"Yo, isn't this our ever-so-busy Hokage-sama?"
At Senju Tobirama's residence, Renya was lying in the courtyard sunbathing when he noticed a sneaky figure by the gate.
He took off his sunglasses—and sure enough, who else could it be but Shimura Danzō?
Behind him stood Koharu Utatane, Mitokado Homura, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Uchiha Kagami.
"Renya, did you have fun outside?" Uchiha Kagami asked with a smile.
"Not bad," Renya said as he sat up from the recliner, smiling. "So, what made you guys decide to drop by today?"
Normally, aside from Kagami who had visited a few times, no one else ever came by.
Probably because of that old man Tobirama.
The others were afraid to disturb their teacher's rest.
"We missed you, so we came to check in," Koharu teased.
"That's right, that's right," Sarutobi Hiruzen chimed in.
"Tch, Renya, you're seriously too rich for your own good," Mitokado Homura muttered, pushing up his glasses as he looked around at the lavish courtyard.
He pointed toward the nearby pool in disbelief.
"There's even a swimming pool in the yard!"
"Renya's really made it big, huh!" Hiruzen sighed.
When he'd come before, there hadn't been a pool. But after some time away, the already luxurious courtyard had somehow become even more extravagant.
"It's even fancier than our Uchiha compound…" Kagami murmured.
Even though the Uchiha were a great clan that had stood tall in the shinobi world for a thousand years, their home décor couldn't compare to Renya's.
Even the former Uchiha clan head had admitted that Renya's wealth was overwhelming. For Kagami, who'd never seen much of the world, the difference was shocking.
"So this is what the world of the rich looks like?"
Compared to Renya's house, theirs was practically a slum!
"Hmph, all that money, yet you don't think of supporting the village a little," Danzō snorted coldly.
"The village is practically running out of funds!"
Lately, the Fire Daimyō had been cutting down financial support for Konoha.
Now, aside from daily expenses, there was barely any money left.
You could say that income and spending were barely breaking even.
If anything unexpected happened, Konoha could face bankruptcy!
That was why Danzō had come—to discuss the issue with Tobirama-sensei. And since Koharu and the others happened to be at the office, they'd come along too.
"The village treasury's out of money?" Renya asked, puzzled.
He remembered donating a large sum to the village every month, and now Danzō was saying they were almost broke?
That didn't make sense.
With the Fire Daimyō's financial aid and his own donations, Konoha's accounts should be more than comfortable.
At the very least, it shouldn't be this bad!
Something must have gone wrong somewhere.
If it wasn't his problem, then that meant...
"Danzō, don't tell me you've been embezzling?" Renya said, looking at them seriously. "Or maybe it's you guys who've been doing it!"
He might have just discovered the truth!
If these high-ranking officials weren't embezzling, wouldn't that just be a waste of their positions?
As expected, these corrupt officials only knew how to line their own pockets!
Even though he himself was a Hokage Advisor, he never joined in on their meetings—which meant that when they were skimming funds, they hadn't even bothered to include him!
"Renya, what do you mean by that?!" they all flared up instantly.
To be accused out of nowhere—who wouldn't be furious?
Especially with Tobirama-sensei inside the house.
If the teacher believed Renya's baseless accusations, the consequences would be disastrous.
"Alright, drop the act.He's not home," Renya leaned forward, lowering his voice conspiratorially.
"So be honest—how much did you guys take?"
He figured it must be a massive amount. Otherwise, how could the village's finances have sunk this low?
The best he could do now was persuade them to return the stolen funds quietly.
Otherwise, if this reached Uncle's ears, things would get ugly.
"Nobody's perfect, you know?" Renya said, not noticing their increasingly dark expressions. "As long as you realize your mistakes in time, everything can still be fixed."
He didn't want them to stay lost in their delusions—if they kept this up, it'd lead to disaster.
At that point, they'd spend the rest of their lives in Konoha Prison.
It would be a huge scandal, and the whole village would be buzzing.
Renya had already thought up the official announcement:
[Third Hokage Shimura Danzō, Hokage Assistant Sarutobi Hiruzen, and the three Hokage Advisors Koharu Utatane, Mitokado Homura, and Uchiha Kagami.
Upon investigation, all five have been found to have lost their will and faith, betrayed their original ideals and mission, and secretly embezzled public funds for personal gain—severely violating Konoha's Will of Fire!]
Then they'd be locked up in Konoha Prison, gripping the iron bars while singing a sad prison ballad.
Oh, and of course, there'd be a confession scene in between:
"I was so poor… I didn't dare spend a single coin… I really regret it now…"
"Enough, Renya!" Danzō barked, snapping Renya out of his fantasy.
"Stop slandering us—we did not embezzle anything!"
"That's right, Danzō's right!" the others hurriedly agreed.
They had all held the Will of Fire since childhood, devoting themselves wholeheartedly to the village's prosperity.
How could they possibly have done something like that?
Renya's accusation was slander—
An insult to their character and to the Will of Fire itself!
"Tch, that's exactly what people say before they get caught. Once it happens, they all start crying about how sorry they are."
Renya pouted, clearly unconvinced.
Sure, they looked all righteous now, but the day something actually happened, he'd bet they'd look completely different.
After all, what criminal ever admits to being one?
The group: "…"
This guy seriously had a huge misunderstanding about them!
No matter how they tried to explain, it was useless.
Out of nowhere, they'd been branded as corrupt.
If they'd known it would turn out like this, they never would've come with Danzō!
Their mood was beyond ruined.
"Renya-kun, why do you think we'd be embezzling?" Koharu asked, looking wronged.
As a Hokage Advisor, she was basically a figurehead. She didn't even have any real authority.
Even if someone was embezzling, it definitely wasn't her.
Her gaze drifted toward Danzō, Hiruzen, and Kagami.
Those three did have power—and the highest chances of being the culprits!
"Yeah, Renya-kun!" Homura pushed up his glasses again. "Koharu and I are just honorary advisors. We don't even meet the conditions to embezzle anything."
He said it casually, but the others didn't take it that way.
The three of them instantly tensed.
That bastard had just washed his hands of it!
"Homura, don't you dare dump the blame on us!" Hiruzen snapped.
"Yeah! We'd never do such a thing!" Uchiha Kagami agreed.
"Enough, quiet down!" Danzō cut them off sharply.
"If there was no embezzlement, then why is the village broke?" Renya asked, frowning.
In his view, Konoha couldn't possibly have fallen into this state without parasites draining it from within.
"I'll say it again—I did not embezzle!" Danzō said firmly, locking eyes with Renya.
"As for why the village is broke..."