(Bonus)
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"Haha! No problem! If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me!"
Kaito could sense it—Sakumo seemed to have quite a favorable impression of him.
Hatake Sakumo laughed cheerfully as he responded. His gaze and demeanor were warm, almost familial.
Curious about this unexpected friendliness, Kaito instinctively used his ability to check Sakumo's affection level toward him.
"Oh?"
What he discovered shocked him.
Sakumo's affection level was already at 63 points.
That was extremely high, especially considering they didn't even know each other before this.
"There must be something I'm unaware of here. I'll have to figure it out later," Kaito thought.
"Alright, you all should head out quickly. The supplies are urgently needed at the frontlines!"
The Third Hokage's voice suddenly interrupted them, his tone sharp.
For some reason, seeing Sakumo and Kaito get along so well left him feeling sour.
If he could openly act against Kaito right now, he wouldn't have assigned him to this escort mission.
But with Sakumo's presence, it was almost guaranteed that the task would go smoothly, leaving no excuse to harm Kaito and his team directly.
Still, the Hokage thought this was the safest way to cover his tracks.
If Kaito and his companions died during the mission, anyone with half a brain would suspect the Third Hokage's involvement.
"Danzo, don't let me down," the Hokage muttered internally.
This kind of task was best left to the "Shadow Hokage," Danzo.
And if something went wrong, the Hokage could easily shift all the blame onto him.
If the Uchiha clan and Uzumaki Mito pushed back too hard, sacrificing Danzo would resolve the issue.
As the Hokage, his reputation had to remain spotless.
"Yes, sir!"
Sakumo immediately straightened up, his cheerful demeanor replaced by professionalism. He called Kaito and his team to follow him as they left the Hokage's office and headed toward the village gates.
By the time they arrived, dozens of carriages and hundreds of regular drivers had gathered. Close to a hundred ninja were also stationed there to assist.
When Sakumo appeared, the ninjas present immediately saluted him respectfully.
Many of them also noticed Kaito and his team.
The famed "Genius Squad" was widely known in the village, and most of the ninja smiled and nodded toward them.
For such a talented group with strong backing, forming a friendly connection was only logical.
Especially since Kaito's family currently had a monopoly on precious resources like nutritional pills and restorative elixirs.
If there wasn't any major conflict with Kaito's team, the Konoha ninja wouldn't mind showing some goodwill.
Who knew? Maybe building a good relationship with Kaito would make it easier to buy the coveted Uchiha-exclusive advanced nutritional pills in the future.
Of course, not everyone was friendly.
There were a few individuals who openly displayed disdain toward Kaito's team.
These were mostly ninjas from the Sarutobi and Shimura clans.
They had long harbored resentment toward the rising power of the Uchiha and other clans, feeling their own wealth and influence dwindling.
Coupled with the Third Hokage's manipulative rhetoric, their animosity was obvious.
"Alright, is everyone and everything ready?"
Sakumo observed the scene carefully, but his expression remained calm as he asked.
"Everything's ready, sir! We can move out anytime!"
A veteran ninja stepped forward and confirmed.
"Good! Let's get moving then!" Sakumo nodded in satisfaction. He turned to a Byakugan ninja and said, "Hizashi, I'll need you to keep a close watch along the way using your Byakugan. This shipment must not be lost!"
"Yes, understood!"
Hyuga Hizashi, the father of Hyuga Neji, nodded firmly.
"Oh, so it's him!"
Hearing the name, Kaito glanced at Hizashi and made a mental note.
"This guy might be the key to bringing the entire Hyuga clan under my control in the future."
Kaito couldn't help but think about his plans.
In his vision for Konoha's future, the Hyuga clan would eventually fall under his leadership.
Once he became Hokage, he wouldn't tolerate the existence of the "Caged Bird" seal that let the main Hyuga family control the branch families' lives.
Such a system was a ticking time bomb—unstable and unpredictable.
It had to be reformed.
Hizashi, being a branch member and a natural sympathizer, was the perfect starting point.
For now, though, that was a long-term goal.
The immediate objective was to raise Hizashi's affection level to 80 and secure a contract with him.
While Kaito was deep in thought, the convoy officially set off, moving steadily toward the borders of the Land of Rain.
During the journey, Sakumo made an effort to engage with Kaito and his team.
This allowed them to bond quickly.
It was during one of these casual conversations that Kaito finally learned why Sakumo held him in such high regard.
"Honestly, I should be thanking your family, Kaito," Sakumo said with a warm smile.
"Eh?"
