After the farce ended, Sakumo still refused to call Aniki.
Kawaki had fully indulged in being the big - brother in front of Nawaki and then, grinning sheepishly, approached Sakumo.
"Aniki, let me teach you."
"No need. You're my big brother."
Sakumo was still fuming. This little rascal is all grown up but still trying to piss me off.
"Aniki, stop fooling around."
Kawaki raised an eyebrow, his tone flippant.
"Have some backbone. If he doesn't want to learn, let it be."
Natsuki watched the two of them acting weird and stepped in to stir things up. The Ghost Mastiff wisely stayed out of the fray.
This was a human matter, none of the dog's business.
Sakumo shot his wife a sideways glance. She's here to mess me up.
"Who says I won't learn."
"Let's go, let's go."
Sakumo said as he grabbed Kawaki and walked to the side, leaving Natsuki behind.
"The most important thing about the Flying Raijin is to sense the power of space."
"Aniki, I can't guarantee you'll learn it."
When it came to business, Kawaki was serious.
Suddenly, his expression changed abruptly. He took out a Scroll with the Flying Thunder God Slash written on it from his bosom.
"I only learned it by chance with the help of Lady Mito."
"Learn the Flying Thunder God Technique first and give it a try."
With that, Kawaki handed the Scroll to Sakumo.
If Sakumo could learn the Flying Raijin, he wouldn't be able to use it continuously like Kawaki because of the limitation of his Chakra Reserves Amount.
However, it would still be useful in combat. As the future Legend of the White Fang, his Chakra Reserves Amount couldn't be underestimated.
Sakumo took the Scroll and started studying it.
Before long, the Flying Thunder God Technique appeared on his Tantō. This part didn't pose any difficulty for him either.
The next step, sensing the power of space, started to give him trouble.
No matter how earnestly he tried to sense the Flying Thunder God Technique, he made no progress.
Kawaki was at a loss as well. It all depended on Sakumo's own understanding.
He started daydreaming again, thinking about the moment when he held Tsunade in his arms.
By this time, Tsunade had arrived at the Third Hokage's office.
A box of silver notes was opened and placed right in the middle of the office.
"Teacher, this is One Hundred Million Ryō in silver notes."
"Next, we'll start construction."
Tsunade stood across from the Third Hokage, looking relaxed. The journey had been peaceful, and no one had tried to take the money from her.
"Hehe, the Hatake family is really wealthy."
"I thought it would take some more time."
"Now the village's facilities like schools can be improved."
"It's a good deed for the village."
The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, and the smile on his face seemed genuine.
Tsunade admired her teacher at this moment. After all, under his leadership, the lives of the Konoha civilians had indeed improved.
"Teacher cares about Konoha. It's our luck."
"Haha, I'm just a successor of the Will of Fire."
The Third Hokage laughed heartily. He was truly the continuation of the Will of Fire.
Homura Mitokado and Nemu Koharu's faces began to show a nostalgic look. It was a pity that their teacher was no longer around.
"Is Kawaki Hatake very close to you?"
The Third Hokage suddenly changed the topic and asked Tsunade.
"Why do you ask, teacher?"
"With such a large sum of money, he didn't even come to deliver it himself. Is he afraid of an old man like me?"
What the Third Hokage said was exactly what Tsunade had been worried about. Now she remembered how Kawaki had put his arm around her waist in the warehouse.
A blush unconsciously crept onto her face.
"We're good friends," Tsunade said. How credible this statement was could only be judged by the Third Hokage. (It refers to whether the credibility of Tsunade's words can be judged by the Third Hokage.)
"I see. You can go back if you have nothing else to do," the Third Hokage said.
"A great war is about to break out. Pay attention to your safety." The Third Hokage finally showed concern for Tsunade. After all, there was a Jinchūriki in her family.
"Okay, sensei," Tsunade replied.
"Goodbye, advisors." Tsunade bid farewell to everyone and exchanged a smile with Nemu Koharu. The two had already reached an agreement.
