Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"Full moon".

Zongxian called out.

Hozuki Mangetsu immediately understood and handed the handwritten letter from the Fifth Mizukage to Nara Shikaku, who was standing next to him.

The prodigy from Kirigakure was quite well-behaved at this moment. To be precise, he didn't dare to cause any trouble next to Sogen. The difference in strength made him always a little cautious and prudent when facing Sogen. Obeying the strong was a rule ingrained in the bones of Kirigakure.

Next,

Nara Shikaku opened the letter and read it to Akimichi Torifu from beginning to end. The letter wasn't long, but the content wasn't bland. Putting aside the useless nonsense, it mainly talked about how a Kirigakure ninja using the Boil Release technique had been attacked, and speculated that Kazuma and his group might have a bigger conspiracy, with Konoha and Sunagakure possibly among their targets. Therefore, he hoped that Konoha could lend a hand and that the two sides could join forces to hunt down Kazuma and his group, and so on.

After reading,

Nara Shikaku also had a furrowed brow.

He felt a deep disgust for Kazuma, who was determined to destroy Konoha, and at the same time, he was also very wary of him. Putting aside his recent troubles, just considering this matter, with his exceptionally intelligent mind, it was not difficult for him to sense the dangerous aura lurking in the shadows.

"Lord Hokage?"

Looking at Akimichi Torifu, who was bathed in sunlight and remained silent,

He asked in a low voice.

When there are outsiders present, it is natural to use a solemn and formal form of address.

"Zongxian-kun, what are your thoughts on this?"

After a moment of silence, Akimichi Torifu spoke up, not rushing to state his own opinion, but instead asking for Sogen's opinion.

"I'll do whatever I can. Although I really want to slap this jumpy guy to death, the problem is that I can't find him, so... I can only do my best and do whatever I can! Whether it's the Anbu or the Joint Investigation Department, we can send people to track them down and see if we can find Kazuma and the others."

"What about the Cloud Ninja and the Rock Ninja?"

"Why bother with them? Unless there are clues that Ma and the others are hiding in the Land of Earth or the Land of Lightning, we can ignore them and let them do whatever they want." When talking about the Cloud Village and the Rock Village, Sogen was completely indifferent and did not care about the two villages at all.

"Well... as always, this matter is entrusted to you, Sogen-kun." Akimichi Torifu uttered these words, which he himself had lost count of how many times he had said them. After speaking, he sighed softly, as if he wanted to say something more, but in the end, he stopped there.

"I will do my best."

Regarding this result,

Zongxian was not surprised.

However... Akimichi Torifu's hesitant attitude at the end made him quite concerned. His intuition told him that it should be a good thing, perhaps the situation he had been waiting for. But since Akimichi Torifu ultimately chose to remain silent, he had no way to force the Hokage to speak.

But this is ultimately a good omen.

perhaps,

It won't be long before we can get rid of the redundant word "assist".

······

After Sogen took Hozuki Mangetsu and left.

After two more minutes of silence on the veranda, Nara Shikaku finally couldn't help but ask, "Hokage-sama, have you made a decision?" He couldn't possibly have missed Akimichi Torifu's final hesitation.

"Yes! We can't delay any longer, but it's a pity I couldn't bring myself to say it this time."

Autumn Road takes the wind and sighs.

His clenched fist proved that he had made up his mind.

"..."

Nara Shikaku opened his mouth, looked at Akimichi Torifu's gray hair, but in the end he said nothing, just quietly accompanied the elderly elder to bask in the sun.

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.

As the leading nation among the Five Great Nations, the Land of Fire is not only populous and rich in resources, but also boasts several renowned gambling hotspots in the ninja world, such as Tanabata Street, Hyōdō Street, and Hyakkaō Street, where gamblers from all over the ninja world can be seen.

Baihuawang Street.

The name comes from the nearby "Hyakkao Academy," an academy established by a local tycoon and dedicated to training professional gamblers. Centered around this academy, which has a history of nearly forty years, the bustling Hyakkao Street of today gradually developed.

correct,

If Tanzaku Street is where most of the gamblers in the Land of Fire gather, and Hyōdō Street attracts gamblers from the western part of the Land of Fire and from countries like the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers, then Hyakkaō Street, located at the foot of Mount Sumeru, is the holy land most frequently visited by gamblers from the northern Land of Iron, the Land of Fields, and the Land of Hot Springs.

today,

Then another group of people arrived at the foot of Mount Sumilu.

"Lady Tsunade, we... we're out of money!"

The speaker was a young woman with short black hair and delicate features. At that moment, she was tightly clutching the small bundle in her arms, her eyes filled with tears as she looked at the extremely vicious blonde beauty, looking just like a pitiful little thing who had been bullied.

"What nonsense are you talking about! Jingyin, didn't we make a fortune yesterday? Let's go!"

"But, but, this is our food and lodging money! If we lose, we'll have to sleep in the open tonight!"

"Don't worry, don't worry! I have a feeling we'll definitely win today."

Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha and the eldest granddaughter of the First Hokage, said with certainty.

only--

Her words didn't seem very convincing.

