I Want Double the Happiness (10/10)

I Want Double the Happiness (1010)

Retsuo strolled along a stone-paved path. Beyond the fork ahead lay the new home of the Uchiha Clan.

He looked utterly ordinary, as if he had finished a mission and his training and was preparing to go home.

But suddenly, Retsuo leaped into the air and shot straight up onto the large tree beside the road.

There was no one in the tree.

The Uchiha passing nearby were all baffled. Uchiha Teishō had just spread out a pancake when he shouted, "Little Retsuo, what are you doing now?"

Tenma, who had been following far behind, was equally confused. In the end, they decided to follow him and take a look.

Retsuo stood on a tree branch and waved at the air in greeting. "Good afternoon. You haven't eaten yet, have you? Sorry, but I'm going to have double the happiness today, so I'm afraid you won't be able to eat lunch."

Uchiha Itachi happened to be carrying Sasuke back to the clan grounds when he saw this scene. Though he was still young, he already had nasolabial folds on his face. At this moment, those folds creased, and he felt that something was not simple.

At the same time, in the Hokage Building, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had once again taken his seat as Hokage, was smoking. A smoke after a meal was better than being a living immortal.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy objects crashing to the floor rang out from the third floor. Hiruzen immediately furrowed his brow, feeling that something was not simple.

The next moment, Namiashi Raidō rushed in on all fours, dropped to one knee, and said, "Third Hokage, this is bad! Uchiha Retsuo, he, he—"

"What did he do this time!" Sarutobi Hiruzen roared furiously. "Making him a Genin really was a mistake! Has there been a single peaceful day these past few days? Did he go paint Hokage Rock again, or did he provoke Danzo? Speak!"

"He, he discovered the cameras ANBU placed outside the Uchiha Clan's grounds..."

"What!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly sprang up and raced to the third floor as if his backside were on fire, then burst through the door. The monitoring room was in complete chaos. Three masked ANBU stood frozen before a screen, like clay statues.

On the camera feed, Retsuo was chattering away, his voice clearly coming through the speakers. "In front of these eyes of mine, even electronic equipment can forget about hiding!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen nearly coughed up blood and shouted, "He hasn't even awakened the Sharingan yet, and he's already learned this? Shisui, where is Uchiha Shisui?"

As if summoned by a Summoning Technique, a figure appeared in the room with a whoosh and knelt on one knee. "Uchiha Shisui reporting."

The ninja hero Sarutobi Hiruzen was both incomparably furious and incomparably calm. "When did the Uchiha Clan find out?"

"This..." Shisui was also embarrassed. "It should be Uchiha Retsuo's personal action. I can guarantee that Lord Fugaku, the clan head, knows nothing about it."

"Is that so..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression did not improve in the slightest, but his voice turned cold. This news was even worse than Uchiha Fugaku discovering the surveillance and then sending Uchiha Retsuo out to make the matter public.

The latter would mean that Fugaku was an impulsive clan head, but did not actually want to escalate matters. Everything would still be negotiable. The former was harder to say.

In the next instant, he exploded in fury. "What is this Uchiha Retsuo trying to do!"

"Lord Hokage," Shisui said with his head lowered, "I fully approve of Lord Danzō's plan to monitor the Uchiha Clan's grounds twenty-four hours a day. This will happen to prove our clan's innocence. I believe Lord Fugaku can ultimately accept it as well."

"This has nothing to do with whether Fugaku accepts it or not! What use is his acceptance? Huh? Wait! His acceptance is useful!"

Shisui and the ANBU exchanged glances. It was rare to see the Third Hokage this flustered.

Namiashi Raidō cautiously asked, "Third Lord, Lord Fugaku's approval couldn't possibly be useless, right?"

"What I'm worried about is how the other Ninja Clans will react after learning that the village is monitoring the Uchiha Clan twenty-four hours a day. However, if..."

Just then, Aoba Yamashiro flipped into the room. "Third Lord, Uchiha Retsuo is here. He's in the hall, and I didn't dare stop him from coming in."

"That bastard!" Shisui shot to his feet. He was genuinely getting anxious.

Everything had originally been developing in a positive direction. He believed that once their clan's innocence was clarified and everything was explained to the clan members, they would probably be able to accept it even if they were unhappy.

This was already the best solution after the Nine-Tails' Rampage had severely damaged the relationship between the clan and the village. The knowledgeable members of the clan would certainly approve.

Of course, calling it the best solution did not necessarily make it so. The best solution would be to find the Masked Man's corpse. Then the whole truth would be revealed.

In reality, the village had used who knew how much power beneath the surface to uncover the truth about the Masked Man. Once he was found, the Uchiha Clan would benefit the most.

The clan knew nothing about any of this. All they knew was anger. Uchiha Retsuo, however, was not angry. He had simply flipped the table!

Thinking of this, Shisui rushed out of the monitoring room without looking back, leaping into the hall below. Uchiha Retsuo stood there with an intoxicated expression, the same sort of look the Third Lord only wore after enjoying a particularly satisfying smoke.

Retsuo had come to harvest. The Yin Release Barrier had a limited range, and negative emotions could not be collected from too far away.

That was why he had to come to the Hokage Building. The moment he arrived, the Dark Slime began to boil.

Retsuo could even distinguish who each cluster of negative emotions came from based on the frequency of the alarms. In truth, it did not matter who they came from anymore. The Hokage Building was practically a treasure trove. The amount of "impurities" in the negative emotions born here was simply unimaginable!

It truly lived up to its reputation as the place where the Will of Fire was most concentrated in all of Konoha!

To the slime, this place was a capitalist exploiting workers on a 996 schedule. To Retsuo, it was a high-concentration rich mine, something he had never expected when he decided to risk coming here for a harvest!

The quantity was huge, and the quality was high. Double the happiness.

Once he became serious, Shisui looked nothing like a Toad spirit. His two One Tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, as though they were about to evolve.

When Retsuo saw him, he chuckled. "Yo, isn't this Little Brother Shisui? Where's Third Grandpa?"

He had to chat with Shisui. If anyone provided the most abundant source of ore, Sarutobi Hiruzen was not securely in first place. Shisui showed strong signs of taking second place and aiming for first.

As for people like Aoba Yamashiro and Namiashi Raidō, their Chakra supply was no good. They looked more like bystanders watching the excitement, completely uninvolved and utterly insincere.

I should report them to the Third Hokage. I just wonder who Lord Hokage will believe.

Shisui wore an expression of righteous hatred and growled, "You still dare to see the Third Hokage?"

"What? Are you saying I should keep silent and plot schemes in secret?" Retsuo said smugly. "Although I'm only a child, when I have something to say, I say it properly. That's the correct way to communicate. Unlike some people, who only know how to vent their emotions. You should learn from me."

Afterward, he added silently, Actually, I just like people who vent their emotions.

Shisui sneered. "Who would still dare treat you like a child? But you may have miscalculated this time. I'll tell you plainly: installing the cameras was my suggestion! I'll explain everything to the Esteemed Clan Head!"