The Blondie in the Bookstore

Hiruzen Sarutobi's sincere inquiry immediately left the three people across from him at a loss.

In normal times, although Hiruzen Sarutobi maintained the image of a kind old man, those familiar with him knew he was actually incredibly stubborn. Once he made a decision, no one could change it. The only things that could be changed were the parts he hadn't fully made up his mind about yet.

If this were Hiruzen Sarutobi's usual style, he would have slammed his hand on the table—or perhaps not, it didn't matter—and decided whether to continue the pursuit or call it off.

But now, Hiruzen Sarutobi had broken from his usual routine and decided to ask for their opinions.

Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu didn't mind; on the contrary, they were quite pleased, feeling that they had become more important.

Only Danzo, while showing no change on his face, felt a sense of annoyance in his heart.

His original plan was for Hiruzen Sarutobi to insist on the attack while he remained silent, then continue to leak intelligence and let the Anbu send another batch of men to their deaths. This would further incite the other two, as well as other ninja clans, to question Hiruzen's judgment. When the time was right, he would step forward to reveal that he had obtained more intelligence, creating a sharp contrast with Hiruzen's tactical failures.

Now that Hiruzen wasn't playing by the rules, his plan was immediately shattered.

Support it? If something else went wrong, he would be held jointly responsible.

Oppose it? So many Anbu had already died; whoever opposed it would become the enemy of the remaining Anbu!

"I think we should continue to hunt them down, but we need to change our approach."

Just as Danzo was struggling with his dilemma, Mitokado Homura spoke up. "These survivors are powerful. Three Anbu squads were wiped out without being able to stop them. If we continue to send Anbu, the losses will only be greater."

"That's right," Utatane Koharu nodded in agreement from the side. "If we go on like this, not only will we fail to capture them, but we might actually embolden them. We should send true elites directly. If we don't act, fine, but once we do, we must strike them dead!"

"Then who should we send?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at Danzo, curious as to why his old friend was so quiet today, before turning to ask the other two.

"Can we dispatch the heads of the great clans?"

Mitokado Homura asked.

"Hiashi could probably do it, but the Byakugan has no advantage over the Sharingan, and Hiashi's combat style is too singular. I fear it wouldn't be enough to handle two pairs of Mangekyo. As for the other clan heads, it's difficult..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.

In fact, even Hyuga Hiashi might not necessarily agree to go.

Those were two pairs of Mangekyo; without Kage Level strength, it was no different from throwing one's life away.

"What about Jiraiya? He has been traveling outside for years; it's about time he returned. With such troublesome traitors appearing in the village, he should share some of the burden for Konoha."

Utatane Koharu suggested.

"Jiraiya, eh? He could do it, but he has other matters..."

The others didn't know Jiraiya's whereabouts, but Hiruzen Sarutobi knew them all too well.

Jiraiya had been investigating the Akatsuki.

In fact, the earliest intelligence Konoha received regarding the Akatsuki came from Jiraiya, who had sent it back in secret.

He stated that there was a mercenary force in the Ninja World recently, of unknown numbers but great strength, which had already helped Ōnoki deal with quite a few political rivals. Jiraiya keenly sensed that this group had significant ambitions and warned the village to be on high alert.

It was only after this that the Uchiha conspiracy to stage a coup occurred, leading Konoha to decide to move against the Uchiha. Uchiha Itachi received an invitation from the Akatsuki and decided to take the opportunity to clear out the restless Uchiha, then infiltrate the Akatsuki to act as a spy for Konoha.

In exchange, Hiruzen Sarutobi had to guarantee Sasuke's safety.

Currently, Itachi had successfully joined the Akatsuki. Although no intelligence had come through yet, with him on the inside and Jiraiya on the outside, Hiruzen believed they would soon uncover the foundation and goals of this mercenary group.

Should he call Jiraiya back now?

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't quite make up his mind.

"I think it's feasible."

Danzo finally adjusted his mindset. He suddenly realized that if he could use this opportunity to make Konoha suffer even greater losses, it would still be to his advantage.

Moreover, since the suggestion came from Utatane Koharu, if anything went wrong, it wouldn't be linked to him.

"Then I will try to contact Jiraiya, though he may not necessarily agree..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, his tone still somewhat uncertain.

"This concerns the safety of Konoha! If he is still a Konoha ninja, he should accept orders unconditionally!"

Danzo said in a harsh tone.

The only result he got was a roll of the eyes from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He had to be joking. Even children didn't always listen to their parents when they grew up; how could he order Jiraiya with such an attitude? Two of the Sannin were already gone, and one of them had defected directly. If he made Jiraiya unhappy as well, what high-end power would Konoha have left?

Although Jiraiya likely wouldn't care, that wasn't how things were done.

Regardless, they finally had a simple response plan, and the rest was just waiting for Jiraiya's reply.

After dealing with the three Anbu squads, Uchiha Arashi's life returned to peace.

Because of the existence of Kamui, no one knew he had left the village and returned. For the past few days, he had been tending to his shop, taking the opportunity to continue getting familiar with the neighbors.

"Uncle Shopkeeper!"

Just as Uchiha Arashi was about to take a little nap, a vibrant, energetic voice suddenly rang out.

Uchiha Arashi gave a start, then slowly opened his eyes to see a little blond boy standing in front of the counter, not even as tall as the counter itself.

Uzumaki Naruto!

"Little guy, what is it? And call me big brother."

Uchiha Arashi asked with some curiosity.

He had certainly seen Naruto before, and more than once at that.

However, he had never truly interacted with Naruto, knowing full well that the boy was a taboo in Konoha; the risks of approaching him without permission were far from ordinary.

Of course, if Naruto came to him on his own initiative, that was a different matter.

"Oh, oh, Big Brother Shopkeeper."

Naruto scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "Um, I wanted to ask, do you have a book here called Teyvat Record?"

"You mean Teyvat Travelogue, right? I do, but why are you asking about this? Are you looking to buy it?"

Uchiha Arashi rested his arms on the counter and propped up his chin as he asked.

"Yeah, I... I want to buy it, but I don't know if I can afford it... Um, would it be okay if I rented it? Big Brother Shopkeeper, don't worry, I'll take good care of the book, I definitely won't damage it."

Naruto's face turned slightly red as he spoke.

It was clear that he was feeling quite embarrassed at the moment.

Uchiha Arashi shook his head with a smile.

"Renting is definitely not an option, but don't worry, the book isn't expensive. I'm just curious, why do you want to buy this book?"

He asked, genuinely intrigued.