Chapter 102: Chapter 101: Kidnapped by the Uchiha
"Dignity? I haven’t had dignity in years."
— Deadpool, Deadpool
--
"This is not a small scandal. This is the kind of thing that turns ninja clans into executioners, hungry for the blood of anyone who covets their bloodline. And this record seems to show experiments on clans from all around the world, including the Uzumakis."
Shisui nodded
"If this spreads, every major clan will demand accountability."
"And no daimyō," Hiruzen continued, "will want their own funding records examined too closely."
If this is true, it would put every ninja village against that Grass Daimyō. Bloodline experimentation is a sensitive topic, after all... No clan would tolerate it. The other daimyō would just distance themselves immediately from this case.
And that...
That could be leverage against anyone demanding Otis’s head.
A slow smile crept onto his face.
(Pic)
"Interesting."
Otis crossed his arms.
"So?"
Hiruzen leaned back.
"...So you didn’t assassinate a Daimyō, Otis," Hiruzen said slowly. "You just executed a criminal."
The narrative had already changed with Hiruzen’s few words.
In a single sentence, the Daimyō stopped being a ruler and became a criminal.
"If we handle this correctly," Hiruzen murmured, almost to himself, "this could turn into something else entirely."
Mikoto blinked.
"...Like what?"
Hiruzen’s fingers tapped the file again.
"We will look like the ones who uncovered those atrocities happening in that village."
His eyes shifted to Otis.
"You do not become a rogue who killed a Daimyō."
Another tap..
"You become the shinobi who exposed illegal bloodline experimentation. A hero"
Otis tilted his head.
"...Hero?"
Mikoto paused, briefly imagining Otis as Konoha’s hero. As her eyes shone at the image.
(Pic)
Hiruzen ignored them both.
"And perhaps," he added thoughtfully, "we can leverage this to secure additional funds from those involved in it."
Funds.
(Pic)
Otis’s eyes lit up with alarming intensity.
The word ’money’ had barely left Hiruzen’s mouth before his hand was in the air. For the first time that day, he looked genuinely enthusiastic.
"Don’t forget," Otis added, "compensation for my injuries. And the life-and-death battle I fought against their ninja. Also the emotional trauma."
He paused, completely serious.
"My bear is traumatized as well," he added solemnly. "Severely."
Hiruzen blinked.
"How did your bear come into all this?" he asked.
"Because the daimyō was... well-fed," Otis clarified. "She ate him. That is the source of the trauma."
Mikoto lowered her head this time, even her composure breaking slightly.
Shisui finally lost the battle and let out a snort of laughter before clamping both hands over his mouth.
Hiruzen closed his eyes.
"...Emotional trauma," he repeated.
"Yes."
"...For the bear."
"Yes."
Hiruzen rubbed his temples
"...I need to think," he muttered.
His gaze drifted toward his pipe
"...And I need something stronger.".
"Bring me the emergency blend," he said to the ANBU stationed outside.
Silence lingered for a moment...
Then Hiruzen looked at Otis again.
"Anyway, You are not in trouble. For now," he said firmly.
He paused.
"But only from the front."
His gaze hardened.
"Officially, you are justified."
"Unofficially," Hiruzen continued, "you have terrified every daimyō on this continent."
He folded his hands together.
"From now on, you’ll have to fight from behind. This evidence can protect you, but every daimyō, whether from a small village or a great nation, even the Fire Daimyō, will look for another way to strike."
Otis smirked faintly.
"...I figured."
Mikoto snipped one last stubborn strand.
Snip
"There," she said with satisfaction. "At least you’ll look presentable when the enemies come knocking on your doorstep."
Shisui coughed lightly, trying very hard to look serious again.
Hiruzen exhaled slowly.
"...Summon the council," he ordered the ANBU.
He looked at Otis one last time.
"And you already have a bounty on your head. About ninety million ryō. So be careful."
Then he waved them away.
"Now... get out of my office. All of you."
...
As Otis reached the door
"Wait!"
Otis paused.
"Before you go," Hiruzen added, "remember you will be instructing your first class tomorrow."
Otis blinked once.
"...Right."
...
Otis stepped out of the Hokage Tower, stretching his shoulders.
Fresh air. Peace. Freedom. Freedom at last.
He had every intention of going home, collapsing face-first into his bed, and not moving until noon the next day.
But unfortunately, he had exactly three seconds of freedom.
"Where do you think you’re going?" Mikoto asked sweetly from behind him.
He turned.
Mikoto stood there wearing the kind of smile that meant he had already lost.
"You look thin."
Otis looked down at himself.
"Please don’t joke with me, Mikoto-san. I’m eight foot one."
"You look thin for your stature, then," she repeated.
"Oh? When?" Mikoto asked immediately, narrowing her eyes.
Otis’s gaze shifted left. Then right. Anywhere but her face.
"...Recently," he muttered in a small voice.
Before she could respond, he tried to walk away, fully intending to ignore this troublesome woman.
But Mikoto grabbed his collar...
"..."
She did not let go
What followed became a public spectacle.
Villagers slowed to a stop.
Then they stared.
A relatively small, elegant Uchiha matriarch dragging a literal giant down the street by the collar like an oversized misbehaving child.
It looked absurd.
Otis stared blankly into the distance.
(Pic)
This might actually be the most embarrassing moment of his life.
Maybe... maybe he should have agreed when she had asked nicely. And where is all that strength coming from in that small body? Chakra is truly terrifying.
She just kept walking.
"You are eating dinner at my house," Mikoto said flatly.
"Can you let go? I can walk, you know. I won’t run away," Otis said.
"No."
"..."
A faint smirk touched her lips
More villagers stopped what they were doing and openly stared.
A few shinobi pretended very badly not to watch.
A shopkeeper whispered, "Is she kidnapping him?"
Another muttered, "Pretty sure he could stop that... look at his size. Maybe that’s his fetish."
Somewhere in the crowd, one man pounded his fist against the ground.
"That should have been meee!"
Otis’s blank eyes swept over them all as he told himself
I will remember your face, motherfucker. Justice will come... even if it’s late.
Otis’s eyes locked onto one man in particular.
You. Especially you.
"...This is humiliating."
--
Author’s Note:
Join my P@treon, where future Chapters already exist and yes, you’ll get to see chaos before anyone else.
Biggest motivation? Watching those numbers rise. Stonks 📈. Every patron adds fuel to my ego and keeps the Chapters coming.
Or just support me here if you prefer
/pacifist01
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter