Just as expected, the Queen of Rōran turned out to be a clever woman.
After assessing the situation, she agreed to sponsor Sunagakure's reconstruction with a donation of 200 million ryo, under the pretense of supporting the village. She also promised that every year, she would provide Sunagakure with mission commissions worth no less than 20 million ryo.
This was essentially paying protection money.
Seeing that the Queen of Rōran knew her place, Hardy and his companions naturally had no intention of escalating the situation.
Based on their estimates of Rōran's population and economy, 20 million ryo a year was close to the maximum they could afford.
Perhaps Rōran could still save a few million ryo each year for further development, but if any more trouble arose and the local economy suffered, even 20 million a year might become impossible.
At the very least, the Queen of Rōran had the skills to keep the country prosperous. If someone else were in charge, they might not do as well. Not to mention, the local Dragon Vein also required her to suppress it. Her willingness to cooperate was a good thing for Sunagakure.
The only real consequence would be that Rōran's development would inevitably slow down in the short term, but neither Sunagakure nor the Queen herself seemed to mind—she now appeared to prefer having Sunagakure as Rōran's backer, which could also benefit Rōran's future development.
Once the Sunagakure garrison arrived in Rōran, Hardy and his three companions immediately returned to Sunagakure.
It was now the end of Konoha Year 38.
Most of Sunagakure's ninjas, including the Third Kazekage and his group, had already returned to the village a day earlier than Hardy after completing a joint naval exercise with Konoha on the other front.
This might be the liveliest New Year Sunagakure had ever experienced, as the long war had already ended early for them.
The spoils from the war would ensure that Sunagakure's budget would be flush for the next several years.
By the time they returned to the village, it was already midnight.
Hardy immediately collapsed onto his bed and slept soundly until the afternoon of the next day, waking up just before dusk.
After washing up and zoning out for a bit, he checked the time, then left his room.
Puppet Corps Base, Sixth Squad Headquarters.
"Yo, everyone's here."
Hardy pushed open the door and looked inside.
Ishito, Miyaba, and Miyuki were sitting around a table, apparently playing cards.
Sasori, wearing a brand-new chunin vest, didn't seem interested in the game and was instead fiddling with his puppets on the side.
Hearing Hardy's voice, everyone turned around.
"You finally made it."
Sasori tried to keep a calm expression as he spoke to Hardy.
"It's been over a year—you've grown a lot taller!"
Miyuki's eyes lit up. She tossed her cards onto the table, walked over, and patted Hardy on the shoulder.
After this New Year, Hardy would soon turn thirteen. He was now close to 1.6 meters tall, almost adult height.
Over the next two or three years, he would still grow quickly. Reaching 1.8 meters before adulthood shouldn't be a problem.
"I knew you'd try to cheat when you were about to lose."
Miyaba looked at the mess Miyuki had made of the cards and couldn't help but complain.
"Miyuki, long time no see. And congratulations to you, Sasori and Miyaba."
Hardy smiled at Miyuki, then congratulated Sasori and Miyaba.
Sasori would occasionally have the logistics teams deliver letters to him and Chiyo. At the start of the year, he mentioned in a letter that he had taken first place in the chunin exams and successfully advanced to chunin.
As for Miyaba, he had gone to war with Hardy's group, though in a different squad, so they occasionally ran into each other.
Likewise, in the middle of the year, Miyaba had just turned eighteen and was promoted from special jonin to full jonin.
"I heard you made special jonin. Congratulations."
Sasori said seriously to Hardy.
"Do you have to keep a straight face when you're congratulating someone?"
Hardy looked at Sasori's deadpan expression and couldn't help but laugh.
Sasori ignored Hardy's comment and continued:
"I also heard from some people who came back from the front lines to recover that you're already as strong as a real jonin. Tomorrow, I'll—"
The crow puppet is fixed—let's have another sparring match."
Hardy followed Sasori's gaze toward a massive puppet standing in the corner against the wall.
The puppet was about two meters tall, wrapped in a tattered cloth, with four thick arms protruding from its sides.
Hardy was momentarily taken aback.
Because this seemed somewhat different from the crow puppet he remembered from his previous life. Judging by its design, it was clear that this version of the crow had incorporated some structural elements from Formentor.
Is this another change I've brought about?
Hardy smiled and nodded at Sasori.
"I'm looking forward to seeing your current strength."
Sasori pursed his lips, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately kept silent.
"Hey! You two, stop chatting. Everyone's here—let's go! We finally managed to book a private room at the Golden Sand Desert restaurant tonight. Ahhh! I heard they have grilled fish now. I've barely had grilled fish in my whole life!"
Xue pushed Hardy and Sasori toward the door.
…
…
DC Universe.
Gotham City, Brudewyn District.
A luxurious, customized car pulled up in front of a supermarket building.
The cashier at the entrance glanced at Hardy as he stepped inside, her face calm as she continued tallying accounts, while her left hand quietly pressed a button hidden inside the counter.
Hardy merely gave the cashier a faint look, then reached up to adjust his collar, revealing a black pin on his chest.
The pin bore a small badge engraved with the image of a burning demon's head.
He walked calmly toward the elevator at the back—the one that was always "under maintenance." First, he pressed the button for the basement level, then, as if entering a password, he keyed in a string of numbers, and finally pressed the close door button.
The elevator rattled as it descended, its depth unknown.
When the doors finally opened, two rows of ninjas in black bodysuits were already kneeling in perfect formation before him, bowing their heads in unison as they looked at Hardy.
The inconspicuous pin on Hardy's chest had been given to him by the Ninja Master. The demon's head symbolized the Demon's Head—the leader of the League of Assassins.
The badge represented status: black was for the Ninja Master's deputies and successors, signifying high-ranking members of the League. There was also a bronze version, representing important allies of the League.
Ordinary League members, on the other hand, had tattoos on their arms, with different designs indicating different ranks.
"Someone who can speak for the group, come introduce this place to me. The rest of you, get back to your duties."
Hardy swept his gaze around and spoke.
"Yes, sir!"
All the ninjas stood up in unison. The masked assassin at the front quickly stepped forward to face Hardy.