Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Shisui paused for a moment.

"You suspect that group of people attacked Mount Katsuragi? But the massacre of ninja clans in the country can be traced back to a month ago. During that time, those people have been lurking in Konoha. And didn't they send people to investigate the Tsuchigumo clan a while ago? Those people are most likely members of the Tsuchigumo clan. Although they are traitors, it's hard to imagine them killing their own clansmen, right?"

"That's hard to say."

Zongxian spoke slowly.

It's not impossible that someone would wield a butcher's knife against their own people for some purpose... and the timing of their disappearance seems to coincide with the time the Katsuragi Mountain Tsuchigumo clan was attacked.

“Now that things have escalated this far, it’s not impossible that someone is trying to take advantage of the situation for other purposes.” Zongxian looked up at the closed door. “Shisui, look! The fish are ready to take the bait!”

As soon as he finished speaking,

A rapid knocking sounded on the door.

Before Zongxian could even say "Please come in," the impatient girl pushed open the door and rushed in. "Master! Katsuragiyama..." She immediately stopped mid-sentence, unsure of what to say. As the granddaughter of the Enkijutsu no Yorimitsu, she knew she had many clansmen, but she wasn't really familiar with them.

Upon hearing the tragic stories of his clansmen who had narrowly escaped and fled to Konoha, he was so moved that he rushed to his master's side.

Then--

Once she regained her senses, she realized that her mind was completely blank, because she herself had not figured out what she wanted to do. This situation was entirely caused by her hearing her clansmen complain and being reminded of her deceased grandfather, which led to her being overwhelmed by emotions.

"It's a good thing you didn't act rashly and leave the village to seek revenge."

Zongxian reached out and pointed at his usually obedient disciple in the air. "I have already sent people to make arrangements for the survivors of the Tsuchigumo clan, so you don't need to worry about them. I am also preparing to send people to investigate what happened at Katsuragi Mountain... Speaking of which, Hotaru, do you want to go back to Katsuragi Mountain to investigate yourself?"

"Can I...go?"

Ying asked cautiously.

"With your team's capabilities, the preliminary investigation should be no problem," Zongxian replied with a smile.

[Chapter 344. The Bait Cast Out]

The Tsuchigumo clan of Katsuragi Mountain was attacked, and only a group of young people managed to escape. This incident raised the already widely publicized massacre of the clan to a new level of severity. If the motivation for investigating the truth behind these incidents came from the requests of the survivors and the need to investigate the unknown forces within the Land of Fire, then the investigation was much more effective.

Then,

This matter is now closely related to Konoha and has already involved Konoha's own interests.

The Tsuchigumo clan is an ally of Konoha, a fact that has never been publicly announced. However, Konoha's other allies, such as Kirigakure, the Fire Temple, and the Hot Springs, are all aware of this and are watching Konoha's actions closely, waiting for Konoha, as the leading village, to step forward and uphold 'justice' for the Tsuchigumo clan.

then,

Soon, a message circulated from the Hokage Building: the Hokage was preparing to send his most trusted confidant to Mount Katsuragi to oversee the investigation. The name of this confidant was also leaked: Uchiha Chihaya.

This name,

This is no stranger to those who are always paying attention to Konoha's every move.

When the Sixth Hokage was still serving as his assistant, all the famous experts of the Uchiha clan had already been recorded by those people. According to their understanding, Uchiha Chihaya, as one of the Sixth Hokage's most trusted subordinates, was second only to Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Arashiyama.

Uchiha Shisui has been elusive and mysterious for the past six months. It's hard to say exactly where he is, but everyone has a good idea. Then there's Uchiha Arashiyama, who has taken over as the head of the police department and continues to firmly grasp the police department, which has become much stronger after its major expansion.

It's clear that these two are no longer going to be sent out of the village casually for some mission.

Thus,

Uchiha Chihaya was the only option.

Especially considering that Uchiha Chihaya was accompanied by three genin with special identities, the decision to send both Uchiha Chihaya and these three genin with special identities to Katsuragi Mountain to oversee the investigation undoubtedly demonstrated to the outside world the importance the Sixth Hokage attached to this matter.

