You Wouldn't Want Me Taking Jobs for Other Villages, Would You?
Hiruzen Sarutobi truly hadn't expected that Lin Yan would make a special trip to see him just to discuss this matter.
He stared at Lin Yan for a while, then shook his head and calmly said, "To accept missions in this village, you need to be a villager of Konoha, or a certified and tested ninja from Konoha."
"But you're not one of us, and you're not a ninja."
After saying that, he shook his head again and took a puff of his pipe.
"What does it matter?"
"As long as I can solve your problems and complete the mission, is that enough?"
Lin Yan shrugged indifferently.
There wasn't anything particularly wrong with what he said. After hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent and silently took another drag of his cigarette.
After a while, he slowly and deliberately spoke, "You are not a ninja from Konoha Village. I am not at ease entrusting this mission to you."
"So, is that clear enough? You're a smart person too..."
"I just need some jobs that can support me. As long as they don't involve classified missions, you don't need to worry, right?"
"If even this can't be met, then I'm in a real bind!"
Lin Yan suddenly revealed a meaningful expression, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a profound look.
His gaze sent a slight chill down Hiruzen Sarutobi's spine.
At this moment, Lin Yan said with a half-smile, "You wouldn't want me to carry out missions for other ninja villages, would you?"
"That might mean we'd be dealing with the ninjas from your Konoha village."
Are you threatening me?
Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes.
"No, no, not at all."
Lin Yan smiled and waved her hand, "I'm just stating a possible fact to you."
Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes once again as he looked at the young man before him.
He had just listened to Uchiha's report during the day.
They learned that Lin Yan was actually quite skilled and not an ordinary person at all.
His mysterious martial arts technique, "Six Powers," is both offensive and defensive, combining strength, speed, and excellent defensive capabilities.
Even the genius Uchiha would have had a very difficult time dealing with such an opponent.
Even according to Itachi himself, he is currently no match for this man.
In other words, he is at least at the level of an elite Jonin.
If used properly, such a person can be a sharp sword for Konoha, posing a very serious threat to hostile forces.
But if such a powerful being were to turn against Konoha, then it would be Konoha's turn to have a headache...
After a moment's internal deliberation, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to compromise.
"I'll try to assign you some low-level missions, with the same pay as regular ninjas—definitely no less than the average income level in Konoha."
You can enjoy a very good standard of living here.
"But before that, I need to find you some teammates, since ninjas never act alone."
"As for you, you'll become a foreign mercenary ninja for our Konoha Village."
"We will sign a long-term contract with you later..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind works very quickly.
He truly deserves to be the Third Hokage and to have held power in Konoha for decades.
He quickly provided a solution to the problem.
After listening, Lin Yan thought about it and realized that for her, these so-called short-term and long-term contracts were all dispensable.
If you don't acknowledge it yourself, then it's just a piece of paper.
So it doesn't matter whether we sign or not.
He just wanted to experience what it was like to carry out secret missions like a ninja in this world.
Incidentally, they can also earn a considerable amount of money to support themselves.
Why not?
"Okay, I'll come find you again tomorrow."
After Lin Yan finished speaking, she turned to leave.
"Oh right, I think we don't need to talk about the team members, do we?"
"I'm used to being alone."
He turned around and met Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze.
At this moment, the latter was smoking a pipe, staring intently at Lin Yan.
"I've sent someone to supervise you, and also to guide you."
"Ninjas sometimes need certain skills and experience to carry out missions; without these, they can easily find themselves in danger."
"You're not from Konoha, but the mission you're carrying out represents Konoha's stance. You wouldn't want your mission to be exposed, causing your employer to surface and be known to the enemy, would you?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's words were essentially a blatant admission of his true intentions.
The reason she spoke so directly was because Lin Yan wasn't from Konoha Village, so she didn't need to worry too much.
After listening, Lin Yan smiled gently.
"To be honest, I really like your way of communicating, Third Hokage."
"Speak directly and without beating around the bush; this way, we don't have to spend too much on communication."
"Your concerns are valid, so you can make the arrangements yourself."
After saying that, Lin Yan left the Hokage's Office.
Watching his retreating figure, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly leaned back in his chair and breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, several figures appeared inside the office.
These figures varied in height and build, and each wore a sleeveless vest from the ANBU and an animal mask.
The standard accessory on their backs is a short knife.
It's clearly ANBU guard unit directly under the Hokage.
"Third Hokage, should we chase after him and finish him off?"
One of the female ANBU asked.
It sounds like they noticed Lin Yan's approach a long time ago.
The reason I didn't act earlier was because Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't given the order.
"No need."
Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand.
He calmly took another drag of his cigarette before slowly explaining, "This person is quite powerful, but he poses no threat to us at the moment."
There's no need to complicate things.
That's what they say, but Hiruzen Sarutobi's real intention was to protect his subordinates.
Cultivating ANBU is not easy.
Each one is a valuable talent and a high-level combat force for the village.
Using them against Lin Yan could result in significant losses, especially since Lin Yan hasn't shown any direct hostility towards Konoha. The cost would be far outweighed.
"Kakashi, Itachi, you two will be teaming up with him starting tomorrow."
"Keep a close watch on his every move and report back to me immediately!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi made his decision, looking at two figures, one tall and one short, among the group of ANBU guards in front of him.
Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's command, Kakashi and Itachi stepped forward simultaneously, kneeling on one knee. "Understood."
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi suggested, "Let's start with B-rank missions and test his ability to complete them."
"If it is determined that he is capable of handling the task, we will appropriately increase its difficulty."
Kakashi and Itachi nodded again to indicate that they understood.
Suddenly, the office door was pushed open, and a long-haired beautiful woman wearing glasses walked in.
However, the moment she entered, Kakashi, Itachi, and the others all vanished.