"Alright!" Hiruzen waved his hand and said, "It's settled then. The developnt of the drug takes priority. Once the drug is developed, we'll still need to rely on your Pharmaceuticals Departnt for production."
Turning to Koharu, she was left speechless, though her mood clearly didn't improve. Drug developnt was extrely ti-consuming, labor-intensive, and resource-draining, and there were so many parts of it that could be manipulated.
If she was only involved in the production after the developnt phase, the benefits she could reap will be significantly reduced.
How could she not be furious?
Moreover, if this guy ended up showing even more value, wouldn't that an she would no longer be able to easily deal with him?
That would be unacceptable.
After all, she had once carelessly said a lot of things she shouldn't have. If he were to use that against her, could she really co out unscathed?
"Enough! Tsunade, Orochimaru, you two leave for now," Hiruzen waved at his two disciples.
Tsunade and Orochimaru nodded, exchanged glances with Shin, and walked out of the office. As soon as they and Sakumo left, the atmosphere in the office changed completely.
"Didn't I give the order that you're not allowed to train?" Hiruzen asked, his tone slightly cold.
"Yes, you did give that order. And I've strictly followed it ever since," Shin replied, nodding.
"You expect to believe you haven't trained secretly all these years?" Hiruzen pressed.
"Whether I trained secretly or not isn't sothing others might know, but you?" Shin looked directly at him, his tone suggesting it was a ridiculous question. "You're the Hokage. You had surveillance teams rotating shifts to monitor . After they were withdrawn, Sakumo watched constantly. How exactly was I supposed to train?"
"Then how do you explain your level of skill?" Hiruzen asked.
"Is it really that impressive?" Shin sighed, slightly disappointed. "Besides, when I fight, I rely on natural brute strength. I don't know those flashy jutsus, after all."
"And the teleportation?" Hiruzen asked, finally addressing what concerned him most.
"That? That's even simpler to explain."
"Everything in our world exists within what we call 'space.' And every location contains spatial energy," Shin explained. "With the right perception, you can sense it. Of course, I don't know if others can sense it, but I've been able to feel it clearly since I was a child."
For the next half hour, Shin elaborated at length. He described how, since childhood, he had an extrely keen sense of space. How it puzzled and bothered him for years.
Until, by chance, he overheard soone talking about how the Second Hokage could teleport by traveling through space. That sparked his curiosity, and he couldn't stop thinking about it.
Not only did he recount his own experience, he broke down and explained the principle behind teleportation, laying it bare for everyone to understand.
He described how, bit by bit, he discovered he could communicate with space, and eventually figured out a way to teleport.
He didn't care about sharing it, because he knew no one else could replicate it anyway. After all, what needed to be taught, Tobirama had already taught countless tis. If they could learn it, they would've learned it long ago.
But hearing his story like this made everything seem very real.
To demonstrate, Shin picked up a small ornant from the desk. He let go with his right hand, and instantly, it appeared in his left hand, just like magic.
"So two years ago, you suddenly gained the ability to teleport?" Hiruzen asked, disbelief written all over his face.
"Yes, it just happened all of a sudden."
"Then why didn't you co report to ?" Hiruzen questioned.
"I tried to find you," Shin said with grievance. "Two years ago, while working in the Pharmaceuticals Departnt, I asked Koharu-sama to arrange a eting with you. But either she never passed along my request, or you were inford and chose to ignore it. Either way, nothing ca of it."
Hiruzen nearly choked. Because he did rember sothing like that. One day, two years ago, he did wonder why Shin was suddenly so insistent on eting him.
At the ti, when Koharu ntioned it, he had just snorted coldly and completely ignored it.
Damn it... Of course, back then, the reason Shin wanted to et Hiruzen wasn't because he had mastered the Flying Thunder God technique, it was because he was planning sothing else.
But since Hiruzen refused to see him, that plan fell through, and he never explained why he wanted to et the Hokage. Now, this situation happened to provide a perfect excuse.
"I wanted to inform you properly, but you wouldn't see ," Shin continued. "How is that my responsibility?"
"You're saying that two years ago, when you were requesting a eting, it was because of this?" Hiruzen asked again, seeking confirmation.
"What else could it be?" Shin shrugged. "I wouldn't bother you over so trivial matter, would I?"
"Then why didn't you explain the reason?"
"Do I have to explain the reason just to see you?" Shin asked, puzzled. "I hadn't t you before, I didn't know the protocol. And besides, is this the kind of thing you can just casually tell anyone?"
"You couldn't even explain it to Koharu?" Hiruzen pressed further.
"Back then, she treated with constant contempt," Shin said with so irritation, clearly complaining. "I wasn't inclined to share anything significant with her. I'd heard the Hokage genuinely cared for Konoha's citizens, so I wanted to speak with you directly. Too bad you weren't interested in what I had to say."
"Nonsense," Danzō interjected coldly. "This story is absurd. If you had mastered teleportation, why remain under surveillance? Why not simply leave?"
"Why would I run?" Shin asked, genuinely confused. "That's a strange thing to say. I'm a citizen of Konoha. My ho is in Konoha. Even if I couldn't beco a ninja, I was still living a decent life. Why would I want to run? Just because I'm being watched, I should run? What kind of person do you take for? Why would you say sothing so insulting?"
His tone had grown visibly angry by the end.
Why should he run? Because they were planning to kill him. But could anyone actually say that to his face?
Yet, at that mont, Hiruzen suddenly had a realization: Could it be that Shin truly didn't know they intended to kill him?
And once that idea took root, it suddenly made perfect sense to him.
Yes, that was right. Over the past seven years, they had only monitored him, never actually taken action against him. It would be entirely reasonable for him to have no idea. Even though the idea had been discussed privately among the village's leadership, it had never been shared publicly or put into motion.
So there was no way Shin could've known.
In the end, this "irreconcilable conflict" he'd always assud between them... was really just his own long-standing desire to eliminate Shin, a bias he had projected onto the situation.
Maybe, in Shin's eyes, he still saw him as a good Hokage. Otherwise, why would he have wanted to report his teleportation ability to him two years ago?
Wouldn't that actually be a sign of trust? So... could Shin truly still be soone he could make use of?
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