I Punch the Tailed Beast Ball

After Musashi was done with the minister, he went back to find Jūzō Biwa, who disguised himself as the minister.

Later, the two of them left the minister’s residence and headed to the residence of their other target, the Daimyo.

According to the agreement, they might leave now that they had already completed their task, and the Daimyo’s men would give them the money.

Even though he was a Daimyo, he had to abide by the rules and pay, or else he would make an enemy out of various organizations.

However, Akatsuki’s goal was not just the money. Their main objective was to establish a cooperative relationship with the Daimyo and monopolize shinobi missions in the Land of Rice Fields.

At this moment, the Daimyo was enjoying a lavish dinner.

On a massive round table were dozens of delicious freshly-made dishes.

Since there were so many dishes, it was impossible for the Daimyo to finish all the dishes. He would only take a few bites of each, perhaps a few more if a dish was exceptionally delicious.

Moreover, the Daimyo never took the first bite of a dish; someone else had to poison-tasted before he touched it with his chopsticks.

He was a cautious person, despite his high position and control over the military power in the Land of Rice Fields. He never showed any negligence and left no room for vulnerabilities.

If there was even a hint of danger, the Daimyo would go to great lengths to eliminate it.

The minister dared to tamper with his military authority, which was something the Daimyo could not tolerate.

Therefore, the Daimyo immediately hired Shinobi to kill the minister without giving him any chance.

”Heh, he sure lives a luxurious life.”

Just as the Daimyo thought that the Shinobi he hired should have reached the Land of Rice Fields by now, and he would soon receive the good news of the minister’s death, a sneer that the Daimyo had never heard before echoed.

The Daimyo looked up and saw two strangely dressed individuals appearing on the opposite side.

One person wielded a massive sword with a cross-shaped scar on his face, while the other had two sharp swords hanging at his waist and extremely sharp eyes.

Swish!

Several samurais in the room instantly drew their swords and rushed into the Daimyo’s side while cautiously observing the two individuals, who just appeared.

”Who are you?” The Daimyo furrowed his brows but did not appear too panicked and asked out loud.

He was heavily guarded, with skilled individuals patrolling nearby.

The fact that these two could enter this room without anyone noticing and even sat across him despite such a situation indicated that they were highly skilled.

Therefore, the Daimyo deliberately asked loudly. This way, if there was any commotion, his men outside would quickly come in to protect him.

Sure enough, after the Daimyo finished speaking, the samurais outside heard the commotion and swiftly entered the room, surrounding Jūzō Biwa and Musashi.

Despite being surrounded by numerous samurais, Jūzō Biwa and Musashi showed no signs of fear whatsoever. Musashi even took a bite of the food on the table.

”Who are you, who sent you, and what are you after?” The Daimyo, hidden among the samurais, continued to inquire. At the same time, using the samurais’ bodies as cover, he quietly moved towards the exit.

Jūzō Biwa grinned as he knocked away nearby samurais with his Kubikiribōchō and said, ”Daimyo, why are you so afraid? We’ve brought you good news.”

The Daimyo paused. Good news?

Considering how skilled he was coupled with his words just now, could they be the Shinobi he hired to kill the minister?

But how did they know it was him who hired them? He sent his subordinates to hire them.

Jūzō Biwa and Musashi simultaneously released their killing intent. Jūzō Biwa’s killing intent felt so real that it frightened some samurais, making them lose grip of their swords and even fell to the ground, while Musashi’s killing intent made it hard for the samurais to even stand.

Seeing that the samurais on his side were almost at their limits even though neither of the intruders had made their move yet, the Daimyo stopped; he knew escaping was futile.

Although he had a powerful subordinate whom he had recruited not long before nearby, even that person couldn’t do this much with just his killing intent.

”Leave us alone, all of you! I need to discuss something with these two,” the Daimyo ordered his samurais.

The samurais looked at each other but eventually left the room.

Although they didn’t understand why the Daimyo suddenly wanted to face two dangerous intruders alone, they obeyed since he was the Daimyo.

”I assume that you two are the Shinobi who accepted the task, yes?” the Daimyo asked.

A hint of surprise flashed in Jūzō Biwa’s eyes. He had initially wanted to frighten the Daimyo, but it seemed that the Daimyo had figured it out.

