I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 439 It's always good to bring back some gifts for family after a long trip.

As the Tailed Beast Ball grew larger and larger, Genmi and the other Mist Ninja all froze. Genmi felt his outstretched hand turn icy cold in an instant.

At this moment, countless energies gathered, and the wind also gathered. In the howling wind, "Takasugi Shinsuke's" clothes were torn in places, his silver hair was constantly flying, and even his already tattered mask...

"Ding~"

The mask fell off, revealing a face with an incredibly sickly smile. However, that face was somewhat different from the "Takasugi Shinsuke" that Genmi remembered. It wasn't as thin and looked like someone else entirely.

"Sakamoto Tatsuma!"

Genmi's mind flashed back to the person who treated him two years ago. Although the temperament was completely different, it was almost the same person. At the same time, his brain also processed the image of "Takasugi Shinsuke" if he wasn't so thin.

This is the person in front of me. Is he Takasugi Shinsuke? Or Sakamoto Tatsuma?

Before Xuanmi could figure it out, the enormous Tailed Beast Ball was spat out from the mouth of the six-tailed beast and hurtled straight toward him.

As for "Takasugi Shinsuke"? He has disappeared.

"Boom! Rumble!"

The Tailed Beast Ball exploded, and the towering flames and shockwaves parted the dark clouds of the Land of Water, dispelling the moisture. Many Kirigakure ninja saw the clearest sun they had ever seen in their lives, but even that sun didn't seem as dazzling as the Tailed Beast Ball.

Tatsuma killed several Mist Ninja, disguised his escape route, and then, when no one was paying attention, activated the Flying Thunder God Technique to reunite with Minato and the others who had escaped earlier.

"Are you alright?"

Seeing Tatsuma appear beside him, Minato asked, "Mission accomplished." Tatsuma shook his head, turned to look at the sun in the rainforest, and said, "Mission accomplished."

"Should we leave now?"

Tianfeng raised his hand to shield his eyes from the raging winds blowing from afar, and asked Chenma, who nodded and said, "We have no reason to stay here, but before that..."

On that day, all Konoha spies lurking in the Land of Water received orders to suspend all operations and not to do anything that would attract attention until the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure took office.

Meanwhile, massive fires broke out in important landmarks such as granaries and shipyards in many parts of the Water Kingdom, turning countless grains and fishing boats to ashes.

Later that day, Tatsuma and his three companions returned to Konoha and appeared at the Anbu base. The surrounding Anbu members were not surprised to see the four suddenly appear, as this was already a common occurrence.

"It's only been a few days, but the Anbu has already become so well-organized again."

Tatsuma raised an eyebrow and said that when they left the village, the Anbu base was still somewhat chaotic. He didn't expect that in just a few days, the base would return to the orderly state it was before the reduction in personnel.

"Managing only one squad is a waste of Banlong's abilities."

Minato chuckled, his long, straight black hair constantly shortening. He touched his hair and said, "Before this vacation, I need to get my hair dyed, otherwise Kushina will have to..."

Two years ago, when Kushina returned from the Land of Water, she was angry for a long time. Kushina also had a theory that she had heard from somewhere, saying that after a boy starts dating, his hairstyle becomes the girl's private property and the boy has no right to distribute it.

Although he thought it was nonsense, Minato wouldn't argue with Kushina about such things. He just needed to restore his hairstyle to its original state before Kushina saw it, and he believed she wouldn't make a fuss.

"What do you mean?!"

Just as Tatsuma and the others were smiling knowingly, a gruff voice rang out, and Minato's smile and body froze instantly. After what felt like an eternity, he finally managed to move his stiff neck.

From the source of the sound, several ninjas dressed in sealing squad uniforms were gathered, among them a girl with a head of flowing red hair.

"Gurgle~"

Minato swallowed hard.

"Thump~"

Kushina took a step toward Minato, and the sound of her footsteps, though not loud, made Minato's heart tremble, and Tenka and Sento also shuddered.

Tianfeng quickly said, "My dog ​​had puppies, I have to go back and check on them!"

After saying that, Tianfeng left in a flash. Qiandou slapped his forehead and said, "Tianfeng's family clearly raises ninja cats. I'll go take a look too. After all, delivering a dog's litter is different from delivering a cat's!"

Minato looked at Tatsuma with pleading eyes, but Tatsuma showed no fear.

"I have to go for my performance review."

Tatsuma gave a wicked smile, waved goodbye.

"Xiao Jiu! Listen to my excuses, I didn't do it."

Tatsuma didn't hear what Minato said next, partly because Kushina forcibly stopped Minato from speaking, and partly because Tatsuma had already activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"Lord Hokage."

Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi shuddered. It was that same unannounced approach again. The Flying Thunder God Technique was just too fast, so fast that Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't react in time, and he was always startled.