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.

"Miss Ying, I have a feeling that something is not right about this."

The elderly Dunbei stood at the door of the girl's bedroom, sighing repeatedly. "Although other ninja clans that were attacked also had some members who managed to escape, it was usually only one or two people. But this time, our clan managed to pull out more than thirty people. It's impossible not to suspect that there's something fishy going on behind this!"

“I’m worried that this is a trap set for you, Miss Ying.”

Dunbei was filled with worry.

At his age, having weathered many storms, after interacting with the young people of the Tsuchigumo clan, he immediately realized that the young man who had come to his door recently claiming to be from the Tsuchigumo clan was suspicious, and then realized that Miss Hotaru was likely being targeted.

Therefore,

He couldn't help but worry.

If he were in Konoha, he would be completely at ease. There is no safer place in the ninja world than Konoha now. But if he leaves Konoha... what good would it do to have the Hokage as his master? Even the Hokage would die in battle, let alone the Hokage's disciple.

"I know."

The girl, who was packing her bags in the room, said, "My master also told me that there might be someone behind this, but he also told me not to worry too much and just do what I want to do. He said that he would take care of the rest!"

Dunbei was speechless upon hearing this.

They've already brought up the Hokage, so what else can we say? But... since the Hokage has said that, he must have a reason for it. Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. This mission isn't just Hotaru's solo mission; it's her entire team going together. Yakumo-san and Fujika-san are both close to the Hokage.

If we're not prepared,

How could we let them crash into Mount Katsuragi, which was most likely a trap?

Dunbei suddenly realized what was going on. He had been too worried before, but now that he had calmed down and thought about it carefully, he understood that the Hokage was probably fishing for them. The bait was undoubtedly Hotaru and her friends. He figured that if those monsters dared to show themselves, what awaited them would be a future that was not worth looking forward to.

"Oh! Miss Hotaru, please be very careful during the operation. The battles between ninjas are not entirely determined by strength. There are countless instances of strong ninjas being killed by the underhanded tactics of the weak. Be careful of traps. Also, I have some antidote pills that I bought from the pharmacist's hospital. Take them with you. I also made some special soldier rations..."

Perhaps it's because of my age,

Dunbei was unusually talkative at this moment. He knew perfectly well that much of what he was saying was completely meaningless nonsense, but he still couldn't help but ramble on and on, worrying about this and that. If it weren't for the circumstances, he would have loved to pack his bags and accompany Miss Hotaru.

unfortunately,

This is not allowed.

It's not that young genin aren't allowed to ask for help to complete their missions. If they're capable, they could even ask the Hokage to come and protect them. It's just that this is clearly the Hokage training his disciples and sister while he's fishing. If an old man like him gets involved and ruins the Hokage's plans, he'll be doomed!

not to mention,

From the very beginning, the Hokage had warned him that all he needed to do was take care of Hotaru's life, and he had no say in her training. Even when it came to learning the Tsuchigumo clan's secret technique, the Word Binding Technique, it was the Hokage who personally guided him. As the saying goes, "a high vantage point provides a commanding view," and even if Hotaru didn't master the Word Binding Technique, it didn't prevent the Hokage from guiding her to build a solid foundation.

As for how high Miss Hotaru can go in the future...

It all depends on Miss Ying's own talent and how hard she works; a strong person can't be taught step by step.

"Well, I see."

Having already packed her luggage and stored it in her storage scroll, Hotaru smiled and nodded, constantly echoing Dunbei's earnest advice. Compared to the other members of the Tsuchigumo clan who shared the same surname and bloodline, Dunbei was her family; those others were just clansmen!

"Give me the antidote pills, I'll take them with me, and the special soldier's ration pills too." Hotaru smiled and took the antidote pills and soldier's ration pills from Dunbei's hand, put them into her ninja tool bag, then said goodbye to Dunbei again and left her residence.

Dunbei remained squatting by the door for a long time without moving. Only when the girl's figure was completely out of sight did the old man slowly stand up, sigh silently, and pray in his heart that everything would go smoothly into the future!

