NOVEL NEXT Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Triple Pay for One Job
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Facing Danzō's suggestion, Tobirama Senju suddenly felt a surge of satisfaction, mentally giving Danzō a thumbs up.
Indeed, they needed someone with less intelligence to challenge this monster Rinjin, making it easier to gather intelligence on him!
Thinking this, Tobirama glanced with interest at Rinjin's darkening expression, offering no comment.
He wanted to see, very much wanted to see, how Rinjin would handle this!
Though Rinjin hadn't caught Tobirama's interested gaze, at this point;
When a Hokage stays silent, waiting for a child to speak?
The implications were crystal clear.
Instantly, all eyes in the office focused on Rinjin.
After a brief pause, the dark clouds on Rinjin's face melted away like snow. He suddenly broke into a grin and, shaking his head with feigned pity, addressed Danzō who wouldn't even look at him properly.
"Danzō Shimura, you'll never become Hokage."
"What?!" Danzō whirled around, rage exploding in his eyes as if he wanted to devour Rinjin whole.
The reason for his anger was simple - he desperately wanted to become Hokage!
Even now, Lord Second Tobirama Senju hadn't clearly indicated who would be the next Hokage.
This meant that he, Danzō Shimura, was still one of the candidates for Third Hokage.
But only Tobirama himself knew that only Hiruzen Sarutobi was capable of bearing the mantle of Hokage.
Not Danzō Shimura, not Homura Mitokado, not Koharu Utatane, not Torifu Akimichi, and as for Kagami Uchiha - while he had both the ability and conviction, Tobirama dared not risk putting him in a position torn between village and clan.
As for why Hiruzen Sarutobi was suitable - it wasn't his strength, personality, or ability, but rather that among the six, he most resembled his brother Hashirama.
Hearing Rinjin's words, Tobirama was startled, a bad premonition suddenly arising;
His instincts told him to stop this fellow from continuing!
But reason told him to let him continue. It would help analyze this person.
For a moment, conflicting lights flickered in the depths of Tobirama's eyes.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a surge of joy.
Anyone who claimed they didn't want to be Hokage was lying.
Most importantly, although his teacher had said not to let Rinjin into Konoha's upper echelons, clearly showing distrust; Sarutobi actually trusted his own judgment.
This Rinjin valued bonds more than life itself, which made Sarutobi think highly of him and willing to trust him.
Therefore, he was less inclined to doubt Rinjin's words.
If Rinjin knew Sarutobi's thoughts, he would have been shocked.
Because his fourth contingency plan, the one meant for Hashirama Senju, had somehow been seen through by Hiruzen Sarutobi!
Rinjin grinned at the increasingly furious Danzō, his eyes slowly narrowing.
"Mr. Danzō, do you know what humanity's greatest weakness is?"
Danzō remained silent. At this moment, he only wanted to strangle this fellow immediately - oh right, and the little one beside him too.
Rinjin didn't expect this guy to answer such a question anyway. Instead, he lovingly patted Rie's smooth little head.
"Rie, tell him what humanity's greatest weakness is?"
Rie timidly looked around before answering in a tiny voice: "Arrogance."
Silence...
A silence so complete even breathing seemed to stop...
Tobirama Senju suddenly saw two faces in his mind - his brother and Madara Uchiha; the arrogant Madara and his brother who greeted everyone with a foolish smile.
Kagami Uchiha thought of his clansmen, those pairs of eyes full of hope for him but cold indifference to outsiders, filling his heart with grief.
"So, this is what breadth of mind means?"
Kagami's unconscious words made Danzō's face burn as if slapped by an invisible hand.
"What do you mean? I lack breadth of mind? Impossible! I'm willing to bear infamy and darkness for the village, how can you say I lack breadth of mind?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Danzō's heart sank.
Damn it!
How could he blurt out something about "bearing darkness"!
Unwritten rules are called unwritten for a reason - everyone knows them but tactfully keeps quiet, not because they can't be spoken of, but because speaking them aloud inevitably has consequences.
Well done - hit the nail on the head;
Even if he didn't want to bear darkness and infamy before, now he would have to!
Realizing this, Danzō immediately lowered his head, not daring to show any more anger before the Second Hokage.
He had lost his qualification to compete for Hokage, just now, just after that damned brat's few words.
Now, he just hoped Tobirama wouldn't despise him from the bottom of his heart.
Seeing Danzō back down, Rinjin also chose to cease hostilities... yeah right!
When you've got a snake cornered, you finish it off. Today he would completely destroy him with Talk no Jutsu.
Dare to provoke someone as petty as him? He had to teach him a lesson.
Thinking this, the mischief in Rinjin's belly churned even more vigorously.
"Oh right, there's one more thing..."
Before Rinjin could finish, Tobirama raised his hand to interrupt.
"Enough. Saru, take him to handle the enrollment procedures!"
