Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

"You mean the Golden Lion also appeared in the Land of Waves?"

In the Hokage Building of Konoha, the son of the perfect grand-disciple and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the orphan of the Uchiha clan, are highly valued. One is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and the son of the Fourth Hokage, and the other is the younger brother of Itachi Uchiha, the hidden hero of Konoha. He can't help but pay attention to these two children's identities.

So, immediately after Kakashi finished the mission, he called Kakashi to the Hokage Building to inquire about the details. When he heard that they had encountered the rogue ninja "Demon" Zabuza from Kirigakure in the Land of Waves, he was terrified. After all, Kakashi was no longer the genius boy he once was. He had been dragged down by that damned Sharingan and was now in his mid-twenties, still stuck in the sewers. Now he was a true five-minute man. If Zabuza could withstand Kakashi's first few waves of attacks, he didn't even dare to think about what would happen next.

Although Kakashi was severely hampered by that damned Sharingan, he was still a member of the Hatake clan. With a future power-up, he might still be able to rise again. After all, he was the son of his loyal follower for decades, and his father still held high hopes for Kakashi. Even though things were going poorly for now, it wasn't hopeless, especially considering Naruto and Sasuke. If they were wiped out this time, he wouldn't have the face to face Kakashi's grandfather...

However, when he heard that Kakashi and the others had encountered that bastard Shiki in the Land of Waves, he felt relieved but also became suspicious.

Although Shiki is a bastard, his relationship with Sakumo is much better than his relationship with Onoki. Shiki wouldn't just stand by and watch someone die. However, he also became suspicious. Although Shiki likes to wander around, what were the chances that Kakashi, along with Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha, would run into him in the Land of Waves on their first mission outside the village? Plus, Naruto is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. He was always worried that this bastard Shiki might have some ulterior motives towards their Nine-Tails.

"Yes, and he also took the ice-style boy who was with Zabuza. I think his purpose in going to the Land of Waves was for that ice-style boy..."

Kakashi, unaware of Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts, simply nodded and continued speaking.

Based on his analysis of the journey back and the old man's behavior in the Land of Waves, Kakashi could conclude that the old man went to the Land of Waves for the sake of the orphan of Mizuki. After all, he was quite shocked when he learned that the masked boy knew Ice Release. Since the Bloodstained Mist Era, the ninja world had not seen Ice Release for more than a decade.

Based on his years of experience as a squad leader in the Anbu, Kakashi was certain that the old man was after that Ice Release boy. As for how he knew the Ice Release boy was in the Land of Waves, Kakashi attributed it to the Sunagakure Anbu. While Konoha's Anbu was formidable, Sunagakure's Anbu was no pushover either; they had at least once fought against his father's Konoha Anbu...

"Hiss...! I see. You must be tired from being out for so long. You should go back and keep your father company."

Upon hearing Kakashi's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils dilated, and his heart skipped a beat. After finally calming down, he said to Kakashi.

But I felt a deep heartache, just like when my eldest son built the village flag.

He really didn't expect that Ice Release still existed in the ninja world. The main problem was that that bastard Golden Lion got lucky!

Bloodline limit—this was an insurmountable obstacle for Hiruzen Sarutobi throughout his life. He was the "greatest Hokage in history," born with the rare five elemental chakra natures, nicknamed the "Ninja Doctor," a super ninja prodigy who could send Onoki flying. He was exceptionally talented from a young age, yet despite possessing so many advantages, he couldn't leave a bloodline limit for his descendants. He had even tried to create one for them back then; if it were a Transparent Release technique, that would have been ideal...

But only those who have created a bloodline limit know how difficult it is to create one, and they understand its preciousness even more. Over the years, no matter how many times he tried, he hadn't succeeded. He remembered hearing that many clans in Kirigakure with bloodline limits had been wiped out by that idiot Fourth Mizukage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart was bleeding. It was such a waste. If he had known that the Fourth Mizukage was going to wipe out all those bloodline limit families, he would have had his underlings take a few of those family brats and raise them. After a few years, he could have married them off to children of the Sarutobi clan. In that case, the unfinished business would have been completed in his hands, and there would have been more than one bloodline limit. What a great opportunity that would have been!

He even sent his ANBU underlings to check if any of those families had escaped, but the Fourth Mizukage was too ruthless, and his ANBU underlings searched for a long time without finding anyone who had escaped, so he gave up.

