Chapter 534: Even after being offline for so long, he still has to be forced to work

Inside the Hokage's office, Uchiha Kagami, who was busy processing the recent influx of villager complaints, raised his head with a troubled expression and asked Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was puffing away on his pipe nearby.

"Hiruzen, isn't Danzo going a bit too far with this?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was also dealing with similar complaints, replied with a pained expression. As he spoke, he slammed a copy of the recruitment requirements for the Tailed Beast Knight system—transcribed by the Anbu—onto the desk, his dissatisfaction clearly visible.

"This Danzo, 'a bit' is an understatement! He's gone completely overboard!"

"Don't get so angry yet. We were all classmates, after all. Danzo must have some difficulties..."

Seeing this, Kagami prepared to offer a few words of comfort, hoping to avoid damaging the bonds of their old friendship over such a trivial matter.

But before he could finish, Hiruzen gritted his teeth and pointed at the two million ryo registration fee, which had been highlighted in bold on the document. His eyes flashed with undisguised greed.

"Damn it! Charging such an exorbitant registration fee and not even paying taxes to the village? This is a heinous crime!"

"Uh..."

So, the reason he was angry was because they weren't paying taxes...

"Go and invite Elder Danzo over here immediately!"

Furious, Hiruzen ordered the Anbu to fetch Danzo for tea.

Before long, Danzo walked in, escorted by several Anbu. Once the Anbu had finished their mission and departed, he spoke with an unhappy expression.

"Hiruzen, what is it? I'm very busy right now; I don't have time to chat with you."

"Busy? Busy abusing your power for personal gain, are you?"

Hiruzen glared fiercely at his childhood friend. To see him so calm and composed after doing such a thing made him feel as if he, the Hokage, were being completely ignored.

"Who's been snitching on me this time?"

Sensing the unfriendly tone from his friend, Danzo frowned. It was just as he thought: once you reach a high position, you attract jealousy. Every day, there were countless scapegoats being pinned on him.

"Does it even need someone to snitch? Don't you know what kind of dirty deeds you've been up to?"

Seeing Danzo showing no signs of repentance, Hiruzen nearly twisted his nose in anger. He grabbed the stack of complaint letters from the desk and threw them at him.

"I thought it was something serious. So, it's just this."

Danzo caught the letters and scanned them in a few seconds. A look of realization dawned on his face.

At least it wasn't the matter of the watered-down pork being sold at home being exposed.

"You admit it, then? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Exchanging two million ryo for a chance to gaze upon a Tailed Beast Knight at close range—is there any better deal in the world than that?"

Danzo tossed the complaint letters aside and shook his head with utter disdain.

The two men in the office were stunned for a moment. If they thought of this recruitment drive as a fan meet-and-greet, then a two-million-ryo handshake ticket was indeed something that could attract quite a few die-hard fans of the Nine-Tails Knight.

"If it weren't for my grand-uncle stopping me, I would have added even more."

"That's enough! In any case, the way you handled this is highly inappropriate."

"Then should I go back and take off a zero?"

Since Hiruzen had already spoken, Danzo had no choice but to grit his teeth and earn a little less. Even a fly is meat, after all.

"Wait a minute. How many people have registered and paid so far?"

"Let me think... about a thousand people, and the number is still rising."

1,000 * 2,000,000 =...

And this was just the first round of recruitment. If this one didn't succeed, there would be a second, a third...

"Ahem... changing orders so frequently might affect the authority of this recruitment drive. Let's keep it as is for now, but don't let it happen again. Don't let it happen again."

After calculating the numbers in his head, Hiruzen coughed to hide his excitement. He looked at the bewildered Danzo and spoke earnestly, gesturing subtly with his fingers to imply a cut of the profits.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

Seeing that Hiruzen was once again all bark and no bite, Danzo, who hadn't noticed the subtle gesture, curled his lip and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

"Hiruzen, say everything you have to say at once. I'm busy collecting fees over there!"

Seeing Hiruzen hesitate, Danzo frowned, his tone impatient.

"Kagami, I'm leaving work a few minutes early today. Please cut the power and lock the door."

Seeing that Danzo was being so tactless, Hiruzen, who had already changed out of his work clothes, decided to give Danzo a private lesson on the "Will of Fire" later.

"You have to pay taxes."

Kagami, who knew exactly what kind of shady business the two were about to engage in, couldn't help but remind them as they left, out of a sense of responsibility to the village.

"I am the Hokage!"

Hiruzen froze at these words, his expression shifting rapidly. Finally, he turned his head and said with a righteous air,

"Even the Hokage has to pay taxes."

