Naruto: Legend of the Skylark

While Tobirama and the others were still discussing matters, a knock suddenly sounded on the office door. Hearing the knock, Tobirama smiled and said, "That should be Hibari. I just sent Hiruzen to get him."

Without waiting for the others to speak, Tobirama said, "Come in."

No sooner had he spoken than Hibari pushed the door open and walked in, looking strong and spirited, hardly like a patient.

"Hashi... Hokage-sama, Sasuke-jiisan, you're back!" Hibari said with a cheerful smile as he saw Hashirama and Sasuke.

Sasuke, seeing that Hibari seemed to be in good condition, felt a slight sense of relief. He smiled and said, "Weren't we worried about your condition, kid? We rushed back as fast as we could. Are you alright?"

"Don't worry, I'm doing great," Hibari replied with a cheerful smile.

At the same time, Hiruzen also walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

The group chatted for a few moments, then Hashirama spoke, "Alright, since Hibari's body is fine, let's talk about official business first, Tobirama..."

Hearing his elder brother's words, Tobirama nodded, then said, "Hiruzen, Hibari, you two performed exceptionally well on this mission. Originally, this support mission should have been A-rank, but with so many unforeseen events occurring, not only did a Tailed Beast appear unexpectedly, but also a high-level shinobi from Kirigakure was involved. Therefore, we ultimately assessed this mission as fully meeting S-rank standards, and we've decided to reward you accordingly based on S-rank mission criteria, along with the appropriate records."

Hiruzen wasn't surprised by this. Besides, unlike Hibari, he had been a shinobi for a long time, his abilities were established, and he had completed S-rank missions before.

Hibari was different. This was his first mission, and it was an S-rank right off the bat. Even though he had anticipated it, he was still somewhat excited.

"S-rank, an S-rank on my first try? This must be some kind of record, right?" A gleam flashed in Hibari's eyes as he spoke.

"Hahahaha, you're right. At least since the village was founded, no one has successfully completed an S-rank mission on their very first try. It is indeed a record," Hashirama said with a laugh.

Meanwhile, Tobirama opened a cabinet and said, "The corresponding merits have already been recorded in your shinobi files. Here's the reward for this mission. Come, Hiruzen..."

Hiruzen smiled, stepped forward, and took a silver bill from Tobirama. This bill was valid throughout the village and could be exchanged for actual gold and silver at the bank.

"One million five hundred thousand ryo?!" Hibari stood on his tiptoes to peer over, exclaiming in surprise.

The mission reward system had been established since the founding of Konohagakure, as it concerned the most fundamental interests of the shinobi, and thus could not be delayed.

The entire mission reward system divided missions into five ranks: 'S, A, B, C, D.'

Hibari was well aware of these ranks, but he had never actually inquired about the specific monetary rewards. Now, seeing Tobirama directly hand Hiruzen a reward of one million five hundred thousand ryo, his eyeballs almost popped out in surprise.

However, Hiruzen, having completed S-rank missions before, wasn't overly surprised. He smiled and said, "Thank you, Sensei..."

"It's something you earned by risking your life. You deserve it," Tobirama said softly, patting his disciple's shoulder with satisfaction.

"I say, Tobirama-jiisan, Hiruzen-jisan, is the reward for an S-rank mission really this much?" Hibari quickly asked.

Hearing Hibari's question, Hiruzen smiled, then reached out and produced a rulebook from seemingly nowhere. He handed it to Hibari and said, "Why don't you see for yourself, kid?"

Hibari eagerly took it and began reading.

"D-rank missions: Simple tasks requiring no combat and posing no life danger. Rewards range from five thousand to fifty thousand ryo.

"C-rank missions: Tasks where the shinobi might sustain injuries. Rewards range from thirty thousand to one hundred thousand ryo.

"B-rank missions: Tasks that may require shinobi to engage in combat. Rewards range from eighty thousand to two hundred thousand ryo.

"A-rank missions: Tasks concerning the village's and country's movements. Rewards range from one hundred fifty thousand to one million ryo.

"S-rank missions: Tasks concerning national secrets. Rewards are one million ryo or more." Hibari softly read out the categories. As for the detailed breakdown of tasks, he wasn't interested; his attention was completely captivated by the rewards.

"My goodness, are mission rewards really this generous? If I had known this earlier, I would have become a shinobi two years ago. Why would I have argued with Tsunade over a small sum like three hundred ryo?" Hibari said with some emotion.

