At the Uchiha clan's compound.
Hanekawa emerged from a secluded alley.
"Lord Hanekawa!"
The Uchiha clansmen guarding the entrance immediately bowed upon seeing him.
"I'm here to see Fugaku," Hanekawa nodded slightly and said.
"Please come in," the middle-aged clansman on the left said. "The clan leader has instructed that you may go directly to him without needing to announce your arrival."
"Thank you."
Hanekawa entered the courtyard.
A wave of scorching heat hit him.
He instinctively looked up and saw Uchiha Itachi practicing fire release by the pond.
Not far from him was Uchiha Mikoto.
"Brother Hanekawa," Itachi noticed him and immediately came over to greet him.
"Hanekawa," Mikoto asked softly, "are you here to see Fugaku? I'll go call him."
"No need, Aunt Mikoto," Hanekawa was about to agree when he saw Uchiha Fugaku walking out of the study, so he changed his response.
"Father," Itachi greeted respectfully.
"Uncle Fugaku," Hanekawa got straight to the point. "Does Itachi have a teacher yet?"
"No," Fugaku was momentarily stunned before replying.
He had initially thought Hanekawa might want to take Itachi as his student, but upon reconsideration, it seemed unlikely.
"I've found a teacher for Itachi," Hanekawa glanced at Itachi and said, "Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru?" Fugaku frowned. "You know he targeted our Uchiha clan during the Land of Frost conflict."
"That was because Shimura Danzō threatened him with the Wood Release experiments," Hanekawa lied without hesitation.
Since Danzō was dead, he couldn't refute the claim.
In any case, the blame was firmly placed on Danzō.
"This..." Fugaku hesitated.
"I can assure you, Itachi won't be harmed in any way," Hanekawa said seriously.
In fact, this was true. Just look at Uchiha Sasuke in the original story.
Before awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, Orochimaru would undoubtedly teach Itachi everything he knew.
And once the Mangekyō was awakened, Itachi would naturally counter Orochimaru.
"Although Orochimaru has lost his power, he is still one of the Legendary Sannin and has many followers," Hanekawa continued persuasively. "With Itachi's talent, he will surely inherit Orochimaru's strength and influence."
Fugaku's heart stirred at these words.
It did sound like a good deal.
With Tsunade and Hanekawa's support, plus Orochimaru's assistance, the Uchiha clan's chances of producing a Hokage had significantly increased.
"Itachi, are you willing to go?" Fugaku looked at Itachi and asked.
"Yes," Itachi replied without hesitation.
"Very well," Fugaku nodded. "Orochimaru is one of the few powerful shinobi in the Hidden Leaf. With him as your teacher, your strength will grow even further."
This was true.
The best teacher for an Uchiha was another Uchiha.
Among non-Uchiha shinobi, few could teach them, but Orochimaru happened to be one of them.
Seeing that they had agreed, Hanekawa bid them farewell and left.
---
At the Hidden Leaf Hospital, in Hanekawa's office.
The space trembled slightly, and a figure appeared.
Hanekawa steadied himself and was about to go find Yakushi Nonō when his gaze froze.
Not far from him, Rin Nohara was lying on the couch.
Her eyes were closed, and her snow-like face showed signs of exhaustion.
Her body was curled up slightly, her slender waist arching back, her hips pressing against the back of the couch, creating a soft indentation.
Her legs, clad in dark red thigh-high stockings, were crossed, appearing delicate and long, like dark red ice cream.
"Did she get tired from performing surgeries?" Hanekawa thought as he walked over.
He looked down and saw her black top clinging to her body, accentuating her graceful curves.
She looked quite cute.
Hanekawa casually took out a blanket and draped it over her, then left the office.
He soon found Yakushi Nonō.
Unlike Fugaku's reservations, she agreed without much thought.
But it wasn't Orochimaru she trusted—it was Hanekawa.
---
Some time later.
Rin's eyelashes fluttered, and she woke up.
She blinked, looking at the blanket on her, and was puzzled.
Who had given this to her?
Rin suddenly thought of Hanekawa and quickly sat up.
This was Hanekawa's office.
Aside from her, only Hanekawa would come here.
Rin clutched the blanket, a smile appearing on her face.