Hotaru arrived before the agreed meeting time.

She ran at full speed all the way and arrived at the gate of Konoha Village.

This is where they agreed to meet.

"Sorry, it took me a little longer to pack." Hotaru was slightly out of breath. "Chihaya-sensei, haven't Yakumo and Fujika arrived yet?" Looking around, the girl couldn't find her two friends. Only Uchiha Chihaya stood calmly against the wall with her arms crossed and her eyes closed, resting.

"There are still ten minutes until the agreed meeting time."

Uchiha Chihaya didn't even open her eyes, casually brushing off the girl's question.

Fortunately, the girl knew what kind of person the teacher was. Since she didn't get a clear answer, she didn't focus on him. She could only look around and wait for her friends to arrive. Not long after, about seven or eight minutes later, Kurama Yakumo and Uchiha Fujika arrived one after the other from different directions.

He Ying received the same treatment.

To be precise, Yakumo and Fujika's troubles were more serious. Their parents were still alive, and they had a lot of relatives and friends. When they told their families that they were leaving the village to go on a mission, both families started to make preparations. They were both ninja families and knew that their children would have to go through this day sooner or later, so they did not show any particular anxiety about it.

then,

The girls were held up by their relatives and almost arrived late.

"Is everything ready?"

Uchiha Mae waited until all the girls had gathered before opening his eyes and looking around at them.

"Check everyone's luggage one last time."

Chihaya Uchiha has a straightforward personality and doesn't know anything about subtlety or tact. She says whatever comes to mind and almost never engages in idle chatter. Just like now, she says, "If we make sure there's nothing we've forgotten, we'll set off."

"I brought everything."

"The storage scrolls are all full."

"Grandpa gave me a savings book and said that if we needed money, we could just go to the bank to withdraw it."

Although there were some rather strange answers among them,

However, Chihaya Uchiha ignored the oddity of the situation and immediately led the three girls from Team One to fill out the departure registration form at the village entrance before speeding off towards the direction of Mount Katsuragi.

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.

On the red wall next to the main gate of the village, two figures stood. If one were to get closer, one would be surprised to find that they were the Sixth Hokage and his secretary, Kabuto Yakushi. However, it seemed that some kind of barrier had been set up around them to conceal their presence, so no one noticed the two people standing on the wall.

"Lord Hokage, aren't you going down to meet him?" Kabuto Yakushi pushed up his glasses with one finger and asked in a low voice.

"No need."

With his hands behind his back, Zongxian watched Uchiha Chihaya and the three girls walk away. "We'll meet again soon, there's no need to make it so sentimental."

"..."

The acupuncturist rolled his eyes. "It's enough that the Hokage is so two-faced. If he really doesn't care, why is he standing here?" Of course, he could only think these words in his heart and not actually say them out loud. Anyone who did would be considered a fool.

"Then... wait, Hokage-sama, you're not planning to go after them yourself, are you?"

suddenly,

A somewhat absurd idea popped into his mind, and the young secretary immediately panicked.

"Calm down! Kabuto, with this shadow clone's chakra reserves, as long as we keep the consumption to a minimum and don't fight anyone, it should be able to last for three days without any problem. I estimate this matter will probably be over in less than three days. Of course, if the fish doesn't bite in a short time, then we can use other methods."

Zong Xian,

No, it should be said that Zongxian's shadow clone frankly stated.

"Hokage-sama, this move of yours is really going to be a hassle. To be honest, I didn't expect you to actually plan to do it yourself. With Chihaya-senpai here, surely you can handle those cowardly guys?" A helpless, bitter smile appeared on Kabuto Yakushi's face.

"I am not sure as well."

Zongxian's shadow clone spread his hands, "Regarding the culprit who caused this whole incident, the Anbu hasn't found any useful information yet. They can't confirm who the guy who destroyed so many ninja clans is, or how strong he is. If Chihaya were alone, she should be able to escape unscathed, but she brought Yakumo and the others with her this time... Speaking of which, Kabuto, how's your research on that forbidden technique going? Any progress?"

"I've basically mastered it, but... is it really okay to learn this forbidden technique?"