Naruto rubbed the back of his head, baring his teeth in pain.
He wiped his snot with the back of his dust-covered hand, leaving a black streak on his clothes.
"Old man, you hit way too hard! If you knock me stupid, are you gonna be Hokage for me?!"
Yoru did not even turn his head.
"With that wooden brain of yours, you'd be stupid whether I hit you or not."
His leather shoes crunched over the gravel.
Ōnoki stood atop a stone platform, holding that ridiculous conical hat in both hands.
The old man's dry lips trembled twice. He swallowed, his throat so parched it hurt.
"Uncrowned... king..."
He muttered under his breath, undisguised horror flashing through his cloudy old eyes.
Who would have thought the brat's ambitions were big enough to swallow the sky?
Kurotsuchi jogged after Yoru and grabbed the sleeve of his trench coat.
"You really won't be Tsuchikage? That's one of the Kage! The whole village respects you!"
She stamped her feet anxiously, her little leather boots kicking up a small cloud of yellow dust.
Sweat ran down her cheeks, plastering the hair at her temples to her face.
"Spend every day as a village chief approving paperwork? It's not like water got into my brain."
Yoru disdainfully pulled his sleeve from her grip and smoothed out the wrinkles.
"Put that old man Ōnoki out front to take the bullets while we hide in the back and count money. Isn't that better than being a commander with no one under him?"
Kakuzu's eyes gleamed green when he heard that.
Hugging his abacus, he moved closer, the stitches tugging at his face as he smiled in a rather chilling way.
"The boss speaks wisely! Being an official can't compare to making money!"
He scratched at the