In the towering building.
"Mitsuo!" On the desk stacked with paperwork and the burdens of a hidden village, Hanzō unfurled the scroll report and urgently called his assistant into the room.
"Hanzō-sama!" The assistant, Mitsuo came into the room with politeness.
"Are there any further developments on the blood samples extracted from the children?" Hanzō calmly uttered.
"I am deeply regretful that we haven't fully ascertained the composition and genetic information of some of the children's blood. Due to our research and technology, it will take us one year to compile all the valuable ones from the other ordinary ones..."
As Mitsuo's detailed answer became clear, Hanzō furrowed his eyebrows and began thinking about fastening up the process of the investigation.
"Okay, hear my orders," Hanzō cupped his chin at the sight of the report, "Put that brat Yoichi and his party on the priority list of blood cells research."
In his mind, the report of Masayoshi felt like something was clearly wrong in Yoichi's statements. Also, the injuries the child sustained were superficial and thorough yet the wounds slightly bore scabs in a few moments, making the child even more suspicious and mysterious.
Although he couldn't prove his conjecture, the child was incredibly talented and Hanzō couldn't just experiment on a child, leaving him in a complicated spot to nurture the kid or research the child's enigmatic body with uncertainty on the results.
At this point, Mitsuo simply bowed. The priority list would surely take too long since the blood analysis device was only one and the other children's blood was still being studied, overwriting their progress on the numerous children's blood samples.
"Lastly," Hanzō continued, "Call Kouji, Motoyasu, and... Hayate to come back and flush these rats out. My patience is running out with these incompetent shinobi around!"
As he heard Hanzō's last sentence, Mitsuo replied, "Is there any more orders you have, Hanzō-sama?"
"That should be it. You may leave." Hanzō waved his hand and dismissed his assistant, leaving him all alone again in the desk full of paperwork.
Danzo... I will make your heart bleed!
...
In the hidden basement.
"Danzo-sama, the Hokage requests your presence in his room!"
Upon hearing the shinobi's words, Danzō appeared from the darkness with a frown on his face.
I must get that funding as soon as possible! That Hanzō couldn't be trusted with his turtle progress! His ambitions and research should be extracted for the safety of Konoha.
With a thought in mind, Danzo slowly took his time and went to the Hokage's office unimpeded.
*Bang!*
As the door violently cranked open, Danzo coldly said, "Are the allocated fundings ready? I must cull that ambitious wolf swiftly!"
Listening to the very familiar voice, Hiruzen stood up and yelled, "Not anymore, Danzo! You must provide details about your recent movements in Amegakure and this absurd request for massive funding..."
"Did you hear what I said, Hiruzen?! We should cut the weeds before they grow out of control!" Releasing a low grunt, Danzō clenched his fist in anger at the sight of Hiruzen's air.
"Have you lost your mind, Danzo?! Inciting a war in the middle of peace?! We need more stability than ever since we suffered more than the other hidden villages. I refuse your demand!" Hiruzen felt his head throb from Danzō's troublesome activities.
With multiple projects such as the Ninja Academy, reimbursement to the deceased shinobi, and proper nurturing of the future shinobi of Konoha, the funding was spread thin across all aspects of development.
"Hiruzen, your mind became too dull. If Sensei's here, he would be ashamed of your actions!" Danzo huffed in anger as his bottled-up emotions surged and he lashed out at Hiruzen.
"Danzo! I am the Hokage!" Hiruzen slammed his desk and angrily glared at Danzo.
At this point, Hiruzen and Danzo were still in their mid-twenties, looking at their peak form and holding a massive reputation across the Shinobi World.
However, the disposition and disparity of the status were obviously clear.
One was appointed by their sensei to be a Hokage with a capable talent while the other was also talented yet filled with bitterness and resentment as a result of his past cowardice.
"You'll regret this!" After his vicious remarks, Danzō ferociously shut the door to the Hokage's office.
*Bang!*
Seeing Danzo's fading silhouette in the windows, Hiruzen felt complicated as his friend's drastic change became evident in his eyes.
"Danzo... What is something wrong that I've done for you?" Mumbling and lonely inside, Hiruzen took a deep breath and sat down at his desk.
As a Hokage, his burdens and responsibilities towards the citizens of Konoha must be focused on its people and his village's self-interest.
