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"Do we really have to help Hanzō deal with that Akatsuki organization?" Aburame Ryōma asked after they left Amegakure. He had heard the condition Hanzō had mentioned; it sounded simple enough, something Hanzō could handle himself, but why leave it to them?
"Before we came, the Root had already gathered some intelligence on Amegakure. It seems that the Akatsuki organization was spontaneously formed by some ninjas from the Rain. They appear to be seeking peace through negotiations with major countries."
"Hanzō is wary of such an organization?" Danzō paused, finding it somewhat unbelievable. Hanzō was a ninja revered as a demigod; although Amegakure had lost to Konoha and Sunagakure in the last war, Hanzō himself had not been defeated.
Now he was apprehensive about such a foolish organization within his own country, to the extent that he needed their Root's assistance to eliminate them?
"At this time, we really can't spare any personnel for other tasks. Let's just investigate and stall for now," Danzō told Ryōma. Root's resources were entirely focused on the other major ninja villages; they were not there to assist Hanzō but to use his power.
They would consider it after defeating Sunagakure, as agreed upon when the alliance was formed—that other conditions would be fulfilled only after defeating Sunagakure.
...
In Konoha, at the Hokage Office:
Koharu arrived and said directly to Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Hiruzen, the Konoha Hospital is nearly full. We should clear out the nearby houses in case the front lines flare up again and more wounded are brought back."
"So soon?" Hiruzen was surprised by the rapid developments, especially since a large-scale conflict with Kumogakure in the east had not yet begun.
"Kikyō Castle sent in seventy to eighty severely injured at once. You know how big the Konoha Hospital is and how quickly we're using up medical supplies. I'm not even sure if we can get more from Iwagakure," Koharu complained to Hiruzen, "You shouldn't have let Tsunade leave. Hemophobia is just an excuse, you know her capabilities better than anyone; even if she's afraid of blood, she could still perform healing with the help of her slugs!"
Hemophobia is merely a psychological trauma triggered by the sight of blood, but even without looking, Tsunade's medical ninjutsu is still the best in Konoha.
There were so many ways, yet Hiruzen agreed to let her go, significantly increasing the medical pressure on Konoha.
After all, Tsunade alone could change the course of a battlefield with her medical skills.
Hiruzen smoked silently, not responding. Koharu made it sound easy, but Tsunade had been talking about leaving for over a year, and Koharu hadn't spoken up to stop her.
If it were possible to keep her, Hiruzen would have already done so; among his three students, Tsunade was the hardest to persuade.
"Discussing this now is pointless. Isn't Uzumaki Mina among the medical ninjas now? Tsunade spoke highly of her, and she performed well in Kikyō Castle."
"Her talent is undeniable, but she has only studied medical ninjutsu for less than two years. She can only save one person at a time," Koharu argued, then suggested, "Hiruzen, why not have Mina sign a summoning contract with the slugs to learn their split treatment? That would allow us to call back a few medical ninjas from Kikyō Castle, easing the pressure on Konoha Hospital."
"So that was your idea, Koharu."
Hiruzen thought for a moment. If Tsunade could pass down the slug split treatment technique, it would indeed benefit Konoha greatly. However, given Tsunade's temperament, he couldn't guarantee it.
"I'll send someone to ask Tsunade, but these things can't be rushed. If Tsunade didn't teach it while she was here, don't hold out too much hope now."
While Hiruzen and Koharu were discussing, someone came to the door.
"Let them in," said Hiruzen, and it turned out to be Fugaku.
"Fugaku, what brings you here?" Hiruzen asked.
"I have two things to discuss with you, Lord Third. First, the Anbu recently captured four spies and seven suspected foreign village spies; they've been handed over to the interrogation team. Second, it concerns a private matter of the Uchiha clan; we are looking to purchase this land."
As he spoke, Fugaku spread out a map on Hiruzen's desk.
"Buy land?"
Hiruzen listened more closely to the second matter, since the spies were already being handled by the interrogation team.
"This area seems undeveloped and it's near the village's edge. Fugaku, what do you plan to do with this land?"
"We want to build a comprehensive market and a commercial area to meet the daily needs of the clan and the villagers. This was decided earlier by the clan, but I've been busy with the Anbu, so I'm only bringing it up now with you, Lord Third."
Fugaku explained eloquently, although the truth was that Yōichi had delayed bringing it up.
After Yōichi had finalized the details, Mikoto had found a construction team, and today Fugaku finally approached the Third Hokage.
Mikoto could have handled it by paying for the land and allowing the construction team into the village.
But Fugaku wanted to be involved, representing the Uchiha clan rather than Yōichi alone, thus the presentation.
"That sounds like a good initiative; I agree. For the details, please discuss them with Homura."
Hiruzen spoke, familiar with business as the Sarutobi clan also had profitable ventures, although rarely in Konoha.
Given the small population of Konoha, big moves were likely to lose money, but Hiruzen didn't dwell on this, as he had many other matters to attend to daily.
After getting approval, Fugaku met with Homura to discuss the price and sign the contract before heading home.
The success of the commercial district was a result of Fugaku's leadership and negotiation with the village, which would boost his prestige at the next clan meeting.
When Fugaku returned home, Mikoto, dressed in a fitted dress, came out to greet him. "Fugaku, is it done?"
"Yes, it's five million. After we pay, construction can start. Mikoto, mention this at the next clan meeting."
"Discuss it now? Shouldn't we wait until it's built?"
"Let's talk about it at the next meeting."
Mikoto didn't think much of it and said, "Fugaku, I need to leave the village tomorrow. Please finalize this quickly."
"Is it urgent?" Uchiha Fugaku asked.
