Escape from Konoha.

Shiraishi gave him a helpless look.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"She's still not cute at all. She'll become unpopular if she continues like this."

Kakashi had no opinion on this; his popularity was indeed only so-so.

Aside from being familiar with the members of the Sakumo squad, he didn't have many other people he could talk to.

Even within the ninja academy, there are only a handful of them.

Most people kept their distance from this 'genius'.

“Those things are unnecessary; my goal is to surpass my father.”

Kakashi said seriously.

“Sword training is very painful, especially Master Sakumo’s swordsmanship. I’ve been trained before, but it was too difficult and I couldn’t stick with it.”

"So you're still a genin."

"..."

That cannot be refuted.

"I am a medical ninja. I don't need great strength. I just need to know how to run away and use medical ninjutsu. Combat is not something a medical ninja does."

Shiraishi was proud to be a medical ninja.

Kakashi didn't say anything; ninjas are ranked based on their strength.

Judging solely by his medical ninjutsu, Shiraishi certainly has the qualifications to become a Chunin.

However... there is no special treatment for medical ninjas in Konoha, who are individually rated.

However, the role of medical ninjas is not determined by the distinction between genin, chunin, and jonin.

For most medical ninjas, there is no difference in the classification of genin, chunin, and jonin; the key is the level of medical ninjutsu they possess.

Not everyone is like Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, who, while maintaining extremely strong combat abilities, also reached the pinnacle of medical ninjutsu.

Afterwards, everyone finished their conversation and happily enjoyed the delicious ramen.

Of course, in the end, Shuo Mao paid the money.

After paying, Sakumo breathed a sigh of relief. After this gathering, Sakumo's team was almost on the verge of disbanding, finally able to get rid of the gluttonous queen's entanglement.

Over the past three years, he has developed a psychological aversion to paying for meals and entertainment.

But what followed was a deep sense of reluctance to part.

Over the past three years, the Shuo Mao Squad has achieved a 100% mission completion rate, completing both high-difficulty A-level missions and the most difficult S-level missions with remarkable skill.

No matter what kind of enemy they encounter, they will all be silently and equally annihilated.

The reputation of Konoha's White Fang naturally rose even higher, making the various ninja villages extremely wary of him. People from all over the world came to spy on him, trying to devise a suitable tactic to kill Sakumo.

But they also knew that even if they devised a tactic to kill Sakumo, it would be an extremely difficult task.

They were deeply troubled by how to eliminate Shuo Mao.

As a result, the two girls in the team also rose to fame, letting people know the powerful foundation of the elite ninja clan. Konoha gained two more genius ninjas, making other villages jealous and filled with an irresistible urge to destroy these geniuses.

As for Shiraishi, the medical ninja in the team, he is still overlooked.

The medical ninja need not concern himself.

If it were a medical ninja of Tsunade's caliber, that would be a different story, but unfortunately, Shiraishi isn't.

Chapter 75 Uchiha Obito

the next day.

Sakumo went to the Hokage Building alone.

None of the original members of Sakumo's team were present beside him, because from today onwards, the Hokage would assign him new companions to form a brand new Sakumo team to carry out missions.

When he reached the office door, Sakumo knocked gently. After hearing a "come in" from inside, Sakumo came in from the outside and closed the door behind him.

"Lord Hokage."

"You're here, Sakumo."

Now in his prime, Sakumo had completely suppressed his imposing aura. If he were wearing ninja attire, he would appear as an ordinary person standing there.

He showed no trace of the sharp aura that one would expect from the White Fang of Konoha.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, nodded to himself. Among the many Jonin of Konoha today, Sakumo was indeed unique.

Neither the new generation of genius Jonin nor his contemporaries could match his brilliance.

This will greatly reduce the pressure on him.

Nowadays, all sorts of merchants and foreign officials who come to Konoha to commission tasks specifically ask Sakumo to take on their missions, which shows his great reputation and the trust he enjoys.

"I'm sorry, the original Sakumo Squad needs to be disbanded."

“I was prepared for this from the day I took charge of them. They are all capable ninjas.”

Shuo Mao said this.

Hiruzen agreed with Sakumo's opinion.

Since its inception, the Shuo Mao Squad has completed countless S-class and A-class missions.

Leaving aside the only medical ninja in the team, since he's not a combatant, the other two are from wealthy families and recently became Jonin, becoming key members of Konoha.