Hiruzen also felt they couldn't let this fellow continue speaking. He quickly grabbed Rinjin's sleeve and fled the Hokage's office as if escaping for his life.
"Don't forget to send the envelope to Amagawa at the exchange..." Rinjin hadn't finished speaking before Hiruzen forcibly dragged him out of the office.
Seeing this, everyone in the office except Tobirama sighed in unison, feeling their backs soaked with cold sweat.
Rinjin Sakuta was too skilled at manipulating people's hearts - this was more terrifying than any forbidden jutsu they knew!
Just because Danzō Shimura wanted to show off a bit, this fellow directly stripped him of his candidacy for Hokage.
Not just in their minds, but more importantly in their teacher's heart.
Thinking of this, everyone unanimously reached one conclusion - they must never, ever let this fellow into Konoha's upper echelons.
Tobirama sat behind his desk, maintaining his usual calm expression.
But in his heart, he sighed while summarizing the intelligence.
Name: Rinjin Sakuta
Potential: S+
Loyalty: E-
Value: S+
Personality: Extremely devoted to family, extremely vindictive
Recommendation: Either eliminate directly or ignore.
Approach: Ignore Rinjin Sakuta, focus on approaching through Rie Sakuta; make contact via Anko Katō.
...
After completing the enrollment procedures, Hiruzen escorted Rinjin and Rie to the entrance of the Hokage Tower.
Just as the three were saying goodbye, Hiruzen suddenly called out to Rinjin, asking the question that had been puzzling him.
"Rinjin-kun, why are you so determined to enter the ninja academy?"
Hearing this, Rinjin gave a bitter smile, glancing at the well-behaved Rie beside him.
"What else could it be for? It's all about the money."
Then he began pouring out his woes to Hiruzen.
"Uncle Sarutobi, you don't understand! Working as a blacksmith is backbreaking work, but I can only earn twenty or thirty thousand ryō a month at most.
Even if I pinch pennies here and there, I can't skimp on Rie's food, right? By that calculation, I'll have maybe twenty thousand ryō left each month.
That's two hundred and forty thousand ryō a year, and in ten years, just two million four hundred thousand ryō.
I can't keep freeloading at Uncle Ippongi's place... oh right, Uncle Ippongi is my boss, I can't stay at his place for ten years!
And gradually, as Rie grows up, she can't share a room with me when she becomes a young lady!
I asked around - a three-bedroom apartment in Konoha costs five million ryō!
It would take me twenty years to save that much, and even if my salary increases, won't Rie's expenses increase too?!
When the little girl grows up, if her classmates have pretty dresses, shouldn't she have them too? If her classmates are eating good food, I can't let her just watch and drool, right?!
I promised her mother I'd take good care of her, I can't let her eat humble fare with me!
Mother Mary~How am I supposed to support us father and daughter if I don't become a ninja and earn money from missions!"
By the end, Rinjin was choking up, and beside him, Rie cooperatively burst into loud tears.
Aren't you two supposed to be siblings?!
Hiruzen was completely dumbfounded, staring blankly at Rinjin, feeling like he was seeing an old father bent over by the weight of life.
He had imagined countless possible answers from Rinjin, but never expected such a down-to-earth response - it was practically an *Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique*.
"This... this... I have some savings here, you can use it first?" Hiruzen awkwardly pulled out a stack of money from his ninja pouch, trembling as he handed it to Rinjin.
Seeing this, Rinjin wiped away his nonexistent tears and looked eagerly at Hiruzen.
"Uncle Sarutobi, thank you so much, but I can't accept it!"
Then, wiping away more nonexistent tears, he showed his true colors.
"By the way, I should be considered a double agent for both Konoha and Amegakure, right? If Amegakure pays a salary, shouldn't Konoha too?"
Hearing this, Hiruzen didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Damn it, he'd been led around by this guy again.
At this point, he really couldn't bring himself to say no.
"Ahem... wait a moment, I'll ask my teacher."
With that, he used Body Flicker Technique to disappear from the spot as if fleeing.
After quite a while, Rinjin finally saw Hiruzen return, and received his first income in Konoha - ten thousand ryō in cash.
Seeing Rinjin's disdainful expression, Hiruzen said with an odd look:
"Don't complain it's too little, ANBU members only get this much per month."
Having said that, fearing Rinjin would put on another poor-mouthing performance, he left without looking back.
Rinjin patted the bills in his hand, clicked his tongue, and sighed:
"Well, something is better than nothing."
After muttering this, he thought about how he was getting triple pay for one job, and his mood instantly brightened. He carried the giggling Rie home on his shoulders.
At the huge floor-to-ceiling window in the Hokage's office, Tobirama watched Rinjin's head bobbing happily, his handsome face growing long as he mentally added another evaluation for this fellow.
Shameless!