From Desperation Comes Survival

"Rie, you'll raise her yourself. And congratulations—you've successfully infiltrated us!"

The moment he finished speaking, Rinto's twisted face snapped up, and he stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi as if he were looking at a madman.

"Heh~ Just say what you want. I'll cooperate with anything. There's no need to insult my intelligence like this."

At the same time, Rinto hugged Rie tightly and roared inwardly.

Rie, we made it. Your brother finally didn't have to be turned into Rinto sashimi. I can finally fulfill my promise to your mother. I can finally let you grow up under the sunlight!

Damn it, this was hard!

In this battle, facing a powerful enemy, with someone covering for him, and with his supplies cut off, he had finally turned things around!

He had impressed Hiruzen Sarutobi with his abilities, moved Hiruzen Sarutobi with his emotions, and shaken Hiruzen Sarutobi with his convictions.

Without exaggeration, he had forcefully stirred a desire to recruit talent in the man who would one day be known as the "Professor of Ninjutsu."

Of course, the most important thing was that his emotions had been completely genuine.

Hearing Rinto's questioning, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly laughed.

"You suspicious little brat, you can leave right now. I believe no one will stop you.

"Even if you leave the village now, I won't stop you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was certain that Rinto would never flee Konoha. In fact, he would sincerely join Konoha.

This was the confidence of a great hero of his generation!

Rinto fell silent at those words.

After quite a while, Rinto slowly rose to his feet with the unconscious, crying Rie in his arms. His voice was hoarse as he said:

"I... I know what I should do!"

With that, he carried Rie away, staggering as he headed for the exit.

Just as Rinto pushed open the door and was about to step outside, Sarutobi's voice suddenly rang out again.

"Oh, right. I'm personally curious—how did you kill four shinobi, including a Jonin like Ono Buta?

"Of course, you can choose not to answer."

Heh, choose my ass! Like I actually have a choice?! Damn it.

He cursed madly in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged as he decisively revealed part of his trump card.

He extended a hand, Chakra slowly flowing through his meridians.

In an instant, a Kunai shot out of his clothes with a whoosh.

Hiruzen's pupils contracted at the sight, and delight immediately surged through his heart.

He knew that Magnet Release was a ninjutsu and bloodline unique to Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, but he was not worried.

Because Rinto had not deceived him or hidden his Chakra nature. On the contrary, that showed he had lowered his guard against Konoha!

"Magnet Release. This is my Chakra nature.

"I know I may have come from Sunagakure, and you may suspect that I'm a spy Sunagakure sent to Amegakure.

"But it doesn't matter anymore. You can send shinobi like those outside to watch me twenty-four hours a day. There's no need for them to hide."

Rinto no longer concealed his mature mind. He reached out and caught the Kunai spinning in the air, bent down, and placed it on the ground. Then, carrying Rie in his arms, he strode away without looking back.

Inside the spacious, brightly lit Hokage's Office, Tobirama Senju, who was past forty yet still exceptionally handsome, stood before a huge floor-to-ceiling window and looked out at the distant streets.

Behind him, Hiruzen Sarutobi wore a solemn expression as he reported the entire interrogation process involving Rinto. Every movement, expression, and word from Rinto was described in meticulous detail.

He did not mix in any of his own opinions.

Soon, the report was over. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked confidently at Tobirama Senju's back, waiting for his teacher's questions.

As expected, after hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's report, the Second Hokage slowly turned around and asked expressionlessly:

"Monkey, what is your opinion?"

Hearing that, Hiruzen Sarutobi straightened up and spoke.

"Teacher, my assessment of Sakuta Rinto is that he possesses wisdom far beyond those his age, even beyond many adults. He values Bonds immensely and is willing to give his life for companions he acknowledges. My conclusion is that he can be influenced by the village's atmosphere and the Will of Fire, then brought into the village!"

"Your reasoning?" Tobirama Senju asked succinctly.

It sounded like a pointless question. Hiruzen Sarutobi had clearly already explained his reasoning.

But he knew that when his teacher asked for "reasoning," he was asking at a deeper level: How can you guarantee his loyalty?

With that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi answered without hesitation.

"The girl named Sakuta Rie, and Sakuta Mizuguma, who is already dead!"

Tobirama Senju nodded at Monkey's answer.

"Monkey, you've improved. Very good."

"However, there's no need to worry about Sakuta Rinto's loyalty, but he must not be entrusted with important responsibilities."

"Teacher, why?" Hiruzen Sarutobi blurted out. He had even wanted to take Rinto as his disciple!

Tobirama Senju did not answer Hiruzen Sarutobi's question. Instead, he asked Hiruzen one of his own.

"Monkey, have you ever considered this? What if Sakuta Rinto came to Konoha specifically to defect to us?"

