Office Clash

A bounty hunter, consumed by greed and driven to madness.

At this moment, Yohei, Saori, and the other two members of Minato Squad were also risking their lives. They used their bodies, Kunai, and Ninjutsu, giving their all just to hold off the enemy for a moment.

Taiichi followed closely behind Minato, attacking the Jonin together.

Perhaps due to underestimation, or perhaps because he was too preoccupied with Minato to pay attention, this Jonin didn't focus much of his energy on Taiichi even after Taiichi close.

Taiichi wanted this effect. As he closed in on the Jonin, his Short Sword suddenly gathered a large amount of wind-style Chakra, and the blade emitted a clear and pleasant whistling sound. He then delivered an impeccable straight slash to the Jonin.

Only then did the Jonin realize the imminent danger of death. His pupils constricted in horror! He disregarded Minato behind him and forcefully twisted his body, attempting to block the slash.

"Sizzle"

The sound of the blade piercing flesh and bones shattering was clearly audible! His arm had only swung halfway when the Short Sword, imbued with wind-attribute Chakra, cleaved him diagonally down from his shoulder, almost splitting him in two!

Fresh blood mixed with internal organs gushed out!

A Jonin, killed instantly!

This swift killing was like a bucket of cold water, startling the other Bounty Ninja. However, the Konoha personnel were clearly aware of this and seized the fleeting opportunity to turn the tide.

Minato, who was cooperating with Taiichi, was even more decisive. Taking advantage of the opening, he used Flying Thunder God Technique to flash back to Hatake Sakumo's side, and with the Kunai in his hand, he pierced the heart of the Jonin who was locked in combat, in front of his Jonin gaze.

At this moment, the other Jonin who was besieging Sakumo was also Jonin by the sudden appearance of Minato. The situation, which was originally two against one, suddenly became one against two. His pride immediately turned into fear, and he even hesitated to make a move.

"Be careful, that blond ninja could appear beside you in an instant. Watch out for his sneak attack."

It's unclear who spoke up at that moment, but it only made the Bounty Ninja on the field feel even more insecure.

After killing a Jonin, Taiichi didn't stop and immediately turned back to rescue Yohei and the others, who were in dire straits.

Although Yohei had already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, unfortunately, the time was too short, and he was unable to fully unleash Sharingan power. At this moment, he was only relying on his keen perception to deal with the enemy Jonin, and even so, he was already suffering from old injuries and new ones.

Besides this Jonin, there were also many Chunin joining the attack. If it weren't for Saori, Gekko Sora, and Nakamura Rei risking their lives to block them, they would probably have died eight hundred times over.

Taiichi's arrival at this moment was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for them.

Upon returning to reinforce, Taiichi saw the dozen or so people entangled in battle before him and, without pausing, charged directly into the crowd using his superb swordsmanship.

With his Short Sword, he would slash, slice, or tap, each time striking the enemy's weakest point at the most unexpected angle.

As they marched forward, their feet never stopped, but four enemies had already fallen behind them. Saori and her two companions were now freed up to take the initiative in attacking from a position of being on the defensive.

Seeing that the three of them were no longer in danger and had even gained the upper hand, Taiichi went directly to Yohei's battlefield.

At this moment, the Jonin. What he saw was a little brat cutting melons and vegetables, chopping Jonin Chunin and Chunin one by one, and now this god of death was standing next to him again.

A chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head. Escape! He had to escape! This thought was incredibly strong at that moment!

Taiichi didn't care about the Jonin moment. He drew his sword and charged into the battle. Compared to Yohei, who could only fight the Jonin, Taiichi's offensive was much more fierce.

The Short Sword's attacks were all aimed at the Jonin's vital points, forcing Jonin to expend more energy dealing with Taiichi's attacks. But he had clearly forgotten that there was also an Uchiha ninja fighting him who wished he could devour them alive.

When Yohei Jonin's attention was drawn to Taiichi, he knew that his chance for revenge had come.

He seized an opportunity and lunged forward with his whole body.

"Die!"

