Uchiha's personal opinion

The proposal by Sakumo Hatake to establish ownership of Konoha's various departments was initially discussed at a joint meeting of the heads of Konoha's various departments and the Jonin, but the progress of the communication was hampered by many obstacles.

The Jonin team wanted to further restrict the power of each department, while each department wanted to take advantage of the confirmation of authority to seize more power beyond the original boundaries of their responsibilities, making it extremely difficult to advance the talks.

Even the police department was no exception. Chief Inspector Uchiha Yomo was equally unyielding, acting aggressively in the joint meeting, intending to seize all the power of the Anbu within the village.

As the initiator of the departmental rights confirmation proposal and the organizer of the joint meeting, Sakumo Hatake understood that reform is by no means something that can be accomplished overnight, and that it would inevitably encounter all sorts of unreasonable arguments and rumors, which was quite normal.

The controversy that began with the proposal to confirm property rights, namely the conflict between the police department and the secret service, was gradually overshadowed by the joint meeting.

Meanwhile, the intelligence coming back from the eastern border defense forces was becoming increasingly urgent.

Two days ago it was said that Kirigakure was spying along the coast, yesterday it was reported that a small elite force of Kirigakure had landed in the Land of Whirlpools, and today it was reported that Kirigakure ninjas were building a large camp and sending reconnaissance ninja squads to the eastern part of the Land of Fire. Does that mean that Kirigakure will be able to defeat the eastern border defense forces and invade the eastern part of the Land of Fire tomorrow?

The Hokage repeatedly dispatched multiple ANBU squads to infiltrate the Land of Whirlpools and investigate the movements of Kirigakure, but all the ANBU squads disappeared without a trace and never returned.

At this moment, the Land of Whirlpools, where the Hidden Mist Village was entrenched, was like a giant whale that devoured everything, swallowing up all the Konoha ninjas who intended to enter the Land of Whirlpools.

But Uchiha Tokumitsu sensed something was wrong.

According to the report from the ninja cat clan, whom he had entrusted to investigate the Land of Whirlpools, the ninja cat was injured by a group of unidentified ninjas shortly after arriving in the Land of Whirlpools. Fortunately, he was able to escape by dispelling the summoning jutsu in time.

The unknown ninjas who attacked the Ninja Cat Clan seemed to be unusually familiar with the characteristics and habits of the Ninja Cats!

That's the most abnormal thing.

If the other party were indeed a Hidden Mist ninja, they would have absolutely no reason to disguise themselves and conceal their identity. Arrogant Hidden Mist ninjas would rather have their names plastered on their foreheads and proclaimed everywhere; they wouldn't stoop to such underhanded tactics.

As allies of the Uchiha clan since the Warring States period, the Ninja Cat Clan has always helped the Uchiha clan with intelligence gathering and arms sales, rarely participating directly in battles. Therefore, the relationship between the Ninja Cat Clan and the Uchiha clan is not widely known in the ninja world, and the characteristics and habits of the Ninja Cat Clan are even less known outside of the Uchiha clan.

"Hidden Mist... Ninja Cat..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu paced back and forth in the police department office, pondering the matter, and the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

His memories from his previous life lacked details about the Second Shinobi World War, so he couldn't make judgments based on his existing 'precognitive advantage.' Moreover, it was theoretically normal for the original historical trajectory to have changed since the Kirigakure master was killed in the battle of Uzushiogakure...

But too many normal things piled up together become abnormal, and when combined with the targeted attacks on the Ninja Cat Clan, everything becomes suspicious.

He had asked Elder Setsuna about this matter, but the elder could not offer any special strategies due to limited information. Furthermore, it was impossible to ascertain whether the information about the Ninja Cat Clan had ever been leaked. Therefore, Elder Setsuna simply advised him to keep a close eye on the village's movements in the near future, since Danzo, with his petty nature, would absolutely not be willing to let the bloodshed between the police department and the Anbu end so easily.

"There's too little information... This is really troublesome..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu grew increasingly agitated.

This irritability came on inexplicably and without any apparent cause.

