"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Lord Hokage, open the door! Don't hide in there without saying a word—I know you're in your office!"
"You've got the nerve to assign Kazeka to me, but not the nerve to open the door?"
The angry, irritable voice rang through the entire hallway. The staff exchanged glances.
Then they all turned their attention to the beautiful kunoichi pounding on the Hokage's office door.
Kurenai Yuhi was a Konoha Jonin with an exceptional talent for genjutsu.
She excelled at carrying out missions, and her skills and competence were in no way inferior to those of the other male Jonin. Her overall abilities ranked among the upper-middle tier.
On top of that, she had a woman's gentleness and treated everyone with the warmth of a caring big sister.
That was why it was rare for anyone in the village to see her this furious.
In fact, just witnessing the scene unfolding before them was enough to make it worth losing their lives, as far as the gossip-loving staff in the Konoha administrative building were concerned!
"Well, Kakashi, I think that decision I made earlier might have been a little rash.
I really should've given Kurenai a heads-up first..."
The Third Hokage huddled in his office chair. For once, he didn't scold a subordinate for the disrespect. He didn't even dare open the door.
"Kakashi, you and Kurenai have known each other for quite a while. Go and get her to leave.
She's a Jonin. Making such a scene and throwing all decorum aside—what kind of behavior is that?"
"Lord Hokage, Kurenai is still furious. If I go out there now, she'll kill me..."
Kakashi still wore his usual dead-fish eyes, but a closer look revealed a hint of fear in them.
"An angry woman is harder to deal with than a Tailed Beast. This is something you'll have to handle yourself!"
"Ugh..."
The Hokage grimaced and took a puff from his pipe, then resigned himself to snapping his fingers.
Kakashi vanished into the shadows. The door, which had been firmly shut until then, opened at once, and Kurenai strode inside, seeming to have flames coiling around her!
"Lord Hokage, you replaced Shino Aburame with the troublesome Hyuga Kazeka. You owe me an explanation!"
"Come now, Kurenai. Don't get so worked up.
The village made this change after careful consideration, thorough study, and meticulous planning. You need to look at the bigger picture and take the long view..."
"Lord Hokage, don't try to fob me off with that official-sounding nonsense..."
Kurenai didn't give the Hokage an inch. With her fighting spirit blazing, she looked like a goddess of war descended to the earth.
"The original members of Team 8—Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame—were all skilled at reconnaissance.
And Shino's use of Kikaichū gave him an even wider range of capabilities.
He was also levelheaded and composed, far more mature than the other two. I was planning to groom him as the team leader.
How can you replace him with Hyuga Kazeka now?"
"Kazeka has the Byakugan, just like Hinata, and his reconnaissance abilities are no weaker than anyone else's.
And although Kazeka can be a headache, there's no denying his tactical brilliance..."
The Hokage sat upright in his office chair, unbothered by Kurenai's disrespect.
"He'll make a fine team leader, too..."
"But Hinata and Kazeka have overlapping abilities. Team 8 won't be well-rounded!"
Kurenai didn't budge.
"A team with limited abilities will have a major weakness!"
"You said earlier that Shino had a wide range of skills, but Kazeka's abilities are far broader than Shino's..."
The Third Hokage did his best to placate Kurenai.
"You really don't need to worry about that!"
"Fine. I can let the rest go, but Kazeka's personality is downright awful..."
Kurenai seemed to have been persuaded by the Third Hokage, but in an instant she stood her ground again.
"He's lawless, likes experimenting on his fellow villagers, and stops at nothing to achieve his goals.
I'm worried someone like that will lead Hinata and Kiba astray..."
"Kurenai, the other Jonin leading teams all have their own problems right now.
Putting Kazeka on your team is already the best solution I could come up with..."
The Third Hokage took another puff from his pipe and let a trace of weariness show.
"I'm not getting any younger. Whenever I deal with the village's affairs, I feel more and more exhausted.
Kurenai, you've always been the one I trust most among the other Jonin.
Could you do an old man a favor and be understanding just this once?"
The Third Hokage looked at Kurenai.
In the past, whenever he used this tactic, softhearted Kurenai would obediently give in and take on whatever troublesome task he asked of her.
It had practically become the Third Hokage's special weapon against Kurenai.
This time, however, Kurenai didn't look resigned. Instead, she regarded the Hokage with an amused glint in her eyes.
"Lord Hokage, it seems you really have no one else to turn to but me..."
"Hm?"
Sensing something was off, the wily Third Hokage immediately straightened his expression.
The weariness vanished from his face, and his eyes gleamed.
"Kurenai, what do you mean?"
"I don't mind taking Kazeka onto my team, but... it'll cost extra!"
Kurenai stared the Third Hokage down.
"While Jonin are leading teams, the village provides them with team-leader allowances.
My allowance has to be five times what the other team leaders get!"
"Kurenai, don't joke around. That's Konoha's money..."
At the mention of money, the Third Hokage immediately perked up.
"Every team-leader allowance is carefully reviewed by the village. How could I possibly give you such a huge sum on your own?"
"That kid Kazeka is a troublemaker. We all know it.
Even with me there, he's bound to cause trouble during missions.
We can already predict that the compensation afterward won't be small, and it'll all come out of my team allowance.
I'm helping you by taking on students, and I'm supposed to lose money in the process? That's not how this works..."
Kurenai didn't give an inch.
"Besides, the kid's exceptionally good at causing trouble, so I'll need compensation for the stress, too. If you won't agree..."
Kurenai looked at the Hokage, who was as stingy as a rooster refusing to part with a feather, and snorted.
"Then give me Shino Aburame back!"
"Well, uh..."
Seeing that his tried-and-true appeal to familial feelings wasn't working, the Hokage was at a loss.
He was the Hokage of the village and had the authority to issue orders, but forcing the matter would also stir up resentment among his subordinates.
As Hokage, he had to take their feelings into account.
"Five times is too much. Even if I gave it to you, the other team leaders would complain. Twice—that's my limit..."
"No. Four and a half times..."
"Three times..."
Haggling had always been a formidable talent of women.
Even though he was the Hokage, accustomed to endless wrangling with the other ninja villages and countries, Sarutobi still felt outmatched when dealing with Kurenai.
In the end, he compensated Kurenai with three times the allowance given to the other team leaders.
Watching Kurenai leave in triumph, the Hokage sighed.
"Seems I underestimated Kurenai's character. All that patience before—she was waiting for this moment!"
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