"Come in."
Hii Kōri knocked. Tens of seconds later, a response came from behind the door.
Entering the office, he surveyed his surroundings. Same as always. As the Third Kazekage's self-selected "prison cell," this place naturally lacked lavish décor—average size too.
Judging by the desktop documents, the Third Kazekage had hastily packed them in those tens of seconds.
Seeing it was Hii Kōri, the Kazekage's work posture immediately slumped. His expression clearly said, "If I'd known it was you, why bother pretending?"
Normally, entering the Kage's office requires Anbu notification.
But those familiar knew the Third Kazekage was basically here, eagerly awaiting anyone to chat and kill time. So they'd canceled notification—it would eliminate the sense of surprise.
Hii Kōri was a regular in this building, sometimes wandering various departments delivering documents for Chiyo. The stationed Anbu were accustomed.
(Above-ground offices still required notification, though.)
Now, Hii Kōri pulled a stack of design drafts from his coat and laid them on the Kazekage's desk.
Shuriken summoning circulation system optimization? That could wait. First, lie—ah, request some funding.
He cleared his throat, preparing to demonstrate his exquisitely ingenious communication skills.
What defined smart communication? Four steps:
Politely greet, introduce yourself, start from close relationship to draw each other closer, then present desired goals.
"Dōmo, Vegeta-san, Hii Kōri desu. Please give me money."
"No—who the hell is Vegeta?!"
The Third Kazekage choked on his water, coughing on the table, then helplessly shot back.
This question had troubled him nearly three years. Since their first meeting, this kid had called him by that name.
He'd probably never learn the answer.
How could Hii Kōri explain? Say his hairline resembled a certain bedrock jinchūriki?
Some things you just can't understand just by explaining.jpg
As for Hii Kōri asking for money immediately?
Perfectly normal.
All research costs money. Initially, no one expected results. Now they were long accustomed to this kid suddenly appearing with new ideas and bizarre funding requests.
They say 21 days form a habit. Hii Kōri had been in Sunagakure far longer, and his contributions? Not much?
Setting aside everything else—numerous puppet structure and concept optimizations, co-developed with Chiyo. His three-month-cycle custom ninja tools, sealed with techniques he called "cursed tools," received rave reviews.
Even if he weren't Uzumaki, these contributions alone earned the Third Kazekage's attention.
Remember—Hii Kōri wasn't even ten yet.
Moreover, his sealing and barrier technique mastery already let him spin Sunagakure's barrier team with one hand.
Initially prepared to nurture him over a decade before seeing returns—never expected such talent.
Maybe time to show him that thing...
Casually flipping through Hii Kōri's drawings, the Third Kazekage considered.
"This device is indeed good. But your annotations suggest incomplete design?"
Using the drawings as conversation starter, "Vegeta" broke the office's calm atmosphere.
Despite distraction, as a combat-oriented Kage, he couldn't miss this device's strategic significance.
Shuriken might be useless in jōnin combat. But battlefields mostly comprised genin and chūnin. Tying up jōnin, this launcher could area-attack genin groups.
Shuriken consumption? Insignificant to Sunagakure.
Wind Country's mineral resources were abundant, and the forging industry was mature. Cost-wise, Sunagakure's advantages over other villages.
"Right. Miniaturizing the summoning circulation loading system's a bottleneck. Without miniaturization, puppets can't carry it."
Hii Kōri pointed at the blueprints, explaining the technical difficulties. "But fixed emplacements feel wasteful. Wind Country's city defense system basically doesn't use this—this damned desert is the best line of defense. Sunagakule always attacks out; no one wants to attack Wind Country."
"So I'm considering—continue miniaturization, or redesign the structure into a mobile artillery vehicle. Latter option? One or two weeks for the final draft, then production."
Though here to "cheat" funding, Hii Kōri wasn't hiding anything. He laid out the advantages and disadvantages clearly.
Treating others as fools made one the real idiot. This machinery couldn't fool seasoned ninja, let alone a Kage. As long as he brought reasonable proposals, funding came relatively easily.
"No rush then. I'll approve funding—keep researching."
The Third Kazekage pulled a stack of slips from his drawer, scribbled a few lines, tore one off, and handed it to Hii Kōri. "Focus on preparing for the chūnin exams. After passing, approving funding gets easier."
"Chūnin exams... no pressure."
Glancing at the slip—numbers acceptable—Hii Kōri tucked it into his coat, boringly scratching his chin.
Really, no pressure. Chūnin exams? There wasn't a chūnin in Sunagakure he couldn't beat. Using all means? He could even touch jōnin.
Problem: fighting within the village, even sparing couldn't use lethal force. Given Hii Kōri's positioning, Sunagakure wouldn't allow out-village missions—not at this age.
Unrelated to strength. For freedom out-village movement, he'd at least need to leave his Uzumaki bloodline in the village first.
"Bored, huh? Then take on a mission. A-rank, at that."
"A-rank? That thrill?"
Hii Kōri's gaze—previously staring at his fingernail as if flowers grew there—immediately perked up.
A-rank missions involve village or national strategic trends, potentially affecting regional balance of power. Usually troublesome matters requiring jōnin.
But given to him...
"Ah... I see. It's that sealing thing, isn't it?"
The red-haired boy's eyes narrowed and he asked with determination.
"Tch. I hate perceptive brats like you."
***
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