That's right—Uchiha Yato didn't bother with any roundabout tactics or subtle probing.
He directly asked Rasa what the Sand Ninja's true objective was for this visit.
At that moment, Rasa was instantly stunned.Thinking to himself, "No matter what our two nations say, there's still blood feud between us. It's not so easy to trust me, is it?"
Uchiha Yato naturally knew what Rasa was thinking and spoke straightforwardly.
"To put it bluntly, both of us are just pawns. So far, we haven't been tasked with carrying the main burden."
"Let's just enjoy ourselves these three months—eat, drink, and have fun. Leave the tedious negotiations to them."
Whether it was because Rasa was young or because Uchiha Yato was simply too convincing, Rasa replied, "We're just here to learn. Don't overthink it."
"Personally, I'd like to spar with you to see the difference in strength between the Jonin of our two villages."
His words were tactful, but the underlying message was clear.
Testing Uchiha Yato's combat ability—it probably wasn't just Rasa's idea. Hatake Sakumo was likely involved too. After all, the man had slain Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, ever the diplomat, knew Chiyo was coming and deliberately didn't assign Hatake Sakumo as a bodyguard.
The banquet proceeded harmoniously, with little complaint or conflict.
The next day, Chiyo and Rasa arrived at the Hidden Leaf's reception hall for discussions.
Chiyo spoke first, "We sincerely appreciate yesterday's hospitality from the Hidden Leaf. Let's get straight to the point today."
"We've come to your village with a desire to learn."
"Our village's medical ninjutsu is lacking, so we hope to learn from yours. We also wish to study the Third Hokage's management methods to develop our village's economy."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was quite pleased with Chiyo's words. Though not explicitly stated, every sentence carried flattery, giving him a subtle sense of satisfaction.
With a smile, Sarutobi Hiruzen replied, "Then let's visit the Leaf Hospital. Tsunade is away on training these days, but when she returns, she can guide your studies."
Chiyo was delighted by his response. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, she returned to the Sand Ninja's temporary residence.
After Chiyo left, Shimura Danzo appeared before Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk.
Danzo said, "Aren't you being too lenient with the Sand Ninja?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen replied, "It's fine. If anything goes wrong, it'll be the Uchiha's problem."
"Besides, I've just agreed to let Tsunade teach them. This is the perfect opportunity to send Uchiha Yato out of the village."
Indeed, Sarutobi Hiruzen's plan was to remove Uchiha Yato from the Hidden Leaf—after all, the man was far too troublesome.
Hearing that Uchiha Yato would leave the village, Shimura Danzo showed no outward reaction.
But inwardly, he was ecstatic. Leaving the village didn't just mean separating him from the Uchiha Clan—it also meant he could use outside forces to ensure Uchiha Yato never returned.
Without further discussion, Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned Uchiha Yato directly and explained the situation to him.
Uchiha Yato said, "I don't have much say in this, do I?"
"Tsunade… maybe Orochimaru should be the one to fetch her instead."
"As fellow Sannin and longtime friends, I'm sure they'd have more to talk about."
Uchiha Yato's reaction was exactly what Sarutobi Hiruzen had anticipated. It was only natural for him to deflect responsibility—especially when it involved Orochimaru.Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't spoken yet. Shimura Danzo directly cut in, "That's not how it works. You, Uchiha Yato, have contributed nothing while staying in the village. Now that we're assigning you a mission, why are you making excuses?"
Hearing Shimura Danzo's words, Uchiha Yato replied, "I can't help it. I'm just untalented and unlearned."
"I don't have any noteworthy ninjutsu or abilities. If it weren't for the Hokage's mercy, I wouldn't even have the chance to be a Jonin."
Listening to this, Shimura Danzo felt inexplicably disgusted.
He thought to himself, "Aren't all members of the Uchiha Clan supposed to have some sense of pride?"
"How could such a shameless bastard be born? He doesn't care about face at all."
