Reconnaissance Mission

After resting at home for two days, it's time to start missions again. Hinata went out of the village with Kurenai on a mission, Issui took Haku to find Shizune for a reconnaissance mission. Fini suddenly went back to the underground world on her own initiative. She said that the monsters in the abyss were stirring again, and the Flying Dragon Clan and the Abyssal Demons were about to go to war. Fini is a crystal dragon of the Flying Dragon Clan and is quite strong, so she will also be conscripted to the battlefield.

He wasn't sure where Shizune lived, but he knew Shizune was definitely with Tsunade, so he went straight to the Hokage.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

"Come in."

Tsunade knew that it was Issui who had come to find Shizune to do a mission together.

Issui led Bai into the Hokage's office. Sure enough, Shizune was standing next to Tsunade Tonton, while Tsunade was dealing with various matters. Reports were piled up high, which scared Issui so much that he no longer had any desire to Hokage. He would rather spend his time on his own woman.

"What's this?" Tsunade asked, looking at the girl next to Issui.

"She's an orphan of the Yuki Clan, the girl that Issui brought back from a mission when the Third was still alive. She's now a member of Konoha, and it's recorded in the Konoha Ninja archives," Shizune explained to Tsunade.

Tsunade nodded. This kid always brings back some strange people. For example, the two brothers, Azure Dragon (Hashirama Senju) and White Tiger (Tobirama Senju), last time. According to the Anbu, those two brothers actually live with the common people Tenten, helping some old people with chores like weeding. They never leave the village and always make some contributions for free. They are really strange people.

Shizune, on the other hand, seemed different. The way Shiro looked at Issui was very gentle. Perhaps he had been tricked. This kid's methods of deceiving girls were truly remarkable; he had even managed to win back Yuki's girl.

"Shizune-senpai, shall we set off now?" Issui said directly, ignoring the two people's murmurs.

"Go, Shizune. I'll have Kotetsu and others come over to help these next few days. You need to familiarize yourself with the environment around Konoha and the border. Although you're a bit older than Issui, he's done a lot of missions, and there's a lot you can learn from him. You should ask him for advice." Tsunade said to Shizune. Actually, she had Shizune stay with Issui for a while mainly to assess Issui's personality and abilities and to gather intelligence.

Shizune nodded, then bowed to Issui and said, "Please guide me."

"No, no, Shizune-senpai has been by the Fifth Hokage's side for many years. She has definitely experienced more than me, and her experience is probably no less than mine. I should be the one learning from you," Issui said modestly.

"Alright, you guys go ahead and stop being so modest. I have work to do. Let me have some peace and quiet," Tsunade dismissively.

Issui this, Yishui stopped talking and immediately walked out with Shizune and Bai.

Tsunade watched the three figures disappear, rubbing her head in annoyance. She wasn't entirely at ease with Issui; his strength already forced Tsunade to be cautious. If he surpassed her in strength and insisted on making certain decisions, she couldn't completely dismiss him. The Third Hokage had faith in him, but that didn't mean he was indifferent. After all, the more support Ikshui gained as his strength increased, the more power I, Tsunade, would have. Moreover, Ikshui came from the Hyuga Clan; with his potential, he could very well develop the Hyuga into Konoha's most powerful clan. It would be great if another genius emerged to rival him. Naruto had immense potential; as the village leader, his most important task was to maintain a balance of power within the village. She hoped Naruto could grow quickly, and if a next Hokage were to be chosen, she would prefer Naruto for the position.

Issui, Shizune, and Haku left Konoha and headed straight for the border of the Land of Fire to scout the border defenses. Although there were regular ninjas guarding the area, it was best to start there and then patrol back.

After a day's journey, the three finally arrived at the border of the Land of Fire, which borders the Land of Wind. Since they had been traveling west, their destination was naturally the border between the Land of Fire Land of Wind. From this point, they would conduct reconnaissance along the border around the Land of Fire before returning to Konoha, thus concluding their reconnaissance mission.

"It's already evening. Everyone, take out the food you prepared and fill your stomachs first. There aren't any rivers or fish around here, and there aren't many animals either; most of them are hiding. Besides, it's best not to light fires and cook near the border, as it will reveal our location to the enemy, allowing them to ambush or avoid us, which is very disadvantageous for us. I'll go set up some traps around here. You guys rest here for a bit and then eat something. I'll keep watch for the first half of the night, and Shizune and Bai will keep watch for the second half. Any objections, everyone?" Issui found a clean spot, cleared it, and then made the arrangements.

