Inside the top-floor office of the Konoha Hokage Building.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the two documents in his hand and leaned back against the broad back of the Hokage chair, his brow furrowed in deep thought.
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, making the smoke rings he blew out exceptionally clear.
One document had been submitted by his close friend, Danzo Shimura; the handwriting was scrawled, yet it carried an irrepressible sense of urgency.
The core content was simple: an application for an emergency injection of a massive amount of funds, citing the reason that "Root has a severe financial deficit due to special reasons, making operations difficult."
The other was an investigation report sent back by the direct Anbu he had secretly dispatched.
The contents of the report were so absurd that he once thought his intelligence system had malfunctioned, or that someone was playing a cruel joke on him.
Written in black and white on the report was: over seventy percent of Root's regular funds over the past month had been consumed by food procurement.
And the source of it all pointed directly to a genius child of the Akimichi Clan named Akimichi Ryoko.
"The finances were eaten away?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered to himself, his voice filled with disbelief.
Having ruled Konoha for many years, he had seen many storms, but a reason like this was unheard of!
Even with the Akimichi Clan, renowned for their enormous appetites, he had never heard of anyone who could single-handedly eat through an organization's finances!
This was simply preposterous!
He instinctively felt this was a lame excuse Danzo had fabricated to demand more funding, and even felt a surge of annoyance at being played.
But when his gaze swept over that key name again—"Akimichi Ryoko"—he fell silent.
The Akimichi Clan... if it really was someone from that family, it seemed... not entirely impossible?
After all, that clan's obsession with "eating" was etched into their bones, and their secret techniques were closely related to food.
Every clansman was a big eater, viewing "eating" as part of their cultivation; they were either eating or on their way to prepare food every day.
The appearance of a particularly gluttonous outlier seemed, in theory, to have a tiny sliver of probability.
At this time, his relationship with Danzo was not yet filled with the suspicion and the "I am the Hokage, you will regret it" power plays of their later years.
He knew Danzo's control over Root and understood his style of doing things.
Danzo might exaggerate, but using such an absurd and easily debunked reason to apply for funding didn't seem like his style.
"Could it be... true?"
Once this thought arose, it wrapped around his heart like a vine.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a headache coming on. He subconsciously reached under his desk, took out his signature pipe, skillfully filled it with tobacco, and took a deep drag after lighting it.
The thick smoke was slowly exhaled, but it couldn't dispel the worry between his brows.
If the report was true and Root really was in financial trouble because of a child's meals, what should he, as the Hokage, do?
Should he really allocate a large sum from the already tight Village finances to fill this bottomless pit?
At the thought that it might be an astronomical figure, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that even his pipe didn't taste as good anymore.
Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was worrying over the Root funding issue, an Anbu Ninja appeared silently in the office and knelt on one knee to report.
"Hokage-sama, the head of the Akimichi Clan, Akimichi Torifu, is outside requesting an audience. He has brought a child and hopes to arrange for them to enter the Ninja Academy."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took the pipe from his mouth and replied casually, "Oh, for such a small matter, let him in."
Arranging for a child's enrollment was just a simple task for the Hokage.
Just as the Anbu was about to leave, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart stirred as if he had remembered something, and he followed up with a question.
"Wait, what is that child's name?"
The Anbu Ninja lowered his head and answered, "According to Clan Head Akimichi, he seems to be called Akimichi Ryoko."
"Ah, Akimichi Ryoko?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand holding the pipe paused slightly, a flash of suspicion and uncertainty in his eyes.
He waved his hand to dismiss the Anbu, his heart already in turmoil. "It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?"
A moment later, two figures, one large and one small, appeared in the Hokage Office.
The large one was his familiar old comrade-in-arms, Akimichi Torifu, with whom he had coordinated on many missions.
And the small, round child was one he was seeing for the first time, but that name had been ringing in his ears recently.
"Is this the child rumored to have nearly bankrupted Root?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself, his gaze unconsciously scrutinizing Akimichi Ryoko standing below.
This child looked extremely young, but his build was indeed far beyond his peers, even two sizes larger than a typical Akimichi child; his round belly was particularly prominent.
But even so, Hiruzen Sarutobi still subconsciously felt it was somewhat absurd to link such a young child with the sensational story of "eating through Root's finances."
"Could it be that the Akimichi bloodline underwent some unknown mutation in him? Or has he awakened some special Bloodline Limit related to 'eating'?"
This thought made him take the matter seriously.
He sat up a bit straighter, his face returning to its usual gentleness and dignity, as he asked Akimichi Torifu, "Torifu, I heard you want this child to transfer into the Ninja Academy?"
Akimichi Torifu nodded quickly and responded familiarly, "Yes, Sandaime."
"Ryoko has the talent to become a Ninja and has reached the age to start learning. It's not good for him to just stay idle in the clan; I hope he can enter the Ninja Academy to receive formal education and training."
Standing to the side, Ryoko was also curiously widening his eyes, secretly observing this legendary Professor of Ninjutsu and the strongest Ninja in Konoha.
The man's face was dignified, and his whole body exuded an aura of authority that commanded respect without being angry.
Ryoko thought to himself, "Is this the Third Hokage in his prime? He indeed looks very dignified, with the air of a 'Ninja Hero'."
Compared to the somewhat indecisive old man in the later parts of the original series in his memory, the Hiruzen Sarutobi before him was clearly sharper and more imposing.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was also observing Ryoko; aside from that exceptionally protruding physique, he didn't sense any particularly powerful Chakra or dangerous aura from the child for the time being.
"Is he hiding it too deeply, or did Danzo's side exaggerate?" He pondered for a moment and made a decision.
Regardless of the truth, keeping this special child under his nose to observe for a while was a safe move.
If he really was some genius that Danzo had overlooked, wouldn't he be getting a bargain for nothing?
At this thought, a warm smile appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face, and he said to Akimichi Torifu, "Since it's your recommendation, Torifu, then there's naturally no problem. I'll have someone handle the procedures as soon as possible."
His gaze swept over Ryoko again, full of meaningful scrutiny.
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