He was in Konoha, and his domineering aura was overflowing.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he eliminated Hatake Sakumo, a strong candidate for the next Hokage, took Yakushi Nonou away to control the remaining songs of the fifty strings, and even managed to gain several Sharingan, one of which was a three-tomoe Sharingan!

A single action yields multiple benefits.

Thinking about the Fifty Strings of Song, he had to admit that he had misjudged it before.

He was originally thought to be just an orphan with some talent, but he never expected that he was a genius whose talent was so great that Hiruzen Sarutobi refused his request.

In his view, there are two types of geniuses.

One type of genius that Hiruzen Sarutobi agrees to take is the kind of genius that Hiruzen would generally give to if he asked for it, unless the genius possesses a firm will of fire; another type of genius that Hiruzen Sarutobi refuses to offer is the kind of genius that Minato Namikaze and Yoka Igogen.

The latter, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would guard him closely and resolutely prevent him from touching him.

Not to mention that Yuka Igogaku is a talent who can freely enter and leave the Senju family mansion and interact with Mito Uzumaki. No dog in the Inuzuka family would believe that he was not educated in the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques.

Danzo's face suddenly darkened.

I remembered some bastard spreading rumors.

"Hehe, Ri Zhan, if you hadn't had someone withdraw beforehand, I wouldn't have found this opportunity."

Danzo sneered inwardly.

I told you you'd regret it, Ritsu-chan!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Not long after, in a secluded wooden house within the Land of Rain.

"Chakra training... Hmm? Wait a minute."

The educational session was paused. Jiraiya opened the secret letter sent by Hiruzen Sarutobi and raised an eyebrow.

"Is the Hidden Rock Village about to start a new conflict?"

Since it concerns the village, they have never dared to neglect it.

Moreover...

He glanced back at the red-haired boy who was talking to his companion.

Yes, we absolutely cannot let the people of Rock Hidden Village disrupt the order of the Rain Kingdom.

This concerns the future of peace in the ninja world, and the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku will never allow it!

"Yahiko, Konan, Nagato, I'm going out for a bit. You stay here and continue your training. Don't leave without permission," Jiraiya instructed the three children.

Konan, whose cool, melancholic older sister persona hadn't yet been completely transformed, looked at him with a worried expression through her clear eyes: "Jiraiya-sensei, is it going to be another war?"

This was the first time Jiraiya had been so serious since he began teaching them.

"Not really, just a bit more troublesome." Jiraiya shook his head slightly.

He may not be good at politics, but he can see that at this stage, all the villages are recuperating and accumulating strength. Even if Yan Yin Village were to launch a war, it would take at least ten years.

That old man Onoki isn't senile. He suffered a great loss in the Land of Rain before, so why would he put the battlefield there again?

This is the current deterrent power of a demigod in the ninja world.

He single-handedly earned the Land of Rain the right to stand up to the Great Ninja Village, forcing the war to end prematurely.

After all, while the poison of the salamander is not incurable, those who can cure it are extremely rare in the ninja world. The medical resources they possess are so great that they could not possibly sustain a large-scale battle even if they worked themselves to death.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Chapter 41 The Actors Are In Place

A small town on the border.

During their brief stop, the group, while gathering intelligence, keenly sensed the impending storm in the town.

"Senior White Fang, something's off about the atmosphere in this town."

Uchiha Aoen, who had just returned from outside, looked at Hatake Sakumo, who was sitting at the table deep in thought, and said in a deep voice.

Uchiha Genjiro was wiping his ninja sword in the corner. With more experience, he spoke up when he heard Aoen's words.

"It's normal that something's not right; almost everyone who enters the town after that is a ninja."

Uchiha Aoen was slightly taken aback, but quickly realized: "A wandering ninja?"

Uchiha Takeshima nodded slightly: "Iwagakure is the village that most likes to drive away wandering ninjas, so it's not surprising that they would do this."

Major ninja villages often employ wandering ninjas, with Iwagakure being particularly fond of it. If you see a large number of wandering ninjas in the ninja world receiving the same request, there's basically no doubt that you should go directly to Iwagakure.

Just then, Sakumo Hatake, who had been deep in thought, spoke up and looked at Yoka Igarashi, who was talking to Yakushi Nonou about the current situation of the Konoha Orphanage.

"Isogen-kun, can you sense how many ninjas are nearby now?"

Isogen glanced sideways: "Including those who are on their way from three kilometers away, there are a total of thirty-seven."

Those present remained calm.

It sounds like a lot, but there are differences between wandering ninjas.

Even someone as strong as Kakuzu could take on any one of the five great ninja villages' Kage single-handedly, while a weaker one might just happen to extract chakra and dare to roam around with a sword.

"Hmm? A group of new recruits has arrived from five kilometers away. They look like elite ninjas from some major ninja village."

"Five Jonin-level chakra, the rest Chunin."

"This lineup doesn't look like they're chasing an ordinary spy," Uchiha Aoen muttered to himself.

The five great ninja villages have very few Jonin on the surface, and indeed they are very few in reality.

However, the number of people with Jonin-level strength far exceeds the official number. Jonin are high-ranking officials in a ninja village, and their positions are limited. If Jonin were awarded simply for meeting the required strength, commoners would never have a chance to rise in society.

The ninja clans, whose bloodline, resources, and ninjutsu heritage completely overwhelm the common people, will not sit idly by.

Sakumo Hatake is thinking.

Currently, our fighting force consists of two Jonin, one Special Jonin, and three Chunin. Apart from myself, all of them are Uchiha. Then there is Isogen Yuka, whose performance is very mysterious, as if he has never used his full strength.