"What?" Hiruzen Sarutobi cried out again.

Tobirama Senju did not continue testing his beloved disciple and began speaking on his own.

"Sakuta Rinto may have planned from the very beginning to use this opportunity to leave Amegakure.

"You can see traces of it in how he arranged matters for his teacher, Mizuguma. He understands his teacher very well, and he also understands Hanzo of the Salamander very well.

"I believe that if he could, he would definitely have fled with his teacher.

"Unfortunately, Sakuta Mizuguma was raised by Hanzo of the Salamander. Though their ideals conflicted, it was almost impossible for him to defect.

"So Rinto arranged for his teacher to marry, giving the unmarried Sakuta Mizuguma a Bond and making him hesitate a little more.

"This also perfectly explains why he later attacked shinobi from his own village.

"First, he truly could not tolerate that kind of behavior. Second, he was confident he would not let a single one escape. Third, he did not care about the village.

"That is also why he openly told you that he had killed Amegakure shinobi.

"He was conveying a message to you. He did not care about Amegakure. He only cared about Sakuta Mizuguma.

"He chose Konoha. You did not choose him!"

After saying that, Tobirama glanced at the dumbfounded Hiruzen Sarutobi, took a scroll from a drawer, and placed it on the desk.

"Take a look."

Hiruzen Sarutobi came back to his senses and hurriedly picked up the scroll, scanning through it at a glance.

"A Cursed Seal?! It was found on the tongue of a boy who died in the Land of Hot Water?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi exclaimed.

"The Research Team has studied it. It's a trigger-type Cursed Seal. Its effect is to destroy the entire brain, and its trigger phrase is any intelligence concerning Amegakure.

"He spoke so much about Amegakure. Did you see him die?

"Or rather, did you see a Cursed Seal on his tongue?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head blankly.

"That boy had long prepared a way to remove the Cursed Seal. Perhaps he had long prepared to leave Amegakure!"

After saying that, Tobirama Senju slowly sighed. Deep in his eyes flashed a trace of wariness.

It was not wariness of strength, but wariness of intelligence.

Sakuta Rinto had clearly been a spy sent by Amegakure, and one whose identity had been exposed. Yet through sheer schemes and methods, he had made both Tobirama and Hiruzen Sarutobi lose their desire to kill him, allowing him to settle in Konoha.

Through all kinds of actions, he had packaged himself as completely harmless. With an attitude bordering on frankness, he had gradually worn away Tobirama's guard against him.

Sakuta Rinto—a spy, a man who had betrayed his village—had somehow made Tobirama Senju believe that he would never pass Konoha's intelligence outside, nor would he ever betray Konoha. It was simply absurd!

Since the Warring States Era until now, Tobirama Senju had never seen such scheming and wisdom.

Perhaps Madara Uchiha and his elder brother, Hashirama Senju, possessed world-destroying power, but in terms of this grand perspective, this ability to survey the whole board and manipulate human hearts, they were still far from it.

"There's no need to monitor him. Someone like him understands better than anyone what he should do. Since he chose Konoha, let him live honestly in Konoha."

As he spoke, Tobirama Senju's tone suddenly became incomparably stern.

"However! Monkey, remember this! He must never be allowed to enter the Konoha High Council!"

After saying that, Tobirama Senju sighed inwardly and silently added: If you let him enter the upper ranks, every last one of you would be no match for him.

On a street not far from the Hokage Building, Rinto carried Rie as he walked forward lazily.

To convey his intentions completely to Konoha's upper ranks, to protect Rie, to preserve Mizuguma, and to become an openly acknowledged double agent, he had truly exhausted himself today.

To accomplish those goals, Rinto had prepared three sets of plans.

The first was a flawed fake background. That was for idiots.

The second was a tragic genius youth bound by Bonds after being exposed. That was for people with a little brains.

The third was a harmless salted fish best left alone. That was for true wise men.

In fact, Rinto had also prepared a fourth plan specifically for someone: the purely kind Rinto. Unfortunately, that person was dead.

After walking for who knew how long, Rie on Rinto's back slowly woke up. Her large sleepy eyes were half-open as she looked at the golden sunset. The little girl asked bluntly:

"Brother, are we dead?"

Rinto nodded expressionlessly.

"We're dead. Our identities were exposed, and our heads were cut off."

"Ah~" The little girl was instantly frightened. Clinging to Rinto's back, she flailed her arms and hurriedly held onto her own head.

"No, head, head, don't fall off!"

Seeing Rie's adorable foolishness, Rinto shook his head helplessly.

"Don't worry, it won't fall off. Here, eat this!"

As he spoke, he produced a crystal-clear, bright red Apple Candy as though performing a magic trick.

