"Senju... Tobirama!"
Longya and the others turned their heads and cried out in surprise.
Their bodies trembled. They knew a little about Tobirama's personality, and one of his most hated things was people discussing matters behind his back.
"Hmph!"
Sure enough, Tobirama merely snorted as he looked at the embarrassed Longya and the others. Ignoring their presence, he turned his attention to Mito and Tsunade.
"Tobirama."
Suppressing her discomfort for the moment, Mito rose to her feet and walked over with a smile, holding Tsunade's little hand.
"What brings you here today? How did you find the time to stop by?"
"Granduncle." Tsunade stood beside her and called out sweetly.
Though Tobirama still wore a cold expression upon seeing them, his gaze softened considerably.
He first tapped Tsunade on her little forehead before saying irritably,
"You little brat, why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I'm not sleepy." Tsunade grinned and made a face at him.
(¬_¬)
Tobirama gave her a sidelong look, too lazy to bother with her anymore. When he looked at Mito again, his expression became somewhat serious.
"Sister-in-law, did you just consider going to Uzushiogakure personally to help?
Don't hide it from me. I have informants throughout the village. Without my permission, you won't be leaving."
As for forcing her way out, he believed Mito had the strength to do so, but she would not.
This village was Elder Brother Hashirama's life's work. For that reason alone, Mito would never risk becoming the enemy of the world.
"..."
Mito knew he must have arrived long ago. After a moment of silence, she forced out a faint smile. "I can't hide anything from you. Since you arrived at such a convenient time, you must have heard what we were just saying.
I know the village's recent situation as well, but Uzushiogakure is my hometown after all. If it truly isn't convenient for you to step in,
then I'll fund Longya and the others myself and increase the reward for the mission. That should attract some Jonin from the major clans in the village.
What do you think?"
"Sigh..."
Tobirama looked at her hopeful eyes and sighed softly. "If it were really that simple, with my current position and authority, even without asking you to pay, I could forcefully assign the task, and those clan ninja would not dare refuse.
But Sister-in-law, have you considered this? If Konoha draws more ninja away from the village to help the Uzumaki Clan, would Cloud Village seize the opportunity to launch a direct attack once they learned of it?
As far as I know, Kinkaku Ginkaku of Kumogakure have coveted the Nine-Tails within you for a long time. At that point, with Konoha's rear defenses left empty, how many top-tier ninja could the two of us possibly handle?
Ten? Or a hundred?
Not to mention..."
As he spoke, his gaze fell on Mito's abdomen, and he said meaningfully,
"How much of your combat strength could you even use by then, Sister-in-law?"
"...I, I..."
Mito was speechless for a moment. She had stayed at home for far too long and did not understand the Shinobi World's situation as thoroughly as Tobirama did.
If things were truly as Tobirama said, then her earlier idea had indeed been too impulsive.
"Lord Mito..."
Seeing that Mito no longer looked as resolute as before, Longya and the others became anxious and were about to speak.
"All of you, shut up!"
Tobirama's gaze turned cold. He suddenly spun around, and chakra erupted from his body, crashing down on Longya and the others like a tsunami as he rebuked them furiously,
"You people still have the nerve to come begging Sister Mito? Back when Konoha was founded, we invited the Uzumaki Clan to join Konoha countless times.
And what did you do? You relied on your exceptional sealing techniques and numerous Ninja Beasts, refusing to join from beginning to end. You even founded some Uzushiogakure!
Fine, founding Uzushiogakure was one thing. But after I became Hokage, didn't I invite you to send your outstanding children to study at the Ninja Academy?"
Tobirama gave a cold laugh. "And what happened? You still refused!
If there were even a few Jonin of the Uzumaki Clan in the village now, whether within the village or outside it, if Konoha sent people to help you, no one would dare say a word!
Now you know to come begging?
Too late!"
With that, Tobirama flicked his sleeve and turned his back on them, refusing to look at them again.
"..."
Longya and the others moved their lips, but could not say anything.
He was right. Over the years, the Uzumaki Clan had indeed guarded against Konoha to some extent. Aside from exchanging missions now and then, the two sides had almost no deeper ties.
Moreover, this request for aid had really only been his personal proposal. The other clansmen, including the current Clan Head of the Uzumaki Clan, had been unwilling.
They still advocated relying on Uzushiogakure's own strength to eliminate the ninja from the major villages around them.
"...Sorry for the trouble."
Having thought it through, Longya said no more. He could only bow bitterly to Mito and take his leave.
"..."
