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Chapter 213 Where is my Money, Old man?!
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The gates of Konoha rose into view like a memory half forgotten. Team 7 slowed to a stop, each of them taking in the familiar walls with a quiet mix of relief and nostalgia.
"I forgot how much I missed this place," Jiraiya said with a laugh. "The streets, the food and the bathhouses."
Naruto shot him a warning glare.
Jiraiya bristled. "I still use bathhouses without peeping, you know."
Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and Oscar all gave him the same flat stare that said they did not believe him for a second.
Jiraiya opened his mouth to defend himself when Kakashi called over from the guard station.
"Looks like our return papers hit a snag. Someone decided to come back looking like a different person."
Naruto crossed his arms. "Not my fault I need a new shinobi ID after everything."
Jiraiya walked over to Kakashi, frowning. "Can't you just flash your elite jonin status and sort it out?"
Izumo and Kotetsu stepped forward before Kakashi could answer.
"Jiraiya sama, there is no issue with your clearance," Izumo said carefully. "But…"
"You want an autograph?"
The grin vanished when Kakashi held up a Bingo Book. Jiraiya stared at Naruto's entry, then at Kakashi, then back at the book.
"How did this even happen?" the toad sage muttered. "I am going to check with my network. Something big happened while we were on the island."
Kakashi gave a single nod.
Team 7 meanwhile fell into their own conversation.
"So what is the first thing you are doing?" Sakura asked. "I think I will go home and surprise my mom."
"Sleep," Sasuke answered.
"Ichiraku," Naruto paused as shinobi at the gate were staring at him.
"What is with the eyes?" Sasuke asked, noticing too.
"No idea," Naruto said, shifting Oscar in his arms. "Maybe they like lizards now?"
"Or maybe they found out about the Arch of Providence," Sakura offered.
"So I am a celebrity?" Naruto asked, unsure of how to feel about it.
"More like someone who should start worrying about getting arrested," Sasuke said.
"Do not say that," Sakura scolded.
"Yeah, if anyone from Team 7 goes to jail first, it will be you," Naruto shot back.
"Hn?"
Before Naruto could answer, a pair of ANBU appeared in front of them. The masked operatives paused when they saw Team 7 instinctively shift into a ready stance, chakra flaring in an instant. Even experienced chunin struggled to react that fast, and the ANBU found themselves quietly impressed.
"Calm down, you three," Kakashi said.
"Team 7 and Jonin Kakashi, the Hokage requests an immediate meeting."
"Understood. Let's go," Kakashi said.
"Where is Pervy Sage?" Naruto asked, glancing around.
"He is off doing some research," Kakashi replied. "And no, it is not peeping."
Naruto gave a slow, doubtful nod as the group flickered away toward the Hokage Tower.
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The receptionist at the front desk gave Naruto a lingering look, eyes flicking from his long crimson hair to the crystal lizard perched atop his head.
Naruto muttered under his breath, Why is everyone suddenly so interested in me?
"Probably the fact that you are taller, have long red hair, and your eyes look weird," Sasuke replied dryly.
"Pot calling the kettle black."
"And you have got Oscar on your head like some kind of glittering hat," Sakura added with a sigh, trying to keep the mood light.
Naruto reached up to pat Oscar, who gave a happy chirp.
"Oh, come on. I have not changed that much," Naruto grumbled, just as the door creaked open and Hiruzen stood to greet them.
The Third Hokage's eyes softened the moment they landed on Naruto. He removed his hat, setting it on the desk with a heavy hand. "Naruto… I still cannot believe that it is really you?"
Naruto ignored the smug looks sent by Sasuke and Sakura. "Yeah, it is me, old man. A lot happened on this mission."
"That much is obvious. Are you alright?"
"Never been better."
That simple sentence made something loosen in the old man's chest.
Kakashi stepped forward, placing a tightly rolled mission scroll on the desk.
"You might want to sit down for this," Kakashi said flatly.
Hiruzen gave a wry smile. "I already am." He undid the clasp, the scroll unrolling across the length of his desk like a snake slithering into place. As his eyes scanned the contents, they began moving faster and faster. His grip tightened with every paragraph, and soon he was yanking the scroll forward aggressively to read the next section.
He looked up, the room suddenly heavy with silence.
Sakura shifted uncomfortably.
Sasuke stood unbothered, hands still in his pockets.
Naruto just booped Oscar's snout.
