The Third Hokage hoped that Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado would take this matter seriously, and not speak in favor of Danzo Shimura, avoiding unnecessary complications for everyone.
"Hiruzen, rest assured, we understand the gravity of the situation. I doubt he even has the face to come to me for help."
Koharu Utatane was quite displeased with Danzo Shimura at this point.
Forget about Danzo not daring to ask for her help. Even if he did, she wouldn't assist him.
The only one who might lend a hand was Homura Mitokado.
"Don't look at me. I wouldn't dare to help in such a situation," Homura said immediately as he noticed his companions eyeing him. "Danzo speaks recklessly when his head gets hot, without thinking about the consequences. Offending Lady Mito is just asking for trouble. I think it's best he stays home and takes a good, long break."
Given his response, it was clear that Homura also wasn't interested in helping Danzo.
"Then it's settled; let Danzo have a nice long rest," decided the Third Hokage. "Tomorrow, I will represent Lady Mito in a visit to the Daimyo's palace. It's time the village's funding was increased."
Uzumaki Mito was never the stingy type.
Stripping Danzo of his empty-title position wasn't for nothing—the Third Hokage had earned Mito's full support and could now head to the Daimyo's palace to negotiate for funds.
With a letter from Mito herself, the Daimyo would definitely show some respect.
"That's wonderful news."
Running a village took a lot of money, and the Hokage and his advisors often struggled to make ends meet.
But now, after removing Danzo from his position, they had Lady Mito's support, allowing them to ask the Daimyo for funds legitimately.
For the Third Hokage, this was a perfect bargain. If he could, he wouldn't mind stepping on Danzo a few more times.
Koharu and Homura were sincerely grateful for Danzo's sacrifice; without it, how else could the village ask the Daimyo for money?
His sacrifice was definitely worthwhile.
---
For a while, Tsunade began visiting Takashi's house less frequently. Instead, she rushed home each day after work, doing her best to spend time with Mito.
She even canceled several medical lectures to make time.
Takashi stood at the door, keys in hand, pausing for a moment before unlocking it. As he pushed the door open and stepped inside, light flooded into the room, illuminating an unexpected visitor sitting on the couch.
Takashi casually closed the door, then turned on the light. Looking at the person on the sofa, he said, "Orochimaru, you could at least wait until I'm home before you come over."
"My apologies." Orochimaru smiled faintly, rising to his feet. "It was close to the time you usually come back from work, so I let myself in. I hope there are no misunderstandings."
"This is the first batch of goods."
Takashi picked up the scroll that Orochimaru had placed on the coffee table and unrolled it for inspection.
He had to admit, Orochimaru was incredibly efficient.
After taking inventory of the materials and glancing at Orochimaru's self-calculated bill, Takashi didn't bother double-checking. In this regard, Orochimaru was trustworthy.
Takashi pulled out a sealing scroll, took out the equivalent amount in cash, and gestured for Orochimaru to confirm it.
"Takashi, a pleasure doing business with you," Orochimaru said, making no effort to count the money either.
It was often said that a ninja needed not only talent and hard work but also a large amount of money and resources to grow. This saying was entirely accurate. Just this one batch of materials cost Takashi almost two million ryo—almost draining his small savings.
Fortunately, his salary was quite substantial.
He could still keep up with the expenses. Being a medical ninja really did pay well—as long as you worked hard and had the skills, there was no shortage of money to be made.
"Take care," Takashi said, not bothering to see Orochimaru out.
Orochimaru's efficiency and reliability made him an enjoyable partner to work with. Of course, this relationship was limited strictly to missions; anything beyond that, he would rather not.
He feared becoming Orochimaru's next experimental subject.
That was something Orochimaru would definitely do without hesitation.
Because of this, Takashi had no plans to get too close to him. The same went for Jiraiya, whose peculiar hobbies Takashi found a bit too much.
Now that the materials were in hand, the puppet's construction could officially begin.
---
Knock, knock, knock!
Takashi's thoughts were interrupted as he stood up to answer the door.
"Hey!"
Standing at the doorway was Nawaki, grinning ear to ear as he greeted Takashi.
Nawaki was the friendly type who, ever since visiting the Senju ancestral home, hadn't stopped coming by Takashi's place.
Leaning against the doorframe, Takashi said, amused, "Shouldn't you be going home after school? And what about Kushina? You ditched her to come here? If your sister finds out, you're definitely in for it."
"Hmph, I'm not scared of her!"
Since Tsunade wasn't around, Nawaki was acting pretty bold.
When my sister's here, I fear her fist, so I play it safe. When she's not, I get to be brave.
"Alright, alright, you're not afraid of her," Takashi said, laughing as he stepped aside to let Nawaki in.
"So, what's up? I'm going to be busy today..."
But before Takashi could finish, he watched Nawaki sneak in, shutting all the doors and windows behind him. Then, as if revealing a treasure, Nawaki pulled out a few magazines from his schoolbag.
Takashi was left speechless.
"How about this, pretty awesome, right?" Nawaki beamed, proudly holding up the magazines. "I saved up a lot of my allowance without my sister noticing and snuck away from school early today just to buy these—all the latest issues, Jiraiya's favorites!"
With Jiraiya away on a mission, Nawaki had found a new friend in Takashi, whom he could show off his "treasures" to.
Seeing the covers adorned with scantily clad young women, Takashi couldn't help but cringe a little.
Kids in the ninja world matured fast, and with a certain peeping pervert setting an example, Nawaki's tastes had developed in quite the "interesting" direction.
Which kid goes around buying those type magazines at his age?
And the crazy thing was—he actually managed to buy them!
Takashi slapped his forehead.
The thing is, aside from satisfying curiosity, these magazines serve no real purpose. Was it really worth it? It wasn't easy saving up allowance right under Tsunade's watchful eye, only to waste it on these.
"This one's my favorite. Ozawa is just too cute. Hehehe..."
It was hard to imagine an eight-year-old clutching a few explicit magazines, chuckling in such a lewd and seedy way.
Takashi felt like his worldview was shattered.
Jiraiya's bad influence had truly corrupted the youth.