In the final minutes of the meeting, Hiruzen Sarutobi announced several personnel decisions, which included the rewards for Haruto Saito. He emphasized multiple times that appointing Haruto as the Minister of Commerce was also part of the rewards.
This was a strategic move to silence critics who might attempt to impeach Haruto based on his young age. Unless they could propose an equivalent reward, which was impossible, their objections would be meaningless. Only Hiruzen had the authority to appoint a minister-level official.
In the last minute of the meeting, Haruto pulled out a large stack of money and handed it to Koharu Utatane.
It was a fine!
During his bargaining session with Hiruzen in the prison, they settled on a fine amounting to a total of 200 million Ryo.
Haruto accepted it!
He paid!
Not because he had surrendered, but because this was one of the conditions for his appointment as Minister of Commerce. Moreover, the power vested in the Ministry of Commerce was beyond anyone's imagination. They had no idea how Haruto planned to use his newfound authority.
If he didn't earn back 200 million within a few months, he'd cut off his own head and use it as a football!
...
Under the night sky, the lights of Konoha Village sparkled!
Haruto walked out of the Hokage building with Hiruzen Sarutobi and then proceeded to the Anbu base. Hiruzen had to personally announce Haruto's appointment as the leader of the Anbu Assassination Squad.
This was tradition!
While the Anbu Captain had the authority to appoint members to other positions within the Anbu, they could not directly appoint the leader of the assassination squad. That required the Hokage's personal decree.
Upon arrival at the Anbu base, Hiruzen gathered all the Anbu shinobi.
Inside the central Anbu cave, over a hundred Anbu members, including non-combat personnel such as medical and research staff, assembled.
Hiruzen stood on a high platform.
In the front row stood White Fang, flanked by Assistant Captains Shinjo and Haruto.
"I hereby announce that, effective immediately, Haruto Saito is promoted to Captain of the First Anbu Squad and Leader of the Assassination Group. He will assume his duties at once!" Hiruzen declared sternly, sweeping his gaze over the crowd. "Does anyone have any objections?"
The question was purely rhetorical.
No one dared oppose the Hokage!
Even if they wanted to, they couldn't. Haruto's achievements were too overwhelming. The combined accomplishments of the entire Assassination Squad's current members didn't even come close to his alone.
Many believed Haruto's direct combat abilities were inferior to Mutsu's, and that his feats—such as eliminating a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and destroying the Mist's vanguard camp—relied on explosive tools. However, assassination was not about direct combat.
With the appointment complete, Hiruzen departed the Anbu base.
Haruto, now in charge of the assassination unit, led his squad to the Assassination Hall.
At present, only thirteen ninja remained in the assassination group. The rest had perished in the previous mission in the Land of Whirlpools, including the formidable Blood River.
"Greetings, Captain!" the remaining members knelt on one knee and saluted Haruto.
This was standard protocol—a new leader had to be formally acknowledged.
"Rise. Good…" Haruto said with a casual wave of his hand, fulfilling the formalities before walking over to Mutsu. As the former leader, Mutsu had automatically been demoted to deputy.
"I might be very busy soon, so you'll still be responsible for the squad's daily operations. You can report directly to White Fang. Also, the recruitment of new members is in your hands. That's all." Haruto delegated all responsibilities to Mutsu and left before giving him a chance to refuse.
Though Haruto was aware of Mutsu's hostility towards him—even suspecting Mutsu of leaking information that led to his previous ambush—he didn't mind using him for convenience.
Managing the squad? Haruto couldn't care less.
As for assassination missions… he knew he wouldn't be leaving Konoha anytime soon. If Hiruzen allowed him to take on a mission, it would be a miracle. That's why he was more than happy to play the role of a hands-off leader.
As he reached the central hall, Haruto initially intended to leave the Anbu base and go home. However, after some thought, he turned toward another corridor.
He needed to see someone.
Ten minutes later…
In the deepest part of the Anbu base, the prison.
The door slowly opened, and Haruto stepped inside.
Inside the cell sat a lone man on a straw mat. He looked up at Haruto's entrance and smirked. "You're finally back."
It was Terado!
After more than two months apart, Terado looked exactly the same.
"Master Terado, how have you been? Did you miss me?" Haruto asked with a grin.
"Yes," Terado answered bluntly.
Of course he missed Haruto—he refused to speak with anyone else in Konoha! He still wished to pass down his entire skillset to Haruto, so Haruto could fulfill his dream of becoming the greatest assassin in the ninja world!
The cell door closed.
Inside, just like old times, the two started talking.
But this conversation was different.
Haruto didn't perform magic tricks this time. Instead, he detailed his recent mission in the Land of Whirlpools and sought Terado's guidance. He described the assassination process and asked how Terado would have handled it differently.
After all, Terado was once the greatest assassin of the Hidden Rain Village!
Although some now called Haruto the greatest assassin in Konoha, he knew deep down that, in terms of assassination skills, he was still not Terado's equal.
Not just in assassination—even in direct combat, if Terado were unsealed, he could likely defeat Haruto with ease.
"…That's how I killed Kaguya Roka. Master Terado, do you see any flaws in my approach?" Haruto inquired.
"You did well," Terado said flatly. "However, there's room for improvement. The essence of assassination is to strike unseen, leave no trace, and retreat instantly. Since you used explosive tags, a commotion was inevitable, but you should not have left any trackable evidence… Were you pursued afterward?"
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist chased me."
"Exactly! Because you left too much evidence. You coughed up blood… You crashed into Kaguya Roka to plant the explosive tag and got injured. You couldn't fight back. Do you realize how dangerous that was? If your target decided to kill you on the spot and you resisted, you would have been exposed!"
"Mist shinobi wouldn't do that. It was just an accidental bump."
"But what about the village chief? Would he have intervened to curry favor with Kaguya Roka?"
"Uh…" Haruto hesitated.
Indeed, if he had been an ordinary person, he would have been beaten to death. That meant his plan had a major flaw!
"If it were you, Master Terado, how would you have done it?" Haruto asked eagerly.