This time, Mito did not say anything else. She merely nodded blankly at them.
She loved her hometown, but she loved her children and the adorable little granddaughter in her arms even more.
If she pushed Konoha into a desperate situation and it affected her children, she would never rest in peace even in death.
Tsunade stretched out her hand, wanting to say something, but Mito covered her mouth and gently shook her head.
Seeing this, the light in Tsunade's beautiful eyes dimmed as well.
Drip!
Several hot tears fell onto Tsunade's forehead.
Tsunade looked up and saw that her grandmother was pressing her lips together, desperately holding back her sobs, though tears continued streaming from her eyes.
Mito understood that if Konoha did not help, Uzushiogakure's destruction was only a matter of time.
But even so, that... had once been her home.
"Grandma..."
She stretched toward Mito, wanting to comfort her, but she could not reach. In her childish voice, she said,
"Don't be sad. Tsunade hug-hug."
She was using the way her grandmother had comforted her as a child to comfort Mito.
"Sigh..."
Seeing this, Tobirama let out a long sigh. In the end, his heart softened, and he called out to Longya and the others before they had left the room.
"Wait!"
Mito and Tsunade froze, then looked at Tobirama with delighted eyes.
Longya and the others exchanged looks, seemingly understanding something. They hurriedly turned back and said ingratiatingly,
"Thank you, Lord Hokage..."
"Don't get happy yet."
Tobirama still had a cold face as he raised a hand to interrupt them. "The village still won't send any Jonin, but I can give you one Chunin."
Longya and the others cried out in shock. "A Chunin?!
But that Cloud Village outpost alone has six Chunin guards, three Jonin. How could one Chunin possibly..."
"Heh heh..."
A sneer curled across Tobirama's lips. "So you mean you don't want one?"
As he spoke, he pointed outside. "If you don't want him, leave now. I won't give you a second chance.
I'll only give you thirty seconds to consider it."
"Lord Hokage..."
Longya and the others wanted to say more, but Tobirama ignored them and began counting down on his own.
"Thirty, twenty-nine..."
"Tobirama."
At that moment, Mito stepped forward. Wiping away her tears, she asked for them,
"May I ask what this Chunin's name is?"
She knew that since Tobirama had agreed, he would not deliberately make things difficult for them.
"..."
Tobirama was silent for a while before finally giving them some information. "Uchiha Ao."
His reason for choosing Uchiha Ao was simple. Since Ao had managed to escape back from the Land of Lightning, he should be quite familiar with Kumogakure's Ninjutsu.
Then there was that newly awakened Sharingan. If used properly, its strength would absolutely be no weaker than that of an ordinary Jonin, perhaps even stronger.
Most importantly, Ao's public identity was still only that of a Chunin. Even if the major ninja villages investigated afterward, they would probably only assume Uzushiogakure had acted under Konoha's name.
Whether the operation succeeded or failed, Konoha would suffer no losses.
"Teacher Sou?!" Tsunade cried out in surprise.
Mito and the others looked at one another before all turning toward Tsunade, whose face was filled with excitement.
"Little Tsunade, you know this person?"
Teacher...
Could he be a teacher at the Ninja Academy? But as far as they knew, most teachers there were not very strong. The strongest were only Special Jonin.
And even those were the heavily inflated kind of Special Jonin.
Even if he was from a major clan like the Uchiha Clan, there was likely a limit to how strong he could be.
"Mhm, mhm!"
Tsunade nodded repeatedly, little hearts practically appearing in her beautiful eyes. "Teacher Sou is so handsome! He's almost the handsomest ninja I've ever seen!"
Handsome?!
Longya and the others exchanged strange looks.
What use was being handsome? Could he make the enemy die from handsomeness?
Mito did not jump to conclusions. Instead, she first glanced at Tobirama, who remained expressionless.
She knew Elder Brother Hashirama's younger brother was cold on the outside but warm-hearted within. Since he had decided to help the Uzumaki Clan, he certainly would not act without reason.
Perhaps this Uchiha Ao truly was very strong.
"So handsome, huh."
With that thought, she crouched down, stroked Tsunade's little head, and smiled gently.
"Then it seems I'll have to invite this handsome man over."
As she spoke, she looked toward Longya and the others and blinked her beautiful eyes.
"What do you think?"
Longya and the others were stunned at first, then quickly reacted and nodded hurriedly.
"Yes, yes, yes! We'll choose this ninja. We won't be picky, we won't be picky!"
They mistakenly believed Mito wanted to give Uchiha Ao some offensive means before he headed to Uzushiogakure, thereby indirectly helping Uzushiogakure. Naturally, they were more than willing.
