Uchiha Akaishi Tour

Chapter 267 Returning to the Village

October 7th, Konoha Year 37, Konoha Village, Hokage's Office.

Today, Hiruzen Sarutobi was seen with a smile on his face, which was the best news I'd heard in over a month!

A little over a month ago, when the news of Akaishi's capture reached Konoha, the village was in a state of shock.

Whether someone is an Uchiha or not, whether they are a genius or not, is secondary—Danzo was right back then, which clan doesn't have dead people? Aren't there enough dead geniuses?

But----

Uchiha Akaishi's age is a big problem!

Lowering the age at which Hiruzen Sarutobi will participate in the war already conflicts with the core principles of Konoha Village.

At the time, in order to encourage everyone and to appease people, Akaishi was established as a positive role model.

It was Akaishi's outstanding performance that convinced everyone that the Third Hokage's decision was correct; the young ninjas not only had low-risk missions, but also made significant contributions to Konoha.

However, the more things went smoothly before, the more passive Sarutobi became when Akaishi was captured!

Although Danzo suggested that Sakumo Hatake take the blame, Sarutobi was an honest man, and besides, Sakumo had won a great victory; it wouldn't be fair or justifiable to make him the scapegoat.

Sarutobi chose to let Orochimaru take on the leadership responsibility!

After all, Orochimaru has indeed frequently disagreed with Sarutobi in recent months.

This became one of the reasons for "changing the leader".

Not long ago, when news of the "Night of the Tailed Beasts" from Sunagakure came back, Sarutobi was immediately excited!

In contrast, Danzo's face was now dark—he had cursed the idiots of Sunagakure a thousand times in his heart—why couldn't they just kill him? How could they let him cause trouble and then escape unscathed?

"Everyone has heard about Uchiha Akashi's extraordinary feat in Sunagakure, right?" Sarutobi said at this moment.

"Yes, although it's uncertain how much of it is true, Sunagakure suffered considerable losses, especially with the loss of Moho, so it's definitely true." Koharu Utatane nodded at this moment.

Danzo then reminded them, "The fact that the Uchiha clan could accomplish such a great feat in Sunagakure is indeed noteworthy. This is also thanks to Sarutobi's correct decision to actively utilize young ninjas."

"However, we must be cautious about Uchiha Akashi's escape from Sunagakure—if it was Sunagakure's doing, and he has actually been turned, we must be prepared!"

Upon hearing this, Mitomon Homura hesitated for a moment before saying, "Even Moho is dead, and there must have been at least a three-digit number of casualties—there can't be any doubt about that, right? Even if we were to send an inside man back, we wouldn't be willing to pay such a high price."

Before Danzo could say anything, Sarutobi nodded and said, "That's right. Who is Mako? He's Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu from Sunagakure—the Third Kazekage wouldn't use him as bait."

Danzo: ————

Sarutobi's words made it difficult for Danzo to directly refute them, but—

"Moko is quite old after all, and he might just happen to die—in any case, it's always good to be careful. I suggest transferring him to Root, which will both prevent him from accessing important secrets and allow me to personally supervise him!" Danzo suggested confidently.

Sarutobi nodded upon hearing this: "Shimura's concerns are not without merit, however—I would like to make a slight modification to this plan. There's no need to add Root; let him rest in the village, and I will make the arrangements myself afterward."

Danzo: ————

Is this still a "slight" modification?

Sending Akaishi away from the battlefield for a while was less about "preventing him from accessing battlefield secrets" and more about Hiruzen Sarutobi being afraid that if something unexpected happened in the short term, he wouldn't be able to explain it to the Uchiha clan.

in addition----

We also need to consider that Sunagakure suffered such a huge loss this time, they certainly won't just mark Uchiha Akaishi as an "A-rank dangerous person", they may also target him specifically!

Sending him to the battlefield at this time would also easily attract attention.

Why not rest and recuperate in the village for a while?

Danzo wanted to say something more, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had already said, "From now on, we must also promote and carry forward the spirit of Uchiha Akashi in the village."

Hearing this, Danzo knew Hiruzen had made up his mind, but he still couldn't help asking, "Spirit? What spirit? Didn't he just ambush the Jinchuriki and then escape in the chaos?"

"Of course it is—even after being captured, they still cared about Konoha, and even in dire straits, they still actively tried to save themselves and persevered—hmm, let's call it the Red Stone Spirit!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said righteously.

Mitokado Enoki and Utatane Koharu had no objection to the promotion of "heroes" during the war, as it was only natural.

After the two left, Sarutobi said to Danzo, who was left alone, "Danzo, everyone has witnessed the sacrifices made by the Uchiha clan in the war. Don't always look at them with prejudice."

"Sacrifice? The ninja world has been overthrown, who won't suffer?" Danzo wanted to say something more.

However, Sarutobi shook his head and sighed, "Sigh, you should go out—Orochimaru is coming back. Think about handing over the Root's audit to him!"

Sarutobi didn't know why, but he always felt that as Danzo constantly clashed with the Uchiha clan, in some ways, Danzo was becoming more and more like an Uchiha.

