Konoha's Mission Master

If Tsunade knew that the Third Hokage had used her best friend and disciple to gain personal benefits, she would surely be filled with disappointment.

The topic they were discussing was extremely taboo, yet their tone was incredibly relaxed.

This trip to Kumogakure completely buried Aoyama Reiko's loyalty to the Hokage and her sense of belonging to Konoha.

"Have you accumulated enough disappointment?" Reiko Aoyama asked.

“Let’s take it slow… Change the Hokage. The Third Hokage is getting old and should enjoy his retirement,” Yakumo whispered.

Reiko Aoyama's expression changed slightly. She hadn't expected Yakumo to say such a thing, and she couldn't help but sit up straight and observe Yakumo closely.

She was present in the Hokage's office at the time.

At that time, Yakumo showed such genuine respect and affection for the Third Hokage, as if he were about to shout at any moment, "I am willing to die for the Hokage!"

But their current behavior... shows absolutely no respect.

"I suddenly realize that I don't understand you, Yakumo anymore."

Reiko Aoyama sighed and used a porcelain spoon to scoop the cooked tofu from the pot into her own bowl.

"I'm only unhappy that he treated my sister like a pawn."

Genuine anger was evident in Yakumo's eyes.

If this incident hadn't happened, who the Hokage was wouldn't have mattered to him. But since the Cloud Village group almost caused his and Aoyama Reiko's deaths, Yakumo's grudge was certainly not limited to Shinichi.

Reiko Aoyama gave a self-deprecating laugh, secretly blaming herself for doubting the person who had saved her life in danger several times.

"After the meal, I wrote a letter to Lady Tsunade to complain."

"What's the plan next?" Reiko Aoyama asked.

"No rush...we'll see what Uncle Sakumo thinks."

In the current situation, the best candidate for the Fourth Hokage is Sakumo Hatake. If he gains the support of Shinichi Daimyo, Sakumo Hatake has a very high chance of becoming Hokage.

Chapter 85 Earth Release: Hardening Technique

It was getting late, and the two walked side by side down the street.

Inside the private room, Yakumo and Aoyama Reiko had reached a consensus on everything, and now the two were exchanging final greetings before parting ways.

"The Hokage has decided to reward you with a B-rank ninjutsu for this mission. Think about which ninjutsu you want, and I will report to the Hokage tomorrow."

"I'll have to think about that carefully..."

After all, this was his life-risking money... He almost died in Kumogakure, but the reward was only a B-rank ninjutsu, with no extra mission reward.

For a moment, Yakumo didn't know how to describe his feelings, and could only say in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Our Hokage is truly..."

"That's very generous..."

His offensive system is basically complete, but what he lacks is a means of defense. As we all know, earth-type ninjutsu is more suitable for defense, as hardness and weight are the attributes carried by earth-type nature transformation.

"I choose Earth Release: Hardening Technique."

“Okay… the reward should arrive tomorrow,” Aoyama Reiko replied.

"Oh, right, this is the compensation Shinichi gave us."

Yakumo placed the storage scroll in Aoyama Reiko's hand, and took out fifty million from his one hundred million and put it into the scroll.

Half of what Yakumo belongs to Reiko Aoyama. After all, the two of them ventured into Kumogakure together, sharing the dangers, so they should naturally share the spoils equally.

"Okay... then I'll accept it."

At this point, Aoyama Reiko still didn't know what was inside the scroll Yakumo had given her. It wasn't until Yakumo disappeared from her sight that she used her chakra to open the scroll.

“Yakumo…” Aoyama Reiko murmured softly, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears. At this moment, she felt even more guilty for having doubted Yakumo earlier.

On the other hand, Yakumo pushed open the door…

Masako Mori stood quietly on the steps, her eyes fixed on the wooden door, like a wife waiting for her husband to come home.

"Yakumo...you're injured?"

Under the light, she saw the white bandages tightly wrapped around Yakumo's arms and asked a question, her eyes unconsciously revealing worry.

"It's just a minor injury... Besides, how many ninjas go on missions without getting hurt?" Yakumo scratched his head.

"It's good that it's not serious..." Masako Mori clearly believed Yakumo's well-intentioned lie, and a smile gradually appeared on her face.

The two lay on the training ground chatting about some interesting things that had happened recently, such as Sarutobi Asuma being badly beaten by Kakashi, Uchiha Obito's grades steadily improving, and how Milk Ball had been dominating the stray cats and dogs in the area during this time.

Yakumo also told Mori Masako about what happened in Kumogakure, making some deletions and alterations. It wasn't that he deliberately concealed it... but rather that he felt Mori Masako was at the best age, and everything was beautiful in her eyes.

This is wonderful...it's excellent.

He couldn't bear to destroy or pollute it.

"By the way, do you have a blacksmith at home?"

It's not good to keep the fragments of Purple Flame in your hands all the time. Yakumo wants to use the fragments to forge a few darts made of chakra metal. If necessary, he can launch them using the Four Stars in a Row technique, which might be a surprising way to win.

