After finishing their meal, the group hurried back to the underground base beneath the Commander's Mansion. Currently, there were no Anbu ninjas here, only hundreds of covert unit ninjas.
Of course, there were also fifteen Root ninjas brought by Haruto Saito!
"Minato, Kaga, you two stay here for now! Don't wander around if there's nothing urgent. I'll come to get you in at most ten days..."
Haruto made arrangements. His original plan had been different—he had intended to take Minato Namikaze and Kaga along on his search for a suitable location to establish a ninja village, giving them some training along the way.
But the situation had suddenly worsened!
Haruto's exposure came too soon, which meant that the enemy would also arrive much earlier than expected. Bringing Minato and Kaga along was simply too dangerous!
So, he had to leave them behind.
Afternoon.
Haruto, Kakuzu, and the fifteen Root ninjas left Shanlong Village, heading east!
Haruto had not merely passed through Shanlong Village—he had come specifically to obtain the latest intelligence on the distribution of forces in the Land of Whirlpools. Now that he had the intelligence, he still had not determined where to establish the ninja village, so he could only continue scouting locations.
One thing was certain: the village could not be built in the central region of the Land of Whirlpools!
It had to be in a coastal area!
Otherwise, the village would not be able to develop.
The morning after Haruto left Shanlong Village, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru arrived and met Minato and Kaga. Naturally, they had come looking for Haruto—tracking him down in such a short time was impressive.
Tsunade questioned the covert unit ninjas stationed at the Shanlong Village base.
But she did not get the answer she wanted!
No one knew where Haruto had gone. Even Haruto himself had not yet decided where he would establish the ninja village—so how could anyone else possibly know?
Five Days Later.
The Land of Whirlpools was thrown into turmoil, as a large number of spies, assassination ninjas, and black market killers arrived. Clashes broke out among them for various reasons—some had existing feuds, while others fought over tracking the same intelligence, leading to deadly battles!
The entire Land of Whirlpools seemed to be caught in a storm of intrigue due to Haruto's presence!
Many renowned assassins from the black market were spotted in the region. Meanwhile, the covert units of the Hidden Leaf Village and the Hidden Mist Village continued their secret battles without pause.
And on this very day, Haruto chose the site for his ninja village.
In the northern coastal region of the Land of Whirlpools, there was a small settlement called "Furuta Village."
At first glance, the village seemed unremarkable, with a population of only ten thousand, forty percent of whom were outsiders. The primary industry was seafood trade. The village was governed by a small ninja faction with only about two hundred ninjas, and their leader was merely a Jonin.
It was an inconspicuous village.
There were many such villages in the Land of Whirlpools.
However, Haruto noticed something different here—a nearby iron mine. It was a very small mine, producing only a meager amount of ore daily and holding little value.
But Haruto had personally investigated it using the Hidden Earth Submersion Technique to probe underground, confirming that the mine was actually quite large!
The reason it had gone unnoticed was due to underground faults concealing the main deposit.
Additionally, Furuta Village had certain advantages that only Haruto recognized. For example, while the village was governed by ninjas, their strength was weak and easy to handle. Haruto also discovered that the village was quite poor—its business had been overshadowed by larger neighboring villages, leaving the residents struggling.
Even the ninja faction ruling the village barely made any profit each year.
This significantly lowered the difficulty of Haruto taking over the village—because Haruto had money!
Southwest of Furuta Village, atop a cliff.
Haruto and Kakuzu stood side by side, gazing at the village. Haruto gestured and said, "My plan is to temporarily double the size of the village, hire a large number of laborers, and start construction. Meanwhile, spread the rumor that the village leader has discovered a treasure and struck it rich..."
"You will be my proxy, and the village leader will be under your control. I'll allocate funds, but I can't show myself—my enemies are too many. If I reveal my presence, the village will be destroyed immediately... Any objections?"
"No problem," Kakuzu replied, a glint of excitement in his eyes.
This was a big undertaking!
Building a ninja village from scratch—if successful, how much money could be made? And even if it failed, it didn't matter to Kakuzu, since he wasn't investing his own money. Haruto was even paying him a salary.
Kakuzu's lifespan was nearly endless, so he didn't mind spending years on a venture. He was only interested in what success would bring!
"Then that's settled. Here's 200 million ryo for expenses. Get to work!" Haruto handed over the funds.
Kakuzu accepted the money, turned to leave, but then paused to ask, "How do you want me to take control of the village?"
"Hmm... Avoid excessive bloodshed. Don't kill all the ninjas—if you can take over without fighting, even better!" Haruto instructed. "If money can persuade them, there's no need for violence..."
"Understood. Give me three days!" Kakuzu said before vanishing in a flash.
Kakuzu headed to Furuta Village to negotiate with its leader.
Haruto, meanwhile, stayed in the nearby mountains with the fifteen Root ninjas, waiting for news. He could have gone into the village, but Furuta was too ordinary. If he and his team entered all at once, they would attract too much attention.
To avoid being recognized, he stayed out.
Two Days Later.
In a small valley near Furuta Village, one side was a small forest, the other a tiny lake.
Haruto reclined against a tree in the woods, absentmindedly eating fruit. Two days had passed, and Kakuzu had yet to report back. Haruto hadn't gone to check on him—after all, Kakuzu wouldn't run off with the money.
After finishing the fruit, Haruto pressed a hand against the ground.
Sensory expansion!
For the past two days, Haruto had been routinely scanning the area within a hundred-kilometer radius using chakra perception. This was an important precaution—if a powerful chakra presence approached, he needed to be ready!
"Hmm?" Haruto's expression suddenly changed.
He sensed an extremely powerful, even terrifying, chakra signature!
Sixty-seven kilometers to the east, near this chakra signature, were seven other highly formidable chakra sources. Eight individuals in total—all incredibly strong! The first one he sensed was shockingly powerful!
Over the past two days, Haruto had sensed Kage-level existences before.
But this time, he detected at least **four** Kage-level entities!
"This aura... feels so familiar..." Haruto closed his eyes, focusing his perception further.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open in shock!
"Ryuno Hattori?! The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?!"