Chapter 664: Naruto Fights Ninja Master?
"So, it's my fight against Obito in the end. That's a tricky ability."
When Kakashi saw Obito win, he instinctively began thinking about how to counter Kamui's intangibility.
But no matter how much Kakashi thought about it, he could not come up with a good method.
Kamui was simply too powerful. It was the kind of ability that remained difficult to deal with even when one knew how it worked.
"Obito won, didn't he? I feel like your decisive battle will be very exciting," Rin said with a smile, her fingers interlaced.
She had seen Obito and Kakashi's daily efforts. No matter who won, she would be happy for them.
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it!" Yamato nodded.
After several months at the Ninja Academy, he had grown used to the students' clumsy fights. Watching ninja at Kakashi and Guy's level fight was simply a pleasure.
"Don't get your hopes up too soon, or it'll be embarrassing if I lose badly," Kakashi sighed slightly.
"Uh, actually, I'm not looking forward to it at all," Yamato immediately corrected himself.
"Not at all? That's heartbreaking. You don't really have me, your senior, in your heart, do you?" Kakashi sighed heavily.
Yamato fell silent.
So what was he supposed to say?
"What a nice day. It feels perfect for ramen. If someone treated me to a bowl of ramen, maybe my mood would improve," Kakashi said, looking up at the sky and sighing.
"I'll treat you later," Yamato said with visible pain.
Since he was not a ninja yet, Yamato could not earn money by completing missions.
His only income right now was the living allowance Mugetsu gave him.
Mugetsu actually gave him quite a lot, but Yamato was too embarrassed to take all of it and only accepted a portion.
That portion was enough for him to live on, and if he saved carefully, he could even buy some snacks.
For the sake of his senior's good mood, skipping snacks was acceptable.
Kakashi's eyes instantly lit up, and he smiled as he patted Yamato on the shoulder.
"Yamato, you really are my cutest junior."
It was Yamato's turn to look distressed. He could only hope Kakashi would choose a normal ramen shop.
Rin looked at Yamato with a hint of pity.
What an innocent child.
This was probably karma. In the future, Yamato would bully Kakashi, Kakashi would bully the current Yamato, and then the grown up Yamato would travel back in time to bully young Kakashi.
Seeing Mugetsu finish treating Obito, Rin walked over to Obito, bent her knees slightly, and extended her hand to him with a smile.
"Congratulations! You're one step closer to your goal."
At this moment, Obito was still immersed in the thrilling battle he had just experienced. Hearing Rin's voice, he instinctively looked up and met her gaze, momentarily stunned.
He saw the slight upward curve at the corners of Rin's eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, and her bright, lively eyes, like two pools of spring water.
"Obito, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Rin asked, shaking her hand in confusion.
"It's warm," Obito answered instinctively.
The sunlight filtering through the treetops fell on Rin, flickering and dancing on her shoulders. Her entire being seemed wrapped in a gentle warmth.
It made Obito feel warm all over, even a little hot.
Watching Rin's smile gradually turn into confusion, Obito realized what he had said. A faint blush appeared on his face as he quickly grabbed Rin's hand and stood up.
"I mean, I'm fine," Obito corrected himself.
"Don't push yourself. If you're uncomfortable, you should say so," Rin said earnestly.
"Mhm, mhm," Obito nodded, then quickly walked to Kakashi's side and sat down.
"That's all for today. The final match will be tomorrow," Mugetsu said.
Under his protection, none of his disciples had suffered serious injuries, but their spirit and energy had indeed been significantly depleted. They needed time to recover.
In any case, Obito and the others had nothing else urgent to do. There was no need to rush the ranking battle to its end.
Kakashi and Obito both nodded in agreement.
Obito wanted to defeat Kakashi when he was at his peak. That would feel more satisfying.
Kakashi also did not mind having more time to think about tactics.
The ranking battle temporarily ended, but no one left the South Border Forest.
Those in good condition began training, while those who could not train chatted or asked Mugetsu questions about cultivation.
It was not until noon, when Mugetsu had something to do and the disciples also needed to go eat lunch, that they finally dispersed.
"This one will do."
Kakashi randomly chose a decent looking ramen shop on the commercial street and walked in with Yamato.
The first thing Yamato did after entering was look at the menu posted on the wall.
"Vegetable ramen, sixty five ryo. Pork bone ramen, sixty ryo…"
Yamato breathed a sigh of relief. He could afford these prices.
"Maybe Kakashi senpai has been to this shop before and knew the prices were cheap, so he chose this place."
