The Devil of Konoha: Starting as a Medical Ninja

Hongzhi didn't react to this, while Kakashi felt a bit of a headache. When he talked to Haruno Sakura, he had told her that when the time was right, he might let Hongzhi teach her medical ninjutsu.

This is why Sakura Haruno initially trained frantically to demonstrate her chakra control abilities.

However, it didn't work, and she must have realized this herself, otherwise she wouldn't have gradually become lax in training later on.

Do you think Sakura could achieve something great if she studied medical ninjutsu?

While they were chatting, Kakashi asked curiously, wanting to see if Sakura Haruno still had a chance.

"I don't know. Medical ninjutsu is very simple for me, but I don't know what it's like for others..."

Hiroji naturally understood Kakashi's thoughts, but he could pretend not to understand. After all, teaching Sakura Haruno was of no benefit whatsoever; that girl was simply a nuisance.

When there's trouble, it's Naruto Uzumaki; when there's no trouble, it's Sasuke Uchiha.

Hiroji didn't think there was anything wrong with Sakura Haruno disliking Naruto Uzumaki, but he still disliked her for completely disregarding other people's feelings.

If she always took the blame herself when something went wrong, she wouldn't be so disliked.

"Forehead……"

Kakashi fell silent. He stared at the trio still training in the distance, unsure of what to say. Hiroji's answer was too bland, revealing no information whatsoever.

This rendered Kakashi's attempt to probe for information futile.

In the Land of Waves, at Kado's base.

More and more Edo Tensei (reanimation) users are being summoned, and thanks to the efforts of the Shadow Clones, the wandering ninjas of the Land of Waves are being transformed into Edo Tensei forces at an extremely rapid pace.

After all, a reanimated wandering ninja can bring back an ordinary wandering ninja, thus doubling the number.

If this continues, it won't be long before all the ninjas in the Land of Waves are transformed into the Impure World Reincarnation force, and then the entire Land of Waves will basically be under Koji's control.

Gato's power is such that even the Daimyo of the Land of Waves cannot ignore him; in some respects, the Daimyo of the Land of Waves is even less powerful than Gato.

However, to prevent this guy from causing trouble suddenly, Hiroji still felt it was necessary to have Zabuza have a talk with him about life.

Chapter 129 Frustration

As it turned out, the daimyo of the Land of Waves was quite easy to talk to, and on the same day agreed to help Hiroji build a large base in the most scenic and luxurious place in the Land of Waves.

This made Hiroji feel a little embarrassed, so he directly ordered Zabuza to send the resurrected daimyo back.

Although Hiroji needs to help Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki recover their bodies every night, he is still able to take the opportunity to do other things.

For example, returning to the Root base to retrieve a shadow clone, or going to the Land of Waves to complete some special arrangements.

It was very difficult for Class 7 to notice Hiroji's unusual behavior, because all four of them were training and Hiroji was on night watch every night.

It's already a miracle that Hongzhi didn't play a werewolf game for them; finding a flaw in Hongzhi's strategy is harder than climbing to heaven.

Training continued smoothly, and thanks to the cooperation of the Daimyo, the establishment of the new base in the Land of Waves was progressing quickly, since the reanimated ninjas were essentially free labor.

Moreover, their chakra is limitless, and they never get tired, making them perfect tools for repairing the base. As the supervisor, Zabuza doesn't need to worry about them having any problems.

Those who come here with ulterior motives will be arrested and turned into new laborers.

Everything seemed peaceful and serene. In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi quietly watched the scene inside the crystal ball.

'I wonder how Kakashi is doing. Hopefully nothing unexpected has happened...'

Hiruzen Sarutobi wiped away the unfortunate nosebleed, but the next second the window of the Hokage's office was opened, and the ANBU captain used Body Flicker Technique to enter the office.

Noticing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately changed the image in the crystal ball. Although he didn't know what news the Dark Army captain had received, Hiruzen Sarutobi still wanted to save face.

"What's up?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in a serious tone, as if he wasn't the one who had just done something indecent.

