Chapter 90

Is White Fang dead?

When the Third Kazekage of the Sand Hidden Village heard this news, he doubted whether the Sand Hidden Village's Anbu had made a mistake.

It was not that he doubted the strength of the other ninja villages, but the Third Kazekage believed that apart from the current Five Kage, there seemed to be no ninja capable of restraining the White Fang of Konoha.

On the battlefield, the Third Kazekage was not concerned about the destructive power of the White Fang of Konoha.

But this was a sharp blade that could penetrate deep into the enemy's territory, invincible.

Especially, the Konoha leadership was very adept at using this blade, never placing him on the front lines but using elite squads to carry out sabotage behind enemy lines. During wartime, this had once made the Sand Hidden Village unable to cope with both fronts.

At critical moments, it could deliver a fatal blow to the enemy.

In recent years, the squad he led had a 100% success rate, and many major merchants and nobles in the ninja world would specifically request Sakumo to complete their tasks.

This was a supreme trust.

Now, upon receiving the news of the death of the White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, from the Anbu, the Third Kazekage's first reaction was disbelief.

How could such a powerful ninja suddenly die?

"Who killed him? A ninja from the Cloud Hidden Village?"

The Third Kazekage's expression was solemn.

Although it was a bit reluctant, the Sand Hidden Village's overall strength was actually ranked last among the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Following Konoha was the Cloud Hidden Village of the Land of Lightning.

Most of the ninjas from this village were those who respected strength and mobility, possessing an extremely formidable combat will.

If anyone could kill the White Fang of Konoha, the Cloud Hidden Village's ninjas had the highest possibility.

"It's not like that, Lord Kazekage. The White Fang of Konoha... committed suicide."

"Committed suicide?!"

After the Sand Hidden Village Anbu finished speaking, the Third Kazekage's expression became extremely strange, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Suicide?

How could it be suicide?

The White Fang of Konoha actually committed suicide?

How is that possible?

What are those people in Konoha up to?

Is this a form of诱导 (inducement)? A conspiracy against the other four ninja villages?

"This is the course of events, Lord Kazekage."

The Anbu handed over the collected information to the Third Kazekage.

After receiving it, the Third Kazekage read it carefully from beginning to end, five or six times, and finally confirmed a fact—

The White Fang of Konoha is dead.

The White Fang of Konoha, who caused him so much headache, is dead.

He had already prepared to sacrifice the elite ninjas of the Sand Hidden Village to die alongside the White Fang of Konoha, but now the highly risky plan was no longer needed, and the Sand Hidden Village's ninjas didn't have to sacrifice their lives to kill the White Fang of Konoha.

For a moment, the Third Kazekage even thought that the Konoha leadership might actually be allies.

Understanding the cause of the incident, although not detailed, the Third Kazekage could guess some of it.

The Third Hokage of Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was nearly fifty and indeed it was time to select a successor.

The White Fang of Konoha, the Three Sages, and some other Konoha upper-level jōnin were all strong contenders for the Fourth Hokage.

This was just an internal political struggle within Konoha.

"..."

The Third Kazekage sighed.

The White Fang of Konoha... died so unworthily.

While feeling relieved that a major enemy was gone, he also felt a sense of sorrow, as this might be a warning.

No matter how powerful a village is, it should not use a method that hurts loved ones and pleases enemies to gain political leverage.

Regarding the election of the next Fourth Kazekage, it seems necessary to carefully review it to avoid following in Konoha's footsteps.

However, thinking that there should be no such person in the Sand Hidden Village and that he was still in his prime, it was not yet time to elect the next Kazekage.

With this thought, the Third Kazekage felt much more at ease.

"Pass this news to Elder Chiyo. The White Fang led his squad to kill his son and daughter-in-law. Now that the White Fang is dead, it can be considered revenge for her."

"Yes."

After the Sand Hidden Village Anbu left, the Third Kazekage let out a light sigh, took out a scroll from the drawer, and spread it on the table, carefully examining the content of the scroll.

This was the overall plan for future attacks on the Land of Fire and the containment of Konoha forces.

It included attack routes, supply lines, resource occupation points, and all action plans, all recorded in detail.

He crossed out one important section.

This section was the elimination of the White Fang of Konoha.

Since the White Fang of Konoha was already dead, there was no need to invest so many people in this section.

The extra manpower could be used in other critical sections.

"If only the Three Sages were like the White Fang..."

Saying this, the Third Kazekage felt he was being unrealistic.

The White Fang and the Three Sages belonged to different factions within Konoha, and their political capital was entirely different.

Regardless, the death of the White Fang of Konoha was a cause for celebration.

He would finish work early today and go home to have a good night's sleep.

◎

The other ninja villages gradually received the news of the White Fang's suicide.

Their public reactions varied—indifference, cold observation, excitement.

Many merchants and nobles in the ninja world were dissatisfied. They knew that the missions they had commissioned to Konoha were still pending, and they had spent a large sum of money to hire the White Fang of Konoha to complete these missions.

Now that the White Fang of Konoha was dead, the missions were being carried out by other upper-level jōnin.

Although the Konoha leadership decided to refund the excess funds from these missions, it still affected Konoha's credibility.

To be honest, since the Hokage himself could not participate in missions, the White Fang was now the face of Konoha. The nobles and merchants had great trust in this Konoha jōnin's abilities and credibility, and their interactions were always pleasant.

Not only did he protect their goods, but their personal safety was never compromised.

Currently, in Konoha, there was only one jōnin who could achieve such results.

After investigation, many nobles and merchants began to question Konoha.

They did not care about the internal struggles within the village; they only cared about their goods and personal safety, which the White Fang could provide.

