Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

After taking two more deep drags on his pipe, filling the Hokage's office with a hazy, smoky atmosphere, Hiruzen Sarutobi calmed down and spoke softly.

This top dog is good in every way—powerful, reliable, and his only flaw is the unyielding honesty inherited from the Hatake clan. Despite his immense fame in the ninja world, even surpassing that of the Hokage, he never thinks too badly of people, especially those like Golden Lion, with whom he has a good relationship.

He knows exactly who Shiki is after dealing with him for so many years. Tsunade has a wealth of experience in the ninja world, but compared to Shiki's tactics, she is still too naive. Moreover, Shiki has a sharp tongue that is no less powerful than that of the First Hokage. If Tsunade could withstand it, she wouldn't have been fooled by Shiki when she was only three years old.

Even Tsunade is no match, let alone Nawaki, that big nutcase who'd be helping Shiki count his money even after being sold out.

Why would Golden Lion be so kind as to help Nawaki find a girl, and even introduce his disciple, the only Scorch Release ninja in Sunagakure, to Nawaki?

He wouldn't believe there wasn't something fishy going on here!

Even if Shiki were truly willing, what about Chiyo? What about Ebizo? What about the high-ranking officials of Sunagakure?

A bloodline limit is the face of a village, and also the lifeblood of a clan. Back then, when he tried to trick the Moonlight Clan into using the Transparent Release, they wouldn't agree... Not to mention that the Scorching Release is one of the few bloodline limits in Sunagakure. First of all, that girl's parents wouldn't agree.

Therefore, he dared to guarantee with his own face that the bastard Golden Lion was definitely not as interested in hitting Rope Tree as he was!

However, he couldn't say these things in front of Toastmasters, since that bastard had genuinely helped them before.

If a leader doesn't have any magnanimity, who would follow him?

834. There aren't any girls in Konoha who could match us.

Hiruzen Sarutobi got a headache just thinking about his precious Nawaki. Although the Sunagakure's scorching ninjas were not bad, there really wasn't a girl in Konoha whose talent matched that of the First Hokage's grandson. Originally, he planned to keep the good stuff in the family and find a few decent girls from his Sarutobi clan or his good friend's Shimura clan to give to Nawaki. As long as Nawaki was capable enough to reproduce a lot, he could hold his head high in front of the First and Second Hokage in the Underworld. But now that Shiki had pulled this stunt, Tsunade's attitude clearly agreed.

If they want Nawaki to come back now, it would be difficult unless their village has a girl who is a match for a Scorching Release ninja. Otherwise, it would be quite difficult. Compared to being the leader, Tsunade's top priority is to expand the Senju clan.

The key issue is that, not to mention Nawaki's generation, even in Kakashi's generation, there isn't a single girl in their village who could match that Scorching Release ninja.

It's true that Konoha has a lot of talented people, but almost all of them are male. Among female geniuses, only Tsunade has stood out over the years, and there haven't been any since. Moreover, the one from Sunagakure has a precious bloodline limit.

Others may not understand how precious bloodline limits are, but Hiruzen Sarutobi knows it very well. He was born with all five elemental chakra natures, but despite being known as the "Ninja Doctor," he spent his entire life trying to create a bloodline limit to benefit the next generation, which shows how difficult it is.

Even if everyone awakens their bloodline limit, they can't all reach the level of Double Flower Red Staff, but they all start at the Red Staff level. This is something that those without a bloodline limit cannot compare to. His eldest son's personality and character are perfect, but he only inherited his Earth Release talent. He is still an elite Jonin, and it is unknown whether he can reach the level of Quasi-Kage. His younger son is even worse. If he can reach the level of elite Jonin, the ancestral graves of the Sarutobi clan will probably be on fire.

If he had created a bloodline limit back then, his eldest son would have been born with one. While it's hard to say he could have reached the level of a perfect grand-disciple, his achievements would definitely be far greater. His younger son, even if he were less capable, wouldn't still be striving to become a Jonin...

So if Shiki really intends to give that Scorching Release ninja to Nawaki, then Konoha really doesn't have any decent girls to bring Tsunade and Nawaki back, which is going to be a real problem.

