Danzo's facial muscles twitched when he heard the figure.
Two hundred thousand ryō was almost as much as the reward for a top-tier B-Rank Mission.
"Take this official letter to the Hokage's mission department and complete the paperwork."
"Then submit it to police headquarters for registration."
Danzo gave the orders coldly.
"Expedite everything. Once the paperwork is complete, withdraw two hundred thousand ryō from Root's operational funds."
"Deliver it to the police along with the letter."
Danzo narrowed his eyes, his voice laced with menace.
"Have Uchiha Chikage sign to confirm receipt."
"Tell him he'll get both the paperwork and the money."
"He must assemble at the village gate at nine tomorrow morning and set out."
"If he still dares to make excuses..."
"I'll punish him for refusing an official mission!"
The Root ninja acknowledged his orders and withdrew.
At four fifty that afternoon.
Chikage sat in his office, already tidying up the documents on his desk.
Only ten minutes remained before he could clock out.
Just then, the office door opened again.
The two Root ninja from earlier had returned.
They carried a heavy leather money pouch.
Thud.
The pouch landed on his desk.
They opened it, revealing stacks of crisp new banknotes.
One of the Root ninja pushed the completed official letter toward Chikage.
"The Hokage's vermilion mission seal has been added."
"Police headquarters has also registered it."
"Two hundred thousand ryō in earmarked joint-operation funds, not a coin short."
"The Hokage Advisor has made his position clear."
"The paperwork and funds are all in place."
"Sign it immediately."
"Assemble at Konoha's gate at nine tomorrow morning."
Chikage picked up the official letter first.
The Hokage's vermilion mission seal, the police registration number, and the joint-operation budget approval were all there.
This time, there really was nothing wrong with the procedure.
He then called Uchiha Hikari over and had her count the banknotes in front of them.
Once the amount was confirmed, Chikage issued a receipt for the funds.
"Lord Danzo certainly gets things done."
Chikage picked up the pen on his desk and signed his name at the bottom of the letter.
"I accept the mission."
"Nine tomorrow morning. I'll be there."
The Root ninja put away the official letter and receipt, giving Chikage an icy look.
"I hope you can still smile when you reach the border."
The two turned and left.
Chikage handed the pouch containing two hundred thousand ryō to Uchiha Hikari.
"Take this to the finance office and have it entered into the accounts."
"Set aside and seal the funds we'll need to bring tomorrow, according to the joint-operation budget."
"The accounts must be clear. Not a single ryō can go missing."
Uchiha Hikari took the pouch and nodded earnestly.
"Understood."
The moment the funds were handed over, a system notification sounded in Chikage's mind.
[Ding! Host has accepted an official away assignment and successfully secured additional earmarked funds for his department!] [Congratulations! Host has unlocked the hidden achievement: Business Trip with Pay and Funding!] [Achievement reward: During the business trip, points earned per clock-in or clock-out are doubled from 100 to 200!]
Hearing the notifications, Chikage could no longer hold back his smile.
Two hundred points each time he clocked in or out.
Clocking in and out once each day would earn him four hundred points.
The benefits of this business trip really were much better than sitting in an office.
Not only had Danzo allocated two hundred thousand ryō to the police, he had also helped Chikage trigger a hidden achievement.
Chikage would be letting all Danzo's painstaking efforts go to waste if he didn't make a proper trip to the border.
At five sharp that afternoon.
The clock on the wall chimed right on time.
[Ding! Successfully clocked out for today!] [Congratulations! Host has received 100 daily points!]
Chikage stood and stretched.
He left his office and ran into Uchiha Hikari, who had just returned from the finance office.
Uchiha Hikari's face was full of worry.
"Vice-Captain, are you really going to the border?"
"Root must have assassins waiting there."
Chikage patted Uchiha Hikari on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."
"Yashiro will handle the Second Squad's affairs while I'm away for the next few days."
"Help him check the case files and accounts."
"Same as always: do everything by the book."
"If anyone dares to cause trouble, answer them with regulations and evidence."
With that, Chikage left the Konoha Military Police Force with a spring in his step.
On his way home, he stopped by the Dango Shop on South Street.
The buy-three-get-one-free promotion was still running.
Chikage bought four boxes of three-color dango and paid for only three.
After returning home and eating dinner, Chikage sat alone on the tatami in his bedroom.
He would be heading to the border tomorrow.
Since Danzo was willing to spend two hundred thousand ryō to get him out of the village, the death trap he had prepared could hardly be simple.
Root's most troublesome methods weren't limited to surrounding someone and attacking head-on.
Ambushes, poison, Sealing Jutsu, and Explosive Tags-any one of them could be fatal.
He had kept a low profile all these years.
Although he had accumulated nearly ten Kakashi's worth of chakra, he had only mastered the Three Body Technique and the Great Fireball Technique.
Those skills clearly wouldn't be enough if he had to face Root's elite head-on.
With a thought, Chikage opened the system panel.
He looked at his current points balance.
Advanced shop access had already unlocked when he was promoted to vice-captain.
But since he had always stayed in Konoha before, there had been no need to rush into exchanging points for abilities.
Now he was leaving the village on a high-risk mission.
It was time to put those points to use.
Chikage opened the System Shop.
A dazzling array of merchandise appeared before his eyes.
Chikage sat cross-legged on the tatami in his bedroom.
There was nothing in front of him, yet his gaze rested on the translucent system panel.
The number in the panel's upper-right corner stood out.
Eighteen thousand five hundred points.
That was the full amount he currently had available.
He started work at nine every morning and finished at five every afternoon.
Only his unwavering clock-in and clock-out routine had allowed him to build up these savings.
Occasional perfect-attendance rewards or hidden achievements were the only things that added a little extra to his balance.
It wasn't a huge sum of points, but it wasn't small either.
A few years ago, the basic shop had offered only Kunai, Shuriken, and ordinary C-Rank ninjutsu scrolls.
Back then, he couldn't even be bothered to give it a second look.
Things were different now.
With his promotion to vice-captain of the police's Second Squad, advanced access to the System Shop had unlocked without a hitch.
The merchandise list finally looked appealing.
Chikage scrolled through the virtual screen, his fingers moving quickly over the interface.
As a member of the Uchiha Clan, his first instinct was perfectly natural.
He entered a three-character term in the search bar.
Sharingan.
The list refreshed instantly, and a row of red-eye icons popped up.
From one tomoe to two, then three, every price was clearly listed, with no tricks or deception.
Even the Mangekyō Sharingan and Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan were listed.
Looking at the price tags, Chikage couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.
The One-Tomoe Sharingan cost one thousand points.
The Two-Tomoe Sharingan cost three thousand points.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan cost eight thousand points.
As for the Mangekyō Sharingan, a long string of zeros followed it, with a price reaching fifty thousand points.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's price was even more outrageous: a full hundred and fifty thousand points.
Chikage looked at his balance of eighteen thousand five hundred points.
He had more than enough to exchange for the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
But he didn't even have half the points needed for the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He leaned against the wall behind him and folded his arms across his chest.
He began weighing whether this purchase would be worth it.
Before you continue