Uchiha's personal opinion

"Commander Deguang, the Hokage has given you special instructions, requiring you to issue an immediate reply." The Anbu stepped forward again and handed over a scroll.

Uchiha Tokumitsu took the scroll again and opened it, and the contents of the scroll surprised him.

"Special report..."

The scroll contained instructions for Uchiha Tokumitsu to return to Konoha as soon as possible to report on the battle in Takigakure and the unusual events in Iwagakure, and to reward those who had contributed.

But this content isn't exactly a top secret, so why would someone need to recuse themselves?

“Commander Tokumitsu, the Hokage has given a special order.” The messenger from the Anbu seemed to see Tokumitsu’s confusion and explained, “This special report involves adjustments to the defense zones and operational objectives of various ninja armies. Apart from the Northwest Border Defense Force, the commanders of other border forces and stationed troops will be ordered to return to their villages to discuss military matters.”

Uchiha Tokumitsu raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, I see."

The shadowy area remained motionless.

"What? Is there something else?"

"Commander Deguang, this matter is of great importance. When do you plan to return to the village? So that we can give you our orders first."

"Tomorrow then." Uchiha Tokumitsu thought for a moment. Anyway, there wasn't anything special going on at the garrison camp recently, so he might as well go back to the village early and take a break.

"Then we shall take our leave." Having received Uchiha Tokumitsu's reply, the three Anbu members tactfully bid farewell and departed.

After sending the ANBU away, Uchiha Tokumitsu sought out Uchiha Himon to discuss the matter further. They discussed the so-called 'special report' several times and finally reached a series of consensuses and countermeasures.

Intuition told Uchiha Tokumitsu that this so-called 'special report' might not be simple. Since it involved the commanders of various defense zones, it was definitely not a simple report on duty. There would be no shortage of heated debates.

Currently, through the Northwest Border Defense Force, the Uchiha clan's ninjas have been able to extend their influence to cover the entire Land of Grass. At the same time, they have amassed enormous profits by manipulating trade, mission announcements, and the flow of funds in the Land of Grass, practically taking control of the entire country. The sheer amount of profit they have made is enough to make outsiders envious.

The fact that the Uchiha clan seemed to have a strong hold on the Grass Village made a small number of people with ulterior motives extremely jealous and resentful.

Furthermore, the Uchiha high-ranking officials, led by Uchiha Himon, even sent ninjas to serve as guardian ninjas for the Daimyo of the Land of Grass, which violated a taboo of the village.

In comparison, the achievements of the Uchiha clan in the Land of Grass were nothing remarkable in the face of enormous profits.

At this point, unless they pull off a demotion in name only to steal the peaches planted by the Uchiha clan, or manage to get a share of the profits from the Land of Grass, the village's higher-ups probably won't give up.

……

After a long and arduous journey, Uchiha Tokumitsu led his troops back to Konoha, the village he had temporarily remained loyal to.

Today is a special day.

The atmosphere within Konoha Village was particularly intense, with carp streamers of various shapes hanging everywhere and fluttering in the wind. Even the usually strict police ninja turned a blind eye to this behavior, which could potentially be used by spies to transmit intelligence.

The main reason is that Konoha's most important New Year is approaching, so even the most impartial police ninjas are showing particular leniency.

After properly completing the return-to-village formalities at the Konoha gate, Uchiha Tokumitsu strolled leisurely down the street toward the Hokage Building.

Before returning, he had already communicated with the clan about this matter with Uchiha Himon, so after returning to the village, he was not in a hurry to go home, but planned to go directly to the Hokage Building to give a 'special report'.

As the Uchiha group walked down the street, the merchants and pedestrians along the way avoided them, but did not show any obvious signs of rejection.

"Lord Deguang!" A familiar voice called out.

Uchiha Tokumitsu turned his head and saw that the person standing at the second-floor window of the store, waving to him, was none other than his old acquaintance, Hatake Sakumo.

The smiling, silver-haired youth was dressed as smartly as ever.

Wearing a Konoha-style Jonin vest, carrying a short sword, and with his ninja tool pouch bulging, he looked ready to go into battle at any time.

"You're back so soon?" Sakumo Hatake leaped out of the second-floor window, landing steadily beside Tokumitsu Uchiha. "Are you planning to go straight to the Hokage Building?"

"Yes." Uchiha Tokumitsu was equally friendly. "Is Jonin Sakumo taking a break recently?"