But he quickly composed himself, looked at Tatsuma, assessed his condition, and frowned as he asked, "Did something happen in the Land of Water?"

Tatsuma had clearly been through a fierce battle, and their trip to the Land of Water was supposed to be an exploration mission, but now a battle had obviously broken out. What unexpected event had occurred?

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's question, Tatsuma nodded and said, "Something did happen, but it was an accident within Kirigakure. However, the situation was urgent at the time, so I chose to intervene."

Tatsuma began to recount his experiences of the day, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression grew increasingly interesting as he listened, his gaze towards Tatsuma becoming more and more inexplicable.

Betrayal! Usurpation! If Hiruzen Sarutobi did something to betray Konoha, would Tatsuma also say to him, "Hokage-sama, please die"?

No, no, no! Hiruzen Sarutobi would never do anything to betray Konoha, and Tatsuma is not Yagura!

Even from Tatsuma's few words, Hiruzen Sarutobi could glimpse Genmi's despair after being betrayed twice, and Tatsuma was a participant in, or even one of the planners of, all of this.

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but shudder. He suddenly had a feeling that if Tatsuma were to use any means to attack him, he might not be able to outmaneuver this junior who had just come of age.

Fortunately, Akimichi Torifu reminded him in time, which led him to have a heart-to-heart talk with Tatsuma and get closer to him. Now he's safe, right?

After listening to Tatsuma's concise report, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a long time to recover from his shock. He reviewed Tatsuma's words in his mind, frowned, and asked in confusion:

"Xuanmi actually possesses the Corpse Bone Pulse Bloodline Limit. I've never heard of such a thing before."

"Ahem~ this..."

Tatsuma's face showed just the right amount of embarrassment, while Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips and eyes twitched several times as he asked, "Don't tell me you did this, brat?!"

"You could say that. It was a spur-of-the-moment idea, and we didn't expect it to work so well."

Tatsuma revealed an innocent smile, but Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a chill run down his spine. Just thinking about transplanting a bloodline limit into Genmi made Hiruzen Sarutobi want to say that Tatsuma was vicious!

But this is the future of Konoha; we can't say that. We should say...

"What a brilliant plan to strike at the heart! Tatsuma, you have completely inherited Tobirama-sensei's will and talent."

After thinking for a long time, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally managed to utter this single thought. He remembered Tobirama Senju, who had blasphemed the dead and used the enemy's ancestors to attack the enemy. Hiruzen suddenly felt…

It's so damn similar!

Tatsuma listened to Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, which were neither praise nor criticism, and seemed both sarcastic and sincere. He didn't know how to respond, so he could only shrug noncommittally.

Hiruzen Sarutobi dared not delve any deeper into this topic, fearing that if he continued thinking about it, he would develop a fear of Tatsuma. He instead asked:

"Based on your prediction, what kind of changes will occur in Kirigakure this time?"

"I believe the coup in Kirigakure will succeed."

Tatsuma first stated his opinion, and then said, "The supporters of Genmi, whether in terms of quantity or quality, are actually not as good as the traitors organized by Yagura."

Furthermore, Genmi's bloodline disease and rejection reaction, if not treated in time, would quickly break his body, especially during high-intensity combat.

Perhaps by now, Genmi has already been defeated, or even killed by Yagura.

Tatsuma dared to say this for a very important reason: he didn't have a system broadcast voice. Although it was somewhat forced, Tatsuma still sincerely praised the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

However, since Tatsuma did not specifically target any particular person at the time, the scope of the system's judgment may be larger or smaller, and in this case, it should be larger.

Perhaps the entire coup group was involved, and the fact that we haven't heard the system's announcement yet strongly suggests that Tatsuma failed to win this match.

Given Yagura's apparent aversion to "Kekkei Genkai ninja Genmi," Tatsuma doesn't think Yagura will let Genmi off the hook. After all, since Genmi has abandoned his dignity, Yagura won't care about saving face anymore.

After hearing Tatsuma's assessment, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply and reached for a pipe. Tatsuma took out a pipe first and handed it to Hiruzen.

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused for a moment, but still accepted it. Was this a gift? Suddenly, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt like his child had grown up.

Was it his years of care that finally paid off, or was it the previous heart-to-heart talk and his remedial measures that truly brought the two of them closer?

But Tatsuma just didn't want to waste the pipe. He doesn't smoke, and after this commotion, he'll probably never have the chance to walk as "Takasugi Shinsuke" again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was unaware of this, as Tatsuma wouldn't tell him that it was a prop for Tatsuma's cosplay. Using this pipe without the stench of stale tobacco, Hiruzen suddenly found the tobacco to smell exceptionally good.

After Mimi finished her drink, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Tatsuma, his furrowed brows smoothing out, and asked in a relaxed tone, "How do you think Konoha should deal with this?"

(End of this chapter)