A New Operation Begins

Why waste so much effort on such a pointless endeavor?

What does "futile effort" mean?

The mixed timbre sounds very strange.

"I spent so much effort to control those people, and then they were all sent into Konoha. If they could kill a few, that would be considered somewhat useful, but they were all captured without even making a ripple. Isn't that a complete waste of effort?"

A tremendous roar echoed through the forest.

A man of about seventeen or eighteen glared angrily at Jue, his scarlet eyes blazing with intense hatred, and three black Tomoe swirling rapidly.

"... Oh, so what use are those useless trash you control?" Zetsu coldly stared at the man. "Use your brain. Revenge isn't just a slogan; destroying Konoha isn't something you can achieve by shouting here..."

"If you continue with this attitude... I guarantee you won't live much longer."

The strange sound was like a bucket of ice water being poured over him. The man fell silent, his Sharingan faded, and his black eyes were filled with a sorrowful helplessness and despair.

"Think about it carefully. Inductive Genjutsu is a unique technique of the Uchiha Clan. Konoha will discover its secrets sooner or later... You should understand what the Uchiha Clan will do then." Seeing that the man had calmed down, Jue didn't hesitate to say a few more words. It's not easy to train a qualified tool, and you won't just discard a tool unless absolutely necessary.

"You mean sowing discord?"

The man wasn't stupid, he just hadn't quite grasped the concept yet. But after Jue said that, he immediately understood, and thinking about the relationship between his family and the village, he laughed.

It's a very menacing smile.

"Good that you understand. Konoha is getting stronger and stronger. It's difficult to defeat them head-on. The only way is to weaken and divide them, so we can find a suitable opportunity... Therefore, control yourself. Revenge requires patience..."

"I understand." The man nodded, then asked, "So what do we do next? We're out of manpower; are we still going to continue making arrests?"

"No, Genso, we have more important things to do. This matter is temporarily over. We need to go and help Chan get what belongs to him..." A murderous smile appeared on Yin Yang's face.

"Lord Hokage"

"It's Katsuki- kun! Please have a seat. There's just a little bit of finishing work to take care of right away."

The Hokage's Office.

Orochimaru sat in the master's seat, engrossed in dealing with the mountain of official documents on the table.

Katsuki sat on the sofa, sipping tea and observing the room that had changed owners. It hadn't changed much since the Third Hokage moved in, except that a few of the calligraphy pieces written by the Third Hokage were missing from the walls, and the walls had been freshly painted and were clean and new.

Aside from the large desk piled high with documents, the overall impression Katsuki got was one of simplicity.

Of course, it's also possible that Orochimaru only moved in a couple of days ago and probably hasn't had a chance to properly set up his office yet.

"Wow... When I was the Hokage's Assistant, I thought I had enough ability to take over Hokage... Now I have to say, this job is not as glamorous as it seems. There are endless things to deal with, and I use up three boxes of ink pads every day just for stamping documents."

Orochimaru put down his pen and began to grumble about how hard the work was, but there was no sign of weariness on his face.

It was a bittersweet experience?

Katsuki pondered this in her mind, she straightened her languid posture and said, "Lord Hokage, I've come today regarding the black market."

"Black market?"

"That's right, the Anbu has made new progress in the past two days, confirming four black market strongholds within the Land of Fire."

Katsuki got up and walked to her desk, took out the latest version of the Land of Fire map from her sleeve, spread it out, and pointed to the dots circled in red marker.

This is the latest update from the Anbu's specialized geography and mapping team. Given the ninjas' immense destructive power, changes in the continent's terrain are common. If you compare a map from the time of the First Hokage with the current one, you'll see the dramatic changes.

If you walk around using a map from the time of the First Hokage, you're guaranteed to get completely lost before you've gone even ten miles.

"So, Katsuki- kun, what do you plan to do? Are you going to take action yourself?"

"Yes, it's been a while since we've had any action. We'll use these things to get back into the swing of things. We used to be too lazy to deal with them, and with the interference from the nobles, we never had a chance to deal with these stinking ditch stuff. Now that they've fallen into our hands, we can't let them go so easily."

Katsuki's smile was radiant, but an intense killing intent burst forth without any attempt to conceal it.

"Tap tap tap..."

Orochimaru tapped his fingers on the table with a rhythmic sound, lost in thought.

Katsuki wasn't in a hurry to urge him; she simply took out the action application form, placed it on the map, and patiently awaited Orochimaru's response.

He wasn't worried that Orochimaru would reject his brutal and direct plan. Although Orochimaru wasn't gloomy and cold-blooded now, he was still as tough as ever, and far more decisive than the Third Hokage.

"Katsuki -kun, be clean. And... I need enough evidence to prove that the existence of the black market threatens the peace between Konoha and the Land of Fire. I don't want nobles causing a scene here afterward."

Orochimaru picked up the action application form, glanced at it briefly, then grabbed the Hokage seal beside him and slapped it on. The bright red seal signified the document's validity.

"Lord Hokage, I guarantee you will get what you want."

With a smile, Katsuki grabbed the application form, stuffed it into her sleeve, turned around, and strode out the door.

With this document, he could finally take action against the scoundrels in the black market. Otherwise, it would be too pitiful for his junior brother Kakashi to be stuck at home without even being able to leave.

"Katsuki."

A burly figure blocked their path.

"Teacher, what brings you here? Where's Kakashi? Is he alright?"

In the corridor, Sakumo and Katsuki, the master and apprentice, sat on a bench for resting.

"Kakashi's fine. He went to the hospital for a checkup with your master's wife. I'll pick him up around noon," Sakumo said with a smile.

There's really no need to worry about security at Konoha Hospital. As one of the village's symbols of peace, Konoha Hospital's security is even stronger than that of the Hokage Building, not to mention Tsunade is stationed there, making its safety extremely high.

"How has your wife been lately? Come to think of it, I haven't visited her since I took over the Anbu."

Katsuki sighed. Even with Deputy Chief Hiruzen's eldest son helping with the daily affairs of the Anbu, they were still incredibly busy, and even Shadow Clone couldn't relieve the pressure from their work.

"Your teacher's wife is fine. Tsunade's medical skills are truly amazing. She was severely weakened after giving birth to Kakashi, but she's recovered completely... Hey, why am I telling you all this? Katsuki, are you going to take action against those bastards in the black market?"