The employer's name was Mangetsu, a fair-skinned, chubby man who was also the prince of the Land of the Moon, located on Crescent Island in the Southern Sea.
The Land of the Moon enjoyed a comfortable climate and abundant crops, and being far from the mainland, it was largely unaffected by the Shinobi World War and conflicts between major nations. Over centuries of accumulation, the Land of the Moon became quite wealthy; at least, the royal family was very rich.
The Land of the Moon was also a central hub on the Land of Fire's shipping route to the Southern Continent. In addition to their escort mission, Ino and her team were also meant to rendezvous with the Land of Fire's fleet.
In the future, the Ino–Shika–Choji families planned to heavily develop the Southern Continent as one of their 'three burrows of a cunning rabbit,' making the importance of the Land of the Moon not to be underestimated.
The four of them followed the Fat Prince's convoy out of Konoha Village that very day.
The convoy was grand and extensive, transporting so many and such varied goods that one couldn't see its end. These were all items the Fat Prince had accumulated during his travels in the Land of Fire through his 'buy, buy, buy' spree.
Initially, Prince Mangetsu had some doubts about Ino and her team's abilities, but after Sakura single-handedly defeated many of his guards, he truly recognized their strength.
"Is your Village's Great King sick? Does he not have money for a doctor?" Prince Mangetsu was a rather optimistic Fat Prince. He invited Ino and her team to ride in his carriage, then casually started chatting.
Choji and Sakura didn't know the inside story, but Shikamaru was aware of these matters. Was Jiraiya sick? He was beaten!
It was too troublesome to explain, so he signaled Ino to talk her way out of it.
Ino chuckled dryly: "Uh, the leader of our Village is called the Hokage, it's not a hereditary monarchy. That bruise on his face, the bruise is... right, he... he's been practicing a Secret Technique recently, so he got a little injured, but he'll recover very soon."
Prince Mangetsu was impressed but confused; his mind struggled to grasp how a non-hereditary system could ensure the continuation of power, and Ino didn't offer much explanation on that front.
She talked endlessly, promoting something.
Promoting what? Promoting school district housing in Konoha Village!
The Fat Prince was middle-aged, currently divorced, and traveling around the Land of Fire with his seven-year-old son, Hikaru.
To put it nicely, he was traveling; to put it bluntly, he was eating, drinking, and having fun.
The Prince's prolonged absence from his country, constantly wandering the world, was reportedly because his father wanted him to broaden his horizons and experience more of the outside world.
"His Majesty the Old King is indeed very wise, a good father, and His Highness Mangetsu is also a good father. His Highness Hikaru is so intelligent..." Ino pointed to the little boy beside them.
The boy wore round glasses. Compared to his father's three-hundred-pound physique, the child's build was much more normal—thin and small, and he didn't talk much, just sat in the corner playing a handheld game console by himself.
The boy was very introverted; if he had a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, he could easily pass for Harry Potter.
If a brown-haired girl were to open the carriage door the next second, bringing a Gryffindor Sword Saint to look for a toad, Ino wouldn't be surprised.
She looked at the boy twice and said with a smile: "Your Highness, you wouldn't want His Highness Hikaru to miss out on the best education in the world, would you? I'm not boasting, but Ninja's footsteps are all over the world, and our Konoha Village's education level is the most top-notch in the current era! As long as you buy a house in Konoha School, you can enjoy priority enrollment and other benefits in the future. There are even discounts for buying a house now..."
The Fat Prince didn't care about discounts or anything else.
He knew that Ninja were among the most powerful people in the world. When Ino vaguely mentioned that Konoha would later establish two educational systems—a Ninja class and a regular class—he was immediately moved. Buy! One set? One set isn't enough, I have money, give me ten sets!
"Hahahaha! How straightforward! The Prince is truly a straightforward person!" Ino was thrilled, laughing so hard her Sharingan almost couldn't stay hidden.
The Fat Prince was supposed to return to his country to inherit the throne, but under her sweet words, he ended up buying ten houses in Konoha Village.
Whether he would live in them or not was another matter; he simply had money.
The boy Hikaru, who had been playing his handheld game console, sneered: "Isn't it just about money? Come be my retainer, I'll give you as much money as you want."
His words were full of mockery, encompassing all four Ninja, with Ino as his primary target.
Sakura was startled and looked at Ino uneasily. This pig wouldn't go feral and tear the little boy apart, would she?
The temperature in the carriage visibly dropped. Orochimaru's ability to intimidate Kakashi with just a glance back then was partly due to Kakashi's long period of decadence and excessive despondency, but the killing intent mixed with Yin Release Chakra was also objectively present.
In terms of killing, Orochimaru was superior; in terms of Yin Release, Orochimaru was far inferior to Ino.
The group felt a chill wind permeating the carriage. Hikaru, the main target, stiffened all over. His fingers gripping the handheld game console were completely out of control. He wanted to appear stubborn, but cold sweat still trickled down his temples, and a whirlpool seemed to appear before him, his consciousness involuntarily being sucked in little by little.
"Ahem." At the critical moment, Shikamaru coughed softly twice.
"Hahahaha—employ me? Don't make me laugh, you can't afford to employ me!" Ino laughed very brightly, changing the word "buy out" to "employ." With her laughter, the gloomy aura vanished, and the sunlight from outside the carriage shone in again. Everything from before seemed like an illusion.
Hikaru's mockery shattered the previous harmonious atmosphere. Ino lost interest in chatting with them, waved her hand, and went to rest in the rear carriage.
Choji left with her, followed by Sakura. Finally, Shikamaru whispered a few words of instruction: "We accept your employment, but we are not your servants. You must maintain basic respect for Ninja."
The convoy reached the port in the southern Land of Fire, then traveled by ship to Crescent Island, where the Land of the Moon was located.
There were no incidents along the way, and they arrived smoothly at the royal palace.
The Old King hosted a banquet for them.
During the banquet, a chubby man in a purple robe made an appearance, spoke quietly with the Old King for a moment, then left the banquet with a sullen expression.
Ino stared at the figure of the purple-robed Fat Prince.
"What, is something wrong with that guy?" Shikamaru asked.
Ino picked at her ear: "I didn't pay attention just now, what was that guy's name?"
"Shabaronba? Sharon Daba?" Shikamaru wasn't entirely sure either.
Ino asked a servant present and learned that this was the royal minister, Shabadaaba.
"Oh, never mind, I misheard just now." Ino had misheard it as "Shabaronbas" earlier and was puzzled, wondering where this "Shabaronbas" had popped out from in the otherwise normal Naruto World.
The dinner was extremely lavish. The Old King and the Fat Prince chatted happily. The extremely introverted Hikaru occasionally moved the food on the table but remained mostly silent.
Ino and her team didn't go up to bother them, instead eating and drinking freely in the hall.
It was free, after all, so eat without reservation!
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