Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

Inside an unassuming dessert shop in Konoha's commercial district, two men draped in dark cloaks sat facing each other.

One of them, head down, cautiously looked around for a long time, and only after making sure there were no suspicious people in the store did he push a small object tightly wrapped in a black plastic bag over.

"Here's the goods you ordered."

The person sitting opposite him quickly took it, carefully unwrapped it, and then frowned.

"Yin San San, is this thing reliable?"

Looking at the thin, light buckle in his hand, Danzo's face was full of doubt. He had spent a lot of money, all of it his own, in his search for a way to limit the power of the Tailed Beast Riders.

"I have a vague idea~"

After taking a bite of the shop's signature dessert, the sweetness on his tongue left Uchiha Gin completely satisfied. His lifeless, dead-fish eyes narrowed into slits with happiness.

"Our master-disciple relationship is over. From now on, please don't call me San San anymore."

Hearing Xiao Tuantuan's question, he didn't answer directly. Instead, he carefully examined the disciple he had watched grow up, his gaze sweeping over the white hair at the other's temples before gently shaking his head.

"Forehead"

Danzo, who was fiddling with his new toy, paused upon hearing this, and a strange look appeared in his eyes as he looked at Uchiha Gin.

"Yin San San, you're not saying this because you feel guilty about tricking me, are you?"

"Can you please correct your habit of making wild guesses?"

Uchiha Gin rolled his eyes and pointed to the brand-new elder's uniform under Danzo's cloak.

This was a custom-designed haute couture piece specially made for F6 members, intended to highlight their superior status within the village.

"Now that you've all successfully made it ashore, it's time to cut ties with those you need to cut off."

"Silver Three Three"

Upon hearing this, a conflicted look flashed in Danzo's eyes. Uchiha Gin was right; their status was no longer what it used to be.

Everyone in Konoha knows they are the direct disciples of the Senju brothers, but few know they have another mentor.

Although I paid a lot of money for tutoring.

"In your resumes, you can write 'Hashirama Senju' or 'Tobirama Senju' as your teacher, but you absolutely cannot write 'Gin Uchiha,' who's been a perennial genin for ages."

Uchiha Gin lowered his eyelids, a faint sadness in his voice. Danzo clenched his fists, wanting to say something, but ultimately the words failed him.

"well"

A sigh was filled with the helplessness and bitterness of middle-aged people.

"I understand. So, how should I address you from now on?"

Of all the F6, Danzo was the most decisive. After weighing the pros and cons, he accepted the final lesson from Uchiha Gin, choosing to keep this mentor-disciple bond, worth ten boxes of strawberry milk, deep in his heart.

"Either is fine, but I personally prefer people to call me handsome."

Uchiha Gin was munching on the yokan (sweet bean jelly) that the waiter had just brought him. His vulgar eating habits made it impossible to associate him with the word "handsome."

"Let's talk about this first."

After a deathly silence, Danzo, unsure how to face Uchiha Gin, could only shake the limiter in his hand to ease the awkward atmosphere.

"You can question my looks, but you can never question my skills. The title of Konoha's number one developer isn't just for show!"

"Okay, here's the instruction manual?"

After some internal struggle, Danzo chose to believe in Uchiha Gin's technology, but how was he supposed to use a tool without even an instruction manual?

"The guidance fee is one hundred million."

Uchiha Gin raised a finger and made an outrageous demand.

"Cough cough cough"

Upon hearing this, Danzo coughed repeatedly, his anger rising just moments before subconsciously recalling the undisguised sadness in Uchiha Gin's earlier act of cutting himself. His anger instantly dissipated by more than half.

"I've already paid 500 million just for this custom-made item. The Tailed Beast Rider Management Department was only recently established, and the funding issue hasn't been resolved yet. I had to pay that 500 million out of my own pocket."

"Didn't you collect so much registration fee? This little bit of money is nothing."

Uchiha Gin didn't believe Danzo's lies. At least five thousand people had signed up for the Tailed Beast Rider recruitment exam so far. Where did the two million registration fee per person go?

"After paying taxes, there's not much left, and we still have to set up the venue and stuff."

"I know about taxes, it's only 30%, you're not trying to scam a lonely old man like me, are you?"

He had heard about the tax collection from Jingzai, but even after deducting 30% in taxes, Danzo should still have several billion in his hands.

"I"

Danzo was momentarily speechless. The fact that Hiruzen Sarutobi had pocketed half the registration fee absolutely could not be leaked; otherwise, given the monkey's petty nature, Danzo's position as elder would likely be over very soon.

"Can we discuss this?"

In the end, Danzo chose to bear it all alone.