”Yes, you’ll receive news of the minister’s inexplicable disappearance tomorrow,” Musashi nodded.

”Are you here to collect the remaining payment for the mission? I’ll have someone prepare it right away,” the Daimyo quickly responded.

”No need to rush. We have something else to discuss with you,” Jūzō Biwa said calmly.

The Daimyo nodded.

He knew that the two men before him must have ulterior motives. Otherwise, why would they approach him/ On top of that, they didn’t kill any of his samurai earlier, so they probably didn’t have any intention. Perhaps the might even have something good to offer him.

”Let me get straight to the point. Our organization wants to monopolize shinobi missions in the Land of Rice Fields. From now on, we want you to leave all the Land of Rice Fields’ shinobi mission to us Akatsuki,” Jūzō Biwa said.

The Daimyo’s face instantly changed.

Giving all shinobi missions to one organization? Weren’t they asking for too much?

”This is too important to decide now; give me two days to consider,” the Daimyo said after a moment of thought.

Bam!

Jūzō Biwa swung his Kubikiribocho, instantly crushing the wooden floor of the room.

”We didn’t come to negotiate with you; we came to inform you,” Jūzō Biwa smirked.

”Daimyo, you wouldn’t want the news of you hiring us to assassinate the minister to spread throughout the Land of Rice Fields, right?” Musashi calmly added. ”Moreover, I believe you’ll find our terms for this cooperation quite interesting.”

Musashi revealed the conditions of Akatsuki.

After hearing them, the Daimyo seemed even more surprised.

Compared to other organization, Akatsuki only charged half the price for each shinobi mission.

Didn’t this sound too good to be true?

The Daimyo didn’t expect that someone would come knocking on his door and offered such a sweet deal. He readily agreed to the terms of cooperation, stating that it was a minor matter, and all future war contracts in the Land of Rice Fields would be handed over to Akatsuki.

Of course, the Daimyo realized that Akatsuki must have other motives, but he chose not to delve into them. He didn’t care what happened to the Land of Rice Fields as long as things worked in his favour.

By cooperating with Akatsuki, he would be able to make more money. In addition, he could easily eliminate individuals who posed a threat to him by using Akatsuki.

After sealing the deal, Musashi and Jūzō Biwa left without worry. They weren’t concerned about the Daimyo changing his mind because they were the ones in control, wielding absolute power. If the Daimyo dared to go back on their agreement, they could simply eliminate him.

............................

The Academy students of the past few years had seen how the Academy had undergone changes every year.

At first, the Academy created another program for the students, medical course, which provided all students with an additional career path.

Then, the Special Combat Division directly recruited graduates from the Academy, offering an alternative to the students rather than becoming a Genin.

This year’s change was even more significant. The existing students have been divided into elementary school, and middle school has been added for the students that graduated elementary school.

Moreover, the elementary school’s span had been reduced from six years to four.

Of course, the students have only received the notice so far. The specific changes would only be implemented until the start of the next term.

This year’s graduating class will be the last to complete the six-year Academy program.

Most students aren’t particularly concerned about this news because the middle school only lasted three years, so even after combining elementary and middle school, they only have to attend the Academy for an extra year compared to the original Academy program, which was a relatively minor change.

However, not everyone is indifferent to this, and Hanayo was one of those who actually gave some thought into this.

”So now, does that mean it won’t take another five years for me to graduate?” Hanayo fell into contemplation.

She was currently in her second year and would be entering the third grade in the next semester. She thought she was almost halfway through her journey, only to have an extra year added all of a sudden.

”Should I consider graduating early?” Hanayo couldn’t help but think.

Although she was not as skilled as Kabuto, through diligent training, Hanayo believed that she would have what it took to apply for graduation assessment in her third year.

The problem was that her family disagreed.

She had brought it up before, and her mother said no. She argued that at this age, Hanayo should enjoy her student life at the Academy and create beautiful memories.

Even though she had friends other than Kabuto, Hanayo felt like something was missing without him. Even her usual training occasionally became lackluster.

”Five years... by the time I graduate, Kabuto might have already become a Jonin,” Hanayo sighed in frustration.

If that happened, how would they team up for missions? Would a Jonin and a Genin even be paired for a mission?

At the same time, Nagasawa was currently working in the medical division, unaware that a certain girl was feeling troubled about her delayed graduation.

