"Why is it you again—The Emperor?"
Link felt the familiar sensation in his hand, and without hesitation, he dismissed it. Then he poured the chakra amount needed for a five-second Stand Summon and tried again.
Refining chakra, forming seals, releasing—
Ho! 'The World!'
Too bad what he really needed right now was "Hermit Purple."
"Za Warudo!" Link felt time pause briefly. But to conserve chakra for more attempts at summoning a Stand, he canceled it right away.
Such is the nature of an undeveloped Stand—its abilities start at a basic level. The first time he summoned The World, it couldn't even stop time; it's only in these recent attempts that he's gradually managed to tap into the ability, freezing time for just a split second.
He had no idea how long it would take to develop it to something on par with "Dio's version," and most likely it wasn't realistic to even hope for that. Still, The World's twin "A" stats gave it formidable prowess in close combat.
After more than twenty consecutive Stand Summons, Link popped a soldier pill, then used Delicate Illness Extraction on himself. That concluded one round of his "training session."
[Guess you're lucky.]
He glanced at the camera safely resting in front of him. He refrained from continuing to summon Stands. No need to rush; the more impatient he got, the lower his chances became.
This kind of luck-based ability required a calm mind.
Speaking of which, cameras were genuinely expensive in Konoha—and they were bulky, old-fashioned models, the same type the Shinobi Registration Office used. Luckily, Hermit Purple could activate on them; he had tested it twice before.
The only problem was that his wallet couldn't handle repeated uses. The Money Binding Technique already put a lot of strain on his wallet, so if he also threw Hermit Purple into the mix, his money might vanish in an instant.
Summoning Jutsu: Rashomon was so much better—totally free and could earn him money. The only downside was the horrible environment he had to deal with, kind of like Hogwarts: plenty of "tricksters" waiting inside, and they always start by tossing a hat on you before talking. Trust between people—or rather, between the living and the dead—was basically nonexistent.
"Is a jutsu that crosses life and death always evil?"
"Is it always trickery?"
He'd never once been deceived by a spirit. Had the Uchiha couple ever been tricked? Nawaki either.
Having rested, Link began his second round of training. He cast Summoning Jutsu, and immediately began to tell a story.
He'd just finished telling the story of the Chūnin Exams last time, so it was the perfect chance to segue into why Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush plan.
After finishing one segment, he ended the session—he'd become quite adept at abruptly cutting off. Accepting a carton of yogurt offered by one of his shadows, he drank, thinking:
[Speaking of which, Kimimaro should be on the verge of collapsing around this time. I wonder if I can drag him over here… The only trouble is that he's so fixated on serving Orochimaru. Maybe I could gradually sway him.]
Link stood and stretched. It had been a while since he last wore his weights, mainly because a while back he noticed his growth had begun slowing—
Actually, it had stopped.
Though reaching 145.5 cm at nearly eleven years old was already quite tall—considering Naruto and the others, two years older than him, typically ranged from ~140 to ~150 cm—he was still a bit concerned that his previously rapid growth had completely halted.
He reasoned that no matter how much he trained his body, it wouldn't improve dramatically, and building more muscle mass didn't help—if anything, it would hurt his speed, which was already a weak point. So he'd decided to reduce his taijutsu training to a minimal level.
As long as his body remained at its current standard, and he didn't regress like Kakashi did, that was enough. Better to devote more time to knowledge acquisition and ninjutsu development.
He also set aside his training weights, planning to let his body grow naturally for a while and see what happened.
[Tomorrow, I need to restock my powerful drugs again. It's always about the money. Maybe I'll take a slightly distant mission, use the intel I've collected, and grab some quick cash…]
Link glanced at the time. It was 8:30 p.m. He usually went to bed at 9:00, rarely staying up late, and tonight would be no different.
He opened his notebook to outline the next steps. Circling the intel provided by Gatō of the Land of Waves, he found the next destination easy enough to choose. Whether the Land of Rivers, the Land of Grass, the Land of Hot Water, or the Land of Frost, he might face combat in any of those places. He didn't plan on bringing his three subordinates, who were still genin.
One reason was that they drew too much attention; another was that against enemies like Orochimaru or Sasori, even Gaara's support would have limited effect, and Temari and Kankurō might even become liabilities.
The Land of Waves was much safer—no ninjas, no conspiracies, just a tiny island nation.
[Is Sunagakure—or Chiyo—not planning to buy back her grandson's puppet? Why aren't they here yet? It's been so long, and they still haven't shown up with the money?]
Link closed his notebook and had his shadows tuck it away in his desk. He lay on his bed, glancing at the large box leaning against his sofa—the one containing scrolls of Sasori's "collection."
Those scrolls symbolized wealth…or ninjutsu. Perhaps Sunagakure intended to wait until the Three-Nation Summit so they could exchange political concessions for the puppets?
He couldn't be sure, but with Sunagakure so poor, it was certainly possible.
At that point, it wouldn't make sense for him to sacrifice potential political advantage just for some cash, or to trade away puppets in exchange for the village funding some of his ninjutsu.
After all, the Third Hokage had already shown him the utmost generosity by letting him learn almost any jutsu he wanted. No way could Link sour relations by pestering Sunagakure for money at the summit. His public persona had to remain squeaky clean.
"Sleep."
He ordered his shadows to turn off the lights, then closed his eyes, entering the land of dreams.
…
While the Konoha's youngest Special Jōnin slept soundly, the village's higher-ups were quite busy.
They'd discovered a lot of reliable intel in Kabuto Yakushi's mind—he had frequently dealt with Danzō, and some details could be easily verified. Though the source of the information was Sasori of the Red Sand, the one they doubted was actually Link.
But since Link was unanimously recognized by the village's top brass as a potential future Hokage candidate, and also one of the village's key assets—about to serve as Hokage's Guard, student to Nara Shikaku, dear ally to the Ino-Shika-Chō clan, and caretaker of the One-Tail Jinchūriki—once Link left the Hokage's office, the Anbu moved immediately.
Within the hour, a Root operative involved in the deals was seized by Jōnin Commander Nara Shikaku and his old partner Akimichi Chōza. Inoichi Yamanaka, ace of the Interrogation and Torture Corps, spent the night investigating, while the two advisors escorted Shimura Danzō out of his home.
The Third Hokage didn't even go back to his own house; he waited in his office for the interrogation results.
Some things, if they remain unverified, everyone can ignore—but once put on the scales, they had to be laid bare and clarified.
And they hadn't even begun searching for intel about selling out Link. Instead, Yamanaka Inoichi found an explosive revelation in the Root member's mind:
"Danzō's precious gift is about to blow."
~~~
Read up to Chapter 264 in Patreon! Thank you for reading!
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!