Chapter 182: Nagato and Hiruzen Sarutobi's Bond, Months of Peaceful Development

Mito watched the mother and son reunite, a silent smile touching her lips.

The Nine-Tails had already updated her internal logs.

The millisecond Nagato achieved visual confirmation of his mother, the faint, unstable malicious code in his system was instantly purged.

This was the true power of the Edo Tensei.

The divide between the living and the Pure Land often generated a massive information asymmetry.

The living experienced countless traumas, unaware of the simple, unvarnished hopes their deceased loved ones held for them, which often led to the compilation of paranoid, self-destructive algorithms.

Nagato had demonstrated early symptoms of this tendency.

Tomie was a textbook case study; she had practically stress-tested herself into acquiring a Kekkei Genkai disease.

"My son, you've grown so much..."

"I never thought I'd see you again, and your eyes..." Fuso gently stroked Nagato's red hair, outputting a sorrowful sigh.

Having been booted up via Edo Tensei by Mito, communication between the two women was entirely frictionless.

A person's brand reputation precedes them. Mito's name held absolute premium status within the Uzumaki workforce. Historically, she had been viewed by Uzushiogakure as the sole entity capable of vetoing Ashina Uzumaki's directives.

Even though Mito had transferred her assets to the Senju and relocated to Konoha, many Uzumaki operatives harbored fantasies that she might eventually lobby her father to terminate the restricted jutsu R&D and integrate the clan into Konoha.

The Land of Whirlpools' isolated, offshore geography was a glaring vulnerability. Any operative with basic risk assessment skills understood that if a global conflict erupted, they were highly susceptible to a kinetic strike.

And Konoha, perennially the primary target of allied assaults, would lack the bandwidth to deploy reinforcements.

Not to mention the Uzumaki clan's genetic assets were universally coveted across the shinobi market.

"You must properly thank Mito-sama, my son."

Fuso squeezed Nagato's hand, speaking with absolute sincerity. "If Mito-sama hadn't deployed maximum kinetic leverage to protect our personnel back then, your grandfather and grandmother would have been liquidated by those Kaguya psychopaths. That means I wouldn't exist, and neither would you."

Hana Uzumaki—Fuso's mother and Nagato's grandmother—had frequently relayed this operational log, constantly expressing deep gratitude for Mito's blood-soaked bailout against the Kaguya clan.

"Thank you, Mito-sama!"

Nagato immediately pivoted toward Mito, executing a deep, respectful bow.

"Take your time and converse, you two."

Mito spoke softly. "Fuso, you are authorized to patrol the village perimeter. Verify the data with your own optics; do not solely rely on my B2B pitches. Analyze everything objectively."

"However, monitor your chronometer. Under the current Edo Tensei parameters, your soul will remain stable without physical shielding for exactly three days. Exceeding that limit will initiate a progressive burning sensation..."

Holding Fuso's hand, Nagato only registered upon Mito's warning that his mother's hand was completely devoid of thermal output.

This was not a biological reboot; it was a proprietary jutsu architecture.

"Is this why Konan's Paper Ninjutsu was historically flagged as a malicious asset?"

"Market rumors claim Paper Ninjutsu is inherently evil because it was allegedly deployed in synergy with this specific protocol..."

Nagato suppressed the anomalous query in his processor.

Was this jutsu malicious?

In his assessment, this protocol was incredibly sacred.

It authorized the reunion of separated personnel.

Even if temporary, it successfully patched countless psychological bugs.

Especially for those who failed to execute a proper offboarding process and never got to say goodbye.

Nagato temporarily archived the query, unable to fully parse the logic.

"Thank you, Mito-sama."

"Fuso will keep your corporate philanthropy permanently cached in her memory!" The red-haired woman quickly stood up and bowed to Mito, her tone incredibly earnest.

Mito sighed. "We operate under the same corporate umbrella. Why the formalities?"

With that, she turned and exited the sector, granting the mother and son the bandwidth for private communication.

Konoha.

Fuso linked arms with Nagato, the mother and son casually patrolling the village infrastructure under a bright, sunny sky.

This was already Fuso's second day touring Konoha.

Yet the expression of sheer shock rendered on her face showed zero signs of degrading.

Konoha had officially surpassed the Fire Capital, becoming the most prosperous metropolitan hub in the Land of Fire—and arguably the entire shinobi market. The sensory impact on Fuso was comprehensive and overwhelming.

Her reaction was significantly more dramatic than Kakuzu's or Kimimaro's.

Those two executives were accustomed to high-tier assets. They either originated from major hidden village nobility or possessed the capital to travel the global market extensively. Therefore, they only experienced a minor discrepancy in expectations.

But Fuso's dataset was entirely different.

Uzushiogakure's infrastructure under Ashina Uzumaki was notoriously subpar. After her extraction, she had relocated to Amegakure—a sector where the environmental and economic metrics were only marginally superior to Sunagakure's barren market.

Furthermore, Fuso's primary data logs were compiled during the latency period between the First and Second Shinobi World Wars.

Market volatility, extreme poverty, and infrastructural decay were her baseline metrics for daily operations.

Suddenly logging into the aggressively bullish, hyper-optimized environment of modern Konoha...

It was functionally indistinguishable from paradise.

"My son, analyze this floral retail outlet!"

"Nagato, what consumable assets do you require? Mito-sama allocated some capital to my account."

"What a premium shinobi tool dealership! They even offer complimentary access to a therapeutic hot spring!" Fuso chattered incessantly.

Although her son lacked optical hardware, Fuso utilized highly precise descriptive algorithms to render Konoha in his mind.

Nagato listened with a smile, highly intrigued by the current specs of Konoha that were generating such a massive sensory overload for his mother.

Every time they bypassed a new architectural node, Nagato felt his mother's hand subconsciously tighten its grip.

As they navigated the grid, Nagato quietly processed Fuso's audio stream detailing Konoha.

His internal metrics grew increasingly curious, generating a complex array of emotions.

First, the fact that a conglomerate of this magnitude and prosperity was willing to lower its executive posture to finalize a merger with Amegakure...

