Naruto: I Became Tsunade's Husband and Took Over Konoha

Chapter 546 - 545: One Hundred Sets of New Equipment, Inspecting the People’s Livelihood

Everyone turned their gazes towards Kitsuchi, the son of Ōnoki. At this moment, a thought arose in the hearts of both Konoha headquarters members and Iwa division members: Kitsuchi was very bold.

Ōnoki’s angry scolding was not taken seriously by them. If it could make Konoha open up access to the new weapons, then what did it matter if Ōnoki cursed a bit?

Madara Uchiha, however, felt a sense of foreboding. Although he was now the head of the Iwa division, his heart remained with Konoha. He clearly knew where his roots were, and what his roots represented.

In his heart, Ryun was not only a qualified Hokage of Konoha, but also a person with very strict control over military matters. He understood the enhancement these new equipment sets provided to shinobi.

With this equipment, a genin could fight a chūnin, a chūnin could fight a jōnin, and while a jōnin might not defeat a Kage-level fighter, they could hold their own and not fall behind in a short period.

This equipment could be considered a military secret. If he were Ryun, he would never hand it over to Iwa division members. Although the Iwa division was now named the Konoha Iwa Division, its predecessor was Iwagakure.

The new equipment had only appeared a little over a year ago. Konoha’s own people had just enough. How could it possibly be allocated to other divisions?

Hearing Kitsuchi’s words, Ryun’s eyes changed, filled with scrutiny and contemplation. Hearing Ōnoki reprimand Kitsuchi, he smiled again. These two, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, did they really think Ryun was a naive child?

However, he had heard that Orochimaru had already developed even newer equipment, but was lacking funds. If he could sell the old equipment and invest all the proceeds into producing the latest gear...

Ryun suddenly spoke with a laugh, "I think Kitsuchi makes a good point. Isn’t equipment made to be used?" His words caused an uproar in the room.

Even the Iwa division members themselves did not hold much hope for Ryun opening up access to the new equipment. Its quality and capabilities were too powerful. If they had developed it, they certainly would not let people from other villages get their hands on it.

Madara was also shocked. He did not understand Ryun’s actions. They seemed somewhat puzzling. Could it be that Ryun had grown old and confused?

That shouldn’t be the case!

Hearing this, Ōnoki’s eyes also lit up. His gaze towards Ryun revealed desire. The new equipment. Not just him, the other three Kage had also heard of it and coveted it greatly.

But Ryun’s next sentence made them calm down. "However, as you know, the new equipment’s cost and research funding are terrifyingly high. So, I plan to set the price at one million ryo per set. This is already the cost price. I wonder if Captain Kitsuchi and Tsuchikage Ōnoki can afford it?"

Kitsuchi and Ōnoki were stunned. Even the Iwa Anbu below drew in a sharp breath. No wonder. No wonder Konoha’s new equipment could provide such a significant combat boost!

Just hearing this cost price was enough to make one’s scalp tingle. Aside from Konoha, which possessed such financial power, they truly could not think of any other village that could come up with that kind of money!

Kitsuchi looked at Ōnoki. Ōnoki’s expression was grave. The money was not something he couldn’t produce, but he was considering whether the equipment was worth it!

Watching the silent Ōnoki and Kitsuchi, the corner of Ryun’s mouth turned up. Cost price? Wasn’t that just whatever he said? All the skilled craftsmen were under supervision in Konoha.

Also, besides himself, the blacksmiths, and Orochimaru, who knew the real price of this equipment? Would Orochimaru go around saying the cost was one hundred thousand ryo? Was he crazy?

The latest Konoha equipment, the upgraded version of the new equipment, had now been developed. The cost was one million ryo per set. Even for current Konoha, equipping all shinobi with it would cause severe damage and strain. They were still worrying about funds.

Now, Kitsuchi’s words were truly delivering a pillow to someone who was just falling asleep. Moreover, even if the Iwa division couldn’t absorb all the new equipment this time, the news of Konoha selling the new equipment would spread throughout the ninja world.

Then, every village would try to get a share. Perhaps some villages would think about buying a few sets back to study, then mass-produce them themselves.

But that was impossible. To prevent technology leakage, Orochimaru had placed restrictions on the equipment. If seriously damaged, it would automatically incinerate.

Ōnoki drew in a sharp breath. Looking at his son’s eyes, he firmly said, "Hokage-sama, for the new equipment, Iwagakure wants one hundred sets!"

One hundred sets!!! One set was one million. Ten sets were ten million. One hundred sets were one hundred million ryo! Indeed, after the war ended, the economic strength of each village developed rapidly.

Ōnoki gritted his teeth and took out one hundred million to buy equipment, also out of consideration for his son’s face. His son wanted to equip the Anbu with the new gear. How could he, as a father, refuse?

It was just that Iwagakure’s funds were limited. They could only prioritize buying for the excellent Anbu first. It was impossible to equip everyone with this new set.

