Having made his decision, Richard addressed the three candidates seated before him. "I've decided to hire all three of you. Your work schedule will be five days a week, from 10 AM to 5 PM, with an hour break at noon."
"As for compensation, the salary is two hundred thousand ryō per month."
Employing all three of us at once?
Upon hearing Richard's announcement, Kaede Shiranui and the other two candidates exchanged looks of surprise.
They had assumed Richard would select only one of them, but to their astonishment, he intended to hire them all.
Not only that, but Richard was offering a monthly salary of two hundred thousand ryō.
At face value, two hundred thousand ryō might not seem extraordinary—merely 50,000 ryō higher than the minimum payment for an A-rank mission.
But the reality was quite different.
Setting aside the inherent dangers of A-rank missions, before retirement, they were all Chūnin and thus unqualified to undertake A-rank assignments.
Furthermore, unless performing a mission solo, A-rank rewards had to be divided equally among teammates.
For a standard four-person squad, each member would receive just over 30,000 ryō from even the lowest-paying A-rank mission.
Despite their surprise, Kaede and the others readily accepted Richard's offer.
"Since you've all accepted, you'll begin today," Richard said. "There's only one desk at the reception area. You'll need to purchase additional office chairs."
He reached into his system space and produced a paper bag, placing it on the table. "This contains one million ryō for office expenses."
"Draw from these funds for daily office expenditures."
"Yui-san, given your background in finance, you'll handle the firm's accounting."
"Kaede, you'll initially serve as my personal assistant, while Miki will manage front desk reception."
"You'll rotate the personal assistant position every two weeks."
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime."
"Understood, Master Richard!" the three women replied in unison.
"No need for formalities—just call me Richard. I don't care for titles."
"That's all for now. You may go."
"Yes, sir!" Kaede and the others stood, giving Richard a slight bow before exiting the office, gently closing the door behind them.
Once alone, Richard leaned back in his chair, contemplating his next steps.
Kaguya Otsutsuki couldn't be revived anytime soon, which meant he needed to find activities to occupy himself in the meantime.
Without something to do, life in Konoha would quickly become tedious.
After some consideration, he decided to first acquire other jutsu that interested him.
For instance, the Flying Thunder God technique, Impure World Reincarnation, Four Symbols Seal, and others.
Beyond these jutsu, he also pondered whether to preemptively release the Fourth Hokage sealed within the Reaper Death Seal to obtain the Yin half of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Although Naruto was the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, what resided within him was only the Yang chakra of the Nine-Tails.
In simpler terms, Naruto contained only half of the Nine-Tails.
It wasn't until the conclusion of the Fourth Great Ninja War, after Naruto and Sasuke's battle at the Valley of the End, that the Nine-Tails—split by the Fourth Hokage—became whole again.
After some casual deliberation, Richard decided to postpone any plans regarding the Yin Nine-Tails.
Though the Yin Nine-Tails was indeed powerful, he didn't require its power to enhance his own abilities.
However, while pondering this matter, a new idea occurred to him: before departing this world, he could potentially take half of each Tailed Beast with him.
Since the Nine-Tails could be divided into Yin and Yang halves, sealed respectively within the Fourth Hokage and Naruto, the other eight Tailed Beasts could similarly be divided into Yin and Yang components.
While he couldn't employ the Reaper Death Seal to split other Tailed Beasts as the Fourth Hokage had done, alternative methods existed.
For example, he could use his Rinnegan's chakra absorption ability to draw the Yin chakra of other Tailed Beasts into himself.
As long as he could separate their chakra into Yin and Yang aspects, he could selectively absorb only a portion.
Though he'd never attempted such a feat, it was theoretically feasible.
After all, the Fourth Hokage had already proven it possible.
Having sorted out his plans, Richard rose and left his office, entering the reception area.
"I'm heading out. Register any client requests that come in."
"Decline commissions that are overly difficult or tedious. A-rank difficulty is our minimum standard, and compensation should reflect that."
"Would you like me to accompany you?" asked Kaede, his newly appointed personal assistant.
"That won't be necessary," Richard replied promptly.
"Understood," Kaede nodded.
After briefing the three women, Richard departed.
Upon exiting the office, he immediately employed his flight ability, soaring toward the Hokage building.
He soon arrived outside the Hokage's office.
Rather than entering directly through the window as was his custom, he approached through the corridor.
Reaching the door, he raised his right hand and knocked.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Enter!" Tsunade's voice immediately responded from within.
Upon seeing Richard, Tsunade inquired, "Are you here to request my assistance or to fulfill your promise?"
"I'm here to ask for your help," Richard replied as he approached her desk. "As for fulfilling my promise, you haven't assigned me any tasks yet, so there's nothing for me to fulfill."
"Well then, what do you want?" Tsunade continued.
"It's straightforward. I'd like to borrow information on the Sealing Jutsu and Flying Thunder God Technique," Richard stated calmly.
Tsunade's brow furrowed immediately. "Do you realize what you're asking for?"
"Of course I do."
"Don't reject me outright. If you lend me this information temporarily, I'll provide appropriate compensation."
"What could you possibly offer me? Not another favor, I hope?" Tsunade replied sharply.
"You're familiar with the special metal I possess called vibranium. That could be part of our exchange."
"If vibranium doesn't interest you, I have alternatives."
