The Young Orochimaru

After receiving his reward, Hibari prepared to leave. The others would undoubtedly be discussing follow-up matters concerning the mission and other village affairs. While Hibari wanted to listen, he also knew that it wasn't appropriate for him to remain given his status, so he wisely decided to excuse himself.

Before leaving, Hibari seemed to recall something. He turned to Hashirama and asked, "Oh, by the way, Hokage-sama, that missing-nin from Takigakure..."

Hashirama's expression darkened slightly upon hearing Hibari's question. He then said, "That missing-nin seems to possess some unknown means of survival..."

Before he could finish, Hibari chuckled and said, "That's perfect. No need to trouble Hokage-sama with it. When I get the chance, I'd like to get my revenge personally."

As Hibari's words fell, Hashirama laughed, then nodded and said, "Good, then I'll leave that matter for you to resolve in the future."

Having confirmed this last item, Hibari didn't linger any further. He bid everyone farewell and then left the office.

After Hibari left, Hashirama thought for a moment, a slightly awkward expression on his face. He then cleared his throat and said to Tobirama, "Ahem, Tobirama, did you forget something?"

Tobirama was momentarily stunned, then immediately smiled and said, "Right, I almost forgot a meritorious person."

Upon hearing this, Hashirama's expression brightened. He then said, "Exactly, exactly, such matters are very important; we can't forget them..."

Tobirama nodded, and once again took a silver bill from the cabinet. Then Hashirama excitedly rubbed his hands together, ready to reach for it. But to his surprise, Tobirama turned and walked over to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, you worked hard on this mission as well. Here's your reward, take it," Tobirama said softly.

Sasuke awkwardly reached out and took the silver bill. He then shook his head and said, "This truly makes me feel somewhat ashamed. I almost let that child Hibari get into an accident..."

"Missions are like that; no one can guarantee anything one hundred percent. Fortunately, that kid was lucky and nothing truly happened, so you don't need to blame yourself," Tobirama said with a sigh of emotion.

Then, without waiting for Sasuke to say more, Tobirama clapped his hands and said, "Alright, what needed to be dealt with has been dealt with. Let's discuss the next matter."

As his words fell, Hashirama's expression immediately crumpled. He then said with great dissatisfaction, "What about me? What about me, Tobirama? I was also a participant in this mission! I traveled thousands of miles to deliver Chomei to Takigakure. Don't I deserve the most credit? How come I don't get a reward?"

Tobirama was fine until he heard this. Upon hearing it, he said, clearly annoyed, "Anija, if you have money in your hands, you'll immediately lose it at the gambling den. Instead of using this money for such things, it's better to keep it and do something practical for the village!"

At this point, Tobirama paused slightly, then continued, "Moreover, as the village's Hokage, you already receive a salary. Contributing to the village is your duty. Do you have no self-awareness as Hokage if you demand payment for everything you do?"

Being rebuffed by Tobirama like this, Hashirama felt a bit deflated. He then said, with a hint of grievance in his tone, "You should treat everyone equally. The Hokage is human too. Besides, spending that money also stimulates the village's economy, doesn't it...?"

"Anija!!!" Tobirama sternly reprimanded, hearing this twisted logic and sophistry.

This actually startled the 'God of Shinobi' who had displayed immense power in Mushiking Valley. He quickly recoiled, shrinking his head and saying nothing more about rewards.

Seeing this, Tobirama didn't say anything further. After all, even though everyone in the room was family and knew what the endlessly dignified Hokage, Hashirama, was like in private, they still had to save him some face.

Just then, the somewhat aggrieved Hashirama caught sight of something out the window.

Hibari, that kid who had suddenly become rich, was walking home, merrily twirling the silver bill in his hand.

Watching this scene, the normally upright and stern Hashirama even developed a hint of cunning and slyness on his face.

'Sigh, how can a child have so much money? It's not good. What if he spends it recklessly? It's better for me, as his Ojiisan, to be more attentive and keep it for him. I'll return it to him when he grows up...' Hashirama thought to himself.

With a 'path to wealth' now in sight, Hashirama no longer argued with Tobirama. Instead, he quickly said, "Alright, those were all jokes. Let's talk about serious matters. Regarding the village's security and daily public order, we need to establish a relevant system to maintain them. Share your opinions, everyone."

"For this matter, we need to gather all the responsible people in the village to deliberate. And we shouldn't rush it; it requires long-term planning. However, I believe the Uchiha clan is quite suitable for this responsibility," Tobirama said.

"With the Hyuga clan's abilities, they seem even more suitable for this role..." Sasuke also joined the discussion.