It was as if some misfortune was about to befall us.

Uchiha Tokumitsu took a deep breath and decided to skip work and go back to his clan's territory to calm down.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Sakumo Hatake was in the Jonin team meeting room, continuing his endless tug-of-war with the heads of various departments in Konoha.

"Knock knock!"

There was a knock on the door of the Jonin team's meeting room.

"Come in!"

Sakumo Hatake, who was also exasperated by the bureaucratic jargon and platitudes of the department heads, spoke up.

A member of the secret service pushed open the door and entered.

After bowing to the heads of each department, the Anbu ninja said to Hatake Sakumo, "Lord Sakumo, the Hokage has summoned you. Please take the time to go."

Upon hearing this, Mitokado Homura immediately stood up. "Since the Hokage has summoned us, let's postpone our meeting for a while. We can't delay Sakumo-kun's important business!"

The heads of various departments immediately stood up and scattered like birds and beasts, except for the antisocial Chief of Police, Uchiha Yomo, who remained seated.

"Chief Yomo... I'm sorry, let's discuss this again another time." Hatake Sakumo said to Uchiha Yomo, somewhat embarrassed.

“It’s alright, it’s alright…” Uchiha Yomo didn’t mind at all. “The confirmation of authority among the various departments is a major task that can’t be rushed. We can discuss it next time.”

After saying that, he packed his things and got up to leave.

The ANBU ninja remained standing at the doorway, politely stepping aside to let Uchiha Yoshikazu leave before continuing to look at Hatake Sakumo.

"...Is there something you need, Hokage-sama?" Sakumo Hatake sighed as he looked at the now empty conference room.

"I was unaware of this; I was merely following orders," the ANBU ninja said with unusual respect. "However, Root sent back an urgent report earlier, which may be related to the Land of Whirlpools."

"The Land of Whirlpools..."

Sakumo Hatake pondered for a moment, "Kigakure, huh..."

The Anbu ninja remained silent, and Hatake Sakumo didn't think too much about it, so he followed them to the Hokage Building.

……

"Dong dong..."

Arriving at the Hokage's office, Hatake Sakumo knocked twice.

"Lord Hokage, I have come under orders."

"Sakumo-kun, come in."

The voice of the Third Generation could be heard coming from inside the office.

Sakumo Hatake pushed open the door and entered.

Inside the Hokage's office, besides the Third Hokage himself, there was a ninja covered in blood and simply bandaged.

Their attire is similar to that of the Dark Guard, but their masks have strange patterns and textures.

It's the root...

Sakumo Hatake had also made up his mind.

"Sakumo-kun, there's a potentially tricky task that requires your personal attention." The Third Hokage handed over an intelligence document still stained with blood.

As Sakumo Hatake flipped through the documents, he listened to the Third Hokage explain the mission details.

"The Hidden Mist Village has been making quite a stir in the Land of Whirlpools lately. The day before yesterday, the eastern border defense forces sent a detachment to land and conduct reconnaissance, but they haven't returned yet. Furthermore, the ANBU squads sent afterward have also disappeared without a trace after arriving in the Land of Whirlpools..."

"The Hidden Mist's actions are so significant?" Sakumo Hatake frowned. "Based on this estimate, a large force of Hidden Mist ninja may have already secretly landed..."

The intelligence documents he had were not very detailed, and much of them were "speculation"...

“That’s exactly what I was worried about.” The Third Hokage nodded in agreement with Sakumo Hatake’s opinion. “If Kirigakure is allowed to establish a large ninja camp in the Land of Whirlpools, it will be very detrimental to the village’s subsequent response. Therefore, I need Sakumo-kun to carry out this intelligence reconnaissance mission…”

"Only you can put my mind at ease."

The third generation's words were unusually sincere.

"Leave it to me!" Sakumo Hatake said resolutely. "I will complete the task assigned by the village!"

"This mission is no small matter..." The Third Hokage's face was full of admiration. "You know, both the Anbu and Root have lost a lot of people in the Land of Whirlpools. After much consideration, I believe that only Sakumo-kun is capable of handling this task..."