As for how Shiki managed to get close to Nawaki by giving the girl to him, that's too easy. Once Nawaki and the girl got together, Shiki would use various excuses to keep Nawaki in Sunagakure. After they had a child, Shiki would leave the child in Sunagakure. In the long run, wouldn't the child become a member of Sunagakure?

With a quarter of the Thousand Hands gene and half of the Scorching Release gene, such a child is born with a head start. At the very least, as long as he doesn't become an idiot, he will at least start as a Red Stick (a high-ranking official).

On a grander scale, if the First Hokage had somehow wandered into the wrong village and awakened some kind of Wood Release, then started a massive landscaping project in the Land of Wind, their position as the dominant force in the Konoha ninja world would be in serious jeopardy.

Why has Konoha been able to maintain its position as the dominant force in the ninja world for so many years?

Besides being strong and having many brothers, the key is the superior and rich geographical location. Over the years, the wealth accumulated on this fertile land has made them stronger and stronger, and the source of all this is the result of the first generation of masters planting trees and creating forests.

Although Sunagakure is covered in gold dust, resources are scarce and the living environment is harsh, so no matter how much money you have, you can't develop it.

If he were to lose the title of the overlord of the ninja world, he would truly have no face to face the Second Hokage who entrusted the village to him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind kept flashing through the girls in the village who could match that Sunagakure ninja with his Scorching Release technique. He even included the Uchiha clan, but unfortunately, there weren't any. The Hyuga clan did have a few girls from the main branch, but they were from the main branch and could only marry into the clan. It was almost impossible for them to have girls from the main branch, and Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't have the face to break their centuries-old clan rules.

As for the branch family, well, the sisters in the branch family aren't a good match for Nawaki in terms of status. Besides, the Uchiha and Senju are sworn enemies. Madara may have been dead for decades, but his influence remains in the hearts of the older generation. The First Hokage lost several decades of his life because of Madara; otherwise, with his vitality, he could have easily lived for several more decades...

This is a difficult situation. He can't bring Nawaki back to be the head of the organization. He will have to endure the position of Hokage for who knows how many years. Apart from Kakashi, who is a bit hopeful, the others in his eyes are really not good enough. Kakashi is held back by a Sharingan and his fate as a lone star. He doesn't know how many years it will take for him to grow up. Anyway, he estimates that it is impossible for him to grow up within at least ten years.

The next generation, the son of the perfect grand-disciple, inherits the genes of both the perfect grand-disciple and Kushina, and is also very interesting. As long as his brain develops normally, we don't expect him to be as perfect as the perfect grand-disciple. As long as he develops normally and doesn't have completely skewed talent points like Nawaki, he'll be a double-flower red stick from the start.

However, that child is still a baby, and his growth period is longer than Kakashi's. That means he has to endure at least another ten years, or even longer if Kakashi's progress is slow.

Back when Konoha was at its peak, double-flower red sticks were flying everywhere, and there was no shortage of successors.

Thinking about it now... Hiruzen Sarutobi is suffering!

In less than a few years, the village has fallen to this state, and he's already so old and still has to be a starter...

......

Seeing his old leader's melancholy expression, Hatake Sakumo didn't know how to comfort him. To be honest, Nawaki becoming Hokage wasn't a good choice. Although he had the Senju clan's name to back him up, he had watched Nawaki grow up since he was a child, and Nawaki really didn't have the ability to become Hokage. At least Jiraiya was more capable than Nawaki. But he also understood the current situation of the village. Tsunade had left, Orochimaru had defected, and Jiraiya had gone to find Orochimaru. When Minato was still alive, their Konoha's roster on paper was decent. They couldn't guarantee a championship, but they could at least put up a fight in the finals. But now that Minato was dead, the village's roster on paper consisted of only him and his old leader, who was already over fifty and whose condition was starting to decline.

He himself didn't know how many more years he could keep going. After all, even if he was a genius, he was still just an ordinary person. Maintaining his peak until fifty would be quite good. By then, the next generation wouldn't have grown up, and the starting core players would be too old. Forget the Finals, they didn't even know if they could make it to the second round of the playoffs. If they wanted to rebuild, they wouldn't even have a single cornerstone player...