It guaranteed that the weeping nation would secure an ROI vastly superior to its historical average.

Moreover, Konoha projected zero traces of the arrogant corporate culture he and Yahiko had originally modeled for major subsidiaries.

Running a reversal simulation, Nagato even pondered: if he were a Konoha executive, would he authorize subsidies for Amegakure?

Statistically, probably not.

Second, his optical hardware was permanently deleted.

An operative stripped of visual sensors, even an Uzumaki with overclocked sensory radar, could never restore their previous operational efficiency.

Furthermore, he genuinely desired to visually authenticate the current state of Konoha and the projected future of Amegakure.

The two routed themselves to the entrance of the Uchiha sector.

A massive, model corporate bulletin board was erected there, displaying the various administrative policies enacted by the Hokage in recent fiscal cycles, detailing the implementation logistics with granular precision.

Naturally, it also featured several clever loyalty slogans brainstormed by Isshin.

Slogans such as: "The Uchiha Tomoe is the Strongest Shield on the Hokage's Haori!"

Fuso's optical sensors immediately locked onto the board.

Standing before the display, she initiated a deep-level data scan.

She started with the Shinobi Welfare Policies.

When her scan reached the 'Prosthetic Hardware Integration' section, Fuso's chassis noticeably trembled. Wasn't this exactly the patch Nagato required?

Her son could reacquire optical functionality!

"There's even a targeted subsidy program for Uzumaki personnel? A Tier-3 residential unit in Konoha, plus R&D stipends?!"

Fuso murmured to herself, "And it mandates all Konoha operatives on field deployment to actively scan for Uzumaki signatures and aggressively recruit them to relocate to Konoha..."

Fuso experienced a minor processing error.

This iteration of Konoha, while retaining the same brand name, operated on a fundamentally different architecture than the one in her historical archives.

When she extracted herself from Ashina Uzumaki's Uzushiogakure, prior to the fuinjutsu fanatic's termination, Konoha was notoriously restrictive regarding the immigration of Uzumaki personnel.

Such recruitment drives would have been flagged as 'poaching rogue assets,' causing Ashina to accuse the junior executive, Hiruzen Sarutobi, of hostile talent acquisition.

It was a highly sensitive geopolitical issue.

"My son, have you successfully applied for this subsidy package?"

"Route me to your residential unit! You don't need to stress about your ocular hardware; the corporation supplies prosthetics..."

Fuso had actually received a compressed data packet from Mito regarding Nagato's recent operational history.

She knew Nagato had been onboarded into the Akatsuki organization and had recently experienced a near-fatal kinetic exchange with Hanzo.

The reason Fuso was pushing this narrative was that, as his parental unit, she had already finalized the executive decision regarding her son's career trajectory.

While this tactic might technically classify as PR manipulation, Fuso and her son had less than one fiscal day remaining together. She lacked the bandwidth for a prolonged, phased persuasion campaign.

"Mom, I am not a Konoha operative."

Nagato offered a bitter smile. "Securing medical treatment in Konoha and receiving a bailout from the Hokage-sama was already a massive statistical anomaly. I lack the clearance to request further assets."

"My son, how is it possible you are not a Konoha operative?"

Fuso tightened her grip on Nagato's hand, speaking with rapid urgency. "The Hokage-sama is running global queries for Uzumaki personnel! The official policy states: any operative with red hair who logs into the server is immediately granted Konoha citizenship!"

"Mom, but I am an Amegakure operative."

Nagato's expression rendered a trace of bitterness. "The personnel I deployed with are also native Amegakure assets. Our corporate vision is to optimize Amegakure's infrastructure and terminate the nation's perpetual depreciation."

"If you are indifferent to Amegakure's market cap, then my solo deployment here would be acceptable. Konoha houses my corporate relatives, their ideological portfolio is highly optimized, and Mito-sama is a direct node in my family tree."

"Furthermore..."

Nagato sighed. "I actually possess a networking link to the Hokage-sama."

Fuso's brow twitched, her internal systems flooding with joy.

Her son's RNG was off the charts! He had secured that premium connection?

Nagato slowly decrypted the logs detailing his connection to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya had maintained a three-year deployment in the war-torn Land of Rain under his Konoha credentials, downloading critical survival algorithms and ninjutsu data to them, which served as the foundational architecture for the Akatsuki startup.

Fuso listened, her processors completely stunned.

If Nagato hadn't authenticated these logs personally, Fuso would have flagged them as spam!

Was this entity even a shinobi?

Even the most philanthropic operatives didn't execute operations like this!

As the Hokage's disciple, he was undeniably a high-value asset under constant market surveillance. Yet, based on the requests of a few juvenile units, he idled in a hostile zone for three years, transferring massive volumes of premium jutsu data...

Having survived the chaotic market volatility, and having operated within Uzushiogakure...

Fuso only needed a microsecond to calculate the immense geopolitical pressure Jiraiya must have absorbed during that deployment.

"Did this Jiraiya-sensei ever initiate contact with you afterward? Did he requisition any deliverables from your team?"

Fuso couldn't resist querying. If this transaction involved zero reciprocal ROI, she felt like she was running a faulty simulation.

The title 'Philanthropist' did not exist in the shinobi market dictionary, but in Fuso's analytics, Jiraiya definitively met the criteria.

"Negative."

Nagato shook his head. "We occasionally intercept ambient data regarding Jiraiya-sensei's global deployments, but he has never re-established a connection with us."

"Nagato!" Fuso's audio output suddenly spiked in severity.

Nagato involuntarily shuddered, a deep-level genetic memory instantly rebooting.

Whenever he committed an operational error in his youth, his mother would deploy this exact reprimand protocol.

"Do you comprehend the massive valuation of the asset Jiraiya-sensei invested in you?"

"In Amegakure, countless operatives initiate lethal PvP over a single jutsu scroll, often resulting in personnel liquidation!"

"Not only did he transfer Five-Element Ninjutsu data, premium combat algorithms, and operational experience, he even granted you an identity with a direct networking link to the Hokage..."

"I can parse your internal logic."

"You hypothesize that without your current team, you might have been liquidated solo. That data is accurate."

