After venting his anger, Danzo glared resentfully at the Hokage Building one last time before turning to leave.
He would never give up on his original dream, no matter what methods he had to use.
Perhaps it was because of the deep bond between Danzo and Hiruzen.
As Danzo stared at the Hokage Building, Hiruzen sensed something as well.
So he used Telescopic Jutsu to secretly observe Danzo for a while.
When he saw the obvious dissatisfaction on Danzo's face, Hiruzen grew even more irritated.
"Danzo, Danzo... How did you end up like this?"
"Didn't you realize that I've already treated you leniently?"
"If Lord Tobirama found out you'd done this, he'd probably skin you alive."
Hiruzen put away the Crystal Ball and lit his cigarette again.
He had originally intended to discuss their next move with his two old friends, but after thinking it over, he abandoned the idea.
He would make the decision himself.
Whether it was Danzo, Homura and Koharu, or even every villager in the clan, they all had to know that he was the Hokage.
As long as he still had breath in his body, this village could not turn the world upside down.
After a brief moment of thought, Hiruzen issued an order.
"Have Eiji and an Anbu squad jointly investigate matters related to the Wood Style Experiment."
The next morning, the Security Division received the order.
At that moment, everyone in the Security Division was still immersed in a joyful atmosphere.
That was because the order came with a small subsidy that the Hokage had sent to Eiji.
"The Hokage personally issued you a bonus as encouragement."
"Additionally, the Security Division's related expenses will be reimbursed after verification, so please don't worry about that."
As he accepted the stack of bills Tenzo handed him, Eiji nearly prostrated himself before the Hokage.
A good man, the strongest Hokage in history, the inheritor of the Will of Fire, Lord Senju Tobirama's beloved disciple, the great Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Loyalty!
Hiruzen also gave verbal praise to the other members of the Security Division.
And that was it.
Shisui expressed his intense gratitude for this.
He declared that he would work twice as hard in the future to repay the Hokage's kindness.
But some people did not see things that way.
Seeing how happy Shisui was, they made no effort to hide their dissatisfaction.
"We didn't get a single decent reward. What does he take us Uchiha for?"
"Exactly. Eiji is a hero, so giving him a reward is perfectly reasonable. But we contributed too. He can't just dismiss us with a couple words of praise, can he?"
"Hiruzen is trying to fob us off like a bunch of idiots."
"The Hokage is bullying us too much! We're going to rebel!"
"Right! Rebel!"
Hearing this, Shisui blinked.
What's going on? Everyone received praise from the Hokage, so why is everyone unhappy instead?
And everything was fine just now. Why are they talking about rebellion again?
Eiji was even more frustrated.
I thought everyone had received something. Who would've known that you'd only give it to me, you scheming old bastard?
Isn't this putting me over a fire to roast?
Loyalty, my ass. Sooner or later, I'll drag you down from that position.
Seeing that the topic of discussion was becoming increasingly dangerous, Fugaku suddenly coughed several times.
Eiji met Fugaku's eyes and suddenly understood.
Oh no! I'm going to have to bleed!
Eiji clutched the bills tightly and looked at Fugaku with tears in his eyes.
Fugaku silently nodded. The meaning was obvious.
Bastard!
You're a bastard too, Fugaku!
You want a minor's money too? Are you even human?
Eiji suddenly began to miss the Minor Protection Law. At his age, he should not have been eligible for selection in the first place.
"Ahem, ahem." Fugaku urged Eiji again.
Eiji pretended not to see him.
"Ahem, ahem, ahem!"
Fugaku coughed even louder. If Eiji ignored him, he might cough himself to death later.
With no other choice, Eiji came before the crowd and gestured for everyone to calm down.
"Everyone, the credit belongs to all of you. I absolutely won't keep this honor to myself."
As he spoke, he opened the envelope with great reluctance and displayed its contents before everyone.
"I'll use this money to treat everyone to drinks tonight. If there's anything left over, we can buy some clothes or something."
"What do you all think?"
As soon as he said this, Inaho and Tekka began clapping.
"Good! We're drinking tonight!"
Eiji was stunned by how quickly they changed their attitudes.
No way. They were bought off by a single meal?
Is this the male version of 'It's not about the money, it's about your attitude'?
With the two of them leading the way, the dangerous remarks from earlier were quickly forgotten.
That evening, the Security Division rented out a small tavern.
The owner had not actually wanted to take them in, but after Eiji offered some friendly persuasion—such as, "You wouldn't want to get dragged into colluding with spies, would you?"—the owner happily agreed.
Everyone drank and chatted nonsense.
Besides voicing their dissatisfaction with Hiruzen, they also praised Eiji.
"Eiji, I've had my eye on you since you were little. And you've always lived up to expectations."
"Drink this cup, and we're friends from now on."
"What do you mean, minor or not? You've already killed people. Why care about that?"
"...That makes sense."
[Who could have imagined that Lord Tobirama would invite the Uchiha to dinner? Your relationship with the Uchiha members has deepened, easing the tension between Konoha and the Uchiha clan to some extent.] [Hidden Mission Reward: You obtained the Forbidden Jutsu: Soul Sealing.]
There was an unexpected bonus too!
Eiji's mood improved considerably, and he began pouring drinks for his clansmen.
"Come on, come on, drink up. Fill them to the brim."
"Someone get over here and put a fish in Senior Inaho's cup."
The atmosphere grew increasingly harmonious, and the clansmen's choice of words became increasingly daring.
At first, Fugaku listened in terror, afraid that someone from the Root Organization might hear them and give Danzo an excuse to cause trouble.
Eiji, however, gestured for Fugaku not to worry too much.
"Senior Tenzo quietly told me while delivering the message today that Danzo has been suspended for three months. Naturally, his subordinates can't be bothered to do anything either."
At this, Fugaku sucked in a sharp breath.
"Eiji, would an Anbu shinobi really tell you something this confidential?"
Eiji smiled. "I cleared Senior Tenzo's name. Isn't it only reasonable for him to thank me?"
"Reasonable, reasonable."
Fugaku gave a thoughtful hum and sat back down.
The Anbu truly was an important organization. They learned many important things at the earliest opportunity.
The Security Division, on the other hand, was nominally responsible for assisting the Anbu, but in reality, much of the information was deliberately withheld from them.
Even though the Hokage had ordered Eiji to assist the Anbu squad in investigating the Masked Man that day, he had not mentioned the Security Division at all.
Fugaku also guessed that this was because Eiji was directly involved and had countless connections with Senior Kagami.
It seems the Hokage still doesn't trust the Security Division.
Fugaku drained the wine in his cup, and his determination to send Itachi to the Anbu grew even stronger.
Around midnight, the group had drunk their fill.
Supporting one another, they staggered and crawled back to the clan compound.
Only a few sober clansmen remained on duty.
After most of the others had left, Eiji sought out the clan head.
"Something wrong?"
Eiji was furious.
Grandpa, are you pretending not to understand?
He rubbed his thumb and index finger together.
"Clan Head Fugaku, you're not really going to make an orphan treat everyone to dinner, are you? That would be completely heartless."
Before you continue