Yamato felt a little touched and showed a faint smile.
"A large bowl of miso pork special ramen, please," Kakashi called out to the owner.
Yamato's expression stiffened.
That was the most expensive bowl of noodles in the shop, eighty ryo a bowl.
"Oh, and add an egg for me," Kakashi added.
The slight warmth in Yamato's heart cracked.
An extra egg cost five ryo.
"What are you having, Yamato?" Kakashi turned and asked him.
Yamato glanced at the rice, which only cost fifteen ryo, but ultimately replied, "I'll have a plate of fried noodles."
It would be a bit strange to only eat plain white rice in the middle of the day. Although fried noodles were twenty five ryo more expensive than rice, they were still suitable for lunch.
After eating, Yamato tremblingly took out one hundred twenty five ryo from his small wallet and handed it to the ramen shop owner.
His monthly living allowance was two thousand ryo, and this one meal had cost him one hundred twenty five ryo. It truly pained him.
Looking at Yamato's conflicted expression, Kakashi's lips curled slightly.
Hitting his head had a price.
"Are you busy next?" Kakashi asked Yamato.
"No, I'm not," Yamato answered honestly.
To watch his seniors' internal battles, he had declined all invitations from his classmates and friends.
"Then come with me to the ninja tool shop. I need to restock my ninja tools," Kakashi continued.
Yamato instinctively shielded his small wallet behind him.
"You don't have to pay for the ninja tools. What ninja tools could you even buy with that little money?"
Yamato's hanging heart finally settled.
"Is Kakashi senpai perhaps going to buy ninja tools for me?"
Yamato nodded with anticipation and agreed, accompanying Kakashi to the ninja tool shop.
Twenty minutes later, Yamato walked out of the ninja tool shop carrying a large bag, his face covered in black lines.
It turned out Kakashi had only wanted him to help carry things.
Once Yamato delivered the items to Kakashi's house, he said goodbye with a stern face.
"Kakashi senpai, I'm going back."
"Here. Consider it payment for helping me carry things," Kakashi said, taking out two hundred fifty ryo and handing it to Yamato.
How could he truly spend the money of a child who could not earn money? He had only been teasing Yamato.
Yamato's expression shifted from surprise to a smile.
Kakashi senpai really did take special care of him!
…
After leaving the South Border Forest, Mugetsu went to the conference room in the Hokage Building to attend a high level meeting.
"Ninshū's attitude is very strange right now. They are extremely unyielding, even though with Amegakure included, they can barely muster two thousand ninja at most," Hiruzen said.
Ever since Orochimaru's negotiation mission failed, Hiruzen had mobilized a large amount of intelligence resources to conduct a comprehensive investigation into Ninshū.
He had investigated not only the Land of Rain, but also small countries where Ninshū ninja were active, such as the Land of Birds.
The more Hiruzen investigated, the more he felt that Ninshū was putting on a feint, because he could not find any basis for their confidence.
They could not possibly be relying solely on Sōsuke, could they?
Sōsuke certainly had strength. He had been able to defeat Hanzō with Fire Release.
But one strong person could not change the tide of a battle, unless that strong person was named Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara.
If Konoha went to war with Ninshū, Sōsuke's best outcome would be to escape alone with his strength.
Konoha also was not afraid of a vengeful Sōsuke launching retaliatory attacks.
This was the foundation of a Great Ninja Village. Konoha had far too many secret techniques.
If Sōsuke dared to retaliate, Hiruzen could assemble an elite team to surround and kill him.
"Perhaps they are gambling that we will choose caution and will not make any major move at this time," Homura analyzed.
Homura had to admit that Ninshū had gambled correctly. He did not know what Hiruzen was thinking, but Homura truly did not want another war.
To resolve Ninshū safely, they would need to assemble a ninja force of at least fifteen hundred or more.
During this period, movement on such a large scale would be difficult to hide from the other Four Great Ninja Villages.
"Could it be that Iwagakure is still up to no good and is secretly supporting Ninshū?" Koharu said.
She remembered that Iwagakure had cooperated with Ninshū before. Perhaps Ninshū had been specifically supported by Iwagakure to cause trouble for Konoha.
"That is probably not the case. If Ninshū and Iwagakure were on the same side, there is no reason Ninshū would not have appeared during the last battle in the Land of Grass."
Mugetsu saw Koharu starting to theorize about conspiracies and stepped forward to speak for himself.
It did not really matter whether he spoke or not. He was simply bored anyway.
