world and for the sake of future generations, it is only right and proper for Kirigakure to develop the complete version of this weapon to shatter the moon!"

Hozuki Shingetsu said with a righteous and awe-inspiring expression.

However, he then began to make demands of Black Zetsu, proposing various matters that he had thought about years ago and needed Black Zetsu to do.

"First of all, there's the research and development funding. As you know, to make this chakra cannon go from destroying mountains with a single strike to shattering the moon with a single shot, and from having a range of twenty kilometers to having a range of thousands of kilometers, the difference is not small. It requires a lot of manpower and resources to research and experiment."

Hozuki Shingetsu initially made it seem like this matter was extremely difficult, deliberately exaggerating its complexity to pave the way for the demands he would later make.

"So, regarding funding, let's just start with 20 billion!"

Having such a good opportunity to extort money, Hozuki Shingetsu first made an outrageous demand for funds, stating a figure that would shock everyone.

During Ren's rule, 20 billion yen would have been equivalent to four years of Kirigakure's military expenditure. Even now, 20 billion yen would be enough for Kirigakure to live on for a year.

Hozuki Shingetsu dared to ask for such a high price precisely because he knew that Kuro had no concept of money and was desperate to save his mother.

"...Two hundred billion, isn't that too much?"

When Black Zetsu heard this, even though it had no concept of money, it still felt that the number was wrong and did not seem to be the number that a normal research and development plan should have.

"Two hundred billion is too much? What do you know!"

Hozuki Shingetsu knew that now was the time to act decisively, so she retorted with full confidence:

"Do you know what's needed to complete this full-fledged Chakra Cannon?"

"The Hidden Mist Village, the Council of Elders, the Jonin Conference, the Chakra Research Institute, nine departments under the defense industry, 600 related specialties, 8000 supporting manufacturers... In short, it requires a great power to complete it."

Do you still think that number is a lot?

After listening, Black Zetsu remained silent. It seemed that this chakra cannon was not so easy to make after all.

"...Are there any other conditions?"

"certainly!"

Hozuki Shingetsu then raised other demands, "and then there's the issue of energy."

"To achieve a range of thousands of kilometers, an extremely powerful chakra energy source would be required. Based on our estimation, it would probably take tens of thousands of ninjas providing the energy simultaneously to activate this full-scale chakra cannon."

Hozuki Shingetsu casually made up a number and then said, "However, after searching through numerous records, I found that hundreds of years ago in the ninja world there was a chakra ore called 'Grell Stone,' which was said to contain a large amount of chakra energy. If we could find this ore, the energy problem would be solved."

"Greel's Stone?"

Black Zetsu's heart stirred. He had not only heard of this mineral, but had even personally visited the country that was founded on the Grell Stone hundreds of years ago.

As Hozuki Shingetsu said, the Grell Stone does indeed possess a large amount of chakra.

If that's the case, this thing does seem to be a necessity for research and development. And it's easy to find; Black Zetsu remembers the general location of that country, so White Zetsu can spend time searching for it later.

"Not only that, besides the funds and energy, we also need a ninjutsu, a ninjutsu that can help us save a lot of time."

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at Black Zetsu, secretly amused but maintaining a serious expression on his face, and continued to deceive him: "Because this chakra cannon involves so many aspects, and there are many key technologies that need to be overcome, it is estimated that it will take ten years or even longer to complete with the current manpower."

"However, some of those key technologies were actually mastered by our predecessors, but they were not passed down due to war and issues of inheritance."

"So if you can obtain Konoha's Impure World Reincarnation technique, we can use this ninjutsu to revive those people. With their skills enhanced, the development time could be greatly accelerated!"

As Hozuki Crescent Moon revealed his true intentions, he made this final request.

"The Impure World Reincarnation Technique?"

Black Zetsu frowned. Although Hozuki Shingetsu's words made a lot of sense, from a negotiation perspective, Black Zetsu felt that he couldn't agree to him so easily.

It's not that obtaining this Impure World Reincarnation technique is difficult. After all, even if it's not easy to steal it from the Book of Seals in Konoha, Madara Uchiha already possessed this forbidden technique. It's easy to find a reason to trick Madara Uchiha into giving it away.

The key issue is that I was already in a passive position in this transaction, and now that Hozuki Shingetsu has put forward so many conditions, it would seem too easy for me to agree to them all without reservation.

As we all know, in negotiations and transactions, being easy to talk to means that others can bully you at will.

I don't care whether it's bullied or not, the key is that I'm afraid Hozuki Shingetsu will take the money and not do anything, and will do something underhanded in the chakra cannon development project, then we're doomed.

It vaguely sensed that Hozuki Shingetsu's purpose in wanting the Impure World Reincarnation technique was not pure, so it deliberately thought of using this forbidden technique to manipulate Hozuki Shingetsu.

"The Impure World Reincarnation technique is a bit troublesome for me, but not difficult," Black Zetsu said, his words displaying the air of a planetary will. However, he quickly changed the subject, saying:

"But as the will of the planet, I must do my best to maintain the balance between this Pure Land and the mortal world. It is best not to disturb the sleeping souls in the Pure Land unless absolutely necessary."

"And are these technologies really that difficult to overcome? Can't we overcome them by working hard and putting in extra hours?"

Faced with Black Zetsu's question, Hozuki Shingetsu, who was already prepared, immediately responded with a disdainful tone: "Overcome? That's an academic matter. How much do you know about it?"

"Do you know what gravity is? Do you know what initial velocity a projectile needs to overcome a planet's gravity? What is the difference between the first and second cosmic velocities? And how should a fire control system be designed to ensure a hit on the moon?"

Faced with Hozuki Shingetsu's barrage of questions, Black Zetsu remained silent for a long time before finally managing to utter a single sentence:

"...Are there any other conditions?"

(End of this chapter)