Naruto: I became a super shadow in the Anbu.

Chapter 258 Nurturing Bandits for Self-Respect
After bringing the bodies of the Cloud Ninja Squadron to the mansion of the assassinated nobleman and comforting the nobleman's mother, Ye Guang led the team back to the main camp.

Upon entering Hatake Sakumo's tent, Yoko first saw a map.

The map shows the border between the Land of Hot Water and the Land of the Moon.

The border is surrounded by various red and blue circles.

The red circles indicate the locations where Cloud Ninja appeared, and the blue circles indicate the locations where Konoha intervened and a battle took place.

Nightlight gestured for Aries to mark the location of their battle.

Once Aries had marked the spot, Yoru arrived in front of Sakumo Hatake.

The truly important exchanges between the two of them were all conducted through the ninja dog, Pakkun.

This is a normal task-related exchange.

Sakumo Hatake said, "Captain Fox, the Cloud Ninja's tactics at this stage are difficult to deal with."

Their goal wasn't to kill as many Konoha ninja as possible, but rather to assassinate nobles from the Land of Hot Springs.

I cannot possibly disperse Konoha ninjas to protect the nobles of the Land of Hot Springs. Along the 200-kilometer border, Cloud Ninjas could kill a Konoha squad and retreat at any time.

I want to locate the Cloud Ninja's main camp as soon as possible and organize an elite raid to end this conflict with the Cloud Village once and for all.

Ye Guang was taken aback.

The conflict has only been going on for a few days, and you're already thinking about ending it?

You finally managed to snatch the position of commander-in-chief of this conflict from Orochimaru, and before you've even had a chance to enjoy it, you want to end the conflict?
Do you understand the saying "raising a bandit to enhance one's own importance"?
Powerful ministers all begin by cultivating enemies to enhance their own prestige.

If the Cloud Ninjas appear too weak, I'd like to put on their clothes and give Konoha a good beating.

Hatake Zhao Da, you're not a bad person, but you must serve as the commander-in-chief of this conflict for a full three months, otherwise you won't achieve the desired effect of building prestige and cultivating loyal followers.

Although Ye Guang's mind was filled with countless thoughts, he said aloud:
"I will keep an eye on the Cloud Ninja's intelligence and report it immediately once I find the location of their main camp."

Sakumo Hatake nodded repeatedly; the fox was a trustworthy ANBU member. He said:
"We interrogated them to find out the location of the Cloud Ninja Camp, but the Cloud Ninja Camp has been constantly changing."

The Cloud Ninja Camp is located approximately 50 kilometers north of the border of the Moon Kingdom.

By the time we get there, they may have already moved or set up an ambush.

The location of their main camp is unpredictable, making a surprise attack difficult.

It's good that it's difficult to organize. If you were to launch a surprise attack on the Cloud Ninja Command today, I would definitely have to leak the news to the Cloud Ninja Command and tip them off.

A Konoha squad entered the tent. Seeing that they were eager to try, Ye Guang stepped aside and let the squad report.

The squad leader said, "Lord Sakumo, our squad has completed three missions. You said at the pre-battle meeting that three B-rank missions would reward the squad with ninjutsu."

"Yes, I implemented a ninjutsu assessment system during this conflict," said Sakumo Hatake.

"If a genin doesn't know their chakra nature yet, they can go to the advisor to get a chakra test strip first."

The Jonin Yamashiroji is in charge of ninjutsu rewards, and he will also give you advice on ninjutsu.

Nearby, Yamashiroji patiently waited for the genin to test their chakra attributes.

The living conditions of Konoha's chunin and genin are quite poor. Some of them have taijutsu skills at the chunin level, but they still don't know their chakra nature.

Like Naruto in the original story, he was already fifteen or sixteen years old when he learned that his chakra nature was wind.

After the ninjas finished testing their chakra attributes, Yamashiroji took out a ninjutsu scroll, opened the catalog, and selected ninjutsu for the group.

After receiving the ninjutsu, the team thanked Yamashiroji and Sakumo Hatake, and left in high spirits.