Ignoring the Kunai that the Jonin pierced into his shoulder, Yohei used a fighting style that traded injury for life, stabbing the Kunai in his hand into the opponent's abdomen.

With a "plop," the Kunai sank deep into the hole.

"Damn it!"

The intense pain stimulated the Jonin's nerves, and in his anger, he kicked the Uchiha brat in front of him away.

However, the Jonin's roar abruptly ceased. He looked down, staring in disbelief at a blood-stained blade tip slowly being withdrawn. A chilling sense of powerlessness instantly overwhelmed him.

Taiichi drew his sword and surveyed the battlefield. He saw that Minato and Sakumo had already taken down another Jonin, and the two were now Jonin the two Jonin who were locked in combat with Captain Yamaguchi.

Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Taiichi turned his attention away and focused on dealing with the remaining ninjas. The situation on the field was now completely clear, and with Taiichi joining the fray, Saori and the others quickly eliminated their respective opponents.

The remaining bounty hunters tried to retreat, but it was too late. Taiichi and his group, now free, caught up with them and, ignoring their pleas for mercy, killed them all on the spot.

When the last enemy fell, everyone was exhausted, but this was not the time to rest. They quickly treated their wounds, collected the bodies of Inuzuka Makoto and Kuromaru, sealed the Jonin's body, and left the scene.

On the way, no one spoke, not only because they wanted to conserve their energy, but also because of Inuzuka Makoto's death.

One moment they were chatting and laughing with each other, and the next they were engulfed in flames right in front of them. This kind of thrill was a first for Taiichi Squad, so the feeling was particularly intense.

For Minato Squad, Inuzuka was a comrade-in-arms with whom they spent every day, but unexpectedly, he was gone in an accident.

The silence continued until the group found a secluded place to stay.

Everyone who had settled down quietly began to recover their strength, but Taiichi had no free time at all, as he had to treat all the injured members of the team one by one.

Holding the medical kit, which was already mostly used up, Taiichi approached Yohei was the most seriously injured.

"Take care of others first, I can still manage!" Yohei struggled to push Taiichi's hand away, his voice hoarse.

"Shut up, lie down!" Taiichi forced him to the ground without saying a word: "I know better than you who to treat first."

He ripped open the torn clothes and saw that the abdominal wound, which had previously stopped bleeding, was now gushing blood again. Judging from the situation, if he delayed any longer, he would go into hemorrhagic shock. Taiichi sighed inwardly, "What a troublesome guy."

This was clearly a secondary trauma caused by Yohei's own carelessness, and judging from his absent-minded expression, he had not yet recovered from the shadow of Inuzuka Makoto's death.

At this moment Taiichi took out a scalpel and carefully cut open the blood-soaked gauze. He then used the Mystical Palm Technique again to Yohei the bleeding and repair Yangping's wound. His Chakra was also severely depleted at this moment, and there were still several people who needed treatment. He could conserve his Chakra as much as possible.

Another hour or so passed, Taiichi finally managed to roughly treat all of everyone's wounds. At least now, they wouldn't have to stop because of the wounds reopening while they were on their way.

This also highlights the importance of having an excellent Medical Ninja in the team. He greatly enhances the ninja team's survivability and endurance. If it weren't for Taiichi's superb Medical Ninjutsu, the team might have been wiped out back in the Land of Moon.

After resting for a while, mainly to allow Taiichi's Chakra to recover, the group resumed their journey. This time, they tried their best to conceal their tracks to avoid being tracked and ambushed by the enemy again.

Fortunately, the rest of the journey was uneventful. They hid and avoided danger along the way, and it took them two days to leave the Land of Hot Water and enter the Land of Land of Fire. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief, and they returned to Konoha smoothly from there.

However, at this moment, a fierce argument broke out in the Hokage's Office Konoha because of their long absence.

"Danzo, is there still no news about Minato and the Masasuke squad?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi on his pipe, the thick smoke obscuring his deep gaze.

"No, the spies from Kumogakure have sent back news that their Anbu have returned, but suffered considerable losses. Sakumo and the backup team have already escaped."

