S-Rank Mission

The next day.

With dark circles under his eyes, Uchiha Sōgetsu rubbed his bleary eyes and yawned as he walked out of the ANBU Building.

Last night, the sudden eruption of powerful chakra within the Uchiha clan compound, along with the obvious signs of battle, could hardly escape the eyes of ANBU.

Especially during this sensitive period, the Third Hokage and Danzo's attention was almost entirely fixed on the Uchiha clan.

Sure enough, they called him in overnight to write a report for ANBU, detailing everything that had happened the night before.

He'd been writing that report for an entire night!

Writing documents before his transmigration, and writing reports after it, huh?

Damn it all. Uchiha Sōgetsu's face was full of resentment. Just as he was about to head back and catch up on sleep, someone blocked his path.

"Owl, the Lord Hokage wants you in his office." The one stopping him was none other than the Hokage's personal ANBU guard, "Elephant," his tone still icy cold.

"Yes, I'll go right away." Uchiha Sōgetsu's expression was blank, like an office worker dragging themselves to an 8 AM shift.

At that moment, his resentment shot straight to the heavens.

Across from him, Elephant inexplicably shivered and gave him a strange look. "You... forget it. Take this with you."

With that, he handed over a mask.

On the white mask, black ink depicted the animal image of an owl.

A mask... did this mean he was to carry out some mission as an ANBU operative?

Uchiha Sōgetsu took the mask, put it on his face, and without a word, trudged off with his head down.

Hokage Building, Office.

Knock, knock, knock!

After a brief knock, Uchiha Sōgetsu pushed the door open and entered. "Lord Hokage, I am Owl."

"Mm, you've come at the right time, Owl." The Third Hokage sat behind his desk, smoking a pipe, with thick stacks of documents piled at his side. When he saw him enter, he rubbed his temples and said, "I've already heard about what happened last night from Fugaku. Can you tell me how you discovered him?"

So it really is related to Black Zetsu. Uchiha Sōgetsu understood in his heart and replied, "Reporting to the Lord Hokage, it was the Sharingan. Perhaps because I'm skilled in genjutsu, my perception of chakra is very sharp."

"The Sharingan, huh."

The Third Hokage fell into thought, his fingers lightly tapping the desk.

This whole affair reeked of strangeness from the inside out, making him wonder who the true mastermind behind it was.

Especially now, at this extremely sensitive and critical juncture.

The Hokage Election had caused these people to come out of the woodwork one after another, and even Danzo was running out of patience.

"Of all times, it had to appear now." The Third Hokage's head ached. He gently pressed his throbbing temples, casually pulled two reports from a drawer, and said, "These are the reports from Jiraiya and Orochimaru that came in this morning. Take a look, then tell me your thoughts."

Actually, even without reading the reports, he already knew the outcome.

Although Orochimaru hadn't managed to stop Black Zetsu, he had used a sealing technique to directly seize half of Black Zetsu's cells, planning to conduct secret research later.

To be honest, he wasn't surprised by this result.

After all, that was the filial son Black Zetsu—no matter how you looked at it, he was a piece of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki that had fallen off her. He still had that much ability.

But in front of the Third Hokage, he still needed to put on a show.

The content of the reports was basically the same. The only difference was that Orochimaru had concealed his theft of Black Zetsu's cells, as well as Black Zetsu's identity and origins.

Closing the reports, Uchiha Sōgetsu pretended to think for a moment, then said, "Lord Hokage, I suspect this is a spy sent by another village. Their goal is to seize the Uchiha clan's Kekkei Genkai and stir up internal conflict in Konoha, then launch a war when we're at our weakest!"

His reasoning was based on future plot developments, combined with the chaotic political situation inside Konoha.

As for exposing Black Zetsu's identity?

That was something only a fool would do. Revealing that guy's identity early would only cost him his advantage in the plot.

What's more, thinking about the worst-case scenario—to maintain the plot, who knew if the Sage of Six Paths, lurking in the Pure Land all this time, might step in to interfere?

As a qualified spectator, he could appropriately "guide" the plot, but he must never tear up the script.

"Puff~ What you're saying makes a lot of sense."

After hearing this reasoning, the Third Hokage showed an approving look, then tapped off his ash and blew a smoke ring. "However, I'm worried about another matter."

"Another matter?" Uchiha Sōgetsu was taken aback.

"That's right. This is also why I called you here."

The Third Hokage reached into the drawer and pulled out an ancient scroll, handing it to him.

This scroll was extremely old, covered in dust and showing signs of damage—clearly not well-preserved.

"Warring States... Sealing History Scroll?" Uchiha Sōgetsu stared at the characters on it, even more confused. "Lord Hokage, what is this?"

"This scroll records dangerous individuals from the Warring States Period who were sealed away by the major clans that now make up Konoha." The Third Hokage set his pipe aside, crossed his hands, furrowed his brow into a deep crease, and wore a worried expression. "Honestly, I almost forgot about this myself, but that person who appeared last night suddenly made me think of it."

"You mean... that person could be one of the dangerous individuals sealed during the Warring States Period?" Uchiha Sōgetsu put on a look of surprise.

He hadn't expected that messing with Black Zetsu would actually lead him to a new discovery.

The Warring States Sealing History Scroll—this thing had never appeared in the original story, nor had there ever been any mention of dangerous individuals being sealed away.

"From Jiraiya and Orochimaru's reports, it's highly likely." The Third Hokage said in a deep voice: "Someone skilled in Yin Release Ninjutsu is rare in today's shinobi world. The possibility of them being a spy from another village exists, but I also suspect they could be a dangerous individual sealed away by our ancestors."

"Your meaning is...?"

Uchiha Sōgetsu had already guessed the task the Third Hokage intended to assign him: "You want me to investigate these seals one by one, following the locations on the scroll, to see if they're still intact?"

"Correct. This task can only be completed by you." The Third Hokage gave him another approving look and said: "Although the Warring States Period is long past, and those who were sealed may have died long ago, we still need to check to be at ease."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Uchiha Sōgetsu gladly accepted the task: "I will investigate the seal conditions one by one, following the locations marked on the scroll."

"The rank of this mission is S-Rank."

The Third Hokage picked up his pipe again, took a deep drag, and exhaled smoke: "So, I've also sent someone to assist you. They're waiting for you at Konoha Gate."

"Understood, Lord Hokage. I'll prepare and set off to meet them immediately." Uchiha Sōgetsu tucked away the scroll recording the seal locations, a hint of mockery flickering in his eyes.

Easy to say 'assist'—but is it really assistance, or surveillance?

Still, thinking about it, it's only natural. With Hiruzen Sarutobi's personality, how could he possibly send only an Uchiha on such an important mission?

Politics is an art. Too bad... Hiruzen Sarutobi only learned the surface of it.

Uchiha Sōgetsu exited the office, rolling the scroll in his hand, a smile curling at the corner of his lips: "Warring States Sealed History, huh. Interesting. Let me think... how should I use it?"

Dear readers, please cast your votes and keep up the follow-up reading rate. The new book period is tough—we're short on everything, especially Moon Tickets, and I can only update twice a day. Once it's published, I'll make it up to you all, alright~