Chapter 45   - Blatant Bribery

Hiruzen was currently sitting inside his office and was reading his favorite book. While reading, a perverted chuckle would occasionally escape his lips.

'Hehe, no matter how often I read this, I simply can't get enough of it. There are rumors that the author is working on his next book, but no information on when it will be released. Will it be a sequel to "Garden of Lilies "or a completely new storyline? I really can't wait.'

These rumors were, of course, spread by Yuna herself. There is no better advertisement than having people talk about it after all. She plans to release her new book in a few months when the rumor mill is at its peak.

Hiruzen was just about to turn the pages when he heard someone land on the window frame of the window behind him. In his mind, the only one who would do something this brazen was Jiraiya. Hiruzen turned around with a scowl on his face and was just about to start scolding Jiraiya when he completely froze up. Instead of a middle-aged man, he was crossing eyes with a young teenage girl. His hands blurred and with a speed that might even surpass him at his peak, he hid away his book inside one of his drawers.

"Yo, old man. I want to talk about something important."

Hiruzen was slightly relieved when Yuna apparently didn't notice the book he was reading but was also rather confused about why she came to his office through the window.

"I'm, naturally, happy to help you with your problems, but why did you decide to come through the window? You should know, that my job is very important and not everyo…"

"I saw the book you were reading."

"…as I said, whatever it is I can help you with, I will naturally do so."

"Haha that's good, but you should know, that the matter I want to talk about is really important."

After that sentence, Yuna discreetly pointed at the trigger for the privacy seals. Although Hiruzen had no idea how Yuna knew of the correct position, he simply decided to ignore that for now and simply activate the seal. He was currently thinking about how he could convince Yuna that he wasn't brazenly reading porn inside his office.

"Alright, we can talk freely now. What is so important that you had to interrupt me finding out about Konoha's current trends?"

"I am here to make a little deal with you in regards to the team assignments. There are a few things I would like your…support with. Oh, by the way, I know that book was released years ago."

Hiruzen could feel a dagger pierce his heart after Yuna revealed his lie, but he still kept his stoic face. As for her request in regards to the team placements, he wasn't surprised in the slightest.

'She probably wants to be in a team with Naruto and Hinata, but that, unfortunately, is impossible. Having both Jinchuuriki in the same genin team can't be allowed, after all.'

"Well, I am an old man and have a lot of work to do, so it is rather hard to keep up with the trend. Being a few years behind is nothing unusual at all. As for your request, I, unfortunately, have to den…"

"Now, now, let us not say anything we might regret later, okay"?

Yuna quickly raised both her hands and stopped Hiruzen from saying more. Hiruzen couldn't help but look at her weirdly.

'Why does that sound like she wants to threaten me. Does she think she can threaten me, now that she has seen me reading that book? No, I don't think she would be that stupid.'

While Hiruzen was pondering what Yuna might be planning, she pulled out a small book, that looked rather similar to the one Hiruzen was just reading. She carefully put it onto the table in front of Hiruzen and then crossed her arms in front of her and waited for Hiruzen to make a decision.

Hiruzen couldn't help but be slightly taken aback at how confident Yuna seemed. He carefully picked up the book and inspected it. He was slightly surprised that it was actually signed, but a sneer of disdain quickly appeared on his face.

'Hehe, not a bad move and I have to admit that it probably wasn't easy to get your hands on a signed copy, but… aren't you looking down on me? I, naturally, have my own signed copy safely stored away at home. You won't be able to bribe me this easily.'

"I'm surprised you got your hands on this, but bribing the Hokage isn't that easy."

At this point in time, Hiruzen had already forgotten that he wanted to convince Yuna that he wasn't reading porn inside his office. By thinking he could be bribed with a simple signed copy, Yuna implied that she didn't think he had one. That naturally went against his pride of being a true fan and he had to put her in her place.

Yuna's smile, however, only widened after Hiruzen's rejection.

"Ohh? Are you sure about that?"

For some reason, a shudder went through Hiruzen's body. The last time Yuna acted like this was when she finished off Inoichi. He gave the book another glance and that came to a mind-blowing realization.

'No, way! It cannot be one of THEM!'

Hiruzen lifted his head and gave Yuna another glance. The only thing he could see in Yuna's eyes was mockery. She was looking down at him for thinking that a signed copy was already the peak. For being a frog in the well that doesn't know how high the heavens truly are.

With shaking hands, Hiruzen picked up the book again. He carefully turned the pages like they were the most breakable material in the world and finally reached THAT page. After reading THAT name, his mind almost exploded.

'THIS IS A REVIEW COPY THAT WAS SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR!!!'

It took Hiruzen a few minutes to regather his thoughts, but when he did, he carefully closed the book, put it into a safety sleeve that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, put it into one of the drawers of his table, and then closed the drawer, causing a few seals to light up to confirm the closing process.

A grandfatherly smile appeared on Hiruzen's face.

"Haha, Yuna, no need to worry. As this village's Hokage, it is of utmost importance for me to help my citizens out. If you want me to shuffle around the team assignments a little then I will naturally do so."

Yuna really wanted to give Hiruzen's shamelessness a thumbs-up, however, since it fit her agenda, she would ignore it for now.

"As expected of the Hokage, you really are great. Anyway, here are my requests: Put Hinata, Naruto, and me in different teams. I have been babysitting those two for quite a while now and it's time for them to learn to walk on their own legs."

Hiruzen only nodded at that. He planned to separate Naruto from the two anyway and put him in a team with two other genins. As for Yuna and Hinata, they were supposed to be part of the five-team cell under Kurenai Yuuhi that specializes in tracking. A sensor as ridiculous as Yuna would naturally be a good fit for that team. Since Yuna seems to have her own ideas, he didn't mind accommodating her for a bit.

"As for the second request, hehe, I want you to put me in a two-man cell. Just me and a jonin and I want that jonin to specialize in infiltration and assassination."

"Absolutely not! Why would you want that!?"

"Hehe, no need to worry about that. Just assign a jonin to me. From what I heard, jonin's can reject the genin's that were assigned to them, if they deem them not suitable. Just make sure the Jonin tests me fairly and if he or she still rejects me, I will just join another group. How does that sound?"

Hiruzen ponders Yuna's offer for a while and then nodded his head in agreement. He will just give Yuna to a jonin and tell the jonin to reject her no matter what happens. That should solve the problem.

"Oh, by the way. I might have put a seal on that book, that turns it into dust after getting activated. If I feel like I am being tricked I might get angry and, totally on accident, of course, activate that seal. Oh, well, see you later, old man."

Hiruzen nodded his head in understanding. As the Hokage, there was, naturally, no way he would trick one of his citizens with dirty schemes, so there was no need for Yuna to worry about anything.