Hatake Sakumo

Sarutobi Hiruzen glared coldly at Orochimaru, his face furious, veins bulging!

"Damn Kumogakure! They actually dared to come snatch someone from my Land of Fire. This is absolutely intolerable!"

He slammed his palm down hard on the desk in front of him!

The desktop instantly shattered, sending splinters flying. He was so furious he nearly stormed straight over to Kumogakure.

"Sensei, what exactly happened?"

Cold sweat ran down Orochimaru's forehead, and he felt a little panicked.

The old man's strength... was still as terrifying as ever. He'd made Orochimaru feel, for an instant, as if he couldn't move. There was a gap between a Quasi-Kage and a true Kage Level powerhouse—not only in Taijutsu and chakra, but also in their mastery of ninjutsu!

The power of their trump cards!

Fortunately, though, the old man hadn't found out about his own affairs.

"Hmph!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a cold snort, his tiger-like eyes dark as an angry tiger's. "Orochimaru, this time... it isn't a matter of spies. One of Konoha's Chunin, Masatomi Ryuichi, who also works in the archives, was actually turned by Kumogakure and chose to join them!"

"Masatomi Ryuichi knows a great deal about Konoha's records. Even though they don't involve too many secrets, this is still a great humiliation for Konoha!"

His gaze was icy.

Regret and fury filled his eyes.

Without a doubt, Konoha was the strongest ninja village, and it had always championed the Will of Fire and benevolence. Yet now a Konoha Ninja had been turned by Kumogakure. It was unacceptable!

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath, then ordered Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, I want you to infiltrate Kumogakure and kill Masatomi Ryuichi. And... make the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki run wild!"

"This... is the price Kumogakure will pay for meddling with Konoha's ninjas!"

"No one gets to enter Konoha and lay a hand on our ninjas. And... we should settle the score for the kidnapping of Uzumaki Kushina, the Jinchuriki, two years ago, too!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze gradually calmed.

But a deep, cold menace lingered in it.

Like ice!

He'd never forgotten what had happened to Uzumaki Kushina. He'd simply never found the right opportunity. War had been about to break out back then, and he hadn't had the right people for the job. Now, however, many of his people were available.

That gave him room to make his move.

"This is a top-secret mission, rank S. You leave today! Orochimaru, you can choose your team freely. This mission must succeed. Failure is not an option!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze darkened, his sharp eyes filled with unrelenting bloodlust!

His face was as sharply hewn as if carved by a knife and axe.

He radiated the cold aura of steel.

This was Konoha's Shinobi Hero. Only blood and sacrifice could quell Konoha's fury!

"The old man's gotten on in years, yet he's still so hot-tempered. Not good for his health. But this matter... I like it!"

Orochimaru grinned, excitement filling his amber eyes!

He'd just been thinking about going to Kumogakure, and now he'd been handed the perfect opportunity. Besides... it wouldn't interfere with what he wanted to do at all!

"In that case, I'll pick... my two students. They've both basically reached Jonin strength by now. Keigo in particular has the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and the incredible speed of Storm Release. Apart from the Raikage, I doubt anyone in Kumogakure could stop him."

Orochimaru spoke leisurely.

"Hmm?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen froze. "You mean... Keigo Uchiha and Hyuga Ruri? Those two?"

His expression changed at once, and he looked at Orochimaru dubiously. "One is a treasure of the Uchiha Clan, and the other is a treasure of the Hyuga Clan. Would they really be allowed to take on such a dangerous mission?"

"If anything happened to them, even as Hokage, I'd have to face the wrath of both clans."

This was too risky.

He exhaled a long plume of smoke. The two of them were indeed strong enough, but... their identities were too sensitive!

"If it were anyone else, I wouldn't have worked with them before. Tsunade and Jiraiya are the exceptions, of course. If you send them with me, old man, there'll be no chance of anything going wrong."

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Orochimaru gave a knowing smile and said calmly, "As for anyone else, I don't know what they're good at."

"And as for whether the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan will worry about it... this is a sneak attack, not a big, public march onto a battlefield. Besides, I'm a Quasi-Kage. What could possibly go wrong?"

"This isn't child's play for ninja."

Sarutobi Hiruzen drew a deep breath. After a long pause, he said, "Fine. I'll handle it."

"Leave as soon as everything's arranged. We absolutely can't let this drag on!"

After Orochimaru left,

Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but let out a wry laugh. "Orochimaru, you've certainly given me a difficult problem."

He shook his head helplessly, put on his Hokage hat, and headed out.

Though he was the Hokage,

the ninja village was made up of various clans, so he could only discuss this sort of matter with them.

As for whether he'd succeed, it shouldn't be a problem, right?

After all, he'd treated the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan very well over the years!

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Just then, someone suddenly knocked at the door.

"Lord Hokage, the mission is complete!"

A rush of wind swept through the room!

A lean, white-haired figure appeared before him. His handsome, sharp-featured face was like a drawn, icy blade!

One of his sleeves

bore the pattern of a Hokage robe!

It looked like a blazing red flame.

"All Sunagakure ninja who crossed the border have been wiped out. This time, Sunagakure's ninja were only testing the waters. They haven't made a single move since, and based on our assessment, they won't be pursuing their 'Peeping Plan' anytime soon!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled at the white-haired figure. "Sakumo, you've worked hard. The mission's done, so take some time to rest!"

The newcomer was Hatake Sakumo.

Konoha's Kage Level powerhouse!

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

Hatake Sakumo bowed respectfully, then vanished in a flash.

Watching Hatake Sakumo move so briskly, without a single unnecessary motion, Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "Sakumo... he's not even thirty, yet his strength is already close to mine."

"Truly... remarkable."

He lowered his eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

After a while,

Sarutobi Hiruzen turned and headed out. Behind him, a huge shadow covered the entire Hokage's office chair.

Three hours later,

Sarutobi Hiruzen walked out of the Uchiha Clan compound, his expression puzzled and strange. "Who would've thought that both the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan would agree so readily? They said yes without a moment's hesitation."

"Strange."

Still, this was a good thing.

After all, the mission could be carried out soon!

Meanwhile,

Keigo Uchiha was training in the Forest of Death when he suddenly stopped and looked back at two tall white-haired figures and a smaller one nearby.

He blinked in surprise. "Hatake Sakumo, Hatake Kakashi?"

"And... some random ninja?"

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