Gaining a Tool Ninja - Hatake Kakashi

Meanwhile...

"Ahem!" With a small adult-like demeanor, Naruto tried hard to maintain a serious expression, mimicking his father's mannerisms.

He then addressed Kushina and Karin, "We, the Whitebeard Pirates, first and foremost, are a pirate crew."

"A pirate crew's primary duties are to claim territories, plunder treasures, and recruit companions!"

He was explaining the ways of the Whitebeard Pirates to his "new sisters" recruited by his dad.

Seeing Naruto's enthusiastic and serious manner, Kushina didn't interrupt him. Instead, she listened attentively to this little adult with a gentle smile.

"Claiming territories, plundering treasures, recruiting companions? Is that what Dad is doing now?" Karin held her mother's thin hand, her small face full of confusion.

"Exactly!"

Naruto gave her a thumbs-up, still clumsily mimicking Whitebeard's way of speaking. "Karin, you're very perceptive, just as expected from a member of my family, Uzumaki Naruto!"

"We've already taken down Kusagakure. Now the whole village is our territory. This is what 'claiming territory' means. From now on, Kusagakure must pay us taxes every year."

"Of course, since this is our territory, any attack on Kusagakure is an attack on the Whitebeard Pirates, a provocation to us!"

"Dad said, if anyone dares to do that, the Whitebeard Pirates will definitely retaliate and crush them!"

Naruto was already thinking like a pirate. However, he didn't aspire to become a Pirate King since the concept didn't exist in the ninja world. Instead, he wanted to surpass the Hokage, making him a little pirate with big ambitions.

"Recruiting companions is easy to understand." Naruto continued, "We are all family members recruited by Dad. He always said family is the most important! The Whitebeard Pirates, from the beginning till now, always uphold... uphold..."

"Uphold?" Kushina helped with the word Naruto struggled with.

"Oh! Yes!"

Naruto, who had never attended school, suddenly realized, "Dad said the Whitebeard Pirates have always upheld the principle of family first. Family is everything; the Whitebeard Pirates are a family!"

Naruto saw himself as Whitebeard's son and the first crew member of the new Whitebeard Pirates. He felt the responsibility to explain things to the "newcomers."

He was repeating what Whitebeard had told him before, though not completely, as the hot-blooded fool couldn't remember everything clearly.

"Family, a home." Kushina's thin hand holding Karin's trembled slightly. Even as an adult, facing these luxurious words, she found it hard to remain calm. She looked at Naruto. Since last night, this Uzumaki child was also her family now?

Thinking of this, Kushina's gaze towards Naruto became even more gentle.

"Hehe!" Naruto suddenly showed an excited smile like a little fox. "And what we, the Whitebeard Pirates, need to do now is plunder treasures! Dad told us to find where Kusagakure hides its treasures!"

"Kakashi-san! Please!" Naruto turned to Kakashi, who was looking exasperated with black lines on his face.

"...Got it."

Kakashi's dead-fish eyes were filled with reluctance, but he had no choice but to comply because it wasn't Naruto asking him; it was Whitebeard's order.

"Ninja Art: Summoning Technique!" Kakashi took out a scroll, bit his thumb, and slammed his hand onto the scroll.

Poof—

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

A pack of nin-dogs, all wearing Konoha forehead protectors, were summoned, causing Naruto's eyes to light up.

"Kakashi-san, can you teach me this?"

Naruto's eyes shone like flashlights.

Kakashi ruffled Naruto's hair and decisively refused, "First master the Three Basic Jutsu I taught you a few days ago."

"Kakashi, why did you summon us again?" The only talking nin-dog, Pakkun, had a more dejected face than Kakashi and yawned.

With one hand in his pocket and the other on Naruto's head, Kakashi said, "Pakkun, you can smell the ink of money, right?"

"Of course, I can." Pakkun replied, confused, "You want me to track human money? That's not a smell I like; human money is the dirtiest thing."

"Yeah!" Kakashi nodded. "Find where Kusagakure hides its money."

Pakkun, feeling weary, sighed deeply, "This doesn't seem like your style, Kakashi. It must be that Whitebeard who ordered it, right?"

Kakashi looked at Pakkun. Pakkun looked at Kakashi. Their three gazes met in silence.

"Understood."

Pakkun sighed deeply, feeling that his future as a dog would be difficult if he had to keep sniffing for money.

Kakashi turned to Naruto, "Follow Pakkun and you'll find where Kusagakure's money is hidden."

"Great!" Naruto was delighted, his smile bright.

The nin-dogs worked efficiently, even though much of Kusagakure had turned to rubble, and the air still smelled faint blood. They still found the place where the smell of money was strongest – beneath the collapsed office building of the Kusagakure leader!

But the large pile of rubble made Naruto scratch his head.

"Maybe this uncle can move these things away?" Karin timidly suggested.

Naruto: "Oh, right!"

Kakashi: "..."

"Kakashi-san~" Naruto looked up at Kakashi.

"...Alright."

Given another choice, Kakashi would rather defy the Third Hokage's orders than follow Whitebeard and Naruto again.

Kakashi took a deep breath and said, "Step back a little."

He quickly formed hand signs.

"Earth Style: Earth Fissure Technique!"

Rumble!

The ground split open, and the rubble moved to the sides, revealing a large underground space—nearly a thousand square meters.

Kakashi looked down, even though he was stunned.

"How much money did the Kusagakure leader embezzle from the village?" he muttered.

The nearly thousand-square-meter space was filled with stacks of money, each pile at least 1.5 meters high and about the size of a double bed, totaling over a dozen piles.

In addition, a small pile of gold bars was in the corner, shining brightly in the sunlight. It looked like they had discovered a bank vault.

Kushina murmured in shock, "These banknotes combined must be worth at least two billion ryo. And the gold might sell for another two billion ryo."

"Four billion ryo?!" Kakashi's dead-fish eyes widened.

Even a large ninja village like Konoha only had an annual budget of ten billion Ryo.

"This village leader was really good at embezzling money..." Kakashi sweated.

No wonder Kusagakure looked so impoverished. Even their ninjas didn't have a few explosive tags on them.

So...

The money was all here!

...

...