Hiruzen cleared his throat and spoke. "Sasuke Uchiha. Kakashi has given me a glowing report regarding your actions. You followed orders, cooperated with your team, and even performed Kakashi's own Chidori technique under high pressure conditions. You are, in every way, operating at chunin level. If things continue like this, you will officially earn that rank soon. Keep up the good work."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, clearly pleased but too proud to show it more.
"Sakura Haruno," Hiruzen continued, his gaze now gentler. "You led the defense line during a crisis. The shield you maintained protected not just your team but many civilians in the wave. You remained calm under fire and demonstrated a tactical awareness far beyond what we expect from a genin. Konoha is proud to have you."
Sakura bowed deeply. "Thank you, Hokage sama. I just did the best I could."
Then Hiruzen turned to Naruto.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
The name alone drew stillness.
Hiruzen's voice was measured. "Your report is… extensive. Anxiety inducing even. You acted without orders. You killed an entire criminal syndicate overnight. You escalated the situation so severely that Gato was forced to hire elite missing nin. You disappeared and reappeared from your summoning realm without warning. You allied yourself with a known criminal. You brought your friend, Hinata Hyuga, into a combat zone she was not ready for. And that is only scratching the surface."
Naruto did not flinch. "It worked out in the end, did it not?"
Hiruzen leaned forward, eyes piercing. "It did. But what if it did not? What if Zabuza betrayed you? What if Hinata had died? What if the enemy had overwhelmed you and there were no second chances?"
Naruto's eyes dropped for a moment. "I had a backup plan," he muttered.
"Do tell," the Hokage asked, genuinely curious now.
"I was going to have my clone use the Homeward Miracle on her," Naruto said, voice flat. "She would have returned to safety. And if I died in the process… well, that is not a big deal."
Hiruzen slammed his hand on the desk. "It is a big deal, Naruto. You cannot just throw your life away."
Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but Sasuke cut in, leaning. "So wait… are you still immortal?"
The question froze Hiruzen mid scold. He stared at Sasuke, then at Naruto, then quickly formed a hand seal. The ANBU around the room snapped into motion, raising a barrier that sealed off the office from every sound and chakra trace.
Team 7 noticed it happening but none of them reacted.
"I do not know if the curse works outside Lordran. I never tested it."
Hiruzen blinked, completely lost. Kakashi cast a quick genjutsu to help Hiruzen catch up on everything Kakashi had pulled together from Naruto's earlier explanations about Lordran.
Hiruzen sat there for a moment with a thousand yard stare.
Before he could even begin sorting through the information, Naruto asked, "So should I, like… kill myself and see if I revive?"
Everyone in the room snapped out the same answer.
"No!"
"Fine."
Oscar gave him a flat reptilian stare.
"Do not look at me like that," Naruto muttered. "You are supposed to be on my side."
Hiruzen rubbed his temples. "Naruto, that is a terrible idea since your father is dead."
"Subtle as a bull in a china shop, old man."
"Lord Third is right though," Sakura said gently.
Sasuke nodded. "If your father went to Lordran and still died for Konoha, then the curse probably does not work outside of that place."
Hiruzen turned to Kakashi. "You told them?"
Before Kakashi could answer, the barrier rippled. A small toad appeared on the windowsill and leapt into the room, reversing into a puff of smoke that revealed Jiraiya.
"Nope," Jiraiya said. "The brat figured it out by himself."
For the next several minutes, Hiruzen was walked through everything that had happened in Uzushiogakure. By the end, Hiruzen sank back into his chair and took a long, steady pull from his pipe before exhaling.
Naruto immediately swept a hand through the air, using chakra to backhand the smoke away. The force scattered it right out the open window. "Be careful where you aim that smoke," he said. "Oscar does not like it."
"My apologies," Hiruzen said, clearing his throat. "I still cannot believe you told your teammates about your father."
"I told them the next morning after talking with Jiraiya," Naruto said proudly.
Sasuke stared at him. "That is not what happened."
Sakura shook her head. "Not even close."
"What? Yes it is."
"You barged into our tents before sunrise and yelled, Guys, my pops is the Fourth Hokage, and ran back out before we could ask a single question."
"…Okay, I might have done that."
Sasuke gave him a flat look. "Might?"
"It was early. I was excited. And it was funny."
Sakura sighed. "To you."
"Exactly." Naruto looked back at Hiruzen, face more serious. "Also… I do not like keeping secrets from people I trust."
"Yes. I take full responsibility for keeping those secrets. You uncovered most of them yourself, but the fault still lies with me."
Naruto crossed his arms, which was mimicked by Oscar. "Why keep those secrets from me in the first place?"
"Because you were young, Naruto. Too young. And loud. Very loud. The chances of you accidentally revealing something were much higher than the chances of you keeping it quiet."
