Executing a Mission

"If you become a Jinchuriki, then the blood transformation will be the most dangerous time. The Nine-Tails will definitely seize the chance to break through the seal!"

A Martial Saint's blood transformation truly meant draining all the blood from the body and creating new blood. Perhaps the Yang God world had methods for gradually replacing one's blood, but the Martial Scripture provided only this one method. Never mind whether it was dangerous—after succeeding, there would still be a long Weakness Period.

For a Jinchuriki, that was undoubtedly fatal.

"That's true, but how long will it take Duy to figure out the Blood Transformation Technique?"

Sarutobi Toru shook his head. "Not too long. No more than a year. I think Grandma Mito can hold on for another year."

Tsunade silently nodded, then suddenly hugged Sarutobi Toru.

Sarutobi Toru said nothing. Even if death was not the end in the Shinobi World, watching a loved one approach death was never a pleasant experience.

Although Sarutobi Toru called Uzumaki Mito Grandma Mito along with Tsunade, he did not actually share any deep bond with her. The old woman had always had a very low presence in Konoha. On one hand, as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, she kept an extremely low profile and disliked appearing before others. On the other hand, she had always been rather withdrawn, with a slight tendency toward isolation.

Tsunade had once heard from her father that when Hashirama Senju was still alive, Uzumaki Mito had seemed like a traditional Yamato Nadeshiko on the surface. In reality, she had a somewhat mischievous dark side and often secretly teased the carefree, slightly goofy Hashirama Senju.

But ever since Hashirama Senju's death, she had remained depressed. With her son away from her side year-round, she rarely interacted with others besides relatives such as Tsunade and Nawaki.

The old woman's current choice probably carried a strong desire to follow Hashirama Senju.

Just as the two embraced in a warm atmosphere, a strange crow flew into the Senju Estate and began cawing loudly. "Sarutobi Toru, go to Root! Sarutobi Toru, go to Root!"

Tsunade angrily pulled herself from Sarutobi Toru's arms, her expression unpleasant. "What the hell? Why does Hiruko keep making these funeral-calling things every day?"

As she spoke, terrifying Chakra erupted from her, and a miserable aura descended upon the crow.

The crow gave two miserable caws and flew into the sky. "Scared this crow to death! Scared this crow to death!" it cried as it fled in a panic.

This was a messenger summoning beast made by Hiruko, inspired by Demon Slayer, which Sarutobi Toru had watched in his previous life. It had been widely praised as soon as it was created, and now quite a few shinobi kept messenger crows.

Although there were many intelligent, talking summoning beasts in the Shinobi World, ordinary shinobi had no chance of acquiring such high-grade creatures. Messenger crows, however, were not particularly intelligent and could only speak simple phrases, but their breeding cost was extremely low. Even Genin could afford one, and they were very convenient to use for scouting and delivering messages.

Of course, Sarutobi Toru could not say any of that now. He comforted Tsunade for a while longer before heading to Root.

"Was that crow from Teacher Danzo? What scheme was he planning to carry out this time?"

Sarutobi Toru understood his teacher very well. Danzo looked like some mastermind lurking in the shadows, but unfortunately, he lacked a mastermind's intelligence. He was the sort who appeared sinister and ruthless, yet never quite got things right. That was why, later on, almost none of his flashy maneuvers succeeded.

Fortunately, things like sowing discord and fanning the flames were not difficult in a world like the Shinobi World, where trust was practically nonexistent. Sending spies and gathering intelligence were also a shinobi's basic trade, so he had not made any major mistakes.

So this time, was he looking for him to ask about a good plan?

The facts proved that Sarutobi Toru had overthought it. Besides not being particularly smart, Danzo always possessed a mysterious confidence that made him feel capable of anything.

I, Shimura Danzō, have acted all my life. Why should I need others pointing fingers at me? .jpg

"Impersonate Cloud Shinobi and attack Iwagakure shinobi?" Sarutobi Toru muttered as he looked at the mission Danzo had given him.

"That's right." Danzo crossed his hands beneath his chin, wearing Commander Ikari's expression as he said coldly, "Your Lightning Release Chakra Mode has already reached mastery. There are only a few shinobi in all of Kumogakure stronger than you. On top of that, none of the other Four Great Ninja Villages have any intelligence on you. You will definitely be able to drive a wedge between Iwagakure and Kumogakure. When that happens, Konoha's pressure will be greatly reduced."

Well, it had to be said that Danzo was quite skilled at his proper work of sowing discord.

Had all his intelligence been invested in this area?

"Fine, then. But how many people will be involved in this operation?"

"I'll have Root's hidden agents in the Land of Earth assist you. You may also choose any Root personnel you wish."

"I'll pass." Sarutobi Toru shook his head. For a highly mobile shinobi like him, ordinary companions were usually just a burden. Alone, he could use the Flying Thunder God, coming and going without a trace. Wasn't that far better than traveling with a large group? "If I need anyone, I'll let you know, Teacher."

"But how far should I take this? Where should I begin? If I just slaughter people indiscriminately, the signs of provocation will be too obvious."

Danzo fell silent for a moment. "You can look through the archives. Specifically target those Iwagakure shinobi who are dissatisfied with Kumogakure."

Sarutobi Toru curled his lips. Clearly, Danzo had not thought things through very much either. This job was really rough.

Still, that was fine. Without a specific target, he could act freely on his own.

After reviewing the information, Sarutobi Toru wasted no time. With the Flying Thunder God Technique and his vast Chakra reserves, traveling from the Land of Fire to the Land of Stone took only a few minutes.

The distance of the Flying Thunder God and its Chakra consumption increased almost exponentially, so Sarutobi Toru did not Teleport directly to the Land of Earth. Instead, he moved through Konoha's various outposts, greatly reducing the Chakra expenditure.

Fortunately, his coordinate seals were spread across nearly the entire Shinobi World. Whenever Root shinobi carried out missions, they would sometimes casually leave behind several coordinate seals. He could even instantly reach the remote Land of Water.

Upon arriving at Root's secret outpost, Sarutobi Toru exchanged the code phrases and began examining Iwagakure's current movements.

It had to be said that because of Sarutobi Toru, the other Four Great Ninja Villages were all currently in a depressed state. Their mission volume had dropped dramatically, and Iwagakure, famous for its large population, was under especially severe economic pressure.

Among the Four Great Ninja Villages at present, Iwagakure and Kumogakure were not yet as much stronger than the Sand Shinobi and Mist Ninja as they would be later. However, Iwagakure's longstanding collectivism meant that its numbers were only slightly lower than Konoha's and far exceeded those of the other villages.

Yet in terms of mission volume, Iwagakure did not even have half of Konoha's, nor did it have Konoha's various industries supporting it. If this continued, once Iwagakure's funding chain fell below the red line, it would have only two choices: reduce its military or go to war.