Naruto: I'm really not an evil scientist!

"I never expected that Wuyin would have such great talent. I have underestimated the heroes of the world."

It's normal for the ruler of the Bird Country to think this way. Due to various subjective and objective reasons, the ruler's subordinates generally focus on their own country and would never treat the whole world as a pawn like Hiruko.

As the ruler of the country, he had already sensed something was amiss.

However, due to the limitations of the era, he was unable to articulate the nature of certain problems.

Until Biluhu united everything and pierced through the illusion for him.

Some things are just that simple; those who know how find them easy, while those who don't find them difficult.

"only."

You just don't have the money, right?

It was only at this point that Hiruko revealed the story of Bird Shit Island.

"Your Highness, you are unaware of the following."

Hiruko had her reasons for leaving the matter of Bird Shit Island until the end, rather than mentioning it at the beginning.

If we had said it from the beginning, it would have certainly caught the attention of the Bird Country.

After all, it's just a small country. It can become rich and powerful just by relying on phosphates. It doesn't need to smelt copper at all.

They also felt pressured by going against the Daimyo of the Land of Water, and the loyalty of the Ryu ninja was indeed questionable.

But if you have the money... why not take it one step at a time?

Even without Kirigakure bringing it up, the Land of Birds would temporarily abandon the idea of ​​forming a ninja village.

After all, there are still nine years to go, not tomorrow.

These guys have safer options and won't choose overly radical solutions.

But... if we do that, Konoha won't benefit.

Seeing this as a rare opportunity, Hiruko wanted to bring the Bird Country into the trade system dominated by the Fire Country.

All that preamble was just to drag the Bird Country into it.

The ruler of the Bird Country clearly hadn't thought that far ahead. He knew that Kirigakure had been forced to come and didn't genuinely want to offend him for the sake of the Daimyo.

Now that Hiruko has explained all the reasons behind things to him, and has pointed out a series of strategies for enriching the country and strengthening the army, he feels that there is no need to establish a ninja village anymore.

He was not worried that Berlugh had deceived him.

Having not slept for two days and two nights, even an adult would be extremely tired, but the king of the Bird Kingdom was in a great mood and didn't care about any of that.

He chuckled lightly, his tone relaxed.

Clearly, for him, making certain decisions is also a very difficult thing.

"You guys... it turns out that the Hidden Mist Village came prepared."

Since you have such a detailed plan, why didn't you write a letter earlier, instead of causing everyone to argue?

Mei Terumi wished she could stab the other person with a water knife.

If Beiliuhu had performed even slightly worse today, someone would probably have been bleeding.

However, after receiving a look from Hiruko, Mei Terumi still stepped forward and bowed slightly.

"This was indeed my oversight, please forgive me!"

"Oh dear, Lord Mizukage, you are too kind. It was just a brief mention... Please don't take it to heart."

Although the nobles were heavily criticized, the king was in a very good mood.

The weight has been lifted after so many days, and I feel exceptionally happy.

He chatted with Terumi Mei for a few more minutes, but for some reason, he suddenly changed the subject and returned to Hiruko.

"Oh, by the way, Lord Mizukage, I haven't had the chance to ask you before... I wonder if this gentleman is married? I have a daughter named Toki, whom I cherish dearly. She is gentle and virtuous. I don't know."

Princess Zhulu is indeed a great beauty in the story... I don't know her exact age, since it's not appropriate to ask about a princess's information, but what I can say for sure is that she's at most a little girl like Xiaoxue... Hey, that's your own daughter!

Don't you see the age difference between us?! And I'm a ninja now, are you really willing to give that up?!

Mei Terumi watched Hiruko's reaction intently, her eyes fixed on him.

Hiruko's face gradually contorted.

……

Throughout the entire ordeal, Hiruko never spoke much about the wandering ninjas with the ruler of the Land of Birds, but everyone knew that the wandering ninjas' hope of establishing a village was gone.

They couldn't argue with Beiliuhu.

As for fighting... Kisame alone could take care of all the wandering ninjas.

If the stakes were high enough, these ruthless bandits wouldn't mind fighting Kisame, but things had come to this point, and Mei Terumi was the Mizukage. Even though they were extremely unwilling, they could only slink away.

After chatting for two days, everyone was exhausted.

Even though the king of the Bird Kingdom wanted to continue his audience with Hiruko, his body simply couldn't take it anymore, so he had to give up for the time being.

