Konoha's Mission Master

"Your backup plan is the black market, isn't it?"

Yakumo crouched down and looked directly into Shinichi's eyes.

During this time, Yakumo was constantly thinking about Shinichi's trump card that made him so fearless. Although he was a madman, he must have been very afraid of losing his life.

He must have a trump card. The strongest of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas is only a Jonin, which is hardly a trump card. Therefore, he can only rely on external forces.

In the end, it was Shinichi's own words that awakened Yakumo; he had been overlooking the black market hidden in the shadows of the ninja world.

If Shinichi dies unexpectedly, someone will issue an extremely high bounty on the black market for Yakumo's friends and family.

This is his life insurance!

“That’s right…” Shinichi stared blankly at Yakumo’s face. He hadn’t expected his trump card to be seen through so easily. Of course, being seen through actually made him safe.

“But you’re wrong about one thing. What I just said wasn’t a test. I did bribe a black market bounty hunter Jonin to organize an assassination attempt against Kakashi.”

"Do you really want to die?" Yakumo asked.

"Of course not... We can cooperate. I can inform you of the attack location in advance, and then the bounty hunter tasked with assassinating Kakashi Hatake can be..."

"...Catch them all in one fell swoop!"

"Entrapment...brilliant."

After a moment's thought, Yakumo suddenly realized that this method was feasible, as Kakashi's safety would increase significantly after this assassination attempt.

"Is your plan just to change the Hokage?"

Shinichi simply smiled and took out a long, rectangular sandalwood box from the bundle behind him, handing it to Yakumo.

Yakumo opened the wooden box, and a short blade came into view. The blade and handle were completely black, absorbing the surrounding light. It was about 45 centimeters long and exuded an aura of historical accumulation. This knife was quite old.

"This is the Ancient Sword 'Jade-Cutting'. Legend has it that even an ordinary person could easily extract beautiful jade from a hard stone core with this weapon, hence the name 'Jade-Cutting'. Its origin is unknown... It should be a weapon from a thousand years ago."

Yakumo picked up the Jade Sword and fiddled with it in his hand. Based on his intuition as a swordsman, he could tell that it was a very high-quality sword. He then infused it with a trace of chakra.

Black arcs of electricity immediately appeared on the blade. Yakumo sensed that this was his chakra, but for some reason, it had changed color.

"The chakra energy injected into the Jade Blade will be stained with the color of a blade, and most importantly, it can amplify chakra."

“Not bad…I’m very satisfied.” Yakumo nodded.

"So, does that mean my grudge against you is wiped clean?"

Shinichi stared into Yakumo's eyes as he spoke, his gaze sincere and fervent, his expression utterly genuine.

"Not yet...you haven't apologized."

Shinichi suddenly stood up and bowed deeply.

"I'm sorry... I feel extremely guilty for the schemes I once plotted against you, and I sincerely apologize to you here."

Yakumo gazed at Shinichi with a calm expression, as still as a lake on a plateau without any ripples.

A dozen seconds later... Yakumo smiled slightly, the corners of his mouth turning up.

Everyone who beat him up in this world has gone to hell, so should he forgive this hypocritical madman?

Absolutely shouldn't...

"When I heard that Yotsuki Tenshin had been killed, I began to regret scheming against you. I hope you can believe me. At that time, you were the only person I could rely on. The Land of Thunder is vast and its military is powerful, and its ambition to expand outwards is obvious..."

“At that time, I had only recently ascended the throne… It was understandable that I was treated as an easy target, but I was unwilling to export grain at a low price… So I had to scheme against you… This is two hundred million taels of silver from the Land of Fire… I hope you can forgive me.”

Shinichi's speech was truly eloquent and moving. He bent down, took out a storage scroll from his pack, and placed it in front of Yakumo...

Acceptance means forgiveness... rejection means the opposite.

For the sake of 200 million…

…Of course, the choice is…to forgive for now…

“Then I’ll accept it… In consideration of the two hundred million, I can promise that as long as you stop plotting against me, I will not threaten your life.”

"Is it a deal?" Shinichi straightened his back.

“It’s a deal,” Yakumo replied.

Chapter 93 Planning

After Shinichi left, Yakumo opened the weapon interface.

[Unraveling Jade]

Weapon type: Short blade (45.2 cm)

Increase rate: 103%

Enchantment: None

The initial boost was 103%, and Yakumo had to admit that it was an excellent weapon. Clearly, Shinichi was quite particular about his requirements, but it was unknown how it compared to Orochimaru's Kusanagi sword.

Yakumo waved his hand and stuffed the Jade-Piercing Jade and the Demon-Subduing Jade into the storage scroll. These two weapons cannot be exposed to light at the moment and cannot be carried around.

As usual, the 200 million ryo of the Land of Fire currency was divided in two and stored in two scrolls. When they were in Kumogakure, Aoyama Reiko shared the risks with him, so now there was a natural reason to split the spoils equally.

Finally…Shinichi, although he gave a lot…

However, the two have differing views, and it is very likely that they will still have to fight each other in the future. They need to think of a safe way to resolve the potential troubles.

