I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 527 Subordinates who actively seek out work during their free time are someone no boss can refuse.

Inside the Hokage Building, Shisui was led to complete some paperwork, which was actually just to update his file. Theoretically, the team leader and members should all be present, but Tatsuma had special privileges.

If it weren't for the fact that Hiruzen Sarutobi might be looking for him with confidential information that he couldn't easily share with others, especially children, Tatsuma wouldn't even need to make Shisui go through the proper procedures.

Upon arriving at the Hokage's office, which was ajar, Tatsuma knocked twice before pushing the door open and closing it behind him. He then asked, "Hokage-sama, is there something you need?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi beckoned to Tatsuma to sit down in front of him, then said, "You've just returned from your rest period, so you shouldn't have participated in this mission, but this matter..."

Besides you, I can't think of anyone else who could do this, so I'll have to trouble you again.

"It's alright, please go ahead."

Tatsuma didn't care whether Hiruzen Sarutobi was genuinely considerate or just saying it for show; it wouldn't change the fact that his vacation was about to end anyway, and he didn't really care that his vacation was ending so early.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took out two documents and said, "These are some things that Orochimaru and Danzo investigated. They had different starting points and investigated different aspects, but they both pointed to the same point."

That means the Iwa ninja have entered the Land of Rain and the Land of Waterfall. In the Land of Rain, it's simply a matter of the Iwa ninja persuading them to join the war, which Danzo is already handling. The key issue is the Land of Waterfall.

At this moment, Tatsuma also took the documents and started reading them. Since Hiruzen Sarutobi said that Danzo was handling things in the Land of Rain, Tatsuma skipped over the documents and instead looked at the section about the Land of Waterfall.

Judging from the movements of the Iwa ninja and the upper echelons and ninjas of the Land of Waterfall, it is indeed very abnormal. There are numerous clues indicating that Iwa ninja have entered the Land of Waterfall, and their numbers are not small.

Under these circumstances, the Land of Waterfall showed no sign of making any public statement. Perhaps they had reached an agreement with the Hidden Village of Iwa beforehand to help conceal the news, or perhaps...

"The upper echelons of the Land of Waterfalls are controlled by the ninja from Iwa.

Tatsuma said confidently that he didn't care whether this was the real "truth" or not. His statement was the "truth" that Konoha needed most, because with this reason, Konoha could openly enter the Land of Waterfall.

The Land of Waterfall is merely an effect. Whether it's the Hidden Stone Village or the Hidden Leaf Village, if they really want to do something to it, the Land of Waterfall can't stop them at all. The small number of elite Waterfall ninja can barely keep up with internal stability, let alone external threats.

Unlike the Land of Grass, the Land of Waterfall is not a battlefield for major wars. Although the number of ninjas in Takigakure is not large, perhaps due to their unique selection methods or the abundance of resources, they have some elite ninjas.

Although they may not amount to much compared to major powers, if they were to defect to one side of the battlefield, it could still cause some trouble for the other side. Moreover, Taki no Kuni has the advantage of geographical location.

High mountains and waterfalls completely cover the main cities of the Land of Waterfall and the Hidden Village of Waterfall. The remaining terrain is so treacherous that it is difficult to even walk, let alone use it as a battlefield. Under normal circumstances, ninjas from other villages would not deliberately go there.

But whether it's Iwagakure or Konoha, if you're determined to set foot there, you will definitely be able to. It's just a matter of cost-effectiveness. After all, the Land of Grass has many plains, making it more convenient for commuting and resupply, which is why the battlefield was chosen there.

Aside from that, the only advantage Takigakure has left is the Seven-Tails. Takigakure is the only small country with a tailed beast, but it is likely that it lacks resources and doesn't know how to use it effectively.

After all, even the Five Great Nations handle Tailed Beasts with great care. The fact that the Land of Waterfall can prevent Tailed Beasts from becoming a burden is already beyond the imagination of the Five Great Nations.

This is also thanks to the small but relatively large number of Jonin elites trained by Takigakure. They were able to keep the Seven-Tails in Takigakure for decades without causing a large-scale uprising, which is quite an achievement.

Upon hearing Tatsuma's answer, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and nodded. Having pulled the Iwa ninja along, he had completed the first step in establishing a legitimate reason for his attack. He continued, "What is the purpose of the Iwa ninja controlling the upper echelons of the Land of Waterfall?"

"Tailed Beasts".

Tatsuma also said without hesitation, "Iwagakure's own Four-Tails and Five-Tails have been deployed to the battlefield, but the effect is not significant. Minato and Kushina can each fight one of them alone, so the Tailed Beasts are not very useful on the battlefield."

Although they have switched to small-team operations, without the power of the tailed beasts as a driving force, the Iwa ninja's advance has almost come to a standstill, and they have achieved virtually no results in the past six months.

Meanwhile, the Hidden Cloud Village has been making moves again, and we have also stationed troops on the battlefield. If pressure is applied from both sides, the Iwa ninja will not be able to withstand it. They must change the situation now.

The impact and influence on the battlefield from an additional tailed beast are immeasurable. Therefore, the Iwa ninja are likely using the upper echelons of the Land of Waterfall as leverage to seize control of the Seven-Tails.

Whether his guess was accurate or not wasn't important; what mattered was that Tatsuma had perfected the "name" for his apprenticeship. Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, looking worried and slightly angry, and said:

"Although the Land of Waterfall is a small country, it is still a sovereign state. The actions of the Iwa ninja have gone too far!"

"Tatsuma, I hereby command you to go to the Land of Waterfall to save it, punish the evil deeds of the Iwa ninja, stop the spread of war, and promote the peaceful development of the ninja world. Do you have the confidence?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Tatsuma straightened his back and accepted the order. Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded solemnly, but the next second, both of them relaxed, and Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile:

"By the way, I saw you bring Shisui with you to the Hokage Building today?"