"The village has been quite busy lately," Sakumo Hatake replied, seemingly changing the subject. "I'm also looking forward to the opportunity to fight alongside Tokumitsu-kun again."

Uchiha Tokumitsu's heart stirred.

"It seems Jonin Sakumo is in such high spirits; he's been promoted, huh?" Uchiha Tokumitsu probed in return.

"The situation in the ninja world has been quite turbulent lately, so as a member of the village, I've naturally been relatively busy."

"In the direction of the Frost Country?"

The Land of Frost is a neighboring country of the Land of Waterfall, and Uchiha Tokumitsu used this to refer to the battle in the Land of Waterfall.

"Hmm... it's the Land of Rivers; Sunagakure recently made a truce with Amegakure, and they've caused quite a stir in the Land of Rivers."

On the street, the two couldn't say anything directly, but they conveyed information to each other through their tacit understanding.

They walked and talked for a while, and soon they arrived in front of the Naruto Building, which looked like a red bucket.

"Alright, I won't keep Tokumitsu-kun any longer." Hatake Sakumo stopped in his tracks. "The Hokage must be waiting. Tokumitsu-kun, you should go and report first. We can talk again when we have time."

Uchiha Tokumitsu didn't say anything, just nodded and watched Hatake Sakumo leave before stepping into the Hokage Building.

Chapter 54 Map-Style Promotion

Led by the guards of the Anbu, Uchiha Tokumitsu arrived at the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage." Pushing open the door, Uchiha Tokumitsu greeted the Third Hokage politely, "Jonin Uchiha Tokumitsu has come to report on my orders."

He glanced around the office and saw that, in addition to the Hokage himself, two advisors—Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu—were also seated on one side.

Although there was no one else in the room, Uchiha Tokumitsu clearly felt several faint gazes hovering around him, probably from the Anbu members responsible for protecting the Hokage.

"Tokumitsu-kun, you must be tired from your journey." The kind-faced Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, warmly greeted Uchiha Tokumitsu. "Please have a seat. I'll finish reviewing this document first."

The Third Hokage treated every ninja this way: smiling, kind, yet dignified. It was precisely because of this noble and righteous image that he gained the support of most people in the village and even throughout the Land of Fire.

Uchiha Tokumitsu nodded, casually picked up a chair, ignored the scrutinizing gazes of the two advisors, and plopped down in it.

After a while, the Third Hokage put down the documents and pen in his hand, put the documents into a box, and an ANBU member walked in from outside and quietly took the documents away.

At this moment, Uchiha Tokumitsu felt that the faint gazes that had been lingering around him had disappeared.

The main course is here.

Uchiha Tokumitsu straightened up.

“I’ve read about your experience in the Northwest Border Defense Force; you did a great job.” The third-generation leader chuckled and took out his pipe, slowly pressing tobacco leaves into the bowl.

Uchiha Tokumitsu bowed slightly in greeting, not yet intending to say anything, as he was unsure of the Third Hokage's approach.

"From the border clearing operations to the battles against the Iwagakure border forces, and then to cooperating with Sakumo to complete the mission in Takigawa Country." The Third Hokage continued to comment on Uchiha Tokumitsu's achievements since he took command of the northwestern border defense forces, "You have always done very well, and you have indeed lived up to the reputation of the Uchiha clan as a genius."

"It's all thanks to the strong support of the elders of the clan and the villagers," Uchiha Tokumitsu cautiously replied with a correct but meaningless statement.

"The village will certainly not overlook your contributions," the Third Hokage continued. "Based on your achievements, especially your killing of the Two-Tails Jinchuriki of Kumogakure, you have enough to exchange for two ninjutsu from the village's secret sealed scroll. Deko-kun, are you willing to exchange them?"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Tokumitsu was genuinely surprised.

When did the Uchiha clan become able to read the Scroll of Seals?

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the two advisors sitting to one side, unmoved, who had probably already discussed it beforehand.

“The techniques in the Book of Sealing are what every Konoha ninja dreams of, so I am naturally willing to do so,” Uchiha Tokumitsu agreed.

"However, the forbidden techniques in the Book of Seals are all secrets of the village, and those who receive the teachings must leave a confidential seal in their minds to prevent leakage," Mitokado Homura suddenly said. "Tokumitsu-kun, can you accept this?"

"Never mind then." Uchiha Tokumitsu immediately refused upon hearing that a restriction seal would be left in his mind.

