Uchiha Kō led the group down the mountain with the five children. At the foot of the mountain, they encountered a group of people, men and women, young and old. When they saw the group returning, they couldn't help but shout.
"Thank you, Grandpa Ninja, for saving my daughter and allowing my family to be reunited."
"Thank you, sir ninja, for saving my wife. I will never forget your kindness."
"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir..."
The group knelt down, tears streaming down their faces, and looked at Uchiha Kō and the others. Seeing this, Uchiha Kō told the five little ones to go forward and help them up. Akimichi Choza scratched his head and said, "Teacher, I tried to persuade them, but they wouldn't listen and insisted on kneeling here."
Uchiha Kō nodded. "It's alright, thank you for your hard work, Choza, leading so many women down the mountain," Uchiha Kō patted his head and smiled.
Akimichi Choza shook his head. "Compared to the teacher and all the students, my little matter is nothing to mention." He was very self-aware; he had only carried a Taiseki from beginning to end, leading the rescued women down the mountain, and he wasn't tired at all.
"You can't say that. If something had happened on the way without your protection, our mission would have been in vain. The credit belongs to everyone," Uchiha Kō admonished, then had Akimichi Choza join the five-person team to appease the villagers.
Uchiha Kō walked up to the village chief and helped him up. "Old man, you mustn't. As long as you report the incident, our Konoha Ninja Village has no reason not to send someone to help you."
The old man was crying his eyes out. He hadn't expected that Uchiha Kō and the others would rescue the village women in just half a day. Such Godspeed was unprecedented, even during the time when the Third Hokage was in office!
"It's just a pity that some people will never come back." Uchiha Kō's eyes dimmed. These words made the villagers even more sorrowful, and even the six little ones fell silent.
"Don't blame you, blame those damned bandits!" At this moment, a woman stepped forward, gritting her teeth.
"The bandits have been wiped out by us, from top to bottom, not a single one was left alive," Uchiha Kō replied.
The women burst into tears. Having avenged their great grudge, they finally found some solace. The village chief invited Uchiha Kō and the others to return to the village for a meal, Uchiha Kō refused. He then had the six little ones return the remaining food to the villagers before they left.
The villagers watched Uchiha Kō's retreating figure until it disappeared from sight before heading back to their homes.
"Teacher, do you think there are many such things in the world?" Sarutobi Shinnosuke sighed, unwilling to believe the answer he had guessed.
However, Uchiha Kō nodded. "Many, extremely many, so many that villagers are being plundered and abducted to the mountains every moment," Uchiha Kō said calmly.
"How can we prevent this from happening again?" Namikaze Minato asked, his eyes filled with obsession and expectation, hoping that Uchiha Kō could give him a perfect answer.
"Eliminate? It's impossible to completely eliminate it, because the ugliness of human nature cannot be eradicated by any one person or group of people working together. Where there is light, there is darkness; at most, we can only alleviate it." Uchiha Kō smiled.
"Relieve?" Namikaze Minato was taken aback.
"Yes, that's right. It will ease the tension. When we get back, I'll hold a meeting to discuss this kind of thing. You can attend as my disciples." Although Uchiha Kō only managed to defeat a Chunin one fell swoop in this battle, he didn't really put in much effort throughout.
However, he gained insights from Minato's experiences and the suffering of the villagers. In addition to protecting Konoha, as Hokage, he also wanted to do his part to protect the people of the Land of Fire.
Namikaze Minato nodded, his eyes lighting up. "I'll definitely be there!"
"Well, you'd better listen carefully and learn well at the meeting~" Uchiha Kō patted Namikaze Minato's clean hair and smiled.
Namikaze Minato nodded, indicating that he would, while the others twitched their lips. They wanted to rest for a day; this mission, with its travel and operations, had been exhausting!
Uchiha Kō seemed to have guessed their thoughts, and a smile appeared on his lips. "Because your operation was quite successful, you are hereby granted three days of rest. The meeting will be held on the last day of your rest period."
"Long live!"
"Teacher, you are my god!"
"I'm starving! I'm going to have a huge meal when I get back!"
The five children cheered up, but Namikaze Minato remained deep in thought. Uchiha Kō couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder he's hailed as the man who best embodies the definition of a ninja; he thinks a lot even at such a young age."
The group returned to the village entrance and headed to the mission hall. Since the Hokage had personally refused the villagers' reward, the mission hall did not make things difficult for them. Instead, they crossed out the mission and cheerfully gave Uchiha Kō and the others their reward.
Uchiha Kō refused, saying it wouldn't be fair to the others, so he took the six kids out to a restaurant—oh, right, the Akimichi Clan's restaurant.
When the staff at the Akimichi Clan's barbecue restaurant saw Uchiha Kō return with the six children and carefully observed them, finding none of them injured, they immediately sent someone back home to inform their clan leader.
Upon receiving the news, Torifu Akimichi hurriedly said, "Also, inform the Yamanaka Clan." He threw on a jacket and rushed towards his family's Yakiniku Restaurant. His eldest son, oh, he missed his father so much. He'd probably starve to death on this trip!
Yamanaka Unkai, who controlled the intelligence department, received the news the moment the group entered Konoha. He also sent someone to inform Torifu Akimichi, but for some reason, they only arrived after being notified by the Akimichi Clan.
Meanwhile, the other major families also had their own informants and connections. At this moment, the patriarchs of the five families were all heading towards the Akimichi Yakiniku Restaurant, their steps somewhat hurried, wanting to check if their children were injured or hungry.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kō grilled meat for the children, who ate with great relish. The staff also provided an unlimited supply of chilled juice, emphasizing the enjoyment of the meal.
While they were still eating, there was a knock on their door. A waiter came in first and said, "Lord Hokage, there are six people outside who wish to pay their respects."
Uchiha Kō used his Soul Perception Technique to investigate, then smirked and said, "Let them in."
The waiter breathed a sigh of relief after receiving permission. Besides their clan leaders, there were also clan leaders from other clans, and even the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen!
This made him, the waiter, feel a little embarrassed. It wasn't that he hadn't seen or interacted with these people before, but the fact that they came together this time made him feel a lot of pressure. He just wanted to serve a dish, but he was being stared at by these people.
He gestured for him to go in and ask, and wow, when gods fight, even little devils suffer! I've certainly witnessed it today!
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