Naruto clicked his tongue. "You could have told me something like, Hey Naruto, if you become a genin I will tell you about your parents. That is not hard."
Hiruzen shook his head. "That would have been worse. Tying the truth about your parents to a reward would have only made you more reckless. You would have pushed yourself into danger just to get answers. And if the wrong people learned you were desperate for information, they could have used that against you."
Naruto opened his mouth, closed it, then frowned.
"Besides, I thought it would be better for you to learn from someone who was close to your father. Someone who knew him well."
Naruto looked over at Jiraiya and sighed. "Yeah. In hindsight, that was a terrible idea. I had to force the pervert to talk."
Jiraiya lifted his hands in surrender.
Hiruzen watched them both, a small, tired smile forming despite the tension.
"Sensei… why did you not raise Naruto?" Sakura asked. The question slipped out before she could second guess it. She remembered Kakashi had been the Fourth's student. It felt natural to ask.
"You do not have to answer that unless you are ready," Naruto said quietly.
Everyone turned to him in surprise, Kakashi most of all.
"Why?"
Naruto shrugged with a small smile. "Because I trust sensei. You always told me the truth. You told me about Sakumo. You told me about the Uzumaki clan. You did not have to. You could have lied or brushed it off, but you did not. You always tried with me. That counts."
Kakashi exhaled through his nose, eyes softening. "Thank you for that, Naruto. But the question is fair. The moment seems right."
He paused, gathering the words he rarely said out loud.
"When you were born, Naruto, I was fourteen years old. Minato sensei was the closest thing I ever had to a father after losing my own. When everyone I truly cared for was gone… I convinced myself I was cursed. Anyone I cared about died. So I stopped caring or tried to."
He looked down, hands loosely clasped in front of him.
"I was not in any state to raise a child. I could barely take care of myself. I threw myself into ANBU work instead. Missions that numbed everything. A rank. S rank. Anything that was difficult enough to make me forget for a while. I thought if I stayed in motion, nothing could catch me."
He swallowed, voice rougher than usual.
"If I had taken you in, I feared that you would have died to my curse and I would have been truly broken, so… I stayed away."
Silence settled in the office.
Sakura stepped forward and gently took Kakashi's hand. Sasuke rested a hand on his back, quiet but steady.
Naruto held up Oscar, pressing the little lizard against Kakashi's face as the crystal lizard pressed his paws in a hug.
For a moment Kakashi froze, caught between surprise and something deeper. Then his shoulders eased. His posture softened. His eye shut for a second longer than a blink.
The kids understood him. Not the way adults pretended to understand. Not with empty words. They understood in the way that mattered.
Kakashi breathed out slowly. His voice, when it came, was soft. "Thank you."
Hiruzen watched with a warm smile. Jiraiya did as well, arms folded but eyes softer than usual.
Both men knew Kakashi had carried that weight in silence for far too long. And both knew he was finally starting to let it go.
"So how many missions have you done?"
Kakashi answered without hesitation. "One thousand one hundred and forty one. That includes one hundred ninety seven D rank, one hundred ninety C rank, four hundred fourteen B rank, two hundred ninety eight A rank, and forty two S rank."
Team 7's jaws dropped so hard Hiruzen almost heard the impact.
Sakura and Sasuke were already doing math in their heads.
A lot of math.
Naruto said with sparkling eyes, "So that means you saved entire nations forty two times, right?"
Kakashi shifted uncomfortably, but before he could answer, Jiraiya snorted. "Do not get dramatic, kid. Saving the Wave was a one in a million mess. Most S rank missions are just too dangerous, not too heroic. The only reason it even counts as S rank is because we do not have a higher category labeled."
"Huh. That is less cool."
"Welcome to reality," Hiruzen said with a low laugh. "The academy tells children stories to keep them interested. Actual fieldwork is a different matter."
He raised a finger and went down the list.
"D rank are odd jobs such as finding cats, babysitting, errands, digging for sweet potatoes."
"C rank are regular missions such as intelligence gathering, eradicating bandits, medical treatments."
"B rank are missions where combat against genin is to be anticipated."
"A rank are military missions where combat against one or more squads of ninja which include chunin."
"S rank are usually missions where combat against jonin and S rank ninja is expected."
Naruto stared at the old man. "So the ranking system is just… a warning label."
"Exactly," Kakashi said. "Mostly to tell you how badly you might die."
"Atleast Lordran is a fantasy."
Oscar gave a tiny chirp that sounded like agreement.
