The deal

In the Hokage Office, the moment the Third Hokage explained the Fourth Kazekage's request, the hard-line Shimura Danzō tapped his cane against the floor and said, "Absolutely not. We don't even have enough for our own ninja. How can we give them to someone else? I refuse to agree to this..."

As soon as Shimura Danzō finished, Mitokado Homura spoke up. "Shimura has a point. We can't let our special weapons fall into outsiders' hands. However, Sunagakure and Konoha are allied villages, after all. Rejecting the Fourth Kazekage outright would damage our alliance."

Utatane Koharu had worked with Mitokado Homura for years. Hearing his words, she immediately understood what he had in mind and said, "How about this? We make the Fourth Kazekage pay a high price and sell them just a hundred weapons..."

"Hmph..." Shimura Danzō was deeply displeased, but there was nothing he could do about Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu. He could only snort to show his dissatisfaction.

Once the three advisers had finished speaking, the Third Hokage suddenly turned his gaze toward Tianyun Hyuga. Startled, Tianyun hurriedly shut his eyes and pretended not to notice. He had no desire to get involved and offend both sides.

Tianyun Hyuga wanted to pretend to be asleep, but the Third Hokage had no intention of letting him off. After deliberately clearing his throat loudly, he addressed the boy feigning sleep. "Tianyun, tell us what you think. You made those weapons. Do you think it's appropriate to give them to Sunagakure?"

With his eyes still closed, Tianyun Hyuga inwardly cursed the shameless Third Hokage. If he said they should sell, he would offend that scheming old bastard Shimura Danzō. If he said they shouldn't, Utatane Koharu would definitely lecture him later. He was damned if he answered and damned if he didn't.

"Stop pretending to sleep and answer..." Seeing that Tianyun Hyuga was pretending to sleep rather than respond, Utatane Koharu immediately called him out.

A frustrated Tianyun Hyuga opened his eyes and said helplessly, "With the four of you discussing things here, how could a kid like me dare to interrupt?"

Utatane Koharu said sternly, "If we tell you to speak, speak. Don't think we don't know you're more cunning than the adults, you little brat."

"Uh..." Tianyun Hyuga's mouth twitched. In the end, he said, "I agree with Lord Danzo. We shouldn't sell to Sunagakure..."

Naturally, Tianyun Hyuga hadn't said that because he truly agreed with Shimura Danzō. It was because he wouldn't earn any money from selling weapons to Sunagakure. All that money would belong to Konoha Ninja Village.

Seeing Tianyun Hyuga support him, Shimura Danzō smiled and nodded at him. To Tianyun, however, Shimura Danzō looked even more terrifying when he smiled than when he didn't.

Shimura Danzō actually wanted to bring Tianyun Hyuga under his command, but the Third Hokage and Hyuga Hiashi guarded the boy like a precious treasure. He couldn't find a single opportunity.

Of course, Shimura Danzō had no intention of harming Tianyun Hyuga. His ability was extremely useful to Konoha, and even if Danzō became Hokage, Tianyun's ability would still be a tremendous asset. That was why he treated Tianyun rather well.

Seeing Shimura Danzō and Tianyun Hyuga exchange looks, the Third Hokage cleared his throat again. "Tianyun, Sunagakure is our ally. It wouldn't be good to refuse them outright. Could you put in a little extra effort and make some more special ninja tools for us?"

Damn it, he's a sly one. So this was why he made me stay, Tianyun Hyuga inwardly cursed the Third Hokage, while saying in an aggrieved voice, "Lord Hokage, I only have so much chakra. Making ten a day is already difficult!..."

The Third Hokage glanced at Tianyun Hyuga, who was playing dumb, and said calmly, "Tianyun, I remember you could already make ten weapons nine months ago. From what I can see, your chakra has now reached a genin's level. Surely you aren't unwilling to work hard for Konoha?"

Since the Third Hokage had laid everything out, Tianyun Hyuga could only say resentfully, "Lord Hokage, making weapons is exhausting. You can't expect me to work myself to death! How about I provide three more a day?"

The Third Hokage shook his head helplessly. "Make twenty a day, and I'll pay you five million a day. What do you think...?"

"Deal..." With money to be made, Tianyun Hyuga eagerly agreed.

Tianyun Hyuga's reaction made Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura want to teach him a lesson on the spot. But with the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō still present, they could only hold back and remain silent for now.

As for Shimura Danzō, he merely frowned slightly before relaxing. In his mind, Tianyun Hyuga's fondness for money meant he had a weakness, and people with weaknesses were the easiest to deal with.

Finally, there was the Third Hokage. He had long expected Tianyun Hyuga to agree if he offered more money, so the moment Tianyun accepted, he announced, "All right. Since Tianyun can make more weapons, I suggest we sell five hundred to the Fourth Kazekage. We can also make some money from the deal to supplement Konoha's finances."

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura nodded in unison, agreeing with the Third Hokage's proposal. Seeing that the other three had all agreed, Shimura Danzō snorted, turned around, and left the Hokage Office.

The moment Shimura Danzō left, Tianyun Hyuga hurried after him. He knew that if he didn't leave now, that old woman Utatane Koharu would definitely grab him and give him a thorough earful.

"Don't forget what you promised. Starting tomorrow, you'll provide twenty weapons a day. I'll let Tiesheng know," the Third Hokage called out loudly when he saw Tianyun Hyuga fleeing.

Already outside the office, Tianyun Hyuga heard the Third Hokage and answered, "Got it," before running out of the Hokage Building.

But the moment Tianyun Hyuga ran out of the Hokage Building, he realized with frustration that he seemed to have forgotten to ask the Third Hokage why he was being made to graduate early.

With a sigh, Tianyun Hyuga decided to head home first. He didn't want to go back to the Third Hokage now, since Utatane Koharu would definitely lecture him. It would be better to wait until tomorrow.

For the past nine months, Meicun Hyuga had spent most of her time at home. The reason, naturally, was that she had discovered the missions the Third Hokage assigned her were only genin-level, and she couldn't muster any enthusiasm for them.

On top of that, Tianyun Hyuga was even richer than she was and didn't need her help at all, so she simply stayed home and continued training.

Furthermore, Tianyun Hyuga had secretly strengthened Meicun Hyuga's body twice, leading her to believe her training was paying off. She trained even harder as a result, aiming to become a jonin within two years.