Danzo spoke nonsense with a straight face, as if he wasn't the one who started everything.

"I heard that the Raikage received the message a day later than we expected. Can you give me an explanation?"

The puffing sounds of the cigarette grew more and more rapid.

Danzo looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was hidden in the smoke, and couldn't tell whether this was a bluff or if he had really received accurate information.

"The ninja sent by Root had an accident, causing the letter to arrive a day late. I have already dealt with that ninja."

"Danzo, the Root ninjas are also Konoha ninjas, not people you can dispose of as you please," the Hokage suddenly roared.

"Root has its Root rules. Ninjas who cannot complete their missions do not deserve to live in this world." Danzo just as confidently.

A moment of silence fell over the scene.

"Sakumo, Minato, Masasuke, Taiichi —these are the pillars of Konoha now and in the future. Have you considered the consequences if they all died in battle?"

"Minato was Jiraiya's disciple, and Taiichi was also Tsunade. Have you thought about Jiraiya and Tsunade's attitude after they both died?"

"The Ninja World is starting to become unsettled again. There might be another war next year or the year after. With these excellent ninjas missing, have you thought about how to fight future wars?"

A series of rhetorical questions left Danzo speechless. To be honest, he did have some regrets. He had only planned to use the Cloud Village to get rid of Hatake Sakumo, a highly respected and staunch Hokage supporter. He never expected that even the support team would be involved.

It can only be said that Hatake Sakumo's strength was too great; he was able to hold out until he could rendezvous with the support team under those circumstances.

Even more serious is the news coming from the black market, which clearly indicates that the Raikage leaked their information to the black market, and as far as we know, at least six Jonin and their teams have taken on this mission.

The Hokage must have also obtained the information he could, otherwise he wouldn't have seemed so pessimistic.

"Danzo, you'd better really not have done anything about this, otherwise—"

"Hiruzen!" Hokage interrupted the Danzo before he could finish speaking, "Root is the root of Konoha; they won't dig their own graves."

Despite saying things he himself didn't believe, Danzo could only offer this excuse at this moment, because the matter was far too serious.

A series of knocks on the door broke the silence inside.

"Come in." Without asking who it was, the Hokage was clearly in no mood to care. However, when the door opened and they saw who entered, both the Hokage and Danzo stood up in surprise.

Indeed, the three ninjas who pushed open the door and entered the house were Hatake Sakumo, Minato Namikaze, and Masasuke Yamaguchi, the same two people inside who had just been talking about each other.

The entire office fell silent. The three Jonin who had just entered Jonin at a loss. They had just heard voices coming from inside, but now they were suddenly silent. And why were these two high-ranking officials looking at them so strangely?

As for Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō, they were in an awkward position. They had been arguing fiercely about these people who might have died in battle, and now they were standing right in front of them, perfectly fine.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the three people in front of him. Minato and Masasuke looked fine and didn't seem to be injured, but they looked a little tired.

Hatake Sakumo was in very poor condition, looking like he was recovering from a serious illness, with no color in his face, clearly due to significant blood loss.

"Hokage-sama, the mission you assigned has been completed, but it implicated the ninjas who came to provide backup."

Hatake Sakumo broke the silence first, but his tone became much lower as he spoke.

"Oh, what happened?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Minato and Masasuke, who were heading to meet him, and even Danzo, who was standing to the side, turned his gaze towards them.

Honestly, he was also curious about how this group escaped the pursuit of the Cloud Village Anbu, and how they managed to escape the encirclement of those "hyenas" while severely injured.

After a detailed mission report, Hiruzen Sarutobi had a complete understanding of the entire mission. It has to be said that their mission was incredibly dangerous; if they had been just a little bit less lucky, they might not be back now.

Looking back, it becomes clear that not only was Danzo's message delivered a day late, but the Raikage's side also likely deliberately delayed the transmission of orders.

The fact that Sakumo and Minato were able to return means that fate is on Konoha's side.