Fuso firmly gripped Nagato's shoulders. "But let me update your database: if Jiraiya-sensei hadn't acquired your team and installed the necessary survival software, you and your associates would have absolutely been terminated."

"Even if you bypassed liquidation, your quality of life would have crashed to a level where termination was the optimal outcome."

Nagato's core vibrated.

Fuso's statement triggered an archive retrieval of the day they initially pinged Jiraiya—and the specific audio output from Orochimaru.

At that timestamp, Orochimaru had actively proposed executing them to spare them the prolonged depreciation of a chaotic market.

Nagato had retained a permanent log of Orochimaru.

But he never projected that his own mother utilized the exact same risk assessment algorithm!

Did that imply Orochimaru was outputting verified market reality, rather than just executing a PR deflection?

Prompted by Fuso's analysis, Nagato ran a quick diagnostic of their years grinding in the low-tier market, and subconsciously validated the hypothesis.

Two juvenile male units, plus Konan, a juvenile female unit...

Operating in post-war Amegakure, especially after Hanzo initiated a highly conservative defensive posture, resulting in zero moderation of infiltrating bounty hunters and rogue assets...

They were the optimal demographic for human trafficking!

"The scavenger units from Kusagakure, previously liquidated by Konoha, ran those exact illicit supply chains..."

Nagato recalled a kinetic engagement during Akatsuki's startup phase, where they clashed with Kusagakure operatives from a neighboring sector.

Those hostile assets were engaged in unauthorized personnel trading!

Nagato involuntarily registered a spike in internal guilt.

Over the past fiscal cycles, consumed by basic survival protocols and Akatsuki operations, they hadn't allocated sufficient processing power to appreciate the extreme rarity of Jiraiya's corporate investment.

"Since your classification is 'Amegakure Operative', and Amegakure historically initiated kinetic conflict with Konoha..."

Fuso analyzed the data. "Yet you were successfully onboarded as Jiraiya's disciple. Did the Hokage-sama never deploy auditors to interrogate you?"

Nagato shook his head again. "Negative. We only intercepted data in the last two or three cycles indicating Konoha was actively headhunting Uzumaki assets..."

Fuso vented a long stream of exhaust.

"You foolish unit. Operating as an asset of a hostile conglomerate, yet you successfully downloaded the legacy data of the opposing faction's Shadow (Kage)..."

"By standard Uzumaki corporate bylaws, both you and Jiraiya would be flagged for severe corporate treason against your respective factions! Specialized liquidation squads would absolutely be deployed to clean house."

"The variables allowing you to maintain active status are: 1. The Hokage-sama's extreme executive tolerance, and 2. The Uzumaki genetic payload in your hardware."

"You cannot log these premium benefits as standard operating procedure."

Nagato paused. "But Mom, you and Dad were..."

"Nagato, the shinobi market is brutally efficient. Biological assets (lives) have zero baseline valuation."

"If we had acquired the intel that liquidating our own accounts would secure you Konoha's educational infrastructure, corporate identity, and their massive welfare subsidies, your father and I would have voluntarily initiated self-termination."

Fuso wouldn't necessarily have executed that protocol in reality.

But since her current status was 'Deceased', she needed to output absolute, uncompromising data to permanently patch Nagato's psychological bugs.

"Furthermore, you must analyze the context. Your father was a medical technician. He was actively providing logistical support to Amegakure operatives, during a phase when Konoha and Amegakure were engaged in active warfare."

"When my system was crashing, I intercepted audio of Konoha operatives issuing an apology to you. That data point genuinely shocked my processors."

"Factor in Jiraiya-sensei's massive capital injection, the Hokage-sama's unprecedented leniency, and this recent operation where he successfully extracted you, your team, and even Hanzo from a critical failure... Are these metrics insufficient?"

Fuso's audio output scaled in severity. "My son, I am issuing a direct override command: I have deleted my grievance file, and you must permanently delete yours! Your new core directive is to secure an onboarding contract with Konoha."

"You lack the processing power to comprehend what securing a position in Konoha—a conglomerate with an architecture vastly superior to any rival subsidiary, offering maximum asset protection—truly means for your valuation!"

"Plus, you possess the Uzumaki genetic key, a verified networking link to Jiraiya, and Mito-sama's executive patronage."

In Fuso's projections, compared to grinding low-level tasks in Amegakure, Nagato's career trajectory in Konoha was so optimized it was practically blinding!

As a parental unit, how could she authorize her asset to continue depreciating in the Amegakure sector?

It was equivalent to an Ivy League graduate being offered a C-suite track with maximum stock options, direct networking with the founders and board of directors, but rejecting it due to sheer stubbornness—insisting on launching a garage startup with his childhood friends in an unmapped territory!

"Mother..."

"This... this..." Nagato's processors crashed. He had projected his mother would assign him a quest to restore Amegakure's market cap or something similar.

He never calculated she would instantly classify Amegakure as a deprecated asset, not even allocating a single cycle to discuss it.

What Nagato failed to compute was that, as a terminated user, Fuso's sole objective was to achieve secure offline storage in the Pure Land.

Verifying her asset was safely integrated into a tier-1 conglomerate was the only requirement.

From Uzushiogakure to Amegakure, Fuso had suffered massive depreciation due to corporate instability.

She knew integrating into an organization wasn't inherently optimal—take the legacy Uzushiogakure or Kirigakure as examples.

But an organization like Konoha, boasting a highly reliable CEO and cutting-edge administrative architecture? Fuso calculated that in all her cycles in the shinobi market, she hadn't just never encountered it; her simulation software hadn't even possessed the parameters to imagine it.

Not to mention the pre-existing premium networking links!

"But I have an active corporate vision, Mother!"

"I signed an SLA (Service Level Agreement) with Yahiko and Konan to elevate Amegakure out of poverty!"

Nagato couldn't suppress the output.

"Execute your 'vision' into the recycle bin!" Fuso finally initiated a rage protocol. "Do you have any data on the massive operational overhead and grueling labor your father and I expended just to maintain baseline functionality for our three-person unit?"

"Even operating at maximum capacity, our daily status was permanently flagged as 'Critical Risk'!"