”Speaking of which, aren’t you being too irresponsible as a consultant? You haven’t showed up for work in a few months,” Tsunade crossed her arms, complaining to Nagasawa.

”Sorry, I’ve been really busy, and besides, my position doesn’t require me to come every day, right?” Nagasawa retorted.

”Who said that? I am the head of the medical division; how come I don’t know about this?” Tsunade put her hands down, but the sudden movement caused her imposing mountains to shake slightly.

Nagasawa quickly averted his gaze from the natural miracle that caught his attention. Moreover, despite how big it was, he couldn’t touch it. He would rather go for Nono as he could hold hers in his hand.

”As per the Hokage’s rules, if there’s an issue, seek Minato or Lord Third’s advice,” Nagasawa casually mentioned.

After some banter, Nagasawa made an effort to steer the conversation back on track.

”How are the students doing in their training?” Nagasawa inquired.

It wasn’t feasible to have too many Medical-nin teaching at the Academy. Konoha currently didn’t have that luxury, so medical students spent two months each year to undergo special training in the medical division.

The content of the special training varied for each grade. Lower-grade students usually focused on theoretical knowledge, while higher-grade students focused on Chakra control or practical treatment.

”Why don’t you take a look for yourself?” Tsunade led Nagasawa outside of the medical division.

Nagasawa was puzzled as to why they would train outside the medical division. To his surprise, they were busy in exercises like climbing trees and walking on water, which was trainings for Chakra control.

”They are the graduates for this year, so besides basic medical techniques, they spend most of their time practicing Chakra control,” Tsunade explained.

They didn’t approach the students and just observed from the distance.

”However, the training plan needs to be adjusted next year,” Tsunade suddenly remarked.

”Why? Was the outcome from the previous year not satisfactory?” Nagasawa asked in confusion.

Due to the multitude of tasks on his plate, he didn’t have the time to check what happened in the medical division, even though it was him and Tsunade who established the medical division.

Therefore, she rolled her eyes and explained, ”It’s because of your reform on the Academy. You divided the current Academy into elementary and middle schools, causing significant changes, so the training plan for medical students will naturally need some adjustments as well.”

Nagasawa scratched his head in slight embarrassment as what Tsunade said made sense.

In addition the medical division’s training plan, the Special Combat Divison also needed adjustments, for example increasing the assessment difficulty. According to his reforms, future Academy graduates, even middle school graduates, would be more outstanding than before, so they couldn’t adhere to the old standards anymore.

”Ahem, it’s all for the good of Konoha. But, Tsunade-sama, you’ve worked hard. I’ll treat you to a meal later, to show my appreciation,” Nagasawa said with a smile.

”A meal? That works out perfectly; I’ve been craving barbecue lately. Treat me to a barbecue then,” Tsunade nodded.

She was just teasing, not genuinely blaming Nagasawa. Besides, she couldn’t miss an opportunity to mooch off him.

Tsunade hadn’t forgotten the sensation of Nagasawa’s fist hitting her. Unable to win in a fight, she would turn her frustration into appetite, eating her way to make Nagasawa bankrupt.

After finishing their work, Tsunade called Shizune, who was still dealing with paperwork, to join them for dinner. More people meant more power to eat Nagasawa into financial distress, and Tsunade felt a duty to do so.

An additional person didn’t bother Nagasawa; whether he treated one or two people, it was all the same.

For him now, it didn’t matter if he had money or not; what mattered was that Konoha had money.

Nagasawa ordered a bunch of barbecue. He originally wanted to order some beer with it as well, but Tsunade refused.

Having suffered a painful lesson, Tsunade had no intention of drinking with Nagasawa again. It would be like asking for trouble.

While eating, Nagasawa took the opportunity to discuss other aspects of his education reform, such as the high school matters.

Perhaps due to her personality, but Tsunade, despite enjoying arguing with Nagasawa, surprisingly agreed this time. She stated that she would take responsibility for medical matters.

”I’ll leave it to you, Tsunade-sama,” Nagasawa said, feeling quite pleased after resolving one professional matter.

”I just hope you’ll address me ’Tsunade-sama’ every time instead of just when you need something from me,” Tsunade said to Nagasawa as she wolfed down the meat.

Nagasawa looked up at the ceiling. This barbecue restaurant had a quite good interior design.