Lord Hokage Didn't Haggle

In Konoha, Bieshu Feifan finally returned home.

Like the hundred-odd wounded who had traveled with him, he had returned to Konoha with his tail between his legs.

There was no welcome, no words of concern.

Bieshu Feifan had even paid out of pocket to have his right shoulder treated.

Konoha's hospital actually offered no reimbursement!

Fortunately, the wound wasn't serious. After a simple cleaning and bandaging, it hardly needed any further attention.

After lying around for two days, Bieshu Feifan had mostly recovered. Then it was time to get down to business.

Because over those two days, he hadn't received a penny in payment.

By the usual standards, this deployment should have counted as at least several B-rank missions, along with quite a few C-rank missions.

Patrols, reconnaissance, raids, escorting the wounded, and so on-all of those should have paid.

But two days had passed, and no one had delivered his payment. No one had even come to ask about it.

So Bieshu Feifan went to the Hokage Building.

At that moment, the mission hall on the first floor was packed with postings for D-rank and C-rank missions, all backlogged during the war.

Bieshu Feifan frowned. He hadn't really noticed before.

The war, which had lasted several years, didn't seem to have affected the lives of Konoha's civilians and wealthy residents much. They still had the leisure to post missions.

Bieshu Feifan paid little attention to those irrelevant matters. Right now, he only wanted the payment he was owed.

After looking around, Bieshu Feifan went straight to the Shinobi at reception.

Knock, knock, knock.

Bieshu Feifan knocked on the counter, drawing the attention of the Shinobi on duty.

"Hey, buddy, when do I get my money?"

Confronted with Bieshu Feifan's blunt demand for money, the young Shinobi froze for quite a while, saying nothing.

Only after studying Bieshu Feifan for a good while did he frown and ask:

"Genin, who are you?"

"Me? Heh, listen closely, buddy. I'm a Shinobi personally promoted by Lord Hokage. Got it?"

Hearing that he was one of Lord Hokage's people, the Shinobi at reception immediately broke into a smile.

"Oh, buddy, sorry for neglecting you. Tell me your name and what money you're after, and I'll take care of it right away."

Bieshu Feifan nodded.

"You're a straightforward guy. Then I'll get right to it. I, Bieshu Feifan, am a war hero returned from the Land of Rain battlefield. During this campaign, I completed countless A-rank and B-rank missions, large and small, and even more C-rank missions. I'm here to collect my payment according to the rules."

Hearing Bieshu Feifan's outrageous demand, the Shinobi at reception froze again, then eyed him suspiciously.

Bieshu Feifan's expression immediately darkened.

"What, you don't believe me, or you don't have the authority?"

The Shinobi at reception took a deep breath, then turned and shouted toward the second floor:

"Jianyi, take him to see Lord Hokage."

Since he couldn't handle it, he would leave it to Lord Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi liked getting involved in every matter anyway.

At his shout, someone quickly ran down from the second floor and addressed Bieshu Feifan coldly:

"This way, please."

"Lead the way."

Bieshu Feifan showed no courtesy whatsoever.

It wasn't that he'd gotten carried away. It was that Konoha's highest leader was Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Faced with someone who cared about appearances, loved talking about the Will of Fire, and wouldn't lose his temper casually, Bieshu Feifan didn't want to be too stiff. He could simply act as he pleased.

And right now, Bieshu Feifan was very unhappy that Hiruzen Sarutobi had forcibly sent him to the battlefield-and hadn't even paid him.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in."

"Lord Hokage, this Genin is here asking for money. He says he knows you."

The Shinobi named Jianyi briefly explained the situation to Hiruzen Sarutobi, then withdrew on his own.

At that moment, quite a few people were busily coming and going in the second-floor Hokage's office, though very few used the front door.

Every one of them was an expert at climbing through windows.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't attend to Bieshu Feifan right away. He kept his head down, handling documents, then passed the papers bearing the Hokage's signature to a Shinobi who emerged from the wall.

Bieshu Feifan also took the opportunity to get a good look at Hiruzen Sarutobi, the famous figure from Naruto.

Middle-aged, lean and muscular, with a stern face, he looked a little sleep-deprived.

After quite a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi spotted Bieshu Feifan wandering around and finally remembered that an Anbu had just reported something about a Genin coming to ask for money.

