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Land of Fire, Konoha Village.
Natsuhi¹ brought over a dozen children to find Kurenai Yuhi² and handed her Wujie's scroll. "That person said just giving this to you is enough. From now on, I will serve you."
Kurenai accepted the scroll, somewhat puzzled. She then formed a hand seal, released the sealing jutsu on it, and began to examine it.
The scroll's content wasn't very long. It roughly introduced Natsuhi's abilities and background, appended with the jutsu formula capable of killing her.
Of course, there was also that final sentence...
[...How to use her is up to you]
This tone made Kurenai uncomfortable. Wujie seemingly gave her a choice, but in reality, she had no choice at all.
Natsuhi already knew she had contact with Wujie, so it was absolutely impossible to let her go.
But to directly silence her by killing her – she wasn't that cold-blooded. So, there was really only one thing she could do: accept Natsuhi as a subordinate by her side.
Kurenai rubbed her temples. Although Wujie saying Natsuhi's strength far exceeded hers made her feel somewhat displeased, if it was true, then it was indeed a great boon for her.
Elite Jonin³ weren't cabbages you could find everywhere, and her only weakness right now was insufficient strength.
She had already gathered some personnel previously, and with the resources she obtained from the Daimyo⁴, she had already gained some power within Konoha. But for ninja, the most important thing was always strength. Natsuhi's addition would allow her to do much more.
Thinking this, Kurenai revealed a smile. "I understand the specific situation now. Please rest assured, Konoha's medical technology is the best among all shinobi villages. I will have the medical team's ninja take care of those children."
Seeing Kurenai seemed like a relatively easy-to-get-along-with superior, Natsuhi felt slightly relieved. After all, her life was already in the other's hands. "Then I'll have to trouble you. Please feel free to command me if there's anything."
Kurenai nodded, then said seriously, "Your background is clean, and there's no need to hide your identity. Just say I helped rescue those children, and you stayed to help me out of gratitude. Regarding the Uzumaki⁵ matter... do not reveal a single bit. Remember, not a single bit."
"I understand!"
Just as the two finished speaking, a knock suddenly sounded from outside the door. A female ninja walked in. "Captain Kurenai, a message just arrived from Anbu. The Elders request your presence in the meeting room."
"Did they say what it's about?"
"It seems Elder Shimura⁶ has found information about those two S-rank wanted criminals."
Uzumaki? Kurenai paused for a moment, then nodded. "I understand."
Soon, Kurenai arrived at the meeting room in the Hokage Building. At this time, including Kakashi⁷, quite a few Jonin had already gathered there.
After waiting a while longer, when almost everyone had arrived, Koharu Utatane⁸ spoke, "We've gathered everyone this time because Elder Shimura has discovered extremely important intelligence. This intelligence concerns the safety of the village. Next, Elder Shimura will explain the situation."
After speaking, she nodded towards Danzo.
Danzo took over, continuing, "Everyone knows about Sunagakure⁹ declaring war on us. Those two Uzumaki appeared in Konoha at the same time Sunagakure's Chiyo¹⁰ abducted the One-Tail Jinchuriki¹¹, and they attracted most of our forces. Therefore, I have always suspected if there was some connection between them. I have recently been working tirelessly on this matter."
"Finally, the effort paid off. Intelligence came from Sunagakure. The reason they declared war on Konoha is precisely because they were threatened by those two Uzumaki. The specific details aren't clear yet, but it's certain that Sunagakure also desperately wants to kill the Uzumaki. So, if we can accomplish this, perhaps Sunagakure will abandon the idea of going to war with us."
After Danzo finished speaking, everyone immediately started discussing. After a short while, Kakashi asked him, "Excuse me, how was this intelligence obtained? Can its authenticity be guaranteed?"
"It was sent by an undercover agent Root¹² planted in Sunagakure. They even sacrificed their lives for this. There's no need to doubt its authenticity."
"Root?" Kakashi frowned. "Wasn't Root disbanded by Lord Hokage several years ago?"
Danzo stared at Kakashi, his eyes narrowing slightly. If it weren't for this guy defecting at the critical moment during the assassination of the Third Hokage, he would have already killed Sarutobi Hiruzen and become Hokage!
Danzo replied indifferently, "It was an agent left behind previously. However, since we've touched upon this, everyone can see from this incident that the village has far too few undercover agents outside. Even if something happens, it's difficult for the village to obtain accurate intelligence. Therefore, I propose rebuilding the Root organization."
"What!?" Kakashi was shocked and immediately said, "I object! That kind of organization shouldn't exist in Konoha!"
