Hell.
This was too hellish.
Hokage-sama!
How could words spoken from a thirty-six-degree mouth be so cold?
"Thank you so much, Hokage-sama."
Hatake Sakumo forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes as he perfunctorily replied to Uchiha Ren.
Still, the Hokage had reminded him of something.
Marriage was a serious matter. It could not be rushed.
He had to choose his future wife carefully.
Appearance was secondary.
Character came first.
"No need to thank me. Try thinking on the bright side."
"Even if your wife really remarries with your son after you die, at least the son is truly yours."
"There are some unlucky bastards who wear a green hat their entire lives and raise another man's son for decades."
"Now that is a true tragedy."
Uchiha Ren gave an example to help Sakumo relax.
His situation wasn't the worst.
The worst situation would be raising a child that wasn't yours, only for your wife to take that child and remarry afterward.
"Heh… hehe…"
Hatake Sakumo's smile stiffened.
For a moment, he actually froze.
It seemed…
There was some logic to that.
He wasn't especially miserable yet.
No!
What damn logic?!
The Hokage was clearly spouting nonsense!
Hatake Sakumo cursed inwardly.
Then Kakuzu's voice entered his ears.
"Little White Hair!"
"Don't be afraid. I'll cover your bottom line."
"As long as you write a will before you die and leave half your fortune to me…"
"After you die, I'll raise your wife!"
"I guarantee your wife and son will still carry the Hatake name. No wild man will dare seduce your wife!"
"Of course, first you have to make sure the son is actually yours."
"You should take Hokage-sama's words seriously!"
Kakuzu, eager to watch the fun, walked to Hatake Sakumo's side and patted him on the shoulder, solemnly making his promise.
The room was instantly filled with a joyful atmosphere.
Uchiha Ren wanted to burst out laughing, but he forcefully held it in.
After all, laughing at a moment like this was a little…
But Kakuzu, that money-grubbing monster, really could do something like this.
At the very least, Kakuzu's lack of interest in women was famous.
He only loved money.
Treating Kakuzu as the final safety net was indeed a wise choice for Hatake Sakumo.
However, Hatake Sakumo himself clearly didn't think so.
He slapped Kakuzu's hand off his shoulder, his face turning a deep purplish-red as he roared furiously.
"You damn money-grubber!"
"Nothing good comes out of your dog's mouth!"
"You're just after my family fortune!"
"I'm telling you, I'll definitely live a long life!"
After shouting, Hatake Sakumo took a breath.
His heart was full of resentment toward Kakuzu.
He wasn't even married yet.
He didn't even have a son.
And this dead miser was already interested in his estate.
Bastard!
"Alright, alright. Kakuzu means well."
"Sakumo, don't get so worked up."
Uchiha Ren stepped in to smooth things over.
Hatake Sakumo's expression improved slightly. He snorted coldly at Kakuzu, then turned to Nara Shikato.
Just now, Nara Shikato had said he was only half right about the bad news.
That meant there was still another half.
"Lord Shikato… What's the rest of the bad news?"
Hatake Sakumo's voice trembled.
He looked at Nara Shikato with expectant eyes, hoping the news wouldn't be too terrible.
"Then I'll say it."
"The Third Raikage has personally issued an order."
"If Kumogakure shinobi encounter Konoha's White Fang during a mission, they may abandon the mission directly without punishment."
"They are to prioritize hunting down Konoha's White Fang immediately."
Nara Shikato looked at Hatake Sakumo and delivered the remaining bad news.
"What?!"
"How could this happen?!"
"How can Kumogakure treat the shinobi code like a joke?! Aren't shinobi supposed to complete their missions at all costs?!"
Hatake Sakumo nearly went mad after hearing it.
He never imagined the Third Raikage would issue such an order.
"Little White Hair!"
"My earlier promise can be written into a formal contract."
"If you think it through, remember to come find me!"
Kakuzu looked at Hatake Sakumo with a trace of sympathy.
This kind of unprecedented order was truly the first time he had seen something like this.
Shinobi lived by completing missions.
If they could casually use excuses to abandon missions, could they still be called qualified shinobi?
Was a shinobi who failed to complete missions any different from trash?
Of course, orders similar to the Third Raikage's had appeared before.
They were just unspoken rules and had never been placed openly on the table.
But the Third Raikage had publicly issued such an order.
It seemed Kumogakure was determined to fight Hatake Sakumo until one side died.
In the past, Hatake Sakumo had only offended ordinary people in the Land of Fire.
Now he had provoked Kumogakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Kakuzu felt that Hatake Sakumo's future was probably doomed.
