"Yo, monkey, long time no see!"
These were Uchiha Itsuki's first words when he walked into the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into stunned silence.
Danzo's face darkened, saying nothing.
He still hadn't recovered from the earlier attack.
Koharu Utatane, standing nearby, couldn't hold back any longer. She jumped to her feet, angrily yelling, "Uchiha Itsuki, are you crazy? This is the Hokage! The Hokage of Konoha! How dare you address him like that..."
Damn it!
Calling him "monkey" was their affectionate nickname for him. Who do you think you are, an Uchiha, to call him that?!
"I know he's the Hokage!" Itsuki blinked innocently and said, "But don't you know the relationship between the Hokage and the Uchiha isn't great? In this situation, how can you expect me to respect him?"
"I..."
Koharu was dumbfounded.
The others were stunned too.
Was he laying it all out on the table?
Were they about to start a war?
Hiruzen's heart tightened. His eyes were locked on Itsuki, and he slowly asked, "Itsuki, what are you trying to say?"
"Nothing much!" Itsuki flashed a toothy grin and said, "Don't get all worked up, seriously. I mean, yeah, I want to kill you guys, and you want to kill me, but now's not the right time, is it? It's best for everyone if we just talk things out calmly."
Such blunt words.
But Hiruzen and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
Cloud's stance was still unclear.
If they started a war, it could trigger a chain reaction... and then a full-scale ninja world war!
With the Fourth Great Ninja War looming, Hiruzen and his group would have to be insane to provoke a direct conflict with Uchiha Itsuki right now.
Especially with both the Root and the Anbu suffering heavy losses.
That being said!
At the moment, Itsuki couldn't represent the Uchiha clan either.
But knowing Hiruzen's personality, he wouldn't dare to make any reckless moves.
"Itsuki, what do you mean?" Hiruzen asked cautiously.
"I don't think you'll quite get it, but I was curious about how fast your heart can beat. Now I have my answer: pretty impressive. You've got a strong heart, Hokage."
"As expected of the Hokage!"
Itsuki chuckled, giving a thumbs up as he glanced at his system.
[Mission: Make the hearts of the Four Hokage Elders beat beyond their limits!]
[Mission Complete!]
[Reward: Flying Thunder God Technique Upgraded!]
[Flying Thunder God: Level 4 (3% → 7%)]
From the time Itsuki left for missions until now, his Flying Thunder God had upgraded from Level 1 to Level 4.
He'd been grinding hard!
Finally, it was at the point where he could easily handle Shisui.
Itsuki wasn't surprised by this.
He had completed over a thousand tasks, big and small.
Task completion in style.
Still!
The reward for this task did surprise him.
It looked like Hiruzen and the others had been scared out of their minds.
To think his Flying Thunder God had jumped from 3% to 7% at Level 4!
Not bad!
Itsuki felt satisfied.
It was great to scare the hell out of these useless bastards who never did anything productive!
Itsuki couldn't stop smiling.
Hiruzen and the others, however, had darkened faces.
Strong heart, my ass.
What if it jumped out of their chests?
Would you be responsible for putting it back in?
"Alright, let's get down to business."
Itsuki grinned at them. "You called me here, so have you figured out how you're going to compensate me?"
The Anbu had clashed with Cloud Village.
The Root had engaged in direct combat with Cloud as well.
This news had already spread all over Konoha.
Don't be surprised!
Don't hesitate!
This was all part of Itsuki's plan.
What's the fun in keeping secrets when you can share the chaos with everyone?
Itsuki practically wanted the spies in prison to hear about this.
And!
Itsuki firmly accused Danzo of foul play. Otherwise, why would the Anbu abandon Itsuki and carry out the mission alone?
Hiruzen didn't want to sacrifice Danzo, and there was no way he'd take the fall himself.
The only solution was for Uchiha Itsuki to let it go.
As long as no one pressed charges, they could use their control over the village to gradually bury this incident.
Until now, Hiruzen and the others were still dumbfounded.
They were supposed to be dealing with Uchiha Itsuki.
So how did they end up in this situation?
Where did it all go wrong?
Hiruzen pondered, "Itsuki, given the current situation..."
"Stop!"
Itsuki raised his hand. "I'm not interested in that. I just want to know how much you're going to compensate me."
Danzo sneered coldly, "What if we don't compensate you?"
"Then I don't know what I'll do."
Itsuki chuckled. "After all, I do have supporters within the Uchiha. And as a wicked Uchiha, it's only natural for me to stir up some trouble, isn't it?"
"Itsuki!" Homura Mitokado said sternly, "Are you really so careless about the bigger picture?"
Itsuki looked at him like he was an idiot. "Are you trying to make me laugh to death so you can inherit my cremation business? You want to be a disobedient son? Ha! I don't want an old and ugly son!"
"You..."
Homura's face turned cold. "Uchiha Itsuki, don't get too arrogant!"
Itsuki said seriously, "I know the Flying Thunder God Technique, didn't you know? The Flying Thunder God! I personally think that now that I've learned it, I deserve to be a little arrogant, don't you?"
The Four Elders of Konoha were speechless.
To be fair!
They also thought that mastering the Flying Thunder God was enough reason for Itsuki to be arrogant.
The ninja world was vast, but once someone had mastered the Flying Thunder God, there were few places they couldn't reach.
And Itsuki himself wasn't weak either.
"Ten million ryō, is that enough?" Hiruzen finally spoke.
Itsuki stroked his chin, suspiciously looking Danzo up and down. "That thing's worth that much?"
"Why are you keeping him around? An old bag of bones, are you planning to make soup with him?"
Hiruzen started coughing again, choking on his smoke.
Danzo, meanwhile, remained calm.
He sat there silently, not saying a word.
"So, is it a deal or not?" Itsuki asked.
"No deal!!"
Itsuki firmly shook his head and said, "Just ten million taels… this is Lord Danzo we're talking about!"
He walked up to Danzo, stared at him for a moment… and made a gagging motion!
Danzo: "…"
I'm already trying my best to hold back, but my fists are still getting a bit out of control.
"Ahem!"
Itsuki cleared his throat twice and said, "Lord Hokage, just take a look…"
Seriously?
The Third Hokage's mouth twitched.
First he called me "Monkey," and now it's "Lord Hokage."
I don't even need to hear what comes next to know he's about to rob me blind.
"Lord Hokage, look at that face!"
"Look at those eyes!"
"Look at that expression!"
"And just look at that aura!"
"Stick him on a door, and he's the perfect talisman—banishing evil spirits and keeping the ghosts away!"
"As for warding off evil, he's definitely on the level of the Sage of Six Paths."
"You're offering ten million taels—doesn't your conscience hurt?"
"…"
"Can you really justify such a shockingly low offer?"
"…"
Finally!
Itsuki waved his hand grandly, "Fifty million taels, just like that!"
"No way, absolutely not!"
The Third Hokage shook his head repeatedly and said, "That's way too much. I'll give you fifteen million at most."
Fifty million taels?
You actually have the nerve to ask for that much!
I could buy half a Tailed Beast with that! Even a dead Danzo isn't worth that price!
Itsuki frowned and said, "Lord Hokage, do you think this is some cheap marketplace? This is Lord Danzo we're talking about. Can't you show some respect?"
…If you showed even the slightest bit of respect, I'd give you a hundred million taels!
And I'd be crying, begging you to take it!
(End of Chapter)