A month later, although she had already entered the Land of Fire,
Mitaraishi Anko still hurried all the way back to Konoha.
At that moment, inside the Hokage Office,
Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze listened intently as Mitaraishi Anko reported to him.
Behind him stood Third Hiruzen Sarutobi, puffing on his pipe.
Smoke curled around him, veiling his complicated expression.
Although they had changed the cleanup list back then,
no one had expected Danzo to send Root out without permission.
The Fourth Hokage had dispatched Anbu to intercept them at once,
trying to put a stop to those special death missions, but he was too late.
Apart from Anko's team, the other squads had been almost completely wiped out.
The two men listened as she recounted every detail of the mission in the Land of Water.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite surprised by the contents of the intelligence scroll.
After all, even with every Root ninja dead, Mitaraishi Anko had still completed the dangerous mission on her own.
"Is it about two years before Isobu revives?"
Although Konoha wouldn't actively try to seize another country's Tailed Beast,
this intelligence was still crucial.
That window of roughly two years would give Konoha a considerable head start in its diplomacy and military planning against Kirigakure,
and could also prevent another "Rin Nohara Incident" from happening.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also removed Mitaraishi Anko's name from the list of suspected accomplices in Orochimaru's defection.
But going out alone on a secret mission was still quite dangerous.
"Well done, Anko."
The Fourth Hokage spoke in a gentle voice. "Thanks for all your hard work."
"As for Uchiha Yatsuhashi..."
Since he had died while carrying out a mission assigned by the village,
his family would receive a one-time compensation payment and the highest level of benefits.
That was why Mitaraishi Anko had specifically emphasized
Uchiha Yatsuhashi's important role on the team in her report.
Minato Namikaze paused. "Although Uchiha Yatsuhashi was still a Genin,
given the S-rank difficulty of this mission and the fact that he gave his life for the village,
I've decided to award compensation at the Chunin rate as an exception."
In the world of shinobi, compensation wasn't just money; it was also a statement of status.
It meant the village recognized that Uchiha Yatsuhashi had died carrying out a difficult mission for the village,
rather than as part of a special "cleanup."
Mitaraishi Anko felt a weight lift from her heart, relief washing over her.
She knew this meant Yatsuhashi's parents wouldn't be branded as the family of a "missing-nin."
After they had split up, Mitaraishi Anko had also found herself in danger several times,
but for some reason, the Kirigakure ninja had all eventually abandoned their pursuit.
Since she had the intelligence scroll with her, Mitaraishi Anko had no choice but to return to the safe base in Thousand Port City first.
Even after recovering, she had secretly returned to the scene,
but she hadn't found any trace of Uchiha Yatsuhashi.
That had led Mitaraishi Anko to assume that Yatsuhashi had died in the Land of Water.
Mitaraishi Anko's eyes grew warm. "Thank you, Fourth Hokage!"
Third Hiruzen Sarutobi had made concessions during the Third Shinobi World War,
which had stirred up resentment among many people in the village.
In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi had been forced to resign, taking responsibility.
Although he had now stepped behind the scenes, he had become a Hokage Advisor.
He still took part in the Hokage's major decisions.
Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a ring of smoke. "The Ninja Academy is still being expanded,
and we're short on instructors with practical experience like yours.
If you're willing, you can transfer to a teaching position tomorrow. You won't have to take on dangerous missions like that anymore."
Anko understood at once,
the village had, for now, put her past with Orochimaru behind her.
After Mitaraishi Anko left,
Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze mused, "I still think we should conduct a thorough investigation into Danzo and put Root under proper oversight..."
"Minato."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice carried a note of admonishment. "Danzo may have gone too far, but the results speak for themselves.
If we don't eliminate those who were too deeply entangled with Orochimaru, the dangers they leave behind could be even greater.
The village has only just settled down, and you've only just taken over as Hokage.
Now isn't the time to launch a major attack on Danzo and Root.
The village's stability has to come first."
Minato frowned slightly. "Third, tolerating evil won't bring us true stability."
"Ah..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long sigh.
Although he disapproved of Danzo's actions, deep down he also acknowledged the great results Danzo had brought the village.
"Give it time, Minato. Some things can't be rushed."
Yet the compensation paid for Uchiha Yatsuhashi stirred up a huge uproar within the Uchiha Clan.
"Absurd!"
In the Uchiha Clan's Ancestral Grounds, several clan members wore grim expressions.
"They sent a Genin on an S-rank mission? It's obvious the village is trying to purge the Uchiha Clan!"
Uchiha Tekka, standing nearby, was even more forceful. "Clan head, we have to protest! This is blatant persecution of the Uchiha!"
Uchiha Fugaku sat in the seat of honor, his expression cold.
The elite members of the Uchiha Police Force were gathered around him.
How could Uchiha Fugaku not see the serious problem here?
The village's higher-ups had assigned an S-rank mission to a Genin with little chakra.
How was that any different from sentencing him to death?
The Uchiha gathered before him were furious, but not because they sympathized with Uchiha Yatsuhashi's fate.
They didn't feel much over the death of a single Genin.
They were mostly angry about the village's attitude toward the Uchiha Clan.
To quell the clan members' anger,
Uchiha Fugaku personally went to the Hokage Building to negotiate for several days in a row.
He demanded a thorough investigation into how the mission had been assigned and an explanation for the Uchiha Clan.
But the Third only kept putting him off, while Danzo, the man involved, refused to see him.
Only the Fourth Hokage had visited the Uchiha Clan to offer reassurance.
But the Uchiha Clan was still dissatisfied.
To counter the village's persecution of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Fugaku gave the matter careful thought.
He decided to make a forceful statement to Konoha's higher-ups.
He assembled a group of the clan's elite and prepared to head for the border of the Land of Water.
Officially, they were going to "pay their respects to a fallen hero,"
but in reality, they hadn't informed Uchiha Yatsuhashi's parents.
This was an unmistakable show of military force by Uchiha Fugaku.
Although the Uchiha Clan rarely took part in foreign wars, that didn't mean they were weak.
On the contrary, it was precisely the terrifying power of the Sharingan that kept Konoha's higher-ups wary of them.
Uchiha Fugaku wanted to make one thing clear to the village.
Even if an Uchiha came from a civilian background,
his life was still for the Uchiha to decide—not for the village to dispose of as it pleased.
As for whether they could find Uchiha Yatsuhashi's body,
the Uchiha clan members weren't particularly concerned.
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