Konoha.
Inside the conference room.
Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent for a full ten minutes.
During those ten minutes.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura felt as though they were being fried in a cauldron of oil.
"Fine."
"I'm willing to hand over seventy percent of the Sarutobi Clan's assets."
At last.
Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a sigh.
That sigh was long, as though it had drained every last trace of vitality from his body.
The moment he said it.
Utatane Koharu suffered a crushing blow and slumped limply into her chair.
Mitokado Homura's face turned ashen as well, and his glasses slipped to the tip of his nose.
It was over.
All of it was over.
The moment Sarutobi Hiruzen gave in.
They lost even their last shred of dignity.
"Ninety percent!"
Chiba was not satisfied.
Though he had never dealt with such matters before.
He knew very well that the Four Great Clans had embezzled far too many resources.
A mere seventy percent of their assets was nowhere near enough repayment!
"Eighty percent at most."
"And you must agree to one condition."
Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath.
He stared directly at Chiba, his expression becoming incomparably resolute.
If Chiba refused.
Then even if he had to lead his clan to its death, he would not let Chiba have his way.
Daring to negotiate?
A dangerous curve appeared at the corner of Chiba's lips.
He could have slapped these three old fools to death, then wiped out their clans.
That way.
He could still obtain the Four Great Clans' resources.
But he did not do that.
Not because he was softhearted.
But because Sarutobi Hiruzen had an identity he could not cast aside.
Tsunade's teacher.
Chiba had considered this issue on his way back to Konoha.
That woman Tsunade might curse Sarutobi Hiruzen with her mouth, but she still cherished their old bond in her heart.
If he really chopped Sarutobi Hiruzen into pieces and fed him to dogs.
Tsunade would definitely harbor resentment.
Chiba did not want to create a rift with Tsunade over a useless old man.
So.
As long as Sarutobi Hiruzen knew his place.
Chiba could spare his worthless life.
He could serve as a decorative mascot and spit out all the money he had embezzled. That would at least make use of trash.
"Speak."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's chest heaved violently several times.
He placed his hands on the table and interlaced his fingers.
"After you become Hokage, you cannot target the Sarutobi Clan."
"You cannot deliberately send our clansmen on missions certain to result in death."
"You cannot strip the Sarutobi Clan of its basic rights within the village."
"Whatever treatment other shinobi receive, the Sarutobi Clan's shinobi must receive as well."
"..."
This was Sarutobi Hiruzen's bottom line.
This was what he wanted to trade the wealth he had accumulated over most of his life for.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were stunned.
At first, they were shocked.
Then.
A bone-chilling cold surged from the soles of their feet straight to the tops of their heads.
They understood.
They understood what Sarutobi Hiruzen meant!
Over the past few decades.
Their four clans had gone too far in consolidating their positions.
They had long since bound their clans completely to Konoha.
Whether it was the economy, ninjutsu reserves, or shinobi staffing, everything was within Konoha's framework.
If they wanted to flee now?
Where could they go?
To another hidden village?
Would Kumogakure spare living repositories of intelligence like them?
Would Ōnoki of Iwagakure kindly take them in?
Most likely, the moment they stepped beyond the borders of the Land of Fire.
They would be devoured alive by the major hidden villages, and even their corpses would be taken for research.
They had nowhere to retreat.
Their only choice was to remain in Konoha.
But if they remained in Konoha.
Chiba was heaven.
Chiba was a god.
If Chiba wanted to deal with them, he would not even need to do it himself.
He only needed to tamper with mission assignments.
For example, he could assign the S-Rank missions with extremely high difficulty ratings and terrifying death rates specifically to shinobi from those clans.
Within three years.
The four clans would be wiped out completely.
That was the Hokage's authority.
A legal and reasonable means of killing.
In the past, they had used the same method to deal with troublesome people who refused to obey.
Like Hatake Sakumo.
Now, that butcher's blade hung over their own necks.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was not negotiating.
He was paying for their lives!
Using the immense wealth they had embezzled to buy a path to survival for those clans.
Once she understood that.
Utatane Koharu stopped protesting.