While the ninjutsu in the Book of Seals is valuable, it is still not worth it compared to a restriction of unknown depth or one placed in the mind.

“That’s not necessary. Of course, Tokumitsu-kun is an exception.” The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, chuckled and smoothed things over. “The Uchiha clan is one of the founding clans of Konoha, so they should naturally enjoy certain privileges. Moreover, I believe that the loyal Uchiha would not leak the village’s secrets.”

"You agree, right, Mr. Deguang?"

Having said all that, what else could Uchiha Tokumitsu say?

"Thank you for your trust, Hokage-sama." Uchiha Tokumitsu bowed slightly again to the Hokage.

"In that case, you may choose a date to come and select your ninjutsu." The Third Hokage handed over a seal, which Uchiha Tokumitsu stood up and took. "This is the voucher for the secret chamber. You can choose two ninjutsu you like then."

Uchiha Tokumitsu accepted the gift, bowed again, and returned to his chair.

"Furthermore, regarding the Two-Tails Jinchuriki," the Third Hokage said solemnly to Uchiha Tokumitsu, his expression turning serious. "I would like to hear your report."

The two advisors also stared intently at Uchiha Tokumitsu.

The battle was then recounted in detail once again.

Of course, the matter of colluding with Matatabi of the Second Tail to exchange benefits could not be made public.

"Since you had already subdued the Jinchuriki and started sealing him, why did you put him to death?" Koharu Utatane suddenly asked.

“The situation was indeed urgent at the time. Although we temporarily controlled the Jinchuriki’s movements and limbs, the Tailed Beast transformation did not stop. Therefore, in order to avoid irreparable damage caused by the Tailed Beast’s berserk state, we had no choice but to kill him,” Uchiha Tokumitsu replied logically.

"Then why are you hiring Grass Ninja on a large scale to carry out missions in the Land of Grass?" Mitokado Homura continued to press.

“With a little money, we can tie the Grass Ninja Village to the village’s war machine and make them work for the village. I think that’s a good deal,” Uchiha Tokumitsu said, still neither humble nor arrogant. “Ninjas aren’t all about fighting and killing. Ninjas also need to be considerate of human relationships. It’s better to have as many allies as possible than to exploit the Grass Ninja and push them into the Iwagakure camp.”

"But it still went a bit too far..." Koharu Utatane said ominously, looking down at the documents, "Especially the unauthorized communication with the Daimyo of the Land of Grass, Uchiha Tokumitsu, what is he trying to do?"

"The information on the dormitory transfer advisor is probably outdated." Uchiha Tokumitsu was equally blunt. "The Daimyo of the Land of Grass trusts the reputation of the Konoha ninja and has specially sent someone to issue a long-term protection mission. Is there a problem with accepting the mission?"

"The distribution of tasks is the responsibility of the village..."

"The village is too far from the Land of Grass, and the Daimyo of the Land of Grass is in a hurry," Uchiha Tokumitsu said nonchalantly. Whether his words were sophistry or not was not on his mind.

"Jonin Tokuko, your words reveal quite a few problems," Koharu Utatane said, frowning. "You're unfamiliar with village rules and regulations, you don't understand administrative work, and you disregard standard procedures for government operations..."

"But I wiped out the underground forces of the Grass Country."

"Uh……"

"I also defeated the invasion of Iwagakure!"

"But the system..."

"If this doesn't conform to the system when it comes to meritorious service, then the system is flawed!" Uchiha Tokumitsu bluntly stated.

"You..." Koharu Utatane trembled with anger, "Uchiha Tokumitsu! You're still young, don't be so hot-blooded..."

"If you're not hot-blooded, are you even a young man?" Uchiha Tokumitsu interrupted Utatane Koharu.

After a verbal exchange, the two were evenly matched, with Uchiha Tokumitsu temporarily gaining the upper hand.

"Alright." At this moment, the Third Hokage continued to smooth things over. "Although Tokumitsu-kun had some flaws in handling affairs, it was his first time leading troops outside, and the task was indeed arduous. Koharu, as a senior, you should be more tolerant of the younger generation."

Upon hearing this, Koharu Utatane and Tokumitsu Uchiha also quieted down.

"However, regarding the defense forces on the northwestern border, the village also plans to strengthen the garrisoned ninja and send more people there..." The Third Hokage stared at Uchiha Tokumitsu and said, "Tokumitsu-kun, what do you think?"