Chapter 180 The Crack in Black and White
The rap competition in the Land of Lightning proceeded smoothly, and two weeks quickly passed.
Killer Bee, through Uchiha Touko's behind-the-scenes manipulation, successfully entered the top four. With Uchiha Touko's relentless support, he became a superstar in the Land of Lightning, sparking a rap music craze. Under Uchiha Touko
's deliberate guidance, the lyrics of rap music in the Land of Lightning became increasingly explosive. In the top eight competition, two of the eight contestants' lyrics described underground crime, two were all about decadent lifestyles, and the remaining four, including Killer Bee, criticized racial discrimination.
But does racial discrimination really exist in the Land of Lightning?
If so.
However, even if it doesn't, after this period of bombardment with rap music and Uchiha Touko's deliberate guidance, it's an undeniable fact that a crack has begun to appear between people of different skin colors in the Land of Lightning.
First, Uchiha Touko deliberately emphasized on the show that rap music is Black music, and that all eight finalists, including the three disguised as White Zetsu, were Black. Furthermore, Uchiha Touko unreservedly exported the dregs of gangster rap from his past life, making these Black rappers the spiritual leaders of the Black civilian population in the Land of Lightning, in terms of both clothing and speech.
Now, it's rare to see Black people with their pants pulled up above their knees on the streets of the Land of Lightning; greetings have become "Hey, um."
And as everyone knows, in communication studies, the easiest way to provoke public annoyance is to repeatedly promote the same thing.
Initially, the white people in the Land of Lightning were just watching the spectacle, but as time went on, with the entire city promoting this rap show and the contestants' lyrics being racist, the situation changed. The
annoyed white civilians finally realized, "When the hell did we discriminate against you?"
And so, antagonism began to quietly spread throughout the Land of Lightning.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Raikage, A, had finalized the details of his collaboration with Mei Terumi and returned to Kumogakure.
Back in his office, A was prepared for a mountain of complaints and a quick trip to the Cloud and Thunder Canyon to teach Killer Bee a lesson.
However, when he opened the office door, he didn't see the expected complaint letters.
"Hiss, has Killer Bee been causing trouble in the village lately?" A asked Hiss, the secretary who had stayed behind in Kumogakure, after sitting down.
"No," Hiss shook her head. "Lord Killer Bee hasn't appeared in the village at all."
"Really?" A's face showed disbelief. He knew that every time he left the village, Killer Bee would sneak in and use his music to fairly torment every villager.
"Has the kid finally matured?" A exclaimed in surprise. "I'll go to the Cloud and Thunder Canyon later and give him a good praise."
Having made his decision, A turned and left the Kumogakure building, heading towards the Cloud and Thunder Canyon outside the village.
However, upon arriving at Cloud Thunder Canyon, Ai noticed that the canyon, which usually resonated with Killer Bee's chanting at this time, was unusually quiet today.
[Could it be that he's finally willing to give up that messy music and focus on cultivation?] Ai wondered to himself.
However, when he pushed open the door to Killer Bee's residence, he found it empty, and the dust on the table indicated that the guy had been gone for some time.
"Where did that kid go?" Ai's heart tightened upon hearing this. Had the kid run off to play outside the village?
However, a note on Killer Bee's table instantly ignited his anger.
[Big Brother! I'm going to the Land of Lightning to participate in a rap competition. Don't idolize me when I become a star!]
A rap competition?
Ai was a little confused.
"Raikage! Look at this!" Just then, Nozomi from the village chased after him, holding a poster.
Ai took the poster and saw that the center of the poster was Killer Bee dressed in hip-hop attire, with a gold chain around his neck thicker than an average person's arm, making a hip-hop gesture. In the lower left corner of the photo was a piece of text that Ai didn't understand—BIG·8! AKA Cloud Killer Bee.
"Killer Bee!!!"
