Konoha's Mission Master

“What a good boy,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

He reached out and continued to stroke Yakumo's smooth black hair, his expression growing increasingly kind; the scene was incredibly heartwarming.

Yakumo suddenly thought of…

His name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, and he is the third generation of grandfathers.

Sarutobi Asuma's name is Sarutobi Hiruzen; he is his father.

...He seemingly vanished into thin air...?

Hiruzen Sarutobi carefully recalled what Yakumo had told him. Learning two ninjutsu, Healing Palm Technique and Needle Jizo, in just four months was already quite a talent, and he couldn't help but feel even more satisfied with Yakumo.

Yakumo has progressed from a piece with no talent and requiring little attention to an excellent piece with decent talent and a promising future.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile grew increasingly sincere as he slowly revealed his understanding of the Will of Fire to Yakumo, his brainwashing technique reappearing in the ninja world.

Yakumo immediately took out his notebook from his ninja tool bag and began to write. He raised his questions at just the right moment, and his body gradually relaxed and was no longer tense.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes suddenly brightened as he answered Yakumo's questions with great care. He would pause occasionally to think, but would quickly give an explanation. The atmosphere between the two became more and more harmonious, and their faces were filled with smiles.

An hour later, Hiruzen Sarutobi, citing his heavy workload, gestured for Yakumo to leave. Yakumo wrinkled his nose slightly, sniffing the lingering smell of smoke in the air.

"Grandpa, no matter how busy you are with work, please remember to take care of your health. It would be best to smoke less."

Yakumo bowed respectfully, then turned and left.

A warm smile still graced her face, but her heart remained as calm as a still lake.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this will be the last honeymoon period between him and Hiruzen Sarutobi. Once Sakumo Hatake comes to his senses, he will inevitably run for Hokage. At that time, Hiruzen Sarutobi will surely realize that the spies he cultivated are not actually of the same mind as him.

Most importantly, over an hour of it was all empty promises with no real reward whatsoever. And they wanted me to be a spy...?

...Is this a dream?

Yakumo thought to himself, "This is what I'm thinking."

“Send a squad of secret agents to monitor his every move from morning till night, and they must report his daily routine.”

After Yakumo left, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately gave the order.

In the shadows of the Hokage's office, the man in black left after receiving his orders. As soon as Yakumo stepped out of the Hokage building, he realized that he was being followed.

It was a kind of intuition; he knew someone was following him. The ANBU's tracking reminded Yakumo that he had a long-overlooked weakness: a lack of sensory ninjutsu.

Yakumo had no choice but to temporarily abandon his plan to go to the Hatake residence and quickly headed home.

When a normal child encounters this kind of thing, their most instinctive thought would be to go home and calm down, right?

Sunday, December 26th.

Sakumo Hatake's questioning of Hiruzen Sarutobi in the rain somehow spread throughout Konoha, and villagers everywhere were discussing it.

Not long after, the secret service took action and began to control public opinion.

The impact of this incident has gradually subsided, but beneath this calm seems to be brewing an even stronger storm.

Meanwhile, Elder Chiyo of Sunagakure.

Upon receiving news of the bounty hunter's failure, he immediately overturned the table in front of him, causing the water cup and tea set to shatter with a series of crisp sounds.

Chiyo spoke fiercely towards Konoha.

"White Fang, I will make sure that the Hatake clan is wiped out completely before I can quell the hatred in my heart."

She was the third party involved in the assassination attempt; both the self-destructing puppet and the deadly poison contained in the silver worm were her doing.

To her surprise, Kakashi, who had been poisoned, was actually saved from the brink of death.

Could it be that the medical ninja named Aoyama Reiko has already reached Tsunade's level?

"Konoha should not produce another medical saint."

Inside another room, a scorpion in the shape of a child is creating a puppet, a sinister smile playing on its lips.

After getting up this morning, Yakumo rushed to the Hatake residence and discovered that Hatake Sakumo had made a big blunder while showing off yesterday. The baby was actually a girl, so naming her Hatake Hatake was obviously not appropriate. In the end, she was renamed Hatake Kazusa.

Yakumo frankly confessed to Hatake Sakumo the task that Sarutobi Hiruzen had given him. Hatake Sakumo simply smiled and then picked up a book to read.

On the other hand, Kakashi had already replenished his body's deficiencies thanks to the effects of various medicinal herbs and was practicing the Hatake sword technique again in the training ground.

On the 30th day in Konoha, Jiraiya returned to Konoha.

