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Looking at the scene before them, the entire Hatake Squad, currently standing at the entrance of the Hokage Office, felt a strong urge to push the door open and leave immediately.
What's going on?!
Konoha's high-level Werewolf game?
Is this something ordinary Jonin like them should be seeing?
Hatake Sakumo, already greatly annoyed by such matters, clearly curled his lips impatiently, pretending not to have heard anything, and looked up at the Anbu girl perched on the roof—her hip curve seemed perfect for the Konoha's Strongest Taijutsu he had recently developed?
Namikaze Minato frowned slightly, seemingly surprised by the intensity of the conflict within the Village, feeling a little dissatisfied.
Uchiha Megumi adopted an attitude of not being concerned, lowering her head to count the small pebbles on the ground, her fair toes, exposed outside her Ninja sandals, wiggling, lost in thought.
Sawara Kiri, with a very subtle expression, looked towards Shimura Danzo, who was standing at the very back of the crowd.
Among all these people, only he knew that this time, it truly wasn't Danzo's doing.
However, as a professional in dirty work, Konoha's general contractor for all major scandals, and also in charge of Konoha's CIA Root, responsible for all of Konoha's external intelligence gathering, spy infiltration, and outpost development, yet with funds tightly controlled by the Hokage, he was the most likely high-ranking official to have contact with foreign Ninja...
At this moment, Shimura Danzo had to step forward and say something.
"Foolish!"
With his single eye, he coldly glared at Tsunade, as if the surrounding suspicious gazes stung him, and loudly rebuked, "Tsunade! As a Jonin of Konoha, you actually believe the enemy's provocation? You are utterly foolish!"
"Furthermore, can your one-sided statement prove that the Third Raikage said that?"
"What do you take Konoha's verification procedures for?!"
He had just finished speaking when a young man at the doorway suddenly stepped forward and loudly declared,
"Reporting to Lord Third."
"When the Third Raikage said that, I had just arrived at the scene."
"At that time, Lady Tsunade had already lost her combat capability and the possibility of escaping the scene, and was about to be captured. It is highly probable that the other party accidentally leaked the intelligence."
Tsunade was stunned to hear this, and subconsciously turned to look at the young man behind her.
Everyone in the Hatake Squad also looked at him with astonished eyes.
When Tsunade realized that the person who spoke was Sawara Kiri, her gaze became even more subtle.
In situations where one is arguing for oneself but is isolated and helpless, suddenly receiving support from others always brings an extraordinary sense of reassurance.
However, the impression Sawara Kiri had left on her before was truly somewhat complex.
Even Tsunade herself found it difficult to clearly articulate her current feelings.
Perhaps, it was relief?
'This brat…'
Sawara Kiri's purpose in stepping forward was even more complex.
Given his undercover identity, he was actually at odds with Danzo from the very beginning; it was just that he had been in the shadows before, and Danzo was unaware.
However, now that he had demonstrated his strength in the battle with the Raikage, if he didn't immediately find a sufficiently strong backer, it was almost inevitable that Danzo would forcefully recruit him in the future.
Foresight ensures success; without it, one fails.
Clearly.
Tsunade's soft and appealing leg was very suitable for him.
In order to embrace this leg in the form of timely assistance, Sawara Kiri had to take on the risk of 'potentially being an enemy of Danzo' and firmly pin the blame of colluding with foreign powers on Danzo.
Thinking three steps ahead is a spy's essential lesson.
However, at this moment, Konoha's F4 had not yet noticed his little scheme, and once again collectively looked at Danzo.
Shimura Danzo was clearly getting heated, and anxiously said,
"Who do you think this old man is?"
"Selling intelligence, colluding with enemy Ninja, colluding with foreign powers, harming elites, accepting bribes..."
Mid-sentence, Shimura Danzo suddenly noticed Sarutobi Hiruzen holding a small notebook, jotting something down while listening, and his voice involuntarily paused.
"Hiruzen, what are you writing?"
"Nothing, you continue." Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand, signaling him to proceed.
Shimura Danzo immediately widened his single eye and raised his voice again:
"Even you don't believe me!?"
"Everything this old man does is for Konoha!"
