"A-Aiden Sarutobi?!"
"What are you trying to do?!"
Seeing Aiden Sarutobi step right up in front of her, Utatane Koharu nearly jumped out of her skin.
She had been screeching nonstop just moments ago, but now her tone unconsciously softened.
Yet the instant she met Aiden's gaze—
a bone-chilling cold spread through her entire body, from head to toe.
Beside her, Mitokado Homura hurriedly tugged at Koharu's sleeve, frantically signaling for her to calm down.
But Koharu was far too rattled to notice.
After forcing out a few shaky scoldings and seeing that Aiden didn't immediately react, she finally relaxed a little.
Her eyes darted toward Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo.
"Hiruzen! Danzo?!"
"Aren't you two going to say something?!"
"Look at what a fine grandson you've raised!"
"He doesn't even put us—"
Before Koharu could finish her sentence—
SLAP.
The words died instantly in her throat.
Crack!
The force was so terrifying that Koharu's head spun a full three times—
while her body remained rooted to the spot.
A sickening series of cracking sounds echoed through the office.
Her head twisted at an impossible angle, eyes wide open, staring straight at Mitokado Homura.
The horrifying scene froze Homura completely in place.
Aiden withdrew his hand calmly.
"All that yapping is annoying as hell."
"I thought you called me here for something important."
"What a joke."
"I give you face, I call you a 'village advisor.'"
"I don't give you face—"
"I bury you."
"And you really thought you were somebody?"
Those words shattered Homura's courage completely.
His legs gave out and he collapsed onto the floor, panic plastered all over his face.
"Y-Yes, yes, yes! Young Master Aiden is absolutely right!"
"It's all Utatane Koharu's fault—that vicious old woman!"
"She was just jealous of the Sarutobi and Shimura clans!"
"She deserved to die!"
"I'm so sorry, truly, I'm so sorry you had to dirty your hands, Young Master Aiden!"
Homura begged shamelessly, voice trembling.
Aiden didn't even spare him a glance.
As for Hiruzen and Danzo—
they acted as if none of this concerned them.
When Aiden struck earlier, the two of them had coincidentally turned to look out the window at the exact same time.
The Hokage's office might as well not exist.
Seeing this, Homura finally understood.
Koharu's death was already a settled matter.
Whatever little schemes he'd harbored before—
they were meaningless now.
Advisor?
He didn't want it anymore.
As long as he could leave the Hokage Tower alive, he'd resign on the spot.
After all—
dead people don't get to be advisors.
Only the living do.
As Koharu died from that single slap, a familiar system notification echoed in Aiden's mind.
[Ding! Killed a Konoha advisor in front of the Hokage]
[Fusion Progress +5%]
Hearing the notification, Aiden frowned slightly.
"Tch. Bad luck."
"Only five percent?"
"That old hag wasn't even worth as much as Sasuke or Naruto."
But soon—
Aiden's gaze slowly shifted to Homura, who was still groveling on the floor.
"One advisor gives five percent…"
"Two would be ten."
"That'd put me at fifty percent fusion."
Aiden could feel it.
Once fusion reached fifty percent, his abilities would undergo a massive qualitative leap.
In that case—
there was no reason to let this old fossil go.
One death or two, what difference did it make?
At least they could keep each other company on the way down.
As Aiden calmly planned Homura's fate—
Homura himself felt his legs go completely numb.
He had clearly seen the killing intent flash through Aiden's eyes just now.
Koharu had already been slapped to death—
and Aiden still wasn't satisfied?!
Desperate to survive, Homura scrambled to look at Hiruzen and Danzo.
Surely…
surely they'd spare him, for the sake of decades of friendship.
But neither of them even looked his way.
Especially Danzo—
there was undisguised admiration in his eyes.
As if to say:
As expected of my great-grandson.
Decisive, ruthless—just like me.
That look crushed Homura's last shred of hope.
"HIRUZEN!! DANZO!!"
"I'll give you everything the Mitokado clan owns!"
"I don't want anything anymore!"
"I don't want the advisor position either!"
"I'm begging you—please let Young Master Aiden spare my life!!"
Hiruzen and Danzo exchanged a glance.
Clearly—
they were tempted.
After all, the two advisors had held their positions for decades.
Even if they couldn't compare to the Sarutobi clan, they were still far wealthier than most minor families.
Their accumulated resources would be substantial.
Just as the two were weighing the pros and cons—
Aiden suddenly laughed.
A low, amused chuckle.
"Idiot."
"If I kill you—"
"Those things are ours anyway."
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