As the strongest of the tailed beasts, the Nine-Tails considered itself the big brother among them.
If the big brother was suffering, what was wrong with making the little brother suffer alongside him?
Since Haru wanted to squeeze Shukaku's chakra, then the Nine-Tails absolutely had to help out!
When Haru saw the Nine-Tails frantically signaling with its eyes, he had Mito loosen the chains and give the Nine-Tails a chance to speak.
"Hmph! Haru, I hope you keep your word regarding the deal between us."
"This time, seeing as you're extracting Shukaku's chakra for the future of the ninja world, I can tell you a few ways to suppress that dead raccoon. Cough, cough. Shukaku."
"I'm not doing this to get revenge on Shukaku. I simply want to contribute to the future of the ninja world. I've already contributed my own chakra for the future of the ninja world, so how can Shukaku stay out of it?"
The Nine-Tails spouted nonsense, trying to find some grand and righteous excuse for selling out its tailed beast comrade. Naturally, Haru deeply despised this shameless behavior.
No, praised it.
"Kurama, solid!"
"Solid? Whether I'm solid or not can wait. Right now, I just want to do something for the ninja world!"
A sly smile appeared on the Nine-Tails' fox face. Ah, this feeling of making Shukaku suffer the same misfortune as itself was simply wonderful.
Before long, the Nine-Tails had sold Shukaku out completely, from Shukaku's weaknesses to the important details after sealing the One-Tail, as well as how to prevent the One-Tail's chakra from invading its host.
Haru listened while nodding repeatedly, then gave the Nine-Tails a thumbs-up.
"Kurama, tall and solid!"
"As expected of the boss of the tailed beasts, the strongest tailed beast with nine tails!"
Haru began flattering Kurama, and Kurama narrowed its eyes, clearly enjoying Haru's praise.
Damn it. Two beasts!
Mito clicked her tongue softly, inwardly despising both the man and the fox. They were clearly plotting to harm another tailed beast and squeeze its chakra, yet they had even come up with such a grand excuse for it.
In an instant, the tiny bit of goodwill Mito had just developed toward Haru vanished completely. Haru really was a beastly bastard. Haruno absolutely could not be entrusted to him.
Otherwise, Haruno would definitely be sold by Haru in the future and still help him count the money.
Hmph, I'll extract!
Looking at the man and fox working together in shameless collusion, Mito suddenly felt inexplicably irritated. She could not deal with Haru, but could she not deal with the Nine-Tails? Watch me squeeze you dry!
"Hiss, hiss... Mito, you old... Can you slow down a little? I'm already..."
The Nine-Tails suddenly felt the speed at which its chakra was being extracted increase, and a surge of weakness and powerlessness rushed over it.
"Hmph!"
Mito coldly snorted and immediately used the chains to bind the Nine-Tails' mouth.
"Mito, I have to criticize you here. The Nine-Tails is a comrade contributing to the Leaf. Can't you be a little gentler when extracting chakra?"
"The Nine-Tails is the Leaf's good friend. You can't treat a friend like this..."
Haru seized the chance to say a few words on the Nine-Tails' behalf, trying to raise the already low favorability he had in the Nine-Tails' heart. Although it might not be very useful, it only required moving his lips, so there was no harm in trying.
The Nine-Tails nodded repeatedly, glaring angrily at Mito.
Oh, so the two of you are standing together now?
Mito had no time to bother with these two shameless things, the man and the fox. She simply continued at full power, crazily extracting the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Time passed quickly. Mito completed the task of extracting the Nine-Tails' chakra once again.
The Nine-Tails' body had shrunk, its spirit was listless, and even its fur had lost its shine. However, the Nine-Tails was still very happy inside.
From now on, it would finally not be the only tailed beast suffering through this rotten misfortune. With Shukaku accompanying it, wonderful!
"Chiyo, you saw it just now. This is the entire process of extracting a tailed beast's chakra. The process is simple and crude. It only requires the host to have absolute suppressive power over the tailed beast. This point will probably be very difficult for your Sand Village."
"But you don't need to worry about that. Lady Mito should have a way."
Haru looked at Mito, only to see Mito nod confidently. After the Nine-Tails' information dump just now, she now had a decent idea for a sealing technique in her mind, one that could be used specifically to restrain the One-Tail.
