Chapter 046: Son of the Hokage

The two sons of the Sage of Six Paths, both reincarnated in Konoha—the previous time as Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, this time as Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.

Who could withstand that?

Moreover, the eyes of the Uchiha clan in Konoha could evolve into the Rinnegan, and the eyes of the Hyuga clan could evolve into the Tenseigan.

No one could withstand that either.

You have to know that Naruto was a story of eye ninjas, bloodline ninjas, clan ninjas—the biggest cheaters were either in Konoha or in the Uchiha clan.

No wonder that even after Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen had crippled his own strength for so many years, Konoha could still laugh last.

The other ninja villages were basically just supporting characters.

Especially the Fourth Shinobi World War—it was entirely a show for Konoha ninjas; the other ninjas were just extras.

If you count carefully, among those who played the greatest roles in the Fourth Shinobi World War, whether on the side of good or evil, who were they?

The mastermind behind the Akatsuki, Uchiha Obito—a Konoha rogue ninja.

The mastermind behind Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Madara—a Konoha rogue ninja.

The user of the Eight Gates, Might Guy—a Konoha jonin.

Uzumaki Naruto—a Konoha genin.

Uchiha Sasuke—a Konoha genin.

The mastermind behind Uchiha Madara, Black Zetsu—this one was a member of no organization.

And Black Zetsu's mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—of the Ōtsutsuki clan.

Thus it can be seen that the Fourth Shinobi World War was entirely a battle between Konoha and the Ōtsutsuki clan. As for the other ninjas, just being extras was enough.

Want to turn the tables, defy heaven, reverse the course of events? Wake up—this is a world of eye ninjas and cheater ninjas. If you don't even have eyes or cheats, what are you fussing about? Go wash up and sleep.

In dreams, you can have anything; in reality, don't daydream.

…

After Wang Bo signed a contract with Ōnoki, Ōnoki quickly dispatched a group of ninjas to help Wang Bo protect the shops he had opened.

Of course, Wang Bo also paid tens of millions of ryo for this.

If it weren't for the hotpot restaurants in the Land of Fire continuously sending money his way, Wang Bo wouldn't have had enough funds to sign the contract with Tsuchikage Ōnoki.

The day after signing the contract, Wang Bo left Iwagakure with peace of mind.

Over ten days later, Wang Bo left the Land of Earth. This time, he did not go to a new country but returned to the Land of Fire. Because by then, nearly a year had passed since he left the Land of Fire.

So Wang Bo had to return to the Land of Fire and sign the third-year contract with Konoha.

At this point, nearly two years had passed since Wang Bo came to this world.

In these nearly two years, Wang Bo had expanded his hotpot business across five countries: the Land of Fire, the Land of Rain, the Land of Birds, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth.

Although some shops were operating at a loss, most were profitable.

Now, Wang Bo had become a merchant in five countries. His reputation had even spread throughout the entire ninja world.

Many people knew that Wang Bo was not only a great merchant with businesses spanning five countries, but also a great philanthropist who loved nothing more than taking in orphans.

Many ninja villages had even found out that the orphans around Wang Bo had gained chakra.

But no one paid much attention, after all, for a merchant like Wang Bo, it was impossible not to have a few ninjas he had trained himself. With such a big business, it was only natural to cultivate some loyal ninjas.

After all, Wang Bo was rich, and in many worlds, the wealthy could do whatever they wanted.

The world of Naruto was no exception.

The most typical example was the merchant Gato. On the surface, he was the president of a shipping company and one of the world's few great tycoons. But in private, he used the mafia and ninjas to smuggle drugs and contraband, and he also wanted to take over other companies and countries.

He used his wealth and violence to control all maritime transport in and out of the Land of Waves. For an island nation like the Land of Waves, controlling the lifeline of maritime transport meant controlling the country's wealth, politics, and people—everything.

Thus, in this world, the rich could really accomplish many things.

Even controlling the lifeline of a country was possible.

However, Gato's only weakness was that he had not cultivated loyal ninjas.

If he had trained a large number of ninjas to serve him, he could have not only been a merchant but even overthrown a country and become its daimyo, instead of dying at the hands of Zabuza.

Momochi Zabuza was indeed a jonin, but if Gato could have trained hundreds of genin or dozens of chunin, even if they couldn't kill Zabuza, they could have escaped from him.

But unfortunately, he underestimated the power of ninjas and was too obsessed with the mafia and wandering samurai, ultimately getting killed by Zabuza.

Even if he was immensely wealthy, so what?

After death, it all came to nothing.

Wang Bo's cultivation of ninjas loyal to him was not a big deal among the five great ninja villages.

In fact, this bit of power was not valued by the five great ninja villages; what they valued was the money in Wang Bo's hands.

For example, this time Wang Bo returned to the Land of Fire to sign a contract with Konoha.

The moment Wang Bo set foot on the border of the Land of Fire, he was stopped by a group of ninjas, and these ninjas were none other than Konoha's ninjas.

Their purpose in stopping Wang Bo was not to kill him but to protect him on his safe return to Konoha.

After all, unlike a year ago, Wang Bo was now a great merchant renowned in the ninja world.

Many wandering ninjas might take risks and try to rob him, and Konoha did not want Wang Bo to get into trouble in the Land of Fire, so after Wang Bo entered the Land of Fire, they sent ninjas to receive him.

Compared to a year ago, the treatment had greatly improved.

At least a year ago, Konoha had not sent ninjas to receive Wang Bo; instead, Wang Bo had to go to Konoha himself.

But this time, Konoha not only sent ninjas, but the ninja sent was the son of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, a man with a bounty of thirty-five million ryo.

Sarutobi Asuma.

In a sense, it was a sign of sincerity.

Sarutobi Asuma smiled slightly when he saw Wang Bo and said, "You must be Mr. Igarashi? I have been ordered by the Hokage to come and receive you."

"Thank you for your trouble." Wang Bo nodded reservedly and said, "Then let's go."

Sarutobi Asuma nodded. He was relatively young now, without the thick beard he would have after the plot began, because at that time he would be thirty years old.

He was born in Konoha year 33, and it was now only Konoha year 52.

This son of the Hokage, though a jonin now, was still young, not yet twenty, so naturally he did not have the later thick beard.

But although young, he was very experienced, having participated in the Third Great Ninja War, and leading a team to protect a merchant was more than enough.