Dealing with Slacking Off Before Quitting Time

"Where did I learn the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique?" Kawadera Uchiha feigned mystery and said:

"Captain Seigetsu, I uphold the dying wish of Lord Kagami. Lord Kagami believed in me, and I hope you can believe in me as well.

If you do not believe in me, can you not at least believe in Lord Kagami? If you do not believe in Lord Kagami, can you not believe in the Second Hokage?"

Seigetsu Senju nodded hurriedly, thinking to herself that it was just as she had guessed; everything had been predicted by her.

Of course she believed in Kagami Uchiha; he was the man chosen by Lord Tobirama, the one who had died for his comrades without hesitation in his final moments.

The Second Hokage had always wanted to cultivate Uchiha ninja who possessed the Will of Fire, and had this Will of Fire not been passed down within the Uchiha Clan?

Kawadera Uchiha was the very successor of the Will of Fire that Kagami Uchiha had cultivated.

The arrangements made by the Second Hokage had left a legacy for her, one that had greatly benefited her during this mission.

If she had been the one to stay behind to cover their retreat, she surely would have died.

She was grateful to the Second Hokage.

Kawadera Uchiha whispered: "Captain Seigetsu, in order to save the squad, I exposed my heritage and abilities this time.

But my true stance is very sensitive. I hope that only you know of this; please, do not tell a third person.

You know how terrible the internal atmosphere of the Uchiha Clan is. I need my identity as an Uchiha to monitor those unstable elements that might threaten the village."

"Understood!" Seigetsu Senju said:

"Those who truly love Konoha must shoulder burdens that are too heavy to bear!

Ever since the sacrifice of Lord Kagami, the Uchiha Clan and the village have drifted further and further apart, their hearts no longer in sync.

Kawadera, your situation must be incredibly difficult."

Kawadera Uchiha nodded repeatedly, a complex array of emotions surging across his face.

After Tobirama Senju died, the Uchiha Clan had lost their most stern father figure, and hundreds of Sharingan began to stir restlessly once more.

As for the position of Hokage, the Senju Clan held it, and the Uchiha Clan could say nothing.

The First and Second Hokage, those two brothers, had beaten the Uchiha Clan into submission.

But where did this Hiruzen Sarutobi pop out from?

The arrogant Uchiha only considered the Senju Clan to be rivals worthy of their attention; they looked down on everyone else.

Just as Seigetsu Senju had said, the Uchiha Clan was becoming restless.

The position of Hokage should rotate; if the Senju Clan was not sitting in it, it should be the Uchiha Clan's turn.

Only thirty-seven years after the village's founding, the glory of the Uchiha still shone upon every member of the clan.

Kawadera Uchiha said: "A dangerous aura permeates the Uchiha Clan, and I must correct it for Konoha.

However, the Uchiha Hawks are very powerful, and I am forced to hide myself. Captain Seigetsu, thank you for understanding my plight.

Be my sole point of contact; I need external power to change the Uchiha Clan."

"Alright!" Seigetsu Senju said hurriedly: "I will never tell anyone else about your true stance."

Seigetsu Senju was somewhat simple-minded and easily trusted Kawadera Uchiha.

Through Seigetsu Senju, he could also reach Nawaki Senju, helping himself complete the mission of rescuing him.

He deliberately opened his sea of consciousness, allowing the Tobirama Senju within it to hear his conversation with Seigetsu Senju.

"Captain Seigetsu, is Young Clan Leader Nawaki graduating this year?"

"That's right. With the outbreak of the Ninja World War this year, Young Master Nawaki didn't transition through D-rank missions after graduation; he went straight to the battlefield. He is currently on the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire."

Kawadera Uchiha calculated in his heart, wondering how he should intervene in the fate of Nawaki Senju.

"Kawadera, what are you trying to say?" Seigetsu Senju felt that Kawadera had not brought up Young Master Nawaki without reason, and said:

"Young Master Nawaki's teacher is the Legendary Sannin Orochimaru, the elite jonin with the greatest talent for ninjutsu in Konoha. Only Lord Orochimaru can teach a genius like Young Master Nawaki."

Kawadera Uchiha said: "Captain Seigetsu, I wonder if you could apply to be sent to the Land of Grass battlefield? I want to go to the Land of Grass with you."

Just as Seigetsu Senju was feeling puzzled, she saw Kawadera lean in close to her ear.

"I inherited the dying wish of Lord Kagami, and I also inherited Lord Kagami's intelligence network..."

Whether Kagami Uchiha actually had an intelligence network, Kawadera Uchiha had no idea. His name was very useful, so he borrowed it for the moment.

Kawadera Uchiha continued: "I received intelligence that a force with an unclear stance is monitoring Young Clan Leader Nawaki, harboring malicious intent."

If he had said directly that someone wanted to kill Nawaki Senju, Seigetsu Senju would surely have scoffed at the idea.

Who was Nawaki Senju?

