Pakura, leading a somewhat apprehensive Kari, pouted and said:
"I'm such a pathetic team leader, I feel like I have no presence at all."
If others didn't know, they'd think Mukai was the teacher in charge!
Upon hearing Pakura's sarcastic remark, Mukai snapped his fingers and said:
"Oh, is Teacher Pakura jealous?"
Alright, it was our impulse to become disciples that got the better of us.
As an apology, I'll cover all your shopping in Konoha!
Your disciple is now incredibly wealthy!
Pakura then happily took the wallet from Mukai's hand and dragged the bewildered Kari to go on a shopping spree.
After Pakura left, Scorpion murmured:
" Mukai, if I'm not mistaken, the wallet you just gave to Teacher Pakura, doesn't it look like mine?"
We're practically family!
Teacher Pakura probably won't spend much...
"Ahhhh..."
Scorpion grabbed Mukai by the neck and shook him for a while before putting his arm around Mi Xiang's neck and whispering a thank you.
Mukai also dropped his playful grin, extended his fists to both Xie and Shisō, bumped them together, and grinned, saying:
"Don't mention it, come on, let's go buy some ninja tools. Order whatever you want to eat."
Oh, and Shisō, don't forget to buy some Konoha specialties for Shira...
The three of them walked arm in arm toward the shopping street.
Konoha Hokage Building
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, was sitting in a chair.
Watching the minor conflict within the crystal ball being resolved by Minato Namikaze,
He took a deep drag on his pipe and exhaled it directly from his nostrils.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Hiruzen Sarutobi dispelled the Telescope Technique, and the image in the crystal ball vanished instantly.
Come in!
A masked Anbu member pushed open the door and entered, placing a report on the table in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Report! A special mission transferred from the Land of Rivers."
Noble Ogawa, was assassinated. According to the investigation, all the evidence points to the Konoha's Anbu.
The daimyo of the Land of Rivers, through the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, issued a task to the village to assist in the investigation.
The evidence and investigation report are all in the documents.
" The Anbu? Assassinating Noble Ogawa? How is that possible?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe in the ashtray, frowning as he flipped through the news report.
When they saw the mask fragments and the Kunai with the special mark among the evidence,
Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the report heavily on the table:
"Go and inform Danzo to come here immediately!"
The masked member of the Anbu immediately formed hand Hand Seals and disappeared amidst the white smoke of the Body Flicker Technique.
A moment later, the door to the Hokage's office was pushed open.
A middle-aged man with short, sharp hair, an X-shaped scar on his chin, and both eyes walked in.
" Hiruzen, I still have a lot of things to take care of. What did you want to see me about?"
The newcomer was none other than Shimura Danzō. He tightened his dark-colored, high-collared short haori and sat down opposite Hiruzen Sarutobi with an air of nonchalance, speaking with some impatience.
Hiruzen Sarutobi took another drag on his pipe, coldly eyeing the casually seated Danzo, and said:
Danzo, you've Danzo!
I'm putting you in charge of the Anbu's training, not sending you to run wild!
Your reckless behavior will bring trouble to the village!
Danzo felt a little uncomfortable under Hiruzen Sarutobi, so he sat up straighter and replied:
"I've always stayed in the village, Hiruzen, don't slander me!"
Besides, it might have been Amegakure that did it; what does it have to do with me?
Those opportunistic guys from Sunagakure will become a threat to the village sooner or later.
Everything I've done is for the village!
Shimura Danzō assumed that Hiruzen Sarutobi Hanzō that the assassination attempt on Pakura had failed, so he quickly defended himself.
" Sunagakure? Amegakure?"
Did they also participate in the assassination of the Noble Ogawa?
When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard that Sunagakure and Amegakure were also involved, he immediately became nervous.
Danzo was also completely bewildered:
"What Noble Ogawa? Assassination? Who did it?"
The two then realized they weren't talking about the same thing.
Hiruzen Sarutobi angrily tossed the report to Danzo.
After Danzo read it, he flew into a rage and said:
"This must be a setup by someone!"
My men have been in Amegakure the whole time; they haven't gone to assassinate this so-called Noble Ogawa at all!
You must believe me, Hiruzen!
What are your people doing in Amegakure?
I clearly remember that the Anbu should not have been assigned any missions from Amegakure!
Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, puffing on his pipe, and seized upon the information revealed by Danzo, demanding an explanation.
Danzo aback for a moment, and then had no choice but to reveal the truth:
"It's nothing, Hanzō invited me. An organization called Akatsuki has appeared in the Land of Rain."
I've heard they have some connections with Sunagakure, and I'm afraid they might collude and threaten Konoha, which is why I sent people to investigate.
I'm doing this to eliminate potential dangers for the village!
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped the table with his pipe and said with dissatisfaction:
You should have informed me before you took any action!
You are in charge of training the Anbu; you have no authority to act without authorization!
All the major powers are now preparing for war, Sunagakure is our ally! Our ally!
I painstakingly invited Sunagakure to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams.
The goal is to strengthen alliances!
Both Sand Ninja teams have now arrived in Konoha, and I have assigned Minato to oversee their safety.
You better behave yourself!
Is targeting Sunagakure without authorization an attempt to push them to the opposite side?
You've crossed the line, Danzo!
Although Danzo concealed the fact that his assassination attempt on Pakura, in conjunction with Hanzō, had failed,
However, he was still very unhappy about being criticized so directly by Hiruzen Sarutobi!
This position should have been his!
Danzo suddenly stood up and said angrily:
Everything I've done is for the village!
Here comes the classic scene: Hiruzen Sarutobi his fist on the table again.
"I am the Hokage!"
These words seemed to possess immense power, Danzo overwhelming Danzo.
He glared, slammed the door to the Hokage's office, and left without looking back.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the still-shaking wooden door, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his head. After a while, he summoned an Anbu.
"Pass down the order to temporarily freeze funding for the Anbu Training Division ( Root )!"
Keep a close eye on Danzo until the Chunin Tournament ends!
"Yes!"
Konoha Orphanage
"Director, the orphanage has just taken in five orphans, and our food supplies are running low."
"It's a worrying old woman at the orphanage," she said.
The Yakushi Nonō, who was treating a child who had lost his left arm, was stunned when she heard what the old woman said.
Wearing a nun's habit and round glasses, she immediately broke into a warm smile:
"Don't worry, I'll go to the commercial street and get some grain on credit."
"The payment from Konoha Hospital will be made at the end of the month; things will get better."
As she spoke, she used her Mystical Palm Technique to heal the child's wounds.
Only after the wound had completely healed did she get up, ruffle the other person's hair, and give them a big smile.
Yakushi Nonō left the orphanage, put on her hood, and headed towards the shopping street.
At this moment, she no longer possessed the confidence she had shown in the orphanage; her face was filled with worry.
Getting credit from those merchants isn't that easy.
The orphanage is out of money; they haven't even settled the debts from last time.
Even so, Yakushi Nonō was determined to give it a try.
She couldn't let those children go hungry, could she?
If all else fails, we'll have to seek funding from the Root.
only...
Yakushi Nonō bit her lip; she understood the darkness of Root better than anyone else.
She absolutely did not want to have any further contact with the Root unless absolutely necessary.
With a heart full of trepidation, she arrived at the rice shop on the commercial street.
Seeing the round-faced boss who came out to greet her, Yakushi Nonō was about to speak when the other person beat her to it:
"It's Nonō!"
We have received the payment for the goods you sent.
I'm so grateful that they've placed all the grain orders for the next year with advance payment!