Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha is not motivated.

"Master Qi!"

"Don't call me master, I'm about the same age as you."

"Okay, Ah Qi!"

"."

Looking at the overly familiar red-haired man, Hatake Sakumo, who was using the alias Ling Lingqi, sighed inwardly with a helpless expression.
This undercover mission is too arduous. Not only do I have to face countless waves of enemies every day, but I also have to be harassed by this high-ranking member of Sunagakure.
Earning money is tough, and life is tough; there's definitely a reason why the salaries at the grassroots level are so high.

"If you don't have anything else to say, please don't bother my business, okay?"

To prevent his spy identity from being exposed, Sakumo Hatake quickly packed up the large, white, membranous bone and handed it to the red-haired man, expressionlessly shooing him away.
However, the moment he raised his hand, the red-haired man in front of the stall suddenly grabbed his calloused hands, seemingly unconcerned about the stench of lard on them, with an expression of utter distress.

"These hands! Using them to chop pork is a complete waste!"

"what?"

Having been used to being groped by Bo Gang, this was the first time Hatake Sakumo had ever been taken advantage of by a man, and he was so frightened that he almost drew his sword.

If it weren't for his undercover mission, he would have ripped the red-glass man clinging to his hand to shreds.

"You have such exquisite knife skills that you can shave away even the thinnest muscle fibers on a large bone! You are the person I've been looking for!"

Staring in a daze at Sakumo Hatake's rough, large hands, the red-haired man's desire grew even stronger.
"What exactly do you want to do?"

Sakumo Hatake warily withdrew his hand, wiping it vigorously on his apron, trying to wipe away the revulsion in his heart.
"do not want!"

Unexpectedly, the red-haired man moved swiftly and grabbed his hand tightly again.
"Letting it cut pork is already an understatement; how could you treat these skillful hands so roughly?"

"My hand, I can make it do whatever I want!"

He stared, exasperated, at the persistent red-haired man, who could use his little left and right hands however he pleased.
"No, it won't belong to you anymore."

"what?"

"Ah Qi, you can stop selling pork from now on, come work for me!"

"ha!!!"

"Uh"

Sakumo Hatake, who was about to shout out in surprise again, heard an even louder scream from not far away and immediately turned around with a puzzled look on his face.

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the red-haired man's expression changed abruptly, his delicate brows furrowing tightly.

"Old Deng, what brings you here?"

As several members of the secret service cleared a path through the crowd, Ebizo, his face grim, gritted his teeth and glared angrily at his unruly son who had chosen the unconventional path.

"If I hadn't come soon, you might have done something even more shameless and unethical!"

Upon seeing the newcomer, Hatake Sakumo's pupils contracted slightly.
Ebizo, the second most powerful figure in Sunagakure and the younger brother of the Third Kazekage, possesses exceptional Wind Release and Puppet Technique skills, and his strength is unfathomable.
Have I been exposed?
Looking at the red-haired man who was still tightly gripping his hands, Hatake Sakumo's alarm bells rang. He felt as if he had fallen into a carefully laid trap by this father and son.
I'm sorry, Dai, Duan, I may have to go first.

Believing his identity had been exposed and that he had been set up by the Sand Village, Hatake Sakumo felt a deep sense of despair. Thinking of his two other teammates still infiltrating, he could only silently pray that they wouldn't be captured like him.
A glimpse of the short blade on the cutting board caught his eye. He took a deep breath and decided to fight to the death. Even if it meant his own demise, he couldn't let Sunagakure uncover any clues about the Root.
"Our affairs are none of your business!"

Seeing his furious father, the red-haired man showed impatience. Having lacked paternal love since childhood, he had always had a bad impression of Ebizo, which made him extremely rebellious at a young age.
Skipping school, early romantic relationships, premarital pregnancy
He did everything he could to oppose Ebizo, all in a childish way to retaliate against his irresponsible father.

"Fine! You still haven't learned your lesson. What's so great about him anyway? Stay away from him!"

Hearing his son's retort, Ebizo nearly fainted. His sinister gaze fell on his son's and the silver-haired butcher's tightly clasped hands. Besides anger, his heart was filled with a profound sorrow.
"He's the one I like!"

The red-haired youth shouted, his eyes fixed intently on Ebizo's, the determination in them drawing attention.
"Uh, I'm just one of the same kind of people. If you have any conflicts, how about you resolve them somewhere else?"

Sakumo Hatake, who was originally preparing to rebel, gradually realized after seeing the father and son's seemingly genuine confrontation that they were not after him. He had not been exposed!

"Ah Qi, wait a moment, I'll come back and talk to you in detail later."