"Ah! What is this?! So round! So plump! So cute! It looks so delicious!"

With stars in her eyes, Rie snatched the Apple Candy and carefully licked it with the tip of her tongue.

"Whoa! So sweet! Brother, is this the world after death? It's so wonderful!"

Watching the silly girl, Rinto could not help extending a finger and flicking her hard on the forehead.

"Idiot, dead people can't feel pain!"

Rie tilted the head resting on Rinto's shoulder and looked at his profile in confusion. "Brother, how do you know that? Have you died before?"

"..." The corners of Rinto's lips curled up.

Come to think of it, I really have died once. If I weren't afraid of scaring you, I'd ask you this: Little girl, want to transmigrate? The kind where you rise from the dead!

Before long, Rinto arrived at the destination of this trip with Rie on his back: a Blacksmith Shop.

As the saying went, if you were going to put on an act, you had to see it through to the end. Since Rinto planned to lie low properly in Konoha, he intended to leave no loose ends.

Before arriving in Konoha, he had already told the Merchant Caravan about his fabricated background.

In that story, both he and Rie were children of a blacksmith family. In reality, Rie's father truly had been a blacksmith, and as Rie's current guardian and her brother in name, Rinto was naturally also a child of a blacksmith family.

Was that reasonable? It was perfectly reasonable!

Moreover, before he connected with Amegakure's contact and received his first paycheck, Rinto needed an income to satisfy his ever-growing appetite and provide the foundation for Rie's happy childhood.

As for money, Rinto had two ideas. One was to make money through blacksmithing. The other was to ask Hiruzen Sarutobi for a salary.

Since he had secretly sided with Konoha and become a genuine double agent, how could he not get paid?

That was called doing one job and collecting two paychecks. And he would even have time for a side hustle. It was simply perfect.

Once he made enough money, Rinto also planned to invest in Konoha real estate and start a landlord side business.

Then, he would use his tenants' money to speculate on land in other villages.

If he kept that up, then even thirty years later, in Konoha Year 48, when the Nine-Tails Rebellion happened as scheduled and Konoha suffered heavy losses, Rinto would not panic in the slightest.

After all, by then, his businesses would already be spread throughout the entire Shinobi World.

This was what they called the rationalization, stabilization, and long-term development of assets!

In plain language: never put all your eggs in one basket.

Even when the Fourth Great Ninja War came, Rinto would not panic at all.

Uchiha Sasuke and the prince would save the world anyway. When the time came, he could just find somewhere with good feng shui, hang himself from a tree, and wait for someone to save him.

Fighting was impossible. He would never fight in this lifetime.

There were too many monsters in this world, and above them all was the Sage of Six Paths. What was he supposed to fight with?

At most, he could learn the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel around and collect rent from every village.

Then he could learn some Puppet Technique to save on labor costs when speculating on land and building houses.

He could further develop Magnet Release, dig Gold Dust all over the world, and get into mining.

Finally, he could learn the Eight Inner Gates Formation to improve his physical fitness and his combat ability in bed.

Of course, good stuff like the Lightning God Armor that increased hardness could never be too plentiful. The more, the better.

After envisioning that bright future, Rinto was immediately filled with motivation.

Soon, he arrived at his destination.

Before him stood a ninja tool shop in a remote location.

The sign read: Kato Ninja Tool Shop.

According to that kid Nihongi, the shop belonged to his brother, and Rinto could find a way to make a living here.

With Rie on his back, Rinto entered the ninja tool shop.

"Excuse me." After offering an apology, Rinto lifted the curtain printed with "Utensil Noren" and walked inside.

It was already evening. A man who looked seventy percent like Mr. Kato sat behind the counter, dozing off.

"Excuse me!" Rinto called out.

The sudden voice immediately startled awake the potbellied man.

"Ah! Welcome to Kato Ninja Tool Shop. Please browse to your heart's content."

The man habitually recited his standard greeting, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he walked out from behind the counter.

"Huh, why are there two children here?

"Little ones, did your parents send you here to run errands?"

The fat man asked kindly.

Rinto shook his head.

"Then are you buying something for your own training?"

Rinto shook his head again.

"Then what exactly are you trying to do?"

"I'm a blacksmith. I forge ninja tools."

At that, the fat man burst out laughing and gestured at Rinto's height.

"Kid, you want to forge iron? Can you even lift a hammer?"

"Haah!" Rinto let out a helpless sigh.

"No wonder your dad said you had no eye for people and made you stay home to watch the shop.

With someone like you doing business outside, you'd definitely lose everything, down to your loincloth."

Rinto's words seemed to strike right at the man's sore spot. The chubby man instantly sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"You brat, who are you saying lost—"

Before he could finish, Rinto casually gripped a corner of the counter. With a soft crack, he snapped off the solid wood corner.

