Konoha: You're letting me build up my bonds, but you're offending the entire ninja world.

Jiraiya murmured, "Now that we're involved with Danzo, even the most outrageous things seem normal now, right?"

Hyuga Hizashi kept his head down, not daring to interrupt, letting his words go in one ear and out the other.

The two big shots can freely discuss Danzo, but he, a mere member of the Hyuga branch family, has neither the qualifications nor the courage to do so.

"Hizashi, you can continue."

Shimura Gengetsu's willingness to listen to advice improved Sarutobi Hiruzen's mood somewhat, making him feel that the child could still be saved, so he was not too distressed.

Hyuga Hizashi continued his narration.

He originally intended to keep it a secret, but fearing that he would be exposed later, he still revealed his dark history and the whole process of Shimura Gengetsu identifying the spy.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya were at a loss for what expression to wear.

No... he's really good at it.

How can this method be used to identify spies?

Jiraiya boasted that he had been through countless beauties, getting touched by every single one, but he had never considered the relationship between the venue and the quality of the girls. These words opened a new world for him.

Really

Wonderful!

It took a long time before the silence was broken.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and said in a deep voice, "Hizashi... you are also an experienced Jonin, how could you make such a low-level mistake? I will not punish you this time, and I hope there will be no next time."

"Yes, I will definitely pay attention." Cold sweat broke out on Hizashi's forehead.

"Hahaha, old man, what's the big deal?" Jiraiya laughed unrestrainedly, patted Hizashi's shoulder reassuringly, and winked, "Don't worry about it, Hizashi, you just made a mistake that any man would make."

"Since beauty is your weakness, let's challenge it tonight so we can't leave any openings in future missions."

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Hizashi was indeed tempted.

Jiraiya-sama is absolutely right!

A real man should face his weaknesses head-on. Once he's completely accustomed to beauty, won't he be invincible?

"Nonsense!" Hiruzen Sarutobi scolded Jiraiya. "If you corrupt Hizashi, don't expect me to help you when Hiashi comes to you for an explanation."

After saying that, his expression softened slightly, and he said to Hyuga Hizashi, "You should go back first. In the future, you should also pay more attention to Gengetsu's psychological problems and prevent him from going astray."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Hyuga Hizashi walked out of the Hokage's office with a sigh of relief, considerately closing the door tightly behind him.

However, as he was closing the door, he saw Jiraiya frantically giving him meaningful glances.

The unspoken understanding between the men made Hyuga Hizashi instantly understand his meaning, and he nodded solemnly.

See you at the red-light district at 10 PM.

.........

Inside, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still puffing on his cigarette, not speaking immediately. He patiently finished the last bit of tobacco before asking, "Jiraiya, what do you think?"

"What are you looking at?" Jiraiya tried to play dumb and get away with it, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had called him over to use Jiraiya's ability to judge people, so how could he let him go?

"Don't play dumb with me. If you don't give me a straight answer, I'll send Shinnosuke to follow you around every day. Don't even think about getting close to the red-light district."

"You old geezer, you're too ruthless."

Jiraiya's face instantly fell, and he slumped onto the soft sofa.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said earnestly, "Jiraiya, I don't want anyone to follow in Danzo's footsteps, or even Orochimaru's."

Upon hearing his old friend's name, Jiraiya suddenly fell silent, his carefree demeanor vanishing, replaced by a serious expression.

“Old man, I haven’t met that little guy yet. I can’t jump to conclusions. That would be irresponsible to him and to the village.”

Jiraiya rubbed the sofa with his hand and said in a low voice, "But based on the information Hizashi gave, there is no doubt that the kid's talent is very strong, surpassing Kakashi, and even Minato back then was not so dazzling."

When Jiraiya mentioned his disciple, his heart sank again. He forced a smile and asked, "But is there something wrong with Hizashi's Byakugan? How could Shimura Gengetsu have more chakra than him?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head slightly. "Shimura Arashi isn't anything special, but his wife, Shimura Saki, once had another name—Senju Saki."

"The Senju clan?"

Jiraiya was slightly taken aback. His relationship with Shimura Danzo was not good, so he knew very little about the Shimura family and was unaware of this secret.

"You mean, he awakened the Thousand Hands bloodline?"

"This is the only possibility." Hiruzen Sarutobi refilled his pipe with tobacco and slowly lit it.

"I had this suspicion as early as when he fought Itachi Uchiha. His outstanding nature transformation and chakra control are characteristics of the Senju clan. After Hizashi reported this, I was almost certain..."

“Shimura Gengetsu has awakened the Senju bloodline, and the concentration of the bloodline is not low.”

