Chapter 261. Is it Really That Difficult?
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Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at Maruboshi Kosuke, took a deep drag from his pipe, exhaled a sigh, and fell into brief silence. "Did I say anything wrong?"
"…"
Well, he wasn't exactly wrong.
Danzo did run away. His second son… Asuma, had also gone to the city to work, and from what people said, he had found a decent job—a government position in the Daimyo's court, providing the job security of a civil servant.
As for Hiruzen himself, he had taken on all the debts, running errands, playing extra roles, and delivering takeout to pay them off. Meanwhile, Biwako—well, sometimes she stayed out too late dancing in the square and forgot to make dinner, leaving Hiruzen to fend for himself.
So overall, what he had said was mostly true, just with a bit of exaggeration!
He wasn't exactly wrong!
And at this moment…
"Lunch is ready! One serving per person! Eat up, take a break, and then get back to work. If you've got nothing to do, get out of here!"
The crew was already calling for people to grab their boxed meals.
Hiruzen, there to mooch a free meal, patted the dust off his pants and motioned for Maruboshi Kosuke—who had refused promotions for years, silently guarding Konoha from the shadows, and as a result, was still a mere Genin struggling to afford food—to follow him.
A few days ago, Kosuke had come to reminisce about the past with Hiruzen, and seeing that his old friend had resorted to fishing by the river just to get by, Hiruzen dragged him along to work as an extra.
He had even suggested food delivery, but Kosuke had his own principles—he didn't want to expose himself—so he refused.
You know, even as an extra…
Kosuke only agreed to play a corpse, burying his head and lying still so no one could recognize him.
Technically, they were both doing background work, but Kosuke's pay was even lower than Hiruzen's.
After grabbing his meal, Hiruzen led Kosuke to a less crowded spot, sat down, and started eating.
He had been up before dawn delivering food, worked until the afternoon, then rushed over the moment he got a call for an extra role. Naturally, he was starving!
"I never expected the Ninja World to change this much," Kosuke mused, glancing at the surprisingly decent meal in front of him and then at the extras dressed in elaborate costumes. "That Uchiha kid… Uchiha Yuto, right? He's really something. Sometimes, when I pass by that milk tea shop, I want to go in and buy a cup… but my pockets are empty, so I just keep walking."
"I never expected him to bring this kind of change to the Ninja World either," Hiruzen nodded. "Even small countries and minor ninja villages can now communicate over long distances as long as they have a signal. You heard about Sunagakure's child abuse scandal, right?"
"…I heard about it."
"You should buy a phone. Even if you don't go to internet cafes, you can still access information online," Hiruzen sighed, shaking his head at Kosuke, who seemed to have not kept up with the times. "That was a major scandal, and you barely know about it? You shouldn't isolate yourself from society too much, Kosuke!"
Hiruzen couldn't help but feel sentimental about his old friend—
Once a promising ninja, Kosuke had suffered a tragedy, blamed himself for it, and refused any promotions, choosing instead to remain a lowly Genin, guarding Konoha from the shadows.
"I suppose I really have fallen out of touch," Kosuke said cheerfully, unbothered. "I never imagined so much had happened."
The Mahjong God Cup, the film industry boom, the recent My Little Princess is Cute Contest… and most shocking of all—Danzo, the Darkness of Ninja, founder of Konoha's Root, had actually run away from the village not because of treason—but because of too much debt.
"When I first heard that Danzo left Konoha not as a rogue ninja, but as a runaway debtor, I was completely stunned. I couldn't believe it! That's just… not like Danzo at all!"
"Ignoring the sequences and acting recklessly? Sure, that's Danzo. But…" Hiruzen sighed. "Even I didn't expect Danzo to run away that time."
According to Hiruzen's thinking, even if everything collapsed, Danzo could've just used his clan's assets as collateral and paid back the debt slowly.
Why the hell did he have to run away from the village?
"Money can indeed ruin people! You also know my student, Orochimaru."
"You mean that handsome, pale-skinned, surprisingly gentle kid?"
"That's him!"
"Didn't he defect?"
"Do you know why he defected?" Hiruzen shook his head bitterly. "At the time, Danzo's bounty had risen to 1 billion ryo. And guess what? Orochimaru got so greedy that he went after Danzo himself! In the end, he got caught, but he still didn't change his ways. He didn't listen to me… and ultimately chose to defect!"
"???" Maruboshi Kosuke was stunned for a moment. After a while, he sighed and shook his head. "I can't believe so much has happened in Konoha."
With that—
He patted the dust off his pants and stood up.
"I've finished eating. I have a mission to carry out tomorrow. Don't worry. While I'm out, I'll also help investigate Danzo's whereabouts."
Because seriously—
Where the hell did Danzo run off to?
"Thanks for your help." Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand and cheerfully added, "I don't really care anymore—I just want to know where that guy ran off to hide from his debts."
Really.
Danzo ran off without even inviting him!
But still, if Danzo had discussed it with him at that time… he definitely would've refused. After all, he is the Third Hokage.
Now—
Danzo ran away, Homura rarely left his house out of shame, and he was stuck delivering food all by himself.
The old friends he used to drink with… had all slowly drifted away.
Watching Kosuke disappear into the distance, Hiruzen shook his head, stood up, dusted himself off, and finished off the hot water in his bottle in one gulp. Then, after tidying up his things, he got ready to deliver a few more orders before heading home.
Tonight, there were no roles for him.
His only scene today had been in the morning—playing a kind old man who sacrificed himself to protect his grandson.
Just two lines:
[Ah~] and [Grandson, run!]
What a joke!
It's nothing like the times when he filmed with Danzo! They could change the script however they wanted! They could shoot however they liked!
Hiruzen took another slow drag from his pipe. "Ah… those were the days."
Just then—
[Will of Fire! Will of Fire!]
His phone's "Will of Fire" ringtone blared.
Hiruzen pulled it out, glanced at the caller ID, and raised an eyebrow in surprise before answering in a flat tone. "You unfilial brat, why are you calling me at this hour? Tell me—what happened?"
Silence.
Then a heavy sigh from the other end.
"Old man… I might have to resign from my job and move back to the village."
"???"
Before Hiruzen could even ask what the hell was going on, the call disconnected.
Hiruzen: …
What the hell?
Did the idiot get fired or something?
That unfilial son—he calls out of nowhere and says nothing?!
…
Meanwhile.
The sky was a murky gray.
Dark clouds loomed, and streaks of lightning occasionally cut across the night.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Asuma lowered his phone, shoving it into his pocket. Then, he pulled out a fresh pack of cigarettes, lit one up, took a deep, slow drag, and stared in silence at the corpse at his feet.
After a long pause, he muttered under his breath, "So… what the hell is this supposed to be?"
He.
Sarutobi Asuma.
Just wanted to make some money in the city!
Is it really that difficult?!
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