"What kind of organization? The organization that trained countless outstanding Anbu members for Konoha? Or the organization that obtained countless pieces of precious intelligence during the Ninja Wars, making indelible contributions to Konoha? Kakashi, don't forget, the reason you could destroy the Kannabi Bridge¹³, stop Iwagakure's¹⁴ offensive, and become the village's hero, was also because Root obtained Iwagakure's marching route! We never asked you for credit for that."
Danzo brought up Kannabi Bridge. An expression of pain immediately appeared on Kakashi's face. Both of his teammates¹⁵ died after Kannabi Bridge; it was the memory he least wanted to recall.
Homura Mitokado¹⁶ also spoke at this time, "Elder Koharu and I have already agreed to Elder Shimura's request. The Ninja War is about to begin; the village needs Root to gather intelligence, just like in previous Ninja Wars. Alright, let's end this matter here. Let us continue the previous topic."
Seeing his objective achieved, a faint smile appeared on Danzo's lips. Doing nothing and just waiting for others' charity was not his style.
Sorry, Uzumaki. If you die here, it only proves you are merely ninja of that caliber.
Koharu Utatane continued, "Whether killing those two Uzumaki can actually stop Sunagakure is still just speculation for now. But based solely on the bloody incident they caused within the village, we have no reason to let them go. Intelligence indicates they appeared in the vicinity of Tanzaku Quarters¹⁷. Therefore, we need to form an elite squad to kill those two individuals. Since they are already existences capable of influencing the war, the mission rank will be set at S-rank! Kakashi, we have selected you to lead the team. Tell us your thoughts."
Koharu Utatane's words brought Kakashi back to his senses. Since the rebuilding of Root already had the support of the other two elders, it couldn't be stopped.
Moreover, the reason Kakashi opposed Root was because its methods were too cruel, but he never doubted Root's capabilities.
Just like how even though Danzo couldn't stand him, he would still nominate him as the leader for this operation.
Kakashi took a deep breath. For now, better focus on the Uzumaki matter first! After pondering for a long while, Kakashi spoke, "Although those two caused quite a large scene during the previous attack, according to the reconnaissance squad's investigation, they actually made many preparations beforehand; it wasn't accomplished solely through their own power. For example, the explosive tags buried in the Hokage Rock, or the tsunami that swelled up only by leveraging Kisame Hoshigaki's¹⁸ Water Style jutsu. Therefore, I believe an elite squad composed of four Jonin should be roughly sufficient to complete the mission. Of course, this is just a possibility. To ensure their deaths, I recommend forming at least four elite squads to launch a surprise attack on them. Only then can we avoid unexpected situations."
Hearing this, Homura Mitokado shook his head regretfully. "The village cannot spare so many personnel right now. That's why we entrusted this mission to you... the hero who can create miracles! Just like at Kannabi Bridge, stopping Iwagakure's entire offensive with just one small team!"
But that was the beginning of our squad's disintegration...
Kakashi sighed deeply. "I knew it would be like this. However, the reason miracles are called miracles is because they don't happen all the time."
"First, tell us your personnel choices."
"Yes." Kakashi continued, "From the Uzumaki duo's fighting style, we can see their areas of expertise are very extreme. The girl named Karin¹⁹ consistently uses head-on fighting methods. She excels at transferring impact received to the ground, but even the earth has its limits of endurance. Therefore, I recommend using our strongest destructive power to directly shatter her! For this, I need a Jonin from the Akimichi clan²⁰."
"Might Guy²¹ also pursued those two before but failed to find their tracks, so their anti-tracking abilities should also be quite good. Therefore, I need a Jonin skilled in tracking. A Jonin from the Hyuga²², Aburame²³, or Inuzuka²⁴ clan would suffice."
Homura Mitokado asked, "Most Jonin are currently out on missions; it's difficult to free up personnel. If it's just for tracking, wouldn't a Chunin²⁵ do? I remember during the Chunin Exams, a Hyuga Genin²⁶ was just promoted to Chunin."
Kakashi shook his head, denying it. "With all due respect, even an ordinary Jonin might be inadequate for this task. A Chunin or someone of that level would just be going to die in vain."
Homura Mitokado quickly pondered for a moment, then said, "I understand. Please continue."
Kakashi continued, "Finally, the boy named Wujie is highly skilled in sealing jutsu and barrier techniques. However, both types of techniques require extremely precise arrays to activate. My Sharingan²⁷ can see the flow of chakra clearly and can cut off the crucial nodes of the arrays to neutralize them. This can counter him to a certain extent. Additionally, he has experience being briefly suppressed in taijutsu²⁸ by the Genin Rock Lee²⁹. Therefore, I need a ninja highly skilled in taijutsu to cooperate with me in performing a forced kill on him."
