Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

"That kid, Dou, has great potential! I really like him!"

Nonou's breathing quickened slightly, and her eyelashes trembled, like a butterfly struggling before its wings are broken.

“Dou…that child…” Her voice was almost squeezed out from between her teeth, with a hint of pleading.

Hiruko's smile deepened as he leaned close to her ear, his warm breath brushing against her earlobe: "What? Worried he'll become my test subject?"

A tear silently slid down.

Uno was overwhelmed with indescribable guilt. Her fingertips unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes, and the fabric crumpled in her palm.

She lowered her head, her long eyelashes casting a shadow under her eyes, as if trying to conceal the turmoil in them.

Finally, she slowly knelt down, her voice so soft it was almost a sigh.

"Lord Hiruko... please spare Kabuto. I'll do any task, no matter what it is."

She didn't want to be a spy anymore, didn't want Dou to be used as a test subject, and even less did she want Dou to bear all of this for her.

That child has sacrificed so much for the orphanage, yet she, the director, has never been able to truly protect them…

Hiruko gazed at her quietly, his eyes lingering on her slightly trembling shoulders for a moment before he suddenly chuckled softly.

"I'm not a bad person."

Before he finished speaking, he had already reached out and grabbed her wrist, with a force that was neither too light nor too heavy, but enough to prevent her from breaking free.

With a little effort, he pulled her up.

Nono stumbled and almost bumped into his arms. The faint herbal scent emanating from him made her hold her breath for a moment.

“Remember this!!!” His thumb gently stroked her chin, forcing her to look up and meet his gaze.

Chapter 23 The Burning Passion of Possessiveness!

There was no trace of Danzo's scheming in Hiruko's eyes.

Yet it carried a kind of burning passion that bordered on possessiveness.

“You belong to me, no longer to that old man. As for your burdens… I will take care of them for you.”

Nono's lips were slightly dry, and she subconsciously pursed them.

"So nervous?" He chuckled softly, his fingertip lightly brushing against the corner of her lips, as if confirming something.

The two clung tightly together, seemingly suffocating, and Nono felt she couldn't breathe.

Only one thought remained in her mind: to follow the man in front of her.

It will make things easier for me!

A moment later, he released his grip.

He let her take half a step back and steady herself.

"Are you relieved now?"

Hiruko's tone was somewhat languid, yet it conveyed an undeniable air of authority.

“You are my woman, I will take care of you, as for the rest... you don’t need to worry about it anymore,” Hiruko said without any room for argument.

That old man Danzo probably knew all along that Nono couldn't monitor him.

It was just to make him owe more favors.

As for eating Nono, this is our first meeting, there's no need for that.

He wants to cultivate the relationship for a while first; he's not as impatient as the rumors suggest.

Even Yecang, an outsider, was treated with great patience, though whether Yecang himself liked it or not was another matter.

Seven days later, Minato Namikaze sat firmly on the Hokage's throne. The Third Hokage coughed lightly and slowly explained the reason for this emergency summons.

According to reliable intelligence, there have been some unusual developments in Kumogakure recently, which seem to be related to the leakage of some information from the Research Department, and they are quite uneasy about it.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Hidden Cloud Village's target is Konoha.

Although the Hidden Cloud Village has not yet made a formal move, the Hidden Leaf Village has already taken precautions.

After all, armed groups engaged in armed conflict will not act rashly; it will take time to prepare for a real war.

However, because of Hiruko, the other four great nations will never sit idly by and watch Konoha grow stronger; they will definitely seize the opportunity to act.

Although they did not form an open alliance, they had already reached a consensus in secret, intending to use a strategy of attrition warfare to make Konoha bleed profusely.

All the Jonin of Konoha, regardless of their rank, have already given their all for the village, and they are unwilling to let their comrades sacrifice themselves in vain.

But as ninjas who have experienced the ravages of war, they know very well that compassion and justice are often powerless on the battlefield, and the survival of Konoha is paramount.

Since war is unavoidable, let's fight it out!

Soon, the people of Konoha reached a consensus on this.

At this point, Danzo raised an extremely thorny issue: "We do not yet know the full extent of Kumogakure's strength, but Konoha is currently not fully recovered. If war breaks out now, we will face a fiscal deficit of nearly one billion ryo every month."

"Lord Hokage, do you have any insightful opinions?" Danzo asked, immediately targeting Minato Namikaze.

