“Money?”
“What money?”
“I don’t have any money!”
When Sarutobi Hiruzen saw ShihōinNaraku standing before him, his wrinkled face had still been wearing a smile.
But the moment he heard that Naraku had come to ask for money, his expression immediately changed, and he began insisting that he had no money.
Naraku stared suspiciously at Hiruzen, not believing him in the slightest.
“The Medical Department turned quite a profit for the village last year.
You spent it all that quickly?”
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked helpless, all the while puffing away at his pipe.
“Young man, Tsunade has really corrupted you.
All you know is how to ask for money.
How can you not trust me…?”
“Think about it.
There are so many departments and institutions in the village that need funding.
Everything needs to be developed.
How could we possibly not be short of money?”
“I know what you’re like.
You did an excellent job with the Medical Emergency Unit and made a tremendous contribution to the village’s development.
It’s not just me—everyone is grateful to you.”
Naraku stared speechlessly at Hiruzen as the Third Hokage rambled on and on without ever getting to the point.
“Money!
Money!
I…”
“I’m getting to that.” Hiruzen smiled cheerfully.
“Look at how well you did in the Medical Emergency Unit.
You can also find ways to make money for yourself in the ANBU.”
How could those things be the same?
Naraku was just about to argue when something suddenly occurred to him.
“Wait a second.
Even if we don’t count the Medical Department’s funds, what about the supplies I brought back last time?
And all that placer gold?”
Naraku hadn’t thought of it earlier.
Otherwise, he would have brought it up immediately.
The placer gold he had seized on the previous mission was more than enough to fund the ANBU’s development.
Actually, the ANBU’s funding wasn’t normally this poor.
Under ordinary circumstances, they weren’t particularly short of money.
The problem was that their benefits hadn’t improved in all these years, while the aging base was also in desperate need of renovation.
That was why Naraku had come to Hiruzen to ask for money.
Faced with Naraku’s forceful argument, the Third Hokage could only reluctantly approve some funding for him.
…
In the past, Danzō ‘s Root organization had been far too powerful, essentially suppressing the ANBU.
Aside from the ANBU assigned directly to protect the Hokage, nearly every other ANBU member had been influenced by Danzō .
Naturally, that meant Danzō had also controlled much of the ANBU’s funding at the time.
Besides receiving money directly from the Third Hokage, Danzō could also obtain funding through his connections with Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
Just think about it.
Orochimaru had once been a member of Root.
So had Kakashi, Tenzō (Yamato), Yakushi Kabuto, and later Sai…
Cultivating talent had always required enormous amounts of money.
It was precisely through his authority and financial resources that Danzō had been able to cultivate so many prodigies.
Now that Root had been forcibly disbanded and Danzō himself had been stripped of his position, there was no way he would continue funding the ANBU.
Therefore, what Naraku needed to do now was essentially the same thing Danzō had done.
As a superior who held both authority and financial resources, his subordinates would naturally gather around him.
At the height of Danzō ‘s power, he had even been able to order his subordinates to assassinate the Third Hokage.
Although Kakashi ultimately failed the assassination, it was enough to demonstrate just how much power Danzō had wielded.
…
Standing inside his office, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Naraku’s departing figure through the glass.
Of course, he understood that from this point onward, Naraku’s authority within the ANBU would continue to grow.
If Kakashi weren’t so indifferent to power, the two would probably fall out and even come to blows before long.
This reminded Hiruzen of himself and Danzō .
The two of them had once been extremely close friends and comrades.
But ever since Hiruzen became Hokage and Danzō became Hokage Advisor and took control of Root, their relationship had never truly been the same again.
“Sigh…”
ShihōinNaraku could feel the gaze from behind him.
He knew the Third Hokage was watching him.
“This old man isn’t worried that I’m going to challenge his authority, is he?”
After thinking about it, Naraku realized that probably wasn’t the reason.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had no need to worry about something like that.
