After hearing Ito Hirofumi name the figure, Uchiha Sasuke's brows furrowed tightly!
After all, he was talking about hundreds of millions right off the bat. That was no small sum.
He had inherited the entire Uchiha Clan's estate, and even with all those properties, his total net worth was only a little over a billion...
Most of it was tied up in real estate and land, too. He didn't have nearly that much cash!
What had happened to Ito Hirofumi?!
What could possibly require so much money?!
Thinking this, Uchiha Sasuke clenched his fist and turned to look at Ito Hirofumi.
"Can you tell me what happened?! I do have some money, and I can lend it to you if you need it. But can you tell me what's going on?!
Haowen... I think we're friends by now, aren't we?!
I think friends should face anything that comes their way together!
If something's troubling you, you can tell us!"
Naruto had already realized he couldn't help Haowen after hearing him mention hundreds of millions, but when he heard Uchiha Sasuke's words, he nodded along enthusiastically!
"Yeah, yeah! Haowen, what's troubling you?! You can tell us, and we'll face it together!
If it comes down to it... I'll go borrow money for you from Shikamaru, Choji, and the others!
Or... or I could ask Grandpa Third Hokage!!!"
After hearing them, Ito Hirofumi fell silent for a moment. Then the body formed from chakra appeared once again inside the Summoning Space.
"Madara! Sorry for the trouble, but could you help me out? See if you can sense anyone watching us nearby!"
Uchiha Madara, reclining in his rocking chair, raised an eyebrow at Ito Hirofumi.
"What?! You're thinking of telling those two brats your secret? Aren't you worried they'll reveal your biggest secret?!"
"They won't!!!" Ito Hirofumi said firmly, shaking his head.
"Tch... What a ridiculous friendship!!!"
At that moment, Uchiha Madara thought of the days he had spent with Senju Hashirama...
"All right, I've sensed the area. There isn't a single living soul in the entire Uchiha Clan Compound besides you three brats. You can relax."
Ito Hirofumi trusted Uchiha Madara's sensory abilities, of course.
He doubted anyone in Konoha could sense better than Uchiha Madara. In fact, he doubted anyone could hide from Uchiha Madara's senses at all!
With that, Ito Hirofumi's figure vanished from the Summoning Space.
Uchiha Madara remained sprawled in his rocking chair, lightly tapping one hand against the armrest...
"So that brat was telling the truth earlier. How strange. I never imagined that spending money could bring people back to life.
I've never heard of such a thing!!!
It has something to do with the Underworld. What kind of person could be behind this?!
Even someone as powerful as me has become a plaything in their hands...
Was it done by the legendary Sage? Or by something else..."
Uchiha Madara knew Ito Hirofumi had been borrowing money. Ito Hirofumi hadn't blocked the Summoning Space's ability to sense the outside world, which was further proof that what he'd said earlier was true.
That left Uchiha Madara with a lot to think about.
After leaving the Summoning Space, Ito Hirofumi looked at Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto, who were sitting beside him.
"What I'm about to tell you may sound a little far-fetched...
But Sasuke, Naruto, I hope you'll believe me!
What I'm going to tell you is my biggest secret!
If it ever got out, I could very well be killed!!!"
Hearing the seriousness in Ito Hirofumi's voice, Uchiha Sasuke and Naruto both grew tense. What kind of secret could get him killed if it came out?!
At the same time, they were both a little moved. Ito Hirofumi was willing to tell them a secret this dangerous?
In truth, when Ito Hirofumi said he could be killed, he was only trying to make the matter sound more serious. Even if his secret got out, he wouldn't be afraid.
After all, Uchiha Madara was still in the Summoning Space!
Would Uchiha Madara let him die?!
As if!!!
If he really died, it would be a slap in Uchiha Madara's face!!!
And judging by Uchiha Madara's attitude toward him, Ito Hirofumi could tell that something about the man was changing.
Compared to Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke was much more composed. He stood up, looked around, then led them both into the house and shut the door firmly behind them!
Once they were inside, Ito Hirofumi looked at the two of them, who were tense to the point of freezing, and slowly began...
"Do you remember that time I suddenly disappeared at the Ninja Academy?"
"Of course I do!!! And Haowen, I saw you pop back in with a poof!!!"
Naruto nodded rapidly, and Uchiha Sasuke nodded along.
"Because of that incident, I gained some unusual abilities. Spending money can make me stronger quickly! So, Sasuke... that's why I wanted to borrow money from you!"
Hearing this, Uchiha Sasuke seemed to understand.
"No wonder you got so much stronger in such a short time. Is that how you managed to beat me this time?"
"Exactly!!!
But if all I wanted was to get stronger, I wouldn't need to borrow money so urgently. I could just earn it slowly.
But there's something else, something much more important!
I can't tell you two about it just yet, but you'll find out later! And when you do, I'm sure it'll be a huge surprise!!!"
The surprise Ito Hirofumi meant was that he might be able to summon both Naruto and Sasuke's parents.
After all, Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were both powerful enough to be Hokage.
Uchiha Mikoto might be a little weaker, while Uchiha Fugaku, as the head of the Uchiha Clan, should also have possessed Hokage-level strength!
Konoha really had a lot of top-tier fighters. There were plenty whose combat strength rivaled a Hokage's.
What a shame... Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō, that pair of best buddies, had ruined so many of them!
Sometimes Ito Hirofumi wondered: if Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't become Hokage, would Konoha have been terrifyingly strong during this era?
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