"what!"

Upon hearing the astonishing figure of a full ten billion ryo, Kakashi couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

It should be noted that even for an S-rank bounty mission, the reward is only a mere one million taels, yet Danzo casually mentioned an astronomical figure of nine taels.

This is almost equivalent to completing a thousand S-level missions!

Kakashi shrugged helplessly, feeling a wave of numbness wash over him.

However, Danzo clearly did not give up his intention to strike at Minato Namikaze. He continued, "This is just a matter of maintaining the most basic front line."

"If we want to wage a high-intensity war, the monthly deficit must be at least two billion taels."

The moment this number was announced, even the other Jonin present felt their scalps tingle.

But Hiruko, who was sitting to the side, knew that Danzo was not just talking nonsense.

This figure is even a conservative estimate.

Once war breaks out, the sound of cannons will consume vast sums of money, and the consumption of various resources and personnel will be like flowing water.

Take Asma's head, for example; its value is as high as 35 million taels.

To wage a decent war, the cost would be at least tens of billions of taels, which is perfectly normal in the Naruto world.

After all, in this world, even a bowl of plain ramen costs around sixty taels, and an egg costs fifteen taels.

Upon hearing Danzo's words, everyone present's expressions turned sour.

War is already a major headache, but the enormous costs it brings are even more disorienting and frightening.

Konoha still had a large amount of debt that had not yet been settled, and in accordance with the Third Hokage's style, he naturally chose to delay it slowly.

They rely on Konoha's fixed income to repay the debt little by little, like squeezing toothpaste.

But now that war is about to break out again, where will Konoha get the money?

Since the Land of Fire can't be relied upon, the only option left is to find a solution within Konoha.

This is what the major clans fear most, because most of the businesses within Konoha belong to them.

In this world where strength reigns supreme, buying low and selling high is the most normal thing to do.

Although Konoha is an organized entity, no matter how many restrictions are imposed on the surface, each major clan always finds a way to circumvent the rules and achieve their own goals.

Now, fifty years later, the various families, large and small, have combined to control nearly half of Konoha's wealth.

The idea of ​​increasing taxes to cope with the war is practically a death sentence for them.

Whoever does this task will inevitably face numerous difficulties and constant criticism.

The Third Hokage looked at Minato Namikaze and said calmly, "I think that in the current situation, the most suitable thing to do is to increase taxes so that everyone can persevere and get through this war together."

After hearing these words, Hiruko knew that his chance had come.

Although seizing control of the salt industry in the Land of Fire would likely lead to opposition from many, there wouldn't be much opposition during such a difficult time.

This might be the opportunity to change the status quo and gain more benefits for myself. My experiments have consumed too much money, and I can't expect Konoha to open up the source myself.

Moreover, Hiruko also wanted to change the ninja world through her own efforts, and this experiment was a perfect opportunity for her.

Moreover, if the salt industry were unified, Hiruko would have the ability to directly increase salt production, allowing ordinary people to have access to cheap and reliable salt.

This will naturally lead to a rapid increase in sales and a very fast rate of making money.

Once the initial capital accumulation is complete, Hiruko can vigorously develop the luxury goods industry, attract investment, and draw the poor people from the surrounding areas of Konoha to Konoha.

Asuma raised an objection: "The salt industry in the Land of Fire is mostly monopolized by nobles, and the salt production is really too low."

Even if we get the signboard, it won't be of much use.

"If we don't sell enough salt, we won't make much money."

Hiruko waved his hand and said confidently, "For us, expanding production is not a big problem."

Furthermore, for the Land of Fire, while salt is expensive, its production is too low to be of much value.

"The most crucial thing is..."

(Brothers, please give me some monthly votes! I'll be on the leaderboard soon, my monthly vote coefficient is too low!)

Chapter 24 The Curse of the Ninja World

"If we cede some of our interests to those nobles, we should be able to gain their support."

As for those salt merchants, if they really disagree, we can send a few ninjas with gifts to their doorsteps to offer our condolences and wish their whole family good health.

I believe we will obtain the salt industry license soon.

Of course, we must still prioritize peace and pay the due fees, striving for a peaceful reunification of the salt industry.

Hiruko immediately explained the tricks of this mission to the group.

After his own saltworks opened for business, sales naturally soared, and everyone benefited from it, since Beiruhu possessed modern salt-making technology.

It is entirely possible to dump salt into other countries.