Hearing this, Hiruzen, already feeling guilty, stumbled in his step and fled in a panic, dragging Danzo along with him.

The next morning, a notice stamped with the Hokage's seal was posted next to the Knight recruitment announcement. Seeing the contents, the group of villagers who had been waiting for the Hokage's fair judgment felt as if the sky had collapsed.

【The recruitment activity is authentic and valid. We encourage all aspiring individuals to participate actively. Regarding the high registration fee that everyone is concerned about, after an organizational investigation, the flow of funds is clear, and the Shimura clan has not engaged in any abuse of power.】

【Ps: Limited-time benefit: with your payment receipt, you can exchange it for half a side of premium mountain boar meat at the Shimura butcher shop.】

"Damn it! The authorities are personally stepping in to endorse them. In the end, we still lost to capital..."

Many villagers who were not well-off were filled with resentment. They had originally had a chance to become the revered Nine-Tails Knight, but their path had been cut short by the Third Hokage and the Shimura clan working together to rig the game, leaving them to fade into obscurity.

"Sigh... two million, huh?"

Although two million ryo seemed out of reach, for a ninja, it was actually within an acceptable range.

The reward for a single D-rank mission ranged from ten thousand to one hundred thousand ryo. After deductions, an average D-rank mission could earn fifty thousand ryo. Even for the lowest-ranking Genin, after daily expenses, they could accumulate a significant amount of wealth over a few years.

"I'll risk it!"

Better to gamble once than to live a mediocre life. Perhaps he was the chosen one destined to be selected by the Tailed Beast Card.

Thus, after the clarification notice written by the Third Hokage was issued, the number of applicants multiplied. Danzo, who was bearing the brunt of the insults, counted money until his hands went numb, and Hiruzen, standing behind him, also got his fill.

"Hiruzen, as we agreed, fifty-fifty."

In the secret room, a reluctant Danzo handed a heavy box to a smiling Hiruzen.

"Being Hokage is great. You only need to move your mouth to take away half."

Looking at his friend who was carefully counting the money, Danzo said with a sour tone.

"Danzo, you can't say it like that. I took a risk in this matter, didn't I?"

Hiruzen, smiling, stuffed the box into a storage scroll and stood up, shaking his head.

"By the way, take out ten percent and report it to the village. Otherwise, Kagami will definitely get angry with me."

As he was leaving, Hiruzen seemed to recall something and turned back to instruct him.

"Huh?"

Asking him to take out another ten percent...

Does organizing this recruitment drive cost nothing?

Is the manpower and resources provided by the Shimura clan free?

Is the tea money for asking the Sealing Team to help reinforce the seals around the Tailed Beast Card not something that needs to be paid?

Is the half-side of pork given upon registration falling from the sky?

Are you treating me, Danzo, like a fool?

"Danzo, why is it only ten percent?"

Inside the Hokage's office, Kagami picked up the tax return form Danzo had sent over, his brow furrowing involuntarily.

Your Shimura clan arbitrarily raised the mission deduction to thirty percent; why do you start playing dumb when it's time to pay your own taxes?

"Hasn't it always been ten percent?"

Facing his foster father, Danzo rubbed his hands and smiled apologetically.

"That won't do. The village provided you with a platform to make money; is this how you give back?"

Kagami shook his head with an unhappy expression. Danzo showed a bitter smile.

"Then... twenty percent?"

"Thirty percent. I'm just following the rules. Danzo, as an advisor elder, you should set an example."

Hearing the words "thirty percent," Danzo's heart was bleeding. He had been busy running around, only to end up working for free for Konoha?

In the end, not only did he not make any money, but he even lost half a side of pork.

"Sigh... thirty percent it is. I will lead by example in following the rules."

Danzo took a deep breath, forced a smile that looked worse than crying, and nodded in agreement.

"That's more like it. As expected of a good elder of Konoha, I give you a thumbs up."

Kagami smiled and gave a big thumbs up to Danzo.

"I will definitely vote for you for this year's 'Most Moving Person of Konoha'."

"Young Clan Leader, the statistics..."

"Call me Advisor when we're outside!"

Inside the tent of the Tailed Beast Knight Management and Command Department, which had been set up temporarily, a Shimura clansman rushed in with a stack of registration forms. Danzo, who had been resting with his eyes closed, frowned at the "Young Clan Leader" address.

"Uh, yes, Advisor. The registration list has been compiled. There are a total of 3,144 people: 369 Jonin, 721 Chunin, 1,426 Genin, and 628 civilians."

