Tobirama Invites the Uchiha to Dinner, Perfectly Reasonable

After venting, Danzo shot one last resentful glare at the Hokage Building before turning and walking away.

He would never abandon his original dream, no matter what means he had to employ.

Perhaps it was because of the deep bond between Danzo and Hiruzen.

As Danzo stared at the Hokage Building, Hiruzen sensed something.

So he used the Telescopic Jutsu to secretly observe Danzo for a while.

And when he saw the unconvinced expression clearly written on Danzo's face, Hiruzen grew even more displeased.

"Danzo, Danzo, how have you become like this now?"

"Haven't you realized that I've already been lenient with you?"

"If Lord Tobirama knew you were doing this, he'd probably skin you alive."

Hiruzen put away the crystal ball and lit his pipe again.

He initially thought about discussing the next steps with his two old friends, but after a moment's consideration, he dismissed the idea.

This matter, he would decide on his own.

Whether it was Danzo, or Homura and Koharu, or even the villagers from every clan, they all needed to know that he was the Hokage.

As long as he still had breath in him, this village wouldn't turn upside down.

After a brief deliberation, Hiruzen issued an order.

"Have Eiji and an Anbu squad jointly investigate the Wood Style Experiment matter."

The next morning, the Security Division received the order.

And at that moment, the entire Security Division was still immersed in a joyful atmosphere.

Because along with the order came a small subsidy from the Hokage personally delivered to Eiji.

"The Hokage has given you a private bonus as encouragement."

"Additionally, the Security Division's related expenses will be reimbursed after verification, so please don't worry about that."

Taking the stack of bills handed over by Tenzo, Eiji felt like kowtowing to the Hokage on the spot.

Good man, the strongest Hokage in history, inheritor of the Will of Fire, beloved disciple of Lord Senju Tobirama, the great Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen-sama.

Loyalty!

Furthermore, Hiruzen also gave verbal praise to other members of the Security Division.

And that was it.

To this, Shisui expressed strong gratitude.

He said he would definitely work twice as hard in the future to repay the Hokage's kindness.

But some people didn't see it that way.

Seeing Shisui's happy expression, they made no effort to hide their dissatisfaction.

"Not even a decent reward—what do they take us Uchiha for?"

"Exactly, Eiji is a meritorious contributor, it's reasonable to give him a reward, but we put in the work too—you can't just brush us off with a few words of praise."

"Hiruzen is just fooling the big idiots."

"The Hokage is too oppressive—we should rebel!"

"Yeah! Rebel!"

Hearing these words, Shisui blinked.

What's going on here? They got praised by the Hokage, so why is everyone unhappy instead?

And besides, things were fine just a moment ago—why are they talking about rebelling now?

What was even more painful was Eiji.

I thought everyone got something, but who knew you old sly fox only gave it to me.

Isn't this putting me on a fire to roast?

Loyalty my ass—sooner or later I'll drag you down from that seat.

Seeing the topic of discussion growing increasingly dangerous, Fugaku suddenly coughed a few times.

Eiji locked eyes with Fugaku and suddenly understood something.

Not good!

I'm going to bleed money!

Eiji gripped the bills tightly and looked at Fugaku with tearful eyes.

Fugaku silently nodded, the meaning unspoken.

Bastard!

You, Fugaku, are a bastard too!

"Even a minor's money, you'd take? Are you even human?"

Eiji suddenly missed the Minor Protection Law—by his age, he shouldn't have been eligible at all.

Ahem. Fugaku urged Eiji again.

Eiji pretended not to notice.

Ahem, ahem, ahem!

Fugaku's coughs grew louder; if left unchecked, he might cough himself to death.

With no other choice, Eiji stepped before the crowd and gestured for everyone to calm down.

"Esteemed seniors, the credit belongs to everyone. I would never claim this honor alone."

Saying this, he reluctantly opened the envelope and displayed its contents to all.

"Tonight, I'll use this money to treat everyone to drinks. If anything's left over, we'll get some new gear or the like."

"What do you all think?"

At these words, Inaho and Tekka were the first to applaud.

"Great! Drinks tonight!"

Eiji's jaw nearly dropped at how fast they'd flipped.

No way, a single round of drinks bought them off?

Was this the male version of I don't want your money, I want your attitude?

With those two leading the charge, the dangerous talk from earlier was quickly forgotten.

That evening, the Security Division booked out a small tavern.

The owner hadn't wanted to take them at first, but after Eiji's friendly persuasion—phrases like "You wouldn't want to be implicated in a spy conspiracy, would you?"—the owner happily agreed.

Everyone drank and chatted.

Besides griping about Hiruzen, they heaped praise on Eiji.

"Eiji, I've had my eye on you since you were a kid, and you've turned out the best."

"Drink this cup, and we're friends."

"What's this about being a minor? You've already killed someone, who cares?"

"...Fair point."

[Who would've thought Lord Tobirama would treat the Uchiha to a meal. Your deepened bond with Uchiha members has, to some extent, eased tensions between Konoha and the Uchiha clan.]

[Hidden Mission Reward: You have obtained Forbidden Jutsu: Soul Sealing]

An unexpected bonus!

Eiji's mood lifted, and he started pouring drinks for his clansmen.

"Come on, come on, drink up, fill 'er up."

"Someone, put a fish in Inaho-senpai's cup."

The atmosphere grew warmer, and the clansmen's talk became bolder.

At first, Fugaku listened with a racing heart, terrified that some Root operative might overhear and give Danzo an excuse to cause trouble.

But Eiji signaled Fugaku not to worry too much.

"Today, when Tenzo-senpai delivered the message, he quietly told me that Danzo's been suspended for three months, so his men naturally won't bother moving."

At this, Fugaku sucked in a sharp breath.

"Eiji, an Anbu ninja told you something that confidential?"

Eiji smiled. "I cleared Tenzo-senpai's name. It's only reasonable he'd thank me, right?"

"Reasonable, reasonable."

Fugaku grunted and sat back down.

The Anbu really was an important department—they learned many critical things first.

And the Security Division, nominally tasked with assisting the Anbu, was often deliberately kept in the dark about many matters.

Even today, when the Hokage ordered Eiji to assist the Anbu team in investigating the Masked Man, there was no mention of the Security Division.

Moreover, Fugaku suspected this was only because Eiji was directly involved and had countless ties to Kagami-senpai.

It seemed the Hokage still didn't trust the Security Division.

Fugaku downed his cup in one gulp, his desire to send Itachi to the Anbu growing stronger.

By midnight, the group was mostly drunk.

They helped each other along, stumbling and crawling back to the clan compound.

Only a few sober clansmen stayed behind for duty.

Once most had left, Eiji approached the clan head.

"Something?"

Eiji gritted his teeth internally—you're playing dumb, you old fox.

He rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.

"Clan Head Fugaku, you're not really going to make an orphan like me foot the bill for everyone's dinner, are you? Where's your conscience?"