Chapter 44: The Issue of the Inheritance
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent for a long while before looking at Sasuke and Naruto, saying, "I will discuss this matter with the Konoha Council of Elders; I will definitely give Sasuke an answer."
Naruto nodded upon hearing this and said, "In that case, I'll trouble Hokage-sama to provide an answer as soon as possible."
"I certainly will!"
Naruto smiled and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying, "Since Hokage-sama has decided to handle the matter of the Uchiha Clan's inheritance, there is another inheritance issue. I'll have to trouble the Third Hokage-sama to handle that one as well!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and looked at Naruto, asking, "Whose inheritance is left?"
The corners of Naruto's mouth curled up as he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "The inheritance of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki."
Hearing Naruto's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his entire body stiffening as he stared at Naruto.
Naruto, however, smiled at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "According to the records in the KonohaLibrary, before the Fourth Hokage and his wife sacrificed themselves, she was pregnant. If that child were still alive, they should be around the same age as us! And as far as I know, the Fourth Hokage's former residence is currently occupied by members of the Sarutobi Clan. Won't Hokage-sama give an explanation?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared intently at Naruto. He now felt as if Naruto knew everything, yet Narutohadn't shown any abnormalities over the years. Why would he ask about the Fourth Hokagetoday?
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was left speechless,
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado rushed over in a hurry.
Utatane Koharu looked at Naruto and said, "The identity of the Fourth's child is a Konoha secret. It is not suitable to be made public now. This is also to protect the Fourth's child from being assassinated by Ninjas from other villages. You also know that the Fourth was known as the Yellow Flash back then; he earned that reputation by killing Ninjas from enemy villages. It's inevitable that people would seek revenge. I hope you won't mention this matter again."
Naruto looked at Utatane Koharu and the others, gave a cold laugh, and said, "I hope so!"
After saying that, Naruto turned and left.
After Naruto and the others left, the Konoha F4quickly gathered in the Hokage Office.
Homura Mitokado looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and asked, "Does the Jinchuriki know something?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and said, "It's hard to say! There are quite a few people who know about Naruto's identity."
In truth, the four of them knew in their hearts that someone might have already told Naruto about his identity, and the most likely ones to have done so were the three heads of the Ino–Shika–Chō clans.
But even if they knew it was them, what could they do? This whole affair was disgraceful to begin with; if they pursued it, it would surely stir up even more trouble.
Utatane Koharu looked at Danzo with a dark expression and said, "You went too far in this matter. If you had just raised Naruto as a commoner, there wouldn't be all these issues. Even if his identity were revealed, it wouldn't have mattered much. But you just had to label him as the Demon Fox. If Naruto's current identity were exposed, then...!"
Utatane Koharu's words were interrupted by Danzo before she could finish.
"Enough! You didn't stop the spreading of the Demon Fox rumors back then either. Don't think I don't know what you were thinking."
Just as Utatane Koharu was about to argue further with Danzo,
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke up, saying, "Alright, since Naruto didn't expose everything, it means there's still room for reconciliation. The urgent matter now is the Uchiha inheritance."
After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, the other three fell silent and said nothing more.
Although Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokadohadn't laid hands on the Uchiha inheritance, they had reaped benefits from other places.
Now that they had already secured the benefits they deserved, they were naturally unwilling to concern themselves with the Uchiha inheritance.
Seeing that the three of them were silent, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Danzo with a grim face and said, "This time, Root must provide two hundred million ryo!"
Danzo's face darkened as he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "I already said two years ago, I didn't get any of the Uchiha Clan's property."
"I don't care whether you got it or not; you must provide two hundred million ryo now. I will also provide two hundred million ryo. Otherwise, there's no way to give Uchiha Sasuke an explanation."
"He's just a brat, what is there to explain?"
"Danzo! Don't forget, the Uchiha Clan still has Uchiha Itachi. You'll provide this money whether you want to or not."
Danzo also knew that this matter had to have a resolution, but his Root truly couldn't produce that much cash; he would have to find a way to make it up elsewhere.
"Fine! I will send over the two hundred million ryoas soon as possible."
Seeing that he had handled Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned to look at Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, saying, "You two must also provide two hundred million ryo."
As soon as Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, Utatane Koharu said anxiously, "Hiruzen! We never touched the Uchiha property."
"This isn't a discussion; it's a notification!"
Though Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokadowere indignant, they still nodded and agreed.
Seeing that the three of them were willing to provide the money, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe and said, "I will likewise provide two hundred million ryo, bringing the total to 600 Million Ryo to be handed over to Uchiha Sasuke."
Homura Mitokado looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and asked, "Isn't that a bit too much?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and said, "It's not much at all. This matter has already become known to everyone. If we don't handle it generously, the other Great Clans will start having ideas."
Homura Mitokado and the other two thought about it and felt it made sense. This inheritance issue had certainly given the Great Clans ideas. If they continued to withhold the inheritance from Uchiha Sasuke, the commoners of Konoha would definitely have thoughts as well.
At that point, as long as someone incited them, the four of them would surely be thoroughly investigated, and even more problems would be uncovered.
Since they had decided to hand over the inheritance to Uchiha Sasuke, they couldn't give too little. After all, the Uchiha Clan was a prominent Konoha family. If they gave too little, the Great Clans would definitely be able to tell; in that case, it would be better not to give anything at all.
After Naruto, Shikamaru, and the others returned to the training ground,
Shikamaru looked at Naruto with a pained expression and said, "You shouldn't have mentioned the Fourth's inheritance."
Naruto smiled and said, "If I hadn't mentioned it today, the Fourth's inheritance would have truly been swallowed by them."
Shikamaru looked at Naruto in confusion and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Naruto glanced at Sasuke and then said, "The Uchiha inheritance was definitely split between the Third and those Advisors. Going there today with such fanfare to demand the inheritance forced them into a corner to get it back. The reason I mentioned the Fourth's inheritance is that I'm certain it was also swallowed by them. By bringing it up openly today, I'm giving them some time to prepare and spit out the inheritance they swallowed."