"I only get three million ryō in allowance each month. I don't even have enough to gamble with myself. If I give it to you, what am I supposed to gamble with?"
"No, no way. I can't give it to you. You're just a kid—what do you need money for?"
Then Hashirama Senju grumbled to himself. His monthly allowance was only three million ryō, so how could he just hand it over?
That was a third of all his money. If he gave it away, what would he gamble with?
"Dad, I may only be ten, but I still need to save enough for my future wedding, don't I?"
"You're out gambling all day and lose your pants every time. If you won't give me the money, I'm not going to the Ninja Academy. You can figure out what to do!"
"Hehe! I'm off!"
Senju Fujima knew his dad spent all day in the gambling dens. People in the village even called him a sucker behind his back.
He lost every bet, no matter what. He had no idea how he managed it, but he was good at everything except gambling, where he ranked dead last.
"You...!"
"Get back here...!"
Hashirama Senju's face reddened as his son called him out. He pointed at Senju Fujima and shouted.
"Hehe!"
"So, Dad, have you changed your mind?"
Hearing Hashirama Senju say that, Senju Fujima promptly turned around with a smile and looked at his dad.
"No, I haven't. I'm telling you to get the hell out of here...!"
Hashirama Senju clutched his money pouch and yelled at Senju Fujima.
"Oh, then I'll be going."
"Bye, Dad!"
Senju Fujima smiled at Hashirama Senju. Seeing how tightly he guarded his money, he waved and turned to leave.
"You...!"
Hashirama Senju watched Senju Fujima turn away again, a bitter look flashing in his eyes.
"My money! My money!"
"I'm sorry, my precious money. I can't take you with me to the battlefield. This is all my fault!"
At last, Hashirama Senju lowered his head and took a scroll from his robes. He kept most of his money in scrolls, and to get Senju Fujima into school, he was going all in.
He decided to hand over a third of his fortune to Senju Fujima.
"You brat, get back here."
"Crack...!"
Hashirama Senju watched Senju Fujima's retreating back, his face flushed red as he shouted. As the words left his mouth, he felt as if his heart had shattered.
"Hehe! Dad, made up your mind yet?"
Hearing Hashirama Senju call him again, Senju Fujima appeared in front of him in an instant and looked at him with a wide grin.
"Here...!"
Seeing his adopted son's smile, Hashirama Senju wanted to punch him. He was about to lose a third of his money, and he couldn't bear the thought.
"Haha, I'll gladly take it, then."
Senju Fujima laughed and reached out to grab the scroll Hashirama Senju held out.
"Hmm?"
"Dad, why are you holding on so tight? This money belongs to me now. Let go, let go...!"
When Senju Fujima tried to take the scroll, he felt a powerful force resisting him. He looked at Hashirama Senju and spoke, all the while smacking his hand with his left, trying to make him let go.
"Ah...! My money...!"
Hashirama Senju was a hundred, a thousand times unwilling, but there was nothing he could do. Though he hated to part with it, he finally gave up his great fortune in exchange for Senju Fujima attending the Ninja Academy.
"Hmph."
Hashirama Senju finally let go. He looked reluctant and gave a cold snort, but his eyes stayed fixed on the scroll, his heart still bleeding.
"Hehe! I'll gladly take it, then."
"I promise I'll report to school tomorrow. Haha!"
Senju Fujima put the scroll away, laughed out loud, and then vanished.
"My money! My money...!"
After Senju Fujima left, Hashirama Senju threw his head back and wailed in utter despair.
"Which lunatic was that?"
"Probably lost some money."
"Does losing money really have to make him that distraught? Did he lose a few million or tens of millions of ryō? Sheesh."
"Haha, maybe he really did lose a few million ryō!"
Hashirama Senju's cries carried a long way, and many people heard them and started gossiping.
"Haha! One million ryō will keep me going for years. Hehe!"
And so, Senju Fujima had made his choice. Not only had he successfully avoided the system's reward, turning what should have been no reward into a million ryō, but he was also thrilled at the thought of having a million ryō to his name.
"Ding! The host has made a successful choice and completed the task. Reward: a fart (absolutely nothing)."
"Ding! The system has detected the host cutting corners to obtain one million ryō. The system is now imposing a penalty: confiscating nine hundred thousand ryō for conversion."
"Ding! Confiscation successful. The remaining one hundred thousand ryō has been stored in the system inventory. The host may claim it at any time."
"Convert nine hundred thousand ryō into the reward of chakra absorption. You may absorb chakra of any nature, including Senjutsu Chakra, Yin Release, and Yang Release Chakra."
Just as Senju Fujima was celebrating, a system notification suddenly appeared. The scroll containing his million ryō vanished from his person—the system had swallowed it whole.
"Pfft...!"
