Konoha
Hokage Building
Sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the floor of the Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood by the window, a pipe in his hand.
"Kiyoshi, you've done an excellent job on this mission to the Land of Demons."
He smiled approvingly and said, "Not only did you successfully complete the mission, but the Daimyo of the Land of Demons even wrote a letter of gratitude."
He tapped the ash from his pipe. This mission was about escorting the priestess, and Kiyoshi's actions were an additional achievement.
But it was done perfectly, demonstrating the wisdom of Konoha ninjas in dealing with emergencies.
This would enhance the reputation of Konoha, making employers more willing to entrust missions them.
Kiyoshi bowed slightly, his tone calm.
"Lord Hokage, you flatter me. This is the duty I should fulfill as a Konoha ninja. Moreover, I couldn't have done it without the help of others, such as Minato-sama..."
Kiyoshi didn't take all the credit for himself, indicating that others had also done a lot.
"We put in a lot of effort this time."
Asuma had a lollipop in his mouth, with only a short stick showing.
Kiyoshi was busy helping the priestess, while they were dealing with a lot of stone soldiers, panting with exhaustion.
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Haha, thank you for your hard work. Minato, Yūki, take a break for a while."
Upon hearing this, Minato politely declined.
Yūki had bandages wrapped around his hands, which Kiyoshi had applied on the way.
However, Kiyoshi didn't perform any extra procedures, claiming that the equipment was insufficient to perform precise surgery.
This caused the treatment of the injury on his hand to be delayed.
His hand was now festering with rotten flesh, causing pain when forming hand seals.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Yūki nodded.
He couldn't go out on missions for the time being.
Subsequently, Sarutobi Hiruzen allowed the weary group to collect their rewards and return home to rest. He continued to smoke his pipe.
His son, Asuma, was also on this mission. He was quite pleased with his son's progress.
But he was more concerned about another matter. Recently, there had been more and more frictions.
His wife, Biwako, was always complaining to him that the hospital was short of staff.
After thinking for a while, he summoned a group of people, intending to discuss preventive measures against war and how to prepare for war as soon as it happens.
...
Night
Hyuga clan compound
After the meeting, Hiashi gathered the members of the clan and stood solemnly in the center of the hall.
"Everyone, Lord Hokage mentioned in the meeting today that the situation in the ninja world is unstable, and war may occur at any time."
Hiashi's voice was low, "We must make full preparations, and also adjust our relationship with other families, especially the Uchiha clan."
Hiashi had heard Sarutobi Hiruzen mention many times in the Hokage Building that Minato's team and Yūki's team had perfectly completed the mission in the Land of Demons.
He also praised Uchiha Kiyoshi. Thinking of Kiyoshi's genius performance in the Chunin Exams, Hiashi planned to adjust the clan's strategy.
War could happen at any time, and having a good relationship with the Uchiha clan was absolutely beneficial.
In war, strength is the most important thing.
And the Uchiha were obviously good teammates. If war really happens, it would be best to help each other.
The crowd in front of Hiashi was divided into left and right sides.
The ones on the left were the main family, and the ones on the right were from the branch house.
Ginka, located in the left side, had her expression slightly shift when Hiashi talked about the Uchiha clan, feeling a little uneasy in her heart.
No wonder she couldn't find Kiyoshi after the Chunin Exams. It turned out that he was out on a mission.
Hearing Hiashi greatly change the previous policy, Ginka's expression turned a little bad.
If Hiashi finds out about what she had done, she will definitely be scolded.
"Ginka, what's wrong?"
When Hiashi was talking eloquently above, Nobuhiko looked at Ginka.
He was Ginka's fiancé. Usually, the main family would only marry amongst each other.
But in particular rare instances, they would also marry Hyugas from branch houses to avoid birth defects caused by inbreeding.
"No... nothing."
Ginka's heart tightened, and she quickly shook her head, saying she was fine.
She secretly looked at Natsu standing amongst the branch house members.
She found that Natsu was also looking at her.
Because of the evening breeze, Natsu's expression was blocked by her dark green hair that reached her chin.
In addition, she was hanging her head slightly, making it difficult for Ginka to see her expression clearly.
She didn't dwell on this matter, nor did she activate her Byakugan to see.
The thoughts of a branch house member were not important.
Only she and Natsu, who served her, knew about this matter.
With the Caged Bird Curse Seal in place, Natsu would definitely not dare to gossip.
Otherwise, before she could be punished, Natsu would definitely be the first to suffer her revenge.
'As long as I settle the matter with Kiyoshi, this matter will be covered up without anyone knowing. It will be just like it had never happened.'
...
Back home, Kiyoshi first took a bath and changed his clothes.
The space inside the sealing scroll was very precious, so Kiyoshi had only brought one spare set of clothes.
But being out on a mission for almost half a month, two sets of clothes were simply not enough.
Plop!
After taking a bath, Kiyoshi casually threw a piece of meat into a stainless steel plate.
"Hiss..."
The white snake immediately crawled over and began to swallow the piece of meat left by Kiyoshi.
Kiyoshi had never raised a summoning beast before, his attitude towards the white snake was like he was raising a dog.
'I have to make Sunagakure fall into chaos first, then I will have a suitable reason to get in touch with Mikoto.'
Kiyoshi wiped his black hair with a towel, thinking about the next plan.
The war will last for several years, gradually increasing in intensity.
The early stages won't be too tragic.
And with his current strength, he is much more relaxed than he was more than a year ago.
If Sunagakure falls into chaos, he can plan for more benefits.
For example, he can use the other method of strengthening his pupil power (battle).
But the most important thing is that the Uchiha clan will also participate in the war.
That way, Mikoto and Fugaku won't get together as early.
He will have the opportunity to intervene before the two confirm their feelings and also prevent Itachi's birth.
Just thinking of this, Kiyoshi's pupil power faintly fluctuated. His path to the Three Tomoe Sharingan was in sight.
'I have to go find Orochimaru for some benefits first.'
After pondering for a while, Kiyoshi put down the towel.
Then, he took out his sword and infused it with Fire chakra, using it to dry his hair.
That's right! There is no hair dryer in the current Konoha, so Kiyoshi has to do it manually.
Currently, [Priestess's Sealing Technique (Green)] has been triggered and it's progress is slowly increasing.
After completion, Kiyoshi can synthesize a blue trait. But it's effect is still unknown.