Meanwhile, Sakura cleared her throat. "I just calculated your earnings."
"You did?"
"Yes," Sasuke said. "You have approximately four hundred fifty one million ryo."
Sakura clutched her head. "Sensei, that is more money than an entire merchant district makes in a year."
Kakashi tilted his head. "Is it? I have never really checked the balance."
Naruto squinted at him. "Sensei. You are telling me you do not know you are stupid rich?"
Kakashi gave an eye smile. "I live simply."
Sakura sighed. "Sensei, I cannot even imagine that much money…"
"Do not worry," Sasuke said, trying to sound comforting while ignoring the fact he inherited several billion ryo in Uchiha assets.
Sakura stared at him. "I feel zero comfort from a billionaire saying that."
Naruto rubbed his chin. "Wait. If Kakashi is loaded… what does that make me?"
"Oh," Sasuke said flatly. "You are richer than Kakashi."
"I am?"
"You robbed Gato," Sakura reminded him.
Naruto thought about it.
Sakura looked between her teammates, slowly realizing she was the only one who did not have a fortune waiting for her somewhere.
Naruto did not notice. He was too busy thinking about something else. "Speaking of money. What happened to my heritage? I mean… my parents had to leave something behind, right? A house, savings, anything?"
The room grew still for a moment.
"Come on, old man. My dad was the Fourth Hokage. My mom was a Kyuubi jinchuriki trained by the First's wife. You cannot tell me they did not leave behind a mountain of money, land, scrolls or something. I want whatever they left."
"About that…"
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I already hate this."
Hiruzen clasped his hands on the desk. "During the Kyuubi attack, Konoha was devastated. Half the residential district was rubble. Entire neighborhoods burned. Hundreds of shinobi died. The economy had collapsed. Supplies were scarce. We did not have the funds to rebuild."
He took a slow breath. "To stabilize the village, the council invoked the Emergency Asset Requisition Statute. It allows the Hokage to seize unclaimed or unprotected estates of deceased shinobi for reconstruction. Your parents' estate fell under that law."
Naruto stared, then pinched the bridge of his nose to stop himself from releasing his killing intent.
Sakura raised her hand. "So… by that logic, Naruto should be entitled to compensation now that the crisis period is over. Technically the assets were only seized under temporary reconstruction rights. Once the emergency period ends, any surviving heir can petition for restitution, interest, or equivalent compensation. Especially if the estate belonged to high ranking shinobi."
"You know a lot for a genin."
Sakura nodded. "My mom stuffed my head full of legal codes and rights. She said if I became a kunoichi, certain clans would try to shove contracts in my face, so I needed to know how to shove the law back."
Kakashi looked proud. Sasuke gave a small nod of respect. Naruto mouthed the word nerd but with affection.
Hiruzen sat back, impressed. "Your understanding is correct. If we follow the law, Naruto is entitled to compensation. That includes any monetary value seized at the time, adjusted for inflation, plus interest."
"Interest?"
"Yes," Hiruzen said. "A considerable amount."
Naruto froze. "Define considerable."
"Your father was Hokage, one of the highest paid positions in the village. He also inherited the Uzumaki clan's partial holdings, and Kushina held ancestral rights tied to their lands. Your combined estate was… large."
Jiraiya let out a low whistle. "Kid, you might be richer than Sasuke."
Sasuke side eyed him. "Unlikely."
Naruto rubbed his hands together. "So when do I get it?"
Hiruzen smiled tiredly. "The process will require paperwork. A lot of it. I need to reopen your parents' archived files, confirm what was seized, assign a financial officer to recalculate the value, and create a new account in your name."
Naruto nodded. "Okay. So when do I get it?"
"When the paperwork is done," Hiruzen repeated, looking even more tired.
Naruto slumped back in his chair. "Great. Bureaucracy. I survived Lordran for this."
Oscar chirped sympathetically.
Hiruzen chuckled. "I will handle it, Naruto. You will receive what belongs to you. That is a promise."
Naruto brightened a little. "Thanks, old man."
Sasuke muttered, "If you end up richer than me, I am not paying for lunch ever again."
"You never pay for lunch, Sasuke."
Sakura sighed. "Can we focus? Naruto just became the wealthiest idiot in the village."
Kakashi nodded solemnly. "It is a dangerous thing."
Jiraiya added, "Very dangerous."
Naruto frowned. "Why does everyone say that like I am going to spend it all on ramen?"
The room fell silent.
"…Okay, maybe some of it."
Naruto leaned back, trying to process everything. The idea of his net worth hit him first. Between Gato's stolen fortune, mission pay, and the interest he would receive from the village, he was practically rich.
