"Kizaru, you can't let the Raikage out!"
After the negotiations ended, Kizaru arrived at the temporary guard post where the Third Raikage was being held.
"Uncle, I'm the one who captured him."
Facing the unfamiliar shinobi guarding the entrance—a man with a rather rough-looking face—Kizaru lazily raised his right hand and pointed toward the room beside him.
Inside, the Third Raikage was being detained.
Uncle?
Yuma Morii, who was only twenty-five years old this year, felt those words stab straight into his heart.
"I'm only twenty-five," Yuma corrected him with a wounded expression. "Just call me Yuma."
"Got it, Uncle Yuma."
Kizaru answered with complete sincerity.
Yuma's shoulders slumped.
A gloomy aura seemed to rise from his entire body.
Still, he forced himself to raise his head and speak seriously.
"Kizaru, the Third Raikage is too dangerous. If we let him out, there's a chance he'll escape."
Kizaru rubbed his chin, then turned his head and looked through the window at the Third Raikage sitting inside.
"Ai, will you run?"
"Hmph."
The only response he received was a cold snort from the Third Raikage.
"Ohhh? See? He said he won't run."
Kizaru laughed lightly, his tone as casual as ever.
How did you get that from a snort?!
Yuma screamed inwardly, feeling like his sanity was being shaved away piece by piece.
Still, he endured it and said, "Kizaru, unless I receive an order from Lord Third, I can't release him."
Kizaru nodded while rubbing his chin.
Then, with a lazy smile, he pulled a scroll from the outer pocket of his suit.
Yuma took the scroll and opened it.
The moment he saw the Third Hokage's written order, his face almost cracked.
If you had the order, why didn't you show it earlier?!
Were you messing with me on purpose?!
He was full of complaints, but the person in front of him was a war hero from the Second Shinobi World War, the direct disciple of the Third Hokage, and the nephew of the Hokage's advisor.
So in the end, Yuma could only force out a smile.
"Please wait a moment. I'll remove the barrier right away."
After saying that, Yuma Morii, a jōnin from the Sealing Corps, put away the scroll, formed hand seals, and released the barrier imprisoning the Third Raikage.
"Thanks a lot, Uncle Yuma."
Kizaru thanked him with a smile, leaving Yuma standing there with a dead look in his eyes as he walked into the room.
"Uncle, come with me."
The Third Raikage sat cross-legged on the ground and looked up at Kizaru.
"Are the negotiations over?"
"Ohhh, you're pretty valuable, you know?"
Kizaru shook his head with a smile.
"One and a half billion ryō. Tsk, tsk… scary."
One and a half billion.
Hearing that Kumogakure had lost such a huge sum because of him, the Third Raikage clenched his fists tightly.
A heavy silence fell over him.
Self-reproach pressed down on his chest, and for a while, he said nothing.
Kizaru looked at him and continued lazily,
"Uncle, you don't want that one and a half billion to go to waste, do you?"
Those words finally had an effect.
The Third Raikage slowly stood from the ground, his expression calm again.
"I'll take responsibility."
His voice was firm as he looked straight at Kizaru.
"Then let's go."
Kizaru smiled, turned around, and walked toward the door.
The Third Raikage followed him out of the room.
When he saw the guarding shinobi staring at him with obvious vigilance, his gaze paused for a moment.
Then his eyes fell on the outer chest pocket where Yuma had stored the scroll.
The Third Raikage's expression shifted slightly, and a faint, surprised smile appeared on his face.
He said nothing.
He simply followed Kizaru and left the place where he had been imprisoned.
Not long after the two of them left, three ANBU appeared.
"Yuma Morii. Lord Hokage has ordered the Third Raikage's release. We will take over from here."
As he spoke, the ANBU standing in the middle took out a written order personally signed by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Yuma froze.
He stared at the order in front of him, then suddenly reacted.
In a panic, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the scroll Kizaru had given him.
"Kizaru came just now and already took the Third Raikage away. This is the Hokage's order he showed me."
As he spoke, Yuma handed the scroll to the ANBU in front of him.
The leading ANBU took it and examined it carefully.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"Release."
He formed a seal with one hand and spoke softly.
White smoke puffed around the scroll.
When the smoke cleared, the red scroll had turned yellow.
The words on it had changed as well.
[I took the Raikage with me. I'll return him by evening.
—Shimura Kizaru]
The leading ANBU clenched the scroll in his hand.
"I'll report the truth to Lord Hokage. Don't worry."
Seeing Yuma's angry yet anxious expression, the ANBU gave him that reassurance.
"…Understood."
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind his desk, pipe in hand, staring ahead with a helpless smile.
Kizaru's shadow clone had come all the way here just to explain the situation.
"That Yuma guy is pretty responsible. Don't punish the wrong person, Sarutobi-sensei."
After leaving that final reminder, Kizaru's shadow clone disappeared in front of Hiruzen.
For a moment, Hiruzen truly did not know how to evaluate this child.
He had forged the Hokage's order.