835. Shinto's Three Disciples

"Ah! It's been so many years since we last got together for a chat. It's really not easy to get you all together! But seeing your achievements today, I'm deeply gratified. All the hard work I put into teaching you back then was worth it..."

Inside a private room at a tavern in Sunagakure, Shinto downed a drink and addressed his three true disciples in front of him.

He served as a team leader twice, but his only true disciples were the first batch of "Conan's dad," Hakura and Umekawa.

The trio of handsome Sasori, Uzumaki Shuri, and Makina were only acting as mentors to Chiyo and Makina's son out of courtesy; they were just there in name only.

Apart from Umekawa Nai, the other two members of "Conan's dad" team followed him after graduating from school. Umekawa Nai was tricked by him and spent several years at home aimlessly before returning to him. Therefore, compared to the three members of the handsome Sasori team, his mentor-disciple relationship with "Conan's dad" team is much deeper.

After all, the three of them, including Handsome Scorpion, already had established skills and styles, so he didn't need to teach them. Maki had been trained by Mada since childhood, and apart from lacking practical experience, he had learned almost everything he could. There was no need for him to teach him what he couldn't learn. Handsome Scorpion had been playing with puppets since he was a child, and Chiyo couldn't teach him anything in this area after he turned seven, let alone him.

Shuri Uzumaki was just there to make up the numbers. With her Seven-Tails Cloak on, even the handsome Sasori would bend over backwards. Plus, she didn't need him to teach her the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques. Although Shuri was Chiyo's disciple, she had actually taught herself the sealing techniques over the years. Even Chiyo only had a superficial understanding of the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques. He just casually gave her the sealing techniques that Shinto had brought back from the Uzumaki clan and taught her some basic sealing techniques, and that was it.

So back then, Sasori and his two companions didn't need Shinto's help at all. He just took them around to do some business, and then they went their separate ways after they were promoted to Chunin.

Moreover, their paths have all been arranged for them, so there's no need for Zhen Dou to protect them. Maki is the family's successor as the Kazekage's bodyguard captain, and if Sasori doesn't pursue his dreams, the position of the Fourth Kazekage is waiting for him. Shuri is just a housewife who can fight a little bit.

The three men who are "Conan's fathers" are different. Conan's fathers were born commoners and geniuses. They know a little about everything, but they are not proficient in anything. Such people are suitable to be a host... If they don't have any opportunities, they will either be killed in World War II or die in World War III. If they are lucky enough to survive both World Wars, they will just be minor characters in the future. At most, they will be ordinary Jonin, marry an ordinary wife, have an ordinary child, and live an ordinary life. They will not make any waves in the history of Sunagakure.

But now "Conan's dad" has the title of "Little Green Light of Sunagakure," the man who went toe-to-toe with "Yellow Flash" during the Third Shinobi World War. No matter what method he used or the process, the result was that both of them collapsed on the ground and couldn't get up after a few minutes.

Moreover, he is now the son-in-law of the Maochuan clan and the youngest high-ranking member of Sunagakure. It can be said that he has changed his original fate. All of this was caused by Shinto tricking the green-skinned man into wearing the Eight Gates.

As for Yekura, although Shinto didn't teach her any skills, she was able to thrive in the Anbu because of her status as the disciple of the first person in the history of the Anbu Hall of Fame. Unlike in the original story, she was tricked to death by Rasa less than two months after the end of the Third Shinobi World War.

Now, Luo Sha wouldn't dare to kill Ye Cang.

Just kidding, Luo Sha's father is still his little brother from back then.

Meikawa Nai-i also found a new direction in life under Shinto's guidance, becoming the only scientific researcher in Sunagakure. Although he has not made much progress over the years and most of the ninjutsu he has developed are useless, his profession is much more prestigious and he has more face to show off.

Although his legs are crippled and his fighting ability hasn't improved in years, and it's unknown whether he can still use puppetry, he is still respected wherever he goes, just like Orochimaru. Although Orochimaru is now a rogue ninja of Konoha, with the title of the great scientist after Tobirama Senju, Orochimaru will never lack suitors.