After leaving the Hokage Building, Tsunade didn't know where to go. She felt too embarrassed to go to the Hatake family for the time being, so she simply went into a casino.
The legendary big spender had arrived at the casino again. The gambling - addicted ninjas in Konoha flocked to the small casino, packing it like sardines.
Tsunade happily rolled the dice, unaware that her act of giving away money was clearly seen by the Root ninjas.
In an underground chamber, a Root ninja knelt on one knee in front of Tanzō.
"My lord, Tsunade has already delivered the money to the Hokage's office," the ninja reported.
"So soon. It seems the Hatake family is really wealthy," Tanzō said.
Tanzō still sat in the main seat of the underground chamber. Root ninjas were keeping an eye on every move in the Hokage Building.
His wild ambitions were obvious. Only the Third Hokage could tolerate such a person.
"Next, they will start the construction of the hospital," Tanzō said.
"Notify the Uchiha clan to get ready. We'll act when the opportunity arises." Tanzō ordered his subordinate to deliver the message, unaware that the Uchiha clan leader had the same idea as him.
How could two old foxes cooperate whole - heartedly?
As soon as he gave the order, the Uchiha clan was already well - prepared.
The Root ninja thought he could freely enter and leave the Uchiha clan's territory, but unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped into the clan land, he was captured by two captains of the Uchiha Security Force.
He was escorted before the Uchiha clan leader.
"So it's a subordinate of Lord Tanzō," the clan leader said.
"Let him go right away." The clan leader put on a grand air, clearly showing the Root a warning.
"I thought he was a spy, so I captured him," the two captains said, pretending to apologize as they released the Root ninja.
"Lord Tanzō sent a message. The construction of the Senju clan's hospital will start soon," the Root ninja finally spoke up, having remained silent throughout his capture.
Thanks to Tanzō's brainwashing and the Tongue - Severing and Root - Eradicating Seal (a special seal in the story), he had created a group of emotionless ninjas. Tanzō was truly ruthless.
"Go back and tell Lord Tanzō that we, the Uchiha, will definitely cooperate," the clan leader said, then waved his hand to signal the Root ninja to leave.
Fugaku then spoke up, "Clan leader, how shall we arrange things?"
"Isn't that piece of land for the hospital under surveillance day and night? Let's wait and see if there's any movement," the clan leader said calmly. He was much more patient than Fugaku.
～～～～～Divider～～～～～
For the whole morning, Sakumo had been trying to master the Flying Raijin. His spirit was commendable.
Unfortunately, apart from having a clearer sense of the jutsu formula, there was no progress at all.
Seeing the sweat on his face due to excessive mental exhaustion, Kawaki advised him.
"Aniki, take a rest," Kawaki said.
"It can't be mastered in one day." He had forgotten that he himself had mastered the Flying Raijin right in front of Sakumo within just one morning.
"Sure enough, Aniki can't hold a candle to you."
Sakumo had no choice but to admit that he was outmatched. His younger brother was extremely gifted and truly out of his league.
With that, they stopped their training and walked over to sit down at the stone table.
Natsuki had thoughtfully prepared cold tea and pastries, her eyes full of pity.
Her husband was perfect in every way, but just too stubborn.
"Have something to eat and take a rest. Training isn't a one-time thing."
With a sigh, she offered words of comfort, knowing that Sakumo must still be fuming inside.
"Got it."
Sakumo's gaze softened as he smiled at his wife. He picked up a pastry and fed her a bite.
"Kill the doggie! Kill the doggie!"
Kawaki yelled, startling Sakumo. Natsuki blushed and walked away.
Hearing Kawaki yell 'Kill the dog!', the Ghost Mastiff, which had been lying under the tree, got up and disappeared from the martial arts training hall in a second.
As the only dog in the Hatake family, did it really want to just sit there and wait for death?
It finally found Natsuki by following the scent and then hid in her arms, whimpering in fear.