"Back already?"
Kawaki saw Minato and the others stagger through the door. Not long after, he found Kawaki sitting in the martial arts training hall.
"Teacher."
They looked like kids caught misbehaving—suddenly a little more sober.
"Drank quite a bit, didn't you?"
Kawaki arched an eyebrow but said nothing further.
It wasn't a big deal to have a drink once in a while.
"Just had a little."
Minato's words were slurred, but he insisted it was nothing.
"Alright, you can go back. I need to talk to them."
With a helpless smile and a shake of his head, Kawaki waved a hand, sending Minato off to bed.
"Yes, Teacher."
Minato obediently left, leaving Yahiko and the other two standing there awkwardly.
"Sit down."
Kawaki gestured for the three to sit.
"Teacher, do you have any instructions for us?"
After sitting, Yahiko shook his head to clear the blurry image of Kawaki.
"Don't drink too much if you can't handle it."
"Drink some tea to sober up."
Kawaki didn't get straight to the point. Instead, he poured tea for his three disciples.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Yahiko and the others remained very polite toward Kawaki.
One cup of potent tea cleared their heads even more.
"This is the strategy I've designed for you."
"When you return to the Land of Rain, just follow this plan."
Kawaki pulled out a scroll and handed it to Yahiko. It was filled with brilliant ideas from Kawaki's careful thinking.
"We definitely won't let you down, Teacher."
Yahiko had complete faith in Kawaki. Without even glancing at it, he took the scroll and carefully put it away.
He believed any strategy their teacher devised would be spot-on. They only needed to execute it.
"This is your pocket money. Don't waste it."
Kawaki glanced among the three before finally handing the envelope to Konan.
It wasn't because she was good with finances—it was mainly because her greedy expression was just too much for Kawaki to bear.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Konan beamed like a sunflower in bloom. That thick envelope could last her ages.
"Didn't the teacher's wife already approve the budget?"
Nagato was still rather innocent when it came to money.
"That was public money. This is your pocket money."
"This is my love for you."
Kawaki felt he couldn't offer much help, so he could only give them these "small" amounts of cash—nothing more than that.
"Thank you for your love, Teacher."
Konan gently nudged Nagato. Secretly, she wished this love came in thicker bundles.
If possible, she wished it would never stop—stacks so high you couldn't see the top.
"No, no, I can't give this to you."
Suddenly remembering something, Kawaki took the envelope back.
"Teacher, how could you do this?"
Staring at her suddenly empty palm in disbelief, Konan was flabbergasted.
Once the money was in sight, it belonged to her. How could the teacher snatch it away?
"I don't want you going hungry."
"You're still short one person."
Kawaki gave Konan a disapproving look and said seriously.
"What kind of person are we missing?"
Even Yahiko began to feel increasingly confused.
"You still need someone to manage the money."
A familiar figure flashed in Kawaki's mind—he knew just who… though he wasn't sure whether that person was still alive or not.
"Teacher, I don't have a problem handling money."
Konan directed her words at Kawaki, but her gaze wasn't on him.
"I don't trust you."
Maybe it was the bias from the original storyline, but Kawaki didn't fear offending Konan.
"Teacher~"
With no choice, Konan pouted cutely. Usually, this trick worked well.
"Even calling me 'Dad' won't work this time."
"Do you remember that guy we told you to catch a few years back?"
Kawaki was referring to Kakuzu, Akatsuki's Minister of Finance.
"Who?"
Yahiko and the others had completely forgotten about him.
Back then, the three of them were just goofing off—Minato was the one doing the real work.
"That Kakuzu dude. You don't remember him at all?"
At the mention of his name, Yahiko and the others slowly recalled.
"Oh right, that unlucky bastard."
Yahiko couldn't help but laugh. That guy had gotten totally played by Teacher.
Not that he didn't deserve it anyway—who told him to overestimate himself and try assassinating Teacher?
"That's the one."
"Don't look down on him. He may not be great in other areas, but managing money is something he's really good at."
Kawaki sounded like a salesman, trying to sell Kakuzu to Yahiko and the others.
"Really?"
"He just doesn't seem that smart to me," Nagato said bluntly. His impression of Kakuzu wasn't particularly good.
"Forget whether he's smart or not. Just bring him along anyway."
Kawaki kept pushing hard. In his opinion, Kakuzu hadn't done anything too bad yet—he could still be useful.
"You're serious?"
Konan couldn't help feeling that guy wouldn't be better than her.
"Dead serious."
Kawaki nodded. In his opinion, Kakuzu was far more dependable than Konan.
He's frugal, great with money, and knows how to manage a tight budget.
Otherwise, where else would he get 900 million to buy his way out?
"Hmph~ Whether he's alive or dead isn't even certain yet."
Hurt, Konan wondered why she seemed so unreliable to Teacher.
"That's easy enough to fix."
"Go check the Anbu cells tomorrow."
"If he's alive, bring him. If he's dead, leave him."
"I'll give this money to Nagato for safekeeping first."
Kawaki didn't hand the money to Konan. He knew once it went into her pocket, it'd be nearly impossible to get it back out.
As for giving it to Yahiko, that was basically the same as handing it straight to Konan.
Only Nagato, the obedient one, could be trusted.
Oh,,!
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"What if he doesn't cooperate?"
Nagato took the envelope and asked a crucial question.
"Kakuzu has two weaknesses—one is his attachment to life, and the second is his love for money."
"I believe you can figure out how to handle him."
Kawaki wasn't worried at all. In the original story, even a healthy Kakuzu couldn't beat Deva Path Pain alone.
Let alone now, when he only has one heart left after all those years locked up.
Just the thought of regaining his freedom should be enough to entice Kakuzu.
And even in the worst-case scenario, they could always force him into submission.
Might makes right.
"Okay, then we'll head to the Anbu headquarters first thing tomorrow before departing."
Yahiko ignored Konan's pout—there wasn't much he could do anyway.
"Yeah."
"It's getting late. You should all go home and get some rest."
Kawaki glanced at the moon, then took another sip of tea.
"Goodbye, Teacher."
Yahiko and the others stood up and bowed respectfully to Kawaki.
Kawaki had said he wouldn't see them off tomorrow, so tonight was their last goodbye.
"The door to this home will always be open for you."
Watching the three slowly vanish into the distance, Kawaki murmured softly.
Once they were completely out of sight, Kawaki finally got up and returned to his room.
"Did you finish everything?"
Tsunade had just put Ginji to sleep. She had come back and barely laid down when she spoke.
"Yeah... Strangely enough, something feels off in my chest."
Kawaki took off his coat, lay down beside Tsunade, and rested his head on her ample chest.
Sigh... Who isn't feeling that way?
"They're fine young ones."
"You know, how lucky can you get? Snatching up three such incredible disciples just like that off the streets."
Tsunade stroked Kawaki's cheeks gently as she recalled the scene when she first met Nagato and the others.
"You guys didn't even want me to take them in back then."
"Now you see how sharp my eyes are for talent."
At this point, Kawaki wore an expression of smug satisfaction.
"Give you an inch and you take a mile."
Tsunade couldn't stand seeing him look like that.
"Just wait and see—they're going to do great things."
Kawaki said it with unwavering certainty.
The Land of Rain is small, but your king has finally returned.
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