Hiruzen Sarutobi finally set down his pen and looked Bieshu Feifan over.

He was very young, with his right arm bandaged and in a sling. He was looking around and had even helped himself to snacks from the desk, acting as though he were at home.

Seeing Bieshu Feifan still touching things here and there, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a light cough.

Bieshu Feifan's attention immediately shifted to him.

"Child, who are you looking for? I hear you need money?"

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi had finally noticed him, Bieshu Feifan became a little more serious, coughed lightly, and held out his left hand.

"Lord Hokage, seeing you in person really beats hearing about you. You're much younger than I remember, and you look a little stranger too."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's brow creased almost imperceptibly. Looking at Bieshu Feifan's outstretched hand, he very reluctantly extended his own left hand.

Bieshu Feifan genuinely felt a little excited at that moment. He was actually shaking hands with an anime character.

"Hahaha, child, what brings you here?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a fake smile and pulled hard to free his left hand.

When it came to business, Bieshu Feifan's expression instantly turned serious too.

"Lord Hokage, I'm Bieshu Feifan, the Genin you personally promoted. I've returned from the front this time to collect my pay."

"Your pay?"

"Yes. On the Land of Rain battlefield, I took part in hundreds of A-rank and B-rank missions, as well as countless C-rank missions. I'm here to collect my money according to Konoha's rules."

Watching Bieshu Feifan make his outrageous demand with a perfectly straight face, Hiruzen Sarutobi unconsciously picked up his pipe, took a puff, and looked him over again.

Bieshu-what a strange surname.

But precisely because it was so strange, he actually remembered it vaguely. He just couldn't recall when he had promoted the boy.

"Child, when did you become a Shinobi? How old are you this year?"

"Seven. Not long ago. Although I didn't know a single ninjutsu, I caught your attention with an absolutely brilliant exposition on the Will of Fire. You personally approved my becoming a Shinobi, Lord Hokage. Now I'm very poor, and I want my money."

At the mention of an essay on the Will of Fire, Hiruzen Sarutobi instantly recalled that headache-inducing exposition and slapped the desk.

"So it was you."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his tone was wrong and hastily gave a fake cough.

"Ahem, ahem. Child, it's not that the village won't pay you for your missions. The village has just been having difficulties lately, and our funds haven't caught up yet. But we do have your share. It's just this number of missions you mentioned-are you sure you haven't made a mistake?"

Bieshu Feifan fell silent for a moment, then imitated Hiruzen Sarutobi with a fake cough of his own.

"Well, there was admittedly some exaggeration, but I really did take part in quite a few missions..."

Bieshu Feifan gave an exaggerated account of the missions he had carried out during that time, even producing transfer orders bearing stamps from the front.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took them and looked them over. They were all cannon-fodder assignments. Not once had the boy served as a main combatant.

It wouldn't cost much.

But having him come in person to demand money made Hiruzen Sarutobi a little unhappy.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to pay him, Bieshu Feifan spoke first with a long sigh.

"Ah, I know the village is struggling. I won't take the money."

Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately looked delighted.

This child had a little of the Will of Fire in him after all.

Then he heard Bieshu Feifan continue:

"Just exchange all these weighty merits of mine for ninjutsu. Copy out twenty or thirty forbidden texts or A-rank ninjutsu for me. Anything will do.

It's all for Konoha~~~~

Lord Hokage, don't stand on ceremony with your little brother here.

I'll take a small loss. It doesn't matter.

Hahahaha."

Watching the generous, magnanimous Bieshu Feifan, the veins on Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead throbbed.

He took a deep breath to calm himself, then immediately pulled a large wad of banknotes from inside his clothes and held it out to Bieshu Feifan.

"Genin Bieshu, Konoha won't let any Shinobi who has shed blood for the village lose out. Take the money instead.

Have a look. Is it enough?"

Having failed to get any ninjutsu, Bieshu Feifan curled his lip, then snatched the money and started counting it right in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"One bill, two bills, three bills, four bills..."

At Bieshu Feifan's actions, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened, and his grip suddenly tightened enough to nearly crush his pipe.

Only after quite a while did Bieshu Feifan put the money away.

"It's a little short, but it's all for Konoha. Your little brother here will take a small loss. We'll leave it at that."

With that, Bieshu Feifan had already walked out of the second-floor Hokage's office.