A's furious roar echoed throughout the Cloud Thunder Canyon. He didn't know what Killer Bee was doing, but he knew that Killer Bee's photo, with his pants not even properly on, was a complete disgrace to Cloud Village!
"Xi, keep an eye on the village. I'm going to Thunder Capital right now!" A said, barely suppressing his anger.
...
In a hotel near Thunder Capital, Killer Bee and three White Zetsu were enthusiastically discussing rap lyrics.
Killer Bee tried singing a verse he had just written, which told the story of a discriminated-against child's struggle.
"Brother Killer Bee, your lyrics are amazing," a White Zetsu disguised as a rapper complimented.
"Yeah, yeah, compared to the auditions, Brother Killer Bee, your lyrics have become more and more profound and powerful. We are truly ashamed of ourselves," another White Zetsu disguised as a Black man said.
As the competition progressed, both the mentors and opponents were now all disguised White Zetsu. It was safe to say that the Land of Lightning was currently a hip-hop paradise, and Killer Bee, who genuinely wanted to improve his rapping skills, had fallen into a Truman Show-like situation.
"Not bad, Killer Bee, your lyrics are getting more and more profound. Combined with your unique flow, your future is absolutely limitless." At this moment, Uchiha Touko walked in and praised him.
"Thanks to your guidance, Chris Hikaru," Killer Bee said, giving Uchiha Touko a hip-hop gesture.
"Don't say that, your own talent and hard work are also very important," Uchiha Touko said with a smile. "Tomorrow is the final match, are you all ready?"
"Brrrrrrrr! Of course!" a White Zetsu shouted after clicking his tongue repeatedly. "Although I might not be a match for Killer Bee, I'm ready to ignite the entire arena!"
"We will definitely make every audience member who bought a ticket feel that their ticket was well worth the price!" another White Zetsu shouted.
"Well said!" Uchiha Touko clapped loudly. "That's the spirit of Hepburn! Respect!"
"Respect!"
...
Just as the group was practicing their song for tomorrow's finals, the hotel door was suddenly kicked open, and a towering man stormed into the room.
"Sir, this is the room for the hip-hop contestants from the Land of Thunder. We understand your feelings as a fan, but you really can't just barge in here," a hotel staff member said, trying to stop the uninvited guest as Ai entered the room.
"Killer Bee!" Ai suppressed his anger. Heaven knows how much effort it took him to find this place in the Land of Thunder; he just wanted to find Killer Bee quickly and let him experience the true meaning of an older brother's iron fist.
However, Killer Bee was currently wearing headphones, feeling the rhythm, and thinking about whether his lyrics could be even more explosive. He only noticed Ai when he arrived.
Killer Bee looked up, and seeing Ai, his habit from the past few days made him greet him without thinking: "Hey, um!"
Ai: ???
"Do you know what you're doing?" A punch slammed Killer Bee to the ground, instantly creating a large, horrifying crack in the hotel room floor. The other White Zetsu present trembled in fear.
However, Killer Bee, seemingly unaffected by the punch, stood up and immediately said, "Brother, don't be so violent. My rap will definitely surprise you!"
"Put your pants back on! Then come back with me!" A took a deep breath and said, looking at Killer Bee's pants that were almost down to his knees.
At that moment, Uchiha Touko, who had heard the commotion, appeared on the scene.
"What's going on? Who's causing trouble here?" Uchiha Touko frowned.
"And who are you?" A looked at the black man in front of him, dressed exactly like Killer Bee, his brows furrowed.
"Big brother, this is Chris, my mentor on my rap journey," Killer Bee said. "Chris, this is my older brother, Ai."
Uchiha Touko looked up and sized up the Fourth Raikage in front of him. To be honest, Uchiha Touko hadn't expected their first meeting to be like this.
While Uchiha Touko was sizing up the Fourth Raikage, Ai was also looking down at Uchiha Touko. According to Killer Bee, this was the guy who had corrupted his younger brother.
