Chapter 054: The Meeting

But what frustrated Wang Bo most was that, despite traveling far and wide over the past three years, he still hadn't found any trace of the Silver Superman.

Clearly, this Silver Superman was still in a dormant period.

As for when he would rise, Wang Bo wasn't sure, but he believed it wouldn't be a long time.

After all, he was the Silver Superman—even if just a sliver of consciousness, his growth rate was extremely fast.

This could be inferred from Wang Bo himself.

In the three years since he had crossed into this world, relying on his knowledge of the plot, he had risen to prominence and was now one of the biggest merchants in the ninja world.

In the future, he might even become the biggest merchant, bar none.

By then, saying he was as rich as a country wouldn't be an exaggeration; it would be fact.

Of course, even now, Wang Bo was still very wealthy, as the hotpot business was doing exceptionally well, not to mention that he had expanded his business across the entire ninja world.

Although many people in the ninja world had started imitating Wang Bo and opening their own hotpot restaurants.

But Wang Bo never feared competition.

He was still the founder of the largest Wei Zhi Xian chain hotpot restaurant in the ninja world, and the restaurant he had single-handedly established had long become deeply rooted in people's hearts, a benchmark enterprise in the ninja world.

Such were the benefits of being the industry leader.

In the eyes of outsiders, Wei Zhi Xian hotpot was definitely the most authentic, bar none.

This was mainly because Wang Bo used high-quality base ingredients.

His base recipe was a secret formula; others could only imitate it to fifty or sixty percent, and at best, seventy or eighty percent.

So surpassing Wang Bo's chain hotpot restaurant was no easy task.

At least for the next ten years, Wang Bo didn't need to worry about his hotpot business being overtaken.

And after ten years, whether Wang Bo was still in this world was another matter.

…

In the blink of an eye, several days had passed since Wang Bo returned to the Land of Fire. The contract he had signed with Konoha was about to expire, with less than half a month remaining.

If the contract wasn't renewed within half a month, the ninjas dispatched by Konoha would withdraw from Wang Bo's hotpot restaurants.

This made Wang Bo increasingly surprised.

Why hadn't Konoha sent anyone yet? Had they decided not to renew?

Or did they assume he couldn't do without Konoha and would surely compromise?

If that were the case, they overestimated his dependence on them.

Wang Bo began mobilizing the kids from his base, sending out those who were on par with genin to the hotpot restaurants in the Land of Fire.

Once Konoha's ninjas withdrew, they could take over and protect Wang Bo's business.

After three years of training, most of the kids who had initially followed Wang Bo were now as strong as Konoha genin and could be used as tools.

Just as Wang Bo was actively deploying his forces, Sato Ken and Haku walked into his office.

"Sir, people from Konoha are here. They wish to see you."

Wang Bo grunted and said, "Let them in."

Haku nodded, stood up, and walked out. Soon, he returned with three ninjas.

Leading them was none other than Konoha's genius ninja, Hatake Kakashi, whom Wang Bo had met a few times.

This ninja became a genin at five, chunin at six, and jonin at twelve, but to this day, he had yet to break through and become a true Kage-level powerhouse. Though jokingly called "Hatake Fifty-Fifty" for being able to fight anyone.

But if you studied Hatake Kakashi closely, you'd find that his victories in the storyline were actually few.

When he first appeared, he defeated Zabuza but was also injured.

During the Konoha Crush, he fought Yakushi Kabuto, but Kabuto escaped.

After the Konoha Crush, he fought Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi, resulting in a draw with one and being instantly defeated by the other.

During the rescue of Gaara, his power surged and he awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. He defeated Deidara with it but was too exhausted to continue fighting.

When fighting Hidan and Kakuzu, he teamed up with others to defeat them.

During the Akatsuki's invasion of Konoha, he was killed by Pain's Tendo, but later revived by Nagato.

After that, he frequently fought strong opponents but rarely won.

Honestly, Kakashi's performance in the storyline didn't live up to his genius persona. He was incredibly impressive as a child but fell off as an adult.

In contrast, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, though average as children, made enormous progress as adults, eventually becoming Six Paths-level experts.

Of course, the main reason was that the two were cheaters.

But that didn't deny that Kakashi had made little progress as an adult.

Many believed Kakashi's poor record—earning him titles like "Fifty-Fifty" and "Low-Chakra Ninja"—was due to the transplanted Sharingan.

Forcibly transplanting an eye incompatible with his body placed a huge burden on him.

Hence Kakashi's performance.

But in Wang Bo's view, Kakashi's poor performance was because he lost Nohara Rin and Obito during the Third War, and his master and mistress during the Nine-Tails incident.

Suddenly becoming a lone star, Kakashi lost his motivation to move forward.

Moreover, after the war, the village enjoyed long-awaited peace, leaving him more lost than ever, so his progress stalled.

After all, the people he cared about were gone; what was the point of striving?

That was why the cold-faced Kakashi of his youth became so lackadaisical as an adult.

Later, from the Konoha Crush and the Third Hokage's death to being instantly defeated by Uchiha Itachi, Kakashi felt a long-lost sense of crisis, which led him to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan within three years.

Awakening this eye was no easy feat.

When the Uchiha clan was alive, few could awaken this eye, let alone Kakashi, who wasn't even its original owner.

Yet he still awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, proving that Kakashi was indeed a genius.

Upon seeing Kakashi, a series of thoughts flashed through Wang Bo's mind, but his expression remained calm. He said to Kakashi, "What response does Konoha have to my proposal?"

Hatake Kakashi pulled out a scroll and handed it to Wang Bo.

Wang Bo opened it and glanced at it. It was still a contract, but this one bore the signature of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. As long as Wang Bo signed his name, the contract would be established.