A Joke

"Hey, Tobi, want me to give you a hand?"

"Get lost. Don't bother me."

Tobi waved him off impatiently, his attitude downright awful.

But in Yagura's eyes, this was just a joke between good friends.

He smiled helplessly and said nothing, lowering his head to continue working through the documents.

It was obviously a very abnormal scene.

Tobi—or rather, Obito—had already used Genjutsu to control Yagura and become the true ruler of Kirigakure.

At that moment, Obito was processing the intelligence he'd just obtained from Orochimaru.

"The King? The Emperor? Both have Golden Rinnegan, so they must be the same person... That living doll wasn't made up out of thin air. Someone like that really exists in the Ninja World... Since she can reverse-summon the Rinnegan, she must have a very close relationship with the person who possesses it. If I find her, I can find the Rinnegan, so I can start there... And since her doll appeared beside the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, that means I might be able to find clues about the Rinnegan through the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki too..."

In fact, on the day of the Uchiha Clan Massacre three months ago, Obito had already realized there was a connection between the Golden Rinnegan and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

But at the time, Kirigakure was beset by one rebellion after another. Obito had been too busy suppressing them to investigate the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, so he could only send White Zetsu to keep watch.

White Zetsu reported that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was named Uzumaki Naruto, was seven and almost eight years old, lived in an apartment in Konoha, and was unmarried.

He attended the Ninja Academy, always came home by seven at the latest, didn't smoke or drink, occasionally skipped class, went to bed at eight every night, and made sure to get ten hours of sleep.

Before bed, he drank a cup of hot milk, then did twenty minutes of gentle exercises to warm up before going to sleep...

In short, White Zetsu said Naruto was perfectly normal.

Obito had thought White Zetsu's report seemed a little strange, but hadn't given it much thought. White Zetsu had a very unusual way of thinking, after all. Obito had never met a normal White Zetsu.

Besides, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was in Konoha and wasn't going anywhere, so a little delay wouldn't matter.

And so, investigating Naruto had been put off.

But now it couldn't be put off any longer.

Originally, for certain unmentionable reasons, only Obito and Itachi knew about the newly appeared Rinnegan.

No one else in Akatsuki—not even Zetsu—knew that a new Rinnegan had appeared.

But after Orochimaru's revelation, Obito had lost his intelligence advantage. He couldn't afford to take his time anymore.

Obito thought, I'll have Zetsu spend time searching for that woman while I investigate the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki myself. That way, I can find the Rinnegan before Zetsu does...

Once he found the Rinnegan, seized it, became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, broke free of Madara's control, and became the first executor of the Eye of the Moon Plan—

That was Obito's ambition.

Tap, tap, tap...

Footsteps sounded outside the office.

Obito froze, coming back to his senses from his ambitions. He quickly jumped off the desk and stood respectfully behind Yagura.

"Mizukage-sama..."

Mist Ninja Ao walked into the office, frowning as he glanced at Obito.

Obito had reacted quickly, but Ao had still seen him sitting on the desk.

Tobi... Is he really just an ordinary Anbu? Why can he act so recklessly in front of the Mizukage without being punished?

Ao was deeply puzzled.

The Mizukage's desk was reserved for handling Kirigakure's affairs and carried an air of authority. Even the Mizukage himself wasn't allowed to sit on it.

And yet a mere Anbu...

There was definitely something wrong with him!

Thinking of all the Mizukage's decisions over the years that had defied common sense, Ao grew suspicious.

He reported the matter without showing his thoughts, then left the Mizukage Building. Once outside, he quietly released the seal on his Byakugan and glanced back.

His vision pierced the walls.

The Mizukage's brain chakra flow was disturbed. The one-eyed Anbu, Tobi, had an unusually bright eye.

"So... So that's it! The Mizukage-sama is being controlled!!!"

Suppressing his intense shock, Ao quickened his pace and hurried away from the area.

—Konoha—

A day off.

The morning sun streamed through the window into the room. Naruto sat at the dining table, eating breakfast as he spoke with his parents in his mind.

"My savings are almost gone. I've only got enough to last a year."

As he spoke, Naruto lifted his milk and drained it in one go. He set the glass back on the table and leaned back in his chair, a troubled look on his little face.

According to plan, his savings should have lasted until graduation, but he'd overlooked two important factors.

One was the cost of training.

Kunai, Shuriken, weights, and other training equipment all cost money, and they weren't cheap.

The second was how much he ate.

He didn't know why, but the older he got, the more he ate.

He wasn't exactly a big eater, but he wasn't far from it either.

The more he ate, the more money he spent.

"That rotten Third Hokage is shameless! He actually embezzled the estate Minato and I left behind..."

Inside the Sealing Space, Kushina cursed the Third Hokage furiously. Minato looked grim, but didn't stop his wife from tearing into him.

Because Minato wanted to point at the Third Hokage's head and curse him out too.

Did I do something to offend you back then? Why are you treating my son like this?!

"I've got a money-making plan—I'll return to my old line of work and debut as an idol... Oh, no, I mean as a brand ambassador... To be honest, a lot of business owners have been contacting me on the sly..."

At first, the couple were confused. They didn't understand what Naruto meant by a money-making plan, but they soon caught on.

He meant sitting outside other people's shops to draw bad publicity and attract customers.

"No! Naruto, you can't debase yourself like that!"

Kushina and Minato were strongly opposed.

To the two of them, who cared about their dignity, making money by exploiting other people's dislike would hurt his self-respect. It would be degrading.

They wouldn't allow their son to become that kind of person.

"You're exaggerating. As long as I don't care and treat that bunch of commoners like they're not even there..."

Naruto tried to convince his parents, but they remained firmly opposed, so he had no choice but to give up and look for another way.

"Wait... I've got another idea!"

After pretending to think for a few seconds, Naruto clapped his hands. "I've decided to uphold our family tradition and marry into the Hyuga Clan. I'll let Hinata keep me."

The idea of their son living off someone else left the couple thunderstruck.

Marry into her family?

That was too undignified. It was better to debut as a brand ambassador.

"Mom, Dad, what do you think of my idea?" Naruto asked, apparently unaware of the danger he was in.

Kushina planted her hands on her hips and said angrily, "What do you think? I didn't give birth to you so you could become someone else's son! And do you even know how marrying into a family works? People will look down on you, and you'll have to put up with their scorn..."

Minato was quick to catch on. After considering Naruto's personality for a moment, he figured Naruto was probably joking about marrying into the Hyuga family.