Now, Kakashi says that there's an Ice Release boy by Zabuza's side. Needless to say, that must be the last descendant of the Mizuki clan, the representative of Kirigakure. It's really unexpected that there was one who slipped through the net and was discovered by Zabuza, and then that bastard Shiki picked him up.

Hiruzen Sarutobi really wanted to point at the heavens and hurl a sarcastic "Damn it!" but years of cultivating his composure told him that even if he did, it would be pointless; the Ice Release boy was gone forever...

958. When you're in charge, your verbal skills must be top-notch.

Waterless moon plus + ice escape.

It was a combination of extraordinary beauty and splendor, and has been the envy of countless people for many years.

While Ice Release isn't a particularly powerful bloodline limit, it is undoubtedly the most magnificent ninjutsu in the ninja world. Coupled with Mizuki's bewitching beauty, it's simply unparalleled in the ninja world.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi was a famous playboy and talented young man in Konoha, his inherited bad luck always held him back. He was always less popular than his former best friend, which was his biggest regret in life.

If they had known earlier that Zabuza had a boy with the ice shield of Minazuki by his side, that bastard Shiki wouldn't have had a chance to pick up the scraps. He could have easily brought people over, brought the boy back, and used his smooth talk to fool a little boy. In two or three years, he could have picked out a few good-looking nieces from his clan and given them to that kid. Maybe in the future, the ice escaping style would belong to their Sarutobi clan!

Furthermore, they could use the genes of the monstrous name Minazuki to improve the bearded genes of their Sarutobi clan, so that the next generation would produce a magnificent Sarutobi Ice Release handsome man, which would also make up for his biggest regret.

But now... what a pity!

The person has already been tricked into going to Sunagakure by that bastard Shiki. Given Shiki's personality, getting him back is a pipe dream. It'll probably be ten years from now, and Ice Release will be a specialty of Sunagakure...

........

In Sunagakure, thanks to the promotional slogans of the Anbu underlings, a group of young rookies have become obsessed. Unlike the joint Chunin Exams of Iwagakure a few years ago, where Rasa had to draw lots, almost all the hot-blooded youths in the village have signed up for this joint Chunin Exams of Konoha in just a few days. However, due to the sheer number of participants, Rasa never expected that the promotional slogans created by that Anbu underling with his cultural knowledge would be so effective, managing to mobilize so many participants.

However, it's impossible to send so many people to Konoha. His purpose here is to show off his skills, not to conquer cities and seize territory. So, he still selects the genin with superior strength. Although the village has been implementing an elite system for many years, not everyone can be promoted to chunin within a year of their debut, and many others missed the chunin exams in previous years for various reasons. Therefore, the village has accumulated too many genin. Even though Rasa has carefully selected, the number of people selected is still as many as several dozen.

This was selected under relatively stringent conditions.

Looking at the outstanding students he had selected, Rasa couldn't sit still any longer. He had been hesitant about whether to lead the team himself, since the Raikage had personally led the team during the last Chunin Exams in Iwagakure. This time it was Sunagakure's turn to flex their muscles, so he had no reason not to go. However, the Kazekage was very busy, dealing with a mountain of documents every day and occasionally having to go undercover to check on the villagers' living standards. It wasn't easy to find time to spare, especially since Sunagakure didn't have a big-headed guy like Azabu to assist him.

Since Ebizo officially retired, he has been doing all the work by himself, which is much more difficult than what his three generations of teachers had done. So at the time, he really couldn't decide whether to take a break from his work and go to Konoha to support these kids.

After all, black-clad things happen in any village when they fight, and even Konoha, which promotes love and peace all day long, is no exception when it comes to the village's reputation, so Maki alone may not be able to cover it up.

However, he hadn't really thought it through at the time, but now the future of these dozens of villages made him determined to personally lead the team to oversee the situation.

These are the future of the village. Not to mention Karin, who is still here, if anything happens to her three children, Sunagakure will suffer a bloodbath. Moreover, there are so many people here this time. If things don't go well, Sunagakure will be set back by more than one or two decades. The village's geniuses are basically all here.

"Aren't you at home with your Brother Bai?"

Before setting off, dozens of selected youths gathered at the foot of Fengying Tower. Luo Sha stood on the high platform of Fengying Tower, giving these hot-blooded youths all sorts of buffs. This was a tradition of every village setting off first.