“Of course.” Masako Mori suddenly lowered her voice.

"My dad is a very skilled forging master."

Yakumo was taken aback. In the ninja world, only those who could forge perfect chakra weapons using chakra metal could be called forging masters.

After the destruction of Takumi Village, only two or three remaining master blacksmiths in the ninja world were well protected by the major powers, which directly led to a skyrocketing price for chakra weapons.

In Yakumo's eyes, Masako Mori had transformed from a wealthy woman into a radiant, golden angel, exuding a light that made people not want to work hard.

"Your eyes look so strange right now..."

"I'm just simply envious," Yakumo explained in a very serious tone.

"By the way, are you going to have weapons made?"

"I want to use the fragments of the purple flame to forge hidden weapons." Yakumo looked up at the starry sky and said somewhat guiltily.

"The Purple Flame is shattered?" Masako Mori asked immediately. She knew that weapon was a gift from Reiko Aoyama to Yakumo when she became his disciple in the City of Fire.

"That's right..."

"Didn't you say it was a minor injury? Your weapon is broken... and you still call it a minor injury...?" Masako Mori's tone was somewhat unfriendly as she leaned closer and stared intently at Yakumo.

"It's really just a minor injury..." Yakumo said, sounding somewhat unsure of himself.

"A minor injury...?" Masako Mori sat up, grabbed Yakumo's right arm and pulled it in front of her, then began to unwrap the bandage with her kunai.

"It's really just a minor injury, don't look at it..." Yakumo exerted his strength, trying to break free of Mori Masako's grip on his right arm.

"Don't move!" Masako Mori shouted angrily.

"If we don't move... then we don't move..."

Yakumo lowered his head and let Mori Masako do as she pleased; he could already foresee Mori Masako's angry outburst later.

As the bandages were removed, Yakumo's right arm was revealed. His entire forearm was covered with bloody wounds and newly scabbed skin. In the most severe areas, a small piece of flesh was missing, and a layer of pink granulation tissue could be faintly seen attached to the bone.

Masako Mori suddenly froze... her eyes reddened, and tears like pearls streamed down her face. She didn't explode in anger... only wept silently.

She was crying so hard... Yakumo didn't know how to comfort her for a moment, so he could only reach out his left hand and touch Mori Masako's hair.

"Actually... it's not a big problem... it should be cured in two or three days... you didn't see... it was much more serious a couple of days ago."

Masako Mori's tears suddenly fell faster...

Yakumo was a little confused for a moment...

Was his attempt at comforting someone problematic?

Masako Mori proved to Yakumo through her actions that women are made of water... The crying continued for more than ten minutes, and tears still fell like pearls.

"Okay... don't cry..." Yakumo reached out and hugged Mori Masako, gently patting her back with his bandaged left arm.

Masako Mori actually gradually stopped sobbing...

Two minutes later... Yakumo released Mori Masako, whose face was flushed, created a shadow clone to re-wrap the medical bandage around her right arm, and used the Palm Healing Technique to treat it.

"Was this trip to Kumogakure... very dangerous?"

"It's alright..." Yakumo replied vaguely.

The two resumed gazing at the stars. Mori Masako had also regained her composure, though her swollen, red eyes proved she had just been crying…

"Actually... I haven't cried for many years..."

Masako Mori was silent for a few seconds... then continued speaking to Yakumo in a softer voice.

"I don't know what happened just now... When I saw the injury on your arm, I felt even sadder than when I get injured myself... I suddenly felt like crying."

"Okay, it's all in the past..." Yakumo offered a dry consolation, though he wasn't really good at comforting others.

Masako Mori rested her chin on her knees and began to speak to herself.

"I plan to start training diligently from tomorrow, hoping that one day I can fight alongside you on the battlefield..."

"To be honest, because of my short lifespan, I prefer to spend my time on fun things, and I've basically never trained much since I was a child... Even awakening my Sharingan was due to an accident..."

"It seems I haven't really trained in ninjutsu much... I'm incredibly weak... I can only bully Obito by relying on my physical strength..."

Just as Masako Mori was about to continue speaking, Yakumo interrupted her.

"Okay... stop talking..."

"If you say that again, I'll hit you...!"

Chapter 86 Danzo's Spring

At 10 p.m., Yakumo's shadow clone escorted Masako Mori out the door, taking with her the Purple Flame Fragment.

Uncle Mori... a master forger.

Yakumo evoked the image of that kind and approachable uncle. What secrets was he still hiding? Logically speaking, he was the most perfect hybrid of Senju and Uchiha.

Yakumo returned to her bedroom and closed the doors and windows. She took out the ninjutsu notebook passed down from her grandparents, which contained not only water bullets but also an earth-style defensive ninjutsu... Earth Flow Wall.

Ten shadow clones appeared, two of which began to cooperate with the main body to learn the Earth Flow Wall technique.