Chapter 131 - The Daimyō of the Land of Fire
But then Kazane had a thought—perhaps even the wealthy Uchiha clan wouldn't give a child like Itachi much money. Maybe Itachi was simply trying to save him money.
"That's right. Fugaku was right—eating sweets regularly really does change your physique. It makes you stronger and faster!"
Convinced, Kazane nodded firmly and confidently repeated the claim to Itachi, who was still standing outside the shop, maintaining his aloof posture.
Inside the shop, little Anko—her gaze locked on the snowy white mochi—was still wiping drool from her lips. She nodded in sync with Kazane's statement, clearly in agreement.
This made Kazane even more certain of his conclusion.
See? Even Anko, who's always been under Orochimaru-sensei's guidance, agrees with me.
Orochimaru-sensei is the most brilliant human anatomy expert in the entire shinobi world. In the original series, Anko was his student.
And Anko's favorite food in the original story? Sweets and dango!
Whenever Orochimaru saw her eating sweets, he never tried to stop her. Not once.
In fact, back when Kazane used to visit Orochimaru for training, he always brought sweets along—and Orochimaru never once told him to stop eating them either.
If sweets were harmful, Orochimaru definitely would've said something.
So, if even Orochimaru didn't stop him… that could only mean sweets were harmless!
Yes. That's it!
Itachi stared at Kazane's overly serious expression and began to doubt his own father's words.
Could that really be what Father meant...?
But just as he was about to accept the idea, Itachi caught himself—he had almost believed Kazane's nonsense.
Everyone knows eating too many sweets makes you fat. Even a kid like me knows that!
How could someone older—someone like Kazane—not know something so basic?
Realizing Kazane was shamelessly trying to trick him into eating sweets, Itachi grew irritated.
Even his normally calm and cold expression started to crack a little.
Still, Itachi couldn't quite believe that the famous Hatake Kazane—someone his father always praised in front of him—would actually lie to a kid just to eat snacks.
So this is what the adult world is like... terrifying.
Meanwhile, the sweets shop owner, who'd been upset earlier about Itachi calling sweets bad for a ninja's physique—because that kind of talk could hurt his business—was now looking at Kazane like he'd just found a kindred spirit.
He completely agreed with Kazane's reasoning.
In fact, years ago, the shopkeeper himself had been a ninja. But he'd given up the shinobi path to pursue his true dream—opening a dessert shop.
He'd never felt ashamed of leaving the ninja life behind. Instead, he was proud of chasing his passion.
Especially since, after his weight increased from 50 kg to 150 kg, while he didn't feel much faster, he definitely felt much stronger.
And now, after hearing Kazane's words, everything made sense—his strength came from eating sweets!
Yes! If it's Lord Kazane—the strongest shinobi in the world—saying it, then it must be true!
"Tomorrow, I'm framing Lord Kazane's words and hanging them right here in the main hall!"
The shopkeeper made a silent vow.
Swoosh!
Just as Itachi was about to argue further with Kazane, an ANBU operative appeared beside him.
"Lord Kazane, Lord Orochimaru is requesting your presence."
The ANBU operative bowed respectfully as he spoke.
Kazane immediately recognized the figure—not because of his face, but because of his distinctive mask and silver-white short hair.
His mask resembled a cat, complete with two pointed ears, red floral designs, and crimson markings around the eye holes, which appeared pitch black from the outside. The mouth curved downward in a strange arc.
Kazane had wanted to wear that mask himself back when they were customizing them. There was no way he wouldn't recognize it now—this was his younger brother, Hatake Kakashi. Only Kakashi could've stolen the mask he had his eye on.
"Take care of my two students for today. Their training's your responsibility."
Kazane patted Kakashi on the shoulder, then vanished before his brother could even react.
Leaving behind a speechless Kakashi, who now had to face a shy, blinking Anko and a very irate Uchiha Itachi still recovering from Kazane's nonsense.
"Sigh… He got me again," Kakashi muttered, rubbing Anko's small head in resignation.
After Kakashi led the two children away, the shopkeeper—who had been lost in his own fantasies—finally realized something terrible:
The money that was about to enter his pocket... had flown away.
---
Hokage's Office
"Don't worry, Orochimaru. With me around, the Daimyō will definitely approve the appointment scroll today."
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in his formal Hokage robes, wearing the iconic hat symbolizing his rank. The two former elders of Konoha stood at his side as he spoke to Orochimaru, who was seated behind the Hokage desk.
From their conversation, it was clear—they were preparing to head to the capital of the Land of Fire to meet the Daimyō and retrieve the official appointment scroll for Orochimaru.
But Orochimaru merely smiled at Hiruzen's words and said nothing. Instead, he turned his gaze toward an empty corner of the room.
With his serpent-like senses, he had detected a powerful, violent surge of blood and chakra in the air.
Only one person could've refined his body to such an extreme.
His prized disciple—Kazane.
Swoosh!
As if on cue, Kazane appeared at the very spot Orochimaru had just been watching.
Hiruzen, who had been watching Orochimaru closely, also noticed Kazane's sudden arrival.
A flash of surprise crossed his eyes—he hadn't even sensed how Kazane entered the room. Yet Orochimaru had clearly detected him beforehand.
Could it be that Orochimaru... is now fast enough to perceive Kazane's movements?
It seems Orochimaru has improved once again!
As Kazane entered the office, he was momentarily confused by the sight of Hiruzen in formal attire, along with the two elders—who were supposed to be retired and spending time with their grandchildren.
Why were they here at all?
But Kazane wasn't one to waste time pondering pointless questions. If they called him here, they'd explain it soon enough.
So he turned to Orochimaru and asked, "Orochimaru-sensei, you called for me?"
"Perfect timing, Kazane. Hiruzen-sensei and I were just discussing the Hokage appointment scroll. We're heading to the capital of the Land of Fire to retrieve it from the Daimyō. I want you to come along."
Orochimaru sounded confident.
After all, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire had already been influenced—long before the Hokage election—by both him and Uchiha Fugaku.
Kazane had always been curious about the Daimyō of the Land of Fire. After all, in the ninja world, Daimyōs held authority over all shinobi villages.
He'd always wondered: How can an ordinary person command those who possess absolute power?
Why do ninja, with all their strength, follow the Daimyō so willingly?
Even now, Hiruzen's respectful tone when talking about the Daimyō made it obvious—ninjas were expected to obey.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had once been the Hokage—the leader of the most powerful ninja village—and even he spoke of the Daimyō with caution.
"Sounds good. I've never seen the capital of the Land of Fire before. I wonder how it compares to our village."
Kazane replied cheerfully.
He was genuinely curious—what kind of person was the Daimyō? What made them different from ordinary civilians? How could someone like that command the respect and obedience of elite shinobi?
Hiruzen turned to Orochimaru with a few last words of advice:
"Orochimaru, remember to be respectful when meeting the Daimyō. Even if he approves the appointment scroll because of my relationship with him, he might retaliate by reducing the village's budget if he's displeased."
Hearing this, Kazane couldn't help but feel amused.
Top-tier shinobi, standing at the peak of the ninja world, still have to bow to a regular man… all because they fear budget cuts?
Why not just let the country be ruled by shinobi? Wouldn't it make more sense to unite military strength and financial power under one roof?