Koharu quietly poured Homura a cup of tea.
Bold.
Truly bold.
Danzo— that old bastard—had been getting bolder by the day…
Last time they split the spoils, Hiruzen had clearly backed down.
And Danzo still thought he could seize the initiative, splash some filth around, and make it stick.
Sure.
Hiruzen got stunned by the opening move for a heartbeat, then turned around and ground Danzo into the floor.
People might joke that the Third was old now, but he'd long carried the reputation of a "shinobi champion."
Back in his prime, even the legendary Sannin would've been dragged out and beaten senseless.
Of course.
These days, who could say?
But it didn't stop Hiruzen's name from carrying weight.
"Ugh…"
Even now, thinking back on it, Homura felt pure despair on Danzo's behalf.
Hiruzen's little chain of follow-ups had been vicious.
Koharu even suspected Hiruzen was settling personal scores.
Because the last time they'd blocked the door and pressured him, Danzo was the most enthusiastic one—so eager he looked like he wanted to strip Hiruzen down to his underwear in public.
"Tell me," Koharu said, "do you think Danzo's thinking about something else?"
Something else?
Homura sipped his tea like he had absolutely no idea what she meant.
Koharu clicked her tongue.
"You're really going to play dumb with me?"
"That so-called 'Deputy Clan Head' Uchiha business—don't tell me you haven't heard."
"…you have ideas?" Homura asked, voice cautious.
"No." Koharu smiled.
"This old woman has no ideas at all."
Danzo climbing higher wouldn't really change anything for her or Homura.
But if Danzo wanted to climb, he'd need support, wouldn't he?
And support didn't come for free.
"Oh?" Homura's eyes brightened. "So you mean…"
Koharu cleared her throat.
"I didn't say anything."
Understood.
They were going to take big bites out of both Danzo and Hiruzen.
Let those two fight. The rest of them would eat.
No conflict.
No delay.
"Ugh…"
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen bared his teeth and rubbed the bruise around his right eye.
Danzo that old bastard hit hard…
What a waste.
He hadn't gotten the biggest share.
His original plan had been simple: forty percent for himself, and ten percent for each adviser.
But the three of them had clearly blocked him.
Before, Hiruzen hadn't felt much about it.
Now, the more he looked at those advisers, the more he felt like they were in his way.
Still, the commotion in the Hokage Building didn't stay private. Plenty of clans and factions got wind of it.
What?
They already split the tobacco business?!
What about us?!
So you shut the rest of us out again, huh?!
You lot have gotten addicted to eating alone?!
We're not accepting that!
In an instant, the village was boiling.
Faction after faction stormed the Hokage's office to make noise... again.
"Hokage-sama! You can't do this! Our Barrier Team works ourselves to the bone every day—do you think it's easy?!"
"Hokage-sama! The Interrogation Department needs an explanation! Missions? Missions pay what—pocket change!"
"Hokage-sama! You need to look after the Ninja Academy! That's Konoha's future!"
"Konoha's future is eating scraps every day—does that sound right to you?!"
"Hokage-sama! Are our shinobi squads the stepchildren of this village?! You can't only care about ANBU and Root!"
Out of everyone, the only ones who didn't come to raise hell were the medical system.
They hung back at the edge of the crowd, watching like it was a street performance.
What?
Why weren't they making noise?
Because they had someone behind them.
Understand?
Their patron—Kangetsu-sama—was their direct boss, and money was the one thing they didn't lack.
Konoha Hospital was practically a den of newly rich people now.
Even the medical corps kept "dropping by" to scrounge benefits. The hospital let them, too—because those were the future backbone of their boss's lineup.
Down in front of the Hokage Building, Kampo cracked sunflower seeds with the excitement of a man watching fireworks.
"Yushi, want some?"
Yushi didn't hesitate. He sat down beside him, equally entertained.
"You think this'll work this time?"
"Hard to say."
Hyakusa showed up too, grinning as he watched the Hokage Building shake from the constant shouting.
The Third had to be numb by now.
Those roars that kept bursting out of the office were proof enough of how ugly it had gotten.
Had they started throwing hands again?
"Should we go join the fun?" Kampo asked.
The question earned Yushi and Hyakusa matching eye-rolls.
Join what fun?
They had Kangetsu-sama backing them. Money wasn't something they needed to worry about anymore.
They weren't going to be rolling in unimaginable wealth, sure, but they definitely wouldn't be starving or freezing either.
Those old days of counting every coin and patching every sleeve were long gone.
"Kangetsu-sama really is something," Kampo said, listening to the chaos upstairs and sighing from the heart.
This life… he'd never dared to imagine it.
The banknotes in his pocket now felt endless.
At the same time, a few Ino-Shika-Cho shinobi came over to cozy up.
A couple Hyuga also drifted in to build connections.
Without anyone saying it out loud, the hospital folks were the center of gravity.
"Oh, you guys are here for the show again?" one of them said warmly. "Drinks tonight? My treat!"
"Hahaha… that's too generous," another replied. "But… sure. Let's go."
"Let's go, let's go!"
The moment alcohol was mentioned, the medical corps showed up like sharks smelling blood.
They put on shameless faces and declared themselves "hospital people."
Hey—medical corps is part of the medical system. Why wouldn't they count?
Perfectly reasonable.
"Interrogation Department!! I—shit!!"
"Barrier Team!! Don't you go too far!!"
"You two! The Ninja Academy was here first!!"
"First my ass! My shinobi squads are so broke we're eating dirt!"
"Ahem! Everyone! Everyone, please calm down!"
Hiruzen was exhausted to the bone.
He never said he was going to hand out money…
But the more he listened, the more something felt off.
Wait.
Danzo that old bastard had been telling people he only took ten percent because he "split the other ten percent" and gave it to everyone else?!
In that moment, Hiruzen's face turned a sick shade of green.
Damn it!
He nearly went numb in the scalp as he forced out explanation after explanation.
Danzo.
You old bastard—just wait.
So I beat you until you were bruised black and blue and nearly half-paralyzed?
Fine.
But setting facts aside—are you really going to claim you did nothing wrong?
Hiruzen, the ultimate political nonstick pan, immediately started flinging blame like it was his job.
Either way, there was no chance in hell he was handing out money today.
In Konoha, money was never enough.
Food, clothing, daily expenses—those were the basics. Every major system in the village needed funding to keep running.
And Hiruzen couldn't even get the basics handled cleanly, and they wanted profit-sharing?
"Everyone! Listen to me!"
He doubled down, hammering Danzo's malicious intentions again and again.
There was no money being handed out.
Everybody go home.
But the moment he said it…
The way the various factions looked at him shifted into something subtle—and sharp.
Old man.
Where's your balancing act?
People backed you as Hokage because of your balancing act.
Now you're not balancing anything—you're eating alone?
Over and over, eating alone.
Old man… where's your promise?
(End of Chapter)
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