However, knowledge could not be passed on lightly. Mito had no intention of teaching this sealing technique to the Sand Village. She planned to make it into a sealed scroll, or lay down a sealing formation inside the room where tailed beast chakra would be extracted. That would achieve the same effect.
Mito explained her idea, and Haru had no objections. Chiyo was the same.
Chiyo had never planned to obtain from the Leaf a sealing technique specifically used to seal Shukaku. Although the Leaf and the Sand Village had already become allies, the relationship between the two villages had not reached the point where they could leak the village's core technology.
The Leaf was not selfless enough to do something that strengthened a potential enemy.
The current gains already satisfied Chiyo. Obtaining a room capable of suppressing Shukaku was already good enough. At the very least, it would allow Bunpuku to sleep peacefully.
"Hokage, how should my labor fee be calculated?"
Mito rubbed her fingers together and asked Haru for payment in a very mercenary manner. One unit of money for one unit of effort. This was a principle Haru had taught her. He could forget about using her labor for free.
In the past, Haru had always taken advantage of her. Now, she finally had a chance to collect some interest.
"Haruno's talent is good, but with her current level, she has no ability to easily develop a sealing technique like I can."
Mito blocked Haru's escape route ahead of time, saving him from using this matter to threaten her again.
"Fine, fine."
Haru waved his hand. He was not an unreasonable person. If he asked someone to do something, naturally, he had to give them some benefits.
"Three million ryo!"
Mito named an astronomical price, making the corner of Haru's mouth twitch. Mito really was ruthless.
But knowledge was priceless. This was the power of mastering core technology.
Before Haru could react, Chiyo could not help crying out in surprise. To a poor ghost from the Sand Village like her, this number was simply astronomical.
However, Chiyo quickly realized her loss of composure and still forced herself to say,
"Lady Mito, could the price be lowered a little?"
Chiyo was very measured and had no intention of letting Haru pay.
A room with a seal capable of suppressing Shukaku was of great importance to the Sand Village. From now on, the Sand Village could largely avoid a situation where Bunpuku could no longer resist drowsiness, fell asleep, and allowed the One-Tail to take the opportunity to escape and wreak havoc in the Sand Village.
In the entire ninja world, perhaps only the Leaf possessed this kind of technology. Even if someone wanted to buy it, they would have to see whether the Leaf was willing. Having money would not necessarily be useful.
If the two villages had not now formed an alliance, the Sand Village would never have been able to invite Mito.
It was just that three million ryo was indeed a large sum for the Sand Village. Right now, the Sand Village needed money everywhere, and saving even a little was still saving.
Mito turned her head to the side. A discount was impossible. Absolutely impossible. She had been scammed too badly by Haru and was determined not to yield even a single coin.
"How about this? The Leaf will advance this money first. Then, each time we buy and sell the One-Tail's chakra, a portion of the payment will be deducted to repay this debt. How does that sound?"
Haru stepped forward at the right time and gave a reasonable proposal.
"That works."
Chiyo nodded. This proposal was already a decent choice.
However, how much was one extraction of tailed beast chakra worth? Chiyo felt she should ask.
"Hokage, the fee for extracting tailed beast chakra once is..."
"One million ryo per extraction!"
Mito answered first. She understood better than anyone how cheap this price was. But the contract had already been signed, so going back on it was impossible.
Following Haru's development requirements, Tobirama had combined ninjutsu and technology to invent a large batch of useful daily tools: electric lights, water heaters, electric heaters, electric fans.
In less than a year, the villagers of the Leaf could no longer live without electricity.
Now, the power plant's profits had already begun to show themselves. It was practically a money-printing machine. Nearly all the electricity came from converting tailed beast chakra.
The entire Leaf's demand for electricity had surged dramatically. If they replaced it with an alternative like coal, the cost would shoot straight to the heavens. It would no longer be the few hundred million ryo from the beginning. The cost could multiply several times over.
Once a ninja accepted an employment mission and signed their name, according to ninja rules, unless the ninja died, that mission would not be declared over.
What was done was done.
Even if Mito brought the matter to a high-level meeting, no one would stand on her side. Every clan was a shareholder in the power plant. This money was essentially being paid by them.
Even a fool knew that once the contract was voided, Mito would definitely demand an outrageous price. The extra costs would all come from the money of the ninja clans!
Mito herself did not have the moral high ground, and she did not have the courage to stand against all the ninja clans of the Leaf. She could only regret her original choice again and again in her heart.
