Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

"I don't like waiting too long, so don't make me wait too long." After saying that, Scorpion closed his eyes again and ignored Hiruko.

"So you agree? Since you're not saying anything, I'll take that as your consent," Hiruko said.

At this moment, in the ruins not far from the Lost Tower of the Roran Kazekage, all the ninjas of Konoha gathered.

Within the territory of Loulan, massive ruins remain due to the problems with the dragon veins of that time.

Konoha undertook the project for Loulan. In order to build various infrastructure, it was natural to first clear away these ruins and build new buildings on the open ground.

When the workers in Konoha started digging, they discovered something strange, resembling ancient ruins.

The ruins contain massive stone tablets and fragments of stone slabs, inscribed with characters that modern people cannot decipher, as if they came from another unknown world.

After the news was reported, Uchiha Mikoto, Yamanaka Inoichi and the others did not dare to delay in the slightest. They immediately ordered people to collect and excavate these stone slabs and prepared to go to report to Namikaze Minato's team.

As for Queen Sara of Loulan, the ninjas of Konoha did not overlook her and sent someone to inform her.

After all, the ruins were discovered within the territory of Loulan. Perhaps Sara will have some inspiration that can help decipher the secrets of these ruins.

"The construction team unearthed ancient ruins?" Hiruko was stunned and surprised when he heard the news.

In his previous life's memories, he had never heard of any special relics in Loulan besides the dragon vein.

However, he quickly adjusted his mindset.

Just because it's not in the original work doesn't mean it's not here, and it's possible that this was left behind by Black Zetsu.

"Lord Hiruko, I have brought a sample of a stone slab. More slabs are still being excavated." Uchiha Mikoto instructed someone to carefully hold the stone slab and hand it to Hiruko.

Yamanaka Inoichi was carrying a plastic bag containing an irregularly shaped stone slab that looked like it had been broken off from a large stone tablet.

"Well done."

"Go and record all the inscriptions on those stone slabs with a camera, then carefully transfer them here. I want to study them myself," Hiruko said.

"Yes, Lord Hiruko." Yamanaka Ino nodded and then left.

After Yamanaka Inoichi left, Sasori, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "Hiruko, you took action this time because you were very interested in these ancient ruins, right?"

"Yes, I have a strong interest in ancient ruins."

"Perhaps the ruins record the secrets of the dragon vein, or perhaps they record a part of the history of human civilization in ancient times."

“If we investigate carefully, we might find some unexpected surprises,” Hiruko explained to Sasori beside her.

Now that the scorpion was free, Hiruko released him from the petri dish.

In the few days since he was released, Scorpion has been very well-behaved, only repairing the puppets by himself and rarely communicating with others.

Because he did not wear a Konoha ninja headband, most of the Konoha ninjas thought Sasori was Hiruko's apprentice, while only a few knew Sasori's true identity.

However, when the Konoha leadership reported to Minato Namikaze, Minato was quite tactful and did not have any negative thoughts about the relationship between Hiruko and Sasori.

He pretended that Sasori didn't exist, since he believed in Hiruko's strength and that suppressing Sasori would be a piece of cake.

He believed that Hiruko could completely subdue Sasori, Minato Namikaze secretly plotted in his heart.

"How long will it take you to study this?" Although Scorpion's voice lacked freedom, his tone still revealed a hint of displeasure.

"That's hard to say. It could be a month, or it could be a year or two," Hiruko said casually.

Scorpion frowned in displeasure and said, "I should have said that I hate waiting for others."

Seeing this, Hiruko reassured him, "Scorpion, be patient."

"My desire to explore parallel worlds is no less than yours, and this matter takes much higher priority in my mind than studying your puppetry techniques."

"However, before heading to the parallel world, I must arrange the work of the Konoha ninjas and reinforce the seal of Loulan."

"We'll talk about it after everything is arranged."

Hiruko quickly brought Sasori back to Konoha; he still had some things to take care of and couldn't stay there indefinitely.

Going to a parallel world isn't something that can be done right now.

What if the little scorpion doesn't like it?

Of course, we should give him a beating to make him behave, then send him to the research department, assign him some research tasks, and let him do his own research.

As Hiruko pondered these thoughts, Scorpion suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as if something was watching him.

Since returning, Hiruko has been working hard to reduce the Engel coefficient between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, and has finally made some progress.

However, the supply of fruit is ultimately limited, and it is not as convenient as canned fish and meat.

Moreover, the price of canned fish in Kirigakure is very low because their costs are inherently low.

Furthermore, given the relationship between Hiruko and Terumi Mei, Hiruko was willing to share some of their profits with them.

Although the Land of Water does not engage in large-scale deep-sea fishing, they have ninjas, or more precisely, they have had some mid- to low-ranking ninjas sign many large-scale aquatic summoning contracts.

Then these ninjas drove the fish directly into the fishing net.