Monkey, let me bear the unspeakable side of the village!

Technology is priceless.

Uchiha Gin shook his head firmly. He was already offering a friendly price, and he hoped that Xiao Tuantuan would have the self-awareness to know when to yield.

"Okay, deal!"

With the assessment imminent—a grand recruitment exam scheduled for tomorrow—Danzo gritted his teeth, steeled himself, and pulled a storage scroll from his personal stash.

"It would have been so much better if we had done this sooner, so as not to waste everyone's time."

He took the scroll, scanned it, and after confirming the amount was correct, he chuckled and said...

"I'm in a hurry, please give me your instructions quickly."

For the sake of his secret stash of money, Danzo didn't want to spend another minute with Gin Uchiha; he just wanted to quickly learn how to use the limiter and make a run for it.

"Watch closely."

Gin Uchiha still possessed basic professional ethics; since he had taken the money, he was bound to do the job.

"First like this, then like this, and finally like this."

He took the thin buckle, gently pressed the only exposed switch, then made a downward insertion motion, followed by a 180-degree rotation—all in one fluid motion.

"this one?"

Watching Uchiha Gin execute a series of fluid and seamless maneuvers, Danzo felt as if his own intelligence had been thoroughly trampled and rubbed into the ground.

"Troublesome, isn't it? You'll get used to it after practicing a few more times."

Uchiha Gin threw the limiter back.

I eat lemons.

After frantically taking the limiter, Danzo was about to look up and type Konoha slang when he found himself completely empty except for a few empty bowls. Uchiha Gin was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it! That big liar!"

The thought that he had just been secretly heartbroken over the fragile bond between master and disciple made him tremble uncontrollably.

"Sir, please settle your bill."

After calming himself down for a while, Danzo got up to leave, but was stopped by a shop assistant who had been waiting for him.

"I didn't order anything, why should I pay the bill?"

Turning his head to look at the empty plates and bowls on the table, Danzo, filled with resentment, decided that he must find a psychologist to help him when he got back, otherwise he would die of anger before he could even see the monkey retire.

"The guest who just left said that you're paying for this meal as a thank-you banquet for your teacher."

"Okay, how much?"

"Five hundred thousand taels."

"ha?"

Danzo, who had just pulled a 10,000 yen note from his wallet, widened his eyes upon hearing this and asked incredulously,

This table is worth at most 10,000 taels, how come it's worth 500,000?

"Is this dessert made of gold?"

"How could that be? Our prices are fair and reasonable. It's just that the customer took all the desserts from the kitchen with him when he left."

"I eat %...￥...%￥%￥...#￥%￥%#%￥#@"

The following day, the highly anticipated Tailed Beast Rider recruitment exam officially began in Konoha Village. People from all walks of life gathered to witness the prowess of the Nine-Tails Rider.

Due to the large number of participants, Konoha chose the Forest of Death outside the village as the examination location.

The Shimura family, who were in charge of the exam, cleared a large area of ​​land overnight for the exam to take.

Several makeshift houses, serving as temporary offices for staff, were situated in the center of the open space.

In the largest room, the F6 members who are currently in power in Konoha gathered to discuss important matters.

"Danzo, you don't look too well?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was reviewing the exam rules, keenly sensed the uneasy aura emanating from his friend and curiously asked, "..."

"It's nothing, I probably just didn't sleep well last night."

Danzo, who had tossed and turned all night without sleeping, shook his head and replied with dark circles under his eyes.

"Danzo, work is important, but you must also remember to rest."

"It's alright, Kagami. I'll get back to normal after this is over."

Seeing the genuine concern in Uchiha Kagami's eyes, Danzo's resentment towards Uchiha Gin lessened somewhat.

It's true that different people are born with different tastes. If all Uchiha clan members were like Kagami, that would be wonderful.

"With so many participants, if we take turns, this exam could last for a month."

Pushing up her glasses, Mitokado looked out the window at the bustling crowd of examinees and posed a pointed question.

"For security reasons, not everyone who takes the exam will have the opportunity to come into contact with the Nine-Tailed Card."

Danzo nodded slightly upon hearing this. Even the Nine-Tails, sealed within a Tailed Beast Card, was enough to terrify ordinary people with weak hearts with just a wisp of its aura.

If everyone who signs up is allowed to get up close to the Nine-Tailed Card, it could lead to a lot of deaths.

"So what are you planning to do?"

Looking at the confident Danzo, Akimichi Torifu blinked curiously.

"To facilitate the selection process, I invited a renowned sealing master from the Uzumaki clan. They extracted a small amount of the chakra leaking from the Nine-Tails on the Tailed Beast Card and sealed it into a pre-prepared container."