"Mugetsu is right. Overall, Ninshū is still a neutral force," Hiruzen agreed.
This was also one of the reasons he only wanted Sōsuke dead.
Hiruzen did not actually dislike Ninshū. If Sōsuke had not killed Danzo, but only an ordinary jonin, he would have let the matter go.
Unfortunately, reality had no ifs.
Whether for Konoha's prestige or for personal grudges, this matter could not be easily overlooked.
"How about we release information about Uchiha Madara, saying that new clues have been discovered and a new investigation has begun, then deal with this matter when the time is right?" Homura thought for a moment and said.
This way, Konoha's reputation would be preserved, and it would be convenient to act later.
"I think it is fine to remain silent and ignore it for now. Through these years of war, no one in the Ninja World is unaware of Konoha's strength," Koharu said.
Recently, Konoha's mission requests had surged, with requests from various countries across the Ninja World pouring into Konoha.
Hiruzen fell silent for a moment, then said, "This matter is of great importance and must be resolved quickly."
"Change the negotiation terms to a challenge. After the battle, regardless of the outcome, Konoha will not pursue Ninshū's responsibility."
"A challenge to kill Sōsuke? His strength is not weak. Who should we send?" Homura asked, frowning slightly.
Sōsuke had a reputation. Even if the Three Sannin were dispatched, the probability of completing the mission would be very low.
"Me," Hiruzen said indifferently.
Given Sōsuke's combat record, the Three Sannin would not be suitable. It could only be him or Mugetsu.
Homura and Koharu were both stunned.
"Hiruzen, don't be impulsive. You are the Hokage. Your actions affect everyone. How can you leave the Village to fight for such a matter?" Homura quickly advised.
He had not expected Hiruzen to be so hot headed that he would actually prepare to go personally.
"I understand your feelings. I also want to avenge Danzo, but revenge cannot be impulsive. How about we assemble a ninja force to attack Ninshū?" Koharu followed up.
Compared to Hiruzen personally fighting Sōsuke, Koharu felt that assembling a ninja force was not completely out of the question.
Hiruzen smiled.
"Why are you so worried? Which ninja in the Ninja World dares to say they can definitely win against me?"
Actually, he was not as impulsive as his two Advisors thought. This was a method Hiruzen had carefully considered.
It avoided assembling a force for war and also perfectly used his own strength to personally avenge Danzo.
Of course, as Hokage, such behavior was indeed a little self indulgent.
Therefore, Hiruzen was very grateful to Mugetsu. It was Mugetsu who had given him the capital to be self indulgent.
With Mugetsu, Konoha's rise was inevitable and would not change because of anyone's unexpected accident.
Finally, there was Hiruzen's confidence in his own strength.
He was the Professor of Ninjutsu, a man who had mastered over a thousand Ninjutsu and secret techniques. He had defeated countless geniuses throughout his lifetime.
"Sandaime, this is somewhat inappropriate," Mugetsu also advised.
If Hiruzen truly challenged him, then Hiruzen could only suffer a crushing defeat.
Although Hiruzen's kindness to him had many reasons behind it, kindness was still kindness. Mugetsu did not want to trouble Hiruzen too much.
"You don't need to persuade me anymore. My mind is made up," Hiruzen shook his head.
He still remembered Danzo's dying words entrusted to Mugetsu, as well as Danzo's appearance in death.
Although Danzo had done many wrong things, his ultimate goal had still been to protect Konoha.
He did not want to let go of Sōsuke, who killed Danzo, nor did he want to affect Konoha's development plan. So taking action personally became the best choice.
"Hiruzen, you can't be so autocratic!" Homura said anxiously.
"Yes. If you are not satisfied, we can continue discussing it. There is no need to be so aggressive. How about letting Mugetsu go?" Koharu followed up.
"As the Hokage, my authority is limitless! This matter is not open for further discussion," Hiruzen said with Haki.
He had called this meeting to inform Homura and the others, not to genuinely discuss the matter.
After speaking, Hiruzen walked directly out of the conference room and returned to the Hokage Office.
Sitting in his office chair, Hiruzen sighed.
He was indeed so self indulgent now that he felt somewhat unfamiliar with himself. He had not even been this impulsive when he was eighteen.
Perhaps the visibly glorious future of Konoha had given him confidence.
Thump, thump.
The wooden door of the Hokage Office was knocked on. The Advisors knocked and entered the office, continuing to earnestly persuade him.
"Hiruzen, you…"
Or perhaps it was because Konoha had forever lost an Advisor who did not knock before entering the Hokage Office.
....
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