Negotiation

At 9:10 a.m., in the Root office in Konoha Ninja Village.

Shimura Danzō was studying some documents when a Root guard came in to report, "Lord Danzo, the Third Hokage sent someone over with a letter. He asks that you read it and attend to it immediately."

Shimura Danzō set down the documents and said calmly, "Leave the letter with me and wait outside. I may need you shortly..."

"Yes, sir..." The Root ninja bowed and withdrew.

Once he was alone in the room, Shimura Danzō opened the Third Hokage's letter and skimmed through it. Finally, he frowned and muttered to himself, "Tianyun Hyuga? Where did this fellow come from...?"

Shimura Danzō had been busy dealing with the Uchiha Clan lately. Although someone had told him about Tianyun Hyuga yesterday, he had only considered him a promising brat and paid him little attention.

Now the Third Hokage had sent a letter asking him to warn the Uchiha Clan not to spread the a-rank ninjutsu Tianyun Hyuga had taught. Only then did he finally take some interest in the boy.

After considering it in silence, Shimura Danzō decided to leave Tianyun Hyuga alone for now. He was merely a somewhat talented brat, after all.

His priority now was dealing with the Uchiha Clan. Besides, Hyuga Hiashi of the Hyuga Clan was not as easy to handle as the Uchiha Clan. If things went wrong and both of Konoha's great clans rebelled, the entire village would be in grave danger.

Setting down the Third Hokage's letter, Shimura Danzō left the room and told the Root ninja waiting outside, "Bring two squads with me. We're going to pay the Uchiha Clan a visit..."

At 9:30 a.m., in the Ninja Academy's Training Forest, Iruka finally found Tianyun Hyuga, who was busy taking liberties with Tenten. As for the other students training nearby, Iruka pretended not to see them.

When the Anbu Ninja had come to find Iruka earlier, they had briefly explained what Tianyun Hyuga had done, so Iruka already knew what trouble he had caused.

The Third Hokage had also summoned Tianyun Hyuga, and Iruka could not keep him waiting too long. The moment he found Tianyun Hyuga, he said sternly, "Tianyun, Lord Hokage wants to see you. Come with me, please. Hurry up and don't waste time..."

Tianyun Hyuga was having a pleasant conversation with Tenten-or so he thought. Hearing Iruka's words, he could only reassure her, "Tenten, practice on your own here for a while. I have to see Lord Hokage. I'll keep teaching you when I get back..."

Tenten had long since had enough of him. At his words, she immediately rolled her eyes. "I don't need you to teach me anymore. Just hurry up and go see Lord Hokage! I'm going home now..."

"Uh, you're really heartless..." Tianyun Hyuga pursed his lips helplessly.

Iruka was already furious. Tianyun Hyuga had prevented him from teaching a proper lesson for two days straight. Seeing him still flirting with Tenten, he immediately said, "Tianyun, stop wasting your breath and come with me. Lord Hokage is waiting!"

"What's the rush? Honestly..." Tianyun Hyuga glanced at Iruka's sour expression. After grumbling a little, he obediently followed him toward the Hokage Building.

Tianyun Hyuga had actually known that what he had done today would soon draw the Third Hokage's attention. He had prepared for it long ago, heading off certain problems before they could escalate.

For instance, he could have taught Tai Chi Fist to every student at the Konoha Ninja Academy and earned even more money.

But Tianyun Hyuga knew Konoha would never allow that, so he had only taught the Elite Class of Konoha Ninja Village. Those students were all children of Konoha's senior officials and were highly unlikely to betray the village, which meant Tai Chi Fist would not spread beyond Konoha. This was the fallback Tianyun Hyuga had thought of well in advance.

He had also chosen a deserted place to teach them, out of sight of the other students, to keep Tai Chi Fist from spreading beyond Konoha.

Following Iruka, Tianyun Hyuga reached the Hokage Building ten minutes later. In the Hokage Office, they found the Third Hokage taking a break.

Seeing Iruka and Tianyun Hyuga, the Third Hokage set down his pipe and said to Iruka, "Iruka, please wait outside for a moment. I have something to discuss with Tianyun. You can take him back afterward."

Seeing the Third Hokage's stern expression, Iruka hurriedly said, "Lord Hokage, Tianyun is still young and doesn't know any better. He didn't mean to spread the ninjutsu, so please don't be too hard on him. As his teacher, I'm also at fault. If you intend to punish him, please punish me as well."

The Third Hokage looked at Iruka helplessly. Tianyun Hyuga's calm expression made it clear that he had already anticipated every outcome. He did not need Iruka to plead for him at all. The Third Hokage shook his head. "All right, Iruka. I only have something to discuss with Tianyun. I won't punish him. Go wait outside for now."

Iruka let out a sigh of relief, bowed to the Third Hokage, and withdrew.

After Iruka left, the Third Hokage glanced at the composed Tianyun Hyuga and asked, "Well, Tianyun, have you been enjoying yourself at the Konoha Academy? If you need anything, you can tell this old man..."

Tianyun Hyuga knew the Third Hokage had already seen through his mature demeanor, so he spoke plainly. "Since you've asked, Lord Hokage, I'll explain. I need a lot of money for my training, so I hope you can offer some help..."

The Third Hokage fell silent for a moment, then said, "You've already received over ten million. Isn't that enough? That could fund the training of several chunin..."

Tianyun Hyuga shook his head. "No, it's too little. I still need more money. Otherwise, I wouldn't be selling my fist technique..."

"You're far too shrewd for your age..." The Third Hokage shook his head helplessly. "All right! I'll give you a chance to earn some money. Your fist technique is well suited to a ninja's taijutsu combat, and Konoha needs a technique like that. If you're willing to contribute it, I can have everyone who learns it pay you a fee."

The Third Hokage's proposal was actually excellent. Under that arrangement, Tianyun Hyuga would have a steady stream of income in the future.

Unfortunately, Tianyun Hyuga did not care about the future at all. He only wanted to make a quick sum and improve his strength enough to stay alive first. He answered the Third Hokage plainly, "Lord Hokage, could we do this another way? Just give me ten million, and I'll hand the fist technique over to Konoha. All future proceeds will belong to the village..."

The Third Hokage paused in surprise. "Are you really that short of money right now? You'd lose quite a lot by doing that. Are you sure you want to proceed that way...?"

Tianyun Hyuga nodded. "Yes. Please approve it, Lord Hokage..."

The Third Hokage took a couple of puffs from his pipe. After some thought, he said seriously, "Konoha can't take advantage of you, either. Since this is what you've chosen, I can authorize you to learn one of Konoha's a-rank ninjutsu. Go to the Ninjutsu Room and choose one!"

The Third Hokage had invested quite a bit in winning Tianyun Hyuga over. Normally, even someone who contributed a ninjutsu would not receive such treatment. He had done this because he could see that Tianyun Hyuga might become very powerful in the future, and wanted to invest in him early.