Konoha's Mission Master

"I applied to graduate early from the Ninja Academy, and then, through the Fourth Hokage, I arrived at the front lines."

Masako Mori replied with a smile.

"You...shouldn't have come here."

Yakumo sighed. He knew perfectly well that Masako Mori applied to graduate so that she could fight alongside him, but this was a battlefield, and even he wasn't sure if he could escape unscathed.

“Since you are here, I have come.”

Masako Mori spoke in a very calm tone, delivering the most heartwarming confession and the determination contained within it.

"No, you're going back with the car..."

"It doesn't seem... safe either..."

"Fine, you'll stay with me for the time being."

Yakumo, who remained unfazed during dozens of battles, suddenly showed signs of nervousness at this moment.

"Let's go, come with me to see Lord Jiraiya."

Yakumo couldn't understand why the cowardly Uncle Mori would allow Masako Mori to graduate early and even go to the battlefield at such a young age. It was very likely that Uncle Mori hadn't agreed at all, but he just couldn't change Masako Mori's mind.

"Sigh." Yakumo sighed softly.

In the plains…

Yakumo was playing with a small black and white ball in his hand.

The once lush green plains are now covered with charred explosion marks; the land has been turned upside down, and the green grass is buried underneath, revealing the gray-brown soil.

Each dark red bloodstain represents an unknown ninja who remains here forever. Crows peck at the severed limbs, and rats clutch chunks of flesh as they burrow underground.

The surrounding air was thick with the lingering stench of blood.

Broken wooden parts gradually appeared on the plain, originating from various puppets, and the grass underfoot turned scorched yellow under the influence of venom.

In the distance, towering trees were cleaved in two, boulders shattered in the middle, and the remains of weapons and traces of ninjutsu were intertwined, leaving the surrounding area in ruins.

Wisps of black smoke rose into the sky.

When the sunlight shone on the plain, it even took on a dark gray hue, and the temperature was much lower than in other places.

Yakumo saw Chiyo in the distance, and behind her was Sasori, who was wearing a blood-red robe. Most of his face was hidden in his hood, making him look particularly sinister and evil.

"It's been a long time, Elder Chiyo," Yakumo greeted.

"If I had known you would become a major threat to me, I should have killed you back in Amegakure."

Chiyo said in a somewhat cold voice. Yakumo subconsciously clenched the black and white ball in his hand. His weapon was sealed inside, and he could use it simply by manipulating his chakra.

"Actually... I regret it too."

Yakumo said noncommittally that if Chiyo had intervened back then, she would probably be dead by now, and there wouldn't be this inexplicable war.

"I never imagined you would have such medical achievements."

Chiyo exclaimed, "I can imagine that in the next few decades, the highest level of medical ninjutsu in the ninja world will belong to this smiling boy in front of me."

"I have average talent, and I am where I am today entirely due to hard work."

"Hehe, keep trying..."

Scorpion shook his head and sneered. In his opinion, the unparalleled skill on Yakumo would belong to him tomorrow. Only eternity is true art!

"Lord Jiraiya said...you want my help?"

Yakumo skipped the initial pleasantries and went straight to the point: Chiyo was seeking peace with Konoha, but on the condition that she meet Yakumo to ask for his help.

“That’s right… I want you to help me treat the scorpion.”

"His memory has fully recovered now. Is there any other treatment he needs?" Yakumo asked.

"I want him to become a man again..."

After a few seconds of silence, Chiyo spoke up. Initially, he only hoped that Sasori could return safely. Now that the blood has returned intact, he hopes that Sasori can return to his male form and reproduce for the family.

"I can't do it..."

Yakumo refused without hesitation. In fact, a master-level palm technique could be easily accomplished, but he was unwilling, or rather, he disliked this aggressive attitude.

"you!"

Chiyo's eyes instantly turned cold, filled with a chilling killing intent. She simply couldn't understand why Yakumo dared to refuse so easily.

"I really can't do it."

Yakumo shook his head, unmoved. A mere threat?

It's nothing to worry about.

He witnessed the cruelty of war along the way, and with Masako Mori also in a dangerous position, Yakumo now desperately wants to end the war as soon as possible.

What are your conditions for helping me?

"I really can't do it."

Yakumo continued to shake his head.

Chiyo stared at the boy's unyielding attitude, a surge of anger rising in her chest, her eyes gradually becoming bloodshot... and she asked in a gloomy voice.

Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?

"I'm not afraid... but you wouldn't dare."

"If you attack me, neither you nor Sasori will be able to leave this plain alive. Lord Jiraiya once said... peace is precious. I hope you will act with caution!"

Chiyo looked bewildered. She couldn't understand Yakumo's toughness at this moment, but when she thought of the fleeting golden lightning a month ago, she suddenly realized.

That person... must be Konoha's trump card!

Actually... Yakumo's confidence comes from himself, from the Demon Subduing and Wind Chasing techniques poised at his fingertips, and from the shadow clones absorbing natural energy inside the tent.

"You little rascal...you really have some guts."

Chiyo formed hand seals, producing sounds of wood rubbing and colliding, and invisible waves spread outwards, gradually enveloping a radius of a kilometer.

She was investigating that unknown powerful figure.

Yakumo already knew that Chiyo had used a puppet to create a pair of arms for him, and now... looking at them up close, the arms were truly lifelike, as if they were growing from flesh and blood.

Half a minute later, Chiyo didn't detect anyone's presence around her, but she still didn't dare to let her guard down. She had a feeling that the mysterious person who injured her... was right here!

"If there's nothing else... I'll be leaving."

"I hope there will be no more war tomorrow."

Yakumo turned around and walked slowly toward the Konoha military camp, his expression calm and composed, showing no sign of tension as if he were facing the enemy.

Chiyo hesitated for a moment. She had done many things against the rules and damaged the interests of many people for Sasori, but she did it willingly... after all, Sasori called her grandma.

Those people... don't call her grandma.

If she were to make a move now, she would surely be able to capture Yakumo and bring him back to the Sunagakure camp. At that point, he would have no choice but to surrender. However, this would break the peace treaty, and Konoha would inevitably launch a full-scale attack to start a war.

"Peace is precious..."

Chiyo recalled what Yakumo had said.

Hesitation flashed in her eyes. As an advisor to Sunagakure, she couldn't continue to do something so reckless. Just as Chiyo was about to give up in despair...

Four sages coated with potent poison suddenly activated.

It forms a diamond shape in mid-air.

Shoot it at Yakumo's waist!

A thousand books pierced the air, about to hit!

The attacker... was Scorpion!

At this moment, what he wanted was not only to turn Yakumo's corpse into a puppet, but more importantly, he wanted to continue to provoke wars so that he could obtain a continuous supply of corpses to create his eternal art.

A month ago, the people who attacked the Konoha outpost…

It's him!

After all, Chiyo was seriously injured by the mysterious person at that time and was recuperating. She simply did not have the strength to travel thousands of miles to raid Konoha's forward outposts.

In the blink of an eye.

The kunai, flying at breakneck speed, had already reached Yakumo's back.

The next second, as if Yakumo had eyes in the back of his head, he pushed off with his feet and dodged to the left... He took two steps to avoid the Thousand Needles attack that was supposed to hit him, and at the same time quickly turned his head, looking at Chiyo and Sasori with complicated eyes.

"Let's do it!"

Chiyo didn't hesitate any longer and immediately took out the scroll.

Scorpion moved even faster, instantly surrounded by human puppets draped in red robes, like a hundred ghosts parading around him. At the same time, six red-robed puppets, on all fours, rushed toward Yakumo at an extremely fast speed.

Yakumo's vision was filled with red shadows, and a fierce wind rushed towards him, but his expression was very calm, as if he had already resigned himself to his fate.

In that instant, many images flashed through Yakumo's mind: plains ravaged by war, charred corpses, helpless redemption, and critically wounded patients on the verge of death.

At that moment, he longed for peace more than ever before.

"No, it's not that I wanted to make a move..."

Black and white spheres, shattered.

The Demon-Subduing Sword and the Wind-Chasing Sword were held in Yakumo's hands, and golden arcs of electricity soared into the sky.

Inside the military camp, Yakumo's shadow clones automatically dissipated.

Yakumo's true form enters Sage Mode!

PS: Requesting monthly votes

Chapter 179 The Destruction of the Chikamatsu Ten

On the plains.

The red-robed puppets that rushed into Yakumo's vicinity were almost instantly cut in half by the two sharp blades. Even though the puppets' bones and skin had been treated to have a hardness comparable to steel, they still could not withstand the extremely fierce slashes.

"It's you...it's you...it's actually you!"