Konoha's Mission Master

Yakumo thought for a moment and added, "Evidence is still needed to do things."

"All you need to do is collect evidence of his crimes and hand it over to Uncle Hatake. He will definitely be on your side then."

“This… I’m a ninja who kills my employer.”

Obito Uchiha was still hesitant, but he was clearly already interested, and the killing intent in his eyes was no longer concealed.

"Assassination!"

"This is about punishing evil and promoting good, and upholding justice."

"If you take away money and assets, you can disguise it as robbery and murder."

Yakumo continued to instruct Obito, including some methods and strategies on how to leave no trace.

Half an hour later, Obito left Ryuchi Cave satisfied, clearly having obtained the answer he wanted.

In fact, Obito had long harbored murderous intent, and without Yakumo's guidance, his methods would have been much cruder.

It might even leave traces and backfire.

"This matter still needs to be reported to Uncle Hatake in advance."

…………

PS: Updated at 1:15 PM. Requesting monthly votes and donations.

Chapter 312 The Innovators

The next day, early in the morning.

Yakumo sat up in bed and looked at Mori Masako on the grass through the glass. A wisp of Sage Chakra had quietly formed in her body, but it was still a few steps away from the appearance of the Sage Mark.

Not long after, the wisp of Sage Chakra dissipated, indicating failure.

Throughout the night, Masako Mori conducted more than a dozen experiments, resulting in more than a dozen failures.

Masako Mori stubbornly persisted.

She has shown remarkable resilience in the face of failure, and it is this indomitable spirit that brings her ever closer to success.

Yakumo got up, quickly washed up, and used chakra to shake the water out of her wet hair before putting on an apron and preparing breakfast.

After the meal, Yakumo went to the Hokage's office.

Last night, the promise I made to Obito Uchiha needed to be resolved satisfactorily.

Masako Mori went to Ryuchi Cave to train in Sage Mode.

Inside the office.

Sakumo Hatake sat behind a huge pile of documents, writing furiously, occasionally looking up to listen patiently to the details in Yakumo's words.

"Uncle Hatake, this is roughly what it looks like."

In about ten minutes, Bayun recounted the general details of the incident, including a brief explanation of the man's criminal past.

The man took over three caravans, which sold local specialties and grains between various countries.

However, his wealth far exceeds the limits of this business model.

Even if the caravan was robbed along the way, the profit from one trip was still dozens of times that of others. According to Obito Uchiha's investigation, he was secretly engaged in the smuggling and trafficking of infants and the sale of human organs.

That's how he amassed a huge fortune in just a few years. Perhaps knowing he had done so many bad things and would not have a good end, he kept five or six mistresses but never married or had any children.

Sakumo Hatake nodded.

"I'll have the Dark Guard handle this."

From an emotional standpoint, Yakumo and Obito's handling of this matter was not wrong, but from a rule-based perspective... it was indeed a serious matter that violated the ninja code.

"Thank you, Uncle Hatake."

"Next time you encounter something like this, remember to report it first. As a ninja assassinating an employer, this kind of thing is against ninja code."

Sakumo Hatake's tone became somewhat stern at the end.

"Reputation and security are the cornerstones of Konoha's acceptance of missions. We must never let too many people know about attacking our employers."

"Don't worry, I've already told Obito."

That's good.

Seeing that the matter had been handled perfectly, Yakumo decided to step down.

Mori Masako has not experienced any outbursts of natural power during her time practicing Sage Mode, but it is still not 100% safe.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now?"

"Actually, there is something else."

Sakumo Hatake put down his pen, a serious expression appearing on his face.

"I plan to open a separate swordsmanship class at the Ninja Academy and select a group of commoners or orphans who are physically strong but lack ninjutsu talent as the first batch of members."

Yakumo countered, "Using the Hatake Secret Manual as teaching material?"

"That's exactly what I'm thinking, but the core content will be subject to control."

This was a conclusion that Sakumo Hatake had come to after much deliberation. Since the Hatake clan was now down to its last remaining member, he figured he might as well use the inheritance as a public resource to provide certain benefits to the common people of Konoha.

"If Uncle Hatake wants to do this, I will support him."

Yakumo replied.

"I plan to proceed step by step, first finding four or five similar children to inherit the secret techniques of the Hatake. If the results are good, then I will formally establish a swordsmanship class."

"After establishing the swordsmanship class, I plan to relax the requirements for obtaining advanced ninjutsu and lower the requirements for obtaining S-rank ninjutsu."

