In the absurdly lavish main hall of the daimyo's palace…
Teizawa held up a wine cup in one hand and shouted toward the singing and dancing courtesans performing in the center of the hall.
"Move your hips more! I like it when it's more explosive!"
"And you're wearing too many clothes…"
Beside him, Kankurō looked helpless.
"Aren't you afraid I'll go back and tell Temari? She's my sister, you know."
Teizawa didn't even turn his head. He just rolled his eyes.
"I'm just listening to music and watching a dance. I'm not doing anything to them. What's the big deal, little brother-in-law?"
"Don't call me little brother-in-law."
Kankurō's face darkened.
Teizawa felt wronged too.
Entertainment in the shinobi world was painfully scarce.
Besides watching beautiful women dance, what else was there to do?
Go wander into the red-light district?
As he thought that, he glanced at Kankurō next to him.
A bunch of grown men, and he was still pretending to be prim and proper.
"Ahem…"
Teizawa leaned in and slung an arm around Kankurō's shoulder, teasing him.
"Don't tell me you're still a virgin."
"Wh-who said that?!" Kankurō blurted, face instantly red. "I'm not anymore!"
"Really?"
"O-of course!"
"Then why are you blushing?"
"I'm… it is hot, okay?!"
"Who was it? Which girl? As your brother-in-law, I'll 'check her out' for Temari."
"Th-that…"
"Can't say? So it's nobody? Or… you dumped the girl after you got what you wanted?"
Teizawa fired off a string of sarcastic jabs until Kankurō's face turned beet red.
He looked like he wanted to die on the spot.
"All right,"
Teizawa suddenly shifted gears and waggled his eyebrows at him.
"But I'll say this. These dancers were handpicked all across the Land of Wind by the previous daimyo."
"They're all top-tier. You sure you don't want to marry one and bring her home?"
Kankurō wavered.
Who didn't like a gorgeous woman with a perfect figure?
But when he imagined Temari beating him half to death after he got back, he shook his head hard.
"I'll pass. I'm still young."
"Young?"
Teizawa's gaze slid downward and he sneered.
"The two things a man can't say are 'I can't' and 'I'm small.'"
Kankurō: "…"
Swish.
A figure flickered into view.
Baki appeared in front of them. "Kazekage-sama, all valuables have been inventoried."
"Oh?" Teizawa perked up. "How much are we talking?"
Because for the past two days in the daimyo's palace, Teizawa hadn't been watching dancers the whole time.
The real priority was looting.
And as expected…
Those ministers were filthy rich.
Ten billion ryō? They handed it over like it was pocket change.
Teizawa took one look and thought, no, this won't do. They're paying too easily.
So he increased the ransom.
To stay alive, the ministers grit their teeth and paid anyway.
After that, Suna shinobi spent days doing nothing but counting money.
Baki's face was practically glowing as he reported.
"After repeated counts, the total is two hundred and thirty billion ryō."
Clink.
Kankurō's cup hit the floor.
He stared like he'd been struck by lightning.
"H-how… how much?"
Baki tried to keep himself steady.
"Counting the fifty billion 'donation' the daimyo gave voluntarily, the total is two hundred and thirty billion ryō."
"If we use Sunagakure's yearly ten billion ryō allocation as a baseline, this is equivalent to twenty-three years of funding."
"Hah…"
Teizawa let out a breath that smelled of wine.
He subtly clenched his fist, forcing himself to stay calm.
Not gonna lie, even he was shocked.
He'd spent eight years carefully "operating" and only managed to embezzle fifty billion.
One trip to the daimyo's palace…
And it was two hundred and thirty billion?
Damn.
If he'd known, he would've surrounded the daimyo's palace the moment he transmigrated.
Once he steadied himself, Teizawa said in a low voice, "Keep a close watch on those ministers. Don't let them leave the daimyo's palace."
He wasn't saying it for nothing.
After being extorted this hard, those ministers would absolutely try to flee the Land of Wind.
That wouldn't do.
They were walking cash machines.
They needed to be fed well and kept comfortable.