The decision to split up the Sakumo squad was made after considering various factors.

The most important thing is the attitude of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans.

"I'd like to ask what their plans are next?"

Sakumo still asked this question out of concern.

"Hyuga Ayane will serve as the bodyguard for the next Hyuga clan leader, and Uchiha Ruri will be selected for the Uchiha Guard and become a squad leader. As for Chiba Shiraishi, I plan to arrange for him to work at Konoha Hospital, or as an assistant instructor at the Ninja Academy. Tsunade said that his theoretical knowledge is very solid, and he did not make a single common-sense mistake during his studies. He is a rather outstanding medical ninja."

Thanks to the vigorous training of medical ninjas in recent years, Konoha now has twice as many medical ninjas as it did during the Second Shinobi World War a few years ago.

However, Konoha is one of the five great ninja villages, with a huge number of ninjas. Even if the number of medical ninjas were doubled, it would still be impossible to take care of everything.

Therefore, both the Ninja Academy and Konoha Hospital are currently lacking in medical ninjas.

"Really? I heard Tsunade is currently teaching at the Ninja Academy..."

"Hmm." At this point, a hint of sadness flashed in Hiruzen's eyes, as if he was regretting something. He then composed himself and said, "Tsunade is short of a deputy. We can send him over."

Shuo Mao smiled, finally feeling relieved.

He wasn't too worried about Ruri and Ayane, but he was more concerned about what would happen to Shiraishi.

Working at the Ninja Academy or Konoha Hospital would basically ensure a stable life for the rest of my days, with no significant risks to my life.

As for whether there were any political factors involved, Sakumo didn't want to think about those troublesome things.

He had little interest in politics; what he cared about was improving his strength, protecting his comrades, and perfectly completing his mission.

"These are the members of your new squad. See if they're a good fit."

Hiruzen placed the information files of the other three members of the new squad on the table. Sakumo went over, picked them up, and quickly scanned them.

"No problem. Sensory ninjas, medical ninjas, and Jonin to assist in the battle—the configuration is not much different from before."

"I'm glad you're happy. I don't know why, but lately I feel like my health is getting worse and worse. With your team here, you can relieve a lot of my pressure."

Hiruzen laughed like that.

"Lord Hokage, you are joking. You are not even fifty years old yet."

"It'll be soon. And since I sit here working all day, only occasionally getting a chance to go out and practice ninjutsu, I wonder if my skills have declined."

Hiruzen was very melancholy.

"You are the professor of ninjutsu, the Hokage whom Konoha trusts."

"Haha, don't worry, I can still hold on until I hand over this position to the next Hokage."

Hiruzen also knew that ninjas would basically start to decline after the age of fifty.

In addition, he had suffered many old injuries from fighting alongside the Second Hokage in his early years, and recently he has been feeling increasingly powerless.

It is indeed time to consider the matter of the next Hokage.

"In another two or three years, we'll hold the ceremony to elect the Hokage candidates," Hiruzen thought to himself.

Hiruzen had not yet decided who to entrust the position of Fourth Hokage to.

The main reason is that there are too many options available.

White Fang, the Legendary Sannin, and many other outstanding Jonin of the new generation—each one is qualified to compete for the Hokage title.

They are all excellent ninjas who can inherit the Will of Fire.

This must be the kind of trouble that comes with happiness.

Thinking of this, Hiruzen felt much lighter.

◎

The Hyuga clan's territory.

People walked along the corridors of the huge courtyard.

At the very front of the procession was Hiashi Hyuga, the next head of the Hyuga clan, followed by a man and a woman.

The man was in his early twenties with a peaceful face. He was an outstanding Jonin of the Hyuga clan, serving as the bodyguard of the next clan head, Hiashi, and kept this mission firmly in mind.

The woman next to him was a teenager, dressed in a white kimono ninja outfit. She was also a Jonin of the Hyuga clan, and like the man, she served as Hiashi's elite bodyguard, protecting his safety.

The girl was Ayane.

Having completed their training mission, the Shuo Mao Squad must now follow the family's arrangements and commands, which is only natural.

Her becoming Hiashi's bodyguard was decided from the very beginning.

Remembering the mission of protecting the main family is also a duty she, as someone who came from a branch family, must fulfill.