After eating the lunch carefully prepared by his shadow clone, Yakumo left home with a storage scroll in his hand. He first went to Konoha Hospital to continue researching treatment plans for bloodline diseases with Aoyama Reiko, until the sun began to set in the west in the evening.

Yakumo placed the storage scroll beside Aoyama Reiko, gave a brief explanation, and then pushed open the door and left, giving her no chance to refuse...

At 6 p.m., Yakumo arrived at the Hatake residence.

Kakashi hasn't gone home yet, and Yakumo guesses that he's probably at the training grounds with Obito, Rin Nohara, and Masako Mori.

"sit down."

Sakumo Hatake sat at a stone table next to the training ground, a pot of hot tea was brewing on the table, and three shadow clones were reading different books.

The main body then put down the book and poured Yakumo a cup of piping hot tea, the delicate aroma of which wafted through the air.

"Want to spar?" Sakumo Hatake asked.

"I have important business to attend to..."

Yakumo began simply and quickly revealed Shinichi's plan, including using Kakashi as bait and supporting Sakumo Hatake to become Hokage.

After listening to Yakumo's account, Hatake Sakumo asked a question.

"Has your relationship with the Daimyo suddenly improved?"

"Uncle Sakumo, what do you think our relationship should be?" Yakumo asked curiously.

"An enemy... the kind you just chop up."

"I know he's my enemy, but he offered so much, what could I do? I wanted to refuse, but that's two hundred million!" Yakumo shrugged helplessly.

"What if it were Uncle Sakumo... would you kill him?"

“If I don’t kill, the Land of Fire will lose the Jade… the ninja world will be in chaos, and when war reignites, too many people will be displaced.” Hatake Sakumo put down the book in his hand and said solemnly.

"So... I didn't kill them either."

“That’s what I think is great about you; you don’t just think about yourself,” Sakumo Hatake said approvingly.

"Actually, I didn't think that much about it." Yakumo felt that Hatake Sakumo had misunderstood him, but one thing was true... killing Shinichi would be troublesome...

“I agree to that plan. We’ll use Kakashi as bait to take out those bounty hunters. On the day the plan begins, I will use my transformation technique to disguise myself as Nohara Rin.”

"But are you... really sure that Lord Danzo would deliberately let the bounty hunters in?" Hatake Sakumo was somewhat doubtful about this. Even though he had many disagreements with Danzo, he did not believe that Danzo would collude with outsiders to frame the village's genius. This was tantamount to betraying the village.

"I'm not sure, but I can say it's worth a try."

"Alright... As for the position of Hokage... it's not my wish."

Hatake Sakumo continued, saying that Sarutobi Hiruzen was wary of Hatake Sakumo, worried that he would steal his Hokage position, but little did he know that the latter had no interest in the Hokage position at all.

With great power comes great responsibility.

“Uncle Sakumo, today the Third Hokage is willing to sacrifice the interests of the Land of Fire for peace, and tomorrow he will be willing to sacrifice the villagers of Konoha for his so-called peace. When two countries are at war, taking a step back is just the beginning! At this time, Uncle, don’t you want to stand up and do something for Konoha and the Land of Fire? After all, you have the ability.”

Yakumo fiddled with his teacup with his right hand and advised in a very sincere tone. Hatake Sakumo fell silent upon hearing this, his eyes scanning the bubbling hot tea.

He was thinking. Sometimes Hatake Sakumo's eyes were as bright as a burning torch, and other times they were very dim like burnt-out ash.

If Sakumo Hatake willingly becomes Hokage, then he can happily live a carefree life under those broad wings.

As the tea boiled, its rich aroma filled the air. With his nostrils flaring, Yakumo inhaled the fragrance and felt a surge of energy.

When Hatake Sakumo opened his eyes again, Yakumo had already finished most of the tea, but the doubts in his eyes had increased. Some things always require time to make a decision.

"Uncle Sakumo, this is my understanding of Hatake's swordsmanship. I hope you can gain something from it." Yakumo took out a scroll he had prepared in advance from his pocket. Hatake Sakumo had taught him everything he knew back then, and today he would also give his swordsmanship to Hatake Sakumo without reservation.

"This gift is too valuable... I cannot accept it."

Sakumo Hatake shook his head and answered with unwavering determination, though the longing in his eyes was unmistakable.

“I took it out today and I never intended to take it back.”

Yakumo shook his head, even more determined than Hatake Sakumo, and threw the precious scroll directly onto the table.

"Uncle Sakumo, after my parents passed away, you were one of the few people who made me feel warm. Whether it was teaching me the Hatake sword technique or taking on so many grudges for me, I never said it... but I remember it all... Please accept this scroll." Yakumo looked directly into Hatake Sakumo's eyes and said in a very firm tone.

Sakumo Hatake sighed softly, "Good boy."

They are filial and grateful.

"Uncle Shuo Mao... I..."

"All right."

Sakumo Hatake interrupted him.

"I'll accept it..."

Having made up his mind, Hatake Sakumo no longer hesitated, picked up the scroll, and began to read it in front of Yakumo.

"Not bad, not bad..."

As time went by, the servants changed the teapot after teapot, but Hatake Sakumo remained immersed in the scrolls written by Yakumo.

Incredibly solid, smooth and natural...