After scolding, he immediately started chanting incomprehensible words like a spell: 'You are Konoha bathed in sunlight, I am the Root buried in darkness,' 'Not a single penny of the money this old man earned was spent on himself; it all went to Konoha as expenses,' 'If you hadn't seized the moment before this old man raised his hand back then, I would be the Hokage now,' 'Sensei was shrewd his entire life, but only made a mistake on the day he chose the Hokage.'
Sarutobi Hiruzen's head throbbed, wishing he could cover his ears on the spot.
Just as these two old men were about to derail the conversation to 'I saved your life thirty years ago,'
Tsunade finally couldn't hold back: "(Konoha expletive*), enough!"
"I don't have time to listen to your nonsense about these old stories."
She unceremoniously raised her hand, pointed at Shimura Danzo's nose, and looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, saying coldly, "Old man! Today's matter, the Senju Clan needs an explanation, and all of Konoha needs an explanation!"
"I don't care how you ultimately handle it, but the fallen heroes need to know who truly killed them."
"..."
Silence returned to the entire room.
When Tsunade invoked the name 'Senju Clan,' it meant that this matter was no longer an issue between the Hokage and a Ninja, or a superior and a subordinate, but had escalated to a founding clan of the Village questioning a Hokage.
Everyone knew that this matter could not end well.
After a long silence, Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his dry pipe and finally said,
"Tsunade."
"I will give you, and Dan, an explanation for this matter."
"..."
Tsunade gave him one last look, turned around, walked past the Hatake Squad, and directly exited the door.
However, before leaving, her gaze crossed with Sawara Kiri's and lingered for a moment.
Konoha's F4 behind the desk exchanged glances, but no one spoke first.
"Lord Third."
It was Hatake Sakumo who stepped forward first and asked, "Should we, perhaps, conclude our squad's mission first?"
"Hmm, oh!"
The solemn-faced Sarutobi Hiruzen finally reacted, and a warm, benevolent smile reappeared on his face:
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
It was a while later, after reporting the entire mission process, that the Hatake Squad finally exited the Hokage Office, which now had a large hole in it.
Hatake Sakumo, walking ahead, turned to look at Sawara Kiri, who seemed unfazed, and patted his shoulder with a sigh of helplessness, reminding him,
"Kiri, don't be so impulsive next time."
"Those matters are not for small fries like us to get involved in."
He had noticed it earlier.
While he was reporting the mission, Shimura Danzo was staring fixedly at him and his subordinate behind him, as if looking at dead men.
Clearly, he had already noted them down.
Sawara Kiri, however, showed no fear, and instead said plainly, "Even if those details weren't spoken by me, Lord Sakumo would have written them in the mission report."
"Rather than letting certain people only resent Lord Sakumo, it's better to spread the hatred a bit."
"Compared to facing it alone, if Lady Tsunade, Lord Sakumo, and I are tied together, it will at least make them slightly wary, won't it?"
When Sawara Kiri said this, he showed no sign of fear, but instead looked up at Sakumo with a grin.
Hatake Sakumo was stunned to hear this.
Clearly, when this child spoke earlier, he had already thought through the possible consequences and knew what it implied.
However, in order not to let him bear the danger alone, he still resolutely spoke.
This showed that he was not reckless at that time, but courageous.
"You brat..."
Looking at his grinning face, Hatake Sakumo suddenly felt a pang in his heart, wondering why the Village had come to a point where these children had to think about such things.
Namikaze Minato, meanwhile, listened quietly to these words, his thoughts becoming increasingly muddled.
Is this the mindset of a Hokage?
"Let's go!"
Hatake Sakumo suddenly raised his hand and vigorously ruffled Sawara Kiri's hair, laughing, "Although it was a Village-issued mission, the remuneration for this mission is a full five hundred thousand Ryo, and everyone gets a share!"
"Yay!"
As they were speaking, the group walked out of the Hokage Building.
However, just as they exited the door, they saw Tsunade, who had left earlier, leaning against the doorway, clearly waiting for them.
Everyone was momentarily startled.
"Hey, you brat."
Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, her heavy chest supported by her arms, appearing even more impressive than before, but her tone was quite impolite as she called out to them, looking directly at Sawara Kiri in the crowd:
"Come with me!"
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