Deal

When Zetuo awoke for what felt like the umpteenth time since arriving in the bizzaro world he found himself in, he was met with yet another unfamiliar ceiling, albeit a much nicer one compared to the previous ones. This time however, he wasn't lying on a cold stone floor or strapped to a bed with cords, but rather he was positioned on a very comfy cot with a blanket thrown over him. It was rather nice to wake up and not feel like he was once again in the middle of struggling for his life. His palm was still tingling like crazy but this time he was simply choosing to ignore it as he slowly sat up.

"Ah, so you're finally awake young Zetuo Tetsuya," A voice said matter-of-factly, a familiar sound that the black haired youth was easily able to pick out. "Im glad you seemed to have made it here in one piece."

Zetuo shifted his line of sight to the very front of the room where the old man from before sat, calmly shifting through the stacks of papers lined neatly on his wooden desk. The old man seemed to not have a single worry towards the youth and his presence, making it obvious that he didn't perceive the boy as a threat. Then again, if Zetuo were to see an ant crawling on the ground in front of him, he wouldn't be frightened of it either let alone be worried of a potential attack. The gap was painfully obvious, larger then the ocean of bullsh*t Zetuo found himself swimming in.

Throwing the blanket aside, the young man twisted and put his legs over the side. Using his arms, he pushed himself into a full stand-up, being careful not to overuse too much strength. "I'm not sure if I should be happy or annoyed. Being unconscious seems to be an ongoing trend as of late."

"Ah yes, I'm sorry you had to go through so much," Hiruzen replied, slightly impressed by how calm the lad was. He was in an unfamiliar location and conversing with someone that could either be friend or foe, even going as far as to make light jokes about it. If anything, he was now curious if it was just this boy or the different world he came from that gave him this tough mentality. "I didn't mean you any real harm. Its just better to be safe then sorry. We had some issues that happened during your arrival into this world and it prompted some....procedures."

The room fell silent as the words sunk in, the weight of each syllable resting square on Zetuo's shoulders. It wasn't like he hadn't known, but to have it confirmed by someone else made it feel so jarring, making him feel like he was going insane. He was still quite attached to reality, his brain functioning at fully capacity, but it all seemed so weird to him, like an out of body experience that never seemed to truly end.

He also knew HOW they were aware he was from elsewhere. They had said it right before knocking him out, that they would use a technique to rummage around his head, glimpsing through his memories. Most likely it had been the jutsus that Minato had been talking about earlier, a jutsu that would let someone else pick through the brains of others. He had no reason to doubt that he was in another world nor a reason to continue living like he did in New York. Survival was all that really mattered for the moment. That being said, he could never really put aside the blatant mind r*pe that had happened while he was unconscious, something like that genuinely pissing him off.

"Okay. You know I'm from another world. So, what do you want? I'm assuming you have an ulterior motive for keeping me alive?" Zetuo didnt trust this place very much even after all the kindness that was shown, the mind reading making up a huge chunk of his distrust. He couldn't really afford to be too relaxed as he never knew when the next slap to the face would arrive, preferring to be on his toes and ready for action when the time came.

"Well actually yes," Hiruzen said honestly as he twisted one of the papers he had been perusing until it was facing Zetuo. "If we're just cutting to the chase and skipping over the casual talks then that's fine. Here's my proposition. I want you to work for the Hidden Leaf, plain and simple."

The black haired youth glanced at the sheet of paper and narrowed his eyes. He could read it for sure, but it was mainly because he was fluent in japanese literature, the kanji leaping off the page like a 3D movie. The fact that a separate world wrote in japanese but spoke clear English immensely confused him, but he was beyond that at this point. The contents on the page was far more important then the mere language it was written in. This was especially true considering he was looking at a contract, one that would make him a worker of Konohagakure.

"So, you want me to work for the Village? Not you?" Zetuo scanned the contents of the letter, his black eyes rapidly translating the words into English. "Explain."

"Its fairly simple. A simple exchange if you will. All you have to do is provide some contribution to the Leaf in any way possible. As you're from another place entirely, you'd no doubt have some stuff you can provide. In return for developments in the Leaf, we'll provide you with a weekly pay depending on the value of said contributions. You'll also have the added benefit of learning whatever you want in exchange for every idea given." Hiruzen explained carefully as he watched the youth scan the paper carefully. "However, I unfortunately cant allow you to become a ninja do to various reasons. I can still get you trained however should the donation suffice. Cant have you dying should situations arise."

