Three days later, at Link's home.
[You're the Gatō who died in the Land of Waves, correct?]
[I believe I am.]
After confirming that this was indeed the "Gatō who died in the Land of Waves," Link suddenly asked—relying on the Summoning Technique's inability to deceive—"Where did you hide your money and assets before you died?"
[They're in the basement of a villa near the mangrove forest in the Land of Waves.]
By the time Gatō realized what was happening, his mind had already reported the location automatically.
[You kid—]
Link skillfully blocked (or "muted") him and wrote down the address in code in his notebook.
Since dead men have no use for money, Link specifically searched newspapers and magazines for infamous business magnates who met untimely deaths. Then, by broadcasting their names plus the place of death, he filtered out the civilian spirits who came forward. Exploiting the Summoning Technique's unique properties, he tricked them into revealing information. If it worked, he profited. If not, it didn't matter—those who couldn't be tricked just served as a further filter.
He certainly never intended to fulfill these evil tycoons' requests; it wasn't really a fair "transaction" anyway. He preferred to call it "making hidden assets circulate."
…
[This should be enough.]
Link looked at the dozens of places he had noted in his notebook: from small countries like the Land of Waves, the Land of Rivers, and the Land of Rain, to major nations like the Land of Lightning, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Fire. It was quite a broad range.
The closest one, well, seemed to be Tanzaku Town. A businessman who died at the hands of a Ame ninja had stashed an unregistered gambling fund in a casino in Tanzaku Town. As long as you provided the matching passphrase, you could withdraw it. Originally, it was intended as a birthday gift for his lover, but he died not long after depositing it.
That stash was 500,000 ryō. Not a huge amount, but it was easy to collect.
There were several more like that, but a tricky issue remained: not all currency can actually be used. And that led to a major problem—
The difference in currencies.
The Land of Fire has its own currency, featuring the Konoha symbol on both bills and coins. These are issued by the Bank of the Land of Fire and circulate in neighboring countries. Because Konohagakure serves as the central ninja village of the Land of Fire, it effectively anchors that currency's value.
Why? If you want to commission a mission in Konoha, you have to pay in the Land of Fire's currency. And so, the major nation's currency gains a solid anchor: through a ninja's labor, money ultimately converts into tangible goods.
The same holds true for other countries, each with its own currency anchored by its respective ninja village. Ninjas perform missions and create value; the money then flows back into ninjas' hands. Because ninjas, who risk their lives, tend to spend large sums, it drives the entire social economy in a cycle of spending and production.
In the world of Naruto, ninjas are unquestionably the core.
Even if the ninja system seems harsh and cruel, the status of a ninja is paramount. In any real conflict or dispute, it's the ninja village that makes the decisions, not the daimyo, aristocrats, or ministers.
In the First Five Kage Summit, when the First Hokage had just founded his village, he directly addressed the other leaders, calling them the "leaders of the Five Great Nations." It wasn't mere flattery; ninjas inherently hold that level of authority.
Though outwardly, each ninja village and its daimyo are regarded as equal, in practice, it's mostly nominal.
Back to the subject of currency—because each nation's money is different, neither the currency nor the missions can freely flow across borders. The Underground Exchange (the "bounty station") not only posts bounties on targets but also offers currency exchange services. Hence the name "Exchange House."
Not every country has a ninja village, nor does every ninja village offer enough value. Thus, smaller nations often use larger nations' currency, and in resource-poor small countries, ninjas don't want to stay.
If a country lacks its own currency—or if the currency it issues cannot be anchored to ninja labor—then you end up with situations like in the Land of Waves.
No money → no ninjas → no ninjas → easily bullied and controlled.
To avoid being oppressed or controlled, a country needs its own cycle of growth. That's essentially why, as Kakashi once said, "Most countries, big or small, have their own ninja village."
Following this logic, each village issues its own currency using its ninja as the anchor. Because smaller nations face constant instability, the variety of currencies is practically endless. Even if you exchange it for a major nation's currency in another country, you still need your own currency back home.
Otherwise, how else would you commission your local ninja for tasks like farming or pest control? It would be crazy to hire a ninja village from another country for such low-level tasks—the cross-border fees alone would be sky-high, making it utterly impractical.
Having lived in Konoha and spent money mostly there, the furthest Link had gone was the Land of Wind—on a mission—so he'd never had much opportunity to deal with foreign currency.
As for the Land of Rivers, it's a special case: civil unrest + poor national credibility mean that the Land of Fire's currency is often more accepted there—just like how many countries in our real world willingly accept the U.S. dollar.
Now, with the list of hidden fortunes in his hand, these assets are scattered all over the world. Exchanging major nations' currency is relatively straightforward at a bounty exchange, even if there's a fee. Since it's basically free money, Link can accept some losses.
But some small nations' currencies pose a headache—how can he convert them into usable funds? Worst comes to worst, he might just use those bills as raw material for his "Money Binding Technique."
Then there are many currencies from countries that have already collapsed. That money is no better than counterfeit—even using it as toilet paper is questionable. It's useless, and you can't even use it for the Money Binding Technique.
[I wonder if my jutsu would still recognize currency from a country that got destroyed after I acquired it…]
Link gave it some serious thought. From what he knew of his own ninjutsu, if he doesn't know a certain country was destroyed, then it might still work. But if he learns that the country no longer exists, the money would probably become invalid.
[Never mind that. I'll pick the mission leading me to Tanzaku Town next. At least 500,000 ryō is worth grabbing.]
He circled that entry, tucked the little notebook into his waistband, and opened a scroll in front of him, his expression growing grave as he started to read.
Flying Thunder God was far more complicated than he'd imagined—so complicated he could barely understand it.
Like most newcomers who first encounter this secret technique, he found its complexity seemingly impossible to master. What he was reading was just one set of notes and research materials left by the Second Hokage during the jutsu's development.
There was an entire box of similar scrolls. The actual secret technique scroll was just a single scroll, but given that he couldn't understand it yet, he had no choice but to tackle the development materials bit by bit.
It was far more difficult than medical ninjutsu. Medical ninjutsu involves a lot of human anatomy and physiology, which he'd at least had some exposure to in his previous life. But Flying Thunder God involves all kinds of bizarre "tadpole-script" (complex sealing text) and a massive amount of knowledge he'd never seen before.
Studying it felt like pure torture.
[Maybe…it's time to consider Plan B.]
~~~
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