To hell with it—who cares about your Mist Village?
If you want to retaliate, go ahead. Don't think Konoha is afraid of the Mist Village.
After an unproductive exchange, the Mist Village envoy was swiftly sent packing.
As for any retaliation from the Mist Village?
The Third Hokage didn't believe they would dare wage war on Konoha over a few words.
"BANG!!!"
"Mist Village is getting bolder and bolder. Hiruzen, are you just going to let them trample all over us?" Danzo stormed in after hearing the news, slamming his hand on the table and questioning the Third Hokage.
"Do you want me to declare war on the Mist Village?" The Third Hokage snapped.
What's the meaning of this, Danzo?
I wasn't afraid of their retaliation and sent them packing, and now you come in here whining?
Seeing the Third Hokage's irritation, Danzo merely huffed, saying nothing more, but cast a glance at Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
The two of them immediately picked up on the cue. Homura joined in, saying:
"Hiruzen, Danzo isn't wrong. Mist Village is becoming more audacious, even threatening us with war. This isn't a good sign."
"No matter what, I believe the village's intelligence on the Mist Village is too limited. We should start preparing; Konoha must not put itself in a vulnerable position," added Koharu Utatane.
If it had been only Danzo speaking, the Third Hokage probably wouldn't have taken it too seriously.
But with both Koharu and Homura echoing the concern, it caught his attention.
After giving it some thought, he realized the village's intelligence on the Mist Village was indeed lacking.
If not for Takuya killing Fuguki Suikazan and bringing back his corpse, Konoha would have had no idea about the recent changes in the Mist Village.
After a moment of contemplation, the Third Hokage nodded and said:
"I will make arrangements for this. But as for the personnel…"
The Mist Village had been sealed off for a long time, and with it located far out at sea, its people looked quite different from those in the Land of Fire. Infiltrating for intelligence was no easy task, and planting a spy there would be challenging.
"Inserting a spy wouldn't be ideal. The best approach would be to send a strong individual to infiltrate and gather intelligence directly," Danzo suddenly suggested.
"The Mist Village has been isolated for too long, and given that it's far from the mainland, their appearance is very different from people in the Land of Fire. The village needs immediate intelligence, and sending a spy would take too long," he explained.
"So we need to send a strong individual instead."
Danzo's argument was sound, and the Third Hokage couldn't find any fault with it.
"So, who do you think is suitable for this mission?" asked the Third Hokage.
Danzo remained silent, letting Koharu take the lead in suggesting someone to avoid raising suspicion.
They had all known each other for decades.
If Danzo were to make the suggestion, the Third Hokage might get suspicious, but if Koharu did it, things would go much more smoothly.
Having already joined forces with Danzo, Koharu had no choice but to play along, even if she didn't like it. She offered her thoughts:
"The Sannin are not suitable for this. Tsunade needs to stay in the village to manage the logistics department. Jiraiya has already left the village, and who knows when he'll return. As for Orochimaru…"
"Ahem!!"
The Third Hokage awkwardly cleared his throat when his three disciples were mentioned.
Orochimaru was too engrossed in his experiments; he didn't even want to take on missions, let alone spy work.
The Third Hokage didn't want to force him, and Tsunade had to manage the logistics department and the medical corps, so she couldn't leave.
Jiraiya had long gone.
This meant three suitable candidates were already out.
"What about having Sakumo Hatake go on the mission?" Koharu suggested.
"I agree," Homura added, pushing up his glasses. "His strength is among the best of the new generation, and he has extensive reconnaissance experience. I'm sure he can complete this mission smoothly."
"If it weren't for the heavy losses Root has suffered, this kind of mission would have been handled by Root," Danzo said, feigning indignation as he stormed out of the Hokage's office.
"Uh…"
Koharu and Homura exchanged awkward glances.
The Third Hokage, meanwhile, lit his pipe and took a deep drag.
"Don't mind him. Root's recovery will take time and resources, which the village cannot fully support at the moment."
It's fine. That has nothing to do with us.
We've already helped Danzo with his agenda, but Root's development doesn't concern us.
Root is Danzo's personal faction, and it has no direct ties to the Council of Elders.
At least with the ANBU, they could exert some influence, but Root… not so much. That's a department even the Third Hokage has difficulty controlling.
Of course, this situation hadn't yet occurred. For now, Root's ninjas still followed the Third Hokage's orders obediently.
But every command was first reported to Danzo before being executed.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye, during which time the team hadn't encountered any Mist Village forces along the Land of Fire's shipping routes.
After bidding farewell to the team that came to replace them, the three of them set off on the road back home.
"Ah!! It feels so good to be on solid ground again. After living on a ship for so long, I feel like I'm still swaying even when I'm not moving," Nawaki exclaimed dramatically, spreading his arms and wiggling his hips as they walked.
Takuya and Minato quickly stepped away from him, not wanting to be seen with the overly dramatic Nawaki.
"Your face… I really want to darken it a little," Minato muttered, staring at Takuya's face.
After spending two months at sea, both Minato and Nawaki had gotten noticeably darker from the sun.
Especially Nawaki—his skin was already dark to begin with, and now, you could almost mistake him for being from the Land of Lightning instead of the Land of Fire.
Even Minato had gotten a tan, but Takuya, on the other hand, looked exactly the same as when they had left. The only noticeable difference was that he looked a bit tired.
Takuya shot them a glance, his hands resting behind his head as he leisurely walked along.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Takuya turned his head toward the forest on their left. Noticing this, Minato immediately became alert.
Even Nawaki, who had been inhaling the fresh air with exaggerated enthusiasm, quickly adopted a serious expression and focused on the forest.
"It's one of our own, no need to be so tense," Takuya said, patting them on the shoulder to ease their nerves.
"You've still got that strong sense, huh?" said a voice from above.
Sakumo Hatake, wearing his signature short-sleeved Hokage vest, leaped down from a large tree, landing steadily in front of Takuya.
He motioned with his hand over Takuya's head and smiled:
"Time flies. It seems like you've all grown up."
"Sensei," Minato and Nawaki greeted him respectfully, lowering their guard.
"Are you on a mission, Sensei?" Takuya asked casually, much more relaxed than the others.
Sakumo chuckled and nodded.
"Yes, the village has assigned me a mission. I didn't expect to run into you on the way. How have the shipping routes been lately?"
He couldn't disclose the details of the mission, and Takuya didn't pry either.
"They've been quiet. We haven't encountered anyone from the Mist Village. It seems they've been avoiding the shipping routes," Takuya explained.
"That's good to hear," Sakumo replied warmly, without any sense of superiority despite his seniority.
"After two months on duty, you must be tired. Head back to the village and rest. I'll be on my way now."
________________Bonus chapter___________
Next Bonus: 3500 Power Stones ╰ (´꒳`) ╯
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 320+ at patreon.com/ Emik01. ಥ‿ಥ
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