"I mean, sure, being loaded is nice," Naruto said, waving a hand. "But what I really want is my parents' legacies. Their jutsu. Their skills. Everything they left behind."
His pulse quickened. He remembered Mito's words on the Nine Divine Beasts and the Uzumaki fuinjutsu.
"That will be difficult, Naruto. Your parents' estate was destroyed during the Kyuubi attack. Anything stored in their home did not survive."
Naruto's breath caught.
Gone.
He looked down, shoulders tight. Gran Gran Gran Mito tried so hard to keep the clan's legacy alive and it all burned. Maybe I can fix it with the repair spell's time manipulation. I just need to find some kind of ruins.
"Do not look so crushed," Jiraiya said. "You already have your father's Rasengan. That is no small thing."
Hiruzen gave a small, impressed nod. "Indeed. And while the Flying Thunder God technique does not belong to Minato personally, it is a jutsu held in Konoha's restricted archives as part of the Senju legacy. If you reach the rank of chunin, I can authorize you to learn it."
That brightened Naruto's eyes immediately. "Yeah, but I was really looking forward to learning my clan's techniques."
Hiruzen hesitated, then spoke carefully. "It may still be possible."
Naruto looked up with a spark of hope.
"I am planning to call Tsunade Senju back to the village," Hiruzen said. "She has access to the Senju archives, and she inherited several of Lady Mito's techniques. She may be able to teach you some of the clan's jutsu."
Jiraiya clicked his tongue. "Assuming she agrees. Tsunade runs from anything that even smells like responsibility."
"Which means I will probably have to pay her to teach Naruto."
Jiraiya gave a small grin. "Then let us split the cost. Half and half. She will bleed us dry, but if it helps the kid get what he deserves, it is worth it."
Naruto's expression softened. It was not everything, but it was something. "I guess that helps."
Kakashi raised a hand. "I might be able to add to that. Something from Lady Kushina's arsenal."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "You know the Adamantine Chains?"
"No," Kakashi said, shaking his head. "But I did manage to copy the Uzumaki spear style and the Gungnir Henkei technique. I cannot use them myself due to chakra limitations. But I can put everything I have into a scroll. You will have to figure it out from there."
"Sensei… thank you."
As the moment settled, Naruto could not help the flicker of doubt that crawled up in the back of his mind. Danzo claimed he had pieces of the parents' legacy too. Was it true? Or had the old hawk lied like always?
"Anyway, what is the deal with this hawk?"
Hiruzen's eyes shifted toward Sakura and Sasuke, silently asking whether Naruto was comfortable sharing this much. Naruto just shrugged. He did not care who heard it.
"The hawk," Hiruzen said slowly, "or rather, the man behind that symbol, is Shimura Danzo. He was one of my teammates under Lord Tobirama."
Naruto watched him, expression unreadable.
"After I became Hokage," Hiruzen continued, "Danzo was appointed head of ANBU. From there, he created a secret division known as Root. They were shinobi conditioned to do anything necessary to keep the village safe during the wars."
Naruto nodded, waiting for the rest.
"Danzo always coveted the Hokage's seat," Hiruzen said. "He pushed for more radical changes, some of them behind my back. He was also the one who leaked the information that you were the Nine Tails jinchuriki. He wanted to give the village a scapegoat to direct their grief toward."
"Wow. What an absolute bastard. But I am guessing you did something about it."
"I made a law that forbade anyone from speaking of the Nine Tails," Hiruzen said. "It was my attempt to shield you from the consequences of Danzo's actions. While I wanted to punish Danzo, Konoha was drowning in problems with the other villages, and the village could not survive without someone handling the darkest tasks. For all the damage he caused, he was a necessary evil that I had to tolerate during those years until I banished him."
Naruto looked disappointed.
Sakura raised her hand. "Hokage sama… would it not have been better to execute a man that dangerous?"
"In a perfect world, yes. But Danzo is not foolish. He had safety nets everywhere."
Hiruzen rubbed his forehead, choosing his next words with care.
"Danzo and I go back decades. At the beginning, I trusted him. When he proposed Root, I approved it because I believed he was acting in the village's best interest. I let him expand without proper oversight because he was my comrade and friend. That was my failure."
Jiraiya nodded at one of sensei's personal flaws.
"By the time I realized the extent of what Root was doing, Danzo was too entrenched. He had agents planted across the world. Classified information. Alliances built in the shadows. If I executed him outright, he had the means to unleash enough secrets to destabilize the entire village."
Naruto stiffened. "So it was mutual destruction."
