Chapter 9

"Ahem, Xuan Zhe, Sakumo, you should get going. Our fellow Konoha shinobi at the front are still waiting for your support."

Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat twice to remind them.

If he let Xuan Zhe keep spouting nonsense like this, he had a feeling something bad would happen.

Better send this walking disaster away, fast.

Watching the two white-haired men leave with Sakumo's son and the Sarutobi Squad, Biwako Sarutobi frowned, turned to her husband, and lowered her voice.

"Hiruzen, I feel a little uneasy."

"You mean Xuan Zhe? He certainly isn't the same sort as Sakumo, but don't overthink it."

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought his wife was being too sensitive.

The Hatake Clan was much like the Senju Clan now-both were empty shells.

The Hatake Clan hadn't been a major clan even back in the Warring States period.

After the First Shinobi World War and the current conflict, only Hatake Xuanzhe, Hatake Sakumo, and Kakashi Hatake remained.

Granted, two of them had Kage-level combat strength.

But Konoha had plenty of talented people now, and Hiruzen Sarutobi felt he could keep them under control.

"Obito, have you ever seen Kakashi with his mask off?"

Hearing Xuan Zhe bring it up earlier had piqued Rin Nohara's curiosity too.

While Kakashi wasn't paying attention, she lowered her voice and asked Obito.

"No... if he looked good, why would he cover his face? He must be ugly."

Obito seized the chance to put down his romantic rival in front of the girl he liked, insulting Kakashi the moment he opened his mouth.

"You're the ugly one, Runtu."

Kakashi abruptly retorted.

"Who are you calling Runtu? You bastard!!"

Obito blew up on the spot, and immediately tangled with Kakashi, the two rolling around and grappling.

"Still, that Mr. Xuan Zhe really has something about him~"

Kurenai Yuhi recalled his sharply defined face, her tone carrying a maturity beyond her years.

"Kurenai, that guy's bad news. Don't forget he smashed Hokage Rock, and he's someone who'd abandon his comrades for a mission!"

Asuma was just like Obito, desperately bad-mouthing his romantic rival behind his back.

"Doesn't your brother do the same thing?"

Kurenai Yuhi had nothing but contempt for his double standards.

Her father, Shinku Yuhi, was an old friend of Hatake Sakumo's, so she knew all about the Hatake Clan's affairs.

So what, when his brother did it, it was right, but when Xuan Zhe did it, it was wrong?

Just what you'd expect from the Hokage's son.

Someone you really couldn't afford to cross.

Asuma choked as though he had swallowed a fly, unable to say a word.

"Children, the warning bell is about to ring. Hurry back to school."

A voice called out from behind them.

The little brats turned around and bowed in greeting:

"Mr. Nawaki."

Hiruzen Sarutobi relit his pipe and said with a smile:

"Thank you for your hard work raising Konoha's next generation, Nawaki."

Though the boy was the God of the Shinobi World's own grandson, he hadn't inherited Wood Release, so Hiruzen didn't take him seriously at all.

Not to mention that his abilities fell far short of his sister Tsunade's.

"You're too kind, Lord Hokage. My grandfather built Konoha himself. Naturally, I should do my part."

Hiruzen Sarutobi kept feeling that Nawaki placed particular emphasis on "the village my grandfather built."

The Sarutobi couple stood there, watching Nawaki lead the six-year-old brats away. Biwako spoke first. "He's still holding on to what happened to the Senju Clan a year ago, just as I thought."

A year ago, something had gone wrong on the front lines. The people in the Intelligence Department had made a mistake, and the Senju Clan's main force had walked straight into an enemy trap. More than ninety percent of their shinobi had been lost. Tsunade and Nawaki's parents had also died in that battle.

Xuan Zhe had still been farming outside the village then. When he heard about it, he had casually remarked, "If the Intelligence Department can make such a basic mistake, how is that any different from doing it on purpose?"

As luck would have it, the Shimura Clan was in charge of the Intelligence Department.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt uncomfortable too, but he still put on a firm front. "Forget it... the Senju can't make any waves now, anyway." He figured there was no harm in letting the boy vent a little, as long as power remained in his own hands.

