"Need a piece of empty land?"
"Yeah, about this big!"
Namikaze Minato looked at the size Lin Yu was gesturing, his face twitching slightly. Was he planning to build a village, or a clan compound?
Minato said with a grimace, "There's no empty land that big in the village. Are you planning to build on the training grounds?"
"Training grounds? How about renting me the Forest of Death?"
Lin Yu had stayed with Konan for many days and had truly experienced the splendor of a Zhennan King. Such a good girl must be taken home.
But the thought of his own dilapidated shack made Lin Yu scratch his head frantically. Why hadn't he thought of building a villa or a mansion before?
Times had changed, and land prices had soared. Fortunately, the ninja world was his own turf, so they shouldn't cheat him, right?
"You really dare to think that far..."
Minato was speechless. Could the Forest of Death be rented out? That place was for testing ninjas' wilderness survival skills. If he dared to rent it out for housing, he'd probably be kicked out of his position the next day.
Of course, this was just talk. Currently, the higher-ups in Konoha were almost all from his generation, and they would give Minato Namikaze some face.
Lin Yu said unhappily, "Konoha is one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, so why is its territory so small? Haven't you thought about expanding, Minato?"
Minato frowned at this and said, "The village can be expanded, but large-scale expansion requires the approval of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. After all, the entire Land of Fire belongs to the Daimyo."
"How about we kill the Daimyo and rule ourselves?"
"Uh..."
Minato panicked and quickly said, "Actually, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire is quite good. Compared to the Daimyos of other countries, he's already quite decent."
"And the annual subsidies given to Konoha are also very generous."
"Is that so..."
Lin Yu stroked his chin. He suddenly remembered something he hadn't done yet. The Third Hokage had owed him wages, and he had decided to get Asuma and Jirō together.
Judging by the timeline, Asuma seemed to be part of the Twelve Guardian Shinobi, who were the bodyguards of the Daimyo. It seemed he needed to go to the capital of the Land of Fire to fulfill his promise.
It was a good opportunity to see what kind of person this Daimyo was. If his son was arrogant and overbearing, he would kill him. If his daughter was too ugly, he would also kill him. If Asuma and Jirō hadn't gotten together, he would kill...
Seeing that Lin Yu seemed to have abandoned his previous idea, Minato breathed a sigh of relief and said, "By the way, I remember there are many empty spaces in the Senju clan's territory. You can discuss it with Tsunade. If she agrees, I'll approve it for you."
"The Senju clan is still around? Haven't they all died off?"
Minato was speechless. What kind of talk was that, making him, Minato Namikaze, sound like a tyrant.
"The number of Senju clan members has greatly declined. After the Third Shinobi War, they were almost wiped out, but a few did survive."
"The Senju and Uchiha clans are both messes left to me by the Third Hokage!"
Lin Yu patted Minato's shoulder, cheering him on, "Work hard, Minato! Remember not to owe me my salary, and don't forget I'm also a part-time instructor at the Ninja Academy!"
"..."
Minato Namikaze opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he didn't know what to say. The Third Hokage had really left him with all sorts of problems.
What a damn old immortal!
...
Achoo!
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was fishing by the river, sneezed for no reason, scaring away the fish that were about to bite.
"My fish! Who is badmouthing me behind my back!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's white beard twitched twice, and he regretfully reeled in his fishing line and re-baited the hook.
"Lord Third, how's your catch today?"
"Yo! Sakumo, why are you alone today? Where's Might Duy?"
The person who arrived was the white-haired Sakumo Hatake. Compared to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sakumo looked quite young and capable.
"He's at the hospital for a check-up. After so many years, Duy still insists on going for weekly check-ups. It's truly... alas!"
There was an indescribable look on Sakumo Hatake's face, a mixture of relief at his old friend's perseverance and helplessness at being unable to help.
"Is that so? That's a shame. Duy is an excellent ninja." Hiruzen Sarutobi also sighed. He had seen Might Duy's rehabilitation training over the years, but the effect was truly minimal.
"However, his son, Might Guy, has not disgraced him. He has already become a Jonin at a young age, and his taijutsu surpasses his father's."
Sakumo Hatake eased the atmosphere with his words. The remaining members of their generation spent their days discussing the younger generation to pass the time.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard and chuckled, "Guy is indeed good, but your Kakashi is also very outstanding. Minato said that Kakashi has already become an ANBU squad leader, which is not something an ordinary ninja can do."
"Hahaha, this Kakashi is stronger than me."
When it came to his pride and joy, Kakashi, Sakumo Hatake couldn't stop smiling.
Unbeknownst to the two old men, not far from them, the two young prodigies they were talking about were playing a game of rock-paper-scissors.
"Kakashi, I will definitely win against you this time!"
"Guy, you say that every time. What's the result?"
Kakashi pulled down his mask and glanced around, relieved to see no one else.
Every time Might Guy challenged him to a competition, Kakashi wished he could cover his eyes, but his shock of white hair was too conspicuous to hide his identity.
"Today is different! I got inspiration from Teacher Lin Yu! A true man should play the Iron Ninja Triathlon!"
"Iron Ninja Triathlon? What's that?" Kakashi asked, confused.
Might Guy bared his shining teeth and gestured to Kakashi, "It's swimming, cycling, and running!"
Kakashi made a wry face, "What's so special about these?"
Might Guy thought for a moment, scratched his head, and said, "It doesn't seem like there's anything special."
"..."
Kakashi sighed and put his hand to his forehead, saying, "Then which one do we compete in first?"
"Swimming, of course!"
"Come on! Let's take off our clothes together!"
...
Bang!
Orochimaru's laboratory was rudely pushed open, which made Orochimaru, who was conducting an experiment, frown. However, upon seeing his major financier, he immediately beamed with joy.
"Lin Yu-kun, what brings you here today? The cloning experiments have progressed significantly, but they still require some time for observation."
Lin Yu first glanced at the bespectacled boy next to Orochimaru, then said to him, "Kabuto, go play with Kidōmaru and the others for now."
Kabuto looked at Orochimaru, and after receiving a nod, he carefully tidied up his tools and left the laboratory.
"Kabuto is a clever child."
Orochimaru looked at Lin Yu and said with a sinister grin, "Lin Yu-kun, do you have something important to discuss with me?"
Seeing Kabuto leave, Lin Yu cleared his throat and whispered, "This kind of thing shouldn't be heard by children. Orochimaru, can you make aphrodisiacs?"
"What?"
Orochimaru wondered if he had misheard and asked again.
"Aphrodisiacs! You know, the kind that stimulate desire, preferably for men! And the effect should be strong and potent!"
"..."
Now it was Orochimaru's turn to be unsettled. Putting aside the fact that he, the world's foremost scientist, was being asked to make aphrodisiacs, he could accept the requirement for potent effects.
But what the hell was a "male-male type"? Was Uzumaki Lin Yu out of his mind to ask him, Orochimaru, to create such a thing!
"Perhaps you can try it on Jiraiya later."
"Hiss! I'll get right on it!"