In this way, Hiruko resolved the huge crisis in Kirigakure with just a few words.

While grateful, Terumi Mei also had some questions in her mind.

"Is it...too easy?"

"You noticed?"

"No, I just have a feeling... are you hiding something from me?"

Of course they hid it.

And most importantly—he didn't crack down on the old forces at all.

The Naruto world is similar to India; it had an industrial revolution, but only half of it was implemented.

The relations of production did not undergo significant changes.

The Land of Fire is teeming with unscrupulous merchants, compradors, yakuza, clan forces, illegal churches, speculators, corrupt officials, and even some individuals that are difficult to categorize, such as Hiruko.

Even the Land of Fire, a nation with an industrial faction, couldn't achieve this, so the Land of Birds is out of the question.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Beiliuhu has expanded the pie and everyone is making money; it's a harmonious and happy place.

In less than five years, these valuable companies will definitely join forces and swallow up the whole cake.

Hiruko did not underestimate them simply because they possessed far greater power than others.

Even when Hiruko wanted to share some secret techniques in Konoha, he faced numerous difficulties, let alone sharing them with the whole world.

Fortunately, the Land of Birds is not Konoha, so he is not responsible for the Land of Birds.

Since the ruler of the Bird Kingdom only likes to hear good news, then he should only tell good news.

Years later, even if all the new cakes he had found were devoured by expensive items, what would that have to do with him?

A backward country riddled with contradictions is in the best interest of Konoha and the Land of Fire.

If the worst-case scenario occurs... Senior Brother Nagato will step in.

This guy has been planning to create a Ninja Country lately—Hiruko's constant provocations have made him value the power of the collective more than in the original work, rather than relying on his Kage-level power to act recklessly.

The only problem is that we haven't decided on a location yet.

The Land of Rain would have been the best choice, but he clearly didn't want his hometown to become the target of everyone's criticism.

If that's the case... then what's the difference between him and Hanzo the Salamander?

"I can defeat the enemy, but I cannot defeat people's hearts... However, this is a matter for the Bird Kingdom, so let's not meddle too much, or we'll be disliked."

Mei Terumi stared at Hiruko for a long time before finally nodding silently.

……

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were few. The trio did not leave, but instead stayed near the palace in the Bird Country.

It wasn't that Hiruko liked wasting time; he simply had many things to do.

The Bird Country was extremely excited about the profitable business they had just secured, and they wouldn't let the trio leave anytime soon.

In order to completely eliminate the hidden dangers of Kirigakure and to get Mei Terumi's help in finding the Tenseigan, Hiruko had no choice but to stay patiently.

It's getting colder and colder lately.

Hiruko left the inn and went to the nearest izakaya (Japanese pub).

The proprietress greeted her warmly and asked if Hiruko needed any special services.

These days, human life is worthless, and so is integrity.

People in large countries suffer, but people in small countries suffer even more.

The proprietress was very enthusiastic, but when she saw Hiruko gesture with her hand near her waist, indicating that she wanted a girl as tall as him to accompany her, the proprietress immediately turned cold and stopped talking about it.

Despite knowingly committing the offense, Hiruko didn't care. He ordered a private room, a sukiyaki, and two bottles of ice wine, and sat down alone to slowly drink.

—Back in the day, the first time he drank alcohol in the Naruto world was when he drank with Minato.

This bastard tricked him, making him drink room temperature wine... Damn, it was winter, he almost froze to death...

Hiruko took a couple of sips of wine, and for some reason, he started thinking about the past.

He doesn't actually drink much; he just has too many worries lately.

On the surface, Konoha appears to be as stable as ever, but this year, Hiruko has really overdrawn too many of Konoha's diplomatic resources.

Moreover, he has been going out far too often lately. Even with Kakashi as a substitute, he can't hide it for long—Hiruko has too many criminal records. The diplomats from the three great ninja villages are keeping a close eye on him to prevent him from sneaking out to play again.

Only Sunagakure is an exception...

Needless to say, the matter of Nagato is another story.

Nobody's a fool; they're just not used to modern operations yet.

In other words, all five great ninja villages are currently facing their own thorny issues... but one day, they will resolve their current problems and focus their attention on Konoha, the leading village among the five.

Nine years was just an ultimatum.

It is not a mandatory time limit.

"Hey."