While Konoha has always had the strongest verbal skills, every high-ranking Kage possesses a strong one. Verbal skills are an essential skill for every village's high-ranking Kage. Strength may not be great, and insight may be lacking, but verbal skills must be mastered, as they are essential for motivating subordinates.

Although Rasa is not yet at the level of Onoki or Hiruzen Sarutobi, he has been the Kazekage for more than ten years and his proficiency has finally improved. His output on the high platform seemed to activate the dozens of hot-blooded young men below, making them all excited. At this moment, they would all be ready to take the head of a general from the midst of a large army.

There are a few exceptions among the young people, such as Luo Sha's three children and the children of high-ranking officials like Xiang Lin. They have been in contact with Luo Sha for a long time, so they are not easily fooled by a few words from him.

The old man was firing off shots from above, while Temari, bored, was teasing her best friend beside her.

"Yeah, it's been ages since you've hung out with us. You're such a heartless guy, always looking for girls and no loyalty..."

Kankuro with the painted face also joined in the吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to complain or criticize).

Although he often gets beaten up by Karin, when it comes to friendship, besides Temari, he has the best relationship with Karin. He doesn't know if he's addicted to being beaten up, but he feels uncomfortable if he doesn't get beaten up by Karin every day.

During this period, because they were going to participate in the Konoha Joint Chunin Exams, Maki didn't take them out of the village to do missions in order to keep them in shape. So they stayed in the village all this time. As a result, ever since Lord Shinto brought back a monstrous genius who was so talented that it was impossible to tell if he was male or female, Karin has never been with them.

This made Kankuro, who had grown up with Kankuro and was addicted to being beaten up, very upset.

It wasn't that he had any improper thoughts about Karin; it was just that he felt a little sad that his childhood friend had suddenly become distant.

But that guy was indeed incredibly handsome; he had never seen such a beautiful boy in his entire life.

I feel a little sad.

If I looked like that, why the hell would I need to wear such a garish face paint...?

"boom!"

"Idiot! Just because you're not talking doesn't mean you're mute. Brother Bai just arrived in our village, and I'm worried he'll be bored..."

No sooner had Kankuro finished speaking than Karin delivered a punch to his head, striking him and sending him sprawling to the ground in one swift motion, without the slightest hesitation.

Karin stood with her hands on her hips and said fiercely.

959. This girl looks exactly like someone raised by Master Shinto.

“…”

While Luo Sha was giving a speech on stage, he saw his eldest son being beaten up by that little girl Karin again, and he was filled with a deep sense of helplessness and exasperation.

He had seen this scene many times over the past decade.

He really couldn't understand why Karin, who was raised by Chiyo and Yusaori, had a personality that seemed to be raised by Shinto, with a temper that was just too fiery.

It's one thing if it's normal, but can't you see this is a formal occasion? Can't you tone it down a bit...?-_-||

"Ahem... Karin, be careful what you say."

The others around below, including Maki and some of the team leaders, were already used to this little princess's temper and were no longer surprised. When this little princess lost her temper, she had a fiery temper that dared to confront even their own master, Shindou. This was just routine for her.

However, in such a serious setting, it is still necessary for Maki to offer a reminder.

"Oh!"

Seeing everyone's gazes, Karin playfully stuck out her tongue and continued chatting with her best friend.

"Sigh...! Leading a team is not easy."

Karin's team leader and nanny, "Conan's dad," helplessly covered his face and glanced at Rasa on the high platform with a hint of sympathy. Ever since he became this girl's team leader, "Conan's dad" had lost more than ten pounds in just a few months, and no matter how much he ate, he couldn't make up for it.

This little princess has been spoiled since she was a child, and she's really hard to handle. He can't bear to scold her, let alone hit her. Even Lady Chiyo's family has never hit her, so how could he dare to lay a hand on her? For the past few months, he's been able to obediently coax her. However, things are alright in the village, where this little princess is relatively well-behaved. But every time he goes out of the village to do a mission, he's on tenterhooks, afraid that this little princess will cause some trouble.

He was fundamentally against Karin going to Konoha to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams. Karin learned sealing techniques from her mother, and with her skill level, she could easily become a Chunin. There was no need for her to go to Konoha to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams. When he agreed to be Karin's team leader, he thought he would just take her to do some tedious daily tasks in the early stages. With that girl's personality, she would quit after a few days. Even if she could persevere, she could easily become a Chunin after a few months by participating in the Chunin Exams and then join the sealing team to hang out with her mother.

