Yato Leaves the Village

That was right—Uchiha Yato did not beat around the bush or resort to any fancy tricks.

He directly asked Rasa what the Sand Shinobi had come for this time.

Rasa was instantly a little stunned.

Shouldn't there be a blood feud between our two countries? Is he really going to trust me this easily?

Of course, Uchiha Yato knew what Rasa was thinking and stated it plainly.

"Put simply, we're both just pawns. Neither of us is being asked to carry the burden."

"For these three months, we just eat, drink, and have fun. Leave the bickering to them."

Perhaps it was because Rasa was young, or perhaps Uchiha Yato was simply too good at deceiving people.

Rasa said, "We're just here to learn. Don't overthink it."

"Personally, I hope to spar with you and see the gap between the jonin of our two villages."

He put it tactfully, but he had essentially revealed all the important information.

They wanted to test Uchiha Yato's strength. He was probably not the only target; Sakumo Hatake likely was as well. After all, he had killed Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was also quite considerate. Knowing Chiyo was coming, he had not assigned Sakumo Hatake as a guard.

The banquet was quite harmonious, with no major complaints or conflicts.

The next day, Chiyo and Rasa arrived at Konoha's reception hall for talks.

Chiyo spoke first. "Thank you very much for Konoha Village's hospitality yesterday. Let's be direct today."

"We came to Konoha Village with a desire to learn."

"Our village's medical ninjutsu is lacking, so we hope to learn medical ninjutsu from your village. We also wish to learn from the Third Hokage's methods of governance and develop our village's economy."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite pleased by Chiyo's words.

Though she had not said it outright, every word was flattering him, and Hiruzen Sarutobi felt secretly delighted.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled as well. "Then go take a look at Konoha Hospital. Tsunade has gone out to train these past few days. When she returns, I'll have her teach you."

Chiyo was very pleased with Hiruzen Sarutobi's response. After a few more exchanges, she returned to the Sand Shinobi's current lodging.

After Chiyo left, Danzo Shimura appeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk.

Danzo Shimura said, "Isn't this giving the Sand Shinobi too much free rein?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi replied, "It's fine. If anything goes wrong, then it will be the Uchiha's problem."

"I just agreed to have Tsunade teach them. This is the perfect chance to send Uchiha Yato out."

That was right. Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to transfer Uchiha Yato out of Konoha Village. That fellow was simply too good at causing trouble.

When Danzo Shimura heard that Uchiha Yato would be leaving Konoha Village, his expression remained completely flawless.

Inside, however, he was ecstatic. Leaving the village would not only separate him from the Uchiha Clan.

It also meant he could use forces outside the village to ensure that Uchiha Yato remained outside forever.

Without saying much, Hiruzen Sarutobi directly summoned Uchiha Yato.

He explained the situation to him face-to-face.

Uchiha Yato said, "I don't think I'm the right person to persuade her, am I?"

"As for Tsunade, why not have Orochimaru go find her instead?"

"They are both one of the Sannin and have been friends for so many years. I'm sure they would have more to talk about."

Uchiha Yato's reaction was completely within Hiruzen Sarutobi's expectations. It was only natural that Uchiha Yato would use Orochimaru as an excuse to decline.

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could speak, Danzo Shimura cut in. "That's not how it works. You, Uchiha Yato, have made no contribution while staying in the village. Now that you've been assigned a mission, why are you making so many excuses?"

Hearing Danzo Shimura's words, Uchiha Yato replied, "It can't be helped. I am a man of limited talent and shallow learning."

"I have no noteworthy ninjutsu or abilities. If Lord Hokage had not taken pity on me, I would not even have had the chance to become a jonin."

Danzo Shimura felt inexplicably disgusted as he listened.

Don't all Uchiha care about their pride?

How did they produce such a bastard? He has no shame at all.

Seeing that his old friend could not handle Uchiha Yato, Hiruzen Sarutobi said kindly, "The Sand Shinobi Village has expressed their wish to learn medical ninjutsu from Tsunade."

