The Days of Being the Richest Man in the Ninja World

Chapter 133. Trembling Once More

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"Chief Elder, you look young and energetic! I guess you've had a good time recently~"

"You brat! You're talking nonsense!" The Chief Elder, basking in the sun in the courtyard, slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Yuto, then closed them again. "What do you want from me?"

"Just delivering some tickets!" Yuto stuffed two tickets into the Chief Elder's hands and smiled meaningfully. "You know what I mean!"

"I don't." The Chief Elder remained expressionless as he pocketed the tickets.

Then.

The two exchanged glances and simultaneously let out a "hehe" laugh.

A moment later.

They both resumed their usual calm expressions.

The Chief Elder looked up at Suzune beside them, nodded, then turned back to Yuto. "Alright, speak. Why have you come to see me?"

"No reason! Just dropping by to see Itachi and delivering these tickets."

"Really nothing else?"

"Really nothing else!"

"In that case, get lost! It's getting dark, I have to go out to dance!"

"…"

Shameless old man!

Yuto rolled his eyes helplessly and turned to leave.

Just then.

The old man's leisurely voice drifted over from behind. "Stay out of trouble these days. Don't go running around, especially someone with all sorts of weird things inside them!"

"…I got it."

Yuto chuckled helplessly. Watching the Chief Elder disappear into his house, he said nothing more and shook his head.

Looks like… with the Third Hokage stepping down, the next Hokage election is near.

So, the Chief Elder was giving him a hint—telling him to pick the right side?

But.

What about Orochimaru?

Now even the Third Hokage has started a business with Danzo. Would Orochimaru still be shunned by Hiruzen if he got closer to Danzo?

And.

Did the Third Hokage really embezzle funds?

No matter how you look at it, it seems like slander!

Though many people disliked Hiruzen, he didn't seem like someone who would embezzle funds and get caught!

As for how the Uchiha clan knew about it… apparently, the news came from outside. By now… many other clans must have heard about it too.

But who would actually believe it?

…

Meanwhile.

Deep inside a certain underground cave.

"The Hokage is corrupt? Ridiculous!" Madara scoffed as he listened to White Zetsu's latest ninja world news. "That Senju Tobirama wouldn't have picked such an idiot!"

Honestly.

When he first heard this news, he was genuinely surprised.

But thinking about it, how could that be possible?!

Most likely, some useless fools spread the rumor just to tarnish Konoha's reputation.

However.

As soon as he finished speaking.

His heavily wrinkled face lowered as he glanced at the White Zetsu scratching its head in front of him.

His mouth twitched. He clutched his chest, nearly losing control of the Gedo Statue keeping him alive!

After a brief silence, he spoke again, this time with a slight rise in pitch. "Is this for real?" Then, raising his voice even more, "That damn monkey actually embezzled funds?"

"Madara-sama, you sound surprisingly energetic!" White Zetsu looked at Madara in astonishment.

"Shut up!" Madara clutched his chest again, taking a deep breath. "Speak quickly!"

"Well, it's not exactly embezzlement! That monkey just… borrowed some money for a bit, then paid it back later!"

"Yeah, yeah! Borrowing money isn't embezzlement! It's just that some people from the Daimyo's office wanted to stir up trouble against Konoha, so they deliberately—"

"It's all just a misunderstanding!"

A group of White Zetsus chattered at once.

Madara fell silent.

Unbelievable.

Truly unbelievable.

Some idiot actually did something this stupid—and he's the Hokage?!

"Has Konoha already decayed to this extent?" Madara murmured, his eyes suddenly sharpening with a piercing light. "As expected! I was right, Hashirama!"

With those words—

"If there's nothing else, we won't disturb Madara-sama's rest!"

"We're outta here! Sleep well, Madara-sama!"

Just as a group of White Zetsus was about to slip away—

"Hmph!"

A deep, cold snort echoed within the enclosed underground chamber.

The sound instantly sent shivers down the spines of all the White Zetsus, making them tremble.

However—

Madara paid them no mind. Instead, he cast his cloudy eyes downward, gazing upon them indifferently. In a calm yet imposing tone, he asked, "Have you once again embezzled war funds to buy some ridiculous nonsense?"

At those words—

A pair of White Zetsus huddled together, shaking, and forced out an awkward laugh. "Hehe, it was just a loan! A loan! Madara-sama, really!"

...

"You actually did it?" Mitokado Homura twitched his lips in disbelief as he looked at his silent friend. Then, with a sigh, he shook his head. "You are so stupid, Hiruzen!"

"I didn't! It's just baseless rumors!" Hiruzen shook his head and took a puff from his pipe. "They haven't found any real evidence. It's just that… now that the war is over, there are people who no longer look favorably upon Konoha."

"That's true." Utatane Koharu nodded solemnly. "All the rumors originated from the Daimyo's. However, this time…" She hesitated, then looked at Hiruzen. "Root BBQ and Root Milk Tea have given them leverage."

At her words—

Hiruzen's hand trembled slightly as he lowered his pipe and let out a sigh. "This time… I really did make a mistake!"

Who could have guessed… that it would turn out to be such a disaster?!

That damn Danzo must have set him up on purpose!

Fortunately, business at the restaurant still seemed decent, so it wasn't a complete disaster.

Today—

The promotional event would finally end. Perhaps after that, he and Danzo could truly dive into business together.

"Hiruzen…" Homura hesitated, then asked, "What do you plan to do next?"

He himself had always maintained a clean record—aside from selling a painting once and winning a lottery prize. Because of that, he wasn't implicated in this scandal.

[Looks like I need to be more cautious in the future!]

This time—

Could the rumors be related to the 80 million ryo that mysteriously vanished last time?

Forget it, best not to overthink it.

But—

Hiruzen was definitely in a tight spot now.

However—

Just as Homura was deep in thought—

"It's fine." Hiruzen shook his head with a faint smile. He stood up, stretched lazily, and said, "I'm getting old. Lately, I've been feeling like I can't keep up anymore. It's time to leave the future to the younger generation." His eyes grew distant as he gazed out the window. "Where the leaves fall, fire will continue to burn. The flames will continue to illuminate the village and nurture the new leaves to grow."

With those words—

Standing with his hands behind his back, his graying hair swayed gently in the wind.

His entire figure exuded a sense of desolation.

"Hiruzen!" x2

Behind him, Homura and Koharu looked at Hiruzen with deep emotion.

Their old friend—

He had always been like this!

Always thinking of Konoha!

Even now, his thoughts were still for Konoha!

[Konoha can have such development, all thanks to Hiruzen!]

And so—

One man stood by the window, gazing at the village with nostalgic eyes, while the two behind him watched his back with sorrow and admiration.

The atmosphere fell into a heavy silence.

It felt particularly solemn.

No one knew how much time had passed—

Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen started feeling a bit sore in his legs and was about to sit down to draft his resignation letter to the Daimyo—

Suddenly—

Knock knock—

Urgent knocking echoed from the door.

Hiruzen's hand, gripping the brush, trembled once more.

There was a bad feeling inside again.

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