He rushed back to Konoha after hearing about the incident during the rain. Yakumo had no choice but to go to the training ground behind the Senju mansion to practice the Needle Jizo with Jiraiya.

The two clashed and struggled in the training ground until Yakumo's face turned pale and he ran out of chakra.

Yakumo sat on a wooden chair, resting his hands on his lap, pretending to be exhausted. The ANBU's constant surveillance of him these past few days had seriously affected his training plans.

"You've made great progress recently," Jiraiya said encouragingly, sitting down next to Yakumo.

"It's mainly because of Jiraiya-sama's excellent teaching," Yakumo praised sincerely.

That's true; Jiraiya really took his teaching very seriously, showing almost all his patience.

"I like hearing what you said... say a few more words."

"..."

"It's mainly because of Jiraiya-sama's excellent teaching."

"..."

"It's mainly because of Jiraiya-sama's excellent teaching."

"Alright, alright..." Jiraiya waved his hand and continued, "You really are something else."

Jiraiya's words startled Yakumo, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Lord Jiraiya, it's time to go mooch a meal..."

"Minato and the others have a mission, so they can't freeload a meal."

Jiraiya gazed at the tall tree in the distance, its shadows swaying gently in the breeze. The two of them lay comfortably on the wooden chairs, the sunlight shattered by the tree canopy, scattering patches of light across their bodies.

The atmosphere was somewhat subdued.

"The final exams are tomorrow, right?"

Jiraiya suddenly asked a question.

“That’s right, Jiraiya-sama.”

Yakumo closed his eyes as if he were completely unguarded.

"After the final exams, I'll take you out of the village on a mission. Let the old man and that guy Shuo Mao resolve their conflict."

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama."

Yakumo then realized that Jiraiya had noticed the Anbu's pursuit and guessed Yakumo's current situation. At this moment, his suggestion to take Yakumo away from Konoha to carry out a mission was probably because he hoped that Yakumo could stay away from the core of the storm.

This stems from the care and protection that elders have for younger generations.

After much deliberation, Yakumo tentatively began to speak.

"Actually... Uncle Sakumo... didn't do anything wrong."

“I know,” Jiraiya replied.

Chapter 108 New Schemes

The two lay on the wooden chairs for a while longer before Jiraiya got up and took Yakumo to Ichiraku Ramen for lunch.

The two parted ways.

After a slight hesitation, Yakumo walked toward the Hatake residence.

After all, he still carried the sacred mission from the Third Hokage, and needed to find out the true strength of Hatake Sakumo.

Yakumo entered the Hatake residence with great familiarity and easily found Hatake Sakumo in the study.

"Bang." "Bang." "Bang."

Yakumo immediately created ten shadow clones to practice ninjutsu in the corner. Since the ANBU members wouldn't dare to break into Hatake's mansion to follow him, this became the only safe zone where Yakumo could use shadow clones to practice ninjutsu.

"Here we go again?" Sakumo Hatake asked.

"After all, we have a mission to fulfill," Yakumo replied with a smile.

Sakumo Hatake silently picked up his book and continued reading; he had lost his only source of pleasure these past few days.

Danzo has not shown his face for several days due to his injury.

No… Please enlighten me, Lord Danzo.

"How long will it take for Danzo's injuries to heal?"

"About twenty days," said Hatake Sakumo.

That strike not only contained the power of Sakumo Hatake himself, but also borrowed the boundless power of thunder from nature, making it an even more magnificent and domineering energy.

"I plan to assassinate Danzo tomorrow," Yakumo said.

Sakumo Hatake put down the book in his hand and looked up.

"This is dangerous... Are you sure you can handle it?"

“This is an assassination attempt that is likely to fail, but I want to give it a try… after all, it’s a rare opportunity.” Yakumo replied immediately, having pondered this plan for several days.

Yakumo continued.

"Most importantly, I am confident that I can get out of here unscathed."

"Then let's give it a try." Sakumo Hatake stopped trying to persuade him.

"I will report to the Dark Division tomorrow."

If Danzo were to get into trouble, Sakumo Hatake would undoubtedly be the first suspect that comes to everyone's mind, so he would need many people to provide him with alibis.

On the other hand, he can intervene to stop assassins when necessary, and if he accidentally lets someone go, no one can find fault with him.

"it is good."

The two exchanged questions and answers, deciding Danzo's fate in less than a minute, appearing incredibly relaxed and at ease.

"We still need to be careful," Sakumo Hatake warned.