Now that the White Fang was gone, their enthusiasm for Konoha naturally decreased.

According to incomplete statistics, Konoha's income from missions had declined significantly compared to previous years.

Among these, there were also rumors spread by other ninja villages, tarnishing Konoha's image and vindicating the White Fang.

The Konoha leadership had to bear the consequences of this.

◎

After Sakumo's death, things came to a close.

Shiro would also inquire about Kakashi's recent situation in the village or visit him personally.

Outside, he would have his subordinates look after him to avoid any accidents.

Shiro also rewarded his subordinates who secretly looked after Kakashi with salaries.

After all, this was not an official duty of the organization but a personal matter, so the funds had to be provided by himself.

During this period, Shiro also heard about something else.

The Konoha ninja who was saved by Sakumo ended his life in a similar manner at home, quietly and without a sound.

Shiro could not make a complete evaluation of this.

In Sakumo's heart, he had never blamed this Konoha ninja. Whether he slandered or not, it didn't matter; Sakumo didn't take it to heart.

He didn't need to commit suicide. He and Sakumo were both victims of this political struggle, mere tools to be discarded after use.

Even if it wasn't him, someone else would have done it, perhaps even more ruthlessly.

He had no fault, just an unfortunate coincidence.

He was just coincidentally chosen as the "spokesperson."

"704 people... excluding combat personnel and non-regular personnel, there are only 76 technical personnel? Monthly expenses, total income of the organization..."

In the underground laboratory of Konoha, Shiro held the information reported by the insect man.

This was the current scale of the organization, the number of bases in various countries, the salaries of personnel at each level, and the organization's industries...

No, the organization currently had no industries.

The organization's funds were maintained by the mines of Ruri.

The organization's finances were sufficient.

If not, they could sell another mine.

Even the mines of small countries would attract many merchants to bid, fetching a substantial price.

Among the current organization members, non-regular personnel were the most numerous. These were potential members of the organization but had not yet officially joined. There were about four hundred of them, responsible for less important tasks and not involved in the organization's core secrets.

Next were the combat personnel, all enhanced by Shiro using natural energy.

There were over two hundred of them.

Most were concentrated in the headquarters in the Land of Ghosts, with a few in various regions engaged in secret activities.

Like the elite squad led by the insect man, they were very rare, handling confidential and important tasks for the organization.

The remaining were technical personnel.

Among those engaged in scientific research, including Shiro, there were only six.

The majority were experts in other fields.

At this stage, Shiro felt the organization had reached a certain scale.

After all, natural energy was more convenient for mass-producing combat personnel compared to chakra.

First, improve their taijutsu, and they can gradually learn ninjutsu. Even if they can't learn ninjutsu and are unsuitable as ninjas, combat personnel enhanced by natural energy can still hold their own against genin.

The organization's next plan was still to recruit more personnel, needing experts from various fields.

They also needed to establish companies to increase the organization's income, not relying solely on selling mines.

There were enough personnel, and there were no financial issues.

What he needed now was someone skilled in business operations to take charge.

Finding a list, Shiro locked onto a person.

Under this person's expertise, it was marked "business."

"Kakuzu... let this person try it..."

As Ruri said, throw the money out and see what happens.

At some point, Shiro felt his confidence was unprecedentedly strong.

This was the power of "money."

"By the way, the organization still needs an accountant..."

Thinking of something else, Shiro realized the organization still lacked a person skilled in accounting.

Although someone was handling it, it was not professional enough.

A professional accountant was needed.

◎

In the Land of Tea, a very old and rarely visited teahouse.

In the hidden basement of the teahouse was a branch of the underground money exchange.

The insect man and four others came here to communicate with the staff.

"We need to hire a professional in finance."

The staff member was taken aback upon hearing the insect man's request.

"Hire a financial manager?"

"Yes, can such a task be posted?"

"It can be posted, but such tasks are rare. Most of what we receive are corpses, and requests for live people are few."

The staff member nodded, understanding the insect man's request.

Although the task content was a bit strange, since it was the customer's demand, they had to try to meet it.

With their information network, finding a professional in finance for the insect man was not difficult.

"We'll keep an eye out for you. If we find someone, I can offer you a reward of 200,000 ryō."

After posting the task, the insect man was about to leave when the staff member immediately responded, "Insect man, please wait. I have a suitable candidate. Would you like to hear about it?"

The most important thing was not the money but making the customer feel welcome.

Their service philosophy was to make customers feel satisfied.

The staff member convinced himself of this.

"Oh?"

The staff member's attitude became more enthusiastic.

After all, 200,000 ryō was a substantial amount of money for him.

"Have you heard of the legend of the immortal in the underground money exchange?"

"Immortal?"

"That's a strange person who has worked in the underground money exchange for decades. It's said his appearance has never changed, always a VIP in our exchange. I heard he is obsessed with money, calculating to a degree that makes many people give up. Many people joke that he should be a financial manager in a large company, not a bounty hunter."

The insect man became interested.

"Who is he?"

"A man named Kakuzu. I think he is the financial manager you're looking for. He has unparalleled experience in this field."

"Where can I find him?"

"He was here a few days ago. He usually stays in a country for one or two months before moving on to hunt elsewhere. He should still be in the Land of Tea. Here is his photo."

The staff member found a photo and placed it in the insect man's hand.

The insect man put the photo in his pocket and took out a 100,000 ryō note, placing it in the staff member's hand.

"If he is indeed the financial manager we're looking for, I will pay the remaining 100,000 ryō later."

"Have a safe journey, Insect man."

With the staff member's sincere bow, the insect man and his four companions left.