"Kakashi has sent word that Team 7 has suffered heavy losses and needs reinforcements!"

The Dark Division Captain looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was burying his head in the sand, and felt somewhat speechless, but he still remembered why he had come in such a hurry this time.

Kakashi's team is extremely important to Konoha; if anything goes wrong, it will be a fatal blow to the village.

"When did this happen?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had initially thought it was another case of spies from Kumogakure, immediately stood up. He realized that Konoha's lifeline was on that side, and if something went wrong, even if he offered his life as an apology, he probably wouldn't be forgiven by the former Hokage.

"About three days ago, according to Kakashi, they were evacuating the Land of Waves. This C-rank mission had a major problem. Kakashi originally thought they would only encounter a few rogue ninjas and didn't choose to return immediately. However, after entering the Land of Waves, they encountered a rogue ninja from Kirigakure, Zabuza Momochi, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. But the good news is that Team 7 suffered no casualties..."

The Dark Division captain relayed all this information directly; this was the entirety of Kakashi's first message. The remaining information is expected to arrive today.

"Momochi Zabuza?! The user of the Executioner's Blade must be at least an elite Jonin..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered carefully. He was able to analyze the situation here because Kakashi's side hadn't suffered any casualties. If there had been any casualties, Hiruzen Sarutobi would probably have gone crazy.

Of course, if it were Sakura Haruno who died, Hiruzen Sarutobi probably wouldn't mind.

"Send several ANBU squads to provide support and ensure Team 7's successful return to Konoha... As for the Land of Waves, we'll discuss that after Kakashi and the others return."

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't remain silent for long before issuing the order. It was already quite fortunate that they had escaped unscathed after encountering Zabuza Momochi.

As for the problems that arose during the mission, the client bears undeniable responsibility, but none of that matters. What matters is that Team Seven can return safely.

If Zabuza had already been defeated, Kakashi wouldn't have needed to request support at all; he could have simply continued carrying out the mission. At most, upon returning, his C-rank mission would have been upgraded to A-rank on his resume.

However, Kakashi chose to withdraw from the Land of Waves, which meant they were in trouble, and a lot of trouble at that.

Although it was safe for the time being, no one knew if something unexpected might happen, so Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately dispatched an ANBU squad.

Putting everything else aside, getting Team 7 back to Konoha is quite simple. As for the specifics, we'll have to wait and see if Kakashi can send us more detailed scrolls.

If that's the case, it proves Kakashi and the others are safe, then the Anbu squad is enough. If Kakashi doesn't send any more scrolls, then perhaps an even more terrifying force will be needed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi spent the entire morning in anxiety. Just as he was feeling ravenously hungry, the captain of the Dark Guard delivered a brand new scroll, which was a detailed report from Kakashi Hatake.

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi was immediately relieved; it seemed that fate was still on Konoha's side.

With that thought in mind, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the scroll.

The text clearly records what happened after the mission began. When Kakashi and his group encountered a ninja attack, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned slightly. If they had chosen to abandon the mission at that time, the subsequent events would not have occurred.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi understood Kakashi's actions very well. Since all three members of the team had to choose to carry out the mission, he couldn't completely ignore their attitudes.

Hiruzen Sarutobi continued watching, and when he saw how brutal the battle was, his lips twitched.

Zabuza actually let the members of Team 7 go. Although Zabuza probably didn't have much chakra left at that time, Kakashi's choice was perfectly reasonable.

If Kakashi had insisted on taking action when Zabuza was in charge, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki would definitely have died. Moreover, since Zabuza recognized the tailed beast's chakra, Naruto Uzumaki would most likely have died.

"What a hassle!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head helplessly. According to the description above, Konoha really couldn't do anything to Zabuza, since Zabuza knew who Konoha's Jinchuriki was.

If this thing were to be exposed directly, it would definitely make many people eager to take advantage of it. After all, Naruto Uzumaki has not yet grown up, and if other ninja villages were to use Jinchuriki directly, Konoha would have almost no means of countering it.

