The last time he had come to the Hokage's Office had been more than half a year ago, hadn't it?
Back then, he had still been going on missions with his squad leader.
The moment he stepped into the office,
Qifeng immediately sensed that the atmosphere in the Hokage's Office was completely different from the last time he had visited. It felt somewhat tense and oppressive.
And seated in a chair to one side of the office was a man leaning on a cane. Just sitting there, he gave off a sinister aura.
Danzo!
Qifeng truly had no desire to have anything to do with Danzo.
You don't bother me while I loot corpses, and I won't bother you while you plot against the loyal and good. We'll mind our own business.
But given Qifeng's strength and status, Danzo probably would not set his sights on him. Even if he wanted any dealings with Danzo, he was still far from that point.
For a moment, countless thoughts flashed through Qifeng's mind, until he finally reached a conclusion: he was just scaring himself.
Just as he was letting his imagination run wild, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in a deep voice.
"Qifeng, you're here."
"Lord Hokage."
Qifeng respectfully called out, then stood there foolishly and waited for orders.
Holding his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi lightly tapped it against the desk. He looked at Qifeng seriously before suddenly saying, "...Smoke less with Asuma."
Qifeng glanced at the pipe in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand, the corner of his mouth twitching, but he still answered, "Yes."
Come to think of it, Asuma was the Hokage's youngest son. No matter what, he was his biological son. How could the Hokage not know who he met and what he did every day?
It seemed Asuma had not sold him out, but rather...
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought he was leading his son astray and wanted to make things difficult for him?
So this was the kind of Hokage you were!
Hiruzen Sarutobi neither confirmed nor denied his response and simply asked again, "How has your training been lately? Have you fallen behind?"
Trying to gauge his meaning, Qifeng cautiously said, "I haven't gone on missions in a long time, and the Morgue has kept me quite busy. I'm afraid I've gotten a little rusty."
He truly had not trained much. Hiruzen Sarutobi should have known that.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at Qifeng for a long time before sighing softly. Then he said gently, "The Shinobi World has been unsettled lately. You cannot neglect your training. This time, there is a mission I have no choice but to assign to you. It is also a last resort."
Just as I thought!
He really is trying to make things difficult for me!
He had plainly said he had not trained properly and that his strength had declined greatly, yet he still wanted to assign him a mission. What else could that be if not making things difficult for him?
Qifeng swallowed lightly. "W-What mission?"
If you dare send me to the front lines now, I'll curse you out. Believe it or not. Qifeng secretly decided.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer immediately, merely waving his hand.
The office door opened again, and three neatly dressed ninjas entered.
Qifeng recognized one of them. Silver hair, dead-fish eyes, that pretentious mask—who else could it be but Kakashi?
"Lord Hokage," Kakashi called out.
Qifeng saw him, and Kakashi naturally saw Qifeng as well. Coupled with this mission, he immediately understood Hiruzen Sarutobi's intentions.
Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples, looking slightly troubled, and swept his gaze across the four of them.
"Kakashi's Squad lost another member during their last mission. After giving it much thought, Qifeng, you're the only suitable choice. After all, you and Kakashi are quite familiar with each other."
They were indeed quite familiar.
Over the course of two months, Kakashi had come to collect corpses four times. How could they not be familiar?
For all he knew, this mission might send a few more people into the Morgue.
Was this really a mission?
This was a death sentence!
Sure enough, he really is making things difficult for me!
Qifeng's heart brimmed with resentment.
But before he could speak, Kakashi spoke first. "Lord Hokage, I don't think he's suitable."
Neither do I.
Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples again.
To be honest, he was already extremely busy, yet he still had to look after Kakashi.
"Kakashi, this is an order." Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone allowed no argument.
"Then if he dies, I won't be responsible." Kakashi's voice was stiff.
Qifeng, standing nearby, gritted his teeth.
The current Kakashi really was not cute at all.
He said that as if he would care if someone else died.
"Don't worry. This will only happen once. This mission is somewhat special, so this is a temporarily assembled squad."
Kakashi nodded.
"Let me explain the mission." Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and walked out from behind his desk as he spoke. "Kirigakure to the east has been stirring restlessly. The Scouts Konoha sent to Kirigakure have almost all been wiped out. However, according to the latest intelligence, one squad successfully escaped the Land of Water with valuable information.
