Chapter 233: 233.Kids Trouble

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Kazuki drew a simple map of the Land of Fire on the table.

“The Land of Fire is a vast plain, which greatly reduces transportation costs for merchant caravans. Konoha has the largest population among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, as well as the most merchant caravans and trade groups. The reason our commerce can’t compare to Kumogakure is simply because the village has been stuck in its ways these past years. Once we open up trade routes, I believe we can catch up to Kumogakure.”

Expanding the commercial district and increasing business competition?

These were things the Third Hokage never did.

His mind was always preoccupied with how to suppress the Uchiha today or how to promote the Will of Fire tomorrow.

Kazuki couldn’t help but wonder—was this even worth promoting?

During the reigns of the First and Second Hokage, no one went around preaching the Will of Fire all the time. Back then, it was just a passing mention.

But by the time the Third Hokage took over, good grief, he had turned it into a full-fledged doctrine, promoting it in every possible way.

And the Third Hokage had the shameless audacity to publish several books on the Will of Fire.

Books that ordinary ninja couldn’t understand and powerful ninja only bought as collectibles…

The funds required to expand a commercial district would undoubtedly be an astronomical sum.

Fortunately, with all the clans in Konoha gathered together, each contributing a portion, the money could be raised.

It wasn’t even that big of a deal, since major clans like the Uchiha and Hyūga didn’t contribute much.

Not because they didn’t want to, but because the shares were limited.

The big clans took the lion’s share, but they had to leave some scraps for the smaller clans below them.

As the representative of the Hokage’s office, Kazuki naturally wouldn’t show favoritism—at most, he’d give the Uchiha and Hyūga a little extra benefit.

A small enough concession that the other clans could accept it.

As long as they weren’t greedy and didn’t cross the line, even if the Uchiha and Hyūga got advantages, the other clans would turn a blind eye.

The allocation of shares was settled quickly—the real trouble was gathering the funds.

Some smaller clans genuinely couldn’t come up with enough money. At that point, Nara Shikaku stepped forward, representing the Ino-Shika-Chō alliance to provide interest-free loans to these smaller clans.

After Akimichi Choza had thrown a wrench into the works earlier, everyone was still feeling uneasy.

Shikaku had no choice but to do his best to salvage the reputation and standing of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio within the circle.

Otherwise, once today’s news got out, even a little embellishment would be enough to deal a severe blow to their reputation.

Now that the negotiations were mostly settled, it was time to eat something.

Kazuki rubbed his stomach. He had gotten up early and rushed to the barbecue restaurant, only to be stuck in discussions until now without a single bite.

That big oaf Choza really had no tact—not only had he said the wrong thing at the wrong time, but he hadn’t even bothered to serve any snacks at a crucial moment.

Suddenly, the lively private room fell silent.

Kazuki raised an eyebrow. “What’s the matter?”

An ANBU operative entered the room and respectfully said,

“The Hokage has ordered you to report to the Hokage’s office immediately. She says there’s an urgent matter that requires your personal attention.”

Well, looks like this meal wasn’t happening.

After bidding farewell to the clan representatives, Kazuki headed straight for the Hokage’s office.

When he stepped inside, he almost thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

What was Sasuke doing here? And Naruto too!

To make matters worse, both boys were bruised, their clothes disheveled, and chunks of their hair had been pulled out.

Had they been fighting?

Naruto and Sasuke’s rivalry was nothing new.

Kids fighting was normal, but the question was—why call him here for it?

At the moment, Naruto and Sasuke were glaring at each other, neither willing to back down.

On a nearby sofa, Jiraiya lay sprawled in defeat, clearly having failed to mediate.

Closing the door behind him, Kazuki asked curiously,

“What’s going on with these two?”

Noticing Kazuki’s arrival, Sasuke quickly lowered his head.

Naruto, however, shot him a defiant look before turning back to glare at Sasuke, his eyes practically screaming that he wanted to tear him apart.

“Kid, show some respect.”

Jiraiya couldn’t take it anymore and smacked Naruto on the back of the head.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Naruto clutched his head and yelled, “You pervy old man, why’d you hit me?!”

“…”

Jiraiya was speechless. He gave Kazuki a look that said, You handle this—I’ve got no idea what to do with this brat.

Tsunade also looked exasperated.

“Good, you’re here. Since this involves your people, you deal with it. Don’t let them keep causing trouble—their constant fighting at school is a bad influence.”

My people?

Shouldn’t Fugaku have been called in for this instead?

Kazuki blinked, then turned to Sasuke. “Look up and tell me what happened.”

“Yes.”

Sasuke immediately straightened up, shooting another glare at Naruto before explaining the reason for the fight.

“Mom asked me to bring Hinata-san a lunchbox, but this bastard Naruto started shouting that Hinata and I were engaged! That jerk!!!”

As he spoke, Sasuke looked ready to throw another punch.

Naruto met his glare with a challenging stare—Go ahead, I’m not scared of you.

No wonder they called him here.

So this was related to Hinata.

“Kid, do you realize your words can hurt others?”

Kazuki pressed a hand on Naruto’s head and ruffled his hair roughly. Jiraiya chuckled from the sidelines.

He was curious to see how Kazuki would handle the troublesome boy.

Naruto was practically a force of nature—Jiraiya had to admit he couldn’t control him.

“I didn’t mean to! I only said it because I heard Shikamaru mention it!”

Naruto wasn’t about to back down either.

Though he was mischievous, he wasn’t a bad kid at heart.

“So you admit you were wrong?”

Kazuki released him and crouched down to his level.

“I said something wrong and hurt someone, so I’ll admit that! But Sasuke hit me, and I won’t accept that!!!”

Naruto Uzumaki owned up to his mistakes—but that didn’t mean he’d just take a beating, especially not in front of Sakura, who had been fretting the whole time…

“Good.”

Satisfied with the answer, Kazuki snapped his fingers and gestured for Shizune to bring over a small table.

“Me?”

Shizune pointed at herself, but after confirming, she cleared the desk and carried it over.

Kazuki then placed a chair in front of the table, grabbed a few blank scrolls and two pens from Tsunade’s desk, and set them down.

“Owning up to your mistakes is admirable! But since your words caused significant harm to my fiancée, I’ve decided on your punishment—you’re going to write ’I was wrong’ 100,000 times. You’re not leaving until you finish.”

*****

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