The interpersonal relationship between him and his companions should be put aside from the politics yet Hiruzen couldn't help but sigh at his friend's dilemma.
Soon, he came back to reality and did his work, adhering to his task as a Hokage and his mentor's wishes to protect and nurture Konoha.
...
Konoha Year 17, May.
In the basement room.
"Yoichi, we did it! We finally got a job!" Upon hearing Hikari's joyful voice, Yoichi stopped reading his book and congratulated them on their success.
After 3 weeks of recuperation, Yoichi's body had completely recovered from the injuries he sustained in just 1 week with absolute focus.
By using 8 hours to read, 8 hours to recover, and 8 hours to sleep, his time was truly on the min-maxing style, optimizing two hands on the clock.
In his proficiency department, he didn't cut any slack and accumulated over 42 EXP in Blacksmithing Profession. Not only that, as soon as his body recovered, he put so much emphasis on practicing Martial Arts.
Therefore, Yoichi gained 25 EXP to Heavenly Demon Posture, 29 EXP to Phantom Steps, 10 EXP to Lightning Spear Thrust, and 15 EXP to Mountain Crushing Fist. An outstanding improvement all across the board.
Since Mountain Crushing Fist was a fist technique centered around blunt force and Lightning Spear Thrust was heavily focused on penetrating power, Yoichi thoroughly avoided any brash practice and gained a lot from Phantom Steps, a movement skill relying on the lower body, and also another way to escape or to swiftly attack.
As for the Copper Skin progress, it remained slow and steady, upgrading the realm to the middle stage. Now, his control and reinforcement of Qi Blood into his skin became much better, able to infuse his Qi Blood around his fists as if Armament Haki.
But I need to find a job like theirs! Genji got an assistant receptionist job due to his somewhat adorable face and optimism. Haruhiko and Munekatsu found a construction job while I'm still unemployed as hell! That blacksmith and his assistants are surely stubborn!
With complaints in his mind, Yoichi came into a hidden shop with countless sounds of hammering metal echoing, and multiple ornaments such as swords, fūma shurikens, and even a large Fan were displayed all over the room.
"You are still persistent, aren't you? As I said, no children were allowed to work in this establishment!" As soon as Yoichi arrived, a harsh and grumpy voice was heard while an old man appeared through the backroom.
"Please, Elder Gunbai! Can you give me one chance!" Yoichi's relentless pleadings didn't shake the old man.
The old man was a senior blacksmith and worked tirelessly for his entire life. Elder Gunbai wore an apron with incredible materials, a bandana that kept his long white hair from falling off, and multiple scars across his arms.
"I said get out! If you are still here with my countdown, I'll kick you here mercilessly!" Old Man Gunbai harshly answered back.
"1..."
"Elder, I really need to work!"
"2..."
"Please, I have friends to feed and foster! I'm definitely telling you the truth elder. We need something to eat and I don't want to die young. Can you truly bear us dying?!"
At this point, Yoichi actually wanted to work on this blacksmithing career.
An efficient way to gain EXP, an alibi for both his trial and his stacks of cash in his hands. Killing 3 birds with 1 stone.
Soon, Yoichi's acting made the old man feel a jolt in his heart at the sight of Yoichi's determined eyes.
"Hahaha," Then, Old Man Gunbai laughed angrily, "Good! Very good! You even dare to pin the blame on me! Oh well, I'll give you a chance."
Seeing the veins throb on the elder's forehead, Yoichi felt a bad foreboding.
"If you managed to forge a kunai, I'll give you a job in this little shop. But if you didn't achieve it, then you will never step into this shop again!"
Upon hearing Old Man Gunbai's words, Yoichi sighed and said, "I agree! I'll prove it to you."
"Very energetic, huh! Then, come on in." Looking at the enthusiastic kid, Old Gunbai opened the door to the backrooms while Yoichi stepped forward.
I'm quite lucky that it's not a murderous shinobi again. Or perhaps the old man was truly a shinobi in his prime time. Ah, let's go.
___________
(Current Progress)
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Great Success 185/500]
[Mountain Crushing Fist: (Entry) 29/100] (+15)
[Phantom Steps (Entry) 29/100] (+29)
[Lightning Spear Thrust: (Entry) 10/100] (+10)
[Blacksmithing: (Entry) 45/100] (+42)
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Thanks for reading the chapters and bookmarking the novel. See ya! XDD!