This mere one hundred sets of new equipment made the Iwa Anbu present breathe heavily, their eyes turning red. They looked at the headquarters Anbu, at their handsome suits and appearance, and began fantasizing about themselves wearing such clothes on the street, receiving the adoring gazes of the crowd.

Ryun nodded. "Good! In that case, Luming, take note for Iwa Division Tsuchikage Ōnoki: one hundred sets of new equipment. After receiving the payment, then give them the equipment!"

Nara Luming nodded. Although he didn’t know why his Hokage wanted to do this, selling equipment to other divisions, as his partner of thirty years, he understood. If Ryun did this, there must be a deeper meaning. It was definitely beneficial to Konoha.

Nara Luming took out a carbon pen and began writing in his notebook: Iwa Division purchases one hundred sets of new technological ninja tools at a price of one million ryo per set! Then he took out the Hokage’s official seal and handed it to Ōnoki.

Ōnoki looked at it and, confirming it was correct, took out the Iwa Division seal from his pocket and stamped it.

Ryun smiled as he looked at them. "Tsuchikage, the purchase agreement has been signed. Now, you can rest assured, right?"

Ōnoki clasped his hands and smiled. "Hokage-sama, I have always been very confident in Konoha. Rest assured, the direction you point is the path forward for our Iwa Division!"

The frustrations of the past three years had also taught Ōnoki some of the unique Konoha culture that Ryun brought to this ninja world: clasping hands, bowing in salute, and some rhetorical techniques.

Ryun nodded. "Does Division Head Kitsuchi have anything else he wishes to say?" Ryun’s look at Kitsuchi had now changed. If he didn’t know Kitsuchi was Ōnoki’s biological son, he would suspect Kitsuchi was a Konoha person!

Kitsuchi shook his head, stepped forward, and clasped his hands. "Thank you for your benevolence, Hokage-sama, for being willing to sell the new equipment to our Iwa Division!"

Ryun waved his hand, then spoke. "Today, since I came to the Iwa Division to discuss people’s livelihood issues, aside from the income and account books you presented, I must personally go to the main streets of the Iwa Division to see the real state of people’s livelihood. To see if it is as you said, where lost items are not picked up, and doors are not bolted at night!"

Having said that, Ryun stood up and walked down from the main seat. He said, "Everyone, follow. Let’s see how the villagers of the Iwa Division are living!"

The next moment, the Konoha Anbu shinobi stood up in unison, guarding Ryun’s side. Ōnoki reacted quickly. He immediately ordered the Iwagakure shinobi to follow behind, with Kitsuchi leading the way!

After receiving his father’s instruction, Kitsuchi stood up and walked towards Ryun. After explaining his purpose to Ryun, Ryun waved his hand. "No guide is needed. Since this concerns people’s livelihood, we should randomly select households!"

Kitsuchi felt a bit panicked. Because although most people in the current Iwa Division could afford food, there were still some slum areas, poor districts within the Iwa Division.

The situation reported to Konoha definitely concealed these, omitted these places from the account books. Now that Ryun was truly investigating, if they were lucky and didn’t check the slums, it would be fine.

But if they found them, how would they explain? He sent this message to Ōnoki. Ōnoki was stunned for a second or two, then closed his eyes in despair. He replied on his phone, "Forget it. Leave it to fate. At worst, we’ll be criticized later."

The slum problem had persisted for hundreds of years. Although all countries were now recuperating and their economic strength was continuously increasing, people’s livelihood issues could not be solved overnight!

He could only hope that if they really discovered the slums, Ryun could understand their difficulties!

Ryun randomly selected inspection locations. He planned to inspect five in total. Four had already been inspected, and they were really quite good. The villagers were simple, life was prosperous, and they ate white rice.

Kitsuchi also breathed a sigh of relief. Good, good. The Hokage-sama didn’t pick a slum. These four places were average, not particularly wealthy, but definitely not bad.

He hoped that after the final inspection location was chosen and inspected, the Hokage-sama would return home!

However, the more you don’t want something, the more it comes. Ryun looked at the map in his hand and said, "Where is this Small River Ditch Village?" He asked Kitsuchi.

Kitsuchi’s heart immediately sank. Small River Ditch Village was one of the three major slums in Iwagakure, with only one river ditch as their usual water source.

He began to sweat profusely, swallowing hard. He thought about taking Ryun to another village to cover it up, but then remembered that every village entrance had a signpost with its name written on it.

He abandoned that idea. Because if he took Ryun to another village and Ryun discovered he was being tricked, the problem would become even more serious!

Then it wouldn’t just be a governance issue. It would relate to the Iwa Division’s credibility, to whether Ryun could trust Iwagakure again.

After some mental deliberation, Kitsuchi took a deep breath. "Hokage-sama, please follow me!"

Seeing Kitsuchi’s troubled expression, Ryun immediately understood. This place probably was not doing very well!