After a moment's thought, he asked curiously, "I say, Tobirama-jiisan, with such high rewards for missions, can the village's finances sustain it?"

Seeing Hibari interested in considering the underlying issues, Tobirama was quite pleased. He smiled and said, "Firstly, these missions, except for special circumstances, have 'clients' who pay the mission fees. We then assign appropriate personnel to execute them. Not only do we not have to pay, but we actually take a percentage as revenue for our treasury. Therefore, the more missions we undertake, the more we earn, so there won't be any financial trouble."

At this point, Tobirama paused, then continued, "Secondly, the value represented by each mission also differs. Take your S-rank mission this time, for example. On the surface, it seems we paid a large sum in rewards, but the completion of this mission brought immense benefits to the village. First, we established a friendly, implicit alliance with Takigakure. Secondly... how much do you think an existence like Chomei is worth? And how much did Takigakure pay us?"

Hearing this, Hibari finally understood the underlying financial relationships. Then, he said with some uncertainty, "I estimate Chomei must be worth tens of millions of ryo, at least?"

Tobirama smiled upon hearing Hibari's guess but didn't elaborate. He simply said, "In any case, although the rewards given to you may seem substantial, they are but a tiny fraction of the overall profit. We're certainly not losing money. Otherwise, how would the village develop without funds?"

After hearing all this, Hibari suddenly asked curiously, "What about those 'special circumstances' you mentioned earlier?"

Tobirama's expression became slightly more serious. He then said, "Normally, missions have rewards, but if Hokage-sama declares the village to be in a state of war, all shinobi must unconditionally obey the village's mission assignments. At that time, they will only receive a fixed monthly salary based on their shinobi rank and the prevailing circumstances. Therefore, no matter how important a mission you undertake during wartime, there will be no additional reward."

After saying this, Tobirama softened his tone and expression slightly, then chuckled and added, "Of course, there are also many long-term employment missions that are arranged with monthly stipends..."

"Oh, I know about that. Kuno-jisan and Seiki-senpai's jobs involve receiving stipends. Speaking of which, they still owe me a lot of milk..." Hibari suddenly interjected.

"Hahahaha, exactly," Tobirama said with a rare hearty laugh.

He then reached out and patted Hibari's head, saying, "Hibari, this small village concerns the lives of countless people and the safety of the entire nation. Therefore, it requires an even more complete and robust system to support its operations. Currently, we haven't fully established these systems, or rather, as times change, we will always need to strive towards building more perfect systems. This is not something that a few of us alone can accomplish. In the future, this might also be something you need to think about... After all, you are also a member of this village."

Listening to Tobirama's words, Hibari felt deeply moved. He was indeed worthy of being the Second Hokage, the one who would eventually establish the entire system of Konohagakure. Behind the years of Konoha's prosperity, countless achievements should be attributed to Tobirama.

"I understand, Tobirama-jiisan!" Hibari said with a smile.

"Good that you understand. Alright, there's nothing else for you here. Your mission now is to rest well, fully recover your body, and then go," Tobirama said with a smile, patting Hibari's shoulder.

Hibari was sensible, so he didn't pester these important figures for more missions. He nodded and said, "Then I'll head back first..."

However, just as Hibari reached the office door, he sensed something was off. Why did he feel like he had been tricked by Tobirama's 'grand and righteous' words? It seemed he had forgotten something, and it was the kind of thing that would result in a massive loss.

Suddenly slapping his forehead, Hibari turned around indignantly and said, "I almost fell for your trick! I was also a participant in this S-rank mission, and I even played a role, right? Shouldn't I also receive my share of the reward? I knew something was up, Tobirama-jiisan, why were you so eager to send me away? You wanted me to work for free, didn't you? Doesn't your conscience hurt? What kind of Ojiisan are you???"

Seeing Hibari's exasperated expression, Hashirama, Tobirama, and the two Sarutobi father-and-son shinobi all burst into laughter.

"Alright, alright, we were just teasing you, kid. After all, you risked your life for this mission. For that spirit alone, we wouldn't shortchange you," Tobirama said with a chuckle.

Then he reached into a nearby cabinet and took out another silver bill, handing it to Hibari and saying, "Here, this is your reward..."

Hibari took it and saw that it was identical to Hiruzen's silver bill: exactly one million five hundred thousand ryo!

"Oh my, I've never seen so much money in my life. I've become rich overnight... This shinobi profession really is promising, no loss at all," Hibari muttered to himself, looking at the silver bill in his hand with great satisfaction.

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