But at the same time, he was worried his fellow shinobi would be blamed, so he came over specifically to explain.
That behavior left Hiruzen both helpless and somewhat relieved.
No…
Wait.
Why have my standards for him dropped this low?
This brat forged the Hokage's order!
Only after realizing that did Hiruzen's face darken slightly.
On Konoha's bustling commercial street, Kizaru and the Third Raikage walked side by side.
"It really is lively here."
Kizaru looked around lazily and said with a smile.
The Third Raikage nodded slightly.
He had to admit it.
Konoha's prosperity far surpassed the other shinobi villages.
But that prosperity came from the Land of Fire occupying the richest and most fertile land on the continent.
It came from Konoha taking the largest share of the shinobi world's mission market.
The more the Third Raikage looked at the crowded streets, the more unpleasant his mood became.
Konoha's strength and prosperity had grown by squeezing the living space of the other villages.
"What exactly are you trying to do by bringing me here?"
The Third Raikage turned to Kizaru and asked directly.
"I wanted to give you a sincere little suggestion."
Kizaru smiled while looking at a shop ahead.
"What suggestion?"
The Third Raikage watched him closely.
"I hate troublesome things."
Kizaru's tone was still lazy.
"What I like most is a peaceful life. Plenty of money, plenty of free time, and as little trouble as possible."
At that point, Kizaru finally turned his eyes toward the Third Raikage.
"So, when you go back this time… I hope you and Kumogakure don't make trouble for me."
His face still carried that lazy smile.
But the words themselves were anything but gentle.
For a moment, a quiet pressure spread between them.
The Third Raikage's eyes sharpened.
"Kumogakure only wants room to grow."
He answered from his own position as Raikage.
"Ohhh?"
Kizaru chuckled.
Then he looked at the Third Raikage and said with a smile,
"And what does that have to do with me?"
The Third Raikage's body stiffened slightly.
He stared at Kizaru seriously.
For the first time, he felt that this man was truly frightening.
Not because of his power alone.
But because beneath that careless smile, Kizaru did not care at all about the reasons of others.
"Want to make a bet?"
Kizaru suddenly looked ahead.
At the end of the street, a green figure entered his sight, instantly catching his interest.
"What kind of bet?"
The Third Raikage followed Kizaru's gaze.
Kizaru raised his hand and pointed forward.
There, a genin wearing green tights was carrying a mountain of goods in his arms, looking rather miserable as he struggled along the street.
"Five years from now, aside from you, no one in Kumogakure will be his match."
The Third Raikage frowned and carefully observed the ninja Kizaru was pointing at.
Cheap, ugly green tights.
A low voice.
Average chakra.
Barely passable physical ability.
No sign of talent.
No sign of strength.
"Are you mocking me, Kizaru?"
The Third Raikage withdrew his gaze and looked at him with displeasure.
"No, no, no."
Kizaru shook his head slowly.
"I'm serious."
"You intend to make him a jinchūriki?"
After thinking of one possibility, the Third Raikage asked doubtfully.
But soon, he rejected that guess himself.
With a shinobi like that, becoming a jinchūriki would only cause the tailed beast to rampage and cost him his life.
"No tailed beasts."
Kizaru smiled.
"No ninjutsu. No genjutsu. Only taijutsu."
His tone became calm, but the certainty behind it was unmistakable.
"With taijutsu alone, he'll be able to defeat every Kumogakure shinobi except you."
Then Kizaru added with a faint smile,
"And if he's willing to risk his life… he might even be able to take you down with him."
The Third Raikage's expression changed.
He could not believe those words.
"What are we betting?"
"Five hundred million."
Kizaru raised his right hand and spread all five fingers.
"I can't afford that bet."
The Third Raikage refused without hesitation.
Kizaru blinked slowly.
"Then what can you offer?"
After thinking for a moment, the Third Raikage replied,
"Ninjutsu."
Kizaru rubbed his chin and pondered.
Then he thought of a technique that interested him.
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode."
The Third Raikage's eyes narrowed.
"And your stake?"
"Rasengan."
As he spoke, Kizaru raised his hand.
A sphere of chakra spun rapidly in his palm.
The Third Raikage stared at the high-speed rotating chakra ball.
With his experience, he immediately understood its value.
A ninjutsu that required no hand seals.
Highly concentrated destructive power.
And it clearly had room for further development.
It was an excellent technique.
"This is an A-rank ninjutsu I created myself."
Kizaru let the Rasengan dissipate and added with a smile.
This man really is a monster.
Hearing that Kizaru had created the technique himself, the Third Raikage could only sigh inwardly.
"Fine. I accept."
"Ohhh, then our bet is settled."
Kizaru stretched out his right hand toward him.
Understanding his meaning, the Third Raikage raised his own hand and clasped it firmly.
"Don't break your promise, Uncle Raikage."
Kizaru smiled as they shook hands.
"I don't go back on my word."
The Third Raikage answered solemnly.
"Same here."
Kizaru looked at him and, for once, answered in a serious tone.
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