The clansman reported the precise numbers to Danzo.

"The total registration fees collected..."

"No need to say that."

Thinking of the money that had nothing to do with him, Danzo didn't even want to hear it. He took the registration list from the other person and began to browse through it.

"Huh?"

At first, seeing some familiar names on the list, he didn't pay much attention. But as he continued, a look of confusion gradually appeared on his face.

"Is this the entire list?"

He looked up to ask the clansman waiting before him.

"Yes, Advisor."

"This isn't right. How come there are no Uchihas?"

He read through the entire list several times, even finding the name of his teacher's daughter, but strangely, he couldn't find a single Uchiha.

"Back to Advisor, we indeed didn't find any Uchiha clansmen among those who registered."

The clansman in charge of statistics recalled carefully.

"How can those guys stay so calm? This is their clan leader's 'legacy'."

Unable to figure out the reason, Danzo scratched his head and handed the list back with a look of regret.

Thinking that he hadn't managed to fleece the Uchiha clan, he felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Izuna-sama! Why don't you allow us to participate in the Nine-Tails Knight recruitment? That is the Clan Leader's property; how can we let those ants touch it?"

At the weekly Uchiha clan meeting, the radical faction led by Uchiha Setsuna knelt before Uchiha Izuna without permission, suppressing their anger as they questioned him.

The moment Danzo issued the announcement, the Uchiha clan was the first to boil over.

Originally, the clansmen that Uchiha Gin had screened and kept in Konoha were the emotional radical faction—arrogant, cruel, and believing themselves superior to everyone else. Seeing that the Tailed Beast Card belonging to Uchiha Madara was being publicly displayed by the village, they felt as if they had been severely humiliated and wanted to form a group to snatch it back.

"The Tailed Beast Knight system was never the private property of the Uchiha. It belongs to the village. This is something my brother often said, and you should all be very clear about that."

Uchiha Izuna, sitting in a high position, lowered his head, his tone filled with a faint chill. It was clear that the presumptuous behavior of Setsuna and the others had displeased him.

"But what if the Clan Leader returns and sees that we haven't even protected his driver? How disappointed he would be!"

Feeling the pressure from the aura Izuna was emitting, Setsuna swallowed his saliva and chose a relatively tactful excuse.

"That is not something you need to worry about. If my brother returns, I will ensure that everything that should be brought back is brought back."

Hearing this, Izuna slowly opened his eyes, and a hint of murderous scarlet spilled out. Setsuna and the others kneeling below were instantly drenched in sweat, as if a butcher's knife were hanging over their heads.

So... so strong.

Setsuna's pupils shrank, and he lowered his arrogant head involuntarily, his black eyes filled with terror.

Under the deterrence of the Mangekyo Sharingan, he didn't even have the courage to activate his Sharingan.

"Withdraw."

Closing his eyes and dispersing the scarlet, Izuna waved his hand. Setsuna and the others, as if granted amnesty, scrambled back into the ranks of the clansmen.

"Setsuna, you are still too young. Izuna-sama must have his reasons for doing so."

Looking at the panting Setsuna beside him, Uchiha Hiiragi, as his elder and superior, offered a word of advice.

"I'm not reconciled! The Uchiha are clearly the pillar of the village, yet Izuna-sama allows those clowns to ride on our heads."

Thinking of those members of the Ninja Alliance who usually saw him like a mouse seeing a cat, now daring to walk in front of him with their heads held high, the nameless fire in his heart burned fiercely.

"You're just overthinking it."

Hiiragi rolled his eyes speechlessly. Those guys were busy dividing up the benefits; when would they have time to target you? You must have been obsessed with being plotted against.

In the past, the members of the Ninja Alliance avoided Setsuna because of his status as a member of the Military Police Force. To avoid unnecessary trouble, they would walk around them.

But because of the recent night raid incident, Setsuna not only lost his official position but also spent time in jail. After he came out, he was forced to issue a public apology under pressure, which prevented the conflict between the Uchiha and the Senju from escalating.

"Alright, since no one has anything to report, it's my turn to speak."

After Setsuna and the others withdrew, Izuna looked at the clansmen who had no intention of speaking and stood up slowly. The people below listened intently, despite their confusion.

"I have accepted the guard mission for the Uchiha Trading Company in the Land of Waves and will be leaving Konoha for a long time."

This statement caused an uproar in the hall. Izuna paused, scanned the crowd, and finally landed on a white-haired elder who was dozing off.

"During this period, clan affairs will be managed by the elders. That's right, stop sleeping—I'm talking about you, Elder Ryucha."