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Whether his abilities or interpersonal skills, looking anew, the Hatake Kuroshi reappearing before him was practically an enigma.
"Just got back and you already want me gone? I'm so hurt, Kakashi." Hatake Kuroshi wore a cheeky grin, reciting the words in a deadpan voice.
"Just kidding. I haven't planned to leave again yet. Depends on my mood~"
"After all, I'm just an or-di-na-ry per-son." Hatake Kuroshi emphasized each syllable.
"Ah, speaking of which, don't tell that old man Hiruzen about my affairs."
"After all, I figure you'll definitely report back about this sort of thing." Hatake Kuroshi finally put down the condensed milk, having squeezed half a plateful into the seasoning dish.
Kakashi couldn't help raising an eyebrow. After all, if Hatake Kuroshi possessed such strength, not reporting it to the Hokage would be dereliction of duty on his part. Although Hatake Kuroshi lacked chakra and couldn't use ninjutsu... his strength was clearly above Jonin level. If he knew more, Kakashi might even suspect he could reach Kage level.
"Well, that's a given, right? After all, if you have this kind of strength, just letting you stay in the village would be quite a waste."
"Besides, if you come back, you'll definitely need to find a job for income, right?" Kakashi smiled somewhat helplessly. Income source was just one aspect. Whether the money Hatake Kuroshi sent back before, or the money Kakashi saved up as an ANBU and Jonin until now, supporting two people was definitely no problem.
Konoha's combat power was indeed somewhat lacking now, caught in a transition period. If someone with Hatake Kuroshi's strength arrived, it could probably alleviate a lot of pressure. Moreover, Hatake Kuroshi's techniques weren't ninjutsu, offering high guarantees in terms of mystery and a degree of secrecy when dealing with enemies.
"Ah, no thanks. I'm not a ninja, and I don't want to be a worker bee like you guys."
Are you kidding? Hatake Kuroshi, the mastermind behind Kirigakure in the Land of Water... would he lack money? Working is impossible. Impossible in this lifetime. Besides, Hatake Kuroshi absolutely didn't want to get involved in complex relationships with Konoha ninjas.
Those two old men, tricking Itachi and Shisui back and forth, subservient externally, heavy-handed internally... he wouldn't wade into those muddy waters.
"Ah—just pretend you never saw me fight, okay? I won't blow my cover!"
"Besides, I have side businesses earning money outside. I'll consider working when I feel interested~"
"I haven't even been back long, and you already want to push me out to work? Very qualified as a ninja, but unqualified as a younger brother." Hatake Kuroshi pouted, looking dissatisfied.
"Ah... well, that's not what I meant."
"If you don't want to, I won't tell Lord Hokage either." Kakashi was completely swayed by Hatake Kuroshi's emotional appeal, sighed, and temporarily put aside the matter of reporting to the Hokage.
In reality, he was also hesitant about it. After all, if he rashly reported Hatake Kuroshi's situation... given those high-level figures, there was no guarantee they wouldn't treat his brother as research material and directly dissect him for examination. Although Kakashi was dedicated to Konoha, this was ultimately a family matter. If he could keep a little privacy, he would. Besides, Hatake Kuroshi was inherently a free agent; tricking him into service now indeed felt somewhat inappropriate. As long as Hatake Kuroshi didn't do anything too outrageous, his existence could remain hidden for now.
...
Early the next morning.
"The mission time is so early? Didn't they just qualify as Genin yesterday?" Hatake Kuroshi was brushing his teeth when Kakashi, already packed, stood at the entrance.
"Ah, the Daimyo's cat ran away. The mission came urgently, so we have to go early." Kakashi put on his shoes at the doorway, mumbled "I'm heading out," and closed the door behind him.
Hatake Kuroshi spat out the mouthwash, feeling somewhat emotional. Times really aren't wartime anymore. Missions are just simple things like catching cats. Good grief, Kakashi of the Sharingan, a genius since childhood, having experienced countless bloody battles... now taking three kids out to catch a cat. This sounded truly absurd.
Looks like Konoha really is short-staffed since he left. No wonder Kakashi wanted to recruit him as soon as he returned.
"But no can do—Being a ninja is okay, just don't want to be Konoha's." Hatake Kuroshi stretched lazily by the window.
Before returning to Konoha, he had sent Kimimaro back to Kirigakure as a Genin. Although under his training, Kimimaro was now at least Jonin level, it was better to send him back through the proper channels. Ninjas are more comfortable as students. Once blood stained their hands and they became worker bees, there was no turning back.
"Ah—! Ah—!"
As Hatake Kuroshi stood looking out the window, a crow flew over erratically, cawing loudly. Sleek feathers, bright eyes. Good, Shisui's crow-raising enterprise seems to be proceeding smoothly.