"Hokage-sama, there was a significant delay in the information regarding this mission, which led to Inuzuka Makoto's death during the mission. What was the reason for this?"

Hatake Sakumo looked directly at the Hokage and asked the question that had been on his mind. If the death of his comrades was due to his own lack of strength or the disparity in strength between himself and the enemy, then he would have nothing to say. But this time, it was clearly a problem with the transmission of information, which was intolerable.

On the way back, he also discussed the details of the mission with Minato and Masasuke, and they were both certain that there was a problem with the intelligence for this mission. They couldn't let this go unresolved.

As Elite Jonin of Konoha, he was all too aware of the importance of intelligence. Just like this mission, the delay almost led to their complete annihilation. If they had just let it slide, what if they received wrong intelligence later?

If we don't investigate and prevent this from happening again, who will be next?

Hiruzen Sarutobi was also in a very awkward position. What could he say? Danzo had pushed out a scapegoat to take all the blame, and he couldn't very well push Danzo out as well.

Not only would he not want to deal with Danzo for such a small matter, but he himself would also be unwilling to do so, since there were still many shady things that Danzo needed to do.

But after this incident, Danzo needs to be given a good talking-to. "An accident happened to Root ninja"—thinking about Danzo's explanation, I felt a surge of anger. He really didn't even want to come up with a good reason!

Thinking this, Hiruzen Sarutobi glared fiercely at Danzo, but still had to clean up his mess.

"An accident occurred to the ninja responsible for delivering the message, causing our warning to reach the Raikage a day late."

The Third Kazekage Hokage puffed on his pipe and continued, "The Raikage definitely wanted Sakumo dead, so the order to withdraw the pursuit force was delayed by a day. But that's just our speculation afterward. These two coincidences led to what happened to you later."

Sakumo and the other two exchanged glances, remaining silent. Although the Hokage's glance was subtle, the three of them were no ordinary ninjas; they could easily see through it. Combined with the Hokage's far-fetched explanation, they understood the trickery involved.

However, all three were die-hard Hokage supporters and believed that the Hokage-sama would give them justice, so they didn't make a fuss.

After reporting their missions, the three of them didn't linger in the Hokage's Office. After all, even Sakumo was covered in injuries and urgently needed proper treatment.

As the office door closed again, before Hiruzen Sarutobi even speak, Danzo's cold voice rang out once more, tinged with his usual suspicion.

"Hiruzen, we need to be wary of that Uchiha brat in the Masasuke squad. He's only eleven or twelve and he's already awakened the Three-Tomoe. Such talent is too dangerous. Given time, he might just become another Madara Uchiha!"

"Danzo!" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, his anger, which he had just suppressed, erupting once more. "Haven't you caused enough trouble?!"

"Don't think I don't know your little tricks. The Uchiha are part of the village too, and they can't be suppressed and sacrificed at will. Don't forget, there are ninjas like Kagami in the Uchiha."

"There's only one Mirror, and he's been dead for a long time. Where in the Uchiha can there be a ninja who can inherit his will? Everyone needs to be wary of the evil Uchiha!" Danzo roared back defiantly.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!" Hiruzen Sarutobi, his previous anger gone, stared at Danzo with a solemn expression and said.

He stepped forward, his voice not loud, but heavy as a thousand pounds. "Furthermore, from now on, every action of your Root must be reported to me, understand?"

Danzo stunned, his one eye blazing with disbelief, rage, and humiliation. He never expected that Hiruzen would take this opportunity to directly tighten control over Root.

He gripped his cane tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force, and after a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a resentful word through gritted teeth.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this."

After saying that, he slammed the door and left.

While the three Captain were reporting to the Hokage's Office, Taiichi and the others were receiving treatment at Konoha Hospital. Of course, Taiichi himself was not among them; he was currently assisting the hospital's Medical Ninja in treating his comrades' injuries.

Yohei was the most seriously injured, followed by Saori. This girl usually looks quiet and gentle, but once she starts fighting, she acts like she doesn't care about her life. In addition, she helped Yohei block the blows several times, so she was the second most seriously injured after Yohei.