Chapter 55 You think you can buy us off with money? That's an insult to us!
"Hiss! Two million ryo!?"
For the three men who had always lived a hard life and often didn't know where their next meal would come from, two million ryo was an astronomical figure.
When they saw the pile of banknotes on the table, their eyes widened and their breathing became rapid!
That's way too much money!
Yahiko finally managed to tear his eyes away from the banknotes, took a deep breath, and said to Souji in a deep voice:
"Are you trying to bribe us with money?"
"This is an insult to us!"
"We are absolutely... um!"
Yahiko was about to righteously and loudly rebuke Souji, but before he could finish speaking, Nagato slapped him on the back of the head, interrupting him.
Konan also cooperated by immediately covering Yahiko's mouth with her hand.
"Ugh...!"
"Haha! Yahiko sometimes speaks without thinking, please don't take offense, Mr. Mochizuki!"
"Mr. Mochizuki, what do you need us to do? Please tell us! We will do our best to help!"
"..."
Nagato and Konan changed their previous attitude and gave Souji a bright smile.
This left the Souji speechless for a moment.
Money power is indeed a top-tier skill in any world; the moment two million ryo were mentioned, the two people's expressions changed on the spot.
Yahiko broke free from Konani's small hand, his face flushed as he scolded:
"What are you doing?!"
"Idiot! Listen to what Mr. Mochizuki wants us to do before deciding whether to refuse!"
"That's right! That's two million ryo! Mr. Mochizuki is giving so much! How can you refuse without even understanding the situation!"
Nagato and Konan chatted back and forth, while Yahiko was taken aback. Thinking about it, it seemed to be true; he had rejected her too hastily.
That's two million ryo! Let's get to the bottom of this first!
"Ahem... I'm sorry, I was too hasty. So, Mr. Mochizuki... what would you like to commission us for?"
"Continue what you have been doing: protect and rescue the weak and civilians, and repel the ninjas from all sides who are indiscriminately destroying and killing."
"that's all?"
The three were greatly surprised.
They had originally decided that as long as the requests didn't conflict too much with their principles, they would consider negotiating and compromising.
But the other party's request was practically nonexistent; they just wanted them to continue doing what they had been doing all along!
"I know it's hard for you to believe, but it doesn't matter. I don't care whether you believe it or not."
The Souji pushed the banknotes forward a little and continued:
"I simply admire your ideals... though they may be naive, the world still needs people like you, so I'm offering you some personal support in the hope that your activities will go more smoothly."
"Akatsuki only has three of you who are fairly strong, but that's all. If Nagato hadn't used the power of the Rinnegan, you would have been three decent Chunin in Konoha at best."
"..."
The three remained silent. Although they were surprised that the other party knew that Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, it was reasonable that they also knew about Jiraiya's relationship with them.
"In the current situation of multiple parties fighting each other, your strength is completely insignificant, so there's no need to be suspicious. I won't go to great lengths to use you."
"Really... no other requirements?" Yahiko asked.
The Souji shook his head slightly.
Yahiko exchanged a glance with Nagato and Konan, and seeing that they both agreed, he nodded as well:
"Okay, we accept your commission."
"Very good, very straightforward. You are indeed a person who is suitable to be a leader."
Souji and Yahiko stood up and shook hands.
"Two million ryo should be enough for you for a while. Keep in touch and report your situation to me regularly."
"no problem."
"If you encounter a similar situation, you can ask me for help if needed, don't worry."
"Thank you..."
The Souji put his raincoat back on, and before leaving, he thought for a moment and said to the three of them:
"Oh, and one last piece of advice..."
"Yahiko, you don't need to make Hanzo of Amegakure your target. Although from the perspective of the Land of Rain, he is indeed a hero who fights against various great powers, he is not as wonderful as you imagine... Your ideal is your ideal, you don't need to worship him too much."
"Nagato, you are too afraid of the power of the Rinnegan. Although it is indeed a power that you cannot control... your constant fear of the Rinnegan and your suppression of its use will cause you to lose control immediately when you encounter any emergencies, just like the two times you used it in the past!"
"..." Nagato listened with a solemn expression.
"Willpower is also a part of strength. In fact, there are many special and extremely powerful powers in the ninja world, such as the Rinnegan.
Whether the owner can control them often depends on willpower. You need to hone your willpower. You are too weak in this area."
The Souji then looked at the nervous-looking Konan.
"Konan, your problem is the same as Nagato's. Your paper ninjutsu has great potential, and you may even be able to rival the Five Kage in the end.
However, you are currently developing it too little, and you don't have enough chakra to use high-level ninjutsu. The reason is also that your will is not strong enough."
Chakra is generated from the combination of physical and mental energy. You also need to hone your willpower to increase your total chakra reserves in order to use higher-level ninjutsu.
"If you want to achieve peace, I won't discuss whether communication is useful or not, but in any case, even if you want to communicate, you must first have strong power to start communicating."
"Hanzo, whom you regard as a paragon of heroism, possessed power comparable to the Five Kage. Otherwise, he would have been nothing more than an unknown ninja, his corpse rotting in some desolate wilderness, and you wouldn't even have had the chance to know his name."
The Souji put on a straw hat and went outside.
"Work hard to pursue the peace you envision. I hope that when we meet again, you will have made progress compared to today."
"..."
The three watched as Souji left, his figure disappearing into the rain.
After a while, Konan said softly:
"This person seems to know everything about us... I always feel a lot of pressure when I'm around him..."
"Yes, he doesn't seem to have been sent by Jiraiya-sensei. So how did he know about our relationship with Jiraiya-sensei…" Nagato sighed.
"Could it be that they came for Nagato's Rinnegan..." Konan said with a worried expression.
Yahiko shook his head slightly and said:
"Let's not think about these things anymore. Although it's just my intuition... Mr. Mochizuki probably really has no hostility towards us.
So as long as his request doesn't violate our principles and doesn't seem like he's using us for some kind of conspiracy, we should just accept it honestly and not worry about anything else."
"Back then, Jiraiya-sensei took care of us and taught us ninjutsu. Not all ninjas are cold-hearted.
Let's trust in other people's kindness!"
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End of this chapter...