Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 72 [Ember] Stronghold

Menma stood at the entrance to the stronghold, his expression frozen beneath his fox mask. Beside him, Kakuzu lifted the hood of his cloak, surveying the complex of buildings with keen interest.

This... is what they call a "hidden stronghold"?

Just now, Menma used the Flying Thunder God Technique to send himself and Kakuzu back to the Land of Hot Springs and back to their hotel room. However, this time he did not call Hizashi, but instead took Kakuzu to the base of the [Jin] organization that Hizashi had spent a year building.

The result was...

Menma's gaze swept from the exquisite arched bridge over the artificial pond, past the meticulously trimmed pines and cypresses, and finally settled on the majestic main hall. The seven-story Japanese palace gleamed with the expensive luster of wood in the sunlight, and the wind chimes hanging from the eaves tinkled in the breeze.

This doesn't look like a terrorist organization's base at all; it's clearly a royal palace of some powerful lord!

"Heh..." Kakuzu's laughter came from beneath his mask as he glanced at the obviously expensive building materials. "Looks like our organization's finances are in pretty good shape."

Menma silently adjusted his mask. Although he knew Hizashi possessed exceptional business acumen, this was still too much...

Does that guy have some kind of misunderstanding about the word "concealment"?!

"So..." Kakuzu's voice carried a hint of sarcasm, "this is the headquarters of the [Jin] organization, which strikes fear into the hearts of the Five Great Nations? I must say... quite the taste."

Menma took a deep breath and decided to skip the topic. "...Come with me."

------

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Tanuma will be here to see you both shortly."

The maid, dressed in an elegant kimono, bowed respectfully and withdrew. Menma silently watched this scene through her disguised eyes—was this the kind of person a terrorist organization would recruit?

But to maintain his aloof and dignified image, he only nodded slightly. After a while, the Japanese-style sliding door was suddenly pulled open.

Two ordinary-looking people appeared at the door. The middle-aged man was wearing a simple brown kimono, and a little girl with round-framed glasses was beside him. They had no distinguishing features and looked no different from any other ordinary residents on the street.

As their chakra fluctuated, their transformation techniques gradually faded. Hizashi returned to his original appearance, while the "ordinary girl" transformed back into Karin with red hair and red eyes. She excitedly widened her eyes, her lips slightly parted as if she wanted to say something, but she held back under Hizashi's stern gaze and simply bowed respectfully.

Menma also removed his second layer of disguise, revealing his signature fox mask.

"Lord Menma, I apologize for keeping you waiting." Hizashi bowed respectfully.

Just then.

【Ding! 】

[Congratulations, host! You have established a level 4 bond with the original character "Karin"!]

Points earned: 400!

Menma wasn't surprised by the system points he received; it seemed Hizashi had indeed taken good care of Karin. He was about to introduce Kakuzu's situation before discussing the base issue with Hizashi when Hizashi spoke first.

"Lord Menma, this must be the organization's newly recruited member, right?" Hizashi turned his gaze to Kakuzu, who was wearing a cloak, standing next to Menma.

"Yes. Kakuzu, the immortal ninja, possesses the strength to serve as a 'Kage' of the Five Great Nations. From this day forward, he is a member of [Jin]."

He briefly explained Kakuzu's background, but deliberately omitted his battle with the First Hokage. When the squire heard that Kakuzu was over ninety years old, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.

Kakuzu only spoke one sentence coldly throughout. "I originally thought joining [Jin] would allow me to take on more high-value bounties... but judging from the organization's financial resources, it's clear they don't make money that way. As for the source of funding... tell me in detail later."

When Kakuzu expressed his desire to study business management, Hizashi cautiously looked at Menma for permission. Menma knew that Kakuzu liked making and saving money but disliked spending it, so she nodded in agreement to his request.

Kakuzu's life can be summarized as "he died before he spent all his money." In the long story, he painstakingly accumulated wealth over several decades, which he practically never touched, only to have it all squandered overnight by a spendthrift woman.

Then, just as Naruto was about to question Hizashi about the connection between this magnificent palace and the word "hidden," Hizashi seemed to have anticipated this and spoke first.

"Lord Menma, you must have many questions about this place." Hizashi respectfully gestured for him to follow. "But please come with me first."

Passing through the main hall's ornate corridors, the group arrived at a spacious backyard. Here stood only a few unassuming work huts, a stark contrast to the opulence of the front. The squire led them into one of them, pushing open the tool cabinets on either side—

With a soft click, the wide staircase hidden beneath the floor was revealed.

Naruto realized something... In other words... the magnificent building outside was just a decoy?

Descending the stairs, the scene gradually became familiar. A spacious underground space, cold stone walls, and intricate passageways—it resembled the secret base of the "Root" organization from an anime. Hizashi provided a detailed explanation from the side.

"This place was actually only recently completed. The basic structures of facilities such as the training grounds, laboratories, and archives are finished, but the equipment is still being installed. I will complete it as soon as possible."

He continued, "I've also set up multiple secret entrances throughout the town, all encrypted with specific sealing techniques, accessible only to members of the organization..."

Faced with such meticulous arrangements, what could Naruto say?

"...Well done."