"Not really urgent, just that there's nothing else lately. What's wrong, Fugaku?"
Mikoto paused, realizing she was indeed rushing. But thinking of what Yōichi had entrusted to her, she felt an inexplicable urge to complete it quickly.
She had that dream again yesterday, and the recurring dream over the past few days was blurring the lines between reality and fantasy.
In her dreams, she and Sasuke lived with Yōichi, sending Sasuke to school and watching him play with his father while she cooked dinner.
In her dreams, she and her husband, Yōichi, were still passionately in love, as if their marriage of six or seven years couldn't dampen his enthusiasm.
"Mikoto, are you alright?"
"No, I'm fine, Fugaku. If there's nothing else, I'll go prepare my things."
Mikoto was startled out of her thoughts by Fugaku's voice, answering him with a slight panic before hurrying to the study.
Fugaku watched her leave, frowning slightly before sighing. "Sorry, Mikoto, hang in there a little longer."
He knew Mikoto had been sleeping poorly recently, often waking up startled at night, and still had so much to do during the day. But as long as he could suppress Yōichi's influence, he would make it up to Mikoto later.
---
"It's Konoha's Lighting Fang! Run, get the message back!"
Several Kumogakure ninjas on a covert mission suddenly encountered three Konoha ninjas. Seeing the leader, the captain of the Kumogakure team panicked and shouted.
As Konoha's greatest enemy and a person marked for death by the Third Raikage, Yōichi's appearance and characteristics were well known throughout Kumogakure.
Any Kumogakure captain would need to send a message upon sighting Konoha's Lighting Fang.
But they had no chance!
Zzzt!
A sound of thunder rang out, and just as the Kumogakure captain began to form hand seals for a jutsu, a blade wrapped in lightning appeared in his view.
Pfft!
The blade pierced his heart, causing intense pain, and in that moment, all his strength seemed to drain away.
"So fast."
After uttering these words, the Kumogakure ninja's vision filled with darkness as he died.
Yōichi withdrew Raijin, glanced at the fleeing Kumogakure ninjas, then created two shadow clones, disappearing from the spot with a flash of lightning.
After he left, three Konoha ninjas approached to handle the body.
"The captain's strength is incredible. We didn't even get a chance to engage."
"Of course, just look at our respective skills. This squad is dedicated to serving Captain Yōichi."
Inuzuka Daiki spoke up, "Hyūga Kira, your Byakugan for scouting the enemy, I'm from the Inuzuka clan, and there's Ido-kun, who knows some medical ninjutsu and barrier techniques. Our job is just to help the captain locate the enemy and clean up the tracks."
"Is there any intelligence on him?"
"Nothing but ninja tools. There are no traps in the tool pouch either, so it looks like we can resupply, though I don't have much need for anything. I've hardly used any kunai these past few days."
Ido Yamari spoke, passing the tool pouch to the others; he had already disposed of the unsafe soldier pills and scrolls, leaving only kunai, shuriken, and exploding tags.
Kira shook his head, not needing the tools. Daiki, however, took the pouch and extracted the exploding tags, "I'll take these exploding tags. I used up some making traps the other day, perfect for a refill."
Daiki remarked, "I used to think the legend of Konoha's Lighting Fang was a bit exaggerated, but seeing Captain Yōichi in action, it seems we might have underestimated his abilities. That Jōnin from Kumogakure didn't last long against him."
Kira added, "The captain's speed is too great, plus his body control and swordsmanship. Most ninjas can't react in time."
He has the Byakugan, which allows him to see the flow of chakra within the body. In his observation, Yōichi's chakra flow was four times faster than theirs.
Kira couldn't imagine the pain associated with such rapid chakra flow; increasing his chakra flow to its fastest could cause unbearable pain to his meridians and body.
He couldn't fathom the pain Yōichi might endure with such chakra flow, yet his face showed no sign of it.
Soon, Yōichi returned with three tool pouches, seeing the scattered ninja tools on the ground, realizing they had already been searched.
Daiki spoke up, "Captain, you're back. We've already resupplied, but these guys didn't carry any mission-related intelligence."
"Alright, destroy the bodies and let's move on to the next area," Yōichi said, tossing a tool pouch onto the corpses. The three watched as a fireball struck the bodies and tool pouch, the exploding tags inside igniting instantly.
After leaving the area where they encountered the Kumogakure squad, Yōichi stopped for a moment, then asked, "Do you guys need a break?"
Daiki looked at the other two, then shook his head, "No need, Captain. We hardly exerted ourselves. Just give the orders."
"Finding the enemy is also important. Without you, I couldn't locate them."
Yōichi pulled out a map, inviting the others to gather around. "We've nearly cleared this area, but since the mission has been so light, I don't plan on returning yet. I'm thinking of checking out this area next. What do you think?"
The three exchanged glances, then Kira quietly reminded, "Captain, that area seems to be a supply route for Kumogakure."
"Yes, with you guys, I don't think there's much chance of us getting surrounded by a large force. If we encounter a Kumogakure squad, I'm confident I can ensure your safe return."
With the Flying Thunder God Technique at his disposal, he only needed to hold the enemy off while the others escaped, ensuring his own safety.
"Then we'll follow your lead, Captain. We trust you."
Daiki spoke up. After several days together, they had come to understand Uchiha Yōichi's way of handling things. Although he wasn't very talkative, he took the lead against enemies, handling the strongest targets himself.
And with his formidable strength as a guarantee, unless he was sending them to certain death, Daiki and the others would follow Yōichi's commands.
In just ten days, they had taken down five Kumogakure squads, reinforcing their trust in Yōichi. Out of twenty Kumogakure ninjas, fifteen had fallen to Yōichi's Raijin.
(Chapter End)