This job is not difficult; even cruel people can do it, so the cost is very low.

There are two huge fishing grounds near Kirigakure Village, which are exceptionally rich in fish resources.

Giant sea monsters of the near-shore king level are not uncommon.

Thanks to these measures, the economy of Kirigakure Village has been greatly improved.

There's a strange rumor circulating in Kirigakure now that the ninjas are no longer going on dangerous missions, but instead are catching fish to sell to the Land of Fire.

Capturing those near-shore kings alive would earn you far more money than killing people.

As a shareholder of the Kirigakure cannery, Hiruko naturally understood the ins and outs of the matter.

As the cannery in Kirigakure Village continues to expand, the situation in Kirigakure Village is gradually improving.

After being called away by the Third Hokage for a talk, Hiruko's expression became serious.

"Is the economic situation in Fog Shadow becoming increasingly dire?"

Scorpion was a little confused. Didn't they just say that the situation in the Mist Shadow was getting better?

He simply couldn't understand what was wrong with the Third Hokage, who had just been talking to Hiruko.

No matter how you look at it, this old man is overthinking things.

Beiluhu knew that this was just an appearance.

Konoha is currently walking on thin ice, facing enormous dangers in both politics and economics.

As things stand, the Third Hokage is still alive and has earned the respect of many, which can help Minato Namikaze suppress the old man's discontent.

Even though Hiruko's radical actions caused great dissatisfaction among some older generation ninjas, the Third Hokage was always able to appease them.

The saying "Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure" still holds a lot of truth.

Hiruko's current reforms are so radical, and it's only thanks to the combined efforts of the Third and Fourth Hokage that the discontent of others is suppressed.

Otherwise, such a huge shift in interests would have driven those who suffered losses crazy long ago.

Although the threat to Konoha itself has not completely disappeared, the Third Hokage voluntarily stepped down.

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, possessed high prestige and had the Third Hokage assisting him.

This gave Minato Namikaze and Hiruko almost absolute power within Konoha.

The situation was indeed very difficult at first, but after successfully breaking the deadlock, they thought they could make a big splash in Konoha, but in practice they encountered many difficulties.

Just look at Kirigakure; Kirigakure doesn't have a veteran like the Third Hokage in charge.

In fact, the Mizukage of Kirigakure and his trusted Seven Ninja Swordsmen are not yet at full strength.

Speaking of which, this is all thanks to Guy's father, Might Dai, who killed four Kirigakure ninjas after opening the Eight Gates.

Of course, this is also thanks to the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, being a perfect Jinchūriki; otherwise, no one in Kirigakure would have been able to bear this pressure.

Furthermore, Kirigakure has long been in a state of ease and making money.

This environment, which fueled a high level of war-weariness, did indeed make the villagers very happy every day.

Although Hiruko was unclear about the specific reasons, she could clearly sense that Kirigakure's war-weariness was higher than that of other countries.

The real Blood Mist Village was actually orchestrated by Obito Uchiha.

However, Kirigakure itself has a similar dark tradition, which is an important reason why Obito was able to successfully implement his plan.

This situation would definitely not occur in Konoha.

If this were to actually happen to the Hokage of Konoha.

The next day, a large group of genjutsu masters arrived in Konoha to check whether the Hokage of Konoha was being controlled.

Because of the cannery, Yagura became increasingly popular in Kirigakure.

The cannery incident in the Land of Water caused quite a stir, forcing the nobles to be on high alert.

Because of the cannery incident, Yagura became increasingly reckless in his actions, speaking as if he didn't care about the consequences at all.

How could anyone not see the subtle relationship between him and the daimyo of the Land of Water? This relationship seemed to be clearly defined, but in reality, it was subtly fraught with contradictions.

It's one thing for a daimyo to complain occasionally, but Yagura actually dared to call out the daimyo directly and scold him.

To the face of the daimyo, he made sarcastic and sarcastic remarks about the nobles.

Although they were extremely polite to each other when they met, they can hardly maintain that politeness now.

The cannery incident was like a pressure cooker; it's not that the ninjas were against making money through the cannery.

From a financial perspective, the main market for Kirigakure's canned fish is in the Land of Fire, which presents significant risks.

Currently, the main rival of the Mist Shadow is Konoha in the Land of Fire. No matter who it is, no one can feel at ease when their economic lifeline is in the hands of their opponent.

Even if the Land of Fire doesn't make a fuss about this, some people's attitudes will gradually change as interests shift.

Hiruko was well aware of the trap he had set for Kirigakure.

Konoha cannot influence market trends, but it is easy for an opponent to create a trap.

The situation has reached an extremely dangerous point, a predicament deliberately created for Kirigakure by Hiruko.

If Kirigakure wants to take the cake thrown at them by Konoha, they must withstand the pressure from the nobles and even the daimyo of the Land of Water.

Clearly, the Land of Water hasn't actually made a move yet.

night.