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On his way to the Hokage's office, Homura couldn't stop wondering if he had done something wrong to draw Kazuki's attention.
Truly, what goes around comes around—the heavens spare no one.
Homura likely never imagined that one day, he would find himself in such a predicament.
Even a simple trip to the Hokage's office now filled him with anxiety, fearing he might be caught on some minor misstep.
"Lord Advisor, you wanted to see me?"
The position of Hokage Advisor was, by rank, the highest authority beneath the Hokage, even surpassing that of the elders.
As he looked at Kazuki sitting calmly in the office chair, Homura's emotions were complicated.
Addressing him as "Lord" left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he had no choice. The fact that he hadn't used the more respectful "Your Excellency" was the last shred of his stubborn pride.
"Elder, please take a seat."
Kazuki gestured for Homura to sit.
"The reason I called you here today, Elder Mitokado, is because there are some discrepancies in the supply procurement records. Since the Hokage assigned me to handle this matter, I had no choice but to summon you."
Kazuki didn't bother with small talk and got straight to the point.
Could there be an issue with the logistics procurement?
No, I reviewed everything carefully!
Homura's heart skipped a beat, and he nearly jumped out of his chair.
Though he had done plenty of things that harmed the village in the past, he would never dare to tamper with supply procurement—especially not now. If caught, he'd be forced into retirement at best, or thrown into prison at worst.
Tsunade might still show some leniency out of old sentiment, but Kazuki wouldn't.
In fact, Kazuki would probably love nothing more than to toss all the old-timers like him into jail—or even execute them on the spot.
"Lord Advisor, I personally supervised and accounted for all procurement matters. There can't possibly be any mistakes. Are you sure you didn't misread the records?"
So, even you have a day like this?
And did I even say it was your fault?
Kazuki opened the ledger and pointed at the line for explosive tag purchases, letting Homura see for himself:
"Don't you think there's an issue here, Elder?"
"What issue?"
Homura grew even more puzzled. After staring at the document for a while, he gritted his teeth and insisted:
"Lord Advisor, there's no problem with the procurement. I can guarantee it. The quantity and quality of the explosive tags were thoroughly inspected under my direct supervision. You can rest assured, Lord Advisor—I would never joke around with the village's military supplies."
"..."
How many times have you patted your chest and guaranteed things since stepping into this office?
Homura's repeated assurances were starting to make Kazuki lose his patience.
"Elder, I'm talking about the price!!"
Kazuki raised his voice.
"I don't need your guarantees. I know the supplies aren't faulty, and I know you didn't harm the village's interests. The only reason I called you here is that the procurement price for these explosive tags is suspicious!"
"Huh?!"
Homura, who had been mentally preparing his defense, froze. He picked up the ledger again, scrutinized it, and frowned.
"Other than being much cheaper than usual… Wait, no!!"
After decades as an elder advisor, he wasn't completely incompetent.
During procurement, he hadn't paid much attention, but now that Kazuki had singled it out, he realized the problem.
This batch of explosive tags was too cheap—unreasonably so.
Getting a bargain was usually a good thing, saving the village a significant amount of money—as long as the quality wasn't compromised.
The issue was that explosive tags were standard consumable tools in the shinobi world. Their prices never dropped—only rose.
Suddenly acquiring a batch of high-quality explosive tags at a steep discount was undeniably suspicious.
During procurement, the goal was always to secure the lowest price without sacrificing quality. At the time, he had simply assumed the village had gotten lucky.
But now, it was clear the situation was more complicated.
"Could it be… the Akatsuki?"
After the battle in the Land of Rain, the Five Great Shinobi Villages had all come to believe that the Akatsuki possessed the ability to mass-produce explosive tags. Otherwise, there was no explaining the sheer volume of explosions that had nearly reduced Amegakure to ruins.
Those weren't caused by ninjutsu—just pure, overwhelming explosive tags.
From this, it was evident that the Akatsuki had the means to manufacture them in bulk—likely due to Konan, the so-called "Angel" of the Akatsuki.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Homura's expression darkened.
"It seems the Akatsuki have been operating right under our noses, and we simply failed to notice."
"Exactly."
After some thought, Kazuki added:
"That's why I suspect this batch of explosive tags came from within the Akatsuki. After the battle in Amegakure, the Five Great Villages suffered heavy losses, but the Akatsuki didn't come out unscathed either. They've gone completely underground, and maintaining their operations requires funds. Selling explosive tags would be an ideal way to finance themselves. The market for explosive tags is already well-established. The only way to break into it would be by undercutting prices."
"This is too important. We must report it to the Hokage immediately."
Homura inwardly cursed himself.
How did I miss this? I was so focused on saving the village money that I overlooked such a critical clue.
Konoha had been struggling financially for a while now. As the head of logistics—yet unable to monopolize authority—Homura had been doing everything he could to cut costs.
Who would've thought that by sheer accident, he'd stumbled upon the Akatsuki's explosive tag sales?
Wait… are things really that bad for the Akatsuki now?
Has Konan resorted to selling explosive tags to make ends meet?
"Let's go together."
Something this important had to be reported to Tsunade in person.
Kazuki stood, holding the ledger, and headed to the Hokage's office with Homura in tow.
When Tsunade saw Kazuki and Homura walking in together, she almost thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.
Did these two finally make peace?
No… that doesn't seem right.
Kazuki was still holding the procurement ledger she had sent him earlier.
Wait—are they here to confront me?
"Here. Handle matters like this yourself next time. Also, our dear Elder Mitokado here has accidentally accomplished a great deed."
Kazuki tossed the ledger onto the desk, making it clear that Tsunade should deal with her own responsibilities instead of dumping everything on him.
You're the Hokage. I'm just the advisor. Stop piling all this extra work on me.
"Ahem!"
Tsunade coughed awkwardly, quickly changing the subject.
"What great deed has Elder Homura accomplished?"
"..."
To be honest, the credit should've gone to Kazuki.
If not for him, Homura would never have noticed. Now that Kazuki was handing him the recognition, Homura felt somewhat embarrassed—unsure whether to accept it or not.
What's going on? Why does he look so uncomfortable?
Tsunade blinked, silently urging Kazuki for an explanation.
Kazuki glanced at Homura before sighing.
"This ledger has an anomaly. The explosive tags were purchased at an unusually low price, which shouldn't be possible given how difficult they are to produce. Yet, the quality of this batch meets standards while being significantly cheaper."
"What's the problem with that? Saving money is a good thing, isn't it?"
Tsunade was baffled.
Does Kazuki not realize how tight the village's finances are?
Every bit of savings helps!