He had scrimped on everyday expenses to save those one hundred thousand ryo.
He had planned to buy some good tobacco later.
Now, with a single word from Zhang Yu, it was all gone.
Hiruzen Sarutobi ventured, "Could you make it a little cheaper?"
Zhang Yu's smile didn't waver.
"Lord Third, peace in Konoha is worth a great deal."
Hiruzen's heart jolted.
There was no explicit threat in those words.
But he understood.
What he was buying with this bottle wasn't liquor.
It was an attitude.
It was the Undead Tavern's goodwill for the time being.
Kakashi understood too, and his expression grew complicated.
Zhang Yu continued, "Besides, this is your first visit to my establishment, Lord Third. Buying a bottle to support the business would also be a way of showing a small-time owner like me some respect."
"We'll be seeing plenty of each other from now on."
"If we're on good terms, a lot of things will be easier to discuss."
Hiruzen looked at Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu looked back at him.
One wore an unhurried smile, while the other's expression was calm.
But Kakashi could sense the clash taking place beneath the table.
If Lord Third refused, nothing might happen immediately.
But the Undead Tavern would probably not be so easy to deal with.
Hiruzen finally let out a long sigh in his heart.
Endure.
I have to endure.
Konoha couldn't afford the uncertainty posed by Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha right now.
One hundred thousand ryo was expensive, but compared to the village's safety, it was nothing.
But...
His secret savings!
Hiruzen took the banknotes from inside his robes, moving as slowly as if he were cutting off his own flesh.
One.
Two.
Three.
He counted out one hundred thousand ryo and placed it on the counter.
Zhang Yu swiftly scooped up the money, his smile growing more sincere.
"How generous of you, Lord Third."
"This bottle of erguotou is yours."
Hiruzen picked up the bottle, his hand feeling a little heavy.
It wasn't the liquor that was heavy.
It was his heart.
Ten years of secret savings, exchanged for a single bottle of liquor.
Hiruzen felt he hadn't come to gather intelligence tonight.
He had come to be robbed.
And he had to let himself be robbed politely.
A notification sounded in Zhang Yu's head.
[Ding!] [Mission complete.] [Rewards issued: 2,000 gold coins and one chance to unlock a random product.]
Zhang Yu was overjoyed.
What a haul.
Not only had he earned one hundred thousand ryo in cash, he had also received two thousand system gold coins and a product unlock.
The Third was worthy of being Hokage.
What a high-quality customer.
Zhang Yu was in an excellent mood, and he saw his guests out even more warmly.
"Take care, Lord Third."
Hiruzen nodded and turned to leave.
As he reached the door, Zhang Yu spoke casually, as though he had just remembered something.
"Oh, Lord Third."
"Konoha had better watch out for thieves tonight."
Hiruzen stopped in his tracks.
He turned to look at Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu had already lowered his head to wipe the counter, as though he had merely reminded a guest to be careful on the road at night.
Hiruzen stared at him for two seconds, but in the end asked nothing.
He no longer dared treat anything Zhang Yu said as a joke.
Yet Zhang Yu refused to speak plainly.
Hiruzen could only keep those words in mind as he left the Undead Tavern with Kakashi.
The night breeze made Hiruzen feel even more depressed.
Kakashi followed beside him and said quietly, "Lord Third, that bottle of liquor..."
Hiruzen's face darkened further.
"Don't mention it."
Kakashi took the hint and shut his mouth.
Hiruzen looked at the erguotou in his arms, and the more he looked, the more his heart ached.
One hundred thousand ryo.
A full one hundred thousand ryo.
His secret savings from ten years.
He normally had to budget carefully even when buying tobacco, yet one bottle of liquor had cost him everything tonight.
And he'd had no choice but to spend the money.
The more Hiruzen thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt.
In all his years as Hokage, it wasn't as if he had never suffered a loss.
But being openly fleeced and having to smile as he paid, as he had tonight, felt truly awful.
The two returned to the Hokage's office building.
The moment they arrived downstairs, Hiruzen sensed something was wrong.
The Anbu's movements were in disarray.
The next second, several Anbu appeared using the Body Flicker Technique and dropped to one knee.
"Lord Hokage!"
Hiruzen's expression darkened.
"What happened?"
The Anbu in the lead spoke urgently.
"An emergency!"
"The Scroll of Seals has been stolen!"
The Anbu knelt before the office building, his voice low, but his words struck Hiruzen's heart like a heavy hammer.
Hiruzen's grip on the erguotou tightened sharply.
Just a moment ago, Zhang Yu's words, "Konoha had better watch out for thieves tonight," had still been echoing in his head.
And now the Scroll of Seals really had been stolen.
Kakashi's expression changed too.
"Lord Third..."
Hiruzen ignored him and turned on his heel, his Hokage robes snapping in the night wind.
"Issue my orders!"
"Deploy all Anbu!"
"Seal off every major route in the village and put all exits under lockdown immediately!"
"Track down the thief, and recover the Scroll of Seals as soon as it's found!"
The Anbu bowed their heads as one.
"Yes, sir!"
Immediately afterward,
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dark figures scattered from around the Hokage's office building.
Across rooftops, between walls, and along the edges of the woods, Anbu Ninja flooded toward every part of Konoha like a black tide.
Kakashi stood beside Hiruzen and said quietly, "Lord Third, Master Zhang Yu warned us about this in advance."
Hiruzen's expression was grim.
"I know."
He looked toward the dark mountain behind the village.
"Find the Scroll of Seals first."
"We'll discuss the Undead Tavern afterward."
Meanwhile.
On the mountain behind Konoha.
Naruto Uzumaki sat beneath a tree, hugging the Scroll of Seals, which was bigger than he was, his face full of excitement.
"Hehe!"
"As long as I learn the Ninjutsu in here, I'll be able to graduate!"
"Iruka-sensei will be so surprised!"
He spread out the scroll and widened his eyes, trying hard to read the text.
But even the very first Ninjutsu in the Scroll of Seals was not something a child who had just failed to graduate could easily understand.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique..."
Naruto scratched his head.
"This looks amazing!"
"But aren't these hand seals way too complicated?"
He complained, but the smile never left his face.
In his mind, this wasn't stealing.
It was a special test.
It was the opportunity Mizuki-sensei had told him about.
As long as he learned the Ninjutsu and brought back the Scroll of Seals, everyone would acknowledge him.
He would become a real ninja.
Iruka-sensei would praise him.
He would make the people who looked down on him shut up.
As Naruto bent over the scroll, a figure darted through the other side of the forest.
Mizuki.
The gentleness had long vanished from his face, leaving only greed and impatience he could barely contain.
"Almost there."
"As soon as I get the Scroll of Seals, I can leave Konoha."
"Lord Orochimaru will surely be interested in these forbidden techniques."
"Then I, Mizuki, won't have to stay at the Ninja Academy teaching those stupid students anymore!"
At the thought, Mizuki's breathing grew heavier.
He forcibly suppressed the embarrassment he had suffered at the Undead Tavern that day, and the humiliation of being scared limp by a single look from Madara Uchiha.
As long as he succeeded tonight, he would be the man who brought Konoha's forbidden techniques to Orochimaru.
What was a mere Konoha Chunin compared to that?
He wanted to climb higher.
To a position where everyone would look up to him!