With his back to the Hokage and his wife, Nawaki led the children toward the Ninja Academy. No one noticed the sudden chill that crossed his face, making him look as though he had been cast from the same mold as the future Sasuke. He thought, Brother-in-law... is this what you're going to do?

Between last night's conversation and the remark he had just heard from Xuan Zhe, Nawaki had more or less figured out Xuan Zhe's plans. His lips curled into the sort of "all according to plan" smile Light Yagami wore, and he couldn't contain his wild delight. Wonderful, Lord Hokage. It's time you had a taste of losing your family too.

The Land of Fire and the Land of Wind were at war, yet the battlefield lay along the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind. The Land of Rivers was a vassal state of the Land of Fire, a small trading nation without a shinobi village, wedged between two great nations. Naturally, once war broke out, its people were the ones who suffered.

Just as Pain would later say-the peace of great nations rested entirely on small nations bearing the burden beneath them.

By now, the war between Konoha and Sunagakure had entered its second phase. On Sunagakure's side, old Chiyo, the head of the Puppet Brigade, spent every day concocting new **. On Konoha's side, Tsunade, the greatest medical ninja of the age, countered one wave of poison after another. The two sides were like a turn-based game: one made a move, and the other countered.

After three days and two nights, the two Hatake men and the Sarutobi Squad finally reached the front.

"Reinforcements?"

At the entrance to Konoha Camp, a Hyuga guard with the Byakugan checked their identities one by one. When he saw Hatake Sakumo, a clear trace of resentment entered his eyes-if that earlier mission had succeeded, the war would have been over already.

Still, unlike the village's ordinary sheep, the Hyuga Clan members didn't hurl abuse at Hatake Sakumo.

Xuan Zhe walked over and patted the guard's shoulder, looking thoroughly entertained. "A major clan, all right. You've got more brains than those sheep."

The two Hyuga gate guards froze and exchanged a glance.

"Hey... that guy looks a little like White Fang. Who is he?"

The operating room door closed softly, the air inside thick with the mingled scents of disinfectant and blood.

The blonde woman moved her hands away from the wounded man's abdomen, her shapely figure, which her vest couldn't conceal, rising and falling slightly. The green glow in her palms gradually faded. She shook out her wrists and dipped her hands into a basin.

The water instantly turned black.

"The poison's gone."

Tsunade pulled off her mask, revealing a finely featured face. Though she was nearly thirty, she still looked like a young woman in her early twenties. Her tone was casual, as though she were commenting on the pleasant weather.

"You're incredible, Lady Tsunade!"

"That old hag Chiyo's poisons are child's play to you!"

The medical ninja beside her eagerly showered her with flattery, their eyes shining.

Tsunade remained expressionless, her green eyes instead a little cold. She stayed here purely out of a doctor's duty, unable to watch patients die before her eyes. Otherwise, after what had happened to the Senju Clan, she would have stopped risking her life for Konoha long ago.

"Tsunade, wipe your sweat."

A hand reached over from beside her, holding a towel.

Tsunade glanced sideways and saw Dan Katō's perpetually smiling face.

Over these past few years on the battlefield, the man had stuck to her like a plaster she couldn't peel off. Tsunade sighed inwardly. Sometimes she really envied that Genin ** who was still holing up and refusing to go on missions.

"No need."

She raised a hand and pushed the towel away, her voice neither warm nor cold.

Dan Katō wasn't annoyed and eagerly followed her. He felt that as long as he worked hard enough, he would eventually win her over with his fawning.

Just as she left the operating room, a Chunin ran over.

"Lady Tsunade, Lord Orochimaru requests your presence at a meeting."

Tsunade frowned, her voice carrying impatience. "I said I wouldn't go onto the battlefield. Doesn't he know that?"

Ever since the disaster that had befallen the Senju Clan, she had only treated people behind the lines and never taken part in direct combat. Orochimaru knew that perfectly well and had never summoned her before.

The Chunin ducked his head and lowered his voice. "Lord Orochimaru said... he has a surprise prepared for you."

Tsunade stared at him for two seconds, frightening him so badly that he hardly dared breathe.