After a long silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally nodded.
The pros and cons were clear. 800 million ryo—an astronomical figure.
A bounty for a Jinchūriki was only around 50 to 100 million ryo. With 800 million, you could practically round them all up.
Well, except for the Two-Tails Jinchūriki. That one's a special case.
His gaze swept the room and eventually landed on Danzō Shimura, who sat quietly, eyes closed in contemplation.
"Danzō, I'm entrusting you with the crucial task of accompanying Reiji to the Land of Lightning."
At those words, Danzō's eyes bulged, and it took everything in him not to blurt out, You've gotta be fucking kidding me!
Seriously? Now that you're about to piss off everyone under the sun, suddenly I'm the guy you think of?!
Even if the plan goes perfectly, all those folks who lost their shirts and are out for blood will be staring holes into both Konoha and Kumogakure.
When that happens, will I be the one taking the blame while you sit back and count your money, Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Hell no!
I'll be the one holding the damn bag!
Everyone will say I was the one pulling the strings!
And Reiji? Who the hell even knows who that guy is?!
In the whole of Konoha, counting the dead, maybe twenty people know his name!
Damn it all!
Right now, Danzō felt like he'd just been force-fed a steaming pile of shit by Reiji and Hiruzen—and not the kind you forget the taste of after a day, but the kind that'd linger in his mouth for decades.
At this point, he figured, Root or not, he had no choice but to be Root.
After nearly thirty minutes of holding it in, Danzō's face was flushed red, tears threatening to fall, and he nodded without a word.
Seeing that, Reiji couldn't be more pleased.
Nice! Danzō gave in. Now, where should I vent next?
He smirked inwardly. Kagami, get over here—Daddy's coming for you!
With Konoha sorted out, next up was Kumogakure.
Once they agreed on a time, Reiji casually took his leave from Hiruzen and Danzō and headed home.
...
The next morning, Reiji showed up on time to find Danzō.
His eyes were bloodshot, and a masked Root ninja was thumping his back, trying to help him breathe.
The moment he spotted Reiji, Danzō snorted and turned his head away, refusing to even look at him.
"Let's go, brother! Quit stalling!"
Without waiting for a response, Reiji grabbed Danzō by the arm, and the Flying Thunder God Technique activated in a flash.
The world spun.
A second later, the two of them were standing on the roof of the Raikage's tower in Kumogakure.
As soon as he got his footing, Danzō instinctively grabbed Reiji's hand, eyes wide with shock.
"Flying Thunder God Technique?!
Teach me! Anything—name your terms!"
Danzō growled urgently.
Reiji rolled his eyes and smacked Danzō's hand away, speaking with mock seriousness.
"Brother Danzō, it's not that I won't teach you. But have you ever read the Scroll of Seals?"
"No! But I've read the intro to the Flying Thunder God Technique!"
Reiji nodded.
"Then you should know—it requires talent.
And me? I just happen to be the guy born with that rare spark!
So yeah, not exactly something I can teach you."
Danzō rolled his eyes and swallowed his envy.
Flying Thunder God, damn it—anytime, anywhere!
So unfair. Why don't I have that kind of talent?
Grumbling internally, Danzō followed behind Reiji.
Along the way, Kumogakure's ANBU didn't so much as blink at Reiji's arrival.
After all, Lord Raikage had made it clear:
If you see a black-skinned brat wearing a Konoha forehead protector, don't stop him—just let him straight through to my office.
Familiar with the place, Reiji led Danzō to the Raikage's office with ease.
Just before knocking, he held out a hand to stop Danzō, speaking softly.
"Hold up. Don't go in yet. Wait until I come out, then we'll go in together."
"Why? You got something secret to discuss with the Raikage?" Danzō asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Heh, go in if you're not afraid of getting decked."
And with that, Reiji pushed the door open without knocking.
A second later, a thunderous roar echoed out.
Then—BOOM—a massive crash erupted as the wall to Danzō's left exploded, a figure flying straight through it.
Danzō immediately stepped back, neck shrinking into his shoulders.
In the rubble-filled hallway, Reiji calmly got up, dusted himself off, and casually made his way back to the door.
"Brother Danzō, give it a second—he's still pretty fired up."
Without even glancing back, Reiji pushed the door open.
A split second later, a furious roar and the sound of a wall exploding rang out together.
Reiji went flying again.
Seeing him soar through the air like nothing had happened, Danzō Shimura instinctively shrank back.
Damn... the Third Raikage really lives up to the hype! But Reiji's pretty damn durable too!
Reiji pushed the door open once more, and his voice echoed out immediately.
"Raikage! Big bro Raikage! Lord Raikage! Uncle! Cut it out already! That's twice! Don't make it three!
Screw you—Lariat!"
At the same time, a thunderous voice bellowed, "Lariat!"
In a flash, the muffled thud of muscles colliding shook the building, followed by the shattering of every piece of glass in the room.
The sheer force of the shockwave blasted the office door clean off its hinges.
Only then did Danzō get a full view of the chaos inside.
Papers were swirling through the air, and the massive floor-to-ceiling window had shattered completely.
In the corner, a stunning woman shielded her eyes with both hands, squinting as she tried to peer through the mayhem at the two figures in the center of the room.
Right there, two black-skinned men—one large, one small.
Both were crackling with electricity, arms locked around each other's necks, wind pressure radiating in all directions like a storm.
Just as sweat began to bead on the Raikage's forehead, Reiji smirked inwardly. He suddenly relaxed his muscles and played the part of someone completely spent.
And just like that, the Raikage sent him flying again.
Once more, Reiji stood up, casually dusted himself off, waved to Danzō, and walked right back into the wrecked office.
"Lord Raikage! Enough with the punches—let's talk this out!"
The Third Raikage let out a heavy snort and dropped onto the oversized sofa with a thud.
"Talk, then. What is it?"
At that, Reiji glanced over at Amai with a hint of confusion. She responded with a playful wink from her right eye.
Seeing that, Reiji smiled back and thought to himself, Alright, we're good.
He cleared his throat.
"Lord Raikage, this here is Lord Danzō Shimura. He's Konoha's top authority after the Hokage himself. High rank, big influence, and absolutely trustworthy."
At those words, Danzō instinctively straightened his back with pride.
"Right, Lord Danzō is here to officially declare war on behalf of Konoha!"
The room went dead silent.
Danzō's mouth slowly opened. He glanced at the Third Raikage, now crackling with growing arcs of electricity, then turned his head—one stiff movement at a time—toward Reiji, completely dumbfounded.
Seriously?!
This was supposed to be a fake declaration of war!
Can you not pause halfway through the damn sentence like that?!