Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 323: Five People Make the Trip

Become!

Nara Shikanobu was overjoyed, but his face still maintained that awkward expression that said, "I'm very touched, but I don't want to trouble you."

"This won't do... One of you is responsible for the village's food supply, and the other is responsible for the meat supply. You're both working very hard..."

"This little thing is nothing compared to everything you've done for us from the rear," Hatake Sakumo said, his voice calm and firm.

"Let's assign tasks, Antlers. Isn't the point of having companions to share the burden?"

Looking at Sakumo's face, which was full of "seriousness," Nara Shikazu knew that he was completely saved.

The last bit of guilt he felt for dragging his friend down with him vanished.

"Since... that's what you've all said."

Nara Shikaku slowly stood up, his previous listlessness vanishing instantly, replaced by the demeanor of a strategist in command.

He walked up to the mountain of documents and began sorting them with practiced ease.

"Let's get the wind!"

"exist!"

"These are the material requests and financial reimbursement forms from various departments."

Shikano pulled out a large stack of scrolls and tossed them to Akimichi Toru, saying, "You Akimichi clan are most sensitive to the conversion of food calories and value. Go over all these accounts for me, and mark down any discrepancies, even if it's just a single copper coin!"

Akimichi Torifu stared at the pile of scrolls filled with numbers, his confident expression instantly freezing, and his mind began to buzz.

"Sakumo!"

"Um."

"This is the file submitted by the Anbu and Root, detailing the compensation for the families of all the fallen ninjas." Shikaku took out an even thicker scroll and solemnly handed it to Hatake Sakumo.

"The records and lists of those receiving compensation need to be checked one by one to ensure that every penny is accurately delivered to the hero's family. This task requires absolute care and precision; there can be no mistakes. I trust you the most to handle this."

Sakumo Hatake solemnly accepted the scroll, his expression as if he were receiving not a document, but an S-rank mission concerning the survival of Konoha.

He even nodded slightly at the scroll.

"We guarantee the mission will be completed."

And so, thanks to the ingenious arrangements of Nara Kazumi, a heartwarming "consolation tea party for model workers" quickly turned into a high-intensity "crash course" scene.

Nara Shika was finally able to sit back in his seat. He picked up his chopsticks, took the piece of braised scorpion leg that he had been eyeing for a long time, and put it in his mouth.

Fresh, fragrant, spicy, and sweet flavors explode in your mouth, and the scorpion meat has a firm and chewy texture, full of wild vitality.

good to eat!

He squinted his eyes happily, savoring the food while watching his two friends work.

Sakumo Hatake was already in the zone. He fully unrolled the scroll and laid it on the ground. He knelt on one knee, holding a file in one hand and a list in the other. His eyes scanned back and forth at an incredible speed, his fingers tapping rapidly on the scroll, and he muttered something under his breath.

That level of focus and efficiency left Nara Shikanobu in awe. No wonder he's Konoha's White Fang; he's professional in everything he does.

On the other hand, Akimichi Torifu's art style is completely different.

He stared at a pile of accounts, looking distressed.

He fidgeted with his chubby fingers for a moment, then took out his little abacus and started clicking away. But his brows furrowed more and more tightly.

Suddenly, as if faced with some enormous problem, she abruptly raised her head and looked at Nara Shika, who was leisurely eating.

He held a half-eaten skewer of grilled scorpion meat in one hand and a bill in the other, his face etched with genuine bewilderment.

Akimichi Torifu held a half-eaten grilled scorpion skewer in one hand and a bill in the other, his face full of genuine confusion.

He looked down at the sizzling scorpion meat, then up at the paper covered in numbers, and finally, his gaze settled on the face of Nara Deer Antlers, who was leisurely eating.

"Deer antlers, what...what does that mean?" he asked earnestly, his thick fingers carefully pinching the thin piece of paper, as if afraid of crushing it with the slightest force. "What does it mean to 'cross-check the logistics department's third squad's meal reimbursements from last month with the standard menu to find any overflows'?"

Nara Shikazuchi slowly swallowed the scorpion meat in his mouth, then picked up the warm sake brought by Hatake Sakumo and took a small, contented sip. The warmth of the alcohol slid down his throat into his stomach, dispelling the fatigue that had accumulated over the past day and night. He let out a comfortable sigh, then lazily raised one eyelid and glanced at his old friend, who was lost in a daze of knowledge.

"What I mean is," Deer Antlers pointed with his chopsticks at the large stack of scrolls in Qu Feng's hand, "that I'm showing you whether they've been indulging in excessive eating and drinking, and whether they've spent more money than the village allows."

This explanation is easy to understand; Akimichi understood it instantly.

"Oh! They're investigating corruption!"

He slapped his thigh, his voice booming so loud it made the documents on the table jump. "I know this! Anyone who dares to embezzle the village's food money, I'll be the first to beat them to a pulp with a human wave tank! Leave it to me!"

Seeing Torifu's overflowing sense of justice and his readiness to get down to business, Nara Shikanobu's guilt about scheming against his old friend completely vanished. He even felt that he had made the best use of everyone's talents and resources, discovering a potential disciplinary committee member for the village.

"Cough, it's not that serious, it's just checking the accounts." Shikano waved his hand, reassuring his friend who was already agitated in a nonchalant tone, "You just need to match these expense reports with this 'Konoha Ninja Wartime Standard Rations Manual'."

As he spoke, he pulled out a thick booklet from another pile of documents and handed it over.

Akimichi Torifu took it and curiously opened it.

"For a regular genin during a D-rank mission, the daily food allowance standard is: no less than 3,000 calories in total for three meals, including 500 grams of staple food and 150 grams of high-quality protein..." Qu Feng read it out in a measured manner, nodding from time to time. "Hmm, this standard is reasonable, and it's enough to fill you up."

He continued flipping through the pages.

"Elite Chunin, B-rank long-term stationing mission, meal allowance will be increased by 30%, with additional fruit and dried meat rations..."

"Jonin, leader of A-rank high-risk missions, will receive a 50% increase in meal allowance, and may be provided with soldier rations and special nutritional supplements as appropriate..."

The more Akimichi Torifu read, the more serious his expression became. He wasn't looking at a dry set of rules, but rather examining a sacred cookbook. In his eyes, it wasn't just numbers and words, but a matter of paramount importance concerning whether each of his comrades would have enough to eat and the strength to fight.