When Orochimaru defected, Rasa even wanted to take over. If Orochimaru's research project hadn't been so scandalous, Shinto would have even considered intercepting the Akatsuki. Anyway, Orochimaru wouldn't have stayed with the Akatsuki for long. After being spotted by his youngest son, Itachi, in a crowd, he left the group.

Although he admired Orochimaru as an excellent scientist, he really couldn't bring himself to provide Orochimaru with living people as research material. It was too damn evil. It was completely different from killing people. There was no psychological burden when fighting and killing each other, but the thought of giving Orochimaru living people for no reason was terrifying.

Although Mei Chuan Neiyi hasn't reached the same level of depth as Orochimaru, and is currently only developing rudimentary projects like ninjutsu, which can't compare to the sophisticated and high-level work of Orochimaru, who transforms action anime into fantasy anime, he is still revered by many people in the village.

This is a cultured person who, like Senju no Nissou, was able to develop ninjutsu!

Now that Umekawa Naito is old, it's almost time for him to step down and pass the leadership to a more capable person. Although Umekawa Nai-i, whose legs are crippled, can't take over, his status as a scientific researcher alone makes him more respected by the villagers than the head of the Umekawa clan. Over the years, there have been countless heads of the Umekawa clan, but only one scientific researcher has emerged. In addition, with the title of Shinto's disciple, even if he is not the head of the Umekawa clan, his status in the village is not low.

However, this guy has been staying in his study for years and rarely goes out. The last time he went out was when his friend "Conan's dad" had a child.

The main purpose of Masato calling them out this time was to have them play the main role in testing what Yokura really thought about Nawaki. He was a teacher, and as a role model, talking to Yokura about these things would be like pimping. Moreover, he and Yokura were from two different generations, and there was always some generation gap between them, making communication inconvenient.

But his friends were different; they could say anything without any reservations. So when Yekura returned yesterday, he immediately invited the three of them out, and also informed "Conan's dad" and Umekawa Nai-i in advance to be the main force, while he played a supporting role and kept the atmosphere lively.

836. It's pretty pathetic to say that the teacher is still single.

"...It's because you've been away from the village so often these past few years, teacher. We've tried to ask you to come out, but we can't find you. -_-||"

Mei Chuan complained silently.

For years, he's been holed up at home developing his ninja skills, rarely seeing the sun. Compared to his two friends, "Conan's dad" and Yekura, the older Umekawa is noticeably fairer. Despite being several years older than his two friends, he seems to be developing into a young heartthrob.

However, he also started to neglect his appearance, with his hair on his head looking messy and as if he hadn't washed it in a year.

Since their Chunin promotion team disbanded, everyone has been busy with their own things. Kudo went to work as a security guard at the training ground, Pakura joined the Anbu, and he stayed at home doing research. However, they would still get together every few days, after all, they were comrades who had gone through thick and thin together. It was their teacher who was rarely in the village. He even went off to pick up girls right after their team disbanded, and this story spread throughout the ninja world.

If it weren't for the Senju clan heir trying to flirt with their friends, this teacher would probably have forgotten about them entirely. After all, it seems like this teacher hasn't actually made any advances towards them in all these years...

As for the people from Konoha trying to flirt with his friend, he was vehemently opposed. He had been taught since childhood that the village was his home, and his friend was the only one in their village with the Scorch Release technique. Helping someone from another village flirt with his friend was like inviting a pig to root for a cabbage. However, he couldn't disobey his teacher's orders, and his teacher's explanation made sense. There were very few people in the entire village of his generation who could match his friend. Handsome Sasori was one, but he was now a rogue ninja and no one knew where he had gone.

The key point is that Handsome Scorpion already has a partner, so he can't let his friend become a mistress, right?

Although the village doesn't have a monogamous rule, over the years no one has ever been seen to have multiple wives or concubines. His father had many children, but officially, he only had his mother...

So, for the sake of his friends' future and for the sake of the village, he reluctantly agreed to come out and help.

"Adults are busy, that's called having great responsibility with great ability. You're not getting any younger, Kudo's kids are old enough to run errands, and you, the young master of the Meichuan clan, are still single. This can't go on!"

As Masato spoke, he immediately gave Conan's father, who was standing to the side, a series of winks.