Zetuo finished scanning the contract within a minute or so and, when he was done, he took a seat across Hiruzen with a curious look.

"According to the paper, I dont have any set work hours, wages, or any real tasks. What it says is that I'll have to provide for myself with money earned." Zetuo didnt even need to glance at the paper again to know what was on it, it being committed to memory the moment it came into his sights. "It seems you're aiming for a mutually beneficial relationship. I think I trust you a bit more now. Should you have offered something that favored me, I wouldn't have accepted. Things too good are usually false when it revolves around me."

Hiruzen smiled slightly. "So you agree then?"

"I didnt say that. Id like to negotiate the terms if you'll allow it." Zetuo tapped the desk carefully, a smile on his face. "I only want to make some slight altercations to the previous arrangements."

Zetuo wasn't an idiot, never had been nor never would be. He understood the basics of haggling as well as analyzing every underlying scenario and potential outcome that could come into play. When making a deal, both parties wanted to either be equal or above the other in any way possible, hence why the dealer tried to make all the rules and regulations. If Zetuo were to let the old man lay down the plan without pitching in, readily agreeing without a thought, the majority of the power knowingly or unknowingly fell onto the elder and not Zetuo. This was something the youth had to rectify, needing to be seen as an equal rather then someone that had no choice but to sign. Of course, there was also a possibility of him just overthinking things like he sometimes tended to.

Zetuo calmly laid out his own somewhat modified terms in a careful format on a separate sheet of paper. He didn't change much, the only true condition getting augmented being the training session as general information received through his contributions. He didn't want to spare a single second in garnering info, instead opting to have it changed to something that was provided for free should he continue to be of help. He didn't see a problem with it and the old man could easily rectify it at any given time should he so choose.

"There, how about this?" Zetuo asked as he showed the sheet to Hiruzen. "This should suffice. We can haggle on this if you'd like."

Hiruzen barely even glanced over it before giving a slight nod, tipping his oddly shaped hat towards the youth. Truthfully, he hadn't expected the boy to be so cool and collected, expecting him to be suspicious and at least somewhat frightened. Once again though, his expectations were subverted as he gazed into the kids dark eyes, black hues that held depths of intelligence and confidence, lacking any semblance of fear. It was only now that he noticed how much he had been underestimating this child, treating him like a mere newborn who couldn't walk on his own without his hand being held.

The scars lining the male like decorations was more then enough to remind him that this was no ordinary individual. It was likely that he had been through quite a bit more then other of his own age.

"I agree," Hiruzen said as he signed his name at the bottom, allowing Zetuo to do the same. "You can begin bright and early tomorrow. Just stop by my office before anything else."

Even if he had accepted Zetuo as a worker of the Leaf, Hiruzen still had so many questions he wanted to ask, his curiosity burning a hole through his stomach. What was it like in the other world? How'd he get the scars? Why was his mentality so far past those of his own age group? He felt so lost that he wondered if making the contract right off the bat had been a good idea. The only reason he had really did so was, to be perfectly honest with himself, to ease the guilt that had risen when he the Anbu had had him unfairly imprisoned. Sure the lad could benefit the Village in many ways with his photographic memory, probably pushing them into a new age, but he just hadnt really wanted to kill the boy nor keep him confined.

There were no doubt many other options he could have chosen, but this one, be as illogical as it may be, was the one he picked. He wasnt planning on taking it back.

Zetuo was having a hard time understanding the numerous emotions shifting across the mans face, but he tried not to think about it too much. He trusted that the leader of the Village would at least attempt to honor the contract that had been made, his worries actually shrinking. The only thing he had to fret over now was when the next stroke of bad luck would appear and whether or not it would he big or small.

"I'll have Minato showed you to your new room, he should be just outside the door." Hiruzen reached behind the desk and grabbed an object, tossing it towards the black haired youth. "Also, take this. You dont know how to use chakra yet so this should help you if you need to defend yourself."

Zetuo reached his hand outwards and easily caught it, his reflexes being by far his strongest point.

The object that had been thrown? A long slightly curved sword with a pitch black blade, otherwise known as a katana.

//Work dragged on too long today so I added on to this chap. Tomorrow we start getting serious. I'll upload the rest of this chap and a new one

I shall bring the quality and YOU should be going onto discord...and voting.

https://discord.gg/uQUcWbm