"Thank you, Grandpa Shuichi. I will definitely repay this favor."
Hearing this, Shuichi Takemoto coughed twice and looked at him with a strange expression. "Do you think I'm giving it to you?"
Gisei Shiraishi was stunned.
Shuichi extended a finger and wagged it at him. "One hundred million ryo."
Hearing "one hundred million ryo," Gisei felt his heart break into pieces.
This hateful old man! Give me back the gratitude I just felt!
"Don't give me that look. Eisawa wasn't like you; he refused to borrow money from me and insisted on mortgaging the clan land. He took quite a bit of money from me back then."
"Both you uncle and nephew say the same thing: once the family is divided, it becomes two separate clans. I also have a bunch of people to feed here. I can't help it."
What else could Gisei say? He could only force a stiff smile. "Can I refuse it?"
"No. The house you're living in now belongs to our family. I didn't take Eisawa's money back then, but now that you're taking charge of the family, how can you still freeload here?"
Gisei began to take deep breaths to calm himself. After a while, he reluctantly pulled a bankbook from his chest pocket, his hand trembling as he handed it over.
Seeing Gisei take out the bankbook, not only Shuichi but also the jonin standing behind him were somewhat surprised.
One hundred million ryo was not a small number, yet he produced it just like that?
Seeing their expressions shift, Gisei's eyes darted around. With a swish, he snatched his hand back.
He wasn't stupid; Shuichi didn't seem to intend for him to pay on the spot anyway.
Stuffing the bankbook back into his chest pocket without changing his expression, he declared self-righteously, "Put it on my tab!"
Anna Takemoto walked up to him with a dark face and extended her hand.
Gisei looked at her pitifully, his eyes seemingly filled with a thousand words he wanted to say but couldn't.
"Take it out!"
Anna began to wave her fist at him, but Gisei stubbornly refused to budge.
Are you kidding? If he gave the money away, he would be destitute again. Moreover, Anna's bossy style couldn't be encouraged—otherwise, who would be the head of the household in the future?
Anna started to reach into his chest pocket herself. Gisei sighed lamentably and took the bankbook out on his own.
There was no other way. Anna was boldly reaching into his clothes, and the people around them were waiting to watch the drama unfold.
In front of so many people, if they really got into a scuffle, it would look terrible. Gisei still wanted to save some face.
Anna opened the bankbook to check the balance, and her expression turned strange. "Where did you get so much money?"
Gisei refused to answer.
Someone behind Shuichi spoke up: "Konoha's 'Midwifery King,' two million for one surgery—has the Young Miss heard of this?"
"Konoha's 'Midwifery King'?" Anna's face turned red instantly. She stared at Gisei viciously. "That 'Midwifery King' people in Konoha have been talking about recently... is you?"
Gisei felt like he was being publicly executed.
He stared expressionlessly at the jonin who spoke and said through gritted teeth, "Please call me the 'Next Door Old Wang'; I prefer that title."
Nobody understood the bad joke, so the room remained awkwardly silent.
Fortunately, the uncomfortable atmosphere didn't last long. Someone came in to announce, "People from the Kawai family have arrived."
Shuichi nodded. "Please invite them in."
Soon, Aonobu Kawai pushed in an old man who also had a head full of white hair, followed by Rumiko Kawai.
Gisei hurriedly stepped forward to greet them. "Grandpa Shin, you came."
His uncle had taken him to visit various clans before, so he knew this old man.
Shin Kawai, sitting in the wheelchair, laughed weakly. "I thought you didn't plan to bother with us old folks anymore. I didn't expect you to still have some conscience."
Gisei felt awkward. Since his uncle had taken him to visit these ninja clans, he had only maintained contact with them and never taken the initiative to visit, except for the Takemoto family.
Shuichi didn't let him stay embarrassed. "You old fellow, you're in a wheelchair too. You mocked me back then, but look, you're not much better off than me."
"We're old. It's not just us in wheelchairs; basically all the old guys still alive are in them. Don't knock it, the feeling of being pushed around is actually quite refreshing."
The two white-haired old men got together and started chattering. Aonobu leaned over and teased, "Yo, how have you been lately? I heard Konoha has produced a 'Midwifery King.' Do you know who it is?"
Gisei: "..."
Hanari—aka Aonobu Kawai—was still in the Anbu. He didn't even need to ask around for this kind of intelligence; someone would deliver it right to his desk. Yet he used it to make fun of him. Maybe he had heard Anna's words from outside the door just now.
Seeing Gisei remain silent, Aonobu continued to tease him. "It's spreading everywhere in the Anbu. The little brat grew up and his wings hardened. Instead of serving the village, he specializes in serving women. Simply a piece of scum."
The corner of Gisei's mouth twitched. "Can we not talk about this? I've been out of the Anbu for almost half a year. Why hasn't the Third kicked you out yet?"
"That doesn't make sense. I was in the Anbu before you came. Just because you left, I can't stay?"
Gisei scratched his head. He really couldn't figure out the relationship between the ninja clans and the village; it was messy regardless.
As the heart of Konoha, the composition of the Anbu was quite complex. It wasn't at all like in the stories where they were loyal only to the Hokage.
Currently, almost all of Konoha's ninja clans had people in the Anbu. Of course, there were more people from the Hokage faction's clans, and there were also quite a few commoner ninjas.
This meant the village's confidential intelligence could easily be known by the clans. If it leaked out, it would likely cause great harm.
What exactly the Third was thinking, he didn't know, but presumably, there was some deep political meaning behind it.
At this time, Rumiko walked over, circled Gisei once, and asked in surprise, "How did you turn into a normal person?"
Gisei replied grumpily, "Is it you who isn't normal or me? Look at the clothes you're wearing now; you don't look like a girl at all."
Rumiko started grinding her teeth. Aonobu quickly pulled her back. "Don't make a scene. Other ninja clans will be arriving soon."
Rumiko huffed and ran to the side, pulling Anna to whisper. Before she could say two sentences, she started shouting.
"You're lying, right? I don't believe it! You're actually going to marry that psycho? No way! How is a loser like him worthy of you!"
Anna quickly covered her mouth. Gisei's face was full of black lines.
After being slightly surprised, Aonobu's expression turned perverted.
He leaned close to Gisei's ear and whispered sneakily, "Teach me two moves. I'm almost thirty and still a bachelor. Have pity on me."
Gisei pushed him away with disgust. "Don't lean on me, I have mysophobia. Do you need someone to teach you how to find a wife?"
Aonobu put on a solemn face. "Gisei, you've changed."
"How have I changed?"
"In the past, you were the one leaning on me."
"...You're talking nonsense."
"Remember my treasured art book? You pestered me for a long time, I..."
Before Aonobu could finish speaking, Gisei quickly put his arm around him and threatened with a smile, "You are an adult."
"It's not strange for an adult to have that kind of book. But you, a minor... tsk tsk, precocious brat."
Gisei was left speechless.