Mei Chuan Neiyi has probably been staying at home for too long; he doesn't even know how to chat properly. We had already agreed that Yecang was the main target, but this guy is starting to treat her like the main target now.

So he quickly winked at "Conan's dad" to get him to change the subject to Yekura.

"By the way, Yekura. Didn't Nawaki from the Senju clan ask you out last time? He even chatted with you all night... uh, now everyone in the village knows he's pursuing you. How do you feel about him?"

As expected, those who frequently attend high-level meetings are the ones who know what's going on. Even though they were just there for show, they still learned a lot from observing. Seeing the teacher's gaze, "Conan's dad" rolled his eyes and downed a large glass of wine on his own. Taking advantage of the alcohol, he asked his friend.

He wouldn't normally say this, since it was his friend's private matter. However, as a ninja, he had to complete any task assigned by his superior, no matter what.

He shared similar thoughts with Mei Chuan Neiyi. He had an innate aversion to people from Konoha flirting with his friends, and even a deeper one. He was a veteran of the battlefield, and he knew how many of his comrades had died at the hands of Konoha ninjas. Of course, many Konoha ninjas had also died at the hands of the Sand Ninjas. Hating Konoha ninjas was the duty of every Sand Ninja. Every time he thought about someone from an enemy village flirting with his friends, he felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten shit.

However, unlike Mei Chuan Neiyi who stays at home all day, he knows some inside information about the teacher. He helps Nawaki flirt with his friends so that the teacher can more easily flirt with Tsunade from Konoha. A teacher for a day is a father for life. His own child is already old enough to run errands, and it's really sad that the teacher is still single.

So let's just consider it as a way for the teacher to liberate Ten Sisters as soon as possible...

"...I didn't feel anything, it was just like seeing an old friend I hadn't seen for many years. I just didn't expect that the Senju clan members were different from what I had imagined."

"Teacher...this must have been your idea, right?"

Hearing his friend's words, Ye Cang remained calm and composed, stating the same thing as if it were an ordinary matter.

However, at the end, he glanced sideways at the teacher next door.

After listening to stories all night, she was still confused about what was going on and was thinking of going home to take a shower and then go to work at the Dark Guard. But as soon as she left the hotel, the Kazekage sent someone to find her. Although the Kazekage immediately arranged for her to leave the village and go to the border to check the deployment of the border sentries.

Generally speaking, there's no need for her to do this kind of mission. The war has only ended less than three years ago, and there's no way a large-scale war could happen. Although sending someone to take a look around would suffice, why would she, the captain of the action team, need to go in person? Considering that the Senju clan appeared in Konoha and told her stories all night, and the Kazekage immediately sought her out the next day, it would be strange if there wasn't something fishy going on.

Given that both Tsunade and Nawaki were tricked into coming here by the teacher, and considering the teacher's personality, there were some rumors circulating in the village after she returned. If she still couldn't figure out who the mastermind was, then all those years she spent in the Anbu would have been for nothing.

"Isn't this for your own good? I told you last time that there's no future in the Anbu. You can just stay in a place like the Anbu for a few years and build up your seniority. Staying there for too long won't do you any good. Who knew you'd stay in the Anbu for so many years? I asked Rasa to get you out before, and you were willing. I shouldn't have agreed to let Ebizo bring you into the Anbu in the first place. Kudo already has a child, and you don't even have a boyfriend. Do you want to be an old maid? You have a bloodline limit. Only one person in the village appears every few decades. If you become an old maid, won't the village lose a path to awakening the Blaze Release? Looking at your family members, I see that none of them have any hope. The hope for awakening the Blaze Release rests on you!"

"Think about it, how can you face the village's years of nurturing you? How can you face your ancestors who created Zhuo Dun?"

“However, the village doesn’t really have any young talents who can match you and ensure that your child can awaken the Scorching Release in the future, so I can only think of Nawaki. His talent may be a little lacking, but he has the real Hashirama Senju genes. Moreover, even if you marry Nawaki, you won’t be bullied. Instead, you will be the one in charge. Isn’t that better?”

When it comes to acting, Shinto never holds back. His tearful and moving speech brought tears to the eyes of "Conan's father" and Umekawa Nai-i, who were deeply touched.

I never expected this unreliable teacher to have considered so much for the students!