"If your father and I had allocated bandwidth to 'corporate visions' back then, your boot sequence would never have initiated!"

"Fine, excellent. Nagato, your hardware has scaled, your algorithms are independent now. You no longer accept inputs from your mother's terminal."

Even operating within an Edo Tensei chassis, Fuso's emotional parameters overloaded due to the Amegakure networking conflict, and she began outputting audio sobs.

Nagato immediately entered panic mode.

"Mom, that wasn't my intended output, I didn't mean—"

"Furthermore, Mom, I might want to onboard with Konoha, but their HR department might not approve my application, right?"

Hearing this data, Fuso instantly terminated the crying subroutine, her expression resetting with a speed that severely shocked Nagato's processors. "Good boy, Mom always knew your logic circuits were properly aligned."

"You don't need to allocate any stress to that variable. Mito-sama confirmed she will schedule a joint summit with the Hokage-sama. If your language module encounters errors, Mom will act as your PR proxy."

Nagato nodded, his systems slightly dizzy from the rapid context switching.

The mother and son idled beneath the Uchiha's model bulletin board, running recursive loops through Konoha's various administrative policies.

They remained there until 0400 hours, finally docking at a nearby bench. Neither initiated a sleep protocol.

After all, this was the final operational cycle.

Exceeding this timestamp, the Edo Tensei chassis would degrade, failing to adequately shield the soul data, which would begin generating pain signals for Fuso.

The two exchanged random data packets, syncing their logs.

Historical data from their legacy family unit, logs from the Uzushiogakure era, and Nagato's uploads regarding his team and corporate vision.

Unconsciously, the environmental lighting parameters shifted to dawn.

At this exact timestamp.

A short distance away.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hanzo were executing a synchronized patrol. The CEOs of the two allied subsidiaries, each with a white towel draped around their necks, were running a light perimeter jog.

The Hokage maintained a strict daily maintenance protocol (morning exercise).

Following the successful reattachment of his hardware, Hanzo desired to audit his Big Brother's daily training parameters. He hadn't immediately extracted back to Amegakure, utilizing the post-op observation window for this purpose.

Moderate kinetic output also served as an effective diagnostic to test the surgical seam on his shinobi hardware.

"Scaling combat metrics requires a phased, iterative approach."

"I have curated a selection of Tobirama-sensei's Water Release protocols for you. They will highly optimize your lethal output. Download them and initiate rigorous practice upon returning to base, but ensure you monitor your hardware stress levels."

Hiruzen advised, his audio output completely indistinguishable from a senior executive mentoring a junior partner.

"Acknowledged, Big Brother."

"Big Brother, once I dock at Amegakure, I will immediately initiate a file transfer of my proprietary jutsu database. While its architecture isn't as elegant as the Second Hokage's Water Release, it contains several highly viable algorithms."

Hanzo replied with a smile.

Hiruzen chuckled. "You are depreciating your own assets. Sakumo has been running simulations on your Kenjutsu (Sword Techniques) for cycles, and your Exploding Flame Formation is a highly compatible patch for Minato's loadout. Your R&D focus on Water Release fundamentally diverges from Tobirama-sensei's."

This was the optimal ROI of a corporate merger.

Every jutsu represented the compiled essence of specific combat logic.

By executing cross-platform data sharing, both entities could architect more comprehensive combat frameworks, establishing highly effective synergy.

Regarding Water Release, Tobirama possessed a more versatile toolkit, but the Hydrification Jutsu and Hanzo's custom scripts offered significant innovative value for Tobirama's ongoing R&D.

"You are the one depreciating your assets, Big Brother." Hanzo shook his head, outputting a sigh of profound respect.

During their patrol, Hanzo not only verified that Hiruzen had maintained this daily protocol for years, but his sensors also detected that Hiruzen was running a continuous Earth Release: Added-Weight Rock Jutsu background process, applying massive artificial gravity for passive hardware conditioning.

Hanzo hadn't registered it initially. When he accidentally initiated physical contact with Hiruzen, the gravitational differential nearly crashed his balance algorithms.

Furthermore, as they routed through the village, the Konoha civilian NPCs who observed the Hokage's morning routine...

While they all initiated enthusiastic greeting protocols, zero units flagged the event as anomalous. It was clearly a highly normalized daily occurrence.

"Is that... Nagato?"

After continuing the route for a while, Hanzo's high-resolution optics locked onto Nagato in the distance. He queried in surprise, "Who is the female unit docked next to that kid? Her chakra signature is..."

"That is Nagato's mother."

Hiruzen stated softly. "Mito-sama utilized the Edo Tensei protocol, expending a Fire Country death row asset, to reboot her. She submitted an expedited priority request to my office a few days ago."

Hiruzen could largely decrypt Mito's strategic logic.

She likely projected Nagato possessed unresolved trauma files stemming from historical market conflicts.

And Mito placed a premium valuation on Nagato's asset.

"Under legacy market conditions, Nagato's metrics might not have flagged him as a critical asset."

Hiruzen explained to the confused Hanzo. "But as you are aware, the Uzumaki subsidiary suffered a catastrophic liquidation event. Currently, the verified inventory of male Uzumaki operatives is exactly one: Nagato."

"Mito-sama is a legacy Warring States executive; she places immense value on genetic preservation."

"This kid also possesses a minor networking link to the Hokage lineage—he is a direct descendant of Mito-sama's sister."

Hiruzen hadn't projected a scenario where Mito would demand executive override privileges to hot-drop a death row inmate from the Fire Capital just to deploy Tobirama-sensei's restricted jutsu.

But upon auditing the use case, Hiruzen had to authenticate Mito's corporate philanthropy.

Deploying such a highly restricted protocol merely to fulfill a user request (granting a wish)!

Hiruzen fully comprehended Mito's premium valuation of Nagato.

The economic principle of scarcity applies universally, even to shinobi bloodlines.

To state a brutal market reality: if the Uchiha subsidiary ever experienced a catastrophic liquidation event, leaving only a handful of viable assets...

