The next month or so was extremely hectic for Konoha.
Firstly, Uzumaki Miyuki had completely vanished without a trace. During this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi continuously dispatched ninja to leave Konoha and track down Uzumaki Miyuki.
Hiruzen had to keep up appearances.
Due to the casualties and losses caused by the Nine-Tails' Rampage, he also needed to organize compensation payments and housing arrangements.
Plus, relocating the Uchiha Clan to the outskirts and placing them under surveillance by other major clans came at a high cost.
All of this caused severe financial strain on Konoha.
With numerous Konoha ninja deployed to search for Uzumaki Miyuki, mission backlogs began piling up. To ease the workload and earn some mission rewards, Hiruzen even began sending out Anbu for regular missions.
With serious financial concerns on his mind, Hiruzen recalled the Konoha Defense Unit during Chinya's leadership.
Back then, Chinya alone brought in hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, of ryō daily—all extracted from the Uchiha Clan.
The Uchiha possessed immense wealth, which sparked Hiruzen's interest.
Hiruzen summoned Danzo for discussion.
Hiruzen couldn't outright tell Danzo he wanted to plunder the Uchiha fortune.
He simply said, "Konoha is currently facing economic difficulties and frequent minor disturbances. With our ninja stretched thin, the Defense Unit is overwhelmed. Danzo, assign some Root Division ninja into the Defense Unit and enforce strict law enforcement as we did initially. We must prevent any more chaos."
Danzo knew Hiruzen too well and immediately understood between the lines.
To summarize: Konoha is desperately short on cash. Danzo would take over the Defense Unit and profit using the same methods as before.
Upon hearing this, Danzo curled his lips into a smirk.
After receiving so much bad news recently, finally came some good news.
The Konoha Defense Unit would now become his personal force.
Danzo had long desired control over the Defense Unit. However, Chinya suddenly left for Ryuchi Cave to train, later clashed with him, and preemptively announced his resignation to Hiruzen and Minato Namikaze. These circumstances prevented Danzo from seizing control earlier.
Although it arrived late, the authority held by the Defense Unit still benefited Danzo greatly.
Plus...the initial strict law enforcement approach by the Defense Unit had always targeted the Uchiha Clan aggressively, collecting so-called 'bail fees' afterward.
It seems now Hiruzen shared exactly the same idea—targeting the Uchiha Clan.
Danzo promptly replied, "Understood. I will handle this matter well."
However, squeezing only the Uchiha Clan could do little more than temporarily alleviate their desperate situation. Thus, Hiruzen started frequently inviting leaders from nearby smaller ninja villages, signing commercial trade agreements, and trying every means possible to generate revenue.
Once money starts flowing in, many urgent issues in Konoha—like compensation payments and housing arrangements—can be addressed smoothly.
Money makes the world go round.
Meanwhile, news of Naruto being the Nine-Tails had already spread throughout Konoha. Also, the enemy ninjas from other villages who had been watching Konoha quietly left and never returned.
Hiruzen Sarutobi understood that he had succeeded—that they now believed there was only one Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails.
Once the desired effect was achieved, Hiruzen swiftly issued a decree banning any mention of Naruto's connection to the Nine-Tails. Anyone who violated this rule would face extremely harsh punishment.
The day after issuing the decree, Hiruzen directly ordered Nara Shinei—who was now only the nominal leader of the Konoha Defense Unit—to arrest villagers still spreading rumors about Naruto being the Nine-Tails, making it clear his command was no idle threat. This quickly put an end to all such rumors.
Meanwhile, the Konoha ninja sent out to search for Uzumaki Miyuki found no useful information. Miyuki had seemingly vanished into thin air without a trace.
Therefore, Hiruzen gradually recalled the searching teams, planning to look for Uzumaki Miyuki again once Konoha stabilized.
At this time, however, Miyuki was actually following Yahiko's group, arriving at a town in Bird Country.
Over the past month, Chinya and Kushina Uzumaki often contacted her directly through the ring, updating her on Naruto's current situation. Hearing that although Naruto had been officially declared an orphan, he was safe now—and knowing they would continue monitoring his condition—gradually eased Kushina's worries.
Inside a certain casino in the town,
Uzumaki Miyuki frowned deeply while looking at Yahiko's group, whose eyes were completely bloodshot. Her entire face wrinkled up.
Over the past month, Miyuki had gradually become familiar with Yahiko, Pakura, and Raiga Kurosuki.
Yahiko was very optimistic, positive, and possessed great personal charisma.
Pakura was calm, appeared coldly aloof, seemed difficult to get along with, yet had a warm heart beneath her icy exterior.
Raiga Kurosuki looked brutal and ruthless, especially with his sharp teeth, giving off a rather creepy vibe—but in reality, he valued his comrades highly; he simply looked fierce and acted impulsively sometimes.
Overall, these three companions, Yahiko's team, seemed quite reliable.
However, right after completing a mission together with Yahiko's group and receiving their reward, Miyuki's first experience wasn't celebrating by having a good meal—they rushed straight to a gambling house to bet everything away.
The reason Yahiko's group now had red eyes?
Because the mission reward...was nearly gone.
Half an hour later, Yahiko's group and Uzumaki Miyuki walked out of the casino, sighing heavily.
Yahiko said in depression, "Man, today just wasn't our lucky day. So unlucky."
Raiga Kurosuki clenched his teeth angrily, "Damn it! Maybe I should just steal it all back?"
Pakura snorted, "Forget it. That'd make us look like sore losers."
Yahiko rubbed his belly, "Man, I'm starving. Let's grab something to eat."
Raiga muttered unhappily, "Eat? How could we possibly afford that now? We've already lost everything, remember?"
Pakura widened her eyes, "Wait, you're saying we didn't set aside any food money at all?! "
"Raiga Kurosuki glared, 'Ask Yahiko. He said we should take a chance, and then we lost the bet!'"
"Did I?" Yahiko thought for a moment before awkwardly replying, "Hmm, maybe I did."
Pakura sighed, "Raiga, you should just go take the money back. I support you."
Uzumaki Miyuki listened with a twitching eyelid. Seeing that Raiga actually intended to take the money back by force, she quickly interjected, "Uh, well... I still have some money left."
Yahiko, Pakura, and Raiga Kurosuki immediately turned toward Miyuki with brightened eyes, asking in unison, "Miyuki, how much do you have?"
"Eh, not much—just enough for meals. But there's absolutely no way I'm giving you cash for your stupid bets!"
Miyuki firmly shut down the idea, because she figured if she handed over the cash, none of it would last until tomorrow. She'd end up starving too.
Upon hearing Miyuki's refusal, the three of them let out another collective groan.
Miyuki was now breaking into a cold sweat. These people seemed so reliable earlier—but why were they acting so irresponsible all of a sudden?
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