"Exactly," Hiruzen said. "Root itself had operatives outside the village with contingency orders. Removing him recklessly would have triggered all of them."
Sakura swallowed. "So… banishment was the safest choice."
"It was," Hiruzen said. "And it was not a simple banishment. It was a slow dismantling of everything he built. Root shrank each year. Contacts severed. Assets reclaimed. Influence chipped away. By the time he surfaced again, he was weaker than he had been in decades."
Sasuke frowned. "Then why not execute him once he was powerless?"
"Because when I finally moved to do so, I discovered that Danzo's banishment had been compromised. He was never truly confined. He has been moving through the shadows for years, doing only god knows what. He is branded a traitor now, but that does not erase the damage."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Did he release Naruto's heritage? That would explain why everyone in the village keeps staring at him."
Jiraiya let out a low whistle. "Good detective work, kid."
"Unfortunately, we do not yet know who released the information. Danzo is one of the main suspects. Orochimaru is another."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, and Hiruzen subtly motioned that they would speak about it later.
Naruto had been quiet through all of this, expression blank in a way that made everyone uneasy. "What is this about?"
So; Hiruzen explained everything from the leak of Naruto's heritage, the uproar in the other nations, and the reaction inside the village.
Naruto listened without interrupting. When it ended, he let out a long, exhausted exhale. "Well… I am just glad I do not look recognizable right now," he said with a humorless grin.
Naruto stood up. "Thanks for the conversation, old man. There is a lot to think about. Feels like that has been happening a lot lately."
Hiruzen nodded gently. "Then I suppose we can call this matter settled between us."
"No," Naruto said plainly.
The firmness in his tone made the room still.
"Look, old man, I appreciate everything you have done. Really. But I am not taking words as payment anymore. You prove things with action. Once I get my legacy, including whatever land my parents had even if it is gone… then we can talk about bygones being bygones."
Hiruzen absorbed that in silence, then offered a slow nod. "…Very well."
He cleared his throat and shifted topics. "Before I let you go, we still need to discuss the rest of what you did in the Wave mission."
"There is more?"
"Quite a lot of the good," Hiruzen said. "You equipped your team with armor and weapons far beyond our standard issue. That alone gave them a fighting chance in a mission that should have killed every one of you. You continued training even after losing an arm and mastered one handed seals when most shinobi would have retired. You healed your comrades. Kakashi. Hinata. Even civilians who were wounded during Gato's attacks."
Naruto shrugged. "That is normal stuff."
"It is not," Hiruzen said firmly. "You protected your clients so well that they referred to you as a guardian. You became a local legend before the mission even ended."
Naruto shrugged.
"And above all," Hiruzen continued, "you never once ran from responsibility. Not when the mission turned deadly. Not when you were wounded. Not even when your team was on the verge of falling apart."
He held Naruto's gaze. "Uzumaki Naruto, you have grown into a remarkable young man. Not simply strong, but steadfast. Your parents would have been proud if they were alive. And Konoha is honored to have you in its ranks."
Naruto's face went red. He bowed low. "Thanks, Jiji."
Oscar hopped forward and mimicked the bow with a low chirp, which made Sasuke snort and Sakura giggle.
Hiruzen chuckled softly. "Alright, Team 7. Your mission payment will be processed after verification. Kakashi, I would like you to stay for a moment. The rest of you are dismissed."
Naruto gave a lazy salute, Sasuke gave a quiet nod, and Sakura waved politely as the three of them vanished in a flicker of motion.
The office felt quieter without them.
Suddenly the door swung open again as Naruto stuck his head in. "Oh yeah, almost forgot. I have Wood Release now."
Hiruzen froze.
His pipe slipped from his fingers onto the floor. For a moment he looked like a man who had been handed one revelation too many and chose to simply stop functioning.
Naruto closed the door again, savoring the stunned silence on the other side. He joined Sasuke and Sakura in the hallway with a smug grin. "The old man's brain just stopped working. I could hear it."
"You are awful," Sakura said, trying and failing not to laugh.
Naruto puffed his chest proudly. "I told you, we wait to tell him until I can drop it on him for maximum effect."
Oscar chirped in agreement, flicking his tail as if endorsing the chaos.
Sasuke shook his head. "So what now?"
"Well…" Naruto said, stretching his arms behind his head. "If you two are not busy, we can grab some Ichiraku ramen."
Naruto raised Oscar and rotated him like a performer on stage. "According to this very distinguished lizard, it is ramen time. He insists you two come along."
Sakura melted instantly. "Alright, alright. I could eat."
