In Konoha: I will spread the will of conquest throughout the ninja world.

"How could you have such a dangerous idea!?" Hatake Sakumo took a deep breath and suddenly realized that the Hokage had specifically told him to be careful of Ivy Gate before they set off.

I initially thought it was just the Hokage valuing geniuses, but who would have thought that while he did value them, it was only in this particular aspect.

Several Uchiha silently bowed to him. The Uchiha respected the strong, and apart from Minato Namikaze, the two leaders were insurmountable mountains for them.

Minato Namikaze was startled.

"Isn't it obvious? The person capable of carrying out such an important intelligence mission was discovered long ago, but was only discovered after the so-called rogue ninja appeared."

Fifty strings move with a casual attitude, lightly touching the ground with their toes, their movements graceful and elegant.

"It's obvious which family produced the rogue ninja."

No one present was a fool.

Having experienced the Mist Ninja incident, they all had varying degrees of understanding of the complexity of this rendezvous mission.

Ninjas are an extraordinary group that excels at unraveling the complexities of a matter and gradually uncovering its hidden secrets.

Sakumo Hatake hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"...But you can't think about such dangerous things! Konoha is bad; what we need to do is build it up, not destroy it."

"Who wants to destroy Konoha? Don't think you can slander me just because you look old and are actually old. I just want to give the mastermind behind this a lesson."

"Do you have a goal?"

"I don't know, but I want to blow up that one-eyed guy."

One-eyed dragon?

The Jonin present visualized the one-eyed dragon from Isogen's mouth in their minds in just 0.1 seconds.

Sakumo Hatake remained silent once again.

So, did the Fifty Strings discover the existence of the root?

Well, that's not surprising. With Ijūgen's intelligence, it was only a matter of time before he discovered this. He even mastered the incredibly difficult medical ninjutsu, and finding the root that had attacked him was clearly just a matter of time.

Hokage-sama, I did keep an eye on Igogami's mental health, but it seems like the problem is with you now.

The fact that the Uchiha ninjas present did not speak does not mean that Isogen was ignoring them.

As a great overlord with the will of a hegemon, Igogen understands how to empathize with the feelings of every individual life.

"Do you want to come along? The Uchiha seem to really dislike that one-eyed guy."

Uchiha Aoen's lips twitched. Taking down Danzo... this job seems achievable?!

Uchiha Itsukushima glanced at Hatake Sakumo out of the corner of his eye and said seriously, "The Uchiha, as the head of the police department, are responsible for handling any high-risk phenomena that may threaten the safety of Konoha, including but not limited to people and objects."

The implication is that as long as I give them a suitable reason, they'll agree!

To Sakumo Hatake, this obvious implication was no different from streaking.

I gasped in shock.

How did they manage to get such a proud Uchiha Jonin to follow them in such a short time?

Unbelievable!

Because his brain's processing power was largely occupied by other things, Hatake Sakumo didn't immediately recall that Uchiha Itsukushima's three-tomoe Sharingan was slapped out by Isogen.

Uchiha respected the strong, and his three-tomoe jade was awakened with the help of Isogen. In addition, he spent time with the police department. With these three factors combined, there was already a space in Uchiha Itsukushima's heart that belonged to Isogen.

Minato Namikaze hesitated several times, trying to interject, but was always interrupted at crucial moments, yet without any sign of being sarcastic.

Driven by the strange atmosphere, the group finally arrived at their destination.

A bustling town nestled between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire.

"Here." Minato Namikaze looked around at the town, which seemed out of place compared to the nearby Land of Rain, with a puzzled expression.

Because of the formidable reputation of the "demigod" of the Land of Rain, few ninjas from Konoha now choose to go to the Land of Rain to carry out missions.

Does the legendary Sannin of Konoha sound impressive?

But that title was given to them after they were defeated by Hanzo. Before that, the Sannin had led a team to the Land of Rain, and in the end, only they were left and were awarded the title of Sannin.

"Aren't you surprised?" Uchiha Aoen patted Namikaze Minato on the shoulder and laughed.