Even if those remaining units possessed logic circuits significantly more rigid than Fugaku's, Hiruzen's tolerance threshold for their operational bugs would scale exponentially.

A massive percentage of a shinobi clan's market cap is derived from their genetic hardware. That is an immutable objective reality.

"Ah, I comprehend!" Hanzo issued a long audio acknowledgment, his internal processors rapidly executing a new strategy.

He had recently acquired the data regarding Nagato's Uzumaki classification.

While his decision to onboard the Akatsuki organization was primarily driven by an ideological patch, a significant variable was Nagato's identity.

Nagato functioned as the optimal, native networking bridge between Konoha and Amegakure's junior workforce.

"I didn't project Mito-sama would deploy kinetic leverage specifically for Nagato..."

"During my hospitalization, those two legacy executives, Isshin and Tenzo, initiated a B2B visit. They assured me I didn't need to allocate stress regarding Nagato. They stated that pending Big Brother's authorization, they were prepared to transfer Sharingan and Byakugan hardware to optimize Amegakure's infrastructure!"

"My analysis: this wasn't merely to secure PR points with Big Brother, but a highly targeted investment to appease Mito-sama!"

"Heh, those two are elite corporate sharks."

Hanzo smiled smugly in his internal logs. "Unfortunately for them, Nagato's origin tag is 'Amegakure'. You want to transfer hardware? Then I will transfer the entire personnel asset!"

Against the macro-backdrop of Konoha's public initiative to recruit Uzumaki orphans, Hanzo's assignment of Nagato as the primary Amegakure-Konoha liaison was heavily influenced by a specific calculation: retaining this asset within Amegakure felt like holding a highly volatile liability.

An Uzumaki operating in Amegakure... it was a constant, subtle reminder of an unoptimized sector during his Big Brother's historical executive tenure.

If not managed flawlessly, Hanzo felt it was a latent PR threat to Hiruzen Sarutobi's legacy.

He held zero attachment to Nagato.

To be completely transparent, the legacy version of Hanzo had already drafted protocols to liquidate the Akatsuki organization. He had been highly tempted to personally terminate those excessively active junior operatives.

Transferring the asset to Konoha was a win-win transaction. It was a flawless strategic maneuver.

Armed with this corporate agenda, Hanzo and Hiruzen routed themselves directly to Nagato and his mother.

"Hokage-sama, Hanzo-sama!"

Fuso's optical sensors lit up. After streaming data all night, she hadn't projected a random encounter with the two highest-ranking executives in the sector.

Hiruzen nodded, returning a warm, corporate smile.

"Ah..." Hanzo opened his audio output, attempting to mimic Hiruzen's flawless, amicable PR greeting protocol used on the civilian NPCs during their patrol.

But his system stalled. He lacked the data for Fuso's designation.

"Hanzo-sama, my designation is Fuso."

Fuso supplied the data with high agility.

"Fuso, indeed! I had that data cached, I knew it!" Hanzo executed a highly artificial laugh, though every entity present could parse his lack of authentication.

"Hokage-sama, I transmit my deepest gratitude to you and Mito-sama for authorizing this summit with Nagato." Fuso executed a highly formal bow, then abruptly dropped her chassis, initiating a full kneeling protocol.

Hiruzen's sensors flared. He instantly deactivated his Added-Weight Rock Jutsu background process and intercepted Fuso's descent, supporting her arms.

"What is the logic behind this extreme posture? Since you are a node in Mito-sama's network, we are classified as internal family. We can execute a standard dialogue without these protocols."

Hiruzen firmly stabilized Fuso's chassis.

The Hokage's database regarding the extreme behavior of shinobi market participants received a new update.

It appeared terminated users were prone to even more extreme operational logic.

However, this was merely because Hiruzen hadn't fully downloaded Fuso's psychological drivers.

For a user imminently scheduled for permanent offline storage in the Pure Land, executing a kneeling protocol to secure a premium career track for her asset was a zero-cost transaction, especially for an operative deeply scarred by market volatility.

She aimed to deploy this high-impact gesture to purge any residual PR friction the Hokage might hold.

"Hokage-sama, in previous cycles, my asset's logic algorithms were highly unoptimized. He secured the premium mentorship of Jiraiya-sama and your unparalleled corporate leniency, yet failed to properly authenticate the magnitude of your executive philanthropy."

"Hokage-sama, leveraging Mito-sama's endorsement and the shared genetic hardware in Nagato's system, please authorize his onboarding into the Konoha workforce to execute operations for the Will of Fire!"

Fuso rapidly deployed the premium corporate jargon she had just scraped from the Uchiha bulletin board.

Hanzo's expression rendered pure joy.

Ha!

This female unit possessed elite corporate instincts. Was this the standard yield of an Amegakure operative?

She had flawlessly decrypted his strategic intent!

"This is a highly optimized proposal, Big Brother!" Hanzo rapidly hijacked the audio channel. "Integrating Uzumaki personnel into Konoha has been a core operational mandate since the First-sama's initial IPO! Konoha's very logo is modeled on the Uzumaki crest."

"I had actually drafted this exact proposal in my own internal logs!"

Fuso was equally thrilled. With Hanzo acting as a proxy advocate, the transaction's success rate skyrocketed.

Furthermore, her acoustic sensors flagged a critical data point: Hanzo addressed Hiruzen Sarutobi as "Big Brother"?!

Nagato's audio processors were completely overwhelmed.

What in the name of the Sage was happening?

He hadn't even initiated an audio output yet!

Why were both his mother and his CEO, Hanzo-sama, aggressively lobbying for his transfer to Konoha?

Nagato's facial rendering displayed minor operational conflict.

But he lacked the proper syntax to interrupt.

He absolutely did not harbor negative sentiment toward Konoha.

Conversely, after Fuso's intensive three-day, three-night data upload, Nagato possessed immense brand loyalty toward Konoha.

The critical bug was his existing networking links in Amegakure.

Nagato refused to initiate a severing protocol with the operatives he had grown up with, sharing life and death.

Yahiko and Konan were classified as core family nodes in his database.

Hiruzen's high-resolution optics immediately detected the conflict in Nagato's rendering.