"Hn," Sasuke noised. "And let us stop by a shop on the way. I want a new bingo book. I want to see whether I have an entry."
Naruto grinned. "Oh, what if everyone in Team 7 has a bingo book entry?"
He tossed Oscar lightly into the air, catching him again as the little lizard chirped with excitement.
A lot had changed. More than Naruto could track at once. But as they walked toward the familiar stall, he found himself hoping one thing had stayed exactly the same.
A warm bowl of Ichiraku ramen.
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Author Note: And that wraps up today's chapter. Now let's dive into the Q and A.
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Q: Can you explain what inspired you to write that S ranks are mission versus jonin or kage level missions?
Okay, so I was not inspired by anything. I literally just put the entry from Shinobi Hiden Column 2: Shinobi and Their Missions.
The Shinobi Hiden is a series written by Ukyo Kodachi, who wrote Gaara Hiden, the light novel adaptation of Boruto: Naruto the Movie, and collaborated with Kishimoto while writing the screenplay for that movie.
Now, if anyone here is interested in writing a lot of in depth worldbuilding and logistics, Ukyo Kodachi's Shinobi Hiden series has a lot of interesting ideas and worldbuilding.
In Shinobi Hiden Column 2, it states the mission ranks like this:
Shinobi are active in order to earn money.
In movies or television dramas, shinobi gloriously battle evils that threaten the world or hidden villages shrouded in mystery every day. Not that this impression is totally mistaken, but it is also not the entire picture.
Shinobi undertake missions and receive money in return. Clients pay money to a Village on a per mission basis, and then the Village deducts a commission and disburses the remainder to each respective shinobi. However, there are also many Villages, including Konoha, that guarantee a minimum fixed salary, because otherwise shinobi who stop getting assigned missions would not be able to eat.
At the present time, a uniform mission ranking system is utilized by the Five Great Villages:
D rank: Odd jobs such as finding cats, babysitting, errands, digging for sweet potatoes
C rank: Regular missions such as intelligence gathering, eradicating bandits, medical treatments
B rank: VS ninja missions with combat against genin anticipated
A rank: Military missions with combat against one or more squads of ninja which include chunin
S rank: VS jonin missions with combat against jonin and Gokage class ninja
Hope that helps. I will add the Shinobi Hiden columns on the platforms that can support it, but I would highly recommend checking them out since they have a lot of cool information about shinobi society, missions, how shinobi are organized, and how the bureaucratic system behind the villages actually works.
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Q: How did you calculate Kakashi's net worth?
Well, lets start with ryo.
What exactly is ryo?
The ryo is the currency used in the Naruto world. It is based on an old Japanese gold coin that was used in Japan before the Meiji period. It was later replaced by the yen. The exchange rate of 1 ryo is 10 yen.
Now for mission ranks.
D rank: Assigned to genin fresh from the Academy. They pose almost no risk to the ninja's life and usually consist of odd jobs like farming and babysitting work. The reward for a D rank mission is between 5,000 and 50,000 ryo.
C rank: Assigned to more experienced genin or chunin. They are missions with little to no chance of combat against other ninja. Examples are guarding people against bandits or highwaymen, background investigations, eliminating or capturing bandits or thieves, and capturing or suppressing wild animals. The reward for a C rank mission is between 30,000 and 100,000 ryo.
B rank: Assigned to experienced chunin. They are missions anticipated to involve combat with other ninja. Examples are guarding people, espionage, or killing other ninja. The reward for a B rank mission is between 80,000 and 200,000 ryo.
A rank: Assigned to jonin, concerning, among other things, village or state level matters and trends. Examples are guarding VIPs or suppressing ninja forces. The reward for an A rank mission is between 150,000 and 1,000,000 ryo.
S rank: Assigned to experienced jonin and concerning state level confidential matters. Examples are assassinating VIPs and transporting highly classified documents. The reward for an S rank mission is at minimum 1,000,000 ryo.
From Naruto Databook 2 we know that Kakashi has done over a thousand missions.
