The Hokage's office.
Tanzō and Hiruzen sat together at a sandalwood table.
In front of the table, a middle - aged man was making an impassioned plea.
"…Your ninja have caused great destruction in our village. If Konoha doesn't give a reasonable explanation and compensation, our combined forces of Kusagakure Village and Iwagakure will raze Konoha to the ground in no time!"
"Chuckle." Tanzō laughed.
He was the sword - wielder who carried Konoha's darkness in the shadows. He never showed his emotions, and the darkness in his heart was beyond ordinary people's imagination.
He rarely laughed, but the messenger from Kusagakure Village really made him laugh this time.
"It's been a long time since I saw Tanzō laugh so happily…"
Hiruzen was a bit absent - minded and even forgot to scold Tanzō for not putting on a proper act in front of the messenger.
"Damn it!" The messenger from Kusagakure Village was furious.
He was earnestly accusing them, but the other side laughed out loud without any restraint.
This was an affront to him, no, to Kusagakure Village!
He pointed at Tanzō and angrily questioned, "Hokage - sama, what does he mean? Is he looking down on our Kusagakure Village?"
"Put your hand down!"
Before Hiruzen could say a word, Tanzō's face darkened. He said word by word, "If you dare to point at me again, I'll cut off your hand and feed it to the dogs."
"You…!" The messenger from Kusagakure was both shocked and angry.
He instinctively withdrew his hand, but soon summoned up his courage and questioned Hiruzen again, though he was all bluster and no bite.
"Hokage - sama, is this what your village means? Does Konoha really not fear us marching on Konoha with our troops?!"
"Chuckle."
Seeing the messenger from Kusagakure looking so determined, Hiruzen could hardly suppress his laughter.
Marching on Konoha with troops? Seriously?
Right now, Iwagakure and Kumogakure were exhausted from their fight and struggling to cope. They'd be lucky if Konoha didn't send someone to stir up trouble in Iwagakure.
Would they offend Konoha for a small Kusagakure Village?
Hiruzen thought it was unlikely.
As for Kusagakure Village, if Konoha wanted to, it could just send a few squads there. By next week, the residents of Kusagakure Village could get Konoha's ID cards.
"No no no, our Konoha is a ninja village that yearns for peace." Hiruzen said with a smile.
"Messenger, rest assured. Konoha will definitely give you a satisfactory answer to this matter."
With the excuse given by Hiruzen, the messenger from Kusagakure looked a lot better. He bowed and said,
"That's good. Please give me an answer as soon as possible, Hokage - sama. I need to go back and report."
"…"
After some polite talk, they saw the messenger off.
Hiruzen put down his pipe and rubbed his temples helplessly.
"Tanzō, you've caused too much of a stir in Kusagakure Village this time."
"Humph, so what?"
Tanzō snorted. He didn't want to have the usual "soft, Kage, regret" conversation with Hiruzen and directly asked.
"Did you call me here just to scold me?"
After saying that, he flicked his sleeve and made a gesture to get up and leave.
"Of course not, old friend." Hiruzen grabbed Tanzō's arm and said with a smile.
As for a mere Kusagakure Village, it doesn't matter if we've offended it. It won't affect Konoha's peace at all. Hiruzen didn't care about it at all.
"Shikaku sent some good tea. I called you here today to have you accompany me to taste it together." Hiruzen said.
Tanzō gave Hiruzen a sidelong glance and slightly raised the corner of his mouth: "Humph, that's more like it. But I'm not in the mood to make tea for you now."
"Hey~ I'll make tea for you today. Just enjoy it." Hiruzen fetched the tea set from the side and said with a beaming face.
He heated the teapot, put in the tea leaves, and warmed the teacups.
After Hiruzen poured tea for Tanzō, he asked, "By the way, I heard that Kaze brought back a Uzumaki clansman from the Grass Ninja Village this time?"
"Humph, since she was brought back by my son, she naturally belongs to my Root. Don't have any ideas." Tanzō said warily.
"Okay, okay, I got it." Hiruzen waved his hand helplessly and then spoke up.
"In war, one should not harm envoys. Let that messenger go."
Tanzō nodded slightly and replied, "Since you've said so, I'll give you face and spare his dog life."
Shimura Residence.
Kaze, who had been busy for a long time, finally lay on the bed, thinking that he could finally take a rest.
He even had some improper thoughts.
However, just then, the system's prompt tone suddenly rang out, almost scaring him to death.
[It is detected that the host has escaped danger and even has improper thoughts. The
Kaze: "???"
"Don't shoot your mouth off and smear my reputation out of nowhere, System!"
System: [Hehe.]
"Also, what the hell is this
[The host's speed attribute value has exceeded the Elite Jonin level. An advanced assessment must be completed. Otherwise, the host cannot trigger multiple-choice questions.]
Isn't that just blocking my cheat code?
Kaze asked very unhappily, "I'm just saying, System, what's the point of this advanced assessment?"
[This is a rule of "Order". Its purpose is to make the host have a sense of crisis and prevent the host from becoming a useless person who only relies on the system.]
"Damn..."
The System's words were reasonable, and Kaze was at a loss for words for a moment.
A useless person who only relies on the system. It can't be talking about me, right?
However, after thinking about it for a while, he suddenly thought of something and asked suspiciously.
"System, are you fucking looking for an excuse to slack off?"
After getting in touch with the System for so long, he had already discovered that his System was not a rigid tool that only followed procedures.
This thing definitely has its own consciousness!
The System gave Kaze the feeling of being more like an online customer service.
Maybe there's just a slovenly guy typing on the other end of the [System] interface!
[You're overthinking, Host. Please complete the advancement assessment as soon as possible to unlock the reward: a small amount of *Adaptive Hashirama Cells.]
"Alright then."
Kaze pouted. "What's the advancement assessment? Just tell me."
Since he couldn't resist, he might as well accept it. Fortunately, the reward was decent.
[Advancement assessment: Please, Host, rely on your own efforts to raise your killing power attribute value to 20.]
"That's it?" Kaze was stunned.
He thought the advancement assessment would be extremely difficult, but it turned out to be just this?
[Host, let's talk after you've completed it. I'm off work. Bye.]
"I freaking knew it! Damn it!" Kaze angrily slapped the bed.
"Kaze, are you home?" At this moment, Minato's voice came from outside the house.
"I'm here. Wait for me. I'll come out right away." Kaze shouted towards the outside.
He hurriedly put on a coat, jumped out of bed, opened the door, and walked out.
"Um..."
Looking at Kaze walking towards him, Minato seemed hesitant to speak.
"Kaze, although this is your home, but..."
"What's up, Minato?" Kaze looked puzzled.
Following Minato's gaze, he looked down and only then did he realize -
He wasn't wearing his pants!
It was all the [System]'s fault! It made him so mad he lost his head!
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