"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.
Xin 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 Xin'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 Xin, on the other hand, looked exactly the same as when they had left. The only noticeable difference was that he looked a bit tired. Xin shot them a glance, his hands resting behind his head as he leisurely walked along.