Kakashi Mission Earnings Breakdown
Number of Missions
• D rank: 197
• C rank: 190
• B rank: 414
• A rank: 298
• S rank: 42
• Total missions: 1,141
Minimum Ryo per Mission
• D rank: 5,000
• C rank: 30,000
• B rank: 80,000
• A rank: 150,000
• S rank: 1,000,000
Maximum Ryo per Mission
• D rank: 50,000
• C rank: 100,000
• B rank: 200,000
• A rank: 1,000,000
• S rank: 1,000,000
Minimum Earnings
• D rank: 985,000
• C rank: 5,700,000
• B rank: 33,120,000
• A rank: 44,700,000
• S rank: 42,000,000
• Total minimum earnings: 126,505,000 ryo
Maximum Earnings
• D rank: 9,850,000
• C rank: 19,000,000
• B rank: 82,800,000
• A rank: 298,000,000
• S rank: 42,000,000
• Total maximum earnings: 451,650,000 ryo
Using the minimum and maximum payouts for each mission rank, his lifetime income works out to roughly:
• 12 to 43 million US dollars in 2008
• 18.06 to 64.7 million US dollars in 2025, inflation adjusted
Put simply: Kakashi is fucking loaded.
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Q: Did Naruto's inheritance get used up by Konoha after the Kyuubi attack?
Canonically we do not know. This topic never comes up in the manga or anime, which is a shame because Kishimoto could have done a Harry Potter style reveal where Minato and Kushina had a pile of money saved up. Since he never mentioned it, all we can do is speculate.
A lot of fanfics have their own interpretation. My headcanon is simple. After the Kyuubi attack, Konoha was left in a severely weakened state. Tons of shinobi dead, buildings destroyed, infrastructure gone, and a huge number of injured personnel. When Pain destroyed the village later, Yamato was around to rebuild. Hiruzen did not have that luxury. No convenient Wood Release user to magic a village back together. So logically the village would need a massive amount of funding just to keep itself running.
And where would those funds come from?
By seizing the assets of dead shinobi.
Irl, governments throughout history have done this after major wars or disasters. When an empire collapses or a city is destroyed, estates of the dead often get absorbed into state property to fund reconstruction. Ancient Rome did it. Medieval kingdoms did it. Even modern governments can seize property when there is no next of kin or during emergency powers.
So to me, that is the most logical explanation. Canon Naruto apparently did not care enough to question any of this. My version of Naruto absolutely does. He is going to take back every single ryo owed to him with twelve years of interest.
How much is that exactly?
If someone wants to run the numbers, great. If not, I am more than happy to just have Naruto staring at the amount, wide eyed, wondering how many zeros he is looking at.
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Q: Why does Kushina have a spear style? What is the Gungnir Henke no Jutsu?
Let us clear up one thing. Kushina is not a sword user. I get so many comments assuming she is, or that Naruto inherited her sword techniques, but canon gives us nothing about how Kushina fought. The chakra chains are literally the only confirmed ability she had.
The whole idea of Kushina being a swordswoman mainly comes from Ashina Uzumaki having two swords on his back when he is shown next to Hashirama. And, well, swords are cool, so fanon ran with it.
Canon Kushina is basically a blank slate when it comes to combat style, which gives us full freedom.
I made her a spear user because it is more unique than a sword, and because spears are criminally underused in Naruto despite being one of the most historically important weapons in warfare. Also, I want Naruto to eventually use other weapons from Lordran, especially spears, and this sets up a clean transition.
This idea has been hinted at across a few chapters:
Kushina's bingo book epithet is the Crimson Valkyrie of Chains. Valkyries are often portrayed with spears.
In the Uzumaki clan ruins, Sasuke and Sakura saw a large statue holding a spear.
The founder of this fanfic's Uzumaki clan, Oden Uzumaki, is based on Odin from Norse mythology, who wields the spear Gungnir.
Q: So what is the Gungnir Henke no Jutsu?
I am not revealing that yet. If you have any big ideas about spear techniques or what this jutsu could be, drop them. I am open to inspiration.
Now that I have done my Q and A, I have a few questions for you:
A. Do you think Sasuke or Sakura would have bingo book entries? If so, what would their epithets be?
B. How should Naruto use the spear? Do you want something grounded, like real spear techniques enhanced with wind chakra, similar to how I handled the zweihander? Or do you want a more fantasy anime style spear fighting approach?
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That's It… For Now.
As always, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read, comment, and follow along with this story. Your feedback means more than you know, and it helps push me to make each chapter bigger, sharper, and more true to the worlds of Naruto and Dark Souls.
Until next time, Praise the Sun.
—Adam
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[ Personal Note: First off, thanks a ton to all of you for sticking with this story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. Now, if you're interested in supporting me on P@treon, let me just say that over there, I post these massive 15k-word chapters. But heads up, if you're jumping to P@treon, you'll need to start from Chapter 97, since that's where this chapter lines up with the content there.
To everyone here just reading along, please don't forget to leave a comment! Honestly, your comments make my day, and they let me know you're as invested in this story as I am. So yeah, thanks again, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your day!