Although he looked like an old man, Hiruzen’s authority could be said to envelop Konoha without a single blind spot.
After decades as Hokage, everyone in Konoha had become accustomed to Sarutobi Hiruzen sitting in that position.
They had even forgotten that the Third Hokage would one day reach the end of his life.
Never underestimate the power of such a habit.
It represented the recognition Hiruzen had earned from everyone.
Even the authority of the First and Second Hokage had never reached the exaggerated level Hiruzen possessed.
Hashirama had been the founder of Konoha, and the various shinobi clans that joined the village had yet to establish genuine trust with one another.
On top of that, he had Madara to contend with.
As for the Second Hokage, Konoha’s development had been moving in a positive direction, and the major shinobi clans had gradually integrated into the village.
But the Uchiha clan remained a major problem.
The establishment of the Konoha Military Police Force had itself been intended to restrain the Uchiha.
And if, at the beginning of his reign, Hiruzen had needed to distribute authority among his comrades because of the Second Hokage’s dying wishes, then the Third Hokage of today had long since established his own authority.
Of course, there was still one way to destroy the Third Hokage’s position.
Kill him outright.
…
After returning to the ANBU, Naraku began taking charge of his planned reforms now that he had funding in hand.
The base would be maintained and renovated.
The ANBU’s dedicated training grounds would be upgraded.
Logistics would be improved.
And ANBU members would receive better benefits.
Just as the Third Hokage had anticipated, if Kakashi hadn’t been the ANBU Commander and someone else had held the position, he would have fallen out with Naraku long ago.
Because this was nothing less than an open attempt to seize power!
Once all these plans were completed, the ANBU would essentially have no room for anyone else’s authority.
In other words, the ANBU would gain a leader even more powerful than Danzō had once been.
“Yo, Naraku.
Let’s walk together.”
Kakashi was leaning against the wall outside the ANBU base, one hand in his pocket and the other holding the newly released volume of Make-Out Paradise, which he was reading with great interest.
Naraku had just finished issuing his orders when he received word that the Jōnin Commander was calling a meeting.
As he walked out of the ANBU base, Kakashi called out to him.
The two left together.
Naraku was still thinking about his plans, so he remained silent.
Kakashi seemed completely absorbed in his book and likewise said nothing.
“Your moves are a little too big, Naraku…”
Naraku came back to his senses and looked at Kakashi, whose eyes were still fixed on Make-Out Paradise.
“Is there a problem?”
“There is a huge problem!”
Kakashi reluctantly closed the book and slipped Make-Out Paradise into his pocket.
In truth, he really didn’t want to get involved in these matters.
Ever since his father, Sakumo Hatake, committed suicide, Kakashi had grown deeply disgusted with struggles over power and authority.
“That man may have disbanded Root, but his influence within the ANBU hasn’t diminished at all… If you keep going like this, you’re bound to come into conflict with him.”
Naraku waved his hand and looked seriously at Kakashi.
“What I’m doing is what you should have been doing in the first place.
Especially when it comes to Danzō .”
The Third Hokage had put Kakashi in charge of the ANBU for more than just the purpose of having a capable fighter at his disposal.
He had also hoped Kakashi could suppress Danzō ‘s rapidly expanding influence over the ANBU and Root.
If Kakashi had actually done that, Sarutobi Hiruzen wouldn’t have needed to take such drastic action to strip Danzō of his position and disband Root.
“Well~ you know what I’m like…”
Kakashi scratched his head and explained helplessly.
“Yeah, I know.”
Naraku spread his hands and turned to look at Kakashi.
“Then why do you think I came to the ANBU?”
“What a pain…”
Kakashi couldn’t help but adopt the Nara clan’s way of doing things and let out a long sigh.
Maybe he should just leave the ANBU.
Kakashi felt it would be much better to simply let Naraku become the ANBU Commander.
That way, he could save himself the trouble.
After all, Kakashi had never liked life in the ANBU in the first place.