Seeing Homura and Koharu personally step out to back him, Danzo stopped pretending and went straight to the point.
Today, he was going to crush him with momentum.
"Hokage-dono, have you forgotten?"
"Forgotten those three point five billion?!"
…Hiss.
The Third Hokage's temple veins bulged violently.
So it finally came out.
There was no dodging this.
But he wasn't about to just take hits without swinging back.
He had to defend himself.
"Danzo, business always has gains and losses. You can't say we're only allowed to make money and never allowed to lose money."
"If you talk like that, how is Kangetsu supposed to do business?"
"Don't shove responsibility onto Kangetsu, Hiruzen!"
Koharu cut him off immediately.
Fight if you want, but don't smash everyone's rice bowl!
Konoha's economy is being carried on the shoulders of a single God of Wealth right now.
If something goes wrong, who takes that blame?
And blame is secondary.
If something happens to Kangetsu and everyone stops making money—
Are you going to compensate everyone out of your own pocket?
The Third Hokage had no choice.
He could only hide behind Kangetsu's back.
And Koharu yanked him back out by the collar.
Don't hide, Hiruzen.
Back then, whenever you did something, all the dirty work was blocked by Danzo—by us.
And now Danzo says he wants to "share the money"—cough—
Now Danzo says he wants to take the deputy seat and supervise you, the one in the main seat.
Everyone discussed it carefully and decided it was a good thing.
Your power is too great. Someone needs to keep an eye on you…
After all, it was because of your power that your precious eldest son caused a disaster of cosmic proportions.
Three point five billion!
Even now, thinking about it still made their hearts tremble.
If you want to stop Danzo, there's only one way.
Bring Asuma back to take responsibility.
Otherwise, if Danzo wants to rise to deputy, you can only endure it.
You can't say other people have to pay for mistakes, but you don't—
Wasn't that exactly what happened to a certain Hatake clan's White Fang?
Small mistakes and small crimes, fine. You have that power as Hokage.
But three point five billion?
No one dares to pull that onto their own shoulders.
"Look!"
Because of this, Konoha's economy has gone into a massive slump again!
Koharu sharply turned the conversation and steered it elsewhere.
"Traveling merchants ran. The ones who stayed are watching."
Prices are rising, and the bigger problem is that everyone's wages are dropping.
Before, you buried your head and played dead because you didn't want to stain your reputation.
But now Danzo doesn't want to carry the blame anymore—he just wants to take the seat above.
"He handled so many filthy jobs for you. He's not even trying to kick you off the throne. And you won't even agree to this little request?"
Ah…
The Third Hokage was stunned.
If you came in swinging openly, fine.
But if you start playing the feelings card… he really had no answer.
Even Danzo, who'd been held down by the flow of the conversation, went blank.
Listening to Koharu talk, he just kept blinking.
He couldn't say words like that in ten lifetimes.
Too damn underhanded.
Using feelings to squeeze Hiruzen.
Danzo even felt like he'd spent nearly his entire life grinding away in Root, and now—at the very end—
In front of Koharu, he looked like a fresh recruit.
But in the next instant, Danzo started rubbing his hands in glee.
Underhanded is good.
Underhanded is great…
This teammate of his was the best support.
No—
The best damage dealer.
Look at how hard she slammed Hiruzen.
The old man actually started reflecting!
From what Danzo knew about Hiruzen, he was probably truly considering the "reasonableness" of a deputy Hokage now.
You little—
Koharu shot Danzo a flat look.
She had only one principle.
Pay her, and she'd do the job.
Whether this succeeded or not, the money still had to be delivered.
Sure, a lot of people said she was greedy.
But with performance like this, you tell her if it was worth it.
Worth it.
Danzo honestly wanted to grab this old baby Koharu and plant a big kiss on her.
So damn worth it!
Then he looked back at the Third Hokage.
The old man looked a little worn down.
He couldn't refute Koharu's words.
Because Danzo really had carried the blame for years…
In the eyes of the neighbors, it was almost to the point that if anything bad happened, it must've been Shimura Danzo.
That kind of stink.
Danzo had sacrificed a lot for him.
That much was true.
So in the smoke-hazed air, the Third Hokage's eyes—hard to read—finally yielded.
A deputy seat, after all, wasn't the main seat.
He could still tolerate it.
"…Fine. I accept it. Danzo takes the deputy seat—I accept."
"But those three point five billion…"
"Hmph! I knew you'd bring that up. I'll shoulder it with you!"
Hah…
Homura was stunned.
No.
You're really taking it on?
For what?
Your family doesn't need to eat anymore?
Homura's silent warning, Danzo ignored.
Because he wasn't like these other old buddies.
He hadn't been the one who got screwed by the tobacco business.
He still had money in his pocket.
And Hiruzen wasn't wrong.
In the long run, the tobacco business was a bloodbath of profit.
With Kangetsu around, Danzo felt very assured.
Worst case, he'd just use the tobacco revenue split to patch the three point five billion hole first.
After it was filled, they'd still be taking money.
"Good! You said it!"
After so long, the Third Hokage finally heard one piece of good news.
"I said it."
A spit, a nail.
"Good. Summon the jōnin leadership immediately and let's lock this down."
After the compromise, the sword-point tension in the room completely vanished.
Decades of tacit understanding weren't so easily broken.
Sure, the atmosphere between the Third Hokage and Danzo still felt a little off.
But between deputy and the main seat…
And just like that—
Danzo finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
His chrysanthemum face nearly split open from grinning, wrinkles multiplying out of nowhere.
Beautiful!
So damn beautiful!
He finally rose.
He finally—damn it—rose!!
"Deputy. Deputy," the Third Hokage reminded him, unable to watch anymore.
So what!
Danzo was beaming, so satisfied every pore on his body felt like it was opening.
Koharu! Homura!
Tonight, it's on me!
We're going to a big hotel!
With a wish he'd nursed for decades finally fulfilled, Danzo stood up straight, face glowing red, his back ramrod.
He felt like he had endless strength in his body.
Grinning so wide he couldn't even hide his back teeth, he patted the Third Hokage's shoulder.
"Old Saru—"
Go to hell!!!
The Third Hokage's brows knotted tightly.
You get the deputy seat and you're already floating, huh?
"Old Saru" is what you think you can call me?
(End of Chapter)
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