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Chapter 38 - Chapter 38: Startup Funds

"Thank you so much, Lord Menma..."

Hizashi Hyuga bowed deeply, his voice solemn, his heart filled with an indescribable sense of relief. Finally, it's over. Not only had he survived, but he had even been able to see Neji again.

However, Naruto just waved his hand. "Alright, I know," he interrupted lazily. "Since things have finally come to an end, let's skip the pleasantries."

Hizashi was taken aback for a moment, then a bitter smile appeared on his lips. The man before him possessed the power to overturn the ninja world, yet he seemed to care nothing for others' gratitude.

"Mhm," he nodded. "If you have any commands, I, Hizashi Hyuga, will gladly die for you."

Naruto glanced at him. Looks like even if I create an organization, I can be a hands-off boss. But more than that, what pleased him was the system notification sound in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host: You have established a bond (Level 7) (Max) with the original character "Hizashi Hyuga"!]

[Points Awarded: 150!]

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host: You have established a bond (Level 7) (Max) with the original character "Neji Hyuga"!]

[Points Awarded: 700!]

[Friendly Reminder: The normal favorability level maxes out at Level 7. To further increase the bond level, a qualitative change in the relationship is required.]

Already maxed out? It seemed the father and son's gratitude towards him had reached the level of "undying loyalty." A qualitative change? Does that mean it can go even further?

Like... making Neji his disciple in the future? Or, just have him join the "JIN" organization?

Naruto now had another 1650 points, enough for another ten-pull. But... so Level 7 means max favorability?

He hadn't expected that after just one "Talk-no-Jutsu" session with Neji, the kid's favorability would max out, even to the point where he'd be willing to give his all for him?

...Ridiculous.

But on second thought, there were similar examples in the ninja world.

Like Kimimaro.

Orochimaru just gave him a pep talk, and Kimimaro completely fell for it, even willing to become Orochimaru's new vessel and fight to his last breath.

So, Neji's loyalty to him now was probably at that level?

Are people in the ninja world just too easy to fool...

But more than Neji, he was concerned about another person's bond level.

Satsuki.

Her current bond level was 5, two levels away from the max of 7.

Level 5... what does that mean?

The moment the question appeared in his mind, the system immediately responded.

[Satsuki Bond Level 5: She considers you her best friend. Your existence has become an indispensable part of her life.]

[Current Relationship: Deep trust, emotional dependence.]

[Development Trend: With just the accumulation of time, this bond will naturally sublimate to a higher level—soulmates, or... love.]

"..."

Naruto stared at the last word and fell silent for a moment.

Love?

He could understand the first option; the original Naruto and Sasuke had that kind of best friend relationship that transcended life and death. But the second option...

Love? Satsuki... as a girlfriend?

His thoughts inevitably began to stray. To be fair, Satsuki's looks were impeccable. Even after being gender-bent, she still maintained her top-tier appearance.

And the current Satsuki hadn't experienced the clan massacre, so her personality wasn't as gloomy as in the original story, just a bit of a cute tsundere...

Having a girlfriend like that would actually be pretty nice...

...Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! When did he start having such dangerous thoughts? He clearly remembered that when he first saw Satsuki, his thought was, "I hope I have a daughter as cute as this someday!"

Something's wrong... this is definitely not right... could Indra's chakra be influencing me?

"Lord Menma?"

Hizashi's confused voice pulled Naruto back from his reverie. Only then did he realize his state was a bit strange. He quickly cleared his throat to cover his embarrassment.

"...Cough, cough, it's nothing." Naruto quickly switched back to serious mode. "You understand my purpose now, right?"

"Yes," Hizashi bowed respectfully. "To deter the nations with military might and prevent war. Since you are establishing an organization, Lord Menma, may I ask how complete this organization is?"

The air was suddenly quiet for a few seconds.

"...If we count you," Naruto's tone became a bit strange, "then [JIN] currently has two members."

He said the embarrassing truth with some awkwardness. However, Hizashi's expression didn't change at all; he just nodded calmly.

"I see. Then, Lord Menma, do you plan to establish a base first, or prioritize recruiting capable individuals?"

His tone was calm. Hizashi had already decided to offer his loyalty to Menma without reservation—no questions asked, no matter the cost. This resolve had long been established.

Although Menma was a feared existence in the ninja world, Hizashi had witnessed him arrange for him to meet his son. He knew very well that a fire of true justice burned deep within this leader's heart.

As the younger brother of the Hyuga clan head, Hizashi had considerable experience in management. For years, the major and minor affairs of the Hyuga clan had been handled jointly by him and his brother; it was no exaggeration to say he was the clan head's right-hand man.

Thinking back on the past, due to the shackles of the Caged Bird, he had indeed held resentment towards the main family. But his resentment towards his brother, the clan head, had never truly taken root.

Until the birth of Neji changed everything.

When this exceptionally talented son displayed astonishing ability, yet still had to be marked with the Caged Bird curse, when the clan head's daughter, with her mediocre talent, was exempt from this humiliation due to her main family status, at that moment, the long-suppressed resentment finally broke through.

He had accepted his fate as a branch family member; after all, his own talent was at best that of an average Jonin. But when he saw that Neji had to follow the same path, the long-held frustration finally erupted.

"I'll be in charge of recruiting members. I'll leave the base construction to you. The Land of Hot Water, as a neutral country, has lax intelligence control and no ninja village of its own, so the five great nations won't pay it much attention. Plus, with its thriving tourism industry, the flow of people is frequent, making it a perfect place for a base."

Naruto laid out the requirements one by one. "First, we need a legitimate public identity, preferably with a proper business to cover our activities. Second, the main base must be hidden and easily defensible. Can you do it?"

Hizashi nodded slightly. "I understand. I will do my best to complete your mission, Lord Menma."

The requirements seemed complex, but they weren't actually that difficult. Without revealing the identity of the [JIN] organization, Hizashi just needed to start a business in the Land of Hot Water as an ordinary merchant.

The real problem was funding. Naruto couldn't personally go and build a base, but he also couldn't let Hizashi start from scratch. So, how much savings did Naruto have?

500,000 Ryo. Most of this money came from the system lottery. In Konoha, it was barely enough for a down payment on a house, but as startup capital for an organization, it was severely lacking.

Thinking about this, Naruto had some regrets. After critically injuring the Raikage, he could have seized the opportunity to extort the Hidden Cloud. But at that time, he had just made his grand declaration to the ninja world; turning around and asking for money would have been too cheap. And the trial card's duration was about to expire...

However, besides his savings, Naruto had other things that could be turned into money.

Suddenly, with a soft poof, a piece of metal with a special luster appeared on the table.

"This is..."

"A spoil of war from before," Naruto said nonchalantly, his fingertip tapping the metal surface. "It should be able to get us some startup funds. What's the market price like now?"

Hizashi bent down to examine it carefully, his surprise unconcealed. "This is... chakra-conducting metal?" As a core member of the Hyuga branch family, he had only seen this rare material once at a major clan ceremony. The tribute offered then was only the size of a thumb, but the piece before him was as large as half a palm.

Hizashi carefully picked up the metal to weigh it. "The current black market price..." he paused, "...is about 100,000 Ryo per gram."

"100,000 Ryo per gram... huh?"

Wait, how much?!

Naruto's expression under the mask suddenly froze, a storm raging in his mind. 100,000 per gram? Then the 1500 grams I have stockpiled in my system storage is worth... 150 million Ryo? That number could even get you four Asumas on the black market!

Is it a bit much to use Asuma as a unit of measurement?

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