Reborn as Danzō’s Grandson, Must I Offend the Entire Ninja World?

After returning home, Yami used the Heart-Shaping Technique to conceal Hikari, then brought Tsunade into the main villa.

Currently, only he and Izumi knew about Hikari's existence. Even Anko hadn't been told. Yami only planned to let her know after testing her thoroughly several times following the Chūnin Exams.

He could feel Tsunade's genuine care toward him, and she also had her reasons for returning to compete for the Hokage position probably out of fear that he would pick up bad habits from Danzō.

But the relationship still wasn't at that level. Aside from Hikari, other key information, like the activation of the Mangekyō, would never be shared with her.

Unless—

The Shimura clan.

"Uzumaki clan?"

Tsunade was surprised when she saw Uzumaki Karin and Uzumaki Misa. Judging by their hair color, their bloodline purity was undeniable. In all her years traveling the shinobi world, she had rarely seen such a pure Uzumaki bloodline.

Especially Karin. As a medical-nin, Tsunade could easily sense Karin's immense vitality. It was just like Kushina's back in the day.

"Are you trying to pawn her off on me as a disciple?"

Yami patted Karin's head, and the girl hugged his waist affectionately.

He introduced her to Tsunade, "Karin has strong talent in medical ninjutsu. She trained under Nonō at Root. Now that you're back, I'm handing her over to you."

Compared to little Sakura, Karin was a disciple truly worthy of Tsunade.

The Senju and Uzumaki clans were distant relatives. With her massive chakra and natural healing ability comparable to the Hundred Healing Technique, she could inherit both ninjutsu and medical techniques perfectly.

Not to mention, with the Uzumaki clan's extensive sealing knowledge, Karin's potential would definitely surpass the top-tier medical-nin.

However, Tsunade had just returned and didn't know much about Karin, so she didn't agree right away. "Let her stay with me for a while. We'll talk about apprenticeship later."

Yami nodded and didn't push the matter.

A short while later, everyone else returned. Seeing the beautiful girls in the house, Tsunade smiled with satisfaction and slapped Yami on the shoulder ten times.

"Hurry up and have more kids. Let the Senju bloodline thrive again."

Even though they would all carry the Shimura name in the future, blood was blood. That wouldn't change just because of a surname.

The next day.

Yami got up early for once. After a simple breakfast, he took Izumi and headed to the Hokage Office.

Controlling power was one thing, but being bound by it was another.

He didn't want to become like the past Hokage, tied to the chair all day dealing with village minutiae, reduced to a cold, mechanical stamp.

Shisui and Yugao were managing Anbu for him. Root had also been suppressed by Danzō. He didn't have to worry about those departments.

Pakura wasn't good with administrative work, and Hikari was a homebody.

Fortunately, he had the warm and meticulous Izumi. While in Anbu, she had gained plenty of experience. She was also very detail-oriented. Letting her handle village affairs was the perfect choice.

Of course, Yami wouldn't dump everything on Izumi. He still needed to reform Konoha's political structure. Izumi's role was to handle the cases where others couldn't decide or when he wasn't available.

When they arrived at the Hokage Building, they heard a commotion.

"Get out! Get out~!"

"Don't touch my grandfather's things!"

Izumi frowned subconsciously.

Outside the Hokage Office, Konohamaru was blocking several Konoha shinobi from clearing out the office.

The one leading them, Hagane Kotetsu, looked embarrassed. They were all familiar with the Third Hokage's grandson and couldn't bring themselves to use force.

"What's going on?"

Yami walked over with Izumi. When the shinobi saw him, they immediately bowed. "Hokage-sama."

Hagane Kotetsu explained the situation. Yami looked at Konohamaru, who was glaring at him with hatred, and couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you laughing at?!" Konohamaru shouted angrily.

Bang!

Yami punched Konohamaru in the stomach, sending him crashing into the wall. Konohamaru cried out in pain, his body curled up like a shrimp.

Hagane Kotetsu and the others all twitched. Their eyelids jumped uncontrollably.

This new Hokage... really treated people casually. Especially children.

Konohamaru hadn't even graduated from the Academy, yet he still got smacked directly.

Such a "down-to-earth" Hokage.

"Little brat."

Yami retracted his fist and let Konohamaru slump to the floor. He looked down at him.

"What do you think Konoha is? The Sarutobi family's private estate?"

"The Third Hokage is dead. This office now belongs to me. And you're a student who hasn't even become a genin. Yet you dare interfere in the village's official business?"

"Looks like the Third really failed to raise the next generation. Your uncle rebelled, and now you're even more arrogant than him. Can't the Sarutobi family produce one normal person?"

Then, he turned to glare at Hagane Kotetsu and the others, his cold aura making them break into a cold sweat.

"And you all. You can't even handle one naughty kid? What, is he some backdoor special jōnin?"

"We're sorry, Hokage-sama! We were negligent!"

They immediately knelt on one knee and lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Get him out of here. From now on, don't let him within 100 meters of the Hokage Building."

With the Hokage's order, Hagane Kotetsu wasted no time. Ignoring Konohamaru's struggles, he dragged him away. The rest of the shinobi began arranging the office.

