radicalducati Chapter 28: Ishikawa's Generosity Leaves Kakashi Stunned
Chapter 28: Ishikawa's Generosity Leaves Kakashi Stunned
"B-Big brother, won't what we're doing violate the ninja code?" Taro swallowed hard and asked in a trembling voice as the town streets were brightly lit.
However, his hands honestly clung tightly to the money box, not daring to let go, and his eyes scanned the surroundings like he was guarding against a thief, as if any passerby might come and rob him!
"I don't think so. The village has a rule that ninjas can't use ninjutsu to steal, but we didn't violate the rule! Besides, they started it first." Jiro, standing next to him, replied excitedly with a flushed face.
That's 300,000! Not 3,000 or 30,000 taels; they might never be able to come up with that much money in their entire lives.
Ishikawa nodded silently in agreement.
The real ninja world naturally has a set of rules, especially when it comes to money.
In order to maintain the stability of the ninja village system and meet the needs of sustainable development, the ninja world consensus is that neither active ninjas nor rogue ninjas are allowed to exploit or plunder wealth by force.
Rewards can only be obtained through tasks or other normal business activities, such as Jiraiya's risqué novels, the Nara clan's medicinal herb business, etc.
After all, ninjas do not engage in production. If they were to rely on force to seize and plunder, the world would lose its order, and all industries would not prosper but would instead regress.
When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact.
In that chaotic and disorderly situation, the dwindling resources naturally led to even more brutal battles among the ninjas, creating a vicious cycle where each generation was weaker than the last until they all withered away...
So even rogue ninjas, as long as they have a sane brain, wouldn't do something so short-sighted as killing the goose that lays the golden eggs!
Even legitimate ninjas are bound by village rules. If you don't want to go to jail or become a rogue ninja, it's best to obediently follow the rules.
Although there are still occasional idiots who break the rules under such ironclad regulations, they do not cause any major harm to the overall situation.
This is why Ishikawa didn't kill or extort more people, but instead took out the Konoha headband to intimidate the casino boss.
While 300,000 taels was a bit excessive, he had a valid reason and it was Tsunade's money, so he could accept it. If he went any further, he might be punished by the village or have a bounty placed on his head by the casino boss.
Ishikawa didn't believe that killing someone who could run a casino would eliminate future troubles. He also didn't want to create unnecessary trouble by constantly guarding against thieves, and instead invite the underground money exchange to target him, a mere genin.
"Damn it, why didn't I trust my older brother back then?" Suddenly, the younger brother, Jiro, slapped himself hard and cried out in frustration, waking Ishikawa.
If he had invested back then, he would have tens of thousands of taels by now. After all, his elder brother Ishikawa won 30,000 taels, so his initial investment would have been even more.
In an instant, Taro, who had been excitedly standing nearby, also suddenly realized. Right, 300,000 taels was a lot, but it didn't really concern them much…
Looking at the money box, Taro felt as if his parents had died! He secretly regretted his own cleverness in not following his older brother's lead.
"Well, you two shouldn't be too disappointed. We agreed to share the good times and the bad! I won 30,000 taels before, so we'll split it equally, 10,000 each. As for the rest? That's the casino's compensation for my emotional distress, you don't have any objections, do you?" Looking at his two heartbroken underlings, Ishikawa breathed a sigh of relief and said generously.
Although it hurts a little, as the eldest brother, I have to bleed a little at this time. Otherwise, how can I be a leader in the future? What right does an eldest brother who can't bring benefits to his subordinates have to order them to do things diligently?
Based on that face alone? How brain-dead must someone be?!
"Really? Thank you, brother..."
"No objection, no objection, it's what you deserve, brother!"
Instantly, the two underlings, who had just been feeling down, exclaimed with delight, looking as if they would die for a friend who understood them!
That's ten thousand taels! They wouldn't have dared to even dream of it before, but now that they've gotten ten thousand taels for free, what objection could they possibly have?
Although the eldest brother received more, as he said, it was what he deserved.
"Alright, let's go back and meet up with the teacher now." After glancing at the money box, Ishikawa reluctantly gave up the idea of continuing to search for Tsunade's whereabouts.
It's inconvenient and unsafe to carry so much money around; it's better to leave it with Kakashi for safekeeping. Besides, they have a mission tonight, and time is running out!
"Yes, brother." The two underlings naturally obeyed without question, and followed Ishikawa through the streets and alleys to the mayor's mansion with great pride.
Meanwhile, on another street.
"Lady Tsunade, where did you find the gold mine? How come I didn't know about it??" Following behind Tsunade, Shizune asked excitedly while holding the little pig Tonton.
If a gold mine is indeed discovered, the huge debts incurred before can be easily resolved, and a fortune can be made without having to hide anymore...
"Gold mine? When did I say there was a gold mine? I only said that I found a small piece of gold on the mountain, and they insisted on lending me money." Tsunade waved her hand lazily, gesturing with the shape of a small gold nugget.
"What? No gold mine!" The news struck Jingyin like a bolt from the blue.
Thinking back to how Tsunade transformed into a child and confidently deceived three debt collectors, making them believe her and increase their loans to millions of dollars, she turned pale.
"Scam! You're scamming me! Lady Tsunade, you really are..." Shizune cried out in despair at the thought of being burdened with millions more in debt.
The sudden shout echoed through the street, attracting the attention of passersby.
"That's...?" Just as he turned the corner, Ishikawa paused and looked in the direction of the voice.
By the light of the streetlamp, he could vaguely see Tsunade leading Shizune into an izakaya (Japanese pub), clearly intending to get drunk!
[Great! Since they're drinking here tonight, they should still be in town tomorrow. We can't miss this opportunity; we have to seize it.] Ishikawa was overjoyed, but calmly led his two underlings back.
Meanwhile, in another corner where Ishikawa and his group were, a Jonin wearing a Cloud Village headband also turned his head in surprise, "Tsunade? Could it be the legendary one??"
However, remembering his mission, the Cloud Village Jonin immediately put aside his curiosity and turned to head to the agreed-upon place to meet the Raikage.
Town Mayor's Residence.
"You were sent to gather intelligence? You went out to rob someone??" Kakashi was dumbfounded as he looked at the box of money in front of him.
Three hundred thousand taels was nothing to him, but it was a considerable sum of money for Ishikawa and his genin.
What on earth did these three guys do?
"Teacher, you're joking! How could we break the ninja code and rob someone? This is what we won, so please keep it safe for us." Ishikawa rolled his eyes at Kakashi. How could he do something as lowly as robbery?
Well, being forced to extort money is still an option.
"You won? You went gambling? And you won 300,000 taels??" Kakashi looked at Ishikawa, who was spouting nonsense, with an expression that said, "Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Kakashi-sensei, Big Brother isn't lying! We ran into a woman at the casino who's known as a fat sheep..." The two underlings hurriedly explained, afraid of causing their teacher to misunderstand.
"Casino? Fat sheep? Women? Wait, could it be?!" When Kakashi heard these three words combined, his mind went blank and he couldn't believe it.
That's it, it must be that person...