Fugaku and Satoshi looked at each other, one surprised the other truly wanted it, and the other surprised the other truly wouldn't give it.
Eventually, Satoshi even thought of directly reaching in and taking it.
This forced Fugaku to reluctantly pull out a wallet from his inner lining.
"The clan's funds have been tight recently, so I'll give you some of my personal savings as a subsidy. This is two..."
'Give it to me!'
Satoshi snatched Fugaku's wallet and said, "Thank you, Fugaku-sama."
Fugaku: My reputation?
Satoshi: No.
Satoshi vanished from Fugaku's sight in a flash, reappearing at home in an instant.
"Hoh! I'm rich!"
"This must be seven or eight hundred thousand ryo, right? As expected of the clan head, he has so much pocket money."
After a brief moment of excitement, Satoshi felt a little annoyed.
When would he be able to get a bigger house?
He still needed to find an opportunity to get a house from Fugaku.
The next morning, two Anbu ninjas arrived at the Uchiha clan compound.
"Excuse me, where is Satoshi's house?"
"Who?"
Tenzo raised his voice. "Satoshi."
"Who?"
"Satoshi!"
"Why are you shouting so loudly? My ears aren't working well, but I'm not deaf."
The old man's voice suddenly rose, drawing the attention of many Uchiha clan members. It was as if the word 'irritable' was written on his face.
Tenzo lowered his voice. "These people don't seem to welcome us."
Kakashi said, "They don't welcome anyone, especially since I took Obito's eye."
"Alright..."
Tenzo never had any objections to his senpai's statements.
The owner of the pancake shop poked his head out and said, "Go straight from here, then turn left... it's the last house at the end."
"Thank you."
Kakashi thanked the owner and, being very sensible, even bought a few pancakes from him. Of course, he used Tenzo's money.
—
Knock... Knock!
With a creak, the door opened from the inside.
Kakashi said, "Let's go, Hokage-sama is in a hurry. Tenzo can also use Wood Release Ninjutsu, which might be helpful for the investigation."
[New mission: Investigate the masked man's true identity and the mastermind behind him.]
No need to investigate, I know. The masked man is called...
[Everything is based on facts, Tobirama's speculation is not considered evidence.]
Fine.
You're amazing, you're so pure.
—
Soon, the group arrived at the data room.
"All the information regarding Wood Release is here. Let's split up and see if we can find any useful information."
Satoshi knew there wouldn't be any information about Obito here, but he still looked carefully.
The key person involved in that research was Orochimaru. And Orochimaru, as the Ninja World's top scientist, might have left something useful for Satoshi.
However, Satoshi searched around but still couldn't find what he was looking for. He only repeatedly saw a familiar name in the records.
"Aburame Torune." Satoshi stroked his chin.
"I didn't expect this senpai to be such a hard worker. Danzo must be very sad to have lost his help."
Kakashi and Tenzo looked at Satoshi, reading an emotion called schadenfreude on his face.
Noticing their gazes, Satoshi forced himself to put away his smile and said, "Ahem, it's certain that Torune was colluding with Orochimaru and secretly carrying out evil Wood Release experiments."
"But this is a past event, and there's no specific date, so it's hard to pin it on Danzo, I mean, to clear his name."
Kakashi and Tenzo exchanged glances, pretending not to hear what Satoshi was saying.
At this moment, Satoshi had already realized why Hiruzen had sent him to investigate this matter.
On one hand, it was to express his trust in him. It could show the clan members, 'Look, Konoha still trusts the Uchiha, so don't cause trouble.' It could also win over Satoshi.
A genius ninja with great potential like Satoshi was very crucial to Konoha.
If Satoshi really came knocking on the office door in a Gundam one day, it would be difficult to handle.
On the other hand, it was to give Danzo a warning. To tell him not to go too far, to let him know who truly called the shots in this village.
Hiruzen seems to have some schemes.
The group searched the data for a long time but still couldn't find any information about the masked man.
"That's strange, could this masked man really be Orochimaru's doing?"