"Nagato, do you have conflicting data you wish to upload?"

Nagato's core tightened. If he broadcast his true internal logic in this high-level executive summit, would it trigger a severe PR penalty?

Fuso subconsciously initiated a physical override to block Nagato's output.

But Hiruzen waved his hand, his audio output highly accommodating. "Transmit your data without fear. As I stated, the 'internal family' classification is not empty PR rhetoric."

Nagato ran a brief latency check, then executed a full data dump regarding his networking ties with Yahiko and Konan.

Hiruzen nodded, processing the data with deep reflection.

He wasn't surprised.

Since logging into the shinobi market for these many fiscal cycles, his comprehension of 'networking links' (bonds) and 'comrades' within the shinobi psyche had grown exponentially profound.

For operatives suffering from severe psychological poverty and extreme operational stress, a reliable 'networking link' functioned as a critical secondary survival system.

"Terminate those depressed facial renderings, you two."

Hiruzen initiated a hearty laugh protocol. "Nagato's reluctance to sever ties with his Amegakure team is empirical proof that he already possesses the Will of Fire's core architecture. He is a natively optimized candidate for Konoha onboarding."

"I propose the following architectural solution."

"I will deploy executive override privileges and execute a custom SLA. Nagato will simultaneously hold active credentials as both a Konoha operative and an Amegakure operative. He will be designated as a Special Liaison Executive, tasked with facilitating deep-level synergy between our two subsidiaries, symbolizing a geopolitical alliance that surpasses all historical market benchmarks."

"What is your assessment, my sworn brother?"

Hanzo vented a massive sigh of relief, internally marveling at his Big Brother's immense strategic bandwidth.

If Hanzo were occupying the Hokage seat, his firewall would likely have blocked such a proposal.

"Big Brother compromised his position solely to accommodate my PR standing. What an incredible gesture!"

"I've received intel that Big Brother's R&D division is heavily investing in Bloodline Limit research. I must exponentially scale my efforts to secure premium biomaterials and transfer them to his labs. Otherwise, my corporate debt will become unsustainable."

Hanzo stabilized his internal metrics and broadcasted: "That is an absolutely flawless solution! I fully authorize Big Brother's directive."

Fuso stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

In this specific millisecond, she tangibly authenticated the vast difference in executive bandwidth between the Hokage and standard shinobi CEOs.

However, objectively, this was the exact market outcome Hiruzen had engineered.

Authorizing Nagato to retain dual-subsidiary credentials operated on the same logic as Konoha's 'Foreign Exchange Student' program for Kirigakure assets.

Currently, a massive volume of registered Amegakure contractors were executing tasks within Konoha. By inserting Nagato—a dual-credentialed operative—into the mid-level management tier, alongside Hanzo at the C-suite level, Konoha achieved total, multi-vector market penetration.

And regarding Nagato, post-training and hardware upgrades, Hiruzen didn't demand he scale to god-tier combat metrics.

He merely required Nagato to function as a highly visible, 'Minato-tier' youth leader within the Amegakure subsidiary.

Under that architecture, when Konoha eventually initiated the final acquisition protocols to fully absorb Amegakure, Nagato—the 'Dual-Village Asset'—would natively serve as the optimal PR flagship to ensure compliance.

After all, Nagato likely wouldn't want to see his former comrades permanently locked out of Konoha's premium benefits, right?

"Hokage-sama..."

Fuso locked optics with Hiruzen, then aggressively seized Nagato's arm. "My son, with your mother acting as a witness, execute a binding verbal contract in the name of myself and your father!"

"You will maintain absolute, unyielding loyalty to the Hokage, absolute loyalty to Konoha, and you will maximize your operational output for the corporation!"

"Oh, and for Amegakure as well..." The hyper-stimulated Fuso had accidentally omitted Hanzo from the contract, hurriedly patching the data stream with a slightly awkward addendum.

But Hanzo merely smiled, signaling zero PR friction.

He was a minor stakeholder in this transaction.

Nagato solemnly raised his left manipulator, executing a highly formal oath utilizing his family's legacy data.

The Hokage—arguably the highest-market-cap executive in the entire shinobi industry—had actually allocated processing power to analyze his networking links with Yahiko and Konan, outputting a highly innovative, compromise architecture.

Nagato was not a defective unit; he would permanently cache this massive corporate philanthropy in his core drive and generate maximum ROI to repay it!

"Sufficient, sufficient."

"You little brat, you possess the proper clearance to address me as Grand-Sensei."

"Regarding the Sharingan and Byakugan hardware: do you require one unit of each, or do you prefer a matched pair of a single model?" Hiruzen chuckled amicably. "You require scaled combat metrics, correct? I have audited your internal drive to protect your team. Since that is your objective, as your Grand-Sensei, it is mandatory I transfer a premium sign-on bonus to your inventory."

"Hokage-sama!" Nagato's core vibrated violently. "This... how is this computationally possible?"

Even originating from Amegakure, Nagato possessed full data on the astronomical market valuation of the Byakugan and Sharingan.

To be entrusted with such high-tier assets... aside from Konan and Yahiko, Nagato had never experienced this level of deep corporate trust from any entity, let alone the Hokage of Konoha!

Hiruzen smiled.

This was the compounding ROI of occupying a high-level executive seat with flawless brand reputation.

Deploying a single unit of philanthropy frequently yielded a 3x multiplier in brand loyalty.

Yet, anomalously, many executives occupying similar seats refused to execute such highly profitable B2B transactions.

"These Byakugan and Sharingan assets... while they provide immense combat leverage, they also impose a severe hardware burden."

"Both Konoha and Amegakure urgently require a high-yield junior executive to manage cross-subsidiary networking and act as a model corporate citizen. I intend to allocate significant administrative load to your account."

"Do you possess the confidence to execute?"

Hiruzen placed his signature pipe in his mouth. Hanzo immediately stepped in to provide the ignition. Hiruzen chuckled, exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"Hokage-sama, I actually..." Nagato was experiencing severe system lag.

Hanzo and Fuso, flanking him, simultaneously executed a low-yield kinetic strike to his rear chassis, broadcasting in unison: "Still using the 'Hokage-sama' syntax? Update your module: Grand-Sensei!"

