Intelligence and Interview

In the Land of Fire, inside the Hokage Building, a report passed through layers of smoke and reached the hands of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The several advisors of Konohagakure were still arguing over the previous agenda, but Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts had gradually drifted away.

The vigorous and capable Hiruzen Sarutobi had been serving as Hokage for several years now. From the initial frantic scramble to his current ease, he had truly grasped the highest power in the Village. Important advisor positions and other key roles were all held by his own people; it could be said that he had completely secured the position of Hokage, which he had been entrusted with by the Second Hokage during a time of crisis.

Furthermore, as this was a time of peace, the Village was thriving in every aspect, and the number of supporters for the Third Hokage grew ever larger. Some had even begun to call him the "Strongest Hokage." When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard this, he only found it amusing. Not to mention the god-like power of the First Lord, even his own teacher, the Second Hokage, was someone Hiruzen Sarutobi admitted he could not surpass.

However, he never stopped the spread of such claims, to the point where the new generation of Will of Fire inheritors at the Ninja Academy all believed that the Third Hokage was the strongest Hokage in Konohagakure's history.

Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe against his desk, the tobacco ash falling to the floor, and then casually opened the report in front of him.

"Kumogakure, is it..."

"Hiruzen, is there any new intelligence?" the advisor Utatane Koharu asked.

"The Anbu received intelligence that Kumogakure seems to be frequently active in the Land of Birds, suspected of making contact with a small Kekkei Genkai Family."

"The Land of Birds? Such a remote place... there doesn't seem to be any powerful Kekkei Genkai families there," Mitokado Homura said.

"It shouldn't be any exceptional Kekkei Genkai, otherwise they wouldn't be so obscure. But what is Kumogakure's goal...?"

"This intelligence doesn't reveal much for now." Hiruzen Sarutobi set the report aside and continued, "By the way, how is Lady Mito's health lately?"

This "Mito" naturally did not refer to Mitokado Homura.

"Lady Mito is getting on in years, after all. It's hard to say how many more years she can hold on. We need to plan ahead and determine a backup candidate for the Jinchuriki as soon as possible," said Utatane Koharu, who was in charge of medical affairs.

"Do not worry, a suitable backup candidate has already been found and will be brought back to the Village in a while," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Oh? How come we haven't heard of this?" the several advisors were somewhat dissatisfied.

"The Jinchuriki is a matter of great importance. From beginning to end, only I have known about it. The backup candidate for the Jinchuriki is a girl from the Uzumaki clan, an orphan. It is said she even has some distant blood relation to Lady Mito, making her an excellent candidate for the Jinchuriki."

The advisors nodded; this candidate was indeed very suitable. Danzo, meanwhile, had some thoughts of his own, but in the end, he chose to remain silent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi would never agree to him having designs on the Jinchuriki...

As Hiruzen Sarutobi said this, he suddenly recalled previous related intelligence, then picked up the report about Kumogakure contacting the Kekkei Genkai family in the Land of Birds, and a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.

"Come to think of it, when we were searching for the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki candidate, we seemed to have detected traces of Kumogakure as well. The other side also seems to be searching for Uzumaki survivors. Is there some connection between these things..."

It was already morning, and the Mission Assignment Office was packed with people. Because Morita Keiko had been filling out a questionnaire, she had been delayed and missed the first wave. Now, there were no missions left that were suitable for her, which gave her a headache.

Although she wasn't at the point where she couldn't put food on the table if she didn't take a mission for a day, as a single mother, Keiko always lacked a sense of security. She had secretly made up her mind to take on a few more missions in the coming days, even if the pay was lower and the work harder.

Unfortunately, low-level missions that paid well, required little effort, and were close to home were truly rare. She could only hope they would appear tomorrow.

With no suitable missions, all that remained was to hand in the questionnaire. It would be nice to go home early and spend more time with her daughter.

After asking a colleague, Morita Keiko was led to a small room inside the assignment office.

As soon as she entered, Morita recognized the ninja in front of her: Dodai, a famous Elite Jonin within the Village, deeply trusted by the Raikage. It was said he even possessed a special Kekkei Genkai, though more detailed information was not something a mere Genin like Morita Keiko could know.

Behind Dodai stood quite a few people, standing like bodyguards, and every one of them felt stronger than her in terms of their aura...

Well, that wasn't unusual; she was just a Genin, after all...

Instinctively, Keiko felt a bit nervous. As a civilian Genin who could only be cannon fodder during the war years, getting involved with the Village's Elite Jonin was not a good thing. She had long since abandoned any thoughts of advancing on the path of a ninja; she only wanted to raise her daughter safely and always chose non-dangerous errands or cat-catching missions.

She worried that this setup meant the Village wanted to give her some classified mission.

Morita Keiko made up her mind that if Dodai wanted to give her some dangerous mission, she would never agree to it, even if it killed her.

Morita Keiko's mind was a mess, and it wasn't until a few seconds later that she noticed a child sitting beside Dodai. The child looked no more than two years older than her daughter, barely sitting on the stool, just managing to show his head. At this moment, he was waving his hand and saying to her, "Please sit here. Morita Keiko, right? Please hand the questionnaire here."

Keiko's head was spinning, and she subconsciously handed over the questionnaire. It was only after the paper left her hands that she felt it was strange—why was there a little kid here... Once she sat in the middle chair, she realized this room seemed to be prepared for interviews. She was the interviewee, and the interviewers were Dodai and... that little kid?

What the hell is this...

"Morita Keiko, right? Let me look at your file... Here it is. You have performed 623 D-rank missions, 72 C-rank missions, and 1 B-rank mission. The rest are zero... Hmm, it seems you are a steady-type ninja," Dada praised.

Keiko broke into a cold sweat. This kid really knew how to talk. Fine, she was a steady-type ninja. The only B-rank mission she had ever done was with her husband when she was young, and she hadn't really helped much.

Basically, she had been responsible for cheering from the back, completely infatuated with her husband...

Dada continued, "Your, um... spouse sacrificed himself during a mission, and you are currently raising your daughter alone... First, let me express my gratitude to you and your family. Without your sacrifices, the Village would not be where it is today." Dada suddenly went from sitting on the chair to standing on it, then bowed to Morita Keiko.

The sudden action surprised even Dodai, who was standing to the side. Morita Keiko subconsciously stood up, but then her eyes stung, and she quickly said, "No, my strength is low; I haven't made any contribution to the Village."

Dada sighed. In this world, the feelings ninjas have for their village are both extreme and simple. Most love the village more than their own lives. Regardless of whether this was influenced by years of education, such emotions were still astonishing.

Looking at the state of Konohagakure in the original story, there were still a large number of ninjas who would face death without fear and sacrifice themselves for Konohagakure. One couldn't just brush it off by saying it was brainwashing by the Will of Fire; the emotions of people in this world were indeed more extreme and pure.

The same went for those guys who always wanted the world to feel pain, to build a new world of a certain type, or to build a world that someone liked.

Dodai looked at the bowing Dada, feeling moved. This second son of the Raikage was bringing him more and more surprises.

"Ms. Morita Keiko, there are a few questions I need you to answer. May I ask, as you are currently raising your child alone, do you feel it is difficult?"

Keiko stuttered a bit. Her emotions had been stirred up to such a level, and yet he asked such a domestic question? I thought the Village needed me to sacrifice myself...

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