However, these past few years, Shisui and Juzo Biwa seemed to be assisting well; Hatake Kuroshi hadn't received news of any particularly major issues. Some relatively important matters were sent to him by letter; Hatake Kuroshi usually replied with arrangements or simply marked them as read. Of course, there were also piles of trivial matters. Probably because Shisui raised many crows, enough to fly the distance, Hatake Kuroshi usually treated these letters as bedtime reading... then left them unread.
"What's it today~"
Is Juzo Biwa quitting because those two are too unreliable, demanding his Executioner's Blade back to become a missing-nin again?
Or is Shisui saying the Three-Tails can't turn over, he's anxious to help, specifically writing to ask?
Hatake Kuroshi casually smoothed the crow's feathers, pulling out the letter underneath.
After the Land of Water developed thanks to Kirigakure's growth, the surrounding island nations also saw development, and the shipping industry flourished daily. Gato, who previously had some money, became a world-class tycoon leveraging the shipping opportunity. But under the guise of shipping, he had been secretly transporting contraband, accumulating vast wealth through illicit means.
Recently, likely feeling he had enough capital, Gato hired various mafias and violent organizations, directly monopolizing the Land of Waves' shipping. He even forcefully halted the construction of the bridge, causing the Land of Waves to be cut off from the Land of Fire ahead, and monopolized by the Land of Water behind. The Land of Waves was already a small country, largely dependent on the Land of Water for development. Now, with Gato's meddling, the Land of Waves lacked both manpower and funds internally. To continue building the bridge, the only likely source of aid was Konoha Village.
"PS: Because Gato's conspiracy was detected earlier, two people have already infiltrated."
".~Zabuza Momochi of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and Haku, who possesses a secret technique."
"These two are currently in the Land of Waves, gathering intelligence on Gato and assessing his assets."
"After dealing with Gato later, his money can be transferred back as much as possible."
At the end of the letter, there was also a smiley face drawn by Mangetsu Hozuki; this letter likely came from him.
If they could really swipe the money of a world-class tycoon like Gato, that would indeed be a major event. Zabuza Momochi and Haku hadn't acted yet, probably because of the asset issue. After all, listening to their setup, killing Gato should be as easy as chopping vegetables for those two.
Hatake Kuroshi looked at the letter, thoughtfully rubbing his chin, quickly calculating in his head.
"Those two should be more than enough to handle someone like Gato. Besides that, there's one more thing..."
Hatake Kuroshi put the written reply back, patted the crow, telling it to deliver the message.
Well, always playing cat and mouse games gets boring. Naruto and the others should tire of these idle days soon. Once the Mizukage arranged this matter, Naruto and the others would likely pass this awkward D-rank mission phase.
After replying to the letter, Hatake Kuroshi went out for a stroll in the village. Anyway, he was an unemployed person with nothing much to do. Having been away for so many years, probably not many people recognized him anymore. When he left Konoha before, the place was still陷 in the tense atmosphere of the impending Uchiha coup. After being away for so many years, returning now, everything looked harmonious; the Uchiha clan seemed completely forgotten. Kotoamatsukami's effect back then was quite good.
"Oh hey, aren't you that teacher from the Hatake family? Feels like I haven't seen you in years."
As Hatake Kuroshi passed the shopping street near the civilian school, an auntie chatting at a shop entrance suddenly brightened up, recognizing him and calling out loudly.
"Ah, yes. I went out of the village before, just got back yesterday." Hatake Kuroshi vaguely remembered this auntie. When he was a teacher, he quite liked coming out to buy snacks. This auntie ran a shop near the school, and her home was somewhat close to the Hatake residence, so they became familiar over time. But later, because Hatake Kuroshi got busy elsewhere and left the village to travel, they basically lost contact.
"Didn't expect you to grow so tall. When you were a teacher back then, I already thought you wouldn't be short..." The auntie's chatterbox opened and wasn't easily closed. Hatake Kuroshi responded somewhat awkwardly.
"You're not young anymore either..." The moment this sentence came out, Hatake Kuroshi instantly got her meaning. So, she wants to set me up? This situation seemed unavoidable no matter where he went.
"Whoa! It's getting away!" Just as the auntie circled around to the topic, a scream suddenly erupted behind Hatake Kuroshi, abruptly interrupting their conversation.
Hatake Kuroshi paused, feeling the voice was somewhat familiar. Immediately, Hatake Kuroshi turned his head slightly. The crowd that had gathered instantly scattered.
"Get out of the way! Get out! Move aside, the knife doesn't have eyes!"
From the crowd, a person stumbled out, holding a bag in one hand and waving a gleaming dagger in the other.
Sigh, Konoha's public security is still like this. Previously dealing with thieves, the Uchiha Police Force could directly take them down. This guy... how did it escalate to public robbery?
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