"You can't just hit kids like that," Izumi said as she entered the office with Yami, giving him a subtle warning.

It wasn't that she sympathized with Konohamaru. She simply knew that Yami disliked naughty children, so she was giving him a gentle nudge.

"Mm. I'll try."

Yami replied vaguely.

Of course, children should be taught patiently. But what if they refused to listen after being taught? Boy or girl, he treated them equally.

If they behaved well, he praised them.

If they didn't, he taught them.

If they still didn't listen, he beat them.

True equality between men and women.

Soon, the two advisors and Danzō arrived.

Mitokado Homura brought the backlog of village affairs and ten key files regarding Konoha's current state.

Yami took them and began reading.

Before long, his brow furrowed.

He slapped the table and shouted angrily.

"What's going on?! Where's my money?!"

"For such a huge village like Konoha, there's only 500 million ryō on the books? Where did all the money go?!"

"Ahem."

Danzō coughed twice to remind him, "Yami, that's Konoha's money. Don't mix it up with your own."

"Don't get caught up in the details."

Yami was still fuming. He tossed the file on the table. "This small amount isn't even as much as my personal treasury. In a few months, we won't even be able to pay the shinobi's salaries."

He stared suspiciously at the two advisors. "Did you embezzle the money, thinking I wouldn't notice?"

"How could that be?!"

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were shocked. They weren't Danzō—they couldn't shoulder that kind of accusation.

Mitokado Homura hurriedly explained, "Yami, look at the ledgers for the past few years.

I'm not saying Konoha is completely clean from top to bottom, but it's not as bad as you're thinking."

As he spoke, he glanced at Danzō.

That old man was the most ruthless of them all. Even Hiruzen had no idea where some of those funds had gone.

Yami snorted coldly. Izumi had already pulled out the ledgers and handed them to him.

Only the sound of pages turning filled the office.

After a while, Yami found the problem.

Part of the funds had gone toward post-disaster reconstruction, and another large chunk had been spent on renovating the stadium and building new spectator stands during the Chūnin Exams.

Those were the major expenses.

The problem wasn't where the money went. It was that annual revenue kept decreasing.

"What's going on? Why is the village earning less and less even though the workload is increasing?"

"Because of the daimyo," Mitokado Homura sighed. "Every year, the daimyo reduces our military funding. Meanwhile, the number of missions issued keeps rising. Since shinobi can't go unpaid, the village has to cover the difference."

"Didn't the Third go to the capital to ask for more military funds?" Yami asked in confusion.

Wasn't that one of the Hokage's primary duties? To secure funding for the village, improve shinobi welfare, and train future talent?

Utatane Koharu replied, "He did. At first, Hiruzen went to the capital several times, but the negotiations always failed. The daimyo claimed the Land of Fire was in financial difficulty, and that the current peace meant there was no need to bolster the military."

"Hah, only Hiruzen would believe that," Danzō suddenly sneered. "Yami, the daimyo actually siphoned off part of the military budget to train those Twelve Guardian Ninja and a bunch of shinobi stationed at his mansion.

He already had Hiruzen figured out because of his weak nature."

Yami's eyes glinted coldly.

He had long wanted to kill the daimyo. But if he killed the current one, his sons would take over. If he killed them too, nobles from other nations would swoop in.

To kill one, he had to uproot the entire ruling class.

But the current ninja world situation wasn't stable enough yet. There were still too many unresolved issues.

That was why Yami had pretended to send an Anbu squad to protect the daimyo last time.

And now the daimyo dared to pull this kind of stunt and steal his money?

He was tired of living.

Fine. He'd start by killing one to relieve some stress.

Most shinobi didn't dare kill daimyo because they were used to the current social structure. A bunch of civilians without any power could still boss shinobi around.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, a Kage had even been sent to protect a daimyo.

Yami decided to let Hikari handle it. The two of them were the craziest lunatics in the world. They wouldn't hesitate to destroy the world—let alone a daimyo.

He turned to Danzō. "Old man, I'll leave this to you. Head to the capital next week and demand the funds. I want not only this year's budget, but also everything they've shorted us in the past."

"I understand," Danzō replied calmly.

Just as Yami was about to say more, a knock came at the door.

"#!"

After being granted permission, a Konoha shinobi entered and knelt on one knee.

"Hokage-sama, the envoys from Iwagakure and Sunagakure request an audience."

Yami thought for a moment, then asked Danzō and the two advisors to leave first. He then ordered someone to bring the envoys in.

The envoys had arrived days ago, but they'd been stalled with the excuse that there was no Hokage to meet them and no one else had the authority.

Soon, the two representatives were brought in.

The envoy from Iwa was Kitsuchi, son of Ōnoki and father of Kurotsuchi. From Suna, it was an old acquaintance, Baki.

Baki was a smart man. The moment he realized the Fourth Kazekage was dead and the plan had failed, he took his people and fled back to Suna.

On the way, he had even retrieved the Fourth Kazekage's remains.

Yami didn't bother with diplomatic pleasantries and pointed straight at the couch.

"Sit. Let's hear the compensation terms you prepared. If I'm not satisfied... go home and prepare for war."

Hearing this, Kitsuchi and Baki's expressions both changed.

(To be continued.)

***

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