Yukine ate her fill.
Haruno did too.
They hadn't had a real meal in a long time.
At the Intake House, a few mouthfuls of coarse grain were all you got.
No way around it.
To the kunoichi there, outsiders like them were money pits, and they rarely got anything resembling a kind look.
After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Haruno wiped her mouth.
Then she grinned brightly at Kangetsu, who was watching with obvious interest.
Easy on the eyes.
Young, handsome, strong.
Haruno decided she'd come out ahead—by a lot.
"Kangetsu-sama, my name is Haruno Yukinoshita. This is my mother, Yukine Yukinoshita.
I know the two of us are useless enough to be a burden, and we've made you trouble yourself for us.
But please rest assured. We will create more than enough value for you."
At the very least—
More value than it costs to keep them.
Kangetsu only smiled at Haruno's pitch and said nothing.
He knew these two were capable.
Especially when it came to business.
Unfortunately.
For now, Kangetsu couldn't give them a platform like that.
Because in Konoha…
Doing business also required backing.
Unless you could carve out an entirely new lane.
Did Kangetsu have ideas for a new lane?
He did.
He just didn't want to put them on the table yet.
Yukine studied her future master's expression carefully.
Got it.
This man had ambition.
It just wasn't time.
So Yukine smiled gently.
She brought out the polished etiquette she'd been raised with.
A snug kimono hugged her figure as she bowed low on the tatami, the curve of her hips an undeniably deliberate invitation.
"Kangetsu-sama… please be gentle…"
Yukine was setting an example first.
It was Haruno's first time in a situation like this, and Yukine worried Haruno might not understand.
Ridiculous.
Haruno understood perfectly well.
Haruno, bristling with pride, watched her mother move to please their master—
And in the next second, her gaze cleared as if someone had dumped cold water over her head.
That's… that big. That can 'kill' somebody…
…
…
Hokage Tower, office.
The old man—the Third Hokage—was reviewing documents when a shinobi came to report that a new mission needed hands.
The old man immediately pressed his fingers to his brow, a headache blooming on cue.
They were short on people…
Especially talented people.
Konoha had plenty of genin, but the number of chūnin dropped off sharply, and jōnin even more so.
If that weren't the case, he wouldn't have given Kangetsu a chance in the first place.
ANBU wasn't a place just anyone could enter.
"Isn't Kangetsu at home with nothing to do? Then let him—"
"Ah… about that…"
The reporting shinobi hesitated.
He was ANBU too, one of Kangetsu's colleagues.
"What is it? That kid's not bad, and he's chūnin now."
"No, Hokage-sama, you misunderstand. It's that the kid took in two women, so right now he's probably…"
Oh?
The Third Hokage—Hiruzen—froze for a beat, then burst into laughter.
He'd thought Kangetsu might never settle down.
Over the past six months, the frequency of Kangetsu's missions had been enough to scare even him.
He'd been afraid this useful workhorse would either drop dead from exhaustion or get himself killed by biting off a mission too hard.
The reason the old man had assigned Kangetsu a money-losing job in the first place was to push him into "settling down" among soft voices and warm company.
Ahem.
Of course.
The outsider intake work also lost money and nobody wanted it, which was another reason it landed on Kangetsu's head.
Still, the old man felt more at ease now.
A kid who kept women meant a kid who was thinking about a home.
A kid with a home meant a kid who'd truly put roots down in Konoha.
"Then assign someone else. In that case—have Kakashi handle it."
The old man chose again.
He treated his own people fairly well, as long as their status wasn't too sensitive.
Since Kangetsu was now "his," many things could be negotiated and adjusted.
Besides, Kangetsu was basically a newlywed now. He should have a little time to be… warm.
When it came to buying loyalty, the old man had always had his methods.
Maybe there were things about him that drew plenty of criticism—things that didn't look like the conduct of a virtuous ruler.
But his political skill was impossible to deny.
"Yes."
The reporting shinobi withdrew.
The old man, still smiling, pulled out Kangetsu's file.
Kangetsu. Orphan. Native of Konoha.
Parents sacrificed in war. Raised under the indoctrination of the academy from a young age.
Ideologically "pure," background clean—excellent material.
Of course.
In the old man's drawer, there were plenty of "excellent materials" like that.
But truly outstanding pillars—people who could shoulder the village—there were almost none.
Thinking of it, the old man couldn't help but sigh.
The Third Shinobi World War had nearly smashed Konoha into pieces.
Talent drain was only one of the village's many symptoms.
A village as vast as Konoha had fallen so far that a handful of old men had to step forward again and hold the banner.
Still…
The old man gave a cold laugh.
The other villages were no better.
And their foundations weren't as deep as Konoha's.
Konoha could tighten its belt and still barely get by.
The other villages… "starving corpses everywhere" still wouldn't describe it enough.
So the old man had become almost obsessed with talent.
Time didn't wait.
The war had only just ended—who knew when the next one would ignite.
Kangetsu was just one of the many pieces he'd scattered across the board.
A fine young man willing to risk his life deserved an opportunity.
It was just that… his strength and talent were a bit lacking.
The old man shook his head and sealed Kangetsu's file away again.
At the same time—
In a Root base, Danzo listened to a subordinate's report with a blank, baffled expression.
What the hell?
Kangetsu took in women and started a family?
Then— Danzo's mouth twitched as he looked at the subordinate.
Was Root that bored now?
If you're bored, go run missions.
This is what you're reporting?
And besides, Kangetsu was Hiruzen's direct ANBU line. Was he, Danzo, full enough to reach into someone else's bowl?
Root did need people, but he couldn't snatch meat right out of the Third's mouth…
At most, it was a pity—another useful workhorse had joined Hiruzen's stable.
"From now on, stop paying attention to Kangetsu. He's a member of the Hokage's direct forces. Understand?"
"Yes."
It wasn't like Danzo hadn't read the kid's file.
Background spotless.
Hiruzen taking him in was entirely reasonable.
"Oh, and you—yes, you. Go to the Hokage's office and bring back a few packets of tea."
Danzo had been craving the tea from Hokage Tower.
He was poor…
He couldn't bear to buy it.
Most of his funds went into Root.
A Root of this size, consumed daily expenses that his Shimura clan basically carried alone.
It left him, a Hokage advisor, unable to drink even decent tea.
Humiliating.
Besides.
He carried the ambition of becoming Hokage.
He couldn't become Hokage yet, but aiming his at Hokage-level was hardly unreasonable, was it?