"So, we hope you can bring Tsunade back to the village for a visit."

"This would also contribute to the village's honor and development. We'd like to ask for your help, Yato. The other shinobi are either not capable enough or too busy."

Well, that really put Uchiha Yato on a pedestal.

In other words, Hiruzen Sarutobi trusted no one else now—only him.

Uchiha Yato did not refuse too strongly this time. After pondering for a while, he said, "All right. But I don't know how to find her. It would help if I had intelligence on her whereabouts."

Upon hearing Uchiha Yato agree, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately brought out the intelligence he had gathered on Tsunade.

Uchiha Yato did not know what to say. From the original story, he had thought the old man merely favored Tsunade somewhat.

At most, that favoritism should have been because of the previous two Hokage and Tsunade's status as Konoha's princess.

But judging from the two huge bundles of intelligence scrolls brought out now, the old man's concern for Tsunade was no small thing.

Uchiha Yato opened them and looked through their contents. The two large scrolls only covered Tsunade's movements over the past month.

Tsunade's activities over that month had been recorded in meticulous detail. Even something like Tsunade spending six minutes in the restroom on Tanzaku Street was written down.

It made Uchiha Yato break into a cold sweat. It felt rather like a perverted paparazzo stalking a celebrity.

After finishing the intelligence reports, Uchiha Yato continued, "That still won't do. Now I only know where Tsunade is, but I don't have travel expenses."

Hiruzen Sarutobi slightly raised his brows upon hearing that. "Have you been living in poverty lately, Yato?"

Uchiha Yato's eyes immediately lit up as he chimed in, "Yes, extremely poor."

"Lord Hokage, you have no idea!"

"Ever since my aunt, Uchiha Michiko, died, I have been raising Shisui."

"It has been utterly exhausting, and raising a child is hard. All the money I saved over the years to marry a wife has been spent on that boy."

As he spoke, tears and snot flew everywhere. He looked utterly pitiful, as though he truly could not make ends meet.

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer bear to watch. "All right, I understand."

"Consider the mission to bring Tsunade back a B-rank mission. Is 300,000 ryo enough? I'll additionally advance you 50,000 ryo for travel expenses."

Uchiha Yato muttered quietly, "A mission involving Konoha's princess, the First Hokage's granddaughter, is only worth 300,000 ryo."

"So stingy~"

Though Uchiha Yato spoke very softly, everyone present was a high-ranking shinobi. Every word fell clearly into their ears.

This made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel a little embarrassed, and he changed his offer. "An A-rank mission, then. I'll give you 500,000 ryo and advance 100,000 ryo for travel expenses. How about that?"

Seeing Uchiha Yato about to speak again, Danzo Shimura directly cut in before Hiruzen Sarutobi could. "Root will provide an additional 500,000 ryo. This mission will count as an S-rank mission."

"But there will only be 100,000 ryo in travel expenses, and you must bring Tsunade back to Konoha Village willingly."

Hearing Danzo Shimura's words, Uchiha Yato did not respond immediately. Instead, he raised another condition.

"Then if Lady Tsunade returns this time, I demand that her personal freedom not be restricted."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not quite understand why Uchiha Yato would say such a thing.

Danzo Shimura interjected once more, not giving Uchiha Yato the chance to haggle further. "We can agree to that. We will not ask Princess Tsunade to do anything against her will."

Having gotten what he wanted, Uchiha Yato said nothing more. After collecting the mission scroll and the two large intelligence scrolls provided by Hiruzen Sarutobi, he left the Hokage's office.

Once Uchiha Yato had left, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke first.

"All right, stop being so nervous."

"The moment you heard the name Uchiha Michiko, you nearly jumped out of your skin."

"If you knew this would happen, why stir up trouble in the first place?"

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, the thorn in Danzo Shimura's heart was stirred once more.

No matter how vast Root became, it was still under the Hokage's control.

Danzo Shimura said nothing further and directly left the Hokage's office.

As for Uchiha Yato, he was currently on his way home, preparing to set out tomorrow to find Tsunade.