How could I have signed that contract for a mere few million ryo?
Humans were always eager to laugh at others' misfortunes. After falling into a pit dug by someone else, they would want to trap others too, making them suffer the same misfortune.
I didn't make money from this deal, and you, a mere Sand Village, still want to make money?
Stop dreaming!
Mito immediately quoted Chiyo her own compensation figure: one million ryo each time the Nine-Tails' chakra was extracted.
"Really?"
Chiyo was somewhat tempted. Extracting tailed beast chakra once was equivalent to an S-rank mission. This deal did not sound like a loss.
Besides, this was the price the Leaf paid Mito. Chiyo was very clear about Mito's status in the Leaf: the widow of the First Hokage. The Leaf could not possibly scam even Mito, right?
This price had to be very high!
"Of course!"
"If you don't believe me, I can show you the contract."
Mito directly pulled that contract, the one she regretted signing so badly, out of her sleeve. She took this contract out to look at it every day.
Mito, Mito, have you forgotten the humiliation of the chakra sale contract?
Sooner or later, she, Mito, would get her dignity back!
Chiyo took the paper contract and read its contents. Sure enough, every time tailed beast chakra was extracted, Mito was paid one million ryo. The creases in the middle of the contract were very deep, clearly showing that Mito often took it out to look at it.
"It seems this price must be very high. Otherwise, Lady Mito would not keep taking the contract out and looking at it. These folds in the middle really are..."
Chiyo had already believed it seventy or eighty percent and casually made that comment.
In an instant, Mito's face collapsed.
Chiyo, you really know how to bring up the one thing that should not be mentioned.
"Yes, yes. This is indeed a very high price."
"Isn't that right, Hokage?"
Mito's expression quickly returned to normal. She could not let Chiyo notice anything wrong, so she played along while speaking sarcastically to Haru.
"Hahaha. The price is indeed very high. After all, if the price were low, Lady Mito would not have signed it voluntarily!"
Haru immediately counterattacked, deliberately emphasizing the word "voluntarily," making Mito's expression shift again.
Chiyo was still immersed in the joy of making money and did not notice the hidden clash between the two.
"Lady Mito, you have more experience. How often can chakra be extracted from a tailed beast?"
"...As long as the tailed beast recovers properly, at minimum, it can be extracted four times a year. At most, six to seven times a year."
Chiyo did a simple calculation in her heart. As long as they did this for about half a year, they could repay the debt. Everything afterward would be pure profit. Every year, the Sand Village could gain around five million ryo in extra income. For the barren Sand Village, that was not a small sum at all.
"Then it's decided!"
Chiyo nodded in satisfaction. In just one day, she had achieved such a major negotiation result. Not only had she basically obtained a room that could suppress Shukaku for free, but she had also brought the Sand Village an extra annual income of around five million ryo.
Hahaha.
Wonderful. Wonderful!
"Chiyo, since you've already decided, I'll have the Anbu send the contract to your residence in a while. After signing it, just have the Anbu bring it back."
Haru remained calm. Since Chiyo had taken the initiative to stretch her neck out for him to chop, he had no choice but to take this deal.
"Then it's settled, Hokage."
After Chiyo finished speaking, she could not help revealing a smile. There was a trace of cunning in that smile. She had her own little calculations. The Nine-Tails' chakra was much greater than the One-Tail's chakra.
No, not just greater. It was many times greater.
The contract charged by the number of extractions, not by the amount of chakra.
The Hokage and Mito before her seemed to have both overlooked this loophole. In that case, the Sand Village was naturally meant to take advantage of it.
Although the Hokage had always considered the entire ninja world, and although the Sand Village had gained a huge advantage by allying with the Leaf, the Sand Village was truly too barren. They had to seize every chance to strengthen themselves.
Chiyo silently apologized to Haru in her heart.
All three of them were very satisfied, each believing they had gained an advantage. Everyone had a bright future, and they left the Leaf power plant while chatting and laughing.
They had spent the entire afternoon delayed at the power plant. By this time, Haru should have gotten off work long ago.
As for making Haru work overtime to discuss the remaining cooperation agreements with Chiyo, that was definitely impossible.
Overtime?
Absolutely impossible!
It was better to go home early and see the two little ones, Kaede and Rin. Tobirama also seemed to have not been seen for a long time. He should be obediently working in the basement, serving as Haru's research workhorse, right?
(End of Chapter)
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