The fat man's face rapidly flushed red.

"You little bastard! My Buddha Pine counter! That's a treasure I bought at auction for a hundred thousand Ryo! I'm doomed!"

Watching the fat man roll around on the floor like a child, Rinto suddenly froze.

A hundred thousand Ryo? Buddha Pine? Wood Release?

Wood Release: Buddha Pine Descent? No, no, no! This was clearly Wood Release: Money-Growing-from-the-Ground Technique.

Holy crap! I found another secret to getting rich!

Suppressing his excitement, Rinto stared intensely at the man before him. His first job since coming to Konoha was about to fall into place!

With that thought, Rinto stopped hesitating and directly stated his purpose.

"Mr. Kato, I'm the blacksmith recommended by your father, Kato Noriyoshi."

Hearing Rinto's words, the fat man stopped rolling around. He slowly climbed to his feet, dusted himself off, and muttered inwardly.

Recommended by the old man! Hmm, the old man has always had a sharp eye for people. This kid must have some real skills. Whatever, I'll test him first!

With that thought, the fat man cleared his throat.

"Ahem. I am Kato Ippongi, the owner of this Kato Ninja Tool Shop."

Ippongi? Your younger brother is called Nihongi? Mr. Kato Noriyoshi, you really named your sons however the hell you pleased!

Though he grumbled inwardly, Rinto's expression remained unchanged. He and Rie gave a slight bow.

"I'm Sakuta Rinto. This is my younger sister, Sakuta Rie. Please take care of us."

Ippongi nodded, his expression turning serious as he strode behind the counter.

"Rinto-kun, since you were introduced by my father, I naturally trust your character. But this is a ninja tool shop. We have extremely high requirements for material selection, forging techniques, heat control, the appearance of the finished product, and hardness.

After all, we sell weapons—tools for saving lives and killing people. The quality standards are very high."

After hearing Ippongi out, Rinto nodded slightly, knowing that he was testing his professional abilities. He smiled faintly to himself.

I don't understand a single thing you just said, but that doesn't matter. I have Magnet Release, and I'm strong enough. None of that is a problem for me.

After tilting his head in thought for a moment, Rinto took out a palm-length silver Senbon from his clothes and placed it on the counter.

"Mr. Ippongi, I forged this myself. Please have a look."

Seeing that the finished product was a Senbon, Ippongi was instantly delighted.

Among ninja tools, Senbon were one of the best tools for revealing the details of a blacksmith's craftsmanship.

Senbon themselves were an extremely common ninja tool. Their speed, silence, and concealability made them beloved by many ninja. Together with Shuriken and Kunai, they were known as the three most commonly used ninja tools.

Forging Shuriken required superb balancing skill. Kunai required a blacksmith to hammer continuously and remove impurities from the iron blank, making them the greatest test of strength and patience. As for Senbon, they demanded the finest attention to detail.

After all, a palm-length Senbon not only had to be straight and smooth, but its tip also had to be sharpened to an extreme edge, capable of piercing anything. At the same time, the material itself had to meet high standards—the tip needed to be hard, while the body had to retain flexibility.

He rubbed the gleaming silver Kunai, feeling every detail, then casually drove the Senbon into the countertop.

A flash of silver passed, and the Senbon sank in to its base, leaving only a nail-length section of its tail exposed.

This was a solid wood countertop more than five centimeters thick!

Ippongi's grin grew wider and wider.

Holy crap, does the old man love me that much?! He introduced a blacksmith of this caliber to me?!

My little shop is saved!

With that thought, Ippongi abruptly raised both hands and slapped his cheeks hard, forcing out an oily smile.

"Ahem, little brother Rinto, how much pay are you looking for?"

As long as it's not over thirty thousand Ryo, anything is negotiable! Ippongi muttered inwardly.

(Note: Starting from Chapter 150, "Beginning Training," the concept of money is formally introduced. You may check it yourself.)

Rinto had no idea that Ippongi held him in such high regard, but even if he knew, he had no intention of taking a salary.

In this life, working for someone else was impossible. He could only make some moves using other people's resources.

"Mr. Ippongi, I don't want a salary."

Ippongi froze at those words. His eyes remained fixed on the two children behind the counter as his mind raced.

Could these two children have just arrived in Konoha?

Right, Dad has always traveled all over the place with that brat Nihongi. And with a war going on right now... could these two children be refugees?

Refugees, without a fixed home, with no relatives to rely on... this—

"Ahem, that's perfect. My house has vacant rooms. You can stay there temporarily for a while."

Seeing Ippongi's eager expression, Rinto's face remained unchanged as he said calmly,

"Mr. Ippongi, I think you misunderstood me. I don't want a salary. I only accept a partnership."