Reluctantly releasing Hatake Sakumo's large hand, the red-haired youth tossed his head, and eight miniature summoning scrolls appeared between his fingers.
"You unfilial son, what do you think you're doing? You want to turn your sword against your father for the sake of an outsider, a man?"

Ebizo stared at his son, who was in a fighting stance, with a ferocious expression, his sorrow deepening.

"From childhood to adulthood, nothing I wanted to do could stop me!"

The red-haired youth sneered, his ten fingers trembling slightly, as if gathering something.
"Those are... chakra threads!"

Those around them might not have noticed anything amiss, but Sakumo Hatake, standing behind the red-haired youth, saw it all clearly.

The red-haired youth had a barely perceptible thread at the tip of each of his ten fingers; this was a secret technique used in puppetry to remotely control puppets.

"Very well! Very well! Very well! Today I will settle things properly with you two star-crossed lovers!"

Enraged by his son's actions, Ebizo shuddered, his sharp chakra bursting forth as gusts of wind swept through the surrounding onlookers, sending them staggering about.
"Discreeters, please leave!"

At Ebizo's command, the pursuing Anbu began clearing the area. In less than a minute, the once crowded butcher stall was reduced to a standoff between a father and son, and the innocent Hatake Sakumo.
"It seems I was too gentle with you."

"Hmph! Gentle? My life has been devoid of that word since birth."

The red-haired youth wore a mocking expression. With no one else around, he could finally unleash his full power.
"Come forth, Eight!"

"Bang!~"

As puffs of smoke rose, the eight scrolls in the young man's hand transformed into eight humanoid puppets of various shapes and sizes, each more bizarre than the last: some had three legs, some had five arms, and one even had two heads.
None of them seemed like normal people.
"The Eight Phantom Warriors, huh? Very well, let this old man test your purity!"

Ebizo's gaze sharpened, and he reached behind his back to pull out a scroll with the number "1" written on it. Upon seeing this scroll, the red-haired youth's expression froze slightly, and his face visibly darkened.

"You're actually using this? Old Deng, are you serious?"

Although his eight followers were strong, they were no match for this puppet.

"You went too far this time. When you went to him, did you think about your wife and children?"

He shook his head slightly, his gloomy gaze falling on the silver-haired mistress hiding behind his son, a fleeting hint of doubt crossing his face.

Huh? This guy looks familiar. "Uh, about this conflict, I made things clear when I left."

Hearing his father's question, the red-haired youth, who was already somewhat hesitant, hesitated for a moment before replying with a displeased expression.

"How dare you say that? With such a virtuous wife at home, you still have thoughts of cheating. You deserve to die!"

"what?"

The word "cheating" not only stunned the red-haired youth, but also left Sakumo Hatake, who mistakenly believed he was an innocent victim, completely bewildered.
"No, you old bastard, you're slandering my innocence! I didn't!"

A few seconds later, the red-haired youth's handsome face turned the same color as his hair, and he trembled with rage.
"Stop making excuses, and face your death!"

Ebizo held the scroll high, his eyes filled with a resolute determination to sacrifice his own family for the greater good. Keeping such a son alive would only bring shame upon their clan.
"Spare his life!"

Just then, a figure rushed over and landed; it was the red-haired youth's wife. She was holding her young child, and her face, covered in sweat, was filled with anxiety.
"My lord, there must be some misunderstanding here."

She actually knew nothing, but when she saw Ebizo confronting her husband from afar, she quickly spoke up to stop him.

"Shh, don't scare Little Scorpion. I've witnessed what happened to him myself, there's no misunderstanding."

He glanced tenderly at his sleeping grandson, a fleeting look of kindness crossing his face. His eyes, however, held only regret as he looked at his rebellious son.
If he had discovered his son's tendency earlier, could the situation today have been avoided?
"What are you doing here? Scorpion is still young. What if he catches a cold?"

The red-haired youth looked at his wife with tender eyes and spoke with concern in a slightly reproachful tone,

"I noticed that my father-in-law's expression was a bit off, so I specifically chased after him."

Sensing her husband's awkward tenderness, the black-haired woman felt a sweet warmth in her heart. The couple stood together, and an ambiguous atmosphere suddenly arose, making the single, white-haired man watching nearby grit his teeth.
That's outrageous! Showing off your love will only lead to a quick demise!

"Let me introduce you. He is the knife-making master I was talking about, Aqi."

After spending a brief moment of sweet talk with his wife, the red-haired youth pulled her aside to introduce the grumpy-faced Sakumo Hatake behind him.

"Ling Lingqi".

Meeting the black-haired woman's curious gaze, Hatake Sakumo nodded slightly and introduced himself.
"Hello, Master Aqi."

