--- The White Snake Sage was one of the biggest information brokers in the ninja world. While it wasn't very familiar with current details,
---
The White Snake Sage was one of the biggest information brokers in the ninja world. While it wasn't very familiar with current details, it knew basically everything about historical secrets. According to some ambiguous records in the Swamp of the Land of Hot Water, it seemed to have existed since the era of the God Tree, so it had read through world history.
But would this White Snake, which had lived in obscurity for so many years, be killed today?
But no, Haori had to keep it alive. Because if this thing died, the information he wanted to know might never be revealed. So, his choice now was to either subdue the White Snake Sage or to strongly deter it from the start.
Conquering the snake without fighting was the best strategy.
Therefore, the White Snake Sage quickly surrendered—after Haori launched two blasts from a distance.
… What about the "no fighting" part?
Even the thousand-year-old boss, the White Snake Sage, had to submit to the humanoid self-propelled cannon (this name is actually perfect). Because even though it had lived for a long time, it didn't want to die yet.
The rest was simple.
After asking Haori what he wanted to know, it spoke frankly. And it didn't have any intention of lying.
Haori wanted to know this kind of thing. So, it just told him. After all, it was just some incomplete information that wasn't a big deal. And even if Haori knew everything about this matter and still wanted to cause some trouble, he would be asking for it.
After learning what he wanted to know, Haori was satisfied and left. The White Snake Sage had to "escort" him out of Ryuchi Cave, like sending away a plague god.
Or maybe it was more like sending away the Grim Reaper.
As for when the sage would be able to fill in the psychological shadow area after this encounter, only heaven knew… Maybe he should really stew Manda and use it to replenish his kidney?
...
The Swamp of the Land of Hot Water, Ryuchi Cave, and Mount Myōboku. These three locations were not under the same jurisdiction, but they were closely connected. And now, Haori only had the last piece of information he wanted to know. So…
When would Jiraiya-sensei return to Konoha?
It probably wouldn't be too long. After all, Jiraiya was constantly tracking Orochimaru. And Orochimaru had recently returned to Konoha and had been active around Konoha for a while. With Jiraiya's investigation skills, he should be able to notice this. And that's when he would return to Konoha.
The perseverance of middle-aged men is something you can't ignore. And as everyone knows, the "bond" that this world values is actually written as "bond" but read as "bromance."
In short, Haori was now looking forward to Jiraiya returning to Konoha to do some "research" for his novel. This time, he definitely wouldn't frame him again. He might even help with the research plan.
After Haori left Ryuchi Cave and returned to Konoha, he was immediately summoned by the Hokage.
No one else in Konoha had this kind of treatment. Because no one in the entire village had his ability to cause trouble.
No matter what, killing a tailed beast was a very serious act. This kind of event could very likely affect the balance of the entire world, depending on the situation.
This statement wasn't an exaggeration.
Sometimes, a village's basic policy can be reflected in its attitude towards tailed beasts. And Haori's behavior, when interpreted by other villages, could very likely be seen as an instruction from the Third Hokage. So, in a sense, the Third Hokage was taking the blame for the White Fang again.
"Let's not even talk about leaving the mission to go to the Swamp of the Land of Hot Water…" Every time he saw Haori, the Hokage had a headache. And this headache was getting worse over time.
If Haori's behavior of acting on his own had happened to other ninjas, they would have been punished by having their skin peeled off at least. But for him, it was just a drop in the bucket.
"Why are you so obsessed with killing tailed beasts? This is the second time, as far as I know. The Three-Tails incident could be considered an accident, but the Seven-Tails… what are you up to?"
The word "again" summed up the Hokage's heartache.
Haori's previous act of killing the Three-Tails couldn't be hidden from the major ninja villages. The Hokage hadn't mentioned it before because he thought that that action might have really been Haori's "interest." But now, looking at the Seven-Tails, "interest" was no longer enough to describe or summarize it.
It was very likely that Haori was really going to make this a series—a "Demon Slayer" series where he killed all the tailed beasts one by one.
Faced with the Hokage's question, Haori answered seriously, "As I said to Kakashi before, I'm trying to find a way to completely kill a tailed beast. The Three-Tails and the Seven-Tails were just two experiments for this."
"You…"
From the Third Hokage's personal perspective, he thought that it would be better for the entire ninja world if there were no tailed beasts. If there were no tailed beasts, then there wouldn't be anyone trying to use their powerful strength. The number of conspiracies in the world would instantly be reduced by 60% or more. Especially those top-level conspiracies, they would probably disappear completely.
The Hokage could guess why Haori had chosen this approach. Indeed, he still couldn't let go of what had happened before.
Haori's idea was good, but the Hokage couldn't choose to support it. He couldn't support it.
"But…"
"No matter what, there are things worth trying, aren't there?" Haori interrupted the Hokage. He knew what the other party was going to say.
"Have you found a way to do that?"
"I'm still trying."
The Hokage: "..."
Is this something that can be tried repeatedly? Are you trying to make things worse?
"No matter what, from now on, you're forbidden from attacking Jinchūriki and tailed beasts that belong to a specific village. It will cause changes in the relationship between villages! The war just ended. I don't want your actions to cause any irreparable accidents."
The Hokage's meaning was clear, and it was also a bit subtle. That was: You absolutely cannot attack the tailed beasts of the Five Great Nations. As for others… well, the Hokage wasn't holding out hope that he could make Haori completely behave.
"I understand…" Haori said.
Did he really understand?
After the conversation ended and Haori left, the Hokage's headache got worse. Did he really listen to what he said?
So, sending Haori to Takigakure was a mistake. He should have just stayed home and taken care of his kids… As if in response to the Hokage's expectations, Haori really did go home to take care of his kids.
"Haori, watch closely. I'm going to show you the results of my training."
Mirai, Haku, and Kimimaro were sitting in a row. Haori stood to the side. And Naruto, who was surrounded in the middle, had a smug look on his face.
To show off the results of his Wind Release training, he seemed to have specially chosen a broadleaf, about the size of a palm, from an unknown tree.
Naruto held the leaf between his palms…
"Open your eyes wide!"
Haori was speechless. This kid was still a bit of a troublemaker.
But as he closed his palms and then opened them, the leaf was indeed neatly cut in half.
This was indeed Wind Release.
"Good," Haori nodded in satisfaction. In the few days he had been away from Konoha, Naruto hadn't slacked off. Instead, he had really made significant progress.
This was worthy of praise.
Some people, no matter what their learning ability was, they really didn't need to be urged to make progress on their own. This was commendable.
"Then, then can you teach me ninjutsu now?" Naruto's face was full of hope, making his friends cringe.
Things weren't that simple.
Sure enough, Haori beckoned to Haku. "Haku, Ice Wall."
"Understood, Haori-sama."
Haku, who understood Haori's meaning, stood up and created a two-meter-high, three-meter-long, ten-centimeter-thick ice wall on the ground.
Looking at the ice wall that was emitting cold air, Naruto was a bit confused.
Haori then explained the purpose of this wall. It wasn't for cooling:
"Keep cutting. When you can cut this wall in half in one go, I'll teach you ninjutsu."
Naruto: "...Huh???"
Haku shook his head as he walked back to his seat. So, why don't you just join our energy gathering ring?
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P@TREON
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60+ ADVANCE CHAPTERS PER FIC
We are in Chapter 326 in P@treon