"Go die!"
"This is all your fault, you damn miser! You dragged me into this mission!"
"You wrote all those crooked tricks and scam speeches!"
"You even pushed me into deceiving the Third Raikage!"
"I was wrong. I really was wrong."
"I shouldn't have gone on that mission with you from the start."
"If I hadn't gone on that mission, I wouldn't have gone to Kumogakure."
"If I hadn't gone to Kumogakure, I wouldn't have tricked the Third Raikage into investing in Blue Sky Project."
"If I hadn't tricked the Third Raikage into investing in Blue Sky Project, I wouldn't be hunted by Kumogakure…"
Hatake Sakumo, furious and aggrieved, dumped the entire pot onto Kakuzu.
He wasn't the mastermind!
The mastermind was this dead miser!
And the Hokage!
Kakuzu frowned and quietly retreated behind Uchiha Ren.
This pot—
He couldn't carry it either.
I have someone above me, Little White Hair.
"Hokage-sama, please help me!"
"Kumogakure has gone mad! How can they target me like this?!"
Uchiha Ren felt somewhat helpless.
Why did Sakumo's muttering just now sound so familiar?
But what good solution did he have?
If Kumogakure had truly made up their mind to gather the entire village's strength and kill Hatake Sakumo, then even if Sakumo stayed in Konoha forever and never left the village again, his ending would still be hard to predict.
After all, there were only thieves who acted for a thousand days.
There was no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days.
And shinobi methods were impossible to fully defend against.
"Hmm… Hatake Sakumo, don't worry!"
"I'll raise your insurance compensation to the highest level."
"The more you invest, the more your family will be compensated."
Uchiha Ren changed the subject.
As for Hatake Sakumo's life?
He could only rely on himself.
Train hard.
Become Konoha's White Fang from the future as soon as possible.
Then he definitely wouldn't die so easily.
"Wuwuwu… then I'll go back first."
Hatake Sakumo left Uchiha Ren's office with a mournful expression and noodle-wide tears streaming down his face.
The Hokage wasn't going to care about him anymore.
"Hokage-sama, if there's nothing else, I'll be leaving too."
"I need to return to the Finance Department and review last year's and this year's ledgers, then understand Konoha's recent financial situation."
"I don't know whether there are any new investment opportunities."
"Also, I heard Konoha's weapons and medical supplies have been selling extremely well. Several large orders came in recently."
"I happen to have a channel through the underground exchange."
"The risks are a little high, but the profit is enormous."
"I'll negotiate a few big deals when the time comes."
Kakuzu began discussing his connections in the underground exchange.
Demand for high-quality weapons, explosives, and especially medical supplies was enormous.
Medical supplies were already in short supply.
Kakuzu had ways to push the prices even higher.
The risk was high, of course.
After all, black-on-black dealings were very common in the underground exchange.
But the profit was extremely impressive.
Worth the risk.
The moment Kakuzu finished speaking, Nara Shikato's eyes widened.
He felt pressure radiating from Kakuzu's very existence.
You just finished more than a year of mission work and you don't even want a vacation?
If you don't want one, give it to me!
Nara Shikato really wanted to say something, but found himself speechless.
Kakuzu had always valued money over life.
The Earth Grudge Fear in his body also allowed him to maintain peak energy constantly.
At worst, he could just go to death row and replace one of his hearts.
But not everyone could be like Kakuzu!
You damn king of involution!
"Go ahead and do it."
"I trust you, Kakuzu."
Uchiha Ren looked at Kakuzu with admiration.
Excellent quality.
Strong body.
Greedy heart.
No morals.
Voluntary overtime.
This was the most perfect employee in Uchiha Ren's mind.
The other employees just loved being lazy.
After a few months of overtime, they complained nonstop.
It wasn't as if he didn't pay them.
Truly people born into blessing who didn't know how blessed they were.
If they didn't appreciate his kindness, he would have to deduct their overtime pay.
"Shikato, why are you still standing there?"
"Have you finished today's work?"
"Are the reports done?"
"Don't you know how to prepare for tomorrow's work in advance?"
Uchiha Ren shifted his attention to Nara Shikato.
He was actually still foolishly standing here.
Kakuzu had already hurried out and returned to his workstation!
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
Nara Shikato immediately replied loudly, then quickly left Uchiha Ren's office.
He had originally wanted to finish reporting and return to his office for a short rest.
Now it seemed there was no chance.
Uchiha Ren snorted coldly and also left his office.
He pretended to leave work early, then circled around and returned to the Hokage Building.
He began patrolling.
Like a lion inspecting his territory.
