Mission

Danzo's gaze sharpened as he stared at Sarutobi Hiruzen. "You intend to send him alone?"

"According to your own account, the Akatsuki is currently at war with Amegakure. The Land of Rain is extremely dangerous right now; even for a Jonin, the risks are immense. We cannot afford to waste the lives of Konoha ninjas in the Land of Rain," Sarutobi Hiruzen said indifferently.

"That is unwise." Danzo narrowed his eyes. "Uchiha Akira is a man even you cannot see through. It is unknown how much weight Konoha holds in his heart. What if he decides to slack off once he enters the Land of Fire?"

Upon hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen wore a thoughtful expression. "You are right. It would be best to assign him a squad."

"Do you have any personnel recommendations?" Sarutobi Hiruzen lifted his eyelids to look at Danzo.

Though this is a matter of driving a wolf to devour a tiger, it cannot be too obvious, Danzo thought to himself. He then spoke, "We shall follow the standard squad configuration, but I must insert one member from Root to ensure they do not slack off once they enter the Land of Rain."

"Do you have any specific recommendations for the Uchiha Akira squad?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked coolly.

"You are the Hokage; I shall not interfere with your arrangements!" Danzo said with a mocking smile.

"Hmph!" Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a cold snort. "Not interfering? Then do not bother trying to insert your Root personnel!"

"I... Hiruzen, you..." Danzo was momentarily speechless, the smile on his face freezing.

"Tell me which ninja from Root you want to send along!" Sarutobi Hiruzen said flatly.

"Aburame Shigang. He is a rare talent from the Aburame Clan and a Special Jonin," Danzo replied.

"Very well. There is nothing else; you may leave!" Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand, dismissing him directly.

Danzo took a deep breath, feeling deeply stifled.

He knew his old friend was extremely dissatisfied with his lack of progress in the negotiations over the past three months.

Now, there was simply nowhere for the frustration in his heart to vent.

Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Danzo's retreating back with narrowed eyes. His intuition told him that this man was still keeping many things from him.

What exactly is Danzo hiding? Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered for a long while before finally shaking his head helplessly.

His direct Anbu subordinates were all dispatched to other major nations to gather intelligence or eliminate ninjas from other lands entering the Land of Fire. He truly had no energy to spare for the events unfolding in a small nation.

Knock, knock.

Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his desk lightly, and an Anbu wearing a dog mask appeared before the desk.

Sarutobi Hiruzen commanded, "Go notify these individuals and tell them to find time to come to the Hokage office today."

"Yes!"

As the words fell, the Anbu's figure vanished from the Hokage office.

Before long, Uchiha Akira arrived at the Hokage office.

He still had to give the Hokage some face, even though he had been told he could come anytime within the day.

Upon entering the office, Uchiha Akira greeted him immediately: "Lord Hokage, I am here."

"Jonin Akira, you have arrived." Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been hunched over his desk, lifted his smiling face to look at Uchiha Akira. "There is a mission here that requires your execution."

Although Uchiha Akira was puzzled, he knew that all he needed to do for now was nod.

A mission assigned personally by the Hokage left no room for refusal, at least not with the current level of influence he possessed.

"I understand. I will certainly fulfill this important task for the village," Uchiha Akira nodded solemnly.

"The situation is as follows: something has happened in the Land of Rain. An organization called Akatsuki is disguising themselves as ninjas from our major nations to incite conflict between us, while simultaneously ravaging villages across the Land of Rain. They are calculatingly trying to reignite the flames of war between our great nations... According to reliable intelligence, Hanzo is currently at a disadvantage in this confrontation..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen briefly recounted what Danzo had told him to Uchiha Akira.

"Therefore, I want you to lead an elite Konoha squad to the Land of Rain to attempt to gather intelligence on the Akatsuki!" Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Uchiha Akira with a stern expression.

Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's words, Uchiha Akira's expression turned to one of astonishment.

How had the development of events diverged so completely from what he knew? Had the butterfly effect already spread this far?

The Third Hokage already knew about the Akatsuki?

Logically, the Third Hokage should only have learned of this dangerous organization on the day of the Uchiha massacre, when Uchiha Itachi told him he was going undercover in a highly dangerous group.

According to his memories, wasn't the Akatsuki an organization that inherited Jiraiya's philosophy, believing that mutual understanding between people could bring world peace?

How had they turned into an organization that disguised themselves as ninjas from other nations to sabotage peace?

Was it completely inverted?

What kind of change has occurred? Uchiha Akira's thoughts were momentarily chaotic. Could it be that this dog Danzo is twisting the truth?

If that is the case, Uchiha Akira pondered, then I must be extra careful with this mission!

Seeing Uchiha Akira's surprised expression, Sarutobi Hiruzen assumed the news had caused him too much of a shock, so he said:

"Akira, there is no other way. I have looked around, and currently, you are the only one in Konoha capable of making the trip to the Land of Rain."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Uchiha Akira apologetically. "Jiraiya has disappeared again; I don't know where he has wandered off to. By the time I find him, it will be too late. Minato and Orochimaru are busy preparing for the Hokage election, and the other candidates are not suitable."

"Lord Hokage, leave this matter to me. I will complete the mission," Uchiha Akira said in a deep voice.

Hearing his words, a smile appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face. "Then I am relieved. With you on this mission, I have no worries."

"Lord Hokage, I wonder if I am to conduct this mission alone or as a squad?" Uchiha Akira asked.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff of his pipe, and suddenly the office was filled with smoke. His voice drifted out from the haze:

"Considering the extreme danger of this mission, I have assigned a standard squad to accompany you."

"My thanks, Hokage." Uchiha Akira replied with a bow.

I just hope they don't saddle me with a bunch of dead weight, Uchiha Akira thought to himself.

Sometimes, more people doesn't necessarily mean more power.

If they were just going to drag him down, he would be better off going alone.

At the very least, he could come and go as he pleased without having to worry about anyone else.

He could slack off whenever he wanted and complete the mission entirely at his own discretion.

He already had a deep understanding of the Akatsuki, so at worst, he could just leak a bit of intel to get by.

But now that he had been assigned teammates, he couldn't afford to slack off openly; he had to at least put on a good show.

Of course, with the Mangekyō Sharingan at his disposal, Uchiha Akira could easily trap his teammates in a world of illusions.

There was always a way to slack off if one really wanted to.