"Awake?" a familiar voice sounded.
Rin instinctively looked up and saw Hanekawa standing at the door.
"Give it to me," Hanekawa walked over and extended his hand.
"I'll wash it before returning it," Rin said softly.
"No need, it's not dirty," Hanekawa picked up the blanket. "And it still has a nice scent."
Rin was stunned, her heart fluttering, and her cheeks turned red.
"You're really cute," Hanekawa said as he casually put away the blanket.
"I..." Rin subconsciously clenched her pink skirt.
"How have you been lately?" Hanekawa patted her head and asked. "It's been a while since we last met, hasn't it?"
"Six days!" Rin blurted out.
Hanekawa had been busy working at the Hokage Building, and in his free time, he went off to learn new techniques.
Meanwhile, Rin had been interning and performing surgeries at the hospital.
Since Tsunade became Hokage, their team hadn't gone on any missions, so they hadn't seen each other much.
"You remember quite clearly," Hanekawa couldn't help but smile.
Rin's heart trembled, and she didn't dare look at him. Her legs nervously pressed together, causing her thigh-high stockings to rub against each other.
Hanekawa instinctively glanced at them.
Her fair thighs had a slight indentation from the stockings.
"Tsunade-sensei is busy as Hokage now," Hanekawa said gently. "If there's anything you don't understand, you can come to me."
Rin's heart leapt with joy, and she nodded vigorously.
"I'll find a mission for you when I have time. Staying at the hospital every day must be monotonous," Hanekawa thought for a moment and said.
"Okay!" Rin couldn't help but smile.
"I'm leaving now. See you next time," Hanekawa pinched her cheek and turned to leave.
Rin watched his retreating figure, feeling a sense of loss.
---
At the ANBU base.
"Lord Hanekawa," Haru approached and said, "Samui from the Hidden Cloud is here to see you."
"Samui?" Hanekawa pondered for a moment. "Where is she?"
"In your office," Haru replied.
Hanekawa nodded slightly and headed to his office.
He stopped at the door and opened it.
Samui, hearing the door open, quickly stood up.
"Good afternoon, Samui," Hanekawa closed the door behind him and asked, "What brings you here?"
"Lord Hanekawa," Samui walked up to him and bowed deeply. "I need your help."
As she bowed, her low-cut light gray shirt shifted, revealing a generous amount of fair skin.
"What kind of help?" Hanekawa instinctively glanced at her.
Among her peers, Samui undoubtedly had the best figure.
"Can you help change the terms of the Hidden Leaf's peace negotiations?" Samui looked up and met Hanekawa's gaze.
Her heart fluttered—his gaze was directed at... She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling.
"The terms of the negotiations weren't set by me. They were decided by the Hidden Leaf's senior shinobi," Hanekawa shook his head. "Changing them will be difficult."
"You're the Hokage's advisor and the Hokage's student. You must have a way!" Samui subconsciously took half a step forward.
As the two drew closer, a faint fragrance filled the air.
The expanse of fair skin became even more apparent.
"Why should I help you?" Hanekawa blinked and asked.
"You... you're also a shinobi of the Hidden Cloud," Samui's voice grew weaker, lacking confidence.
"Do you think that's enough to convince me?" Hanekawa countered.
"..."
Samui bit her lip.
Her body trembled, and her long, fair legs took a step back. Her breathing became rapid.
The immense pressure caused beads of sweat to form on her forehead.
"What... what do you want me to do?" Samui steeled herself and said in a trembling voice, "I can do anything."
"...?"
Hanekawa was momentarily stunned.
He hadn't expected Samui to be willing to make such a sacrifice.
"You're truly loyal to the Hidden Cloud," Hanekawa reached out and gently caressed her cheek.
Samui's body stiffened, feeling both panicked and embarrassed by his touch.
Her usually cold face now bore a faint blush.
"Lord Hanekawa, is... is this okay?" Samui mustered her courage and looked up.
Her blue-green eyes glistened, as if she were about to cry.
Her shoulder-length blonde hair was slightly disheveled, adding to her pitiful appearance.
Though not as proud as Yugito Nii, Samui had her own dignity.
Now, by selling herself to save the Hidden Cloud, her dignity had vanished in an instant.