Could hard work by salaried employees be called earning money?
No.
That was exchanging labor for pay.
Only slacking off while being paid counted as true profit.
Uchiha Ren understood this principle deeply.
And hated it with equal depth.
After all—
Uchiha Ren was now the boss.
This time, he would launch a surprise inspection and see how many lazy slackers were stealing wages from him.
Uchiha Ren arrived at the break room on the first floor.
Noisy voices came from inside.
He kicked the door open and strode in.
The bustling voices instantly vanished.
A group of salary-thieves were drinking milk tea and eating little cakes.
Only the radio at the side continued playing accompaniment music.
"You came from Dandong, returning my body pure white…
Want to eat Cantonese food!
Tear through tears, fear no sea…"
The corner of Uchiha Ren's mouth twitched.
Listening to this song during work hours was certainly loyal!
But the behavior of these lazy slackers wasn't loyal at all.
You don't want to eat loyal oranges?
You want to eat purple eggs instead?
"Looks like all of you are very relaxed."
"Not at all like what Nara Shikato said."
"Working late into the night every day, needing overtime to complete your tasks?"
"Do you usually slack off after I leave?"
Uchiha Ren spoke with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
The group of slackers lowered their heads in shame.
Then they followed behind Uchiha Ren as he went floor by floor to hunt down more slackers.
As expected—
The evil behavior of slacking off while being paid was impossible to fully guard against.
After circling the entire Hokage Building, Uchiha Ren caught dozens of slackers.
Especially Senju Toma!
This guy was openly sleeping in his office!
"Toma, I'm deeply disappointed in you!"
"You're my Hokage Assistant. Don't you know you should set an example for your subordinates?"
"And yet you're slacking off and sleeping during working hours!"
Uchiha Ren looked heartbroken.
Senju Toma's face revealed disdain.
This bastard Hokage was the most relaxed man in all of Konoha.
His daily working hours weren't even half of Toma's.
What right did he have to yell in front of him?
Just because he was Hokage, did that mean Toma had to lower his head?
He had already taken Toma's daughter!
"Hokage-sama, I already finished my work for this morning."
Senju Toma looked unconvinced.
His daughter had already been deceived away by Uchiha Ren.
He had merely slept for a while during work.
Was such a huge commotion necessary?
This naturally evil Uchiha Hokage!
Officials could set fires, but commoners couldn't light lamps!
"Finished?"
"Then why can't you finish your afternoon work too?"
"Will there be no work tomorrow?"
"Can't you help your colleagues with their work?"
"You just want to be lazy!"
Uchiha Ren immediately corrected Senju Toma's improper thinking.
How could Senju Toma lack such ownership awareness?
Couldn't he treat Konoha like his own home?
Even if he couldn't become Hokage, he should still devote his whole heart to working for Konoha!
Senju Toma's eyes widened.
Hearing Uchiha Ren's "righteous" remarks, he was just about to refute them when Uchiha Ren cut him off.
"What? Are you unconvinced?"
"Your overtime pay this month is gone."
"And all of you too. This month's overtime pay is deducted!"
"All of you should learn from Kakuzu in the Finance Department."
"He just returned from a business trip and immediately threw himself back into work."
"That is what an excellent Konoha shinobi looks like!"
Uchiha Ren rightfully deducted the overtime pay of the caught slackers.
After all, this was written in the employee handbook.
He wasn't arbitrarily docking wages.
Everything had legal basis.
At the same time, he called for all the slackers caught red-handed to learn from Kakuzu.
Senju Toma still wanted to say something, but Uchiha Ren did not wait for him to organize a rebuttal.
He left the room.
After catching a pile of salary-thieves, Uchiha Ren left the Hokage Building with a heavy, sorrowful heart.
He hoped every shinobi in Konoha would follow Kakuzu's example and learn from his work spirit.
Only after the Hokage left did the slackers begin complaining bitterly.
"Hokage-sama actually launched a surprise inspection this time! My overtime pay for the month is gone! My heart hurts!"
"Exactly! Every time Hokage-sama leaves work early, we can usually relax for a while. We really fell for it this time. We'll have to be careful from now on!"
"Hey! You bastard! You were slacking off with me! Why didn't Hokage-sama catch you?"
"Idiot. I went to the toilet."
"Pooping on paid time is the true supreme level of slacking."
"I go eight times a day now."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
"You never asked!"
The slackers secretly exchanged their salary-thief techniques behind Uchiha Ren's back.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Ren returned to Senju Tobirama's laboratory.
He had to find a way to correct this unhealthy trend of slacking off at work.
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