Konoha's High-Level Tug-of-War

Chapter Twenty-Four: Konoha's High-Level Tug-of-War

Konoha.

The high-level conference room in the Hokage Tower.

The atmosphere was heavy.

Kakashi stood before the long table with his usual dead-fish eyes.

The news of Sasuke Uchiha's defection had enraged all of Konoha's upper ranks.

The two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, frowned deeply.

Shimura Danzō narrowed his single eye, his shriveled old face dark and gloomy.

He slammed his cane heavily against the floor.

"Hiruzen has barely passed, and this disgrace has already happened. The Uchiha Clan truly is evil by nature."

"Kakashi, you have failed terribly in your duties."

Kakashi did not argue.

He truly had failed to keep an eye on Sasuke. The brat had simply run off in the middle of the night, as if bonds meant nothing to him.

Danzō changed the subject.

"Sasuke's defection is now a fact. The village's defenses are severely undermanned."

"Chenshu Senju has awakened Wood Release. He is a precious asset to the village, and we cannot allow another incident like Sasuke's."

"Starting today, I will assign him to Root and personally guide him."

Danzō spoke with righteous conviction.

For the past few days, he had been so obsessed with that Wood Release that he could barely sleep.

As long as he got Chenshu Senju into Root, he had a hundred ways to brainwash the boy and turn him into the perfect tool.

Just then.

The conference room doors were kicked open.

Chenshu Senju strode inside.

Jiraiya followed behind him, looking thoroughly displeased.

"Root? Do they provide meals?"

Without a shred of courtesy, Chenshu Senju pulled out a chair and sat down.

Danzō's expression darkened.

"Insolence! This is the high-level conference room. Who allowed you to enter?!"

Chenshu Senju expressionlessly pulled out a scroll and tossed it onto the conference table.

The scroll carried a faint milky fragrance.

It was loot he had just pulled from the cleavage of that busty Sound Ninja woman. The sweat stains on it had not even dried yet.

Jiraiya's nose twitched twice.

That scent... was incredible.

For some reason, he now desperately wanted to recall the wonderful sight of that female Sound Ninja hanging from the vines.

"Orochimaru's top-secret files."

Leaning back in his chair, Chenshu Senju spoke lazily.

"He planned to capture me for human experiments. He also wanted me to engage in dual cultivation with women of the Senju Clan to extract the Senju bloodline."

The moment they heard the words "dual cultivation,"

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu's old faces instantly turned the color of liver.

Orochimaru was far too perverse. He had even thought up such a completely shameless method.

Danzo snorted coldly.

"That is precisely why, with Orochimaru targeting you, you should enter Root. I will send the elite ANBU to protect you day and night."

"You'll protect me?"

Chenshu Senju laughed.

"Old man, you can't even beat Kakashi. What are you going to use to protect me?"

The entire conference room fell into deathly silence.

Kakashi's face filled with black lines.

Why did this kid have to drag him into it when insulting someone? Wasn't that just making enemies for him?

Danzo trembled with rage.

"You... you have no respect for your elders! Jiraiya, is this the kind of manners you taught him?!"

Jiraiya folded his arms, completely unmoved by that act.

"Danzo, stop throwing your age around."

"The old man sent word that something has changed in the ninja world. This kid is under my protection now, and I'm taking him to find Tsunade. I don't have time for him to rot in your lousy basement."

Chenshu Senju took the opportunity to tap the table.

"Joining Root is impossible, but you can pay a little protection fee."

"Since I'm such a precious asset to the village, you should at least approve the maintenance costs for that asset."

"Developing Wood Release is extremely taxing on the body. I need at least five meals of wagyu a day to replenish my nutrition, and then there's the wear and tear on ninja tools. I did the math..."

Chenshu Senju held up five fingers.

"Give me five million ryō in dedicated funds, and I'll acknowledge the village's concern for me."

Danzo's eyes widened.

Five million ryō?

Why the hell didn't he just rob them?!

That was Root's entire annual budget. This brat wanted to take half of it with a single demand.

Utatane Koharu frowned.

"Chenshu Senju, stop making trouble. The village's funds are tight."

"No money?"

Chenshu Senju lowered his hand and sighed.

"If there's no money, then I can only go find Orochimaru. I hear Otogakure provides food and lodging. Not only do they give out wagyu, they also provide female ninja with figures like the one in that scroll."

"How dare you!"

Danzo roared.

Chenshu Senju ignored him entirely.

Standing nearby, Kakashi quietly drove the knife in deeper.

"Advisors, he doesn't even give me any face. If you really push him too far, Hidden Leaf Village may gain another rogue ninja."

Kakashi's words became the final straw.

Sasuke had just fled. If Chenshu Senju, who possessed Wood Release, also ran away,

then Konoha would truly lose all face.

The expressions of several high-ranking officials shifted between green and white before they finally yielded in humiliation.

Half an hour later.

Outside the Hokage Tower.

Chenshu Senju tossed the heavy money pouch in his hand, his face full of satisfaction.

Danzo had been forced to pay up. The old dog's expression as he handed over the money had looked worse than if he had eaten shit.

Amazing.

Money gained for free really did feel sweeter.

[ Ding, the host has successfully seized control of Konoha's upper ranks and completed a strategic game through borrowed strength.]

[Faction reputation rewards unlocked.]

[Reward obtained: High-Precision Chakra Refinement Method, constitution recovery speed increased by 100%.]

Chenshu Senju felt a warm current flow through his body.

This completely solved the issue of Wood Release's consumption. Even if he threw giant trees around like toothpicks, he would no longer need to worry about running out of chakra.

Jiraiya moved closer, his eyes shining as he stared at the money pouch.

"Kid, now that we have this money, let's go have a feast at the top geisha house in Hot Springs Town."

"I hear the girls there all have big breasts and slim waists, and they really understand a man's heart..."

Chenshu Senju stuffed the money pouch into his clothes.

"I only eat wagyu. If you want to look at girls, pay for it yourself."

Jiraiya's face darkened.

Was this stingy little brat even a man?

Elsewhere.

Amegakure.

A light rain fell endlessly.

Inside a dark tower.

A tall woman wearing Akatsuki's black cloak patterned with red clouds stood silently in the shadows.

She had short light-blue hair, a delicate face as cold as frost, and a small lip piercing.

It was Konan.

"Zetsu has brought back the latest intelligence."

A strange, pitcher-plant-like figure slowly emerged from the ground.

The yin-yang face of Black and White Zetsu looked especially eerie in the dim light.

"Orochimaru's attack on Konoha failed, and the Third Hokage died in battle."

"But more interestingly, a variable has appeared in Konoha."

Black Zetsu's hoarse, grating voice echoed through the tower.

"A young ninja named Chenshu Senju has awakened the First Hokage's Wood Release. His strength is already approaching Kage level."

The moment he finished speaking.

Deep within the shadows.

A pair of purple ripple-patterned eyes radiating terrifying pressure suddenly opened.

Nagato's emaciated body sat in a wheelchair, black signal receivers embedded all across his back.

There was not the slightest fluctuation in his eyes, as though he were looking at an ant.

"Wood Release?"

"Before a god, any bloodline is merely the struggle of mortals."

Nagato slowly raised a hand.

"Keep a close watch on his location."

"If he interferes with our plan for peace, make him feel pain."