Going to the Land of Waterfalls isn't in a rush, since there's currently no evidence to suggest that Iwa ninja's operation will directly threaten Konoha. Therefore, it's fine for Tatsuma to rest for a few more days if he wants.

My indignation just now was merely to create the right emotion for myself and to find a suitable reason for my actions. Now that the decision has been made, there's no need to rush.

Tatsuma leaned back in his seat, nodded, and said, "Well, after all, it was a promise. It would be too rude to change it at the last minute."

"Since you've brought one along, would you like me to complete your squad?"

There is no strict requirement on the exact number of genin in a team led by a chunin or jonin, since ninjas can be reduced in number, and more genin are needed to accompany them on occasional missions.

But the usual practice, at least for the last two or three decades, is to have one ninja leader paired with three genin members.

With four people in total, they can form many formations, and the combination of personnel can also complete many tasks that require functional ninjas.

Moreover, it is more appropriate for one ninja to teach three genin. Any more than that would either delay the team's mission time and progress, or greatly deplete the energy and attention of the ninja in charge, and in the end, none of them could be taught well.

This "law" has been implemented throughout the entire ninja world. Nowadays, all the major ninja villages are used to having a team leader who leads three genin. The "completion" that Hiruzen Sarutobi mentioned is also about fulfilling this rule.

Tatsuma shook his head and said, "One is enough. This year, both the teacher and Lord Orochimaru are taking on one student. Shisui has great talent, learns very quickly, and doesn't need to be interrupted to digest the information."

He can keep up with my pace in real time, and if one or two more people come, I'll be distracted, and Shisui will also waste time.

"Yes, Torifu mentioned it. I heard that this kid finished learning all the knowledge from the Ninja Academy about a year ago."

As Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, a worried look appeared on his face. "However, this child has never experienced life at the Ninja Academy."

"He is my disciple, and the bonds between us will continue to come to him on their own, so don't worry."

Tatsuma wasn't worried. He knew his status and influence in Konoha. As long as Shisui's status as his disciple gradually spread, countless people would want to become Shisui's friend.

It may not be pure, but some things can always be filtered out, so there's nothing to worry about.

Besides, Shisui wouldn't have many opportunities to witness "ugliness" while following him, so there's no need to worry about her personality becoming distorted.

In the original work, Shisui, who lived in the twisted gap between his family and village, didn't have any major personality problems. At least compared to Itachi, Shisui was better at weighing the pros and cons and knew how to do things with a higher cost-performance ratio. In the end, he just failed.

Itachi, on the other hand, was more impulsive, using his emotions as the guiding principle for his actions. It's not a matter of right or wrong, superior or inferior between the two, but Tatsuma preferred Shisui's personality because he was like that himself.

He was even more extreme than Shisui in personality. After weighing the pros and cons, Tatsuma would sometimes choose options that he shouldn't have.

Compared to Shisui, Tatsuma was far less compassionate in his choices. The matter of Hashirama's remains is still something Tsunade occasionally brings up as an excuse to "beat" Tatsuma when she has no other reason to be angry.

In fact, both Tatsuma and Tsunade understood that it was the most advantageous choice Tatsuma could make at that time, as it would bring the most benefits to the village, Tatsuma, and Tsunade herself.

It seems inappropriate for Tatsuma to do this, but there was no other way, because Tatsuma was the only one who could possibly persuade Tsunade at the time. If it were anyone else, Tsunade might even do something like "the fish dies, but the net remains."

Hiruzen Sarutobi also recalled these events. Perhaps it was heartless, but in a sense, Tatsuma's choices were always beneficial to the village. This was the choice of the Will of Fire.

Therefore, even without the support of his ninja academy life, Shisui's Will of Fire shouldn't be a problem. He nodded and said, "Then you should work harder in the future, after all, Shisui is a descendant of Kagami."

"I never stop at the beginning. Perhaps it's a bit presumptuous to do everything to the best of my ability, but I've always been moving in that direction, including instructing my disciples. You can rest assured."

After Tatsuma finished speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. He absolutely agreed with this point. Although Tatsuma would often shirk some things, once he accepted a mission, he would always do his best to complete it.

"Knock knock knock~"

At that moment, a knock came at the door. The conversation inside the office was no longer sensitive, and Hiruzen Sarutobi said directly, "Come in."

The door opened, and the slender Shisui walked into the office, bowing and saying, "Hokage-sama, teacher, I apologize for disturbing you. I've finished my paperwork, but I don't know where to go, so I came to ask what I should do next."

Subordinates who find their own work in their spare time are someone no boss can refuse. Both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tatsuma smiled, and Hiruzen looked at Tatsuma.

Tatsuma was Shisui's teacher and the Jonin who led the team. He should be in charge of arranging what Shisui should do. After thinking for a moment, Tatsuma said, "Go back and celebrate with your parents."

Then, let me tell you that you'll be leaving the village in a couple of days to carry out a mission. Please make sure you have everything you need for the trip ready. I'll let you know the specific time later.

"Yes, teacher!"

Upon hearing that he could leave the village to carry out a mission, Shisui's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to turn around and prepare, but before his teacher could speak, Tatsuma waved his hand and said, "Go."

"good!"

Zhi Shui turned around, quietly closed the door, and then her footsteps were steady for only two seconds before they became like the sound of galloping hooves, getting faster and faster, and the sound source getting farther and farther away.

Chenma smiled and shook his head. These little guys all seemed to be like that, always full of enthusiasm for their first mission outside the village.

After Shisui left, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, "The trip to the Land of Waterfalls won't be very safe. Do you want to take him with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with getting to know the true cruelty of the ninja world sooner rather than later."

(End of this chapter)