12. Inspection from Hokage

I am back on schedule. Was a bit sick for a while! Starting this week, I will maintain a schedule of 7 chaps/ week since I have drafted an outline for the story.

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"Damn!"

Akio is in a sour mood as he slumps on the table.

"50 points for the credit score?" He mumbles to himself.

'Why does this system act like the shoddy banks from my previous life?'

He shakes his head and puts the entire ordeal at the back of his mind.

'I already have 410 points. It will take me another week or so to get 500 points. I can wait for that many days. Sigh…'

He sighs and closes his eyes and focuses on the conversation between his mother and Ajuka. With his almost superhuman hearing, he can easily hear any conversation within a radius of 10 meters.

'Father was a former anbu member who retired and then took a genin team under his leadership. Ajuka Nii-san was one of his students. I think it was more like, Hiruzen was the one who assigned his son to father!'

Tap… Tap…

While Akio is lost in his thoughts, he hears the sounds of footsteps slowly approaching the shop.

"Another customer?!"

Akio quickly fixes his posture and patiently waits for the newcomer.

'Customers were gods in my past life. They are System ATM… ahem… I mean they still are!'

Soon, the figure of a middle-aged man in red and white haori with the Hokage hat appears in his vision.

'Speak of the devil! He really has a long life. I bet he will live for 69 years.'

Akio maintains a calm expression as a turmoil of emotions rolls in his heart.

'Why is he here? Is he here for another order? Is the order going to be big? Or is he here to interrogate me again? Will he question me about Yamato? Or is he here for inspection?"

Numerous questions flash through Akio's mind as the sudden appearance of Hiruzen startles him.

Fwoosh…

An invisible wave of Nature energy enters his body from the Nature energy ring and calms his nerves.

He quickly stands up from his seat and arrives in front of the shop.

"Hokage-sama! How can I be of service to you?" Akio bows in front of Hiruzen.

"Oh!"

Hiruzen raises an eyebrow as the image of a red-haired man overlaps with the current Akio.

'He really is similar to his father!'

Ahem…

Hiruzen clears his throat and answers.

"I am here on a casual inspection! You can continue."

Hiruzen gestures to him.

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

Akio stands up and enters the shop as he leads Hiruzen in.

"This way, Hokage-sama!"

Mm…

Hiruzen nods and looks around.

Akio's expression returns to normal.

'Does he have enough time to roam around for a casual inspection when his successors are always drowned in a load of paper works?'

Hiruzen continues to look around while Akio is lost in his thoughts.

'The reign of the Third Hokage was the longest among all the Hokages. He made lots of good reforms but also made multiple terrible mistakes. Ignoring Danzo's growing ambition, the slaughter of the Uchiha clan is a few among them.'

Akio stares at the back of the Hiruzen as he remarks to himself.

'Unlike his successors, he doesn't have the wisdom of a Nara behind his back. Tsunade had Shikaku while Kakashi and Naruto had Shikamaru. The only Nara head of Hiruzen's generation, died early with the Second Hokage.

The current Shikaku is too young to make any major influence in decision-making as the Elder Council overrules his suggestions. Well, with time he will surely grow dependent on Shikaku.'

Akio nods his head as Hiruzen curiously stares at the boy while looking at the sales register in his hand.

'This boy isn't bad. His composure and demeanor are just like his father's. He could have been a great asset to Konoha, only if not for the incident.' Hiruzen sighs helplessly.

While Hiruzen is focused on the register, Akio scrolls through the shop menu and stares at the D-eagle. His gaze almost burns a hole through the shop menu.

'Where could I get the remaining 90 points?'

Akio clicks his tongue and looks around.

'Wait!'

His gaze stops on Hiruzen, who is inspecting the tax documents of the shop.

A smile appears on Akio's face as he speaks to Hiruzen with the most pleasant tone he could muster.

"Hokage-sama! Would you like to buy anything from the shop?"

Akio's brows twitch as he maintains his unnatural smile of his.

'How can I forget about such a big fish?'

