A group of Sunagakure Ninja approached from the west and quickly surrounded them.
Shintaro shouted, "Have your people retreat!"
A kunai then grazed Pakura's neck, drawing blood.
Pakura immediately shouted in cooperation, "Fall back!"
The Sunagakure Ninja looked at each other but did not dare to disobey the order, so they retreated.
Both sides were at a stalemate for a long time.
At this moment, Shintaro whispered, "It's almost time. Remember our agreement."
Pakura seemed to have been waiting for this moment for a long time. She quickly grabbed Shintaro's hand and elbowed him hard in the back.
Although she didn't hit her target, she forced him to retreat, and the intelligence documents in Shintaro's arms scattered on the ground.
Pakura immediately turned around and used a fireball to drive him away completely.
"Pakura-sama!"
The Sunagakure Ninja gathered around her, concerned for her condition.
Pakura raised her hand slightly to show that she was fine.
At this moment, a group of people appeared behind Shintaro.
"Captain Shintaro!" Shouted Hayama.
Shintaro also heard the voices of Kosuke and Duy.
He turned around and saw the three of them rushing forward, followed by a large group of Tanigakure Ninja.
Hayama quickly came to Shintaro's side and said excitedly, "Great, Captain, you're okay!"
Kosuke and Duy also came to Shintaro's side, taking defensive positions.
During the confrontation between the two sides, Hisen reached out his hand to persuade, "You two! It's time to end this. Why don't both sides retreat and let it go?"
Pakura first asked her subordinates to collect the intelligence documents, then pointed at Shintaro and cursed, "This bastard stole the secret documents of Sunagakure. If I hadn't risked my life to recover them, they might have fallen into Konoha's hands! How can you expect us to just let it go?"
Shintaro remained unfazed and said to her, "It's Sunagakure that harbored those rogue ninjas. Leader Hisen, you know that the two rogue ninjas from your village were hiding in Sunagakure territory!"
Hisen humbly begged Shintaro to stop speaking.
Shintaro, being a Konoha ninja, could stand up to Sunagakure, but Hisen dared not.
"Alright, alright, you've already recovered your information. We will also eliminate the traitors. I won't argue with you!" Shintaro said, pretending to be angry.
He then waved his hand and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Pakura also left with the Sunagakure Ninja.
Hisen sighed in relief, as if he had survived a disaster.
When both sides had left, Hayama looked out and asked, "Captain, is the mission completed?"
Shintaro smiled and said, "I deliberately returned the intelligence documents to them. I've memorized the contents."
Hayama gave a thumbs-up in admiration and said, "Captain, you're wise!"
A happy smile appeared on Kosuke's face, and Duy admired him too.
Initially, the three of them thought Shintaro would meet his end this time, but unexpectedly, he was saved in this way and successfully completed the mission.
"To celebrate the success of our first mission together, let's have a barbecue when we return to the village."
The three agreed. After all, even if they didn't want to eat, they still had to face Shintaro.
❀❀❀
Konoha Village, Hokage's Office.
Shintaro, Kosuke, Hayama, and Duy reported the mission.
"Really? So, Sunagakure is preparing to attack Konoha..." Hiruzen frowned, with a pipe in his mouth, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the desk as he pondered.
He exhaled smoke and said, "Then we can only prepare for defense. I..."
*Bang*
With a loud noise, the office door was slammed against the wall.
A man with black hair, wearing a black robe, with a white bandage over his right eye and right hand, and a cross-shaped scar on his chin, appeared.
"Sarutobi, you are too weak. Since you've obtained information that Sunagakure will attack, why don't you strike first?!"
Shintaro turned slightly to look at the man who was so rude to the Hokage.
'Slightly weaker than Sarutobi Hiruzen, but still at Kage level.'
Six Eyes provided the information instantly.
Hiruzen showed displeasure and said, "How can Konoha easily provoke a war? Konoha has always respected peace. Even if Sunagakure plans to attack, we should not take the initiative to attack another country. We can respond through active defense and diplomatic condemnation..."
He was interrupted by Danzo before he could finish his sentence.
"Sarutobi, you will regret this."
Hiruzen looked unhappy hearing this and said, "Danzo, I am the Hokage."
Upon hearing this, Danzo snorted, turned, and left the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen said to Shintaro and the others with embarrassment, "I made you laugh. Alright, mission accomplished, and you've worked hard."
The four of them left the room obediently and closed the door.
Hiruzen smoked in depression in the office, and for a moment, the Hokage's office was filled with smoke.
❀❀❀
Shintaro and the others went to a barbecue restaurant and ordered their dishes.
While waiting, Shintaro broke the silence and asked, "Who was that just now?"
The most experienced Kosuke answered, "That was Hokage's assistant, Shimura Danzo-sama, who is in charge of Konoha's ANBU training department. He and the Hokage have been friends since ninja school, so his attitude is somewhat unruly."
Shintaro nodded on the surface but had different thoughts in his mind.
'Even good friends can be too domineering. Hiruzen is very cunning with Danzo. There are only two possibilities. First, the two of them are colluding, and second, Hiruzen finds Danzo very useful.'
Without these two possibilities, he would never believe that a superior would allow someone to threaten him.
If there were, it would not be a quality superior.
Because the first task of a superior is to maintain his own rule, and authority is the foundation of rule.
As the Hokage who has ruled Konoha Village for decades, Hiruzen must be a competent superior. Under normal circumstances, such a situation would not occur.
Shintaro had many thoughts in his mind, but when the barbecue was served, he put aside all his thoughts and began to focus on enjoying the food.
After the meal, the four team members temporarily disbanded and returned to their respective homes.
Hayama was happy to have successfully added an S-rank mission to his resume, while Kosuke was grateful to have contributed to Konoha again as a Genin.
Duy was counting the rewards from the S-rank mission, thinking about how he should decorate his house and what kind of meat he should buy to improve his meals.
Shintaro was thinking about what he had just seen and heard in the Hokage's office.
He was thinking about Danzo and was disgusted with Hiruzen's weak attitude towards others. Maybe it would be more promising to join Danzo?
This thought crossed Shintaro's mind for less than a second before it was erased.
Danzo's power and status were not as good as Hiruzen's, and Shintaro's status would not be higher if he followed him.
It's just that Hiruzen seemed unreliable at the moment.
'As expected, I still have to rely on myself.'
Shintaro sighed in his heart.
At this moment, a ninja wearing a black robe and a mask blocked his path.
"Uchiha Shintaro, Danzo-sama has called you."