Chapter 053: Money

Many people believed that Haku was a member of the Yuki clan, with his real name being Yuki Haku, but in reality, there was no Yuki clan in the world of Naruto.

Haku's name was simply Haku, without the surname Yuki before it.

Haku was a child of the Snow clan.

His bloodline limit was inherited from his mother.

Yagura glanced at Haku, sighed, and said, "I thought the Snow clan had gone extinct. I never expected to see a remnant of the Snow clan here. You're quite lucky."

Saying this, he even felt a bit jealous of Wang Bo.

If the Ice Release bloodline limit of the Snow clan had fallen into the hands of the Hidden Mist Village, perhaps in a dozen years, the village would have gained an Ice Release clan.

That would have been a good thing for the somewhat declining Hidden Mist Village.

But unfortunately, it had now fallen into Wang Bo's hands, and Wang Bo would not hand over the child. Nor could he force him, as Wang Bo's wealth and strength were both formidable.

And the Hidden Mist Village could no longer withstand intense upheaval.

So Yagura could only sigh helplessly.

Wang Bo nodded and said, "My luck has always been pretty good. That's fine."

Yagura looked at him with a heavy heart, ultimately said nothing, turned, and left. Better to just not see it.

Wang Bo watched Yagura's back and shrugged. Even without him, Haku would have been discovered by Zabuza. This Ice Release bloodline limit was destined to have nothing to do with the Hidden Mist Village.

No help for it. That's fate.

After this small interlude, once the hotpot restaurant business in the Hidden Mist Village stabilized, Wang Bo led the group of kids, headed by Haku, out of the village and set off toward the Land of Fire.

Before long, Wang Bo returned to the Land of Fire.

As before, upon his return to the Land of Fire, Konoha sent ninja to escort him to the village, as it was the third year.

The contract for the fourth year was about to be signed.

But this time, the person sent was no longer Asuma Sarutobi; it was someone else.

Kakashi Hatake.

"I have come on the orders of the Hokage to welcome you, Lord Igarashi." Kakashi Hatake, accompanied by two chunin, appeared before Wang Bo like a ghost and said respectfully.

But this time, Wang Bo did not agree to go with Kakashi Hatake. Instead, he said, "I'm tired from the journey. I won't go to Konoha. If Konoha wants to sign a contract with me, send someone to find me."

Kakashi Hatake's expression changed.

Wang Bo smiled, turned, and left with the kids.

In previous years, he had needed Konoha's help, so he had personally gone to sign the contract with the Hokage. But times had changed; now Wang Bo was a major merchant.

His business spanned many countries in the ninja world. Even if he completely withdrew from the Land of Fire, Wang Bo would still be a top-tier merchant.

So this time, he wasn't rushing to please Konoha; he was meeting them as an equal.

If Konoha was unwilling to send someone to sign the contract with him, Wang Bo could simply hire some rogue ninja or ninja from other countries to protect his business in the Land of Fire.

After all, he was now on good terms with the major ninja villages and didn't care about Konoha alone.

Seeing that Wang Bo was unwilling to go to Konoha, Kakashi Hatake had no choice but to leave with the two chunin, hastily returning to Konoha to report the matter to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"He's just a merchant, putting on such airs."

But before the Third Hokage could get angry, someone else lost his temper.

That person was none other than Hiruzen Sarutobi's childhood friend, the leader of Konoha's Root... Danzo Shimura!

"Hiruzen, don't bother with this. Leave it to me." Danzo narrowed his eyes and said in an aged voice.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew his old friend well; he knew that if Danzo handled it, it would cause big trouble. So he firmly shook his head. "No, I'll handle this myself."

Danzo said coldly, "A merchant dares to look down on Konoha. Hiruzen, you're too weak."

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't want to argue with him. "In any case, I'll handle this. Don't interfere."

Danzo snorted coldly and turned to leave.

But he didn't give up. After returning to Root, Danzo immediately called several trusted subordinates and said to them, "Leave Konoha and capture that merchant named Igarashi Chiba for me. Remember, don't alert anyone from the Hokage's faction."

Several Root ninja nodded and left without a word.

Danzo sat alone in his office, his gaze dark.

This time, he sent ninja to capture a merchant, not because the merchant had slighted Konoha, but because of money.

Although his Root was established within Konoha, rooted underground, constantly absorbing Konoha's nutrients to grow, money was always better to have more.

Igarashi Chiba was one of the biggest merchants in recent years. As long as he controlled this merchant, he would have a steady stream of money.

And with money, Root could grow quickly.

Even if he became Hokage in the future, he couldn't do without money.

That was the real reason he wanted to move against Igarashi Chiba.

Who told him to build such a vast business, spanning the five great nations and many small countries, covering nearly two-thirds of the ninja world, yet without a single powerful ninja to protect him?

An innocent man may possess a jade and incur guilt.

Danzo certainly wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by. No one can stop me, he said to himself. Not others, not even Hiruzen.

Meanwhile, Wang Bo had no idea he had been targeted by some greedy bastard.

If he knew, he would definitely cut off the other's dog head. How dare a mere Danzo set his sights on him? Who gave him the courage?

On the other hand, after returning to his base, Wang Bo didn't go out again, but his business continued to expand. Over the past three years, he had traveled to all five great nations and even some small countries, adopting a large number of kids.

Now, some of the kids were very experienced in running shops and could help Wang Bo expand his business, extending his reach to every corner of the ninja world.

Even if Wang Bo didn't go out, these kids would handle the business matters properly for him.

Now, Wang Bo could just sit back and enjoy the fruits.

Of course, if the kids encountered problems they couldn't solve, they could hire people with money.

The hiring targets were naturally the five great ninja villages. After all, Wang Bo had signed agreements and established connections with them. As long as they paid, these ninja were happy to help the kids solve problems.

And so far, there shouldn't be any problem that could stump the major ninja villages of the ninja world.