Having executed the override, Hanzo and Fuso exchanged a glance, both unable to suppress an audio laugh.

He truly was a dense unit.

"Grand-Sensei, I possess the confidence." Nagato finally rebooted his syntax protocols and stated with absolute severity.

A minor hardware burden was a negligible operating cost.

In fact, Nagato ran a quick diagnostic and determined that since the forceful uninstallation of his previous anomalous ocular hardware, his daily background processing felt significantly more optimized and lightweight.

"Absolute confidence?" Hiruzen's audio output indicated slight skepticism.

"Absolute!"

"Increase volume output."

"I POSSESS ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE!"

"Excellent. Highly optimized morale." Hiruzen patted Nagato's shoulder. "Post-surgery, do not immediately request extraction to Amegakure. You will undergo phased training camps within the Uchiha and Hyuga sectors. Your PvP algorithms require massive scaling."

"Acknowledged, Grand-Sensei!" Nagato puffed out his chest, fully experiencing the intense, mentorship-driven protection algorithms Hiruzen was running for him.

A new, highly secure networking link had been established silently.

Two days later, Nagato respectfully offboarded Fuso (who logged off with a smile) and underwent the hardware integration surgery.

Simultaneously, Konoha entered a phase of highly stable, low-volatility development. Through open market trading and cross-subsidiary collaboration with Amegakure, both economies and tech trees scaled rapidly.

Amegakure secured massive employment contracts; the nobles of the Land of Fire secured highly efficient, cost-effective shinobi labor.

Infrastructure development entered a massive bull run.

Several fiscal months later.

During this rare period of low market volatility.

Konoha maintained a consistent, bullish growth trajectory.

Numerous R&D deliverables were officially pushed to production.

First, a massive influx of next-generation assets spawned into the market.

Driven by the aggressive 'Childcare Subsidy' protocol, Konoha experienced a significant demographic boom.

Neji was the first asset to successfully boot up; Hizashi was officially upgraded to 'Father' status.

He stared at his son with uncontained joy, running simulations of their future joint deployments to generate ROI for the Hokage-sama.

Many operatives from Hizashi's generation also reported successful incubation protocols.

Minato and Kushina, recently upgraded to adult status, had already initiated the compilation of their own genetic legacy.

Fugaku, benchmarking his metrics against Hizashi and utilizing his astonishing executive wisdom, deduced a critical logic flaw: the Hokage-sama had delayed his Bloodline Limit integration surgery because his inventory of male heirs was currently exactly one.

Consequently, Mikoto initiated a secondary incubation cycle. Fugaku was already drafting a proposal: if the output was a male unit, could he formally request the Hokage-sama's authorization to designate the asset 'Sasuke'?

In the shinobi market, this protocol signified the highest tier of corporate homage to a revered executive.

The Ino-Shika-Cho consortium, the Inuzuka, the Aburame, and massive swaths of the civilian shinobi workforce all successfully claimed the corporate maternity subsidies.

For a sustained period, Konoha's acoustic environment was saturated with the audio logs of infant units, projecting a highly optimized aura of corporate vitality.

Konoha Training Grounds.

Fugaku and Nagato stood facing each other, their facial renderings highly complex.

The Uchiha kinetic executive's demand to scale his own combat metrics had become overwhelmingly urgent.

"Nagato, run a deep diagnostic. Do you truly register zero hardware degradation or fatigue?" Even after authenticating this data point repeatedly, Fugaku felt his internal logic failing.

Why did this kid's stamina bar never deplete?

Wait a minute—

That was a Sharingan!

Even for non-native users who successfully integrated the hardware, sustained uptime resulted in catastrophic exhaustion. It was functionally a 'barely usable' asset for them!

"Negative, my operational status is highly optimal."

Nagato outputted a look of total confusion. "Grand-Sensei hypothesized this telemetry is within standard parameters. He suggested my baseline chakra reserves are merely slightly above average, resulting in lower sensitivity to the drain."

Nearby, Tenzo Hyuga was experiencing a similar system crash.

While the Byakugan's chakra overhead was statistically lower than the Sharingan's, the limited historical data on external IP theft indicated that non-native users were forced to keep the hardware permanently sealed, only booting it during active combat.

Prior to Nagato's integration surgery, the entire board had run risk assessments: could his chassis support the simultaneous operation of two disparate, high-tier Dojutsu assets?

But over the past few fiscal months, that risk assessment was proven to be entirely erroneous.

Nagato's left Sharingan and right Byakugan had remained permanently online since the boot sequence.

And the kid was constantly outputting maximum vitality, displaying zero lag or fatigue indicators. He ran daily PvP simulations with Fugaku and other senior operatives to aggressively patch his combat algorithms.

His energy metrics were horrifyingly anomalous!

"Is every node in the Hokage's network an absolute statistical anomaly?"

Fugaku began generating highly superstitious background processes. Was there a hidden 'First Hokage's Blessing' buff active on these users?

Operatives directly selected by the Hokage were naturally elite; his recruitment algorithms were flawless.

But how did this external contractor, haphazardly recruited by Jiraiya, possess such terrifying hardware specs?!

"Negative, I must execute a strategic pivot."

"Moving forward, I must route Sasuke into a mentorship contract with a Hokage-lineage operative to passively leech their RNG buffs!"

"It's too late for Itachi; his architecture is basically finalized under Seisui's tutelage. Danzo's genetic code is too corrupted for a pure Hokage-lineage transfer."

"I need to secure a verified, Tier-1 Hokage-lineage mentor!"

Fugaku ran intense strategic calculations.

"Commissioner Tenzo, Commissioner Fugaku, I transmit my deepest gratitude for your PvP coaching these past months."

"I am scheduled to extract back to Amegakure today to assume my executive duties. I have already filed the necessary departure logs with Grand-Sensei." Nagato's audio output projected significant reluctance.

Having actually integrated into Konoha's daily operations, he realized he could easily establish massive networking links here, across all age demographics.

Konoha operatives generally maintained a friendly, smiling PR posture, their tempers were highly optimized, and their audio interactions were extremely pleasant.