Koharu Utatane immediately asked, "What is Might Guy's condition?"
Kakashi shook his head. "He previously opened the Seventh Gate³⁰, which placed a heavy burden on his body. I'm afraid it will take several more days for him to recover."
Danzo said calmly, "We can wait, but Sunagakure's attack will not wait."
The three elders consulted each other briefly. Finally, Danzo said, "Choza Akimichi³¹ can return to the village tomorrow. As for the tracking task, let it be handled by Konoha's strongest reconnaissance bloodline, the Hyuga clan Jonin, Hiashi Hyuga³²... no, let's use Hizashi Hyuga³³... wait, how about Hinata Hyuga's team leader Kurenai Yuhi... no, let's assign Hyuga Homura³⁴. As for the Jonin skilled in taijutsu... since Might Guy is temporarily unavailable, let Sarutobi Asuma³⁵ fill in for him. No problem, right, Asuma?"
Saying this, Danzo looked towards Asuma, who was the only one present from that group.
Choza is the head of the Akimichi clan, Homura is a Jonin in his prime, plus Kakashi and Asuma who are elite Jonin – this lineup was actually already very impressive.
In the original timeline, after Kazekage Gaara was abducted by the Akatsuki, Sunagakure immediately requested assistance from Konoha.
But even when dealing with Kage-level threats like the Kazekage and Akatsuki, Konoha only dispatched Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto – just three people.
Moreover, besides Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto hadn't proven themselves yet.
Just as Asuma was about to step forward and accept the mission, Kurenai Yuhi suddenly stopped him. "I understand the village's determination to kill those two Uzumaki. But the current situation is that even if we can stop Sunagakure, the other villages likely won't stop. Therefore, compared to Asuma's skills, his intelligence, leadership, and prestige are also things we need most. Iwagakure, Kumogakure³⁶, and Kirigakure's³⁷ intentions to start a war are already very obvious. On these three fronts, we must prevent them from suddenly declaring war on us. I believe Asuma's abilities are more suited to protecting the village in those areas."
Kurenai Yuhi was no longer some minor character. Her reasoning was also very sound, so she received support from most people. However, the key was still Asuma. He looked at Kurenai, remained silent for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement.
He certainly wanted very much to avenge Shikamaru³⁸, but he also knew that as the son of the Third Hokage, the effect he could achieve as a commander was countless times greater than that of a ninja fighting on the front lines!
Asuma sighed, then looked out the window at the Hokage Rock undergoing reconstruction again...
Old man³⁹, is this what you meant? That sometimes, for the sake of the village, personal feelings must be sacrificed.
Asuma's reaction made Kurenai sigh in relief inwardly. She had a premonition that if Asuma truly stood against the Uzumaki, he might really die!
That Uzumaki wouldn't care about her thoughts. Just as the other had once said, whatever she wanted to do didn't matter, because...
The Uzumaki didn't care!
Whether she submitted to him or hated him, she had to desperately climb upwards to achieve her goal. But this process of climbing upwards had already caused a certain degree of division within Konoha.
Just like now, Danzo and she were already showing signs of becoming rivals.
Also just now, Asuma, as an elite Jonin with comprehensive skills, was indeed very suitable for this mission. But due to her own selfish reasons, she could only make the village give up this optimal choice. This point itself had already harmed the village.
Wherever there are people, there will be disagreements. Disagreements prevent unity of strength. Kurenai knew she was harming the village, but she could no longer stop!
Danzo narrowed his eyes at Kurenai, a trace of killing intent rising in his heart.
The personnel selection itself wasn't actually important. What was important was that if his words were constantly questioned and overturned, it would give others the impression that his abilities weren't trustworthy. This was definitely not good news for him, who wanted to become Hokage.
Danzo slowly hid his expression. Hope this is the last time you contradict me. Otherwise...
I'll have to send you down to meet your father!⁴⁰
Danzo acted as if nothing had happened, saying calmly, "Since that's the case, I remember Chen Baojun⁴¹ is still in the village. Let him replace Might Guy then."
"Chen?" Koharu Utatane frowned and said, "But he's already over 60 years old, and the village already agreed to let him retire."
At this point, Danzo's tone became undeniable. "The village's current situation no longer allows him to remain idle. Let him fight for the village one more time. I imagine someone who loves the village like him wouldn't refuse the village's conscription. Besides, apart from him, the ninja known as Konoha's Strongest Taijutsu User⁴², there is no one else who can take over Might Guy's duties."
After a moment of silence, the other two elders also agreed with Danzo's idea. Kakashi's squad members were finally confirmed.
Leader: Hatake Kakashi.
Members: Akimichi Choza, Hyuga Homura, Chen Baojun.