"I can have the Hidden Leaf make some concessions," Hanekawa thought for a moment and said.
"Really?" Samui looked incredulous.
In her eyes, she and the Hidden Cloud had too little leverage to persuade Hanekawa.
"First, we won't take your Turtle Island, but the Hidden Leaf's jinchūriki can train there," Hanekawa raised a finger and said.
Turtle Island was actually a massive turtle raised and controlled by the Hidden Cloud.
To be honest, the Hidden Leaf didn't really need the turtle. Not taking it would save them the cost of raising it.
"Second, the Hidden Leaf will share a normal percentage of mission rewards with the Hidden Cloud for missions completed in the Land of Lightning," Hanekawa continued.
Normally, after completing a mission, the reward wasn't entirely given to the shinobi team—a portion went to the village.
This was one of the two main sources of income for shinobi villages.
The other was funding and grants from the daimyo.
Hanekawa's concession ensured that the Hidden Cloud wouldn't lose out on mission rewards.
After all, whether it was Hidden Cloud shinobi or Hidden Leaf shinobi, they would both receive a share.
But the Hidden Cloud shinobi would lose out.
Since the Hidden Leaf shinobi were taking their missions, they would get nothing.
Hanekawa made this concession for two reasons.
First, the share wasn't large, and most of the mission rewards would still go to the Hidden Leaf shinobi.
Hanekawa could also waive the Hidden Leaf's cut.
Second, it was to protect Hidden Leaf shinobi on missions in the Land of Lightning.
By paying this fee, if Hidden Leaf shinobi encountered trouble in the Land of Lightning, Hanekawa would have grounds to hold the Hidden Cloud accountable.
Or, even if nothing happened, he could fabricate an excuse to blame the Hidden Cloud and take action against them.
In any case, the Hidden Cloud was already in Hanekawa's grasp. It was only a matter of time.
"Just these two conditions," Hanekawa pinched Samui's cheek and said. "You can go back and tell Mabui."
"Thank you," Samui said gratefully.
Though the concessions weren't huge, they significantly reduced the Hidden Cloud's losses.
First, having money was essential for the Hidden Cloud's development.
Second, with Turtle Island still intact, they could continue to train perfect jinchūriki.
"No need to thank me," Hanekawa leaned close to her ear and said. "Don't forget the condition you agreed to earlier."
Samui's body trembled, and her face turned bright red.
"Go back now," Hanekawa smiled and said.
"Huh?" Samui was taken aback.
"I prefer your cold demeanor," Hanekawa placed his hand on her chest, feeling her softness, and said.
"...?"
Samui was stunned.
What did this mean?
Do you have some kind of special preference?
"I understand," Samui took a deep breath and straightened up.
The blush on her face disappeared, replaced by her usual cold expression, her eyes indifferent.
Paired with her curvaceous figure and long, fair legs, she exuded an indescribable allure.
This was her true nature, so it wasn't hard for her to revert to it.
"Good girl," Hanekawa nodded in satisfaction.
Without a doubt, Samui was now under his control.
"See you next time," Hanekawa withdrew his hand and smiled.
"Okay," Samui glanced at him and left the ANBU base.
Once she was alone, she could no longer maintain her composure. She gasped for breath, her chest heaving.
She covered her face, her mind filled with thoughts of Hanekawa.
For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to hate him.
Even though he was the one who had put the Hidden Cloud in this predicament.
---
About ten minutes later, Samui returned to the Hidden Cloud's temporary base.
"Samui, how did it go?" Mabui and the others immediately gathered around.
"He agreed to two conditions," Samui relayed Hanekawa's terms with a blank expression.
"This..." Darui frowned.
There were concessions, but not many.
"Samui, you've done well," Mabui sighed in relief. "At least the Hidden Cloud has some hope now."
As long as they had money and perfect jinchūriki, there was still a chance to rebuild.
It's just that life for Hidden Cloud shinobi would become much harder.
"Samui, are you okay?" Mabui felt that Samui had become even colder after her trip.
In the past, she had been relatively warm toward her Hidden Cloud comrades.
Now, there was a faint sense of distance between her and them.
"I'm fine," Samui said flatly.
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