__________ POV Narration __________

Hiruzen sighed as he took another puff from his small pipe.

His short black hair was covered by his red kage hat, he was also wearing the white mantle that came along with his position.

Underneath that, he wore a black jumpsuit, clothes very much similar to those of the traditional ninjas of old.

He was quite shocked to learn that he now had to meet the Red Dot, leader of the Dark Brotherhood.

Sakumo gave him a quick report of their conversation while the Assassin was waiting outside his office.

He was closely monitored by Sakumo's Anbu Squad, but he was there on peaceful matters regardless of that.

The Hokage understood the situation to some extent, but there were still many questions to ask, and the masked assassin didn't seem to be too interested in giving Sakumo detailed answers regarding everything.

Although polite, the Red Dot was not exactly open when speaking to others, so it was going to be up to Sarutobi to find out more.

The contents of the mission he had for them were also quite interesting to the Third Hokage...

'Meet and speak to Jiraya, of the Three Sannin.'

It was a rather simple request, almost effortless from Sarutobi's point of view. But it did carry the specific risk of Jiraya being the Red Dot's target in some way or another.

A hidden village was never going to truly trust an outsider. Even if they did join in.

Sure, Jiraya was strong. But Sarutobi doubted that he would be able to handle the likes of the Red Dot.

Hell, he knew his students best. So he doubted that all three of them together would be able to handle Ken.

The rumours he had heard painted Ken as someone that even he would have trouble fighting.

'But there shouldn't be any reason to worry for now... He hasn't shown any hostility, and he is known to not go after villages unless they slight him in some way...'

Sarutobi already understood that Ken's attack on the Mist Swordsmen was a personal matter. And he also already knew that the Grass Village in the past was the one to try and assassinate him first.

So to him, The Red Dot was still a third party that didn't quite wish to fully get involved in their wars.

But some things he needed to check personally...

"Call him in... And all of you leave my office, give us some privacy..."

The Third Hokage spoke out to his Anbu.

Despite their apprehension, not one of them dared to go against Sarutobi's orders. The room was emptied in seconds, and Ken stepped into it right after.

The assassin looked much as Sakumo had described him. Taller than other official descriptions, but otherwise looking exactly the same.

"Lord Hokage... A pleasure to meet the God of Shinobi in the flesh..." The Assassin certainly showed manners. He even bowed slightly when faced with the Third Hokage.

He conducted himself in a way befitting a political guest more so than a danger to the village. That the Hokage could certainly appreciate.

"Oh, the rumours always overexaggerate everything... It is a pleasure to see you as well, I was hoping to meet you one of these days..."

Sarutobi was a modest man, so he quickly signalled to the assassin to stand straight. It wasn't that he felt uncomfortable with people bowing to him, but an outsider with the Red Dot's reputation doing it just felt wrong...

"Well, that makes two of us... I'm sure you've been briefed on my little request..." The blind assassin smiled under his mask as he spoke out.

He didn't bother giving out his name, as the Hokage hadn't bothered to introduce himself properly either. Ken wasn't against keeping things professional regardless.

'The Hokage seems friendly enough... At least friendlier than his Anbu...'

The Spec Ops of the village was always going to be suspicious of an assassin that strolled in and requested something off of their village.

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Ken wasn't going to outright blame them, or feel offended by their suspicion. But it was still annoying to deal with.

The fact that the Third Hokage was not similar in demeanour to A, the deceased son of the Raikage, was a good sign to him.

It meant that a proper negotiation was on the table.

"I did read about your request... I must say, we will need a few more details regarding it before accepting it.

I'm sure you understand, but the Snanin are a great asset to the village. Above all, they are also my students, so I must look out for them."

The old Hokage spoke out with honesty, showing care for his students, something that Ken didn't quite expect off of the leader of a hidden village...

Normally, they would be quite impartial with everyone unless they were part of their families. They needed to be so as to not show favouritism in any matters.

If too many people felt dejected about 'preferential treatment' then things could quickly get ugly. But it all depended on the loyalty of the shinobi at the end of the day...

"I don't mind giving you more details... I was expecting to have an explanation to give. I wanted to give it directly to you, however..."

The Hokage nodded, allowing the assassin to continue while he studied his mannerisms with a sharp gaze.

The assassin didn't move much when talking. His lack of presence coupled with that made Sarutobi feel almost as if he was speaking with a statue...

"My goal is actually Mt. Myōboku, the home of the Great Toad Sage. I need to speak to him. Your student is the only person that may be able to get me there..."

The Hokage stroked his pointed beard.