Leaving aside these important figures discussing matters in the Hokage Residence, Hibari was currently unaware that the enormous reward he had just received was already being eyed by someone with 'malicious intentions.'

At this moment, Hibari happened to see a slender figure standing by a bookstore on the street, staring intently at the shelves filled with books inside.

Watching this scene, Hibari couldn't help but smile. He then naturally walked over to the person and said, "Orochimaru, what are you looking at here, kid?"

Indeed, the slender figure standing by the bookstore was none other than the future 'foremost scientist of the shinobi world,' Orochimaru. However, at this time, he was just a child and had not yet displayed his extraordinary talent in certain areas.

Hearing Hibari's voice so abruptly, Orochimaru showed no surprise. He didn't even turn his head, merely saying with a calm expression, "Reading books."

Hearing this reply, Hibari chuckled and said, "What kind of books can you read here? Just the titles?"

"Titles are also books. I'm calculating which books are suitable for me to read, and what their corresponding prices are..." Orochimaru said softly, his tone still as cold, his gaze unwavering.

Hibari watched this scene, stroking his chin, and felt a pang of emotion.

Look at Orochimaru; he was the same age as his own Tsunade, yet he already knew what he should be doing and had some ideas. In contrast, what about that little Tsunade? She spent her days being mischievous, constantly going out to gamble with his Hashirama-ojii. Just thinking about it was disheartening.

However, Orochimaru's words also made Hibari feel a touch of sadness. Orochimaru came from a civilian background. His parents only became shinobi after the founding of Konohagakure, and their strength was only average. Naturally, they didn't have much of a family fortune, so buying books required careful planning. This made Hibari, who had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, ponder quite a bit.

If Orochimaru had had the same resources as Tsunade since childhood, he would probably be soaring by now.

Thinking this, Hibari naturally felt the injustice of fate for him, but perhaps he was being overly sentimental.

Looking at the large silver bill in his hand, and then at Orochimaru, Hibari grinned and said, "Coincidentally, your Hibari-nii here just completed an S-rank mission not long ago. I just received my reward today, and I have a large sum of money in my hand. I'm in a very good mood, and I happened to run into you, kid, so let me give you a welcome gift..."

At this point, Hibari reached out and put an arm around Orochimaru's slender shoulder, continuing, "Don't just look here. Come on, let's go inside and pick out whatever you like and are interested in. I'll pay for it!"

Pulled by Hibari like this, a surprised look flashed in Orochimaru's eyes, who had been standing still. But then, he didn't refuse anything, allowing Hibari to pull him into the bookstore.

The Senju clan's library could be said to be incredibly vast, so Hibari wasn't particularly interested in the books here. He casually flipped through a few and then sat aside, waiting.

At this moment, it was also because he was still young. Even if his strength was decent, he had no say at home, so it was even less likely that he could casually take Orochimaru to read the family's books. Therefore, he could only help the kid in these aspects.

One thing about Orochimaru that Hibari greatly admired was his extremely strong initiative, and he never acted coy or spoke insincere pleasantries.

Upon entering the bookstore, he didn't hesitate at all and very seriously began selecting the books he wanted, not even bothering with courtesies towards Hibari.

Before long, he walked over to Hibari, carrying stacks of books that almost covered his eyes. Although he didn't speak, Hibari understood his meaning.

Then Hibari chuckled and asked, "Is this enough?"

Orochimaru still looked at Hibari with a calm gaze and said, "At my current level, these introductory books are enough for me to study repeatedly for a long time. It's too much to digest more; these are sufficient."

Hibari laughed and nodded, listening to Orochimaru's very methodical words, saying, "As long as you think it's good."

Then he reached out, took the books from Orochimaru's arms, piled them on the shop owner's table, and said, "Owner, how much is it?"

The owner looked at Hibari, then smiled and said, "Isn't it young master Hibari? It's quite novel to see you buying books. Let me see..."

After carefully counting, the shop owner said with a smile, "It's a little over one hundred forty thousand ryo in total. I'll round down the change for you, young master. One hundred forty thousand ryo will be enough..."

Hearing this, Hibari's eyes almost fell out. One hundred forty thousand ryo??? Was he buying jewelry? This was enough for a shinobi to earn for a B-rank mission; it was truly exorbitant.

Seeing Hibari's surprised expression, the shop owner chuckled and said, "Young master, you haven't bought these kinds of things before, so you naturally don't know the market. These books record knowledge; they're precious. And the ones you chose are all good books, so they're naturally worth this price. If they were stories or manga, they would be much cheaper."

-------

Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]