Mitokado Homura no longer spoke of Konoha's greater good either.
The two of them were like deflated balloons, drenched in cold sweat and not even daring to look at Chiba.
"That's all?"
"Fine."
A trace of mockery flashed through Chiba's eyes.
He had thought Sarutobi Hiruzen would make some excessive demand.
It turned out he was merely begging for a way to live.
How pathetic.
Without the Hokage's halo, after stripping off that hypocritical outer shell.
This old man praised as a Ninja Hero was nothing more than an elderly man struggling to keep his clan alive.
However.
He had underestimated Chiba.
Chiba had never intended to wipe them out.
As long as he became Hokage and held great power.
Wouldn't it be up to a single word from him how he chose to manipulate those clans?
Keeping them around would make them perfect living targets to warn other clans with ulterior motives.
Chiba rose to his feet.
A terrifying aura belonging to the Late Super Kage Level instantly swept through the entire conference room.
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
The teacups on the table gave a faint tremble.
"I'll have Shikaku Nara audit the accounts."
"Eighty percent of each of the Four Great Clans' assets will be confiscated."
"Within one month."
"I want to see it all."
"If even one coin is missing."
"I'll kill ten members of your clans."
"If one hundred ryo is missing, I'll wipe out an entire clan."
"Do you understand?"
Chiba rose to his feet.
The terrifying aura of the Late Super Kage Level instantly swept through the entire conference room.
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
The teacups on the table gave a faint tremble.
"Understood."
Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes and nodded heavily.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura nodded again and again. There was no trace left of an Advisor's bearing.
Chiba could not be bothered to look at those disgusting old fools any longer.
He turned and strode toward the conference room door.
Bang.
The door was pushed open, then slammed shut.
Chiba's footsteps gradually faded down the corridor.
Only then did the three people in the conference room seem to come back to life, gasping heavily for breath.
"Hiruzen..."
"Are we... really going to hand all that over?"
Utatane Koharu stared blankly at the ceiling.
She still harbored a trace of hope.
Perhaps they could hide some of it?
Perhaps they could falsify the accounts?
Sarutobi Hiruzen opened his eyes, his gaze filled with exhaustion and dejection.
He turned his head and looked at his old comrade who had worked alongside him for decades.
"Koharu."
"Do you still not understand?"
"That wasn't a negotiation. It was an order."
"He's having Shikaku Nara audit the accounts."
"With Shikaku Nara's mind, do you think falsified accounts could fool him?"
"Shikaku Nara used to play dumb because we held power."
"Now."
"That power is in that monster's hands."
"Shikaku Nara would investigate us thoroughly, then use it to curry favor with his new master!"
"..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was hoarse.
He could no longer think of any way to break the deadlock.
Obedience was their only chance of survival.
Utatane Koharu shuddered.
She recalled Shikaku Nara's eyes—seemingly lazy, yet sharp to the extreme.
Deceiving that man was indeed impossible.
"Hiruzen."
"Do you really believe him?"
"What if he took the goods and turned on us?"
"What if he secretly ordered someone to wipe us out?"
Mitokado Homura lowered his voice.
He had served in the Konoha High Command for decades and had seen every kind of conspiracy and scheme.
Promises had never truly been binding.
Danzo had gone back on his word more than once.
And they had condoned it more than once.
Why would Chiba keep his promise?
"Homura."
"You underestimate him too much."
"And overestimate us too much."
"He is not trash like Danzo, who only knows how to carry out assassinations."
"His manner is even more domineering than Hashirama Senju's."
"More arrogant than Uchiha Madara's!"
"That arrogance that treated all rules as nothing was etched into his bones."
"A person like that would never stoop to lying."
"Since he promised not to target us, he would not stab us in the back."
"Because in his eyes."
"We were not even worthy of making him draw his blade."
Hearing Mitokado Homura's question.
Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly laughed.
His laughter echoed through the meeting room, sounding incomparably desolate.
This was the cruelest truth.
Not because of mercy.
But because of disdain.
Would an elephant care whether ants harbored resentment?
It would simply crush them underfoot.
Before you continue