Kaito was momentarily stunned and asked in confusion, "Uncle Sakumo, why do you say that? I had a faint feeling you held a good impression of me, but isn't this the first time we've met?"
"Did someone from my clan help you with something major?"
"Something like that."
Sakumo chuckled and nodded. He explained, "It's not exactly that, but let's just say the nutritional and restorative medicines sold by your clan saved my wife's life."
"My wife's health had been deteriorating ever since she conceived my son."
"It started because of an old injury she sustained in the past, which had damaged her core vitality."
"Even under such conditions, she insisted on carrying our child."
"This only made her condition worse."
"Normally, it was almost certain she wouldn't survive the childbirth."
"But thanks to the nutritional pills and restorative medicines your family sells, her body was strengthened and her vitality restored."
"Over time, the medicines even healed her internal injuries and repaired the damage to her core vitality."
"None of the worst-case scenarios came to pass!"
"On the contrary, she's in great health now, and so is our child."
"Our child is far healthier than I ever imagined."
Sakumo could sense it—his child's physical constitution and vitality were extraordinary right from birth.
"Looking at his condition, his talent in the future will definitely be exceptional."
"If I ensure he continues taking these nutritional pills over the next few years, there's no doubt in my mind that he'll surpass even me one day."
"It's all thanks to your Uchiha clan. Without these pills, such a miracle would've been impossible. I'm deeply grateful to the Uchiha."
"Naturally, I hold you in high regard as well."
Sakumo smiled with a genuine warmth, his face glowing with happiness.
"So that's how it is!"
Kaito and the others suddenly understood.
Kaito spoke up, "Congratulations, Uncle Sakumo, on the safe birth of your child and your wife's recovery!"
"As for thanking the Uchiha clan, that's really unnecessary."
"We sell medicine, and you paid for it. It was just a regular transaction—there's no need to elevate it to such a level."
Kaito thought to himself, "This man sure knows how to express gratitude... most people wouldn't think this way!"
"No!"
Sakumo shook his head firmly. "That's not how I see it. Fair is fair."
"Even though it's just business, no one can deny the contributions the Uchiha clan's pharmacy has made to Konoha's strength and to healing the wounded."
"I've bought medicines from other places before, but they never worked for my wife. Only the Uchiha's medicines did!"
"And when it comes to gratitude, as the one who benefited, I decide what's worth appreciating. You don't need to overthink it!"
Hearing this, Kaito couldn't help but feel a sense of respect for Sakumo.
He knew he could never be such a person, but that didn't stop him from admiring such integrity.
Even Minato and the others looked at Sakumo with newfound respect.
The group traveled cautiously due to the abundance of supplies they were carrying and the need to stay alert for potential enemy attacks, so their pace was slow.
By nightfall, they had only covered about 100 kilometers.
Sakumo then ordered the group to set up camp and rest, planning to resume the journey the next day.
Since leaving shadow clones behind wasn't an option, Kaito and the others made do with high-grade nutritional pills for the night.
Sakumo noticed that the pills Kaito and his team were taking were nothing like the ones available on the market.
The vitality contained in those pills was at least ten times greater than any commercially available ones.
"As I thought, the Uchiha clan has access to a much more advanced version of these nutritional pills."
"Have even their allies, the Senju and Uzumaki clans, started using them now?"
"It seems I need to strengthen my relationship with Kaito and the Uchiha clan. Maybe I can arrange to regularly purchase some of these advanced pills from them."
Sakumo was genuinely tempted by the idea.
He wanted to buy the pills not just for his wife and son, to further enhance their vitality and health, but also for himself.
With advanced pills, his own strength could reach new heights.
Even the standard pills had already helped him recover from old injuries and vitality loss sustained during his years of training.
They had strengthened his body, increased his chakra reserves, and accelerated his progress on the path of a Kage-level ninja.
If he could get the advanced pills, Sakumo was confident he could reach a level comparable to Hanzo within a few years.
His chakra reserves would no longer feel so limited.
Yes, in the past two months, Sakumo had faced off against Hanzo several times.
So far, he wasn't Hanzo's match.
Each encounter left him at a disadvantage before long.
As for the strange attitude the Third Hokage had toward Kaito and his team back in the Hokage's office?
Sakumo had a rough idea of the reason.
It was nothing more than the fact that the Uchiha clan had been growing stronger over the past few years. Their alliance with the Senju and Uzumaki clans only intensified the unease among the Third and his faction.
But Sakumo didn't concern himself with such politics.
.
.
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