Minato Namikaze nodded.

"Although the war has stopped, local conflicts have never disappeared. They have just shifted from one place to another. After that demigod of the Rain Kingdom made a name for himself, the Rain Kingdom has been under the spotlight. However, very few people have been able to get in and find out the information they want."

"But ninjas need supplies, and over time this border town came into being."

Isogen listened from the side and gave a thumbs-up to Uchiha Aoen in affirmation of the information provided.

The village that has the most ruthless information blockade is not Konoha, not Kumogakure, not any of the five great ninja villages, but the small but fierce Amegakure village located in the Land of Rain not far away.

Information about Amegakure is extremely difficult to obtain nowadays, and years later, Amegakure, controlled by the Akatsuki organization, has become even more mysterious.

Many ninja villages didn't realize that the ruler of Amegakure had changed until the Akatsuki organization's true nature was fully revealed.

Sakumo Hatake looked around, silently noting down those who had noticed them.

They entered the town in disguise, but there might be someone there who could see through their disguise.

"Information indicates that the 'Wandering Shrine Maiden' will appear here, but given her cautious nature, she might not directly make contact. Should we create some commotion...?"

"Gigaku-kun." He turned to look at the spot where Gigaku had been standing.

Before setting off, Hiruzen Sarutobi had subtly hinted to him that Igarashi was closely connected to the "wandering priestess" who had come to meet them, and that Igarashi's previous display of strength had earned him his respect.

Geniuses deserve respect, and those who have already matured deserve even more respect.

Even though this genius is only nine years old.

After looking over, Hatake Sakumo fell silent.

"Which of you saw where he went?"

The ninjas, who were each looking at their own things, followed the direction he was looking.

Minato Namikaze was stunned: "He was just next to me!"

What about people? !

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.

At this moment, there was a simple wooden house. The house had a minimalist style and looked like a house made of a few wooden planks. A genin could easily turn such a house into a bulldozer and tear it to pieces.

The pharmacist, Nono, disguised as a writer, was hiding among them. Her face and neck were covered with a layer of white powder. The days of escaping had left her exhausted and her heart shrouded in gloom.

No matter where you hide, you'll be discovered by pursuers at the "opportune moment." Even ordinary people can see that the water here is so deep it could drown a whale.

"Danzo, what exactly do you want to do?"

She felt deeply puzzled.

Unload the mill and kill the donkey?

Her abilities were far from enough to warrant Danzo's killing her. As everyone knows, a qualified leader must be thick-skinned, ruthless, and indifferent to the lives of his subordinates.

These collections all possess this.

As long as it's not something that directly undermines his interests, like the Hokage position, he can laugh it off. After all, what's the point of arguing with a dead man who's about to be killed by Root?

But I still have value.

Otherwise, Danzo wouldn't have gone to the trouble of threatening him with an orphanage to force him to return to intelligence work.

But then again.

The pursuers behind her seemed to be coming on strong, but in reality, their attacks were surprisingly gentle. Their moves didn't seem aimed at killing her; rather, they seemed to be trying to beat her half to death and take her away.

She has no bloodline limit, no ancestral secret techniques, and no valuable information about Konoha. A village like hers, a permanent spy, would not let her know the secrets.

This is true not only for Konoha, but also for other villages.

You can't see into someone's heart. What if one of our own spies suddenly falls ill while gathering intelligence in another village, and, driven by love, sells his underwear? Wouldn't that be disastrous?

Even in Konoha, which is known for its emphasis on humanistic care, spies returning home are not greeted with flowers and applause; necessary scrutiny and surveillance are omnipresent.

"It's probably that Dan-One-Eyed Zang has had another episode."

Suddenly, a soft laugh came, and Yakushi Nono was startled. She swung her arm but was pushed back by a gentle force. Then, a warm feeling, as if she were soaking in a hot spring, surged into her heart, and her injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Dean, it's been a long time." Isogen smiled slightly, his eyes gentle.

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.