He could continue training his silly son, but before Sunagakure even held the Chunin Exams, Konoha suddenly came up with this. And to make matters worse, this little girl was acting crazy. The two friends weren't even at the level to show off their muscles, yet they insisted on going to Konoha to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams.

Originally, because he was Karin's mentor, he was supposed to go to Konoha with her. However, Rasa decided to lead the team himself and leave him in the village, which relieved him. He never knew how much pressure there was until he took this girl out of the village. This girl gets obsessed as soon as she sees a poster of Uchiha Itachi, and even Kuzu-sensei couldn't stop her.

However... now that this girl seems to have fallen for that brat Minazuki, things should be much better now...

"Hehe, I think she's quite cute, much cuter than her father."

Yekura, Conan's dad's friend, seemed to really like the little girl, and said with a smile.

Back when Handsome Scorpion was this age, he easily defeated all three of them. While he was incredibly strong, they all complained about his personality – he was just too withdrawn. Their teacher once asked the three of them to "reform" Handsome Scorpion, but it turned out they were almost reformed by him instead…

......

After Luo Sha finished bestowing various buffs upon the youths, the entire group also triggered the event in a grand procession.

When the Kazekage travels, it's naturally a grand affair. His guards alone number over a hundred. It's not that Rasa is concerned about saving face, but rather that when the head of a village goes to another village, he should maintain a certain level of prestige. He can't afford to embarrass the great ninja village.

Otherwise, the leaders of those smaller ninja villages will have more influence than the leader of Sunagakure, and people who don't know the situation might think that Sunagakure has no one.

"Huh? Teacher, where are you going? And you're taking Brother Bai with you."

Not long after Rasa and his men left, Conan's father, who had just seen his students off at the village entrance, saw Masato leading a handsome young man slowly walking towards the village entrance.

"You know that there are just as many people in the ninja world who love me as there are who hate me, and Onoki is a cunning old fox. The beautiful woman and Ebizo were worried that Rasa and Maki couldn't protect me, so they sent me to come along."

"I'm not trying to criticize you, but after teaching you for so many years, you haven't even mastered a fraction of my skills. I've been teaching Karin for over half a year, and she hasn't made any progress at all. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to work so hard."

Masato gave him a disgruntled look.

"Haha...Really? Have a safe trip, teacher."

"Conan's father" dared not refute, fearing he would be taught a lesson by iron fist. After all, he had been a high-ranking official for many years, and now that he was middle-aged, how could he possibly be beaten up by a teacher in public? Did he even have any face left?

"Alright, we're leaving. Go back to the village and teach your son a lesson. He's my godson, after all. He's sixteen or seventeen years old and still can't beat Karin. If others find out, I'll laugh myself to death. I don't care what methods you use, when I come back, that brat Zhenmi will at least have opened the fifth gate for me."

After raising his large, dark fist and waving it in front of "Conan's dad," Masato left with Shiro and the rest of the group.

He had originally planned to give up on that brat, Jenny, but then he thought that Kaguya would be born in two or three years, and when the Fourth Shinobi World War started, even a "most talkative Hokage in history" like Hiruzen Sarutobi would only be a minor character. Although Jenny didn't click with him, he was still his grand-disciple. If he was too weak, it would be fine if he was killed instantly by the dead summoned by Obito. Dying at the hands of a well-known and powerful person would at least be considered heroic. But if he were to die at the hands of those unknown clones of White Zetsu, that would be incredibly tragic.

So whether it's for the sake of Shiki's reputation or to prevent Conan's father from burying his son, his demands aren't high. He just wants the kid to open the Fifth Gate. If he can't beat those dead people with names and identities, fine, but at least he should be able to take down those White Zetsu clones and underlings.

"Hiss... Teacher, you're putting me in a difficult position. Yecang, please help me think of a solution."

Watching Masato's departing figure, "Conan's dad" tearfully asked his friends for help.

His son is protected by his wife and has a higher status in the family than he does. He would have to be ruthless to get his son to meet the requirement of opening five doors in a short period of time, but he simply can't do that.

"...Please accept my condolences."

Ye Cang gently patted his shoulder to comfort him. Everyone knows about Zhenmi's situation. He gave up his good job as a double-flower red stick and instead became an outsider. That's enough.