After another moment of silence, Jiraiya slowly stood up and suddenly smiled.

"Hahaha! So that's why you were so concerned, old man."

"But it's not a big deal. The Senju bloodline isn't Wood Release. How about this, I'll go and make contact with this little guy and see what he's like."

As he spoke, he opened the office window and stepped inside.

“If possible, I hope you can take him as your disciple.” Hiruzen Sarutobi said earnestly, “There are very few people in the entire Hidden Leaf Village who can stand up against Danzo’s darkness. You are the best choice.”

"I have no plans to take on apprentices at the moment."

Jiraiya had already jumped out, and his voice drifted in on the wind: "Even the most evil person will not bring darkness to their own family."

Chapter 40 Mitarashi Anko, Shimura Gengetsu's petty jealousy

The next day, Xuan Yue and the other two gathered at the foot of the Hokage Building as usual, but instead of waiting for Hishi, they were greeted by someone who was delivering a message for him.

I got home too late yesterday and tripped over a stone and broke my leg, so the Japanese team is on holiday for seven days, and members are free to do as they please.

You can choose to take on a mission or cultivate on your own.

After saying that, the Hyuga ninja who was responsible for delivering the message left, leaving the three of them looking at each other in bewilderment.

Did you trip over a stone?

Only a fool would believe it.

"It seems the Hyuga clan leader was quite ruthless last night." Shimura Gengetsu sighed like a little adult, making both girls laugh.

"So what should we do now?" Kurenai asked. "Execute the mission?"

Gengetsu Shimura shook his head. "Simple missions are boring, and advanced missions require the signature of a Jonin instructor. Let's not do any missions while Hizashi-sensei is resting."

"Of course, if you're short of money, you can take it on."

Gengetsu Shimura wanted a professional title, not to actually work like a slave. Of course, he wouldn't work hard when he could slack off.

"I'm quite the little rich girl," Kurenai Yuhi snorted, looking smug. Yugao Uzuki smiled slightly, also appearing to be quite well-off.

For a ninja to have a surname in this chaotic world, their ancestors must have been wealthy.

"Let's go get some breakfast first," Hong said, rubbing her stomach. "I was hoping that Mr. Hiashi would treat us to a big meal today, but it looks like that's not going to happen. Come on, I'll treat you to dumplings."

Since someone was offering to treat them, Shimura Gengetsu and Uzuki Yugao naturally wouldn't refuse.

The three of them arrived at the dumpling shop, the one owned by Shimura Gengetsu's family.

Because it was morning, there were very few people eating meatballs. Only one woman was sitting at the bar, wolfing down her meatballs, with more than ten skewers of meatballs in front of her.

Upon seeing that familiar figure, Kurenai paused for a moment, then exclaimed in delight, "Anko?"

When Mitarashi Anko heard someone call her name, she instinctively turned around and smiled, "Anko? You're here for dumplings too? This is... Uzuki Yugao?"

"Red Bean Senior," Uzuki Yugao greeted politely.

Kurenai and Anko were two grades above her at the Ninja Academy, and they had met before.

Once the three of them were seated next to Mitarashi Anko, she noticed Shimura Gengetsu following behind them and teasingly asked:

"What? You've taken on a babysitting job?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Gengetsu is our teammate." Kurenai Yuhi rolled her eyes at Anko, annoyed. "Did you just come back from outside? You don't even know about a genius who surpasses the Uchiha clan?"

Hongdou then said nonchalantly, "I was just released by the censorship department. They don't receive any news from inside, so it's normal that I haven't heard anything, right?"

Kurenai Yuhi, who knew some of the inside information, fell silent.

She knew the reason why Anko was being investigated was simply because she was Orochimaru's disciple.

After Orochimaru betrayed the village, his former subordinates suffered undeserved calamities, not to mention Anko, Orochimaru's only surviving disciple.

"There won't be any problems from now on, right?" Kurenai asked.

"Who knows?" Hongdou laughed carefree, ate three dumplings in one go, her mouth puffed out like a little squirrel, and said indistinctly, "Anyway, I can forget about leaving the village to carry out missions for the next six months. I can only do some clerical work."

"It's already pretty good," Kurenai comforted her. "At least you weren't locked up. Lord Sandai won't wrong you."

"Never mind all that."

Red Bean shook her head, fixing her curious gaze on Shimura Gengetsu. "You just said that this kid is a genius who surpasses the Uchiha clan..."

"What's the matter?"

Kurenai explained the whole story to Anko, even recounting her own embarrassing past of losing to Gengetsu Shimura during the assessment with Yugao Uzuki.