Malphegor
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IUTT: Ch. 93
🕑 Added 2025-05-26 00:15:06 +0000 UTC"What did you mean just now?" Ashina asked with a slightly trembling voice.
"It's simple. After we wipe out the last two waves of enemies tomorrow, we spread the word." Shin spoke. "Tell the entire shinobi world that the Land of Whirlpools has been devastated to this extent, it's practically a fallen nation. But we will never let the other ninja villages have it easy. So from now on, no matter who it is, whichever village is the first to set foot in the Land of Whirlpools, we will use every last ounce of our strength to fight them to the death. Even if our nation perishes, we'll tear a piece of flesh from them."
"If they all come at once, we'll single out one village and beat them savagely. As for the others, we won't spare them a single glance until our last breath. But they need to know, if that day really comes, before we go down with them, we will burn all our food and homes. We'll sink all our gold, silver, treasures, jutsu scrolls, everything of value, into the sea. No one will get a single scrap of benefit from the Land of Whirlpools ever again. This is to show one thing: since it's already come to this, and our nation is on the brink, we no longer care."
"Uh... Do we really have to go this far?" Ashina asked hesitantly.
"This is the only path." Shin nodded seriously. "On the surface, it looks like the Land of Whirlpools hasn't lost much this time, but we really can't afford to fight anymore. Once reinforcements from the other nations arrive, the Land of Whirlpools will be doomed. Not even Tsunade and I can save it. Only if you're truly ready to flip the table will the other villages be too scared to touch you."
"In the end, war is about gaining profit for your country!" Shin continued. "If they attack again and get nothing but heavy losses in return, especially since only one of them will be randomly chosen as our target, none of them will want to continue fighting. Because every one of them will worry that they might be the unlucky one. The major villages are already in a state of mutual suspicion. Their original plan was to profit while weakening Konoha."
"But now? They're the ones who've been weakened. Konoha hasn't lost a single soldier. Do you think any of them would be foolish enough to take the lead now? All of this depends on whether you're truly ready to overturn the table. We might be able to fool them once, but it's hard to do it a second time. If we don't show real determination, they won't back down."
Ashina's mind was spinning rapidly, analyzing the feasibility of Shin's words. In the end, he realized that this truly was the only way to save their nation. The geography of the Land of Whirlpools ensured that no other country would want to keep getting entangled endlessly.
If attacking the Land of Whirlpools only brought losses and no benefit, all the other ninja villages would restrain themselves.
"Shin," Ashina finally made a decision. His eyes were blazing. "I want to entrust you with all of the Land of Whirlpools' property, supplies, and jutsu scrolls for safekeeping."
"What? Me?" Shin looked surprised, though inside he was overjoyed.
This is the moment I've been waiting for! This is the sentence I've wanted to hear!
He quickly waved his hand. "I can't. Wouldn't that make me everyone's target?"
It wasn't surprising that Ashina would think this way. If it weren't for Shin's interference, under Danzō's subtle influence, Ashina would've handed everything from the Land of Whirlpools over to Konoha for safekeeping. After all, with their nation on the verge of collapse, Ashina truly wanted to preserve some kind of seed, some hope.
But who would've thought that the promising Uzumaki ninjas chosen as the hope of the nation would be ambushed on their journey and scattered?
Who would've thought that the citizens of the Land of Whirlpools would be forcibly taken by the Daimyō of the Land of Fire?
Who would've thought that in the end, only the wealth of the Land of Whirlpools would make it into Konoha?
Of course, to silence public criticism, Konoha's higher-ups publicly stated that they wouldn't take a single coin from their ally.
Then, acting very generously, they gave one-tenth of the treasure to Kushina as compensation, making her the richest person in Konoha. They flattered her with sweet words, securing her loyalty as the future Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
As for the remaining nine-tenths, they quietly split it among themselves.
Later, after Kushina and Minato died, they told everyone that their child had tragically perished during the Night of the Nine-Tails. Then they seized the couple's entire estate. In this way, the Konoha higher-ups claimed all the credit and all the benefits.
They then branded Naruto with the title of "demon fox's child", gave him a monthly living allowance of 5000 ryō as so-called "compensation," and forbade anyone from being kind to him. Yet he still felt deep gratitude toward Hiruzen, the only person in the village who ever showed him a shred of concern.
What a saint!
"This matter will never be known to anyone else," Ashina said with great seriousness. "I'll pretend to load the supplies onto a ship, and then look for a chance to sink them. The only reason I'm asking you to safeguard them is just in case something unexpected happens."
"Are you confused?" Shin sighed. "From any angle, I'm not the right person for the job."
"What do you mean by that?" Ashina asked in surprise.
"I'm not the right person, but someone else is even better," Shin said with a grin. "Tsunade's grandmother is still alive, isn't she?"
"Oh right!" Ashina's eyes lit up.
"There's also Kushina and Tsunade. If they handle the safekeeping, that's the best choice." Shin added.
"Yes, yes!" Ashina nodded seriously. "Then the Land of Whirlpools will just be a poor, fierce little country with a tough reputation. Let's see who still dares to covet us."
Shin scoffed inwardly.
What is this? Some kind of reverse psychology power play?
Do I look like I'm buying this act?
On the surface, Ashina was showing trust in Shin, but between the lines, it was full of testing and probing, and he played the act well too.
At 67 years old, he had long since let go of many worldly attachments. He didn't care about money, as long as the nation could survive, wealth could be rebuilt later. And as long as there was enough to keep the country running, the rest could be given away.
But one thing was non-negotiable: that wealth could not fall into outsider hands.
So yes, he was testing Shin.
But Shin's understanding and restraint made him feel very gratified. Just as Shin himself had said, he truly wasn't interested in wealth.
"Do you have enough storage scrolls?" Ashina asked.
"You can ask Tsunade, she has plenty. But I won't be involved in the next steps." With that, Shin turned and left, heading to the temporary medical tent to tend to the wounded.
But inside, he was absolutely thrilled.
Mine, mine, all mine!
