Chikage pulled the stack of reimbursement receipts from inside his clothes and waved them in his hand.
"I spent the entire two hundred thousand ryo operational budget investigating this case."
"On top of that, I paid part of the intelligence fees out of my own pocket."
"I can hand the prisoners over, but we need to settle these accounts first."
"Capturing key suspects in a smuggling case warrants a reward under the rules, doesn't it?"
"And the Finance Department should promptly reimburse the money I advanced, shouldn't it?"
Fugaku stood beside him, dumbfounded.
He had assumed Chikage had brought the prisoners to the Hokage Building to expose Danzo's plot in person.
He never expected the kid to take such a roundabout route only to come back to money.
Danzo was so furious that his whiskers bristled.
"Uchiha Chikage!"
"What do you think the Hokage Building is?"
"A market where you can haggle over prices?"
Chikage met his gaze without backing down.
"Lord Danzo, I'm discussing the rules with you."
"Is there anything wrong with handling official business by the book?"
"If you think my investigation was wrong, you're welcome to order my arrest."
"But if you think I got it right, the village should honor its promises."
"You can't expect a horse to run without feeding it."
Looking at the receipts in Chikage's hand, Hiruzen felt a headache coming on.
The kid would not budge. He was clearly using the issue to force the leadership to state its position in public.
If they forcibly took the prisoners away, the Uchiha Clan would never let the matter rest.
Fugaku's arrival with so many members of the Konoha Military Police Force also showed that he was prepared to back Chikage up.
"Enough. Stop arguing."
Hiruzen tapped his pipe, cutting short their dispute.