Tobirama naturally noticed their little gestures, but he did not care. He merely instructed them coldly,
"You people will go to the village entrance the day after tomorrow. I will arrange for this Uchiha Ao to meet with you then."
With that, his figure flashed, and he vanished from the room.
He left behind only the bewildered crowd. Soon afterward, they swarmed around Little Tsunade, asking for information about the mysterious powerhouse Uchiha Ao.
The next morning, Hyuga Clan Compound.
"Thank you for the intelligence. This is a small token from our Main Family."
Before the gates of a Japanese Courtyard, a middle-aged man in a gray kimono gratefully handed a stack of banknotes to a young, handsome man.
"If this information had leaked, our clan might have lost several more members."
"It was nothing."
Uchiha Ao accepted the money with a smile. "We're from the same village, so helping each other is only natural.
Besides, I have something to ask of you as well. If I hadn't recently helped a few elderly people living alone and ended up short on funds, I really shouldn't take this money when we're all from the same village..."
While speaking politely, Ao swiftly stuffed the banknotes into his clothes.
"..."
The middle-aged man's mouth twitched at the sight.
Good grief. Who said the Uchiha Clan cared about saving face? Wasn't this one shameless enough?
Still, considering that Ao had indeed helped the Main Family, the man forced a smile and replied politely,
"Not at all. It's just choosing a time to spar in taijutsu.
A trivial matter. I'll arrange it shortly!"
After exchanging a few more polite remarks, Ao left the courtyard.
Watching Ao's departing back, the middle-aged man's smile faded, and he headed into the inner room.
The moment he entered, he bowed toward a shadowy corner.
"Clan Head, that Uchiha clansman has been sent away. I also gave him the five hundred thousand ryo reward you instructed me to provide."
"Mm."
In the shadows at the seat of honor sat a man with loose hair, kneeling formally. His face could not be seen, but his voice was unexpectedly magnetic.
"Although the intelligence he provided is information from over ten days ago, it is reliable. That confirms Cloud Village has indeed made recent operational plans against our Hyuga Clan.
Also, notify all Main Family members to leave the village as little as possible until the war with Cloud Village begins."
"Yes."
The middle-aged man responded. After hesitating for a while, he added, "That man just requested that someone from the clan spar with him in taijutsu at some point today. I agreed for the time being.
Who do you think would be appropriate to send, Clan Head?"
"A taijutsu spar?" The Hyuga Clan Leader's tone became strange.
"Yes, he said he'd recently been researching taijutsu. He heard that we excelled at close combat techniques like the Gentle Fist, so he wanted to ask for guidance and learn from us."
"...What a freak. An Uchiha studying taijutsu..."
The Hyuga Clan Leader pondered for a moment, then arranged, "Hmm... Send that Branch Family member, Hyuga Kaita. The Main Family members should go out less often these days."
"Hyuga Kaita?!"
The middle-aged man abruptly raised his head, his face filled with astonishment. "Wouldn't that be bullying that Uchiha a little too much?
Although Kaita is from the Branch Family, when it comes to the Gentle Fist, few even within the Main Family can defeat him."
"It doesn't matter."
The Hyuga Clan Leader waved a hand, his tone indifferent. "If he can't win, he can use ninjutsu.
For years, the village has been saying that the Hyuga Clan is far inferior to great clans like the Senju and Uchiha. This sparring match is the perfect chance to slap those people in the face."
Of course, even if they lost, it would be a private sparring match. Probably no one would find out. That Uchiha loved money so much; at worst, they could use a little cash to seal his mouth.
But if they won... it would be perfectly normal for the news to accidentally leak and spread throughout the village.
Uchiha Clan Compound.
"Good Luck Come, that Good Luck Come..."
Uchiha Ao hummed a little tune as he strolled leisurely down the clan road, both hands propped behind his head.
In just a few days, he had earned eight hundred thousand ryo. That money was enough to buy him nearly three months' worth of Ration Pills.
As for his everyday expenses, there was the Ninja Academy's salary, the Police Force's pay, and Orochimaru's tuition...
"With this fixed income, I'd count as a senior white-collar worker in my previous life, wouldn't I?"
Without doing anything each month, he had roughly two hundred thousand ryo in fixed income flowing into his account. That income probably surpassed more than half the ninja in the village.
Tsk tsk, government jobs really were the best.
As for sparring with the Hyuga Clan, it wasn't because he was bored and looking to provoke them. It was because the Sharingan possessed the ability to Copy Taijutsu.
