Gentle and Kind, with a Tender Personality?

The Land of Grass was not unfamiliar to Kazashiro.

During the Third Shinobi World War, he led a squad to destroy the Kannabi Bridge and annihilated an entire Stone Ninja unit during the war.

He also Obito awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Returning to the familiar place did not bring Kazashiro any good mood; on the contrary, it made his expression even more unpleasant.

I feel frustrated, like I've become a chosen worker, constantly running around with all sorts of tasks every day.

Mingming's biggest wish was to latch onto a few powerful figures, and after the old Deng Fengyin Bridge gloriously "sacrificed" itself, he would inherit the Root and become the new generation of Pot Kage —Pah!

To become the next generation's inheritor of the Will of Fire and live a life of luxury without worrying about food or drink.

As it turns out, the Will of Fire seems to have been inherited, but the wealthy man's life seems far from being realized.

Reflecting on his actions over this period, Kazashiro suddenly realized that he seemed to have become Konoha's babysitter, being thrown around wherever needed.

Kazashiro, you can't go on like this. You need to correct your attitude, strengthen your resolve, and bravely say no to the higher-ups!

"Kazashiro, take Dole back to the front and gather intelligence."

"They've arrived."

Kazashiro readily agreed, completely forgetting his own thoughts just moments before.

With his classmate Dole, who had graduated with him but was still Genin, they headed back in the direction Shikaku had pointed to investigate, and the two quickly discovered the location of Kusagakure.

However, at this moment, Kusagakure did not look normal at all.

Out of consideration for the past close relationship between Kusagakure and Konoha, Nara Shikaku, the strategist ninja, intended to use his persuasive skills to reason with Kusagakure and appeal to their emotions, persuading them to hand over the descendants of the Kusagakure Uzumaki Clan.

But when he heard Kazashiro's report, he immediately led the others to the entrance of Kusagakure at full speed.

He immediately saw the village gate of Kusagakure, which had been divided in two.

"Hiss, this shouldn't be an architectural style unique to Kusagakure, right?"

Looking at the scattered corpses of the Grass Ninja on the ground, Kazashiro squatted down, poked one of them, and turned to Shikaku to say something.

"It can't be. It looks like Kusagakure has been attacked, and the way this attack looks... it seems very similar to..."

The first thing that came to Nara Shikaku's mind was the corpse of his colleague that he had seen in the Konoha morgue.

"Prepare for battle."

Nara Shikaku, with a serious expression, extended his right hand, ready to form a hand seal.

"Like what?"

Kazashiro was somewhat curious. He had never fought against Setsuna after she activated her Mangekyō Sharingan, so he didn't know what her Dojutsu looked like.

Nara Shikaku, who was focused on finding the enemy, did not answer Kazashiro's question, but continued to maintain a vigilant posture.

After confirming that there were no enemies around, Nara Shikaku arranged for a few people to form a defensive formation as taught at the Ninja Academy, and slowly moved towards the Kusagakure.

Everywhere were torn corpses, some clearly burned by fire-style techniques.

"Help, help me..."

A faint cry for help came from the pile of corpses. The group exchanged glances, and Nara Shikaku used a secret technique to pull the person out with his shadow.

To prevent being ambushed, Nara Shikaku deliberately placed it in a position where he could react quickly enough.

After confirming that the other party's injuries were not feigned, at Shikaku's signal, Arashi from the team tossed a makeshift medical kit to the Grass Ninja.

After the other person finished bandaging him, Shikaku was finally able to ask why Kusagakure had become like this.

From the other party's brief description, Kazashiro and the others understood the current situation of Kusagakure.

Just hours before their arrival, two masked, unidentified individuals, along with several strangely behaving ninjas, attacked Kusagakure.

Any Grass Ninja who dared to block the two were instantly cleaved in two.

It was as if an invisible slash had struck them.

Upon hearing this, Nara Shikaku immediately realized that the attacker was indeed the Uchiha had attacked Konoha.

However, this was not the time to discuss these matters, so he Fudō and gestured for the other person to continue.

However, the Grass Ninja refused to speak further, seemingly quite wary of Kazashiro and the others' Konoha Ninja identities.

Seeing this, Nara Shikaku did not insist, but sighed inwardly, wishing he had included a Yamanaka Clan ninja in the team.

Ignoring the other party and learning that the enemy had launched the attack several hours earlier, Nara Shikaku temporarily lowered his guard and prepared to continue forward to see if he could find the higher-ups of Kusagakure.

But the same Grass Ninja who had spoken earlier reached out to stop them, disregarding the deep, bone-revealing wound on his body, and refused to let the Konoha Ninja step into the depths of the Kusagakure.

Now they're sticking to their principles, not when they were desperately calling for help just now?

Kazashiro silently complained to himself, then saw the subtle look that Nara Shikaku gave him.

I see.

Instantly understanding the meaning in the other's eyes, Kazashiro, under the cover of Shikaku's tall figure, slowly moved to a blind spot where the Grass Ninja could not observe.

With a flick of her Ice Senbon, the Grass Ninja who had just stepped one foot into the Pure Land now had both feet in.

The Genin in the team had all experienced the Third Shinobi World War, so they were not intimidated by Kazashiro's sudden attack.

Only Nara Shikaku looked puzzled.

What happened? I just wanted you to use your name to scare him and see if I could get any crucial information out of him. Why did you give me that "I know" look and then kill him?

Just as Nara Shikaku was pondering how to tactfully inquire about what Kazashiro had understood, Kazashiro's next words left him even more bewildered.

"Captain Shikaku, we can take advantage of the attack on Kusagakure to forcibly take away the Uzumaki Clan they've been illegally harboring."

Nara Shikaku silent.

He recalled the drinking session he had with Inoichi and Choza at the Akimichi Clan yakiniku restaurant not long ago.

At the dinner table, Choza confidently told himself that Kazashiro was different from his aloof father; he was a kind, gentle, and sunny person.

He protected his teammates on the battlefield more than once.

Before leaving, the Third Hokage also told himself that Kazashiro was different from Danzo. He inherited the Will of Fire and, like himself, was a moderate who wanted to develop the village.

Is this mild?

Is he kind and approachable?

This guy has the same idea as his hawkish father; they both want to forcibly take the Uzumaki Clan from Kusagakure.

However, on the other hand...

Isn't Kusagakure now just a fish on the chopping block, completely at everyone's mercy?

Even if they kidnapped Uzumaki Clan, as long as they killed all the witnesses, who would know that Konoha was behind it?