The grandson of the First Hokage;

The grandchild most doted upon by the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Mito Uzumaki;

The younger brother of Princess Tsunade;

The disciple of the Legendary Sannin Orochimaru;

Jiraiya's self-proclaimed brother-in-law;

The future and hope of the Senju Clan;

A genius certified by the Third Hokage, the likes of which the Ninja Academy hadn't seen in thirty years;

The purest bloodline successor of both the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan;

The Third Hokage, the number one shadow in the ninja world;

A well-deserved child of destiny.

If anyone were to attempt to kill Nawaki Senju, half of Konoha would be ready to jump at them.

If one were unaware of the Naruto plot, viewing the situation from Kawadera Uchiha's perspective at this moment, one would also feel that it was absolutely impossible for Nawaki Senju to be killed.

Therefore, Kawadera Uchiha only stated that unknown forces were monitoring Nawaki Senju.

Upon hearing Kawadera Uchiha's explanation, Seigetsu Senju immediately frowned in thought.

Lady Mito Uzumaki had experienced the brutal end of the Warring States period, the founding of the village, and the First Shinobi World War; she had always wanted Young Master Nawaki to keep a low profile.

However, ever since he started at the Ninja Academy, Young Master Nawaki had declared in class and on the playground that he would become the Hokage of Konoha.

Could it be that his high profile had attracted envy, and unknown forces were dissatisfied with Young Master Nawaki?

Could it be the Uchiha Clan?

"Is your information reliable?"

"I cannot say it is absolutely reliable." To increase his credibility, Kawadera Uchiha continued to fabricate:

"Lord Kagami has already sacrificed himself, and the intelligence channels he left behind are not functioning smoothly, but we must not be careless.

If Young Clan Leader Nawaki is fine, then it is well; we will have merely wasted a little time in vain.

Since the founding of the village, many people have died under mysterious circumstances. Captain Seigetsu, you wouldn't want Young Master Nawaki to encounter danger, would you?"

"Fine! I will apply to the village for our squad to head to the Land of Grass battlefield! We will encounter a large number of Rock Ninja there; it is more dangerous than here!"

In the sea of consciousness, Tobirama Senju suddenly asked:

"How can you prove that Nawaki will be killed?

You have indeed successfully predicted events twice, but how can I be sure you aren't using Nawaki to threaten me?

I do not believe anyone in Konoha at this time has the motive to kill Nawaki."

Kawadera Uchiha fell into silence.

The original work didn't explicitly state who wanted to kill Nawaki anyway.

How could he prove it?

He couldn't exactly go kill Nawaki Senju himself, and then save Nawaki Senju... could he?

His golden finger was the rewards from Tobirama Senju; only when the village encountered a crisis would Tobirama Senju give large rewards, allowing him to become stronger.

However, after he helped Konoha overcome a crisis, Tobirama Senju would stop giving him rewards, and he would become weak again.

In other words, the stronger he became, the weaker he would be?

It was a logical paradox.

In that case, he had to secretly find a way to weaken Konoha so that Tobirama Senju would become generous.

Oh no, he had truly become a villain.

Could it be that he was the one who actually killed Nawaki Senju?

At the very least, he had to ensure that someone came close to killing Nawaki Senju.

Do I have to kill Nawaki Senju first, then save Nawaki Senju?

It was too convoluted.

Just as Kawadera Uchiha was frowning in thought, Ken Aburame suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Careful!"

His insects had detected the enemy!

Immediately after, Ken Aburame began setting up Explosive Tag traps.

A dozen seconds later, nearly 30 Cloud Ninja emerged nearby.

As several Explosive Tags detonated, amidst the chaos, Kawadera Uchiha activated his Sharingan, quickly found a weaker Cloud Ninja, and began to slack off, forcing a stalemate with this ninja.

Life is one's own, but the mission belongs to the village.

Swords have no eyes; what if he got scratched?

One should enjoy life while they can, slack off, and wait to clock out.

He even had the leisure to broadcast the scene to Tobirama Senju.

"Look, isn't the current Konoha much weaker than it was during your tenure, Lord Second?

Look at the combat effectiveness of the border outpost squad; they aren't even as good as the Seigetsu Squad."

Tobirama Senju observed the situation outside from within the sea of consciousness.

After the three Konoha ninja fell, Tobirama Senju finally confirmed that there was a massive problem with the village's ninjutsu heritage.

The dead chunin and genin had actually relied primarily on taijutsu to fight?

It was one thing for Seigetsu Senju to be a taijutsu-type ninja, but why weren't the other ninja using ninjutsu to quickly establish an advantage?

Who had changed the policy on ninjutsu dissemination?

As another Konoha ninja was stabbed to death, Tobirama Senju could finally sit still no longer.

"I am granting you a B-rank mission: save the other ninja and turn the tide of this battle."

"The mission reward—I want to see the mission reward first."

"A B-rank Fire Style ninjutsu."

"Fire Style ninjutsu? Can Fire Style even kill people? It seems you, Second Hokage, still don't cherish the lives of Konoha's ninja enough. I refuse."

After a brief silence, Tobirama Senju said, "Three B-rank missions in exchange for one Mind Awakening."

"Deal! I love Konoha, I love Konoha so much it hurts!"