But they were severely injured while being pursued by mist ninja. Before dying, they used a special method to relay their location to me. They are in the Land of Hot Water.
Your mission is to safely bring every corpse from that squad back to Konoha."
The situation in the Shinobi World was growing increasingly tense, and at a time like this, that intelligence was all the more important.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Qifeng. "Although you have not carried out missions for some time, you can be considered half an expert when it comes to handling corpses."
"Understood." Before Qifeng could say anything, Kakashi accepted directly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction and looked across the four of them. "Any other questions?"
Qifeng slowly raised his hand. At Hiruzen Sarutobi's gesture, he asked, "Lord Hokage, with intelligence this important, isn't it somewhat inappropriate to send just the few of us?"
Shouldn't they have sent a squad of Anbu Ninja, along with several elite squads led by Elite Jonin?
Hiruzen Sarutobi was not surprised by his question and answered with a smile, "Indeed, this mission is important and highly dangerous. But rest assured, I have already sent people to seal off the Land of Fire's border. Several ninja squads will be waiting nearby to support you, so their stronger forces will not dare act rashly.
You are not particularly conspicuous, so the dangers you face will not be too great."
Thinking about it that way, Qifeng roughly understood.
Put simply: the four of you weaklings would not attract the enemy's attention. At a time like this, the stronger the ninjas they sent, the more likely they were to draw the enemy's attention.
"Alright. If there are no more questions, go back and prepare. Set out as soon as possible!"
The four answered in unison.
After leaving the office, Kakashi glanced at him and said stiffly, "Fifteen minutes. Meet at the village gate."
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished first.
The other two helplessly shook their heads, gave him looks that said good luck, and left as well.
Qifeng curled his lips and hurried toward his residence.
After they had left, Danzo, who had remained silent the entire time, finally spoke.
"Hiruzen, with Kakashi's current personality, if you entrust him to my training, he will definitely become Konoha's sharpest blade, even more outstanding than Sakumo."
The two had clearly discussed this topic more than once. Hiruzen Sarutobi decisively shook his head. "There is no need to bring this up again, Danzo."
Danzo frowned, but he had no intention of backing down. Instead, he stood and stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi as he said in a deep voice, "You have seen Kakashi's current personality. Ordinary ninjas cannot possibly earn his respect. Hiruzen, you cannot ruin Konoha's genius because of your personal attachment.
In the end, someone must walk in darkness. He is the most suitable candidate."
"Kakashi is a genius. Konoha needs him to display his talent in the sunlight. That is the best morale booster. Besides, I have already found the person most suitable for him. Once this mission ends, it will be about time."
The death rate when Kakashi led squads alone was terrifyingly high. No matter how much Hiruzen Sarutobi indulged him, he could not let things continue like this.
"Who?" Danzo narrowed his eyes, a guess forming in his mind.
"Minato." Hiruzen Sarutobi said with certainty, "Minato led Kakashi before. They only had to disband later because of missions and personnel issues. But with the current situation so turbulent, no one is more suitable than Minato."
Upon hearing that name, Danzo fell silent.
If Kakashi was a genius ninja beginning to make a name for himself in Konoha, then Namikaze Minato was a powerful ninja who had already fulfilled his potential and risen to prominence.
"But two people are not enough to form a squad. It is not graduation season, so what about the remaining slots?" Danzo still seemed unwilling to give up.
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe and slowly exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke. "Wouldn't Maruyama Qifeng be quite suitable?"
"Him?" Qifeng's honest-looking face flashed through Danzo's mind, and he sneered. "It is hard to say whether he can even survive this mission."
"Then we'll discuss it after he survives."
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained calm about this because he had already made his decision and would not change his mind because of any individual.
The life and death of an unknown Genin were important too, but for the current Konoha, a genius like Kakashi was more crucial.
After all, once they went to the battlefield, Genin truly were nothing more than cannon fodder.
In extraordinary times, one had to possess an extraordinary mindset. Otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi would not have watched Kakashi's squad lose people time and time again, only to keep filling the vacant spots with more.
Before you continue