"No—NO!!"
My eyes!
My eyes!!
The Third Hokage shut off the "surveillance" with lingering trauma.
That was so damn disgusting…
Spit flying everywhere, filthy spray shooting up and splattering the ceiling.
With that wall-to-wall barrage of drool, the Third Hokage almost thought it was all coming right at him.
And the worst part was the colors—red, white, yellow, black… it had everything!
No, seriously.
When did the Uchiha and the Hyuga turn into this?
Doing piss-shit-fart nonsense in someone's barbecue joint, huh?
But then—
A strange sense of relief spread through the Third Hokage's chest.
The Uchiha and the Hyuga didn't get along.
Good. Great, even.
The higher-ups were fighting, and now the people below were fighting right along with them.
Still, the Third Hokage had no desire to look at the Uchiha and Hyuga again.
Unhinged.
Not dignified in the slightest.
So he switched to someone else.
The Ino–Shika–Cho clans were gathered together with the hospital staff.
Tokuma—one of the Hyuga who'd applied to work at the hospital—was now fully acting like he belonged to the hospital side.
But Tokuma had never forgotten that the Nara had pried away two of his teammates.
So he'd pulled a portion of the hospital folks to his side and started aiming cold sarcasm straight at the Nara.
"What? Medical fees are too expensive? Expensive where? Have you worked hard all these years?
Have you tried making money?"
"If you didn't make money, why are you getting sick?"
Shikamaru—one of the Twelve Konoha in the original story—stared back with dead-fish eyes, thoroughly unhappy.
Great.
This guy found an opening again.
What, you're still mad about those two teammates?
Our Nara clan didn't even get the chance to use them!
Fine, fine, we'll give them back. They're still factory-original—haven't been molded into the shape of the Nara yet.
The moment Tokuma heard that, a humiliating sting hit him—like betrayal from his own side.
"Someone! Get over here!!"
Tokuma immediately dropped his ultimate move.
"This kid is terminal! Increase the dosage! Hurry up—raise the dosage!!"
Shikamaru panicked.
No—hold on!
It's just a cold, you bastard, don't come near me!
What, because we sent Ino to go butter up that man?
No need!
There's really no need!!
Hyuga members who'd been waiting in the shadows chuckled darkly, syringes in hand.
Heh…
You think you can claw at the corner of our husband, and get away with it?
Do you have any law?
Any morals?
You Ino–Shika–Cho, acting as the Hokage's wife, are already shameless enough.
And now you still want to fight the Hyuga over our husband?
"Do what Tokuma says! Increase the dosage!!"
Mm.
Nice.
So the hospital and Ino–Shika–Cho weren't staying quiet either—counterattacks, rebellion, the whole package.
The Third Hokage nodded with deep satisfaction.
Then he looked elsewhere.
The Interrogation Division and the Barrier Team fought one big argument every day, plus a smaller one at night.
Why?
Because there weren't enough missions to go around.
Sure, the Third Hokage had tilted priority toward them.
But there were only so many missions in total.
There was no way to feed all those big mouths.
So the Interrogation Division and the Barrier Team fought over assignments until they were red in the face.
The Ninja Academy and the jōnin instructors weren't looking great either.
The instructors wanted raises. Herding a pack of brats was exhausting.
But the Academy refused.
The kids in school were Konoha's future flowers!
How could you bear to squeeze ryo out of children?
So what?
If there's no money for food, you can miss us with the morals!
Regular ninja squads also had friction with ANBU and Root.
You ANBU and Root get money handed down from your bosses on a schedule—what about us?
We can't even get missions!
At first…
The Third Hokage watched with relish.
But the longer he watched, the more his gut tightened.
This isn't right…
Why does it feel like…
Konoha has started getting surrounded on all sides in just a few days?
Why are there conflicts everywhere?
If this keeps going, isn't Konoha going to collapse?
"Not at all."
Kangetsu, who'd been summoned to give his opinion, only smiled and said nothing for a moment.
Isn't this exactly what you're being shown?
You don't feel safe, and neither do I…
"Lord Hokage, you're overthinking it. All these conflicts you're seeing really boil down to one thing."
Poverty.
No money.
The Third Hokage heard the word "money" and went blank again.
Money?
Again?
His hand drifted unconsciously to cover his pocket.
Those 3.5 billion ryo—he still wasn't going to touch it.
And now it's money again…
Well, maybe Konoha can be chaotic for a while.
Wasn't it always like this?
Right after the war ended, it was even worse.
People used to throw hands over a single mission payout.
Now they were just yelling and not throwing punches.
That was already pretty good!
For the Third Hokage…
Anyone asking him for money right now was basically asking for his life.
From the outside, though, that posture just looked like the Third Hokage was openly being stingy.
You can shoulder 3.5 billion ryo in debt, but you can't pay a little salary?
Danzo heard the rumors and immediately showed up in person to mock him.
He didn't hang around the office much these days.
The work was still the same work as before.
For now, he couldn't wedge himself into Hiruzen's controlled territory.
"Well then, old monkey, take a look! Take a look at your work—does this look acceptable?
Why don't you hand the Interrogation Division and the Barrier Team over to me?
We're colleagues. What's wrong with me helping you shoulder some of the burden?"
The Third Hokage's mouth twitched at the phrase "old monkey."
Danzo, you old bastard… you're really feeling yourself now, aren't you?
And "shoulder the burden"?
Bullshit.
You're trying to steal the Third Hokage's power.
Before you even got real authority, you already bullied my eldest son right out of the banquet.
If I actually let you take power, are you going to squat on my head and take a dump too?
"Not to that extent!"
Danzo swept a righteous hand.
"Do I look like that kind of man?"
"You don't have to look like it. You are."
Danzo's expression cracked.
Me—Vice Hokage—am I really just a coworker you can bully like that?
No face at all, huh?
"Three point five billion!"
"Fine. I'll notify everyone that Shimura Danzo is going back on his word and refusing to take responsibility for the debt."
Danzo instantly slapped a hand over the Third Hokage's.
He squeezed out a smile.
Ahem…
We're colleagues, aren't we?
Why take it so seriously?
If word got out, his reputation would be done.
Even the chair under his ass would start wobbling.
"How about this, Hiruzen—my treat. I'll set a table just for you."
"No."
"..."
Danzo saw the old man refuse to give him face again, and in a fit of rage…
He got mad for a moment.
Fine!
If you won't go, you won't go!
(End of Chapter)
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