As he spoke, Danzo clapped his hands, and the Shimura clansmen, who had been waiting for a long time, dragged in a statue wrapped in a white cloth.

"Look, a wisp of the Nine-Tails' chakra is sealed inside this statue."

Reaching out, they pulled down the white cloth, and amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, a hideous, mangy dog-like nine-tailed creature, dragging nine short tails, stood erect in the cold wind.

"Danzo, who is the master who created this statue?"

The group looked at the incredibly ugly, abstract nine-tailed fox statue before them and asked with strange expressions,

"Due to limited funding, I made this statue myself."

Danzo spent all his money on the back of the knife, leaving no money to hire a master carver; he did it all himself.

"No wonder."

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was going on. Looking at Danzo's smug face, they were momentarily at a loss for how to praise him.

Is it all abstract with no art?

"Seriously, you actually managed to hire a sealing master from the Uzumaki clan?"

Sensing the intense sealing aura emanating from the abstract nine-tailed fox statue, Koharu Utatane's eyes gleamed with wonder.

"Someone in our group has a lot of connections."

Danzo smiled slightly, his face full of mystery.

"You should be glad that the Nine-Tails has been sealed away, otherwise, the Shimura family's ancestral graves wouldn't even be safe with just this statue."

Just then, a powerful voice rang in their ears, instantly putting everyone in the room on edge. The unconsciously emanating aura of the voice's owner made it difficult for them to breathe.

Jingzai was clearly very familiar with the voice; the moment he heard it, he excitedly stood up.

"Lord Izuna! What brings you here?"

"Uchiha Izuna?"

When Danzo saw the newcomer, he frowned slightly. Hadn't the Uchiha clan given up?

"Don't be nervous. I've come here for no other reason than to see who this person who has inherited my elder brother's power is."

Uchiha Izuna arrived alone, while a few close associates waited outside the door.

The remaining F6 members exchanged glances. Although they were now in charge of the village, it didn't mean they were the strongest.

Old monsters like Uchiha Izuna from the old era remain a sharp blade hanging over their heads.

"Welcome, welcome!"

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke first, politely rising to greet him.

"Lord Izuna, please have a seat."

Based solely on the fact that Uchiha Izuna had once served as a Kage's assistant, he deserved to be addressed as "Lord" by Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"No need, I just came to say hello. There are people waiting for me outside. Do whatever you need to do."

After declining Hiruzen Sarutobi's polite offer, Izuna Uchiha nodded to Mirror, then turned and left.

"Wow, what a terrifying aura."

After Uchiha Izuna left, the tense group finally breathed a sigh of relief. Koharu Utatane patted her ample chest with lingering fear, her dark eyes filled with barely concealed apprehension. The others nodded in agreement.

Although none of them were weak, they were as inexperienced as greenhorns in front of Uchiha Izuna.

Such an old monster remained in the village.

As Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Izuna Uchiha's retreating figure, a strange glint flashed in his eyes.

On one hand, Konoha needs such a strong figure to oversee things and deter troublemakers.

However, on the other hand, this kind of supermodel strength is also a very unstable factor.

Whether it's for the village or the ninja alliance.

"well"

Suddenly, he glanced at Uchiha Kagami, whose face was full of worry. Logically, he should have been happy that a powerful member of his clan had come.

"Mirror, what happened?"

"Lord Izuna is about to leave the village for a long-term mission in the Land of Waves. After he leaves, I'll have a lot more work to do, and we can't rely on Elder Ryōzai for everything in the family."

Uchiha Kagami, with a bitter expression, delivered news that greatly excited the others, especially Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo, whose faces practically screamed "pop the champagne!"

"Ahem. Kagami, that's not right of you. Why didn't you tell us sooner that Lord Izuna was leaving so that we could prepare and see him off?"

The F6 members, who came from the Ninja Clan Alliance, couldn't wait for Uchiha Izuna to leave now, and preferably never come back.

"It's just an outing to carry out a mission, it's just that the cycle is a bit long. I will arrange for Lord Izuna to return to the village regularly to report on his duties."

"No! No need. Since Lord Izuna likes the Land of Waves, let him stay there."

"But it's a mission."

"Mission? What mission? All the rewards will be returned to Lord Izuna. Even after the mission is over, the village will regularly provide him with a pension. Just let the old man stay in the Land of Waves and enjoy his old age in peace."

"But the village doesn't have the funds for this."

Seeing the group rushing around in such a hurry, Uchiha Kagami scratched his head in confusion.

"Now we have it, don't you think, Elder Danzo?"

"ha?"

Are you making me carry it again?

(End of this chapter)