"Hey, um!" After staring at each other for a while, Uchiha Touko extended his hand to Ai first.
"You bastard! What have you taught my dear brother?" Ai ignored Uchiha Touko's outstretched hand and said through gritted teeth.
"Hey bro, I just exchanged some rapping tips with Big 8." Uchiha Touko withdrew his hand, shrugged, and said, "Besides, your brother is really talented in rapping. I think he'll become the rap leader of the Land of Lightning in the future."
"He doesn't need to become a rap leader! Killer Bee, come back with me now!" A snapped at Uchiha Touko, then turned to Killer Bee.
Although Killer Bee's face was full of reluctance, he could only obediently follow behind his older brother.
"You can't just take Big 8 away like this! He signed a contract with our label!" At this moment, another mentor disguised as a White Zetsu said from the side.
"Contract?" A looked back at Killer Bee in disbelief, while Killer Bee lowered his head guiltily.
"It's like this, we really think highly of your brother's talent in rap music, so our label offered him a 10-year contract, which he signed himself." After saying that, Uchiha Touko handed a contract to A.
A took the contract and carefully looked through it.
The contract essentially stated that Chris's label would make Killer Bee the hottest rapper, with a fair 70/30 split, with Killer Bee taking 70%.
"Our label truly believes in your brother's talent. You can ask around; even the hottest female celebrity in the ninja world right now, Kazama Koyuki, doesn't have a contract like this," Uchiha Touko said.
"I said, he doesn't need to become a rap star," A said, barely suppressing the urge to punch the hapless man in front of him into a pulp, enunciating each word clearly.
"Sigh, since you insist, then pay the penalty for breach of contract," Uchiha Touko said regretfully.
"Penalty for breach of contract?" Upon hearing this, A quickly flipped to the last page of the contract, and seeing the staggering 400 million ryo penalty, A was furious.
"Four hundred million?" A roared in fury. "In the underground money exchange, the head of the Third Hokage's only son is only worth 35 million. What kind of lousy contract has a penalty of 400 million?"
"Can you even compare?" Uchiha Touko spread his hands. "We originally planned to make your brother the most famous star in the ninja world. The resources needed for that were about the same, so this penalty is perfectly reasonable."
"Do you know who you're talking to?" A took a deep breath. Normally, he could grit his teeth and pay the four hundred million, but having just finished supporting Mei Terumi's Cloud Village, he really couldn't come up with that much money right now. So, A decided to use force.
"What are you trying to do?" Uchiha Touko also tensed up. "Even if you're a ninja, you have to abide by this written contract. I have some friends in the news industry. You don't want your village's breach of contract to spread throughout the ninja world, do you?"
"You..." A choked with anger.
If this were a matter between ninjas, even if Killer Bee and Konoha's Hokage, Uchiha Touko, signed the contract, he could simply renege on it; with his strength, he wouldn't be afraid of what the other party might do.
But this contract, in black and white, was right there, a contract signed between a village ninja and a civilian. If he really defaulted, and the other party publicized it throughout the ninja world, it would damage the reputation of Kumogakure's missions.
He personally didn't care about being a deadbeat, but if Kumogakure couldn't get any missions because of it, that would be troublesome.
"Fine, I'll pay!" A said through gritted teeth.
Uchiha Touko had no regrets about this outcome. Although there was still one more final match to go, he had brought all the dregs of his previous life's rap culture to the Land of Lightning. Under this influence, the black-and-white divide in the Land of Lightning had already appeared. The harpy-dressed thugs roaming the streets of the Lightning Capital would cause trouble sooner or later; all that was left was time.
What's even more satisfying is that A, that old bastard, stepped in and reimbursed all of Uchiha Touko's initial investment. What more could Uchiha Touko possibly want?
After paying the penalty, A tore the contract Uchiha Touko handed him to shreds, then said to him angrily, "Chris Hikaru, is that it? I'll remember you."
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(End of Chapter)