After a pause, Teizawa continued, "Plant our people inside. Replace the ministers and take control of every department in the Land of Wind."
"Use your judgment on the boundaries, but the Land of Wind's tax bureau must be in Sunagakure's hands."
Where did the Land of Wind's money come from?
From the common people's pockets, of course.
So the tax bureau was critical.
No wonder the wealth gap in the Land of Wind was so grotesque.
With a pack of corrupt officials like that…
The dry died of thirst while the flooded drowned in excess.
"Yes!" Baki accepted the order immediately.
At this point, every Suna shinobi looked at Teizawa like he was a god.
Even Baki, once the Fourth Kazekage's diehard loyalist, was no exception.
He had no doubts at all.
After Baki left, Kankurō finally muttered, dazed, "H-how are they that rich?"
Ten billion ryō was enough to cover Sunagakure's yearly expenses.
Yet these palace officials were each richer than an entire shinobi village.
It shattered Kankurō's worldview.
Teizawa snorted. "It's all blood and fat squeezed from the people, obviously."
Then he actually laughed, clicking his tongue in mock wonder.
"If you don't take it, how can I take it? If I don't take it, how can the daimyo take it? If the daimyo doesn't take it, how are you and I supposed to 'advance'?"
"What?" Kankurō didn't understand a word.
"Nothing." Teizawa had no intention of explaining. Instead he continued, almost cheerfully, "Kankurō, you know what? I suddenly feel an urge."
"An urge for what?"
Teizawa bared his teeth in a bright grin.
"I suddenly want to rob every daimyo's palace in the Five Great Nations."
"Th-that…"
Kankurō froze.
Then his eyes went wide.
And strangely…
His heart started racing.
He even felt a hint of longing.
"All right. I'm just talking," Teizawa said, lifting his cup again and calling out toward the dancers. "Come on, keep playing! Keep dancing!"
Kankurō could only smile bitterly.
This guy really couldn't act serious for even a minute.
But right then…
Another ANBU shinobi approached and said respectfully, "Kazekage-sama. The daimyo requests an audience."
"What does the kid want now?"
Even as he complained, Teizawa waved a hand. "Let him in."
Not long after, a young man dressed in daimyo robes walked in.
He came before Teizawa and knelt in a respectful bow.
"I pay my respects to Kazekage-sama!"
"Look at you. You're the Wind Country daimyo, the ruler of a nation, and you're kneeling to me like this."
"Aren't you trying to make me look bad?"
He said it, but he didn't lift a finger to stop him.
"I-it's only right, it's only right," the young daimyo said with a flattering smile.
"Get up."
"Yes, yes, yes…"
"So what is it? You regretting those fifty billion?"
"Not at all, not at all. It's what I should do."
Right. This young daimyo was the eighth son, and his name was Tarō.
"Is that so?" Teizawa's mouth curved. "Then give another fifty billion."
"This…"
The daimyo went rigid on the spot.
"Hahahaha, I'm kidding." Teizawa laughed loudly.
He didn't want to squeeze the daimyo too hard.
Sustainable development was what mattered.
The daimyo's palace needed to keep shining brightly for Sunagakure's rise for a long, long time.
"Talk. What is it?"
Teizawa asked casually, taking a sip of wine.
The young daimyo's eyes flickered. Then he lowered his voice.
"Kazekage-sama… do you want a wife?"
Pff—
Teizawa sprayed a mouthful of wine all over Kankurō's face.
Kankurō stared blankly, completely stunned.
"Ack, ack, ack…" Teizawa coughed hard. "S-sorry. That caught me off guard."
Then he turned to the young daimyo with a strange expression.
"Is your next line going to be: 'As long as you say the word, I'll send her to you'?"
"Uh…" The young daimyo blinked. "Kazekage-sama actually knew what I was thinking? As expected of Kazekage-sama…"
"Cut the crap." Teizawa glared at him. "Whose girl is it, that you have to send her to me personally?"
"Kazekage-sama will understand once you see her."
Teizawa frowned slightly.
Was it some peerless beauty?
"All right," he said. "Let's see her."
(End of Chapter)
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