"You will—"

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

'

"It's nothing —"

Danzo muttered a couple of words and then came out, slamming the door shut with a bit of force.

April 15, Konoha Year 37.

Akaishi returned to Konoha.

On that day, Konoha arranged for students from the Ninja Academy, along with some ninjas from the village, to come to the village entrance to welcome Akaishi, led by Mitokado Homura!

Many villagers, along with the security team maintaining order, spontaneously came to welcome Chishi.

Recently, Hiruzen Sarutobi was very pleased that Akaishi, after being captured, not only did not die or remain silent while waiting for rescue, but instead performed a great feat, and he promoted it vigorously.

In no time, the name "Konoha Red Stone" spread like wildfire, and it could even be compared with the previously popular "Konoha White Fang"!

-

Uchiha Akaishi was covered in dust from his journey, but the only things that remained spotless were the fan-shaped family crest on his clothes and the Konoha headband on his head.

"Akaashi Jonin!"

"Mitomon will assist!"

Although Akaishi had already met with the Konoha ninja who were supposed to meet him two days in advance and had roughly discussed today's itinerary, he still pretended to be surprised and quickly stepped forward to shake hands with Mitokado Homura.

The students of the Ninja Academy, along with the villagers of Konoha, began chanting Akaishi's name.

On the rooftop of the Hokage's office building, Danzo looked towards the village entrance and, hearing the faint cheers, his face darkened further.

After the welcoming ceremony, Akaishi went to the Hokage's office.

"Akaishi, you've given me a big surprise this time!" Sarutobi said with a smile after seeing Akaishi.

"Thanks to Lord Hokage—" Akaishi said immediately.

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi shook his head and said, "You don't need to be modest. This has nothing to do with me." He seemed to think that Akaishi's words were too deliberate.

"No, no, no, when I was imprisoned, I was thinking about twenty years ago, when the Hokage infiltrated the Sunagakure command post during the Sand and Snow Campaign, hiding for eight days and eight nights and destroying countless large war puppets, which led the Sunagakure to abandon the war—"

"It was the Hokage's spirit that inspired me, allowing me to calm down, observe the situation, and finally wait for the opportune moment to break the deadlock!"

What? The Fourth Shinobi World War was stopped by the First Hokage splitting the Tailed Beasts?

I think it was the young Third Generation who destroyed those puppets and stopped the war!

Danzo, standing to the side, glared angrily at Akaishi, but—

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi grinning like a chrysanthemum while still feigning modesty, Danzo was furious but didn't dare say anything at that moment.

After Sarutobi offered some further encouragement to Akaishi, he refused to allow him to report immediately.

"No rush, you've had a long journey back, go back and rest first, then write up the report and send it over!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said magnanimously—as if he didn't care at all what Akaishi had done, nor did he suspect that he had been turned.

Of course, the reason why Hiruzen Sarutobi was so magnanimous was because he was certain that if Akaishi really had something extremely urgent to report, he would have known about it long ago!

After all, once Akaishi arrived at Yugakure, he had reconnected with the village, and there were countless opportunities to secretly report back after entering the Land of Fire.

Upon hearing this, Akaishi also feigned deep emotion before leaving.

Before arriving at the Hui Muslim village, Akashi first went to "Forest Street".

Akashi had previously heard that Lanwu had acted impulsively because of her own affairs, and had been put in confinement by Tsunade for it, so he thought she would be scolded—but now she had been transferred back to Konoha from the front lines to recuperate.

Minato was still in the Land of Rain, so it wasn't surprising that Akaishi hadn't seen him.

However, Lan Wu was supposed to be in Konoha, but Akashi hadn't seen her before.

Just as Akashi arrived at the street corner, he saw Lan Jun, whose "bathtub at home is huge".

Ignoring Lan Jun's dismissive gaze, Chi Shi walked forward and asked, "Uncle Lan Jun, where is Lan Wu?"

"At home," Lan Jun said, glancing at him.

"Oh." Akaishi nodded and walked inside.

Lan Jun's eyebrows twitched as he watched.

"————You————" Lan Jun really wanted to ask: Who are you? Why are you walking into the Forest Street?

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Akaishi asked matter-of-factly.

Lan Jun: ————

Lan Jun paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "In the neighborhood—Lan Wu's cousin's husband just died in battle, and they're setting up a mourning hall. Lan Wu should be there too. Be respectful when you go in!"

"Oh, yes!" Akaishi immediately composed himself and straightened his clothes.

Although he heard it was a funeral, Akaishi made no attempt to avoid it.

If he had only come to find Lanwu and happened to witness a funeral, Chishi wouldn't have gone in, but—

Since it was said that they died in battle—even if you didn't know them, they were comrades who fought together on the battlefield.

Even if he hadn't come to see Lanwu today, Akashi would have come to check on her if he saw her.

Seeing Akashi's reaction, Lan Jun's satisfied expression flashed by, and he took out a white corsage from his pocket and handed it to Akashi.