After a long silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly let out a heavy sigh. He then slowly sat back into his chair, smoking cigarette after cigarette in silence.
At this very moment, hidden in the darkness, Black Zetsu's face lit up with joy. Inwardly, he thought:
"Heavens above, the Uchiha are actually planning a rebellion! I never expected Shimura Danzō to have found out about it beforehand!"
But why would Danzō know about this in advance? The answer was obvious—there must be a traitor within the Uchiha clan who secretly informed Shimura Danzō.
Originally, Black Zetsu had only intended to blackmail Sarutobi Hiruzen. Yet unexpectedly, he had stumbled upon an unforeseen windfall…
He thought, "If I can track down the Uchiha traitor and sell this information at a high price to Uchiha Fugaku, he would surely pay handsomely for it."
At the thought of this, the corners of Black Zetsu's mouth curled upward, and he couldn't help but sigh with self-satisfaction:
"Honestly, I have quite the head for business, hehe…"
Suddenly—
"Who's there? Come out!" Sarutobi Hiruzen's sharp voice cut through the room. He had caught the sound of movement, his eyes flashing coldly as he glared toward Black Zetsu's hiding spot.
It was then that Black Zetsu realized he had been careless—because of his smugness, he had let slip a sound and exposed himself.
So, with a calm smile, he slowly emerged from within the wall and said:
"Hey now, Lord Hokage, don't be so tense. I came here today to discuss a deal with you."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock. A pitch-black humanoid figure had just walked straight out of his office wall.
He instinctively stepped back two paces, his expression grave and full of vigilance. Both hands were hidden behind his back, ready at a moment's notice to form hand seals and unleash a jutsu if necessary.
Seeing Hiruzen so on edge, Black Zetsu cheerfully reassured him:
"Lord Hokage, relax. I only wish to speak to you about something."
As he spoke, he took out a green stone and placed it in his palm.
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, puzzled at the object in Black Zetsu's hand, having no idea what it was.
Seeing Hiruzen's confusion, Black Zetsu explained:
"This is a recording stone. It can project everything that has happened in this place over the last three days…"
When Black Zetsu first learned of Hiruzen's dirty little secret, he worried that confronting him directly would do no good—Hiruzen could simply deny everything even if beaten to death. So, he had gone to Yun Xiao and bought a photographic stone at a steep price.
With a thought, the stone flickered faintly with light, and above it appeared a shimmering projection.
A voice came forth:
"Too small… not good. That one's sagging, looks a little droopy now…"
"Hehehe, so big… If only I could touch it, I'd die without regrets…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes went wide in shock as he stared at the image.
The projection was none other than him, secretly peeping into the women's bathhouse.
What horrified him even more was that the projection did not merely record his lecherous expression—it even displayed the images from within his crystal ball with startling clarity.
Realization struck him instantly. His face turned ashen, his body trembling as cold sweat streamed down his forehead.
If this video were to be made public, his dignity as the Third Hokage of Konohagakure would be shattered. His life, his reputation, all would be utterly destroyed!
In the eyes of the villagers, Sarutobi Hiruzen had always been a kind and benevolent Hokage.
But now—if it came to light that he was secretly using the crystal ball to peep at women bathing—it would deliver a devastating blow to his carefully cultivated image.
Should such a scandal spread, the lifelong reputation he had built would crumble to dust…
Black Zetsu observed Hiruzen's panicked expression and secretly rejoiced.
He knew that as long as he could instill fear into Sarutobi Hiruzen, he could seize the opportunity to raise his price and thoroughly blackmail him.
With a grin, Black Zetsu said:
"Hehehe… I wonder if the Hokage is at all interested in this little matter?"
Hiruzen, meanwhile, was silently calculating the distance between himself and Black Zetsu, considering whether he could suddenly strike and kill him outright.
But Black Zetsu immediately sensed the icy killing intent emanating from Hiruzen. Quickly retreating, he nevertheless kept his smile, saying:
"So, Hokage-sama is thinking of silencing me, huh? Unfortunately for you, the moment I crush this image stone, the projection will spread across the skies of the entire ninja world. And you may find that killing me isn't so easy!"
His tone was full of confidence. Although his combat strength was not great, his peculiar abilities made him virtually impossible to catch. If he wanted to escape, there was truly no one in the entire shinobi world who could stop him.
Hiruzen glared at him with an ugly expression. He knew that Black Zetsu was probably telling the truth. After a long silence, he rasped in a hoarse voice:
"What do you want…?"
"Ten billion. Give me ten billion, and this recording stone is yours." Black Zetsu smiled broadly.
At this, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible. Not long ago, a great thief appeared in Konoha and stole the entirety of the village funds. It is impossible for us to produce that kind of money."
Even if Hiruzen could somehow raise ten billion, there was no way he would agree.
Of course, Black Zetsu knew perfectly well that Hiruzen had no such funds—after all, he himself was the one who had stolen Konoha's treasury. How could he not know what remained? He was merely probing Hiruzen's reaction.
"Fine. Eight billion then!" Black Zetsu said.
Hiruzen shook his head firmly.
"Five billion!"
Still, Hiruzen shook his head.
Only then did Black Zetsu realize that Hiruzen was deliberately stalling, trying to force the price lower. Even if he had money, he clearly wasn't willing to pay such a sum.
Feeling mocked, Black Zetsu sneered coldly:
"Hokage-sama, you're not planning on letting the world discover your little hobby of peeping at the women's bathhouse, are you?"
As he spoke, he lifted the recording stone and waved it mockingly before Hiruzen's eyes.
Hiruzen froze. Why wasn't Black Zetsu continuing to lower the price? He had originally intended to wait until it fell to one or two billion before reluctantly agreeing.
That way, he would at least save a considerable amount of money…
But it was as though Black Zetsu had already seen through his little scheme. Just as he was about to explain himself, Black Zetsu cut him off.
"Enough. If you don't want your reputation in ruins during your twilight years, then no matter what means you use, you must gather eight billion within three days! Otherwise, every shinobi in the ninja world will soon know about your bathhouse voyeurism!"
With those final words, Black Zetsu didn't spare him another glance. He simply sank into the ground and disappeared.
Left alone in the office, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was pale and ashen, his expression twisted with turmoil.
After a long time, he finally hurried out of the office.
Once he was gone, Black Zetsu poked his head back up from the floor, chuckling:
"Hehehe, Boss's strategy really works!"
Yun Xiao had once told him: If you have the power to flip the table, then you must show strength—otherwise, the weak will only be trampled on.
See? After throwing out some ruthless words and walking away, wasn't Sarutobi Hiruzen now scurrying around to gather money?
Black Zetsu's guess was correct. At this very moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen truly was out trying to scrape together the money. To him, his reputation was far more important than eight billion.
As the Third Hokage, his honor and prestige were paramount. If his bathhouse peeping were ever exposed, he would face crushing public outrage and condemnation. That was an outcome he could never allow.
Therefore, even at a massive cost, he had no choice but to resolve this problem as quickly as possible…
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