Hashirama's voice rang out as well.
"Hiruzen, you've disappointed me terribly."
With every sentence, a system notification popped up.
[Gold coins +120.] [Gold coins +180.] [Gold coins +260.]
Zhang Yu sat in the main room, Izuna poured him a drink, and Madara sat by the bar, sneering. None of them tried to intervene.
A long time later, the back door swung open.
Hiruzen Sarutobi walked out.
His Hokage robes were crooked.
His hair was a mess.
His face was as pale as if he had just been pulled from the water.
He didn't even stop to collect his pipe. He gave Zhang Yu a strained nod, then turned and left.
His steps were far too quick for an old man.
Only after leaving the tavern did he dare gasp for breath.
The Undead Tavern.
He never wanted to come back to this place.
The first time, he'd been swindled out of a hundred thousand ryo.
The second time, his teacher and the First had joined forces to teach him a lesson.
A few more visits, and he, the Third Hokage, would probably have to retire early.
Once the storm had passed, Zhang Yu put down his glass and clapped his hands.
"All right, everyone, pull yourselves together."
"The scolding's done, and so is the beating."
"Now let's get back to business as usual."
Hashirama still looked a little unhappy, Tobirama's expression remained cold, and Madara looked as though he had seen through Konoha long ago.
Izuna was the quickest to move, already clearing the tables.
Zhang Yu was just about to have someone move the cracked table away when footsteps suddenly sounded at the entrance.
The wooden door swung open.
A silver-haired figure walked in.
His Forehead Protector was tilted over his left eye, and he held a small wallet in his hand. He looked completely relaxed.
Kakashi Hatake.
After tasting beer the previous night, he had called it a hassle, but his actions said otherwise.
That bubbly drink with its malty aroma was nothing like the sake commonly found in Konoha.
Before Team 7 assembled today, he had taken a detour to buy a few more bottles.
But the moment he stepped inside, his relaxed mood was blown to pieces.
A system notification sounded before Zhang Yu at the same time.
[Ding!] [Key figure detected: Kakashi Hatake.] [New mission triggered.] [Mission name: Bell exercise observation.] [Mission requirement: Send two tavern employees to accompany and observe Team 7's bell exercise.] [Mission reward: 1,000 gold coins, wind-attribute constitution.]
Zhang Yu's eyes lit up on the spot.
Wind-attribute constitution!
This reward had come at just the right time.
He already had fire and earth attributes. With wind added to them, his options in battle would immediately expand.
And there were a thousand gold coins too.
Kakashi truly was an excellent customer.
Kakashi, however, paid no attention to Zhang Yu's expression.
His gaze was fixed on the center of the room.
Hashirama Senju.
He had seen him once before, but back then, he had barely managed to convince himself that his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Now, the First Hokage stood right in front of him, less than three steps away.
More frightening still, a white-haired man stood beside the First.
His cold, severe gaze made Kakashi's scalp tingle.
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply.
"Lord First..."
"Lord Second..."
His voice was quiet, but it carried a shock he couldn't suppress.
How was this possible?
Two Hokage who had long since passed away were standing together in the Undead Tavern.
And judging by their appearance, they didn't look like products of Impure World Reincarnation at all.
No cracks.
No aura of death.
Even their eyes were frighteningly clear.
Hashirama, on the other hand, was perfectly at ease and even smiled at him.
"You're that silver-haired young man from last night, aren't you?"
"Don't be nervous."
"Tobirama and I both work at this tavern now."
Kakashi's head buzzed.
Employees?
The First Hokage and the Second Hokage worked at Zhang Yu's tavern?
That statement was more absurd than any genjutsu.
Tobirama looked Kakashi up and down, his tone calm.
"A descendant of the Hatake Clan?"
Kakashi stiffened.
He wanted to answer.
But the next second, he caught sight of Madara Uchiha by the bar out of the corner of his eye.
Madara sat there with his arms crossed, his gaze cold.
A single glance from those eyes was enough to send a chill down Kakashi's back.
A little farther over, Uchiha Izuna stood silently beside the door, holding a sake flask.
There was no smile on his handsome face, but he carried the sharp edge unique to the Uchiha Clan.
Kakashi's throat bobbed.
The First Hokage.
The Second Hokage.
Madara Uchiha.
Uchiha Izuna.
Four figures of the highest caliber, who should have existed only in historical records, were all in this little tavern.
And he had walked in alone.
Retreat?
Izuna was at the door.
Go forward?
Hashirama and Tobirama were ahead.
Madara was on the left.
Zhang Yu was on the right.
For the first time, Kakashi felt he had stepped inside too rashly.
Cold sweat seeped from his palms, and even his dead-fish eye widened a little.
"Boss Zhang Yu..."
"I'm only here to buy beer."
Zhang Yu looked at him, his smile growing brighter and brighter.
Watching Kakashi panic, break out in a cold sweat, and find himself trapped between four top-tier powerhouses, Zhang Yu smiled and stepped forward, completely cutting off his retreat.
Kakashi instinctively took half a step back.
But as soon as he moved, Izuna casually put the sake flask back on the bar as though he hadn't noticed, positioning himself right by the door.
The door was blocked.
The corner of Kakashi's eye twitched.
Zhang Yu was in front of him.
With a lineup like this, even if he had come to rob the Hokage's office rather than just buy beer, he wouldn't have deserved to be surrounded by such a formidable group.
Kakashi forced himself to calm down and raised the little wallet in his hand.
"Boss Zhang Yu, I really am just here to buy beer."
Zhang Yu walked up to him with a smile.
"I know."
"That's why you're very welcome here."
Hearing the word "welcome" didn't put Kakashi at ease in the slightest.
The last time the Third Hokage came, he had spent a hundred thousand ryo on one bottle of liquor.
This time Kakashi had come to buy beer, and heaven knew what price Zhang Yu would quote.
Kakashi glanced at the people by the bar.
After two seconds of silence, he spoke up. "How much?"
Zhang Yu clapped his hands.
"Straight to the point."
Kakashi's heart skipped a beat.
The more Zhang Yu smiled, the more Kakashi felt something was wrong.
Sure enough, Zhang Yu turned, dragged a case of beer out from beside the liquor cabinet, and set it right in front of Kakashi.
"No single bottles today."
"We're selling it by the case."
Kakashi looked down at the entire case of beer, his eyelid twitching violently.
"A whole case?"
"Yes."
Zhang Yu nodded.
"Twenty-four bottles per case."
"Two hundred ryo per bottle."
"The regular price is forty-eight hundred ryo."
Kakashi had just breathed a sigh of relief.
The price wasn't cheap, but it was still acceptable.
The next second, Zhang Yu added another sentence.
"But today the circumstances are special."
"The package price is twenty thousand ryo."
Kakashi: "..."
He looked at Zhang Yu and said nothing for a long time.
Twenty thousand ryo.
One case of beer.
This tavern wasn't selling alcohol. It was selling heart palpitations.
Kakashi sighed.
"Boss Zhang Yu, haven't you got that package price backward?"
Zhang Yu didn't blush or bat an eye.
"For ordinary customers, buying a case should indeed be cheaper."
"But you're different."
Kakashi asked, "How am I different?"
Zhang Yu smiled. "You're an elite jonin of Konoha."
"And you'll be leading Team 7 in the future."
"Consider this case of beer my advance best wishes for your success with the team."
Kakashi grew even more anxious.