Hiruzen closes the register and shakes his head.

"Nothing for now!"

"Is that so?"

Akio's smile disappears and his usual bored expression returns.

"…"

Hiruzen silently stares at Akio as he ponders.

'I already sent Shinku here to buy the supply for the fresh batch of academy exclusively. Is this boy not satisfied with that?'

Hiruzen's opinion of Akio changes as he questions.

"Didn't you have a huge order a few moments ago?"

Hiruzen points towards the previous order on the sales register.

"Well!"

Akio scratches his head as a glint flash through his eyes.

"Hokage-sama! How is Asuma these days? I heard he was preparing for the graduation from the academy."

"Asuma, he!"

"Asuma is a good friend of mine. We usually hang out together!"

Akio quickly makes a cover-up story.

'How can I allow such a big fish to escape my net? I have to fork out some money from him! Also, Asuma came here a few time with Ajuka Nii-san"

"Asuma just graduated from the academy." Hiruzen nods his head.

"Then Hokage-sama, what gift are you planning to give him to wish him success in his Shinobi Career? It has become a tradition in these past few years."

Akio asks him with an innocent expression.

"Well!"

Hiruzen is lost for words as he voices out.

"Is there such a trend in the new generation? Why have I never heard about it?"

'How could you! I just made it up myself.' Akio rolls his eyes.

"Hokage-sama! We have a wide range of weapons to select from. Please pick your choice and gift a suitable weapon for your son!"

Akio quickly leads him towards the weapon room.

'Oh?!'

Hiruzen raises an eyebrow at the enthusiasm of Akio.

'Well! I will consider this gift as repayment for my earlier blunder. This way I could lift some burden off my chest.'

"Alright! Show me all of your best weapons." Hiruzen gives his approval.

Poof… Poof… Poof…

Akio quickly opens one scroll after another and demonstrates a wide variety of weapons, from swords, sabers, tantos to Kusari, hammers, clubs, and scythes.

Most of these weapons are custom weapons issued by multiple people over the years. However, the owners met with a tragic end before they could fetch their weapons.

The shop incurred losses, but it wasn't much since the shop has the policy to deposit a security fund equivalent to half the cost of the weapon before the forging of the custom weapon.

Akio shakes his head and continues to demonstrate weapons to Hiruzen.

'In all these years, the shop has become popular under mother's management. I can't tarnish that reputation.'

Hmm…

Hiruzen frowns as the current line-up of the weapons dissatisfies him.

'Asuma doesn't like heavy weapons, and he isn't interested in swords, saber, and tantos.'

Hiruzen looks around to search for a suitable weapon for Asuma.

"Oh?!"

A pair of trench knives hung on a remote corner of the wall garners his attention.

"How about them?!"

Hiruzen points towards the chakra knives.

"Hmm!"

Akio raises his head and turns towards the wall pointed by Hiruzen.

Ah!

His eyes widen in surprise as he recognizes the pair of trench knives hung on the wall.

'Isn't that the signature weapon of Asuma? What's it doing in my shop? No, wait! Does this mean our shop is the source of this weapon? Why did I never notice them before?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

Akio quickly dashes towards the knives. He removes them from the wall and presents them to Hiruzen while singing the praise of the knives.

"You have good eyes, Hokage-sama! These chakra blades are made from a special chakra metal found in the mines of Land of Silence.

The wielder can use any kind of elemental chakra in these knives to enhance their sharpness. These knives are designed for close-combat fights but are also useful for mid-range fights. By infusing wind chakra at the tip of the blade, the user can effectively increase the range of the weapon."

"Oh?!"

Hiruzen wields the knives and infuses wind chakra in them to check the claim.

Humm…

With a humming sound, he infuses a large amount of wind chakra into the knives to form a foot-long wind blade.

"Incredible!" Hiruzen exclaims in surprise.

The sudden release of the chakra jolts Akio.

'I almost forgot about it.'

He hurriedly opens the system menu to check Hiruzen's stats.