"No problem, go set the trap," Shizune said.

Issui nodded and quickly left.

Bai took out the rice balls she had made that morning and slowly began to eat them.

"Excuse me, how long have you been in Konoha?" Shizune asked Haku.

"Hmm, not even half a year yet," Bai said. Why did she ask that? Did she suspect me? No, it didn't seem like it.

"What do you think of Issui?" Shizune asked again.

"How should I put it? Sometimes he seems more mature than you, and sometimes you feel like he's still a child. However, he's very insightful and confident about everything. Nothing can stump him. You don't even need to think about it; he'll consider everything for you," Bai said without hesitation.

"Really? So you have a good impression of him. What, do you like him?" Shizune couldn't help but tease.

"Yeah, pretty much. He's incredibly attractive, always captivating, and I think he'd be a good man."

Why is that? What's so good about him?

You know he and Hinata are boyfriend and girlfriend, right?

"Yes, I know. What's wrong?"

"He actually washes Hinata's feet every night and cooks and feeds her every morning just to please her. I'm so envious of Hinata; I never get that kind of treatment."

"Really? Is he that good? I've never heard of any man being like that. Hinata is so lucky. Does he really have no flaws at all?" Shizune didn't believe that there was such a perfect man, she absolutely refused to believe it.

Bai blushed slightly and said, "Of course not. Actually, his biggest flaw is that he's a lecher. The two of them even had a fight yesterday. I never expected that Hinata usually so shy, would erupt like that."

"Pervert? Bah! Nine out of ten men are perverts. I heard from Lady Tsunade that her former companion Jiraiya-senpai, was also a pervert. And her teacher, the Third, wasn't much different." Shizune spat lightly, not expecting that brat to be such a pervert.

"Is Shizune-senpai's family also in Konoha?" Haku Issui the subject, switching to something else.

"Yes, they're all gone. I've been by Lady Tsunade's side since I was little. Most of them sacrificed their lives in the war," Shizune said calmly.

"Really? But it's alright. I've always been alone too. It wasn't until I met Issui-kun that I understood that people who share the same ideals can entrust their lives to each other. It's precisely because of these bonds that people don't lose themselves. The stronger a person is, the stronger their emotions are. Strength without emotions as a foundation is empty," Bai Kai explained.

"Bonds? I don't even know the meaning of my life. What are the people in this world living for? Why is there war?" Shizune pondered, her head bowed.

"People exist because of dreams, and are strong because of bonds. This world was originally without peace, but peace is something we create with our own hands. Believe in your village, believe in your companions, and believe in your own strength, and you can achieve it. Many people in this world are working towards this goal. People yearn for peace and hope to eliminate hatred. Now, we can only slowly accumulate our strength, become powerful, and then create a truly hatred-free, mutually understanding era with our companions. Wars initially broke out for the struggle for population and territory, but as the world has developed, people have increasingly realized that only a unified order and nation can truly achieve peace. Without checks and balances, nations attack each other, and in the end, it is the common people who suffer. Those in power only know about interests and not about peace. At this time, people need to understand each other, eliminate hatred, and create a new world. There is no peace without division; division leads to suffering, but ultimately, mutual understanding will bring peace." Issui suddenly appeared and said calmly.

"How can we possibly resolve the hatred and achieve a unified peace when there are huge conflicts between the people of different countries and the ninja villages?" Shizune asked, puzzled.

"Good question. We see people from different regions fighting, getting hurt, and developing hatred because of differing beliefs. But there's something we haven't seen," Issui said.

"What is it?" Shizune asked hurriedly.

"The abyss of hatred has caused immense suffering to the living. However, when faced with hatred, two different types of people emerge with different beliefs. The first type seeks to achieve peace, create a new world, and gain everyone's understanding—this is the side of justice. The second type distorts their own ideals, ruling everyone under their own control to achieve a pathetic peace. Although both are forms of unification, they bury everyone's ideals, not only twisting their own beliefs but also forcing everyone to join them in realizing this disgusting dream—this is the side of evil," Issui said.

"Then what is justice? What is evil?" This time it was Bai who asked the question.

"Those who are filled with emotion and the bonds of camaraderie, and who constantly strive for the world and others, belong to the side of justice; those who destroy peace, create conflict, weaken the strength of all parties, and then suppress everyone in their own world, making everyone obey their orders, without thinking of comrades, without believing in peace, and only believing in the path of peace forged in blood, this is the side of evil," Issui said.