Chapter 441: Took a Loss

Chapter 441: Chapter 441: Took a Loss

"Cheap!?"

Looking at the suspicion plastered all over Danzo’s face, Kagami suddenly realized that when it came to money, the two of them seemed to be operating on completely different wavelengths!

"Fifty million is obviously a massive sum of money, okay!?"

After shouting inwardly, Kagami immediately became furious.

"That damned old bastard Danzo! Just how much of the village’s wealth has he been embezzling to become this outrageously arrogant!?"

Having felt thoroughly looked down upon, Kagami certainly had every reason to be angry.

The asking price of fifty million wasn’t something he had come up with on a whim. It was the result of careful consideration.

After all, when Tsunade had been forced by her debts to take on a disciplle, the apprenticeship fee she had demanded was fifty million. As for the later seventy million, that was because Kagami himself had added another twenty million so that Rei could live a little more comfortably while staying by Tsunade’s side.

In other words, the enormous sum of fifty million was practically equivalent to purchasing the status of a disciple of one of the Sannin.

Not only would it allow a Konoha shinobi to receive the protection of Lady Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, but they would also have the opportunity to learn invaluable secret techniques from her, such as the Yin Seal and Chakra Enhanced Strength.

And if Tsunade were to eventually succeed to the position of Hokage, that Konoha shinobi would even naturally possess the qualifications to become a candidate for the next Hokage.

Therefore, fifty million was an enormous fortune capable of changing a person’s status, position, and even their very fate!

If measured in terms of bounties, then in the original timeline, Sarutobi Asuma—one of the Land of Fire Daimyo’s Twelve Guardian Ninja—had only carried a bounty of thirty-five million on his head.

And one had to remember that Asuma at that time was already one of the few elite jonin in Konoha. There were only a handful of people in the entire village stronger than him.

Even when exchanging blows in taijutsu with powerful Akatsuki members like Kakuzu and Hidan, Asuma was by no means at a disadvantage. Had he not lacked crucial intelligence and been caught off guard by Hidan’s bizarre ability, there was no way he would have died such a miserable death.

But this enormous sum—equivalent to 1.5 Asumas—had actually earned nothing more than a casual, ’That cheap?’ from Danzo.

Kagami was so furious that he nearly coughed up a mouthful of old blood.

Knock! Knock!

At that moment, Danzo heavily tapped the cane in his hand against the ground and said in a deep voice, "As long as the Chimera Technique in your possession is genuine, money is not a problem!"

If it weren’t for the need to maintain Kamigami’s mysterious image, Kagami genuinely wanted to change his mind on the spot and name a new price.

But the price had already been stated. If he went back on his word now, Danzo would instead look down on Kamigami.

So Kagami suppressed the anger burning in his heart and smiled. "Whether it’s genuine or not, you’ll know once you see it."

With that, Kagami took out the storage scroll containing the Chimera Technique and the living Chimera Bud from the ninja pouch at his waist and casually tossed it to Danzo.

Catching the storage scroll, Danzo—who habitually wore a gloomy expression—displayed a rare look of excitement. He hurriedly tossed his cane aside and unfurled the storage scroll with both hands.

"Looks like this old bastard has had his eye on the Chimera Technique for a long time!"

Seeing just how excited Danzo was, Kagami suddenly realized that he had made a mistake.

From Kagami’s perspective, the Chimera Technique indeed possessed the ability to devour and assimilate Kekkei Genkai, but the hidden dangers associated with it were equally glaring.

Although Danzo wasn’t a researcher in the purest sense, he had been deeply involved in this field for many years. There was no reason he wouldn’t be able to see those problems for himself.

Therefore, when Kagami had assessed the value of the Chimera Technique, he had taken all of those drawbacks into consideration as well.

However, reality proved that Kagami had completely underestimated Danzo’s desire for the Chimera Technique.

Or, to put it more accurately—

Kagami had completely underestimated Danzo’s ambition.

Danzo carefully examined the Chimera Technique, then took another look at the living Chimera Bud. Suppressing the delight in his heart, he turned to Orochimaru and asked, "Is this Chimera Technique scroll genuine?"

Orochimaru took the Chimera Technique scroll Kagami had provided from Danzo and examined it carefully.

He quickly discovered that this version of the Chimera Technique was considerably more advanced than the version he had obtained from Hiruko before defecting from Akatsuki. It was clearly an improved version developed afterward.

That immediately piqued Orochimaru’s interest as well.

As he continued carefully studying the scroll, he nodded. "Mm. It is indeed genuine."

After receiving Orochimaru’s confirmation, Danzo’s face immediately lit up with joy. He no longer even cared about maintaining the dignity of Root’s leader as he cradled the living Chimera Bud in his hands as though he had obtained a priceless treasure.

Beneath the mask bearing the pattern of raging winds, Kagami quietly activated his Byakugan.

Through his Byakugan’s vision, he could clearly see that there were two chakra sources inside Danzo’s body that had yet to completely fuse.

This indicated that Danzo had already transplanted First Hokage cells. However, because he wasn’t an Uchiha, he had been unable to completely merge the Yin Release chakra and Yang Release chakra within his body into one.

"Tsk, tsk... This really is..."

For a moment, Kagami couldn’t even think of a word suitable to describe Danzo.

Danzo’s current body was like one half made of ice and the other half made of fire.

And it was precisely because the ice and fire had somehow reached an extremely fragile equilibrium that he had been lucky enough to survive until now.

If he were to encounter a major battle and excessively exhaust the chakra of either side, destroying that fragile balance, then there would be no need for an enemy to kill him.

His own body would do it for them.

Thinking of this, Kagami gave him a warning. "Don’t underestimate that Chimera Bud. Its ability to devour flesh and blood is beyond imagination. Our organization has conducted research on it and discovered that it is extremely difficult to control. Therefore, this Chimera Technique carries an exceptionally high level of risk. If you intend to use it, you must make absolutely thorough preparations."

Danzo clearly hadn’t expected Kagami to say something like this and looked toward him in considerable surprise.

Orochimaru also turned his gaze toward Kagami, thinking to himself:

"Kamigami is showing Danzo this much goodwill... Could they really be planning to support Danzo in ascending to the position of Hokage?"

Of course, Kagami hadn’t told Danzo the truth because he cared about his well-being.

He still needed Danzo to test exactly how severe the hidden dangers of the Chimera Bud were. If Danzo inexplicably dropped dead immediately after transplanting the Chimera Bud, wouldn’t all of Kagami’s careful planning have gone to waste?

But what Kagami hadn’t expected was for Danzo to wave his hand dismissively and laugh.

"A mere Chimera Bud is incapable of doing anything to this old man!"

Kagami immediately cursed inwardly:

"Damn it! If I’d known he didn’t care about the risks of the Chimera Technique at all, I never would’ve named such a conservative price. I took a loss! I seriously took a loss!"

Clap! Clap!

Danzo lightly clapped his hands.

A moment later, a Root shinobi landed beside him.

Danzo ordered, "Go prepare the money!"

The Root shinobi immediately acknowledged the order and soon returned carrying a large case. He opened it in front of Kagami, revealing neatly stacked bundles of cash inside.

Danzo smiled at Kagami.

"There’s fifty million here. This favor from Kamigami... this old man will remember it!"