Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 46 Feigning Compliance

Prince Huang Ren spoke softly, and Lan Ren listened intently: "Father, please speak."

"There's a girl in Konoha who's the granddaughter of the First Hokage. You're not much older than him. I hope you can get to know her better."

(P.S.: There won't be any melodramatic plot twists. This guy is just a minor character, and his ending is similar to someone who steps on an explosive tag and dies.)

The underlying meaning of this statement is self-evident. Lan Ren came from an extremely wealthy family. Even though his father had just instilled in him how much to be wary of ninjas, he still looked down on them from the bottom of his heart, thinking they were all country bumpkins.

He pointed to himself, his face filled with disbelief: "What? Father, you're telling me to marry a peasant? You're not joking, are you?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Prince Huang Ren gave his son a sharp rebuke, teaching him a lesson: "I don't want to hear such words from your mouth again."

"Father..." Lan Ren covered his swollen face, feeling very aggrieved. His father had never slapped him like this before.

Prince Huang Ren said sternly, "I hit you hard so that you would remember this lesson. There is a saying that walls have ears. You never know how your words will be spread and cause irreparable damage."

I think I taught you this before. The best way to prevent this kind of thing is to watch what you say.

As a future qualified politician, your first priority is to control your tongue. You must always be mindful of your words and actions so as not to give others any ammunition against you.

"Yes, Father." Lanren lowered his head.

Prince Huang Ren continued his education, saying, "The Senju clan is one of only two super ninja clans in the world today. They are a ninja clan renowned for their enormous physical energy."

"This girl is the direct granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi. She is exceptionally gifted. If you marry her, it will greatly improve the physical condition of our descendants. After several generations, our clan will possess the power of the Senju clan."

"When that time comes, we nobles will overcome our weakness of lacking power, and the world will be firmly in our hands forever."

"In this world, money and power are external things; you can earn them back if you lose them. But power is different. In any era, might makes right. As long as you have power, money, fame, and status are all things that can be easily obtained."

"Sometimes, I can't help but find ninjas laughable. They possess such immense power, yet they willingly earn a pittance, working for others and becoming their dogs. If it were me, I would have become king long ago and replaced all the noble daimyo."

"Fortunately, these fools have no vision, otherwise our nobles would have been out of the picture long ago."

After a lecture, Lanren solemnly said, "I understand, and I will definitely fulfill your expectations of me, Father."

Seeing that his son had finally become sensible, Prince Huang Ren was relieved: "I will send someone to deliver this girl's information to your room. Study it carefully. After a while, I will send you to Konoha. I will use my connections to create opportunities for the two of you. This girl's uncle just died in battle, so she is quite vulnerable right now. Take this opportunity to get into her heart and win her heart."

"Remember, you have to be quick. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks the same way. Who knows, there might be someone in Konoha sending a child of the right age to get close to Hashirama's granddaughter."

"Putting aside other aspects, her political status means that marrying him would provide her with at least twenty years of support to become the next Hokage."

Lan Ren replied earnestly, "Understood."

Prince Huang Ren nodded slightly, preparing to leave: "Well then, I'll have to go see if these newly appointed Hokage are having a good time."

………………

………………

After exercising, Hiruzen Sarutobi covered his head, heartbroken, and lamented, "What stupid thing did I do?"

Huang Ren angrily rebuked the two kneeling dancers: "You two vile women, how dare you commit such a heinous crime while the Hokage was drunk!"

The two dancers whimpered and begged for mercy, saying that they had been tempted by the Hokage's handsome appearance and had caused this disaster.

Prince Huang Ren declared, "I won't listen! I won't listen!" and waved his hand, shouting, "Guards, throw him out!"

"Wait, this is my fault. Don't let innocent people get hurt. If I hadn't been drinking and messed things up, this wouldn't have happened." Yuan Fei wrote in his diary with deep remorse, vowing, "From today onwards, I will quit drinking."

"Lord Hokage, you are truly kind-hearted. Even at such a height, you are still thinking of others. Such magnanimity is truly admirable. Please accept my bow."

Prince Huangren bowed deeply, but Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly stopped him, saying, "No, no, you mustn't."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said with shame, "Alas, I don't care about myself, it's just that I've ruined the innocence of two women."

Prince Huang Ren, trying to be clever, said, "In that case, how about I betroth these two women to you?"

These days, there's no mandatory requirement for monogamy, and it's common practice for wealthy people to have multiple wives. However, this is mostly based on a significant disparity in the status of men and women.

He knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi was a womanizer, so sending women to him was a way of catering to his desires. Of course, he couldn't just send them directly, since Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Hokage and would care about his reputation in the village.

Therefore, his next move was to dispel the other party's concerns. Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could speak, he immediately continued, "Since ancient times, beauties have been paired with heroes. Hokage, please don't refuse. Besides, it's not your fault. You drink for the prosperity of the village. I believe everyone understands your predicament."

"But……"

"Don't worry, Your Hokage won't feel embarrassed. I will take care of your wife, and I will arrange a house for your two concubines in the city. I will provide them with regular monthly allowances. You can come over whenever you have time. What do you think?"

"But……"

"Lord Hokage, please don't make excuses. Even if you don't consider yourself, you should at least consider the two women. Now that they've lost their virginity, they'll probably have a hard time marrying into good families. You don't want to see them suffer from prejudiced views for the rest of their lives, do you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply, his expression one of utter reluctance: "Alright."

Prince Ren was quite pleased with his assessment, glancing at the two dancers: "What are you all standing there for? Aren't you going to thank the Hokage for pleading for you? If it weren't for him, do you think you'd still be alive after doing such despicable things?"

The two dancers, moved to tears, said, "Thank you, Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, seemingly helpless.

After a round of pleasantries, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to discuss serious matters, speaking in a weak tone, "Your Highness Prince Huangren, could you perhaps mention a little bit about the village's funding...?"

"Oh dear!" Prince Huang Ren slapped his forehead and said loudly, "It's all my fault. I drank too much today and misremembered this year's income, omitting a zero."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face lit up with joy: "Is that so?"

"How about I increase the budget for Konoha tenfold this year?" Prince Huangren laughed. "In this way, Your Hokage can quickly stabilize the impact of the Second Hokage's unfortunate death with this money."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled broadly: "Then I thank you on behalf of Konoha, Prince Huangren."

With this sum of money, his position as Hokage is now truly secure.

(End of this chapter)