The black-haired woman smiled slightly, her eyes revealing undisguised tenderness.
Seeing such a harmonious scene, Ebizo's eyes widened in fury. This kid actually wanted to be bisexual and enjoy the bliss of having two women—it was utterly heinous!

"Oh!"

He stomped his foot hard, and the solid floor tiles cracked instantly. The loud noise drew everyone's attention back to him.

"You unfilial son, now that things have come to this, what do you have to say?"

"I have nothing to say. Ah Qi is someone I value, and I will never give up on him!"

Since Ebizo told him to stay away from Aqi, the naturally rebellious red-haired youth insisted on going against his father.

"My daughter and I support his decision!"

Although she didn't know what had happened, the black-haired woman firmly stood by her husband's side, unconditionally trusting him, and made a decision for the scorpion in her arms without his consent.
"you!"

Ebizo trembled with rage, the veins bulging on his large hand gripping the scroll.
"Crazy! Crazy!"

Better a short, sharp pain than a long, drawn-out one. Enraged, he decided to first deal with his rebellious son, then explain the cruel truth to his unsuspecting daughter-in-law, making her see the true face of that unfilial son.
"Akito sack!"

Just as Ebizo was about to tear open the scroll and summon the Sand Village's number one puppet, a graceful figure who had been enjoying the spectacle from the shadows landed leisurely and stood between the two sides.
"elder sister?"

"aunt?!"

The Third Kazekage!

Compared to the astonished father and son, Sakumo Hatake just wanted to run away at this moment.
For a powerhouse of the Third Kazekage's caliber, crushing him would be as easy as crushing an ant. If his spy identity were exposed, he probably wouldn't even last a single round.
"Sister, you don't need to trouble yourself with such a shameful matter."

Ebizo reluctantly put away the scroll. Showing off a replica in front of the real author was like trying to teach a master swordsman to fight.
"Aunt, you must stand up for us!"

Seeing his father's discomfiture, the red-haired youth's eyes darted around. He pulled his bewildered wife and children to kneel before Chiyo's Kazekage robes, tearfully condemning Ebizo's dictatorial behavior.
"I'm already so grown up, and my child is almost weaned, but my dad still wants to interfere in everything I do. It's so hard for me!"

"Hmph! I can ignore other things, but how can I not care about something like this?"

Ebizo stared at his son's clumsy performance with a dark expression, and asked him fiercely.
“Ebizo, a son is like a tree that cannot be kept at home. I have taught you so many times that when a child grows up, you should let go and let him go on the path he wants to go.”

Chiyo calmly waved to her younger brother, her playful gaze sweeping over her nephew, who was acting like a master of drama, before finally settling on the stiff-faced white-haired butcher. A slight gleam appeared in her beautiful eyes.
"You remind me of an old friend of mine."

"Uh, Lord Kazekage, I just have a very common face, and I'm often mistaken for someone else."

Unable to sense any killing intent emanating from Chiyo, Sakumo Hatake, having temporarily calmed himself, replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, while inwardly he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
Shouldn't this face look like it deserves a punch?
Since Sakumo Hatake was there to conduct undercover work, he certainly couldn't use his real face. To avoid attracting attention, he deliberately modified his appearance based on a rather old model.

That's right, it's his mentor, Lao Yin!

Aside from his lifeless eyes and signature curly hair, his face now bears a striking resemblance to Uchiha Gin, about 60% of his appearance. No wonder Chiyo was somewhat taken aback when she saw him.

"Ebizo, come and see, doesn't he look just like him?"

"Ah."

Faced with his sister's questioning, Ebizo reluctantly nodded. He had previously noticed a resemblance between Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Gin, but in his anger, he didn't care about such details.

"Don't be angry. After you left, I went through the intelligence on the Dark Division again and found that there was a slight error in the information I gave you before. There may really be some misunderstanding between you and your father."

"what?"

"The secret service said the two of them spend a lot of time together, but actually, your son spends 99% of that time queuing up, hehe~"

With an apologetic expression, Chiyo spread her hands, revealing a playful smile unique to young girls.
"What did it mean when they held hands? I saw it with my own eyes!"

The evidence is irrefutable; his eyes don't lie.
"I was forced."

Sakumo Hatake's face twitched as he spoke up for his innocence. Although he was also white-haired, he was definitely not the kind of old gay man like Jiraiya who bathed with Konan.
Seeing that justice was on his side, the red-haired youth stood up abruptly, put his hands on his hips, and said with a look of disdain.

"Ha, as expected, people with a heart see everything as dirty. I was just examining Aqi's hands. He's a talent I've been searching for for a long time. The core of my natal puppet is missing a master with his exquisite knife skills!" (End of Chapter)