“Establish talent pools, additional training channels, and expenditures.”

Sakumo Hatake confessed to Yakumo.

The various ninja clans of Konoha have their own lineages that they have chosen not to reveal publicly, because if they did, many geniuses would emerge from among the common people.

His policy would indeed enhance the self-defense capabilities and growth rate of ordinary geniuses, but it would also have an impact on members of the ninja clan.

These ordinary geniuses will inevitably establish new ninja clans in the future, dividing the spoils with the original ninja clans.

Hatake Sakumo's plan is to destroy and rebuild Konoha's existing system, weaken the privileged class, and increase opportunities for commoner ninjas.

If we set aside self-interest, secret techniques are the foundation of the ninja clan.

When a secret technique becomes widely known, it becomes difficult to maintain its mystery. When it is no longer mysterious, it becomes easy for enemies to find loopholes to break it.

Advanced knowledge is very difficult to obtain in Konohagakure, and Minato Namikaze also had to go to great lengths to acquire the Flying Thunder God Technique.

The Hatake Secret Manual is a secret manual aimed at the Kage level, and is extremely precious.

If this were made public, it would inevitably impact the status of other ninja clans, and this move would put them at odds with a powerful interest group within Konohagakure.

"You know what this means, are you sure you want to support me?"

After a few seconds of silence, Sakumo Hatake asked Yakumo earnestly.

“Of course, what you’ve done benefits most of the people of Konoha, and that alone is enough to warrant our support,” Yakumo said immediately.

"Thank you, but most of those people don't actually have a voice."

Sakumo Hatake stood up and looked down at the entire Hidden Leaf Village through the glass, his eyes deep and distant.

"Konoha is beautiful now, isn't it? It's peaceful, prosperous, and wealthy."

"That's right, Uncle Hatake has done a very good job."

“In the bustling central area, nearly 90% of the shops are backed by ninja clans, while the businesses of ordinary people are mostly located on the periphery.”

"This prosperous Konoha belongs to the ninja clans, but not to the common people."

Sakumo Hatake's voice was soft, yet firm.

"Back then, the ninja clan founded Konoha to provide shelter for the common people. As the founders, they naturally received land deeds for the core area."

Yakumo walked up to Sakumo Hatake and said softly.

The Hatake clan was one of the ninja clans that founded Konoha, and the current location of the Hatake mansion is in a relatively central area.

Yakumo was somewhat puzzled. Hatake Sakumo was born into a privileged class and enjoyed many of the advantages that privileged class brought him, but now he wanted to be an enemy of the privileged class.

However, Sakumo Hatake quickly answered Yakumo's questions with his words.

"Originally, the ninja clans were the protectors of Konoha, but as more and more civilians poured into Konoha, they formed the grassroots of Konoha and shared many of the responsibilities of protecting this ninja village."

"They died protecting Konoha, but those ninja clans only shared the responsibility with the common people, without sharing the privileges with outsiders."

"When I saw my former comrades-in-arms, who had given their legs for Konoha, living a life where they could barely fill their stomachs."

"When I saw my predecessor give his life for Konoha, his son couldn't even afford new clothes for the New Year."

Suddenly, I realized that I needed to make some changes.

Sakumo Hatake's voice became passionate and resounding, as if he were releasing a long-suppressed fire within him.

“Now there are more benefits available, and the pension has increased several times over, so the situation you described will no longer occur.”

These problems do exist, but they have been greatly improved since Sakumo Hatake became Hokage, especially in terms of subsidies and pensions.

"Even the ninja clan representative did not stop the implementation of the decree."

"That's because they know I can't stay Hokage forever."

Sakumo Hatake's tone suddenly changed, becoming somewhat chilling.

"The Third Hokage hopes to hold the Hokage selection as soon as possible and recommends Minato Namikaze as the Fifth Hokage."

Yakumo's question was answered. "I see."

"Minato was an orphan, so he would likely strongly support those policies that would improve the welfare of ninjas at the grassroots level."

“We can influence the fifth and sixth generation, but not the ninth and tenth generation. This method cannot eradicate the problem.”

"The privileged class should share some privileges with the lower-level ninjas."

"That's fair."

Sakumo Hatake wanted to achieve fairness for the lower-class ninjas, which inevitably led to conflicts with the ninja clans. Even ordinary ninjas might not stand behind him in support.