'Gamamaru is the one he's seeking, huh?... I may need to find out more, I doubt Jiraya would be willing to help with just this much information.'

"... The Great Toad Sage? He is a revered figure from what I know. Not everyone gets to meet him... Why do you wish to seek him out?"

Sarutobi also didn't want to risk worsening relationships with Mt. Myōboku by allowing an assassin on their territory.

If Ken was after Gamamaru's head, then Sarutobi wouldn't be able to help further.

'Enma... Pay attention to his words... Make sure he is honest...'

On his table, a small black scroll shook slightly, a movement that couldn't be noticed by the naked eye.

But Ken didn't have eyes. He wasn't restricted by having to rely on his sight.

He felt the slight vibrations coming from that small, pen-sized scroll.

He already knew that there was another presence in the room, but he had trouble sensing where said presence was.

Not anymore.

'Some sort of summoning? A living weapon maybe? Regardless, it reacted just now, so I should probably not try and bullshit too much... My intentions are not evil regardless.'

"I wish to meet the Toad Sage to find out more about myself... A tailed beast told me that he'd be my best bet in finding out more about my origins."

"... A tailed beast?..." Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at that, but he also noticed that Enma didn't react in any way.

'I guess he's being truthful... This might actually turn out quite interesting in the end.

Might be worthwhile to tell Jiraya to stick with him throughout his visit to Mt. Myōboku... If the toads allow him to meet Gamamaru anyway...'

"Yes. The one residing within B, of the Cloud Village."

The assassin continued to answer honestly, his senses split between Sarutobi and the strange living scroll.

He didn't feel it vibrate anymore, but he still paid attention to it just in case.

"I see... We will contact Jiraya and ask him to take this mission on. But we do need to talk about payment..."

Ken nodded, already expecting the subject to pop up at some point.

'It's not like we're friends... Unlike the Raikage, the Hokage doesn't seem all that interested in currying favour with me.

The problem here is that he knows I need this badly since I sought him out in the first place, so he has the upper hand in these negotiations...'

"Well... What are you willing to pay for this meeting? I am sure you had already planned a payment method beforehand..." Sarutobi slowly reached for the smoking pipe on his desk and took another puff.

The Hokage had relaxed a bit now that Ken had made his intentions clear. He was still cautious, but at least he could relax enough to smoke.

"Indeed... I am well aware that the Leaf is one of the richest villages, so I doubt my Brotherhood would be able to provide much in that sense...

However, we can always offer our services to your village... I'm sure you know the type of jobs we can take.

Any enemies or outlaws you want dead, you wouldn't need to spare the able-bodied shinobi to take care of them. Just contact us."

Sarutobi listened to Ken's proposal, nodding a few times before taking another puff of smoke and releasing it to the side.

"I'll be honest with you, Red Dot... We currently do not require such services, we already have divisions within our village that take care of the dirty work...

They are not currently needed in the frontlines either, nor would they normally operate there... So I don't think I can accept these terms as is.

Currently, we are at war. And as the leader of the village, I need to strive to make the most beneficial decision to aid us in our war effort, I hope you understand our plight..."

Ken scowled a bit underneath his mask.

'Of course, it goes around to this in the end... Who would've thought?'

Although Sarutobi's words sounded like an outright rejection, he was actually just hinting at something else.

He was indirectly asking for help with their war.

And Ken wasn't stupid enough to overlook that. He had somewhat expected it to happen as well.

Sarutobi continued speaking after judging the Assassin's lack of reaction.

"You seem to be on good terms with the Raikage, and by extension the alliance he's part of...

On terms good enough to convince him to not give any retreat orders to the 7 Swordsmen of the Mist...

Don't think we wouldn't have noticed... We tried intercepting any and all communications to and from them, they were told to wait for further orders in the middle of enemy territory...

That is too unusual to be a coincidence..."

The Hokage narrowed his eyes at the Assassin. That was one of the biggest reasons why the Hokage didn't fully trust the Red Dot.

And Ken himself could only sigh at Sarutobi's pointed words.

'No matter how friendly, Shinobi will always be Shinobi...

It is normal for him to be suspicious of the situation... I certainly wasn't expecting him to find out about their orders...

I guess I looked down on the Leaf Village a bit.

Overall, he just wants me to help with their war... I can do that.

After all, I do still have an Ace up my sleeve. Hell, I don't have to get involved directly to 'help' with his war...'

"My relationship with the Raikage is merely a business one, of that I assure you.

Since our overall services don't interest you... Then I can pay you by breaking the Rock-Cloud-Waterfall-Mist Alliance..."