"For instance, this."
With that, Richard extracted a vial of Temporary Compound V from his system space and tossed it to Tsunade.
She caught it, examining the vial with puzzlement. "What is this?"
"This is Temporary Compound V. When injected, it grants the user superpowers they didn't previously possess, lasting 24 hours."
"The specific abilities vary from person to person."
"What's certain is that these powers are always beneficial."
"Examples include invulnerability, enhanced strength, flight, or energy projection."
Richard briefly explained the compound's effects.
Compared to Permanent Compound V, the abilities gained from the Temporary version were far more reliable, with less than a 1% chance of obtaining useless powers.
During his time in the Marvel Universe, he had analyzed both compounds in Silver City's laboratories.
His research revealed why Temporary V rarely produced worthless abilities.
Unlike its Permanent counterpart, the genetic mutations caused by Temporary V were predetermined.
Essentially, Temporary V functioned like a conventional drug.
For its duration, the body underwent predictable, pre-programmed changes.
When the effect wore off, everything reverted to normal.
This explained why Temporary V's effects lasted only 24 hours.
To make awakened powers permanent, Permanent Compound V triggered the most suitable genetic mutations based on the user's individual makeup.
Only through this approach could abilities persist indefinitely once awakened.
Before visiting the Hokage's office, Richard had planned to offer either vibranium or Temporary V in exchange.
Tsunade's choice would depend on which she found more valuable.
After hearing Richard's explanation, Tsunade didn't immediately respond. Instead, she carefully studied the vial in her hand.
After a minute or two, she asked, "Can this substance truly grant someone powers for a day?"
"Absolutely!"
"You're the world's foremost medical ninja. If you're skeptical, examine it in your laboratory, or simply inject someone with it."
"If you prefer vibranium, I'll provide 100 kilograms."
"If you choose Temporary V, I'll give you 30 vials."
Richard stated calmly.
Though he could have offered more, that wasn't how negotiations worked.
"I just inject it?" Tsunade suddenly asked.
"Yes," Richard confirmed.
Upon hearing his answer, Tsunade immediately opened her desk drawer and retrieved a small medical kit.
She extracted a syringe and drew a portion of the Temporary V.
Is she testing it on herself?
Richard immediately deduced Tsunade's intentions.
His suspicion proved correct—Tsunade intended to experience the compound firsthand.
Under his watchful gaze, Tsunade inserted the needle into her left arm and injected the Temporary V.
As the compound entered her system, Tsunade immediately sensed unfamiliar sensations coursing through her body.
She withdrew the needle, discarded it in a nearby waste bin, and stood. "Come with me," she instructed Richard.
Without waiting for his response, Tsunade approached the window and leapt outside.
Richard followed without hesitation.
Soon, they arrived in a forest beyond Konoha's boundaries.
Taking a deep breath, Tsunade pivoted and lunged toward Richard. Her delicate yet devastatingly powerful right fist struck like lightning toward his head.
Just as her attack was about to connect, Richard raised his right hand and caught her fist.
BOOM!
Tsunade's attack was blocked, but the impact created a crater more than ten meters in diameter beneath them. Spider-web cracks instantly spread dozens of meters outward.
Chakra-Enhanced Strength?
Discovering Tsunade's punch was stronger than anticipated, the thought flashed through Richard's mind.
Tsunade wasn't using any Chakra-Enhanced Strength—just the superpowers granted by Temporary V.
After injection, Tsunade had gained three abilities: super strength, super speed, and enhanced physique.
"You weren't lying. Temporary V truly grants formidable powers," Tsunade acknowledged, withdrawing her hand.
"I'm no con artist—I don't peddle fraudulent goods," Richard replied.
"I heard about your confrontation with Jiraiya. You even summon the Three-Tails."
"Though he and I are both Sarutobi-sensei's students, he's never defeated me."
With those words, Tsunade launched another assault.
She leapt high into the air, raising her left leg for a devastating axe kick directed at Richard from above.
Richard had no desire to serve as her punching bag.
As Tsunade executed her drop kick, he employed his super speed to retreat dozens of meters.
Seeing him withdraw, Tsunade adjusted her attack and landed on the ground.
She then utilized her newfound super speed to appear before Richard in an instant.
Chakra-enhanced strength! Super strength!
Tsunade swung her right fist again.
This time, she combined both her chakra-enhanced strength and the compound's super strength, creating a truly fearsome attack.
Though Tsunade's offensive was fierce, Richard's counter was swifter.
Before her fist could connect, his right fist struck her lower abdomen.
BANG!
Tsunade flew backward like a cannonball!
After sailing more than a hundred meters, she crashed to the ground.
Meanwhile, Richard, using his super speed, materialized beside her like a ghost.
"Jiraiya has never defeated you because he never fought at full capacity," Richard stated.
"You're suggesting he's stronger then me?" Tsunade frowned immediately.
"From my perspective, yes."
"If nothing else, he's mastered Sage Mode, while you haven't acquired the equivalent technique."
"He hasn't mastered sage mode, and he's no match for me," Tsunade retorted.
Without hesitation, she showcased her exceptional taijutsu, launching a flurry of punches.
Her combat skills were already formidable.
With Temporary V's enhancements, her close-quarters abilities had become truly terrifying.
Even so, her attacks failed to connect with Richard.