After Ye Guang and his team left, he said to Hatake Sakumo, "Lord Sakumo, if we launch a surprise attack, it's unrealistic to focus on striking at the Cloud Ninja's fighting force and ending the conflict in a short time."

Ye Guang turned to leave.

"fox···"

Hearing Hatake Sakumo's voice, Yoru turned his head in confusion.

After hesitating, Hatake Sakumo said nothing.

"It's nothing. I was just about to say something, but I forgot."

"Oh, I've had that experience too, I just forgot what I was going to say."

Not long after the fox left, Gekkomune entered the tent and came to Hatake Sakumo's side. Gekkomune said, "Some other ninjas who came to the front lines to deliver supplies also talked about the Land of Grass."

Some time ago, the Shimura clan lost four ninjas, including two Jonin and two Special Jonin, all of whom were guardian ninjas of the Daimyo of the Land of Grass.

It was highly targeted, only killing ninjas from the Shimura clan.

Orochimaru personally led the investigation, but did not release the results.

The murderer pointed to some people with special identities, which the village could not disclose.

The Shimura clan dispatched four more guardian ninja to replace the four who had fallen.

Hatake Sakumo's intelligence network was not very good; he didn't know about the affairs of the Land of Grass earlier than ordinary ninjas.

He was about to ask the fox about the Grass Country, but then he thought better of it.

What if there really is some connection?

Having gone through so much, he has come to understand his place to some extent.

Some things are better left unsaid, even if you have some speculations.

In the middle of the night, Hatake Sakumo returned to his tent and saw Gekkomune waiting at the tent entrance.

He and Moonlight Sect entered the tent together.

Moonlight Sect said, "Shuo Mao, we're quite lucky."

While the sacrifice of the four Shimura ninjas is certainly sympathetic, Danzo is in deep trouble, so no one is targeting us for the time being.

I kept a close watch on my surroundings. We only had the Fox Squad here; there were no other Root or Anbu ninjas.

It feels so good to have no one to hold me back.

Sakumo Hatake nodded repeatedly.

At the beginning of the year, during the Jonin class meeting, he had a significant conflict with the village's higher-ups over the number of Jonin recommendation slots.

Now that Danzo is preoccupied with his own problems, his pressure has lessened considerably.

He led four battalions at the front, and the ninjutsu review system was implemented very smoothly.

Many chuunibyou and genin have acquired their desired ninjutsu.

Moonlight Sect said, "Shuo Mao, although the situation at the front is tense, a hasty raid on the Cloud Ninja camp is risky, and ending this conflict too early will not help us recruit more comrades..."

"No, if possible, the conflict should end as soon as possible," said Sakumo Hatake.

"Our gains and losses are not important. The Ninja World War has only ended for a little over half a year. The Konoha ninjas should not get bogged down in the quagmire of war."

This conflict between the Cloud Ninja and the Leaf Village arose because of my investigation into the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Ryuuto, and it must be ended by me.

Every Konoha ninja who dies is a precious treasure.

Gekkomune wanted to say something, but then he thought that the reason he trusted Hatake Sakumo was because Hatake Sakumo cherished his comrades.

While in his tent, Ye Guang suddenly sensed the contract chakra of the ninja dog Pakkun.

After summoning Puck, Puck emphasized Sakumo's will.

Sakumo Hatake would not deliberately prolong a conflict or war in order to cultivate his own strength.

Ye Guang said, "Okay, I understand."

In the left ear, out the right ear.

I know, but I disagree.

At this time, the situation in Konoha Village remained turbulent.

Hatake Sakumo should end this conflict early; otherwise, he'll just become a target when he returns to the village. It's better for him to stay here.

The Cloud Ninja's camp is not so easy to raid.

If Sakumo Hatake suffers a setback and defeats here, it will be a devastating blow to him.

The higher-ups have failed many times. If Sakumo Hatake fails even once, he will be targeted relentlessly by the higher-ups.

(End of this chapter)