At that—
The Third Hokage's face instantly went dark.
He hadn't even had time to warm those bills in his hands before he had to toss them out to plug that massive hole.
Fresh, crisp bills being used to pay off debt?
What a sin…
"I'll do the splitting!"
Old bastard Danzo was so delighted his face looked like it had sprouted a few extra wrinkles.
He hurriedly took the stack of bills, savoring that thick weight—and those huge denomination numbers.
Even Danzo couldn't help swallowing hard.
"Hurry up and split it, Danzo! What are you spacing out for?" the Third Hokage snapped, shooting him an annoyed look.
This was something he should've been the one to do.
Danzo ignored him.
You could stare until your eyeballs popped—those bills still wouldn't be yours.
Right in front of him, Danzo started divvying them up with a "one for you, one for me, one for him" rhythm, going around the three mouths.
And when it finally came to Hiruzen's turn, the old bastard went "Eh," and casually stuffed "three-three-zero" into his own pocket.
The Third Hokage nearly exploded a lung.
This is going too far!
"Oh, don't be in such a hurry, Hiruzen," Danzo said cheerfully.
"Am I in a hurry?!"
"See? You're hurrying again. Besides, do I still owe you money? You have to understand—3.5 billion isn't that easy to fill. So I'll just hold onto the money for you. Saves you from skimming it for yourself."
…Wow.
What a miserable old man.
Shimizu Kangetsu made himself look like he didn't exist.
He wasn't getting involved in the upper brass' infighting—no thank you.
And the four old men, too, were intentionally—subtly—keeping their struggle away from Kangetsu.
He was the only real "high achiever" the village had.
Anyone else could get dragged into the mud and it wouldn't matter.
But if he went down, who was going to earn them money?
After the split—
Three old men were glowing with ruddy faces.
One old man was lividly green.
But all of them still lavished praise on Kangetsu.
Good kid. Great cook. Business is all on you.
Your loyalty? Very big, very big.
Everyone can see it, yes.
Especially the Third Hokage.
He practically wanted Kangetsu to unleash his divine power again and crank out seventeen or eighteen new ventures.
Fill the giant hole, then make the farmland yield three harvests a year.
Faced with the old man's probing, Kangetsu only sighed, looking troubled.
"My lord, it's not that I don't want to do more business. I'm genuinely stretched too thin.
How about… Hokage-sama, you assign a few steady hands to take over the tobacco fields?"
The moment he said that—
Every old man in the room shuddered.
Danzo immediately grabbed the Third Hokage's ankle and kicked it hard.
"That's too much! Hiruzen, that's too much! You want to replay the 3.5 billion tragedy?!"
"Hiruzen! You can't!"
"Hiruzen! If you dare let that idiot Asuma come back, this old woman will break his dog legs!"
Under the barrage from his old comrades, Hiruzen's face turned completely green.
No—hold on.
I never said I was bringing Asuma back!
And also—
Assign people to take over the tobacco fields?
Hiruzen couldn't help it. He spat.
Forget it.
This is fine as-is.
Kangetsu's business—who would take it over?
Who would dare?
The moment you let someone touch it, they lose money.
Who can handle that?
The clothing venture was one thing—at worst, Danzo got his door blocked for a few days.
But the tobacco fields? That was a gaping 3.5 billion ryō crater.
And so—
The Third Hokage started to ache over Kangetsu's "combat strength."
Kid, you've got to train harder!
If you don't train, how are you going to split off more Shadow Clones to do business?
If you don't train, how is Konoha going to open new lanes for new ventures?
The old men took turns coaxing the "good kid" to improve his strength.
Ideally, in one shot, to at least jōnin level.
Then you'll have lots more Shadow Clones!
They all talked over each other—one of them even suggested developing a new clone technique tailor-made for the good kid.
Well.
For banknotes, these old men's enthusiasm was always guaranteed.
Kangetsu forced something like a smile.
"I'll try, I'll try."
With their shares secured, Danzo and the other two said a few nice words and left in high spirits.
But the Third Hokage stayed behind in the office, sighing and groaning.
My money…
Didn't get a single bill.
Don't sigh, old man.
Kangetsu shot him a look, and Hiruzen's heart jumped.
Then Kangetsu—like he was doing an inspection—walked to the door, checked outside, and shut it.
"Hokage-sama, actually, when I consolidated those tobacco peddlers, I also received their gratitude."
Hm?
Hiruzen perked up instantly.
Their gratitude?
What kind of gratitude, exactly?
"Two full carts. Mostly calligraphy, paintings, vases—stuff like that."
Damn.
Hiruzen had thought it was bills.
But that?
In the shinobi world, calligraphy and antiques weren't worth much.
Unless you got lucky and happened to run into some rich noble who liked that sort of thing.
"But among them, there was also a jade-throne golden Buddha—over a foot tall.
They said it was the Fire Country General's mansion's treasured household talisman."
That made Hiruzen's heart give a violent jerk.
A jade-throne golden Buddha?!
T-That sounded valuable.
His whole body leaned forward at once, eyes blazing.
His hands rubbed together restlessly.
His voice got urgent—yet he very clearly forced it down into a whisper.
"You saw it with your own eyes?"
Kangetsu smiled knowingly.
"My lord, I already pulled it aside. It wasn't registered in the books.
On the way back, when I passed by your home, I personally handed it to Sasuke."
T-This…
Hiruzen felt like happiness had arrived too suddenly.
It was like his brain was about to pop.
The smile at the corners of his mouth wanted to rise—but wouldn't quite cooperate.
It was the kind of refreshing relief you got from downing a cold drink in early spring.
Not registered in the books—meaning Danzo and the others didn't know about it.
Personally handed to Sasuke—Sasuke, his own dear son.
In that moment—
Hiruzen's appreciation for Kangetsu shot through the roof.
Good!
What a good kid!
You really know how to handle things!
A kid like that—of course you deserve to improve!
Jade-throne golden Buddha, jade-throne golden Buddha…
In Hiruzen's eyes, there was practically a starving, impatient gleam.
Holding back an elated smile as if finally letting out a long breath, he leaned back into his chair.
Then he nodded, absentminded.
If this good kid was thinking this much about him—the rightful Hokage—then he couldn't let the kid's heart go cold.
Even the Uchiha's "defection" had earned generous treatment.
There was no way the good kid got less.
"Recently, I've been thinking about whether to promote you—drastically.
But you're only a chūnin.
For the tobacco fields, you've rendered merit. I'll immediately submit your promotion report!"
This time, the old man was really bleeding for it.
He was still keeping the Medical Corps commander position reserved for the good kid.
And now he was adding the Academy principal post on top.
But he couldn't help it.
There weren't any other positions he could truly free up, so he could only have the good kid temporarily act as principal—then once his strength rose, he'd step down as principal.
And then formally take up the Medical Corps commander role…
(End of Chapter)
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