However, considering that she seized the opportunity to instantly kill the bloodline Jonin, she can be considered a Jonin. If we calculate it this way, the weakest person in the entire group is actually Jiraiya's disciple, one of the Sannin. Although Yakushi Nonou is not good at direct combat, ninja battles are battles of intelligence.

Her ability to travel throughout the ninja world for many years to gather intelligence for Konoha without dying or being maimed proves her strength.

Minato Namikaze was aware of his awkward position in the team and rarely expressed his opinions throughout the process.

It's kind of embarrassing. I thought that since I had been trained under Jiraiya, I would be able to put my skills to good use in this operation. However, my ideals were far from reality.

I don't know what possessed Iwagakure to summon so many wandering ninjas and ninjas from their own village.

He could usually handle wandering ninjas on his own, but the seasoned elite ninjas of Iwagakure were far beyond his current capabilities.

How is a fifty-stringed instrument achieved?

He looked at Isogen with great curiosity.

He wasn't jealous; he was simply curious about Isogen's remarkable improvement since leaving the Ninja Academy, wondering if he had a special method to become stronger.

Just then, Sakumo Hatake's voice rang out.

"Be prepared, we could break out at any time tonight."

The experienced individuals nodded in silence.

Minato Namikaze couldn't help but ask, "Aren't we supposed to be finding the rogue ninja?"

Sakumo Hatake patiently explained, "This mission is basically impossible to complete. It's a trap, a trap set against us."

Especially me.

Sakumo Hatake didn't say those words aloud.

Danzo's intentions are obvious to everyone.

Although he is neither good at nor fond of political struggles, it is impossible for him to completely avoid the vortex when he is at the center of it.

Danzo's goal this time was clearly to make him back down.

Sakumo Hatake smiled bitterly to himself.

Hokage... It would be a lie for a Konoha ninja to say he didn't want to become Hokage, but if becoming Hokage might cause turmoil in the village, given his personality, he would never insist on it.

Unfortunately, Danzo wouldn't believe it.

As for Danzo's intention to use those wandering ninjas and Iwagakure to kill him, Hatake Sakumo thought it was impossible.

If Isogen knew his inner thoughts, he would agree.

As a crucial force for Konoha in deterring other ninja villages, especially Sunagakure, Hatake Sakumo was an indispensable part of Konoha.

In the original work, after Sakumo Hatake's mission failed, the news spread throughout Konoha in the blink of an eye. No one believed that there was no ulterior motive behind it, not even the dogs of the Inuzuka family.

The missions carried out by ninjas are top secret, and their dissemination within a small circle is already the limit. Missions that Konoha's White Fang personally leads are known only to the higher-ups.

It's true that Konoha is the village that values ​​civilians the most among the five great ninja villages, but it still wouldn't let civilians have access to such important information.

Danzo's goal was to force Sakumo Hatake to withdraw from the Hokage nomination process, and Hiruzen Sarutobi tacitly approved of it all, since Danzo and he had been friends for many years and were practically inseparable.

No one expected that Sakumo Hatake would end his life.

It's estimated that the ninja villages that received the news initially suspected it was a smokescreen released by Konoha, but upon inquiring, they found out it was true.

Although they didn't know what Konoha was going crazy about, Hatake Sakumo was one of the pillars of Konoha, and they wanted to celebrate for three days and three nights if this pillar fell.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Outside the house, in the streets and alleys, a group of wandering ninjas with different appearances looked like hungry wolves who had been starving for three days and three nights, their eyes fixed on the wooden house.

A wandering ninja with one eye blinded planned to quietly sneak onto the roof to observe the whole situation. As soon as he reached the roof, several pairs of sharp eyes looked at him at the same time.

"..."

It seems that my peers share this idea.

"What do you think of it?" he asked.

Since we've all come here, we've all accepted the same commission. Working together is the way of survival for wandering ninjas.

"The other party used a transformation technique, so we can't tell where they came from."

"This display of force is intimidating," someone said, feeling a sense of fear.

"Heh, so what if there are Jonin from a great ninja village inside? They might not be able to kill us all before they run out of chakra!"

Makes sense!

You'll be leading the charge later.

Xing Sui had her doubts, but wandering ninjas were a group of desperate people, and it was common for them to grit their teeth and take on any mission with a high reward.

The reputation of the five great ninja villages is commendable, especially since Iwagakure Village is the one that provided the funding this time. It wouldn't be difficult for anyone to find out this if they wanted to. Iwagakure Village has extensive experience in employing ninjas, and they are not afraid of being exploited after the work is done.

The world of ninjas is magical; assassinations, murders, wars... all sorts of acts that disrupt order exist, but most ninjas value their reputation.

After all, no one was giving the ninjas any orders about what to eat.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Chapter 42 What is anesthesia?

As dusk approached, everyone inside the cabin prepared for battle.

The Uchiha ninjas are eager to try their hand at ninja tools, arming themselves with all sorts of ninja tools. Uchiha ninjas can go out without carrying anything else, but they must have plenty of ninja tools, adopting a "rich man's" fighting style.

Sakumo Hatake's setup was much simpler, with just a short white dagger; Minato Namikaze, on the other hand, had a standard set of ninja tools.

Pharmacist Nono carefully organized the bottles and jars; she was able to rush to this small town after being exposed thanks to these things.

Compared to their busy schedules, Wu Zixian had a much easier time.

Wind Release: Wind Passes Without a Trace.

Real-world application is the sole criterion for testing truth.