Tenzo pondered for a long time and said, "In my memory, there were no test subjects who survived the Wood Release experiments besides me."
Satoshi tapped his head and said, "Let's stop here for today. I'll go report today's progress to Hokage-sama, and everything will be decided by Hokage-sama."
"Alright."
As evening approached, Satoshi knocked on the Hokage's office door.
"Come in."
Hiruzen rubbed his aching lower back and said, "Satoshi, just say it directly."
Satoshi placed the scroll on Hiruzen's desk and reported, "Hokage-sama, my two senpais and I have checked all the data related to the Wood Release experiment in the data room, and we haven't found any information about the masked man."
Hiruzen didn't show any particular emotion. Those records were too old and it was difficult for them to provide useful intelligence.
"In the records, Orochimaru mentioned Torune's name multiple times. Unfortunately, Torune is dead, and the clue ends there."
Hiruzen nodded cooperatively, showing a regretful expression.
He was very clear about the contents. These documents were also for Satoshi to see.
Allowing the Uchiha to participate was also a way to give them a taste of something good.
Some things shouldn't be investigated too deeply, or he would be implicated as well.
Thinking of this, Hiruzen began to admire his own wisdom.
Danzo, you only know how to suppress others. No wonder sensei didn't choose you as Hokage back then.
Hiruzen gently tapped the desk and said, "If the Torune path doesn't work, let's try another direction."
Satoshi raised an eyebrow. "Is Hokage-sama referring to Orochimaru?"
Hiruzen hesitated slightly, then nodded. "Mm."
"I understand, Hokage-sama."
After Satoshi left, Hiruzen found a yellowed photograph in his drawer.
He gently wiped away the dust and sighed softly. "Orochimaru, I didn't kill you back then because of a moment of weakness. Not only did this not make you restrain yourself, but you became even worse, turning around to attack Konoha. As your teacher, I truly am a failure."
—
Since it was still early, Satoshi arrived at Naruto's doorstep.
Just as he was about to knock, he felt several Chakra fluctuations nearby.
It seemed that after the last lesson, Hiruzen had made Naruto's protection even more thorough.
Knock knock knock.
"Coming! Just a moment."
Naruto opened the door, and when he saw Satoshi, his mouth almost stretched to his ears.
"Satoshi-sensei, come in quickly. I'll show you what good stuff I've prepared."
This was Satoshi's first time visiting Naruto's house. Before, he would just shout a few times downstairs, and Naruto would excitedly rush out.
Satoshi sat on the sofa, feeling a pang of pain as he looked at the boxes of limited edition instant noodles.
He asked, "Naruto, you bought so many instant noodles, can you finish them all?"
Naruto said, "I wouldn't bear to eat them. I want to keep these instant noodles forever. But if Satoshi-sensei likes them, I can give you a few boxes."
Obito's invasion didn't seem to have affected Naruto. He was still that adorable little blond. Although he often felt lonely, his heart was also full of hope. It was hard not to like such a little guy.
Satoshi ruffled Naruto's blond hair and said, "Let's go. I have time today, so we'll practice some basic Ninjutsu."
"Yay!"
—
On the way to the training ground, Naruto once again asked about the history of Konoha.
"Satoshi-sensei, today it's time to tell the story of the Fourth Hokage."
Satoshi sighed with emotion, "The Fourth Hokage was a very great ninja."
"In the year you were born, a major event happened in Konoha. Enemies invaded Konoha, causing huge casualties."
"At the critical moment, the young Fourth Hokage stepped forward."
"He and his wife sacrificed their lives to protect their comrades and villagers behind them."
Saying this, he glanced at Naruto. "His son became an orphan, living alone in this world."
At this, Naruto suddenly grabbed Satoshi's hand. "What happened to his son now? Does he have a place to sleep? Does he have hot ramen to eat in winter?"
Satoshi nodded. "Yes, he has friends now, and he also has a handsome teacher."
"Eh?" Naruto scratched his blond hair.
How come the Hokage's son's situation felt a bit similar to his own?