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"A, how are you feeling?"
In the Cloud Village's hospital, a ninja wrapped in bandages and connected to dozens of monitors slowly woke up. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw his father, the Third Raikage, but it took him a moment to remember why he was lying there.
"Father, where are the others?"
The Third Raikage spoke gravely, "Only you returned through the Heavenly Transfer Technique. I've already dispatched scout ninjas, but there's no news yet. Who did you encounter? What happened?"
"Father, we found that Uchiha, but before we could act, the bastard summoned a beast, something like a Tailed Beast."
"It had three heads, about three times the size of the Eight-Tails. But when that monster spread its wings, it might have been ten times the size of the Eight-Tails. It could emit lightning attacks almost as powerful as the Tailed Beast Bomb. I initially thought to stop the three-headed monster, but its strength was overwhelming."
Hearing this, the Third Raikage understood what had happened.
A creature three times the size of the Eight-Tails, with formidable attack power, and wingspan ten times that of the Eight-Tails. Such size was beyond the Third Raikage's imagination.
For the Cloud Village, an Eight-Tails rampage was a disaster. Alone, the Third Raikage could barely subdue the Eight-Tails, and it took many Cloud ninjas to cut off one of its horns.
Without sealing techniques, A stood no chance against the Eight-Tails, let alone a creature more powerful.
"A, rest and recover for now. As for Osai and the others, I'll have the Anbu find them."
After speaking, the Third Raikage left. This incident was truly a disgrace for the Cloud Village, losing three Jonin and a ninja with space-time techniques.
If something happened to the ninja with space-time techniques, the Cloud Village would have to change their logistics in case of war.
Thinking this, the Third Raikage suddenly wondered if they had been tricked by Konoha.
Was the intel deliberately sent to calculate against the Cloud Village? And the monster A mentioned needed thorough investigation. Its strength was at least equal to, if not greater than, the Eight-Tails. If Konoha controlled such a monster, they would need to devise countermeasures for future wars against Konoha.
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"Yoichi-kun, you're back. How did the mission go?"
As the tea was served, Kenji smiled and asked. Yoichi visiting right after returning to the village indicated that something unexpected must have happened during the mission.
"The wisdom of the Second Elder truly surpasses others. Without me saying anything, you've already guessed my thoughts."
Yoichi didn't beat around the bush, "There were two incidents during the mission. The first is that I brought back Uzumaki Mina."
"Uzumaki?"
Kenji paused for a moment, then his eyes turned into three tomoe, his expression becoming serious as he looked at Mina.
"Her chakra is quite unique, and it seems she has more than our Uchiha clan. It appears she indeed belongs to the Uzumaki clan. I heard that the Whirlpool Country disappeared amidst the war, and the surviving Uzumaki clan members have been hiding across the ninja world. Yoichi, do you plan to settle her in the village?"
"No, Second Elder, she will join the Uchiha clan and become a member of my squad!"
Yoichi shook his head, "Mina doesn't want to join Konoha, and her abilities are very special. She will be a great help to me in the future. I hope the Second Elder can help train her. Mina's abilities, if nurtured, are rare across the ninja world."
"Is that so?"
Kenji paused, rarely seeing Yoichi this serious. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Okay, Yoichi-kun, if there's anything you need, you can speak directly to Shoji. Whether it's ninja guidance or various techniques, anything I have, just ask."
"Another thing, Kakashi and I were betrayed by someone from our village during this mission. They informed the Cloud Village of my departure, leading to us being pursued by Cloud ninjas on our return, led by the Third Raikage's son, A."
Kenji's expression turned grave, "Yoichi-kun, are you sure?"
Yoichi calmly said, "The Cloud ninja believed we were doomed, so they revealed everything. However, I had some means of escape and barely survived. Kakashi also experienced this, and Konoha's White Fang should already be aware."
"Yoichi, since you've brought this to me, you must have a plan, let's hear it."
"Danzo must have erased all evidence linking to him, making it difficult to trace back to him. And with the Root acting in secrecy, waiting for a chance to retaliate is unlikely. But what about the Shimura clan, Second Elder?"
Hearing this, Kenji smiled and said, "You already know about Danzo's Root. I can roughly guess the extent of its development by now. But to train so many people, village funding alone won't suffice, after all, Root isn't the Anbu."
"Is the Shimura clan gathering funds for Danzo? Providing finances to train Root ninjas?"
Yoichi asked, seeing Kenji's affirmative expression confirming his thoughts.
Training ninjas quickly is expensive, requiring secret medicines, ninja tools, medical supplies, etc. Root's training methods differ from regular ninja schools, aiming to quickly produce combat-ready ninjas, thus incurring higher costs.
The village has many expenses and couldn't allocate much funding to Root, often leaving Danzo to gather funds himself.
"Correct."
"If Second Elder is willing to help me, I'll lead this matter."
"In the Warring States period, the heads of the Shimura clan had to apologize to our Uchiha clan, yet in the village, they act above us. Uchiha is not to be trifled with, and combating criminals, guarding against spies is also the duty of the police force."
"I understand, Second Elder!"
"This matter, I'll have Shoji cooperate with you, lead the way."
Kenji spoke, the Uchiha clan had compromised too much externally, causing most clan members to forget the prestige the Uchiha once held.
During the Warring States period, employing the Uchiha meant the opposing side had to hire the Senju, otherwise, they couldn't cope.
Though the Uchiha were defeated by the Senju, they weren't to be stepped on by just anyone. For clans like the Shimura, daring to act out could lead to their annihilation the next day.
"Thank you, Second Elder. I'll arrange for Mina first, then I'll visit Shoji at the police force."
After finishing, Yoichi prepared to leave. However, he paused on his way out to remind, "Second Elder, remember to eat the mutton early; it should taste good."
After leaving, it took a moment for Kenji to shake his head and then call his daughter-in-law Rie, "Rie, let's eat the mutton Yoichi-kun brought tonight."
(End of Chapter)