The Hyuga Clan had devoted itself to studying the Gentle Fist over the years. In terms of combat skill, almost no one in the entire village could compare to them.
Though overwhelming strength could overcome any technique, that depended on the person.
With Sou's current physical ability, he held some advantage against most ninja. But against troublesome opponents, or taijutsu masters at the same level, the importance of technique became apparent.
"If I can steal another one of the Hyuga Clan's secret techniques, Rotation, that would be even more perfect," Sou muttered softly.
After all, that move was Perfect Defense in the literal physical sense.
One had to know that during the Fourth Shinobi World War, Rotation had even managed to knock away the arm of the Ten-Tails, an entity known as the strongest aggregate of energy!
"Even without the Byakugan, I should be able to learn this ninjutsu with my Destiny!"
While pondering, Sou had already stepped into the Police Force.
The Police Force did not occupy much space. It was a two-story Small Building: the first floor was used for offices, while the second was where Formal Members of the Police Force rested.
The building's design was just rather strange. It looked like the face of a person wearing a mask.
"This taste in aesthetics..."
Sou mocked it under his breath, crossed the lobby, and walked all the way to a room at the end of the corridor with "Logistics Department" written on the door. Then he stopped and knocked.
After hearing a voice inside say, "Come in," Sou pushed the door open and entered.
Just inside stood a long wooden table that stretched across the room. Several stacks of documents lay on it, and behind the table sat two ninja wearing Uchiha Clan Uniforms, seriously reviewing some files.
When they saw Sou enter, one merely glanced at him before continuing to examine his documents. The other put down his papers, but his tone remained somewhat cold.
"Sou, is it? It isn't time to collect your basic ninja tools yet. What are you here for today?"
After saying that, he lowered his head and resumed reviewing the documents, as though Sou did not exist.
The original owner had been withdrawn and weak, so there were very few people in the entire clan who had a good relationship with him.
"..."
Sou curled his lip. He could not be bothered to waste words on the two of them, so he directly pulled out the scroll Qiongyue had given him and tossed it onto the table.
"I'm here to collect a set of Advanced Ninja Tools. This is a document signed by the Qiongyue Clan Leader."
"You?"
"Advanced Ninja Tools?"
The two raised their heads at the same time and exchanged a look, both clearly doubtful.
Something like that could be considered a Strategic Material within the clan. If purchased from a Ninja Tool Shop, it would cost at least several hundred thousand ryo.
Those of even higher quality, like this set of Advanced Ninja Tools, could cost as much as one million ryo.
Even someone Newly Joined to the Police Force could only receive a set of basic ninja tools.
Could it be... that Sou had rendered some great service and joined the Police Force?
Otherwise, how could the Qiongyue Clan Leader, that stingy—ah, no, that man who liked to consider the bigger picture, possibly be so generous?
"Please wait."
One of them immediately picked up the scroll and carefully inspected it. The other forcibly squeezed out a hint of a smile from his corpse-like face and pointed to a chair nearby.
"Have a seat first. If the document is genuine, we'll follow the procedure and bring you the corresponding ninja tools shortly."
Scrape...
Sou pulled over the chair and sat down. "Alright."
A short while later, the man repeatedly examined the document several times before finally putting down the sheet of paper he had crumpled into a wrinkled mess. Then he looked at Sou with a complicated expression and said,
"Welcome to the Police Force."
The reason his expression looked as though his mother had died was that neither of them could truly be considered members of the Police Force. They were merely Police Force trainees; otherwise, they would not be sitting here handling miscellaneous work.
The actual members of the Police Force had long since gone out to patrol various places, busy carrying out commissioned missions.
The other man also found it hard to believe, but everything that had just happened proved that it was all true.
That worthless Sou had suddenly risen above them.
The two stood with troubled expressions and gave Sou a slight bow.
"Please wait a moment. We will bring you the Advanced Ninja Tools shortly."
However, Sou's attention was not on the two of them at all.
A flash of humiliation passed through their eyes, but they did not dare say anything. They could only silently turn around and begin preparing ninja tools for this newly promoted police officer.
Formal Members of the Police Force held the status to influence the Clan Head's decisions. If Sou so much as said a word, they might lose their trainee status, along with this job that paid a full sixty thousand ryo every month.
"Wait."
Just as the two were about to turn away, Sou suddenly stopped them. His eyes fixed eagerly on the iron rack behind them as he asked,
"Does that Chakra Blade count as part of the Advanced Ninja Tools?"
Before you continue