Chapter 250: The Shameless Hiruzen Sarutobi
"So, Shukaku has been successfully sealed?"
"Yes."
Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I hear Rasa's face was quite a sight to behold when you left."
"Heh, he's just small-minded," Kyosuke said with a strange laugh of his own, remembering the look of pure constipation on Rasa's face when he had told him the number of exploding tags he had "used."
"Oh? Is that so..." Hiruzen nodded noncommittally, a smirk playing on his lips. "Alright, out with it. How much did you actually squeeze out of him?"
"Uh... not much, really. Just a cartful of gold," Kyosuke said, a look of feigned shame on his face. But the number he quoted made Hiruzen nearly jump out of his seat.
"A cartful?!"
"Of gold?!"
That night, at the Uchiha compound.
"Hah!"
In the training grounds, Shisui and Yamato were engaged in a fierce duel.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Using the ninjutsu to cut off Yamato's escape route, Shisui's Sharingan locked onto his target. The short sword at his waist was already unsheathed.
"Sword Drawing Technique: Immovable Flame Slash!"
Though Shisui's mastery of the technique was still in its infancy, it was more than enough to pose a serious threat to the current Yamato. Faced with the deadly strike, Yamato's hands flew together.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"
Sensing the change, Shisui tried to pull back, but he had not yet mastered that level of control. The blade passed through Yamato's body.
Crack.
Shisui looked at the wooden dummy, now split in two, a bitter smile on his face.
"I win, Shisui."
Hearing the voice from behind him, Shisui took a deep breath and his usual gentle expression returned. "You're still as strong as ever. It won't be easy to catch up to you."
"Not at all," Yamato said, scratching his head shyly, his eyes on Shisui's short sword. "Your swordsmanship is improving rapidly. I'm sure it won't be long before I'm no match for you."
The two of them continued to exchange modest praises for some time, then, noticing the silence from their teacher, who had been observing the match, they both looked over.
Kyosuke was sitting on the stone steps, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.
"...We should probably not disturb him."
"...Yeah."
They came to a silent agreement and began another round of sparring.
Kyosuke sat on the steps, his posture anything but graceful, the anger in his heart growing with every passing moment.
Sigh. I've completely lost my composure, he thought, letting out a long, weary sigh.
He had accidentally let the cat out of the bag.
While he had indeed used a large number of exploding tags in the battle with Shukaku, it was nowhere near a cartful of gold. Half a cart, at most. Rasa, of course, had no way of knowing the truth, and his subordinates couldn't give an accurate estimate. He had reimbursed Kyosuke's "losses" without question.
Did the shrewd Rasa not suspect that Kyosuke was padding the bill? Even if he had been momentarily fooled, would Ebizo have been as well? The answer was, of course, no. Which made the cartful of gold all the more intriguing.
But in Kyosuke's mind, it didn't matter if Rasa was trying to curry favor with him or had some other ulterior motive. He was more than happy to accept the gold. Years of his insane experiments had completely drained his finances. He couldn't afford to pass up any opportunity for income, let alone such a large sum.
But in his conversation with Hiruzen, he had let it slip. The moment the words had left his mouth, he had known he had made a mistake.
The rest was simple. Hiruzen had invoked some obscure "Ninja Mission Execution Clause" that Kyosuke had never even heard of and had taken a thirty percent cut of the gold as "additional mission compensation."
Watching the piles of gold being carried away had made Kyosuke's teeth ache with rage. But he had been forced to put on a "happy" face for the smiling Hokage.
But he had anticipated this. If he could lie to Rasa, he could certainly lie to Hiruzen. He hadn't lost money on the mission. Even after Hiruzen's shameless confiscation, he had still cleared a profit of several million ryo, enough to fund his laboratory for a few more months. If not for that, he would have truly lost his mind.
Forcing the unpleasant incident from his mind, he opened his system menu and invested the experience points from the S-rank mission into his "Sage Body."
The moment the skill leveled up to 2, he felt a change in his body. His chakra and all of his physical attributes had received a small but noticeable boost.
He touched his eyes, a thoughtful expression on his face. I wonder what level I need to reach before the Sage Body can restore the power of my Mangekyo.
If it takes too long, it will delay many of my plans.
And that wasn't his only problem. Even if he could restore his Mangekyo, its use would still be severely limited. To use it without fear of going blind, he needed the "Eternal Eye."
His original plan had been to use scientific methods to clone a pair of Mangekyo and, through repeated transplants, perfect the process of awakening the Eternal Eye. But as his scientific knowledge had grown, he had realized just how difficult that would be. It was impossible with his current level of technology.
He would have to continue his research while simultaneously searching for another path to the Eternal Mangekyo.
He stood and watched his two students, who were still training diligently, a look of pride in his eyes. He then turned and walked into a secluded corner.
With a soft snap of his fingers, a cloaked figure appeared beside him.
"Lord Kyosuke. What are your orders?"
"Tell Number 7... it's time to begin the 'Eye Creation' plan."
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