Inside the Hokage Office, Hiruzen had been exceptionally content these past few days.
"Sensei, aren't you going to deal with those documents?" Shinji asked after pouring Hiruzen another cup of tea on the sofa.
Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe, exhaled, and then slowly spoke, "No hurry. Ever since that Advisor returned, matters concerning the allocation of financial resources have become much easier."
Shinji raised an eyebrow. He had scared that Advisor so badly that he had wet himself on the spot. This incident was reported by the Anbu who escorted him back later, and Hiruzen had recounted it to him as a joke.
The deterrent effect was undeniable. At least the financial problems that had plagued Hiruzen before were now almost nonexistent.
Shinji mused for a moment, then spoke to Hiruzen, "Sensei, although we have aid from the Land of Fire financially, I think we might need to find other avenues in the future. After all, our lifeline is in someone else's hands. If we become too reliant, it will put us in a very passive position."
Hiruzen, who had been quite relaxed, shook his head helplessly as Shinji spoke. He pointed at Shinji and said, "You really don't want me to rest, do you?"
Shinji looked up at the ceiling and mumbled, "I didn't say that. I'm just preparing for a rainy day."
He felt Hiruzen should be more active, otherwise, his gaze would definitely fall on him. He was still young and didn't want to be burdened with high expectations too early.
"Alright, come here." Hiruzen shook his head helplessly and stood up, walking towards the desk.
Seeing this, Shinji quickly followed and stood beside the desk.
"Take a look. This is a request for aid from the Land of Hot Water." Hiruzen took out a document and handed it to Shinji, signaling him to read it.
The Land of Hot Water?
The country known for its hot springs and pacifism?
During previous Ninja Wars, wasn't it a buffer zone for battles between the Great Nations?
Because pacifism was prevalent, Yugakure had a sparse number of ninjas, and they were generally not very strong.
So, essentially, it was like the Land of Iron, a relatively neutral country.
Shinji thought as he opened the document.
For a moment, the only sound in the entire office was the rustling of paper.
After a long while, he put down the document and fell into thought, his eyes lowered.
The document contained a distress signal sent to Konoha by an elder from Yugakure, who had old ties with Konoha, through a special channel. This was not surprising.
Shinji was pondering the mention of the resurgence of an ancient cult in the request for aid, as well as information about so-called believers possessing 'immortality.'
Isn't this the information about Hidan of the Akatsuki from the original story?
"This request for aid was received by intel this morning." Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and said to Shinji.
"Sensei, what are your thoughts?" Shinji nodded and asked.
After all, this was not a purely defined mission. Intervening or not required careful consideration.
Whoosh—
Hiruzen slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, then said, "This kind of incident is too severe. If this so-called cult grows, it could spread to the borders of the Land of Fire, thereby threatening Konoha's safety."
"Furthermore, Yugakure also serves as a buffer zone between us and the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning, and the number of missions they issue to our village annually is not small."
Hiruzen paused here, looked at Shinji, and said solemnly, "Its collapse would not be in Konoha's interest."
Shinji nodded in agreement.
Although this request for aid came from an elder with old ties to Konoha, whether Konoha dispatched forces or not, more consideration was given to the issue of benefits.
If there were no conflicts of interest, they would simply let it be, because, to put it bluntly, Konoha's ninjas were all nurtured little by little.
Such uncompensated missions, honestly, were unnecessary.
"Moreover, the document mentions the research and curses of immortality, both of which possess extreme danger and research value. They absolutely cannot fall into the hands of other Ninja Villages."
By this point, Hiruzen had already decided to intervene in the matter.
"Therefore, Shinji, out of humanitarian considerations, I declare that you will lead a squad to secretly intervene."
"This mission, due to insufficient intel and specific information, is temporarily designated as an A-rank mission."
"Yes, sensei." Shinji responded solemnly.
"But sensei, what arrangements are there for the squad members?"
Shinji himself was not currently leading a team. And having only recently become a Jonin, he didn't have a group of familiar companions to serve as teammates. Specifically, he could only see how Hiruzen would arrange it.
"They are already prepared. These are the details of your temporary squad members. They will gather at the designated location shortly." Hiruzen said, taking out another document and handing it to Shinji.
Shinji reached out, took it, and looked at it curiously.
Wow—
The configuration Hiruzen had given him was quite impressive.
The squad leader was Shinji himself, and the members were Koto, an elite Chunin from the Yamanaka clan.
The next two were also skilled individuals: Muta, a Chunin from the Aburame clan.
And a Special Jonin skilled in Fuinjutsu and proficient in emergency first aid and detoxification, named Yushu.
This squad configuration could be said to be the most elite of squads.
Koto was responsible for sensory communication, reading memories or fragments of memories from the deceased, ensuring Shinji wasn't lacking in intel.
Muta was responsible for large-scale environmental reconnaissance, tracking, and infiltration, preventing the squad from becoming overly passive. Since it was a secret infiltration, this aspect needed extra attention.
The Special Jonin, Yushu, ensured sustainability and dealt with curses and related issues.
After all, Shinji himself only knew a little about Fuinjutsu.
Shinji said jokingly, "Sensei, with this configuration, wouldn't it be enough for me to take over Yugakure?"
Such a configuration indeed would be sufficient to replace Yugakure's leadership.
Small Ninja Villages were like this. The disparity in power resulted in a lack of autonomy.
Hiruzen helplessly raised an eyelid and said irritably, "Alright, you go conquer it, and then you can be the Yukage."
"Get used to it first, so you won't be flustered when you take over as Hokage."
"I'll go prepare, sensei."
Shinji ran out of the Hokage Office before Hiruzen had even finished speaking.
This old man really couldn't be provoked now. Even such a simple sentence could be used to subtly criticize him.
Hiruzen shook his head with a chuckle. It seemed he needed to make this disciple run around more often. He didn't seem like a lazy person when it came to teaching and training.
Why did he want to escape when it came to matters like this?