"Really, Teacher Kazuhiko, why are you late?"
After Madara Uchiha arrived at the departure point agreed upon by several people, Hayato Hyuga and Sōsuke Aburame were already waiting there. The three of them waited for Kazuhiko Sarutobi for almost an hour before Kazuhiko Sarutobi arrived.
"Sorry, something happened at the last moment, let's go now."
Kazuhiko Sarutobi laughed and ignored the matter, and then set off with Team One.
Madara Uchiha They are not people who can't endure hardships. In addition, in terms of basic physical ability, Team One's Kazuhiko needless to say, Hayato, Madara and Sosuke are in Chunin was also regarded as the best. A group of four people ran all the way and arrived at Capital in Land of Fire in just one and a half days. According to the guidance of the people in Capital, Madara Uchiha they found the mansion where they were protecting their target.
Shinhiko Kōzuki lives in a typical Shinden-zukuri style mansion. This mansion has a Hinoki-bark roofing roof with a gentle slope and looks primitive in the sunlight. The phoenix made of gold and bronze at the top is still proud despite having gone through wind and rain, seeming to be overlooking this world. Just from the construction style of this mansion, it is not difficult to see what an ambitious and ambitious man must be living here.
"We are from Konoha Ninja responsible for protecting Master Shinhiko when he returns to his hometown. Please inform him."
In front of the gate of the mansion, there were two burly Samurais with long knives on their waists who were responsible for guarding the gate. Kazuhiko Sarutobi very respectfully came forward and presented the handwritten letter used by Kazuhiko Kōzuki for the commissioned task and Konoha's Ninja proved that Samurai, who was responsible for guarding the door, glanced down, confirmed that the handwriting was his master's, then took away all the objects presented by Kazuhiko Sarutobi's hands and left without saying a word.
"Holy crap, are Kyoto and Samurai so cool?"
Seeing that the gatekeeper Samurai didn't even look at Kazuhiko Sarutobi, Hayato Hyuga couldn't help but complain.
"Hayato, be careful with your words and deeds. This is not Konoha. Even though we are Ninja, our status in Land of Fire is actually that of ordinary people, and Land of Fire's Samurai They are one level higher than the common people, and they can enjoy the worship of the common people. Mr. Shinhiko Kōzuki himself is a high-level Samurai. You can even understand that Daimyo is the top Samurai. In terms of status, we are indeed inferior to them."
Kazuhiko Sarutobi reminded Hayato in a low voice not to talk nonsense in front of others, and at the same time gave him some popular science about Samurai's status in Land of Fire.
"Hand over your ninja tools and come in."
After a while, Samurai, who had just taken Kazuhiko Sarutobi, turned back. Although he now knew that Kazuhiko and his group were here to protect his master, this Samurai spoke to Kazuhiko and the others were still full of contempt. Under the supervision of Samurai, Madara Uchiha removed all their ninja tools. After inspection, they were allowed to enter Shinhiko Kōzuki's mansion.
"Wow, what a luxury!"
Stepping into the mansion, Madara Uchiha and the others were able to get a glimpse of the inside of the mansion.
The front yard of the mansion is wide, with well-proportioned stone pavements at your feet. The low shrubs on both sides are neatly trimmed. Passing by the courtyard, rockeries and stone groups are scattered in an orderly manner, some like pines, and some like crouching tigers. Together with the surrounding cherry trees, maples and bamboos, the scenery of the four seasons seems like Condensed here, in the center of the courtyard, is a clear pool. In the pool, fish swim freely, the water surface is sparkling, and the breeze blows, creating layers of ripples. Beside the pool, a spring palace is built next to the water. At this moment, the carved window lattice in the palace is half-covered, faintly revealing the exquisite furnishings inside.
Hyuga Clan is definitely a wealthy family in Konoha, and Hayato Hyuga is not an unworldly person, but even Hyuga Clan Main Family's mansion that has been passed down for hundreds of years is completely worthless compared to Shinhiko Kōzuki's.
Judging from the appearance of the mansion alone, Shinhiko Kōzuki already lives in extreme luxury, not to mention the Samurai who can be seen standing guard everywhere in his mansion.
These Land of Fire's Samurai can get courtesy from Hokage even when they go to Konoha, but they can only serve as guards on duty in Shinhiko Kōzuki's mansion, which shows Shinhiko Kōzuki's high status and great power.
If Shinhiko Kōzuki hadn't tried his best to force Daimyo to start a war with Land of Earth in the past few days, maybe he wouldn't have been expelled from Kyoto, but if someone had done what he did, it probably wouldn't have been possible to expel Kyoto.
"Hehehe, I didn't expect Ninja from Konoha to be the first to arrive."
Under the leadership of Samurai Madara Uchiha they arrived at the Spring Hall in the center of the courtyard. Before they saw anyone, a strong voice came from the corner. When Madara Uchiha they turned the corner, a tall and tall figure appeared. Like pines and cypresses, a burly old man with white beard and hair but full of energy was standing by the pond feeding the small fish. Madara Uchiha and the others waited quietly until the old man finished feeding the fish, and then they walked to the old man under the leadership of Samurai.
"Do you Konoha really don't want to protect me, or do you really have no one left? Why are all the children with no hair growing up being sent out to protect me? Especially this little one, is he protecting me or am I protecting him."
Turning around, Shinhiko Kōzuki saw the eight-year-old Madara Uchiha at a glance. There was no way, even though Hayato and Sosuke were not too old, the eight-year-old children were still too conspicuous against the tall Samurai.
"Replying to your lord, my name is Kazuhiko Sarutobi and I am the captain responsible for guarding your lord Guard Unit this time. These three people are my subordinates. Although they are still young, they have become Chunin. Their strength has been obtained by Daimyo of the Land of Wind and Hokage are certified. This is Uchiha Itachi from the Uchiha Clan. Although he is only eight years old, his strength is second to none among my three subordinates. Please don't be deceived by his appearance."
In Land of Fire, in terms of status, Third Hokage has to salute Shinhiko Kōzuki when he sees Shinhiko Kōzuki. Faced with this big shot in Land of Fire, Kazuhiko Sarutobi also takes his humble attitude to the extreme.
"Are you after the famous family Uchiha? Speaking of which, my ancestors and you Uchiha Clan have established a long-term cooperative relationship."
Madara Uchiha took a look at Shinhiko Kōzuki and found that he was somewhat similar in style to his own ancestor Shingen Kōzuki.
When he was still leading Uchiha Clan in battle, Kōzuki Family was indeed one of the important supporting forces behind him. Even though hundreds of years have passed, Madara Uchiha is still impressed by Shingen Kōzuki's heroic spirit. Between Madara Uchiha and When Hashirama Senju joined hands to establish Konoha, Kōzuki Family also formed Land of Fire with other big families and became the supporter behind Konoha. After all the changes, Madara Uchiha never thought that he would be able to see his old friend again.