"You flatter me, Hokage. This is simply my duty as a Konoha ninja!"

"Sakumo-kun truly lives up to his reputation as the acknowledged successor to the Will of Fire..." the Third Hokage exclaimed. "Besides you, I also summoned Tokumitsu-kun; he should be here soon."

"Is Deguang-kun coming along too?"

Sakumo Hatake found it rather strange.

"You can also bring the mobile force with you. You can make the arrangements yourself. If you feel that you don't have enough manpower, I can transfer a few more teams of secret agents to you."

The Third Hokage explained, "We don't yet know the current situation in Kirigakure. We need Sakumo-kun to go and find out. It's always better to bring more people than to fight alone..."

"Knock knock!"

There was another knock on the door.

"Is this Deguang-kun? Come in."

Uchiha Tokumitsu pushed open the door and entered the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage, I have come to report for duty."

Uchiha Tokumitsu said calmly.

As he entered the office, he quickly scanned the room.

The three people in the Hokage's office were Sakumo Hatake, the Third Hokage, and an injured ninja dressed as an Anbu.

"Tokumitsu-kun, I need you and Sakumo-kun to carry out a mission."

The Third Hokage cut to the chase, saying, "It's about the Land of Whirlpools. You've probably heard about it recently, haven't you?"

Sakumo Hatake handed the intelligence documents to Tokumitsu Uchiha.

Uchiha Tokumitsu glanced at the document casually and then tossed it back onto the Hokage's desk.

"This intelligence report is far too rudimentary..." Uchiha Tokumitsu said with displeasure, his inner irritation growing stronger. "It's impossible to deduce Kirigakure's intentions from it..."

“Yes, that’s why I need you and Sakumo-kun to lead your troops to scout the area.” The Third Hokage said, “Besides your mobile units, please feel free to suggest any other cooperation you may require.”

Another meaning of "Feel free to ask for cooperation if needed" is that you can set any conditions, but you cannot refuse any task.

Uchiha Tokumitsu frowned even more deeply.

"What are the criteria for completing this mission?" Uchiha Tokumitsu asked. "Is it confirming the existence and intentions of Kirigakure, or is it eliminating Kirigakure?"

"Understanding the movements and objectives of Kirigakure is sufficient..." The Third Hokage was quite patient this time: "Until the situation in the Land of Whirlpools is clear, it's not advisable for the village to mobilize and form a large-scale ninja army..."

"So... this mission was just about intelligence gathering?" Uchiha Tokumitsu asked with a mocking tone. "The intelligence department can't even handle something like this?"

He's been feeling inexplicably irritable lately, so he doesn't want to leave the village.

"The Anbu and Root... have dispatched eight squads in total, but none of them have obtained any useful intelligence..." the Third Hokage said with some helplessness. "Only one Root member returned; the other squads have disappeared without a trace, and the intelligence they obtained..."

"Tsk..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu clicked his tongue meaningfully, took two steps forward, and sized up the injured Root ninja.

"Tell me briefly about the battle you encountered, and also about the enemy," Uchiha Tokumitsu asked the Root ninja.

"The day before yesterday morning, we encountered an ambush by Kirigakure in the eastern sea area of ​​the Land of Whirlpools. The enemy consisted of nine Jonin, one of whom used Ice Release ninjutsu."

The introduction of the Root ninja is quite reasonable. It would be easy for nine Kirigakure Jonin to wipe out a Root team. He was lucky to escape with injuries. Moreover, the appearance of the Mizuki clan's signature Ice Release ninjutsu further confirms that the opponent is a Kirigakure ninja.

But Uchiha Tokumitsu has already determined that the Root ninjas are lying!

The ninja cat he assigned to investigate the Land of Whirlpools arrived there from the eastern sea just the day before, and it even sailed across the sea in a homemade canoe, using wind-style ninjutsu to propel the wind and raise the sails!

There's no reason why the Roots who crossed the sea were ambushed, while the ninja cats, who made no attempt to conceal themselves, were able to land!

"The roots... Hidden Mist..."