Shizune, standing nearby, was about to cry. Tsunade-sama always said that, but the problem was that she had never seen Tsunade-sama win. The money she earned from healing people was not exactly enough to make them rich, but it was definitely enough for them to stay in the best hotels and eat the most expensive meals.

Unfortunately, Lady Tsunade always loses everything at the casino, sometimes even turning their assets into a negative balance, forcing them to borrow money from acquaintances and incurring enormous debts.

Four years ago,

The Nara clan invited Lady Tsunade back to the village to treat the Fifth Hokage's illness and help pay off her debts, but... four years later, Lady Tsunade once again became a multi-millionaire in debt. To avoid debt collectors, she has to use her transformation technique to fool ordinary people from time to time.

finally,

As always, Shizune couldn't resist and could only follow Tsunade into Hyakkaou Street with a long face. Looking at the casinos that were brightly lit even in broad daylight, she felt that the little money in the bundle in her arms no longer belonged to them.

"Lady Tsunade, perhaps we should find an inn to stay at first!"

Seeing Tsunade pondering which casino to go to, Shizune tried one last desperate attempt.

"Jingyin, you're so long-winded. The hotel isn't going to grow legs and run away. It's not too late to go there at night."

But casinos don't have long legs either!

Silence screams in my heart.

Then--

Reluctantly, he followed Tsunade step by step into the most luxuriously decorated casino on his right.

Behind them, the towering Mount Sumilu silently overlooked the bustling human world below.

[Chapter 300: The Investigation Team Attacked by a Strange Dog]

"Are you sure this is the place?"

"I'm not sure if the target's hideout is really here, but I can confirm that the target has definitely gone into the mountains. The lingering scent tells me that."

"In other words, we have to go inside and take a look."

"·····Haa······"

"What should we do? Split up? Or go together?"

At the foot of Mount Sumeru, not far from the entrance to the mountain road near Hyakkaou Street, ninjas from Konoha gathered, gazing up at the majestic mountain that stood at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Iron. The two vice-commanders of the Konoha Kirigakure rogue ninja joint investigation department, Hatake Kakashi and Hozuki Mangetsu, were discussing their next action plan.

The reason they were here was simple: after Hozuki Mangetsu brought information that Kazuma and the others had attacked the Mist Ninja, Konoha finally took Kazuma, the traitor of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, seriously.

The Fifth Hokage, unable to handle his own work, entrusted this task to Sogen. Sogen immediately formed an investigation team to track down Kazuma and the others. In addition to the two vice-captains, the team included Itachi Uchiha, Kimimaro Kaguya, and Ameyuri Ringo, as well as two ANBU squads specializing in tracking. These two ANBU squads did not participate in combat missions; their job was simply to track.

That is,

The combat mission belongs to Kakashi Hatake, Mangetsu Hozuki, Itachi Uchiha, Kimimaro Kaguya, Chihaya Uchiha, and Ameyuri Ringo.

This number isn't that many.

but,

The quality, however, is top-notch.

They were all Jonin, and all of them were among the best Jonin. The youngest among them, Kaguya Kimimaro, was only fourteen years old, but he was already one of the top taijutsu masters in Konoha. Apart from that blue beast, few people would dare to say that they could defeat Kimimaro with taijutsu alone.

Honestly, this lineup is more than enough to conquer even a small country.

“Splitting up is too dangerous. And Ma... that man is not easy to deal with. Kakashi, you've also seen the information on the forbidden techniques of the Tsuchigumo clan. If we are accidentally hit by that thing, I think we will all be finished, no matter who we are. So, let's be careful.”

Hozuki Mangetsu shook his head and rejected the proposal to split up the forces.

"Then let's just go for it?"

Kakashi Hatake looked up at the rarely visited mountain and asked for his opinion.

Mount Sumilu is located on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Iron, with a major transportation route between the two countries at its foot. However, this does not mean that the mountain will be very popular.

There are no breathtaking landscapes or ancient legends here, and the mountains are shrouded in cold mist year-round due to the starkly different climates of the two countries. Even ninjas wouldn't bother venturing into such a place.

"Go straight in and search the mountains to see if this is their hideout."

"I don't care what happens, I just want to kill people as soon as possible."

"Thunder Blade Fang is already eager to have his first taste of meat."

"can."

"Whatever, it doesn't matter!"

One after another, the companions expressed their opinions, and no one objected. They were all highly skilled and daring individuals, especially the two battle maniacs, Uchiha Chihaya and Ringo Ameyuri. If it weren't for the restraint of Hatake Kakashi and Hozuki Mangetsu, the two of them would have already stormed up the mountain.

"Then, Lord Kakashi, what about us?"

One of the captains of the two secret squads asked in a low voice.

"You stay here and wait for us to come back."

Kakashi reached out and checked the ninja tool bag.

These two elite tracking squads can't be lost easily. Rather than risking our lives with them, it's better to leave them at the foot of the mountain and wait. If this isn't Kazuma and the others' hideout, we can always call them back to gather clues later. And if we hit the jackpot... wouldn't that be perfect!

Before speaking, Hozuki Mangetsu had been forming hand seals. He used the Water Clone Technique, and three water clones appeared beside him. Under his instructions, they began to climb the mountain along what could only be described as a narrow path trodden by wild beasts.

Water clone is the most chakra-efficient of all physical clone techniques.