Malphegor
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IUTT: Ch. 51
🕑 Added 2025-05-13 19:47:45 +0000 UTC"Is this your attitude toward carrying out a mission? I need an explanation!" Seeing that Sakumo remained silent, Hiruzen took it as silent admission and questioned him sternly.
Sakumo took a deep breath and explained, "I sincerely apologize. Monitoring someone around the clock all by myself has indeed been overwhelming. I wasn't slacking off at first. It's just that after nearly five years, Shin hasn't shown any suspicious behavior, so lately I've been…"
"I don't want to hear excuses from someone who doesn't do their job properly," Hiruzen interrupted, wearing a self-righteous expression.
"I've failed in my duties. Please punish me, Hokage-sama!" Sakumo dropped to one knee, sincerely admitting his fault.
"You've contributed much, and you're the sole heir of a clan. Your mistake isn't exactly severe. Tell me, how do you think I should punish you?" Hiruzen asked with apparent reluctance.
Putting on a look of deep remorse, Sakumo said, "For my dereliction of duty, I should be removed from ANBU as an example to others."
"That would leave a blemish on your ninja career," Hiruzen reminded him.
"I understand, but I willingly accept the punishment," Sakumo declared.
This was a strategy proposed by Shin, retreat to advance. There was no turning back now. He had chosen to keep believing in Shin's words.
"Forget it. I don't want to make things hard for you either," Hiruzen finally said, feeling that his point had been made. Sakumo had shown the proper attitude, no need to really destroy him.
"Why don't you resign voluntarily?" Hiruzen suggested.
"Thank you!" Sakumo exclaimed with relief.
That same day, he resigned from ANBU and returned home, planning to rest for a while without immediately taking on new missions. Though he was the last of the Hatake clan, his family was wealthy.
Before being assigned to monitor Shin, he had taken on numerous missions and earned a substantial amount. Even if he stayed home from now on, he could still live very comfortably. Right now, he was focused on resolving his lifelong bachelor status.
Watching Shin and Tsunade flaunt their relationship every day, he couldn't take it anymore. But he didn't want to approach Shin directly since they were supposed to be on bad terms publicly.
Now it was just a matter of waiting for Shin to show up. Then, with everything going according to plan, his marriage would be settled!
---
Back at Tsunade's house, Shin told Tsunade and Mito everything that had happened in the Hokage's office.
Upon hearing that he was finally free, both women were very happy.
But Mito still reminded him, "Even though you're no longer under surveillance now, you still need to be on guard. If those people realize they've been fooled, things could get very troublesome."
"I understand," Shin agreed without hesitation.
His main focus now was research, he had no time to deal with those people. He was curious to see what kind of sparks he and Orochimaru would generate by collaborating.
---
Three days later, in a remote forest east of Konoha, far from the residential areas, Shin looked at an inconspicuous, rundown two-story building.
It looked dilapidated from the outside, and even worse on the inside. It clearly hadn't been maintained in years.
"Orochimaru, is this the new research facility you mentioned? Is there some kind of hidden underground space? Stop stalling, hurry and show me."
"Uh… no, there's nothing hidden. This is it, this is the whole thing." Orochimaru, also taken aback, replied speechlessly.
When the Third Hokage had approved this location earlier, he had been thrilled. He immediately dragged Shin over to check out the new lab.
But the result…
"But sensei said," Orochimaru quickly added, "this entire area, including a three-mile radius, is now ours. We can modify it however we like."
"Wait, what about your old research lab?" Shin asked curiously.
"He used to dislike my research. He thought I was wasting my time on unimportant things," Orochimaru explained calmly. "He had expectations for me and often lectured me about it, so I used to conduct my experiments secretly in the basement of my house. Later, when he realized he couldn't talk me out of it, he just let me be. But I never bothered to move, I just expanded the basement."
At not even 18 years old, Orochimaru hadn't yet started conducting forbidden research, so he didn't need multiple secret bases to avoid being discovered. But once Shin joined, it was clear that his home basement was no longer sufficient, so he applied for special approval for a piece of land. Unfortunately, the outcome had been disappointing.
"Oh well, it's fine." Shin was actually quite satisfied with the location, remote, spacious, and it could be redesigned exactly how he wanted.
The only downside was that the research would now be delayed.
"Well then, let's get started!"
He dragged over a shaky old table, laid a blank sheet of paper on it, and began working on a layout plan for the research facility while discussing future research directions with Orochimaru.
As their discussion deepened, the outline of the lab gradually came to life on the paper.
Orochimaru looked at the blueprint and licked his lips. "Isn't this a bit over the top?"
"Why? Don't you have confidence in yourself?"
"No, no, no!" Orochimaru shook his head. "I have full confidence in both you and myself, just not in our budget. With this design… how much funding would it take?"
Shin grinned and said, "That depends on your skills. Hiruzen is currently supporting you. As long as we produce results, he'll definitely approve the funding."
"But we don't have any results to show yet, do we?"
Hearing this, Shin reluctantly pulled out a storage scroll from his chest and handed it to Orochimaru, who opened it and began taking out box after box.
After opening one of them, a bright smile immediately spread across his face. He licked his lips again and said, "I can see your resolve."
Each box contained 50 million ryō, and there were six boxes total, 300 million ryō in all.
"That's all the money I have," Shin said seriously. "I only have two requirements. First, speed. Finish it as fast as possible. Second, don't cut corners, and prioritize the items I specifically request."
"Don't worry. Give me half a month, I'll get it done," Orochimaru replied confidently now that they had the funds.
