Thrift

At the same time, Sarutobi Hiruzen's large hand came to rest on Renji's chest,

"In that situation..."

"That would still be very difficult..."

"After all..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's dazed expression gradually settled into calm.

"I've already had to make a great effort just to endure the foul stench of blood on you."

Renji's expression froze at his words. She hadn't expected things to take this turn.

"My lord..."

"What are you saying..."

"I don't quite understand."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was indifferent.

"If you don't understand, then don't."

"You won't get another chance, anyway."

"I'm also quite curious..."

"That scum demon, Muzan, always likes planting his subordinates in brothels."

"So he really is a cross-dressing creep in disguise."

Renji had been about to put on an act of helplessness, but when she heard her master's name, she knew she couldn't hide it anymore.

In an instant, she sprang up to kill him!

Her originally fair skin was suddenly covered in blood-red hues, while the veins on her face bulged and fangs erupted from her mouth!

Her fingers grew long and sharp, shooting straight at Sarutobi Hiruzen's face!

"I told you it wouldn't work..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen ignored the sharp claws right in front of him and applied a little pressure with the hand resting on her chest.

Dense sealing formulas spread out in an instant.

"Eight Trigrams Sealing Style."

Under the effect of the sealing formulas, Renji's body stopped moving at once, while Sarutobi Hiruzen watched calmly.

The blood boiling inside her body was also quelled by the seal.

"I've already studied your kind."

"The blood inside demons takes the form of a combination of physical and spiritual energy..."

"So even against the strongest techniques in the Ninja World—Sealing Jutsu—they have no means of resisting..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen thought to himself,

The Eight Trigrams Sealing Style was an extraordinary sealing technique developed by Konoha's sealing jutsu prodigy, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, by improving on the Four Symbols Seal.

Its principle was to layer two Four Symbols Seals together. The resulting seal was so stable that it kept the Nine-Tails inside Naruto well under control for more than ten years.

As for how to judge its stability, all he had to do was compare the Nine-Tails inside Naruto with the Jinchuriki in other villages, who flew into a rampage at the drop of a hat.

The Four Symbols Seal might have been enough, but Sarutobi Hiruzen was cautious. Knowing that Muzan was also near Kyoto, he'd used the more powerful Eight Trigrams Sealing Style.

"Thankfully, even if I'm no research genius..."

"When it comes to learning from other people's work, I'm the best in Konoha..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched as the sealing formulas covered the demon before him and put her into a deep sleep, then tossed her aside.

Then Sarutobi looked at the two human oiran who had been putting on a performance across from him.

One of them had let out a scream before fainting.

The other had stronger nerves. She stared wide-eyed, her beauty-struck gaze fixed on him, and clamped a hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.

She knew that at a moment like this, any unnecessary movement or sound might bring disaster down upon her.

But judging by her trembling body, she was still terrified by what had happened in front of her.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. As expected of a widow, she had stronger nerves.

Of course, he hadn't chosen her because of her married-woman appeal or anything like that.

It was random. A random selection.

"All right..."

"It's over."

"As you can see, I'm a mage who exorcises demons and upholds justice."

"And this creature was a monster hiding among you."

Sarutobi Hiruzen used words people of this era could best understand to reassure her.

His steady voice seemed to have a magical effect, and the oiran, whose body had been trembling with excitement, lowered her hands from her mouth.

"Come here."

"What happened tonight was just an accident, wasn't it..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen drew the oiran close and comforted her gently.

Naturally, Sarutobi Hiruzen had used some Genjutsu. Otherwise, how could he have calmed an oiran who'd witnessed something supernatural so quickly?

As he watched the oiran in his arms quietly sobbing, her delicate face glistening with tears, Sarutobi Hiruzen quietly turned off the lights.

He'd paid for it, so he couldn't let it go to waste.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had always been a thrifty Hokage.

The next morning,

A scorched smell was what woke Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Whose pot got burned..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen woke to find the sunlight outside shining directly onto Renji's unconscious body on the ground.

The sunlight melted Renji's flesh and bones, filling the air with a scorched smell.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen rose with a sigh from among several pale arms and dragged Renji into a spot untouched by sunlight.

After all, Renji was a specimen Sarutobi Hiruzen had gone to the trouble of capturing.

Though he hadn't fought her directly and had instead sealed her with a clever trick, her aura was far stronger than the Four-Armed Demon's.

By the end, she would probably have been Upper Rank level.

She'd likely been killed in the Demon Slayer Corps' purges after Tsugikuni Yoriichi.

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at the two oiran sprawled across the bed and smiled slightly.

There was no denying it: professionals really were something else. So soft and yielding.

As for why there were two of them, after Sarutobi Hiruzen had subdued the married woman first, he'd decided not to waste the Daimyo's pills.

So he'd pulled the other oiran, who had fainted from fright, back to her feet and put her to work.

The oiran also had professional pride. Even half-asleep, she'd been very cooperative.

Once Sarutobi Hiruzen had finished getting dressed, he casually picked up the chamber pot nearby and relieved himself.

"Hmm."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.

No split stream.

"I knew a superhuman body influenced by Chakra wouldn't suffer side effects from the medicine."

"Come to think of it..."

"Chakra can eliminate the aftereffects of tobacco, and even those little blue pills..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.

Putting those absurd thoughts aside, Sarutobi Hiruzen formed a Hand Seal.

He tapped the oiran's forehead with his index finger and used Genjutsu to alter and seal away her memories of the night.

Otherwise, once Kibutsuji Muzan realized his subordinate was missing, he would surely investigate and interrogate people.

Though they'd only met by chance, she had shown him kindness.

Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't let her come to harm.

Then Sarutobi Hiruzen rolled up the bedsheet and bundled Renji inside, carrying her away.

"My lord?!"

"Did you steal an oiran?"

昌浩 asked in astonishment, a hint of excitement in his expression.

Stealing an oiran like that...

Truly, his lord was something else.

After leaving the Spring Pavilion and covering his tracks, Sarutobi Hiruzen used the Body Flicker Technique to go straight outside the city.

Masahiro had been waiting there with a carriage.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had given him the instructions before entering the Spring Pavilion the previous night.

When the oiran had paraded through the streets, Sarutobi Hiruzen had immediately recognized that one of them wasn't human, but a demon.

And she was a high-ranking one, so Sarutobi Hiruzen had planned to add her to his collection of experimental subjects.

In another place, Sarutobi Hiruzen could have simply swept through and taken her. She was only an Upper Rank demon, after all.

But then he'd encountered the Scum Boss. To avoid setting off the Scum Boss's nasty temper, Sarutobi Hiruzen had planned things out, making sure the Scum Boss wouldn't discover that someone capable of threatening him existed.