He was in Konoha, exuding an aura of dominance.

But Yakushi Nonou stopped her, gesturing for her to speak aside.

Just as the two were talking, Minato Namikaze secretly found Isogen.

How did you do that?

"what?"

"That kind of concealment that even Senior White Fang didn't notice."

Information about ninjas is a very important resource, so Minato Namikaze wouldn't rashly ask about the other party's foundation. He just wanted Igarashi to answer his questions and give him the name of a technique.

Several Uchiha members pricked up their ears.

"Just a little trick to combine Shadow Clone Jutsu," Igarashi said casually.

In terms of raw power, even Isogen at close range couldn't escape Hatake Sakumo's terrifying perception, but he could use tricks.

When Wind Release chakra merges into the wind to search for a target, it easily triggers chakra fluctuations. In such cases, the user usually stands at the center or edge of the fluctuation.

However, Isogen's physical condition is special.

Ordinary ninjas train their bodies and increase their chakra, gradually honing their strength, but ultimately only manage to touch upon the chakra attribute under the Yin-Yang style.

From the very beginning, the fifty strings stood on the opposite side of the Yin and Yang attributes, and each time it was an all-round improvement of the Yin and Yang attributes.

Even though the attribute enhancements of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were biased towards one aspect, Igarashi was born with a unified and flawless nature, so I could only fight him head-on with his all-around, flawless enhancement.

As the fight went on, the opponent eventually gave up hope.

For details, see Uchiha Itsukushima when he was still in the police department. After awakening his three-tomoe Sharingan, he tried to defeat Isogen with genjutsu, but found that he couldn't hurt him at all.

After that, he became respectful to Igarashi during the mission.

"So it's very simple. As long as you merge yourself with chakra without causing any fluctuations, you can achieve complete invisibility in terms of chakra perception."

Fifty Strings said a lot, but it was automatically filtered out by the others.

Aba aba.

Complete concealment of chakra?

If we could have done that, we wouldn't be in this miserable state now.

Uchiha Itsukushima felt this most deeply.

If he could do that, he would dare to call himself the number one assassin in Konoha, making the Konoha F4 afraid to even raise their heads.

Do you understand the high attack power and low imitation of ninjas? A single kunai can make the Thin Veil Shadow skill so valuable!

Just as they stopped at this corner, Hatake Sakumo brought them some bad news.

"We're afraid we can't leave for the time being."

The information that led Iwagakure to pursue Yakushi Nonou was extremely simple.

The Four-Tails Jinchuriki is about to leave the village.

Fifty strings tilted their heads slightly.

He didn't know much about the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Rōshi, and he only remembered them because of their names.

Roshi left the village to travel after his personality clashed with Onoki's; the exact time is unknown, but it may have been before or during the Third Shinobi World War.

But definitely not now.

The Second Shinobi World War had only ended a year ago.

So it was Danzo who did this?

Upon learning that they could not leave immediately, the group instantly became more vigilant.

The biggest fear for ninjas on missions is unforeseen changes.

Isogen instinctively felt that this change was inextricably linked to Yakushi Nonou.

When they were alone, Isogen asked me directly.

"..."

Yakushi Nonou knew that Isogen was intelligent, but she was still surprised by his keen insight.

When she was in the orphanage, Isogen was the smartest and most sensible among all the orphans. He even offered to use his inheritance to help her improve the orphanage, but she refused.

No matter how difficult things are for the orphanage, it cannot take the inheritance of the hero's family. Wu Shixian will also need this money to get married and have children when he grows up.

"Shortly after the Hokage sent me back, Danzo sent someone to ask me to cooperate with the operation."

"Will this exacerbate the conflict between the Four-Tails Jinchuriki and the Tsuchikage?"

"...You're so smart."

Yakushi Nono sighed.

For some reason, I wanted to grow countless hands to press the fifty strings to the ground.

"I also have a guess about the rogue ninja in your mission, and the ninja I contacted is the most likely one."

“That was just a scapegoat,” Isogen said incisively.

"..." Yakushi Nonou smiled bitterly.

Yes, a scapegoat. So what could make Danzo abandon a Root elite who was loyal to him?

It couldn't be a group of Uchiha ninjas accompanying them, and it was even less likely that it was Hatake Sakumo. There was only one answer.

A good child standing in front of me.

As for why it wasn't Minato Namikaze, the answer is obvious simply because Ichigo Ichiro arrived without any prior information and bypassed a series of his prepared hiding places to find himself.

Chapter 40 Danzo Can't Be Carefree for Now

Leaf.

The days have been especially comfortable lately without that evil brat Hiruzen Sarutobi who always throws tobacco in the trash.

They were enjoying themselves immensely, puffing out clouds of smoke.

"Cough cough!"