This corporate culture stemmed from two variables: First, a highly capitalized economy drastically reduced localized HR friction and aggression. Second, after receiving systematic algorithm patches, Nagato's combat talent was genuinely shocking.

It possessed the terrifying beauty of pure, overwhelming numerical superiority.

"Execute your deployment. When you cycle back to HQ, make sure you audit your new younger sibling." Fugaku slapped Nagato's shoulder, outputting a loud laugh.

"Maintain high operational output. Generate premium deliverables. Do not depreciate the Hokage-sama's or the village's brand value!" Tenzo Hyuga smiled amiably.

"I absolutely will not default on those KPIs!" Nagato patted his chest, executing a firm guarantee.

Access to power—specifically, highly regulated, controllable power—had drastically scaled his self-confidence algorithms.

Nagato routed himself to the village's newly constructed Flying Thunder God Transmission Array.

Minato, whom he now addressed with the 'Senior Martial Brother' syntax, had scheduled a rendezvous here to jointly deploy to Amegakure.

Minato needed to procure specific Amegakure aquatic consumables (river seafood) for Kushina; pregnant assets required specialized nutritional patches.

"Logged in?"

Minato smiled like a miniature sun, his optics scanning Nagato's dual Dojutsu. "Regardless of the frequency, visually auditing your asymmetrical ocular hardware remains a highly striking sensory experience, Junior Brother."

"Factoring in my Uzumaki genetic payload, it technically qualifies as a Triple Bloodline Limit configuration."

Nagato scratched his head awkwardly. "I owe this entirely to Grand-Sensei's corporate philanthropy. Although my configuration utilizes physical, organ-based Bloodline Limits, differentiating it from purely chakra-based mutations..."

"I am highly optimistic that my telemetry logs will provide valuable data for Commissioner Orochimaru and Commissioner Hiruko's R&D."

"They absolutely will." Minato smiled warmly.

His Junior Brother's logic circuits were slightly rigid, but his corporate loyalty was undeniably pure.

When Hiruko and Orochimaru submitted requisition forms for his cellular and blood assets to utilize as experimental materials, Nagato complied with zero friction.

Furthermore, he authored daily diagnostic logs detailing his UX (User Experience) with the Byakugan and Sharingan, submitting weekly TPS reports.

During his incubation phase in the village, his data absorption rate rivaled a sponge. He had downloaded massive volumes of technical knowledge.

He could now fluently utilize premium corporate jargon to categorize various Bloodline Limits.

"Hey, hey..."

"Is that actually you, Nagato?!"

"What is the status of your ocular hardware?"

A white-haired operative stared with max-resolution optics, utterly incredulous at Nagato's configuration, then rapidly shifted his scan to Minato. "I merely logged off for a single fiscal year, how has the corporate infrastructure mutated so drastically?"

"Minato, you transmitted a memo stating you were upgrading to 'Father' status..."

"And what is the classification of this massive ninja tool installation?" Jiraiya pointed at the Flying Thunder God Transmission Array, his internal systems experiencing rolling critical errors.

He had extracted back to Konoha expecting to execute a glorious 'Return of the Sage' PR campaign!

Instead, he felt like a deprecated legacy user. Every piece of infrastructure was completely alien; he was entirely out of sync with the current update patch!

Was this literally 'seven days in the mountains equals seven years in the village' server desync?

Nagato and Minato exchanged a smiling glance. Regardless of the elapsed cycles, Jiraiya-sensei's hardware always retained that unique, highly entertaining 'comedy' subroutine.

He was the undisputed Chief Entertainment Officer of Konoha.

The mentor and disciples ran a data sync for a while, allowing Jiraiya to slowly reboot his systems.

He finally downloaded the patch notes detailing all the major server events that had occurred during his AFK period.

"A corporate merger with Amegakure, supplying proprietary industrial tech that actually optimized Orochimaru's R&D pipeline?"

Jiraiya outputted a sigh of profound realization. "Not only did he compile the Flying Thunder God, he even engineered cutting-edge supplementary hardware for the Yamanaka subsidiary. This operative is truly my ultimate market rival. His talent metrics are second only to my Sage algorithms. Highly problematic."

"By the way, what are the current coordinates of Sensei (Hiruzen)?"

Jiraiya queried.

"Regarding Grand-Sensei's coordinates, he is not currently docked at the Hokage Building. Probability suggests he is logged into the training grounds adjacent to the Uchiha sector." Minato stated with carefully calculated uncertainty.

"The Uchiha sector? What is his operational objective there?" Jiraiya asked, his logic failing to find a correlation.

"Grand-Sensei is currently executing R&D on a new jutsu..." Minato's internal logic fired, and he outputted a highly compressed, ambiguous summary. "The protocol requires Uchiha personnel for beta testing."

Minato possessed the highly classified intel that Hiruzen Sarutobi was actively planning to audit Jiraiya's Sage Mode algorithms.

Operating under the 'Fair Play' directive, Minato, as the squad leader, absolutely could not leak Grand-Sensei's strategic intel!

This was absolutely not because Minato wanted to spectate his mentor getting kinetically disciplined!

"Seisui's daily operational logs must be extremely resource-intensive right now," Minato hypothesized with a serene smile. "I project he won't suffer a catastrophic ego-crash regarding his talent metrics, but undergoing that specific diagnostic phase is mandatory for his long-term scaling."

Minato comprehended the market reality.

Being targeted by Hiruzen Sarutobi for joint R&D guaranteed an exponential spike in progression speed.

But concurrently, the operative had to accept the brutal empirical data that their 'genius' metrics were entirely subjective and statistically insignificant compared to the Hokage.

A Konoha Training Ground.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat cross-legged on the terrain, outputting an amicable, corporate chuckle.

Directly opposite him were the heavily panting avatars of Tobirama's entire family unit, plus Yashiro. Their Sharingan were fully booted, but they were clearly experiencing critical stamina depletion!

What was the system error?

Why did the Hokage-sama possess absolute, 100% immunity to all Sharingan-based Genjutsu protocols?!

☆☆☆

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