"System, I hope you die a horrible death...!"
"But at least you converted it into chakra absorption. That's not bad. I've recovered some of my losses."
"If you wanted to spend my money on your chakra absorption technique, you could've just said so."
When Senju Fujima heard the system's notification, he spat out a mouthful of blood and nearly passed out. He threw his head back and roared, but at least the system had given him an additional reward afterward, or he would have taken a huge loss.
And so, both father and son were heartbroken. But which one had actually come out ahead?
"What's gotten into that kid today? He keeps shouting out of nowhere. System? What's a system?"
Kurama, inside Senju Fujima, was puzzled. The boy's roar had woken him from his sleep. He'd opened his eyes and heard those words, then muttered to himself.
Fortunately, Kurama had no idea what a system was. Otherwise, the secret might really have gotten out.
"Clan leaders, I gave you three days to think it over. Have you reached a decision?"
"The Ninja Academy opens tomorrow, so I hope you can give me a clear answer."
The Konoha Council Hall was packed with people, all of them clan leaders. Madara Uchiha raised the matter first. They had discussed it three days earlier, but many clan leaders had said they opposed the idea.
Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the Hokage and Deputy Hokage, sat at the head of the room, looking down at the leaders of the large and small clans.
They included the Hatake Clan, Hyuga Clan, Sarutobi Clan, Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, Senju Clan (Tobirama Senju), Uchiha Clan (Izuna Uchiha), Shimura Clan, Aburame Clan, Inuzuka Clan, Kurama Clan, and a branch of the Uzumaki Clan, invited by Senju Fujima so the entire Uzumaki Clan wouldn't be wiped out, among others.
The smaller clans had no conditions and obeyed without question, sending all their children to study at the Ninja Academy. Only the relatively large clans had reservations.
After hearing Madara Uchiha, the clan leaders had varying concerns. Some were waiting to see what others would do; if anyone agreed, they would follow suit immediately.
"The Yamanaka Clan agrees."
"The Nara Clan agrees."
"The Akimichi Clan agrees."
"The Senju Clan agrees, and we'll send Senju Fujima to the Ninja Academy."
"The Uchiha Clan agrees, and we'll send Kagami Uchiha to the academy."
Then the three Ino-Shika-Cho clans were the first to agree. Their clans' disciplines were relatively limited, and their children could learn just as well at the Ninja Academy.
Then Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha made a startling announcement: Kagami Uchiha was currently the strongest of the Uchiha Clan's younger generation.
Senju Fujima went without saying. No one present, except the two Hokage, was a match for him.
At this point, even Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju would probably have trouble dealing with Senju Fujima.
After all, Senju Fujima now had Kurama. The Nine-Tails' chakra combined with the chakra inside him made for an unbelievably powerful pairing—dozens of times more fearsome than Naruto's chakra.
Naruto already had an immense amount of chakra. But as the son of the God of Shinobi and the son of the Uzumaki Clan's first Jinchūriki, Senju Fujima's chakra reserves were undoubtedly even greater.
What's more, Kurama inside him was whole, unlike the half sealed inside Naruto. He also had Wood Release and the Mangekyō Sharingan. He was practically invincible beneath the two gods.
"I can't believe the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan are sending Senju Fujima and Kagami Uchiha to the Ninja Academy just to get the children of the other clans in there. Does this mean they're determined to have our children study there?"
"Fine. Keeping them cooped up at home and training them ourselves isn't necessarily the right choice. It's not wartime, after all. We can always have them train hard within the clan in their free time."
Tenshi Hyuga, the current head of the Hyuga Clan, furrowed his brows. At last, he made up his mind and agreed to send the Hyuga children to the Ninja Academy.
"The Hyuga Clan agrees."
Tenshi Hyuga finally agreed as well. The two strongest clans had already made their positions clear.
"The Sarutobi Clan agrees. We'll send Hiruzen Sarutobi to the academy."
Then Sasuke Sarutobi agreed too, sending Hiruzen Sarutobi to the academy.
"Hmm?"
Tobirama Senju paused when he heard Sasuke Sarutobi, then lowered his head without saying anything.
In the end, one clan after another agreed, bringing the matter to a successful conclusion. Every clan's children would attend the Ninja Academy.
"Excellent. The academy opens tomorrow. I hope to see all your clan's children at the opening ceremony."
Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju exchanged smiles, then stood and addressed everyone.
Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju were very pleased with the outcome. Their dream was coming true, step by step, which brought them some comfort.
The next morning, Senju Fujima walked toward the academy with his hands in his pockets, whistling.
Many parents were taking their children to school, their faces bright with happy smiles.
The Ninja Academy was the first of its kind in the world. Ordinary people had almost never had the chance to become ninja before, but with the academy, things would be different.
Before you continue