The member of the secret service wearing a rabbit mask nearly choked to death as he entered the room, his vision filled with a white blur, as if he were in a mountain rain and mist.

"Lord Hokage, there is a secret message."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gestured to another person in the office, Yotsukaku Nara, the current Jonin squad leader, Ikkaku.

Nara opened the secret letter, and his brows furrowed slightly as he read the information on the letter.

"Two ten-person teams from Iwagakure have crossed the Land of Grass and arrived at the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire. Do they intend to enter the Land of Fire?"

Now that the war is over, ninjas still need to eat. Although relations between the five great nations remain tense, ordinary missions such as escorting caravans do not prohibit ninjas from other villages from entering their own countries.

One of the main reasons the Ninja World War broke out was that each village was vying for more mission slots, since the resources needed to train a qualified ninja couldn't just appear out of thin air.

"It shouldn't be. Onoki isn't that reckless." Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head slightly.

Iwagakure was one of the participants in the Second Shinobi World War. Konoha and Iwagakure fought fiercely in the Land of Rain, suffering huge losses. It was reasonable for them to carry out normal mission activities. However, sending a combat team of twenty people directly into the Land of Fire was an attempt to provoke a conflict.

Moreover, that is the border area between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.

With the Land of Rain shattered as the main battlefield, Hanzo was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it. If a group of Iwagakure ninjas arrived at this time, with his strength, Onoki wouldn't be able to find any fault with leaving them all in the Land of Rain.

In the ninja world, the strong are respected. If someone is killed, they can only blame themselves for not being skilled enough. Otherwise, would an old man like Onoki have to fight against a powerful demigod of the ninja world?

Hanzo might not be able to kill Onoki, but he could reduce Iwagakure to only having Onoki and a few other powerful ninjas.

"Wouldn't the simultaneous appearance of White Fang, a Jonin of the Uchiha clan, and a ninja from Iwagakure provoke Hanzo's hostility?" Nara frowned, then dismissed the idea after a moment.

"No, probably not. He knew that everyone needed to recuperate not long after the war ended."

He knew that Sakumo Hatake was leading a team to carry out a mission near the Land of Rain, but he was not worried about the team that had set off on the mission.

It's no exaggeration to say that the outcome of a training match between the Hokage and Sakumo Hatake would be uncertain, especially considering Sakumo Hatake's exceptional strength and his special ability to attack people.

For a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't figure out what Onoki was up to.

The missions carried out by ninjas are top secrets known only to a select few. To learn more, one usually has to wait for the ninjas to return and report.

But he did not receive the secret letter from Hatake Sakumo.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Jiraiya is still in the Land of Rain. Send someone to deliver a message to him to investigate and assist in the mission if necessary."

He gets angry whenever Jiraiya is mentioned.

During the final stages of the war, he ran off to the Land of Rain and didn't come back. If we hadn't called him back to take on disciples last time, he would probably still be out there. Even so, after taking on Minato Namikaze, he taught him for a while before running off again.

However, he has assigned Minato Namikaze a learning task this time, and he will come back to check the results after a period of time, so he can be considered somewhat like a teacher.

A ninja leaving the territory without orders is considered a defection!

Meanwhile, at the roots.

Danzo was shrouded in shadow, his cold aura blending seamlessly with the dark and gloomy Root base.

"The Four-Tails Jinchuriki left Iwagakure and reached his destination. However, the Kirigakure ninja encountered the Hyuga clan on the way and were attracted by the Byakugan, thus failing to reach the designated location."

Danzo Shimura's remaining eyes revealed disdain: "A bunch of fishermen who've never seen the world."

From Konoha's perspective, which is privileged, he naturally looks down on other ninja villages.

The Root ninja knelt with his head bowed. Danzo had no intention of punishing him. It was normal for problems to arise during a mission; even the God of Shinobi couldn't have a perfect mission every time.

Most importantly, every Root ninja is an elite, and the losses during the war were too great. Unless Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly fills the gap, he won't be able to live a carefree life until Root returns to its peak.

"Continue with the mission," Danzo said.

"Do everything possible to bring the Four-Tails Jinchuriki into a fight with Sakumo Hatake, and find an opportunity to kill the Jinchuriki!"

Danzo Shimura's eyes flashed with ruthlessness.

As for the potential consequences of killing the Jinchūriki of Iwagakure.

At that time, Iwagakure will lack a powerful fighter, and Konoha may also lack one, but Konoha, with its deep foundation, can afford to lose this.

Taking this opportunity, eliminate Hatake Sakumo, a strong candidate for the next Hokage, and take Yakushi Nonou away to command the remaining songs of the fifty strings. If you're lucky, you might even get a few pairs of Sharingan, one of which is a three-tomoe Sharingan!