Seeing his old friend unable to handle Uchiha Yato, Sarutobi Hiruzen said kindly, "The Sand Village has expressed interest in learning medical ninjutsu from Tsunade."
"So, we hope to bring Tsunade back to the village for a while."
"This is for the honor and development of the village. That's why we're asking for your help, Yato. The other ninjas either lack the ability or are too busy."
Wow, this really elevated Uchiha Yato's status.
The implication was that Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't trust anyone else right now—only him.
Uchiha Yato didn't refuse too much this time. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright then, but I don't know how to find her. It would help if I had some information on that."
Hearing Uchiha Yato agree, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately took out the intelligence he had gathered about Tsunade.
Uchiha Yato didn't know what to say. From the original story, he had thought the old man only had some favoritism toward Tsunade.
At most, that favoritism was due to the previous two Hokages and Tsunade's status as the Konoha Princess.
But judging from the two large bundles of ninjutsu scrolls he produced now, the old man's concern for Tsunade was far from minimal.
Uchiha Yato opened the contents and skimmed through them. The two large scrolls only covered Tsunade's travel routes for the past month.
The details of Tsunade's movements were meticulous—even things like her spending six minutes in the bathroom at Tanzaku Quarter were recorded.
It made Uchiha Yato sweat a little, feeling like some creepy paparazzi or obsessive fan.
After finishing the intelligence, Uchiha Yato added, "It's still not enough. Now I only know where Tsunade is, but I don't have travel expenses."
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Has life been difficult for you lately, Yato?"
Uchiha Yato's eyes immediately lit up as he chimed in, "Yes, extremely difficult."
"Hokage-sama, you have no idea!"
"Ever since my aunt, Uchiha Michiko, passed away, I've been raising Shisui."
"It's been exhausting—raising a child is so hard. All the savings I'd set aside for marriage over the years have gone to that kid."
Tears and snot flowed freely as he spoke, looking utterly pitiful, as if life had become unbearable.
Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't take it anymore and said, "Alright, I understand."
"The mission to bring back Tsunade will count as a B-rank mission for you. Is 300,000 ryo enough? I'll advance you 50,000 ryo for travel expenses."Uchiha Yato muttered under his breath, "The mission for the Konoha Princess, granddaughter of the First Hokage, is only worth three hundred thousand ryo."
"How stingy~"
Although Yato spoke very softly, everyone present was a high-ranking ninja, so his words were clearly heard by the two people in the room.
This made Sarutobi Hiruzen somewhat embarrassed, and he quickly amended, "For an A-rank mission, I'll count it as five hundred thousand ryo, with a hundred thousand advance for travel expenses. How about that?"
Just as Yato was about to speak again, Shimura Danzo cut in, overriding Hiruzen, "Root will add another five hundred thousand ryo, making this an S-rank mission."
"But only a hundred thousand for travel expenses, and you must bring Tsunade back to the Hidden Leaf voluntarily."
Hearing Danzo's words, Yato remained silent for a moment before proposing another condition.
"If Lady Tsunade returns this time, I demand that she not be restricted in her personal freedom."
Hiruzen was puzzled as to why Yato would say such a thing.
Danzo interjected again, not giving Yato any further room to negotiate, and said directly, "We can agree to your terms. We won't force Princess Tsunade to do anything against her will."
Having gotten what he wanted, Yato wasted no time. He took the mission scroll and the two large intelligence scrolls provided by Hiruzen and left the Hokage's office.
Watching Yato leave, Hiruzen was the first to speak.
"Alright, no need to be nervous."
"Just hearing the name Uchiha Michiko nearly scared the soul out of you."
"If you'd known this would happen, you shouldn't have stirred up trouble in the first place."
Danzo felt the thorn in his heart twist again at Hiruzen's words.
No matter how vast his Root organization was, it still operated under the Hokage's control.
In the end, Danzo said nothing more and left the Hokage's office.
Meanwhile, Yato was on his way back, preparing to set out the next day to find Tsunade.