Although he wanted to tear Zabuza to pieces, he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.

This situation made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel somewhat aggrieved. When did a mere elite Jonin become able to openly threaten Konoha?

Chapter 130 Return to Konoha

The rescue mission went smoothly, and the Anbu and Team 7 traveled day and night for five days to return to Konoha from the vicinity of the Land of Waves.

Hongzhi was still somewhat surprised by the speed of the Anbu. According to Kakashi, it would take the Anbu about five days to travel from Konoha to their hiding place.

This means that Konoha has just received the news and reinforcements are on their way.

Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki were naturally sent to the hospital, and Hiroji was in charge of everything, mainly because no one else could learn the regeneration technique.

Sakura Haruno went home, while Kakashi and Hiroji went to the Hokage's office.

These people were treated without any problems. The one who suffered the most was undoubtedly Tazuna, who was taken away by the Anbu.

Undoubtedly, he will be questioned by the Anbu. The main reason for the failure of this mission is the client. Even if he had mentioned that he might encounter ninjas during the mission, the problem would not have been with him.

But this guy chose to remain silent, supposedly because he was broke, though he seemed quite generous when drinking in Konoha.

However, none of this has anything to do with Hongzhi anymore. The Land of Waves is a troublesome place, and Konoha certainly won't make a big fuss about it, since Naruto Uzumaki is still alive and well, and Sasuke Uchiha is also alive and well.

Most importantly, while there were rumors in the black market about Kakashi's defeat in the Land of Waves, there was no information about Jinchuriki, or even about Sasuke Uchiha.

Of course, this was spread by Zabuza at Koji's behest. At first, Koji didn't intend for Zabuza to do anything, but during a casual conversation with Kakashi, Koji gained some experience.

Although Hongzhi always knew that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was Naruto Uzumaki, very few people outside of Konoha knew this.

If Konoha takes any action against Zabuza of the Land of Waves after this information is released, it means that Kakashi's team is something special.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't do something like that, which would be a self-incriminating act; it's all thanks to Kakashi's reminder.

However, none of this matters. With the current number of Edo Tensei users in the Land of Waves, they could still wipe out Konoha's elite squad.

Although the wandering ninjas weren't very strong, they had another ace up their sleeve besides Zabuza.

That's Uchiha Shisui. Although he's not currently awake, Hiroji can wake him up at any time, and whoever goes will die.

Even if Might Guy opened all eight gates, he couldn't possibly kill the resurrected Uchiha Shisui with a single kick; at most, it would just take him a little longer to recover.

As for the others in Konoha, I'm not bragging, but if they encountered Uchiha Shisui, I doubt anyone could stop them.

Aside from Kakashi and Might Guy, the most famous Jonin left is undoubtedly Sarutobi Asuma. It's not that I look down on him, but this guy really has no ability to fight back against Uchiha Shisui.

Of course, the leak of Zabuza's information could very well attract the pursuit force from Kirigakure, not the imposter Haku, but the real pursuit force.

But if Kirigakure really takes action, it would be tantamount to reinforcing Hiroji's side.

"Don't blame yourself too much. You've done enough. At least everyone is back safe and sound..."

Inside the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kakashi, who seemed somewhat dejected and frustrated, and spoke kindly, "What's done is done. If he were to berate Kakashi here, it wouldn't do you any good."

"Hongzhi, when will Sasuke and Naruto recover from their injuries?"

Without comforting Kakashi, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Koji standing to the side and spoke with some anticipation. He was still very concerned about this matter, after all, the strength of those two was still very important.

"It will take about ten days."

After a moment's thought, Hongzhi replied directly that since the two of them had not received any treatment while traveling, they would need some time to recover.

"That's good."

After receiving a positive reply, Hiruzen Sarutobi relaxed a lot. He didn't know much about medical ninjutsu, and he was relieved to hear Hiroji's words.

Come to think of it, Sasuke Uchiha was really unlucky. His arms had just recovered when his legs were cut off.