The incident where the son and daughter-in-law of Chiyo, the Suna Hidden Village's senior advisor, were killed by members of Sakumo's squad, caused quite a stir among the Konoha higher-ups.
Since Suna Hidden Village declared war on Konoha more than two years ago, this was Konoha's only significant victory on the battlefield.
It can be said that this victory was no less significant than winning a large-scale war.
As the son and daughter-in-law of a senior advisor, and top-tier experts in the Suna Hidden Village's puppet corps, the intelligence and secret techniques recorded in their minds were extremely important and had to be taken seriously by Konoha.
Therefore, upon receiving this news from a communicating Anbu, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately notified Sakumo's squad of four to return to the village at once for rest and reorganization.
Most importantly, they needed to extract crucial secret intelligence and puppet secret techniques from the two captured puppet master corpses to find methods to counter the puppet corps.
This was very important for Konoha at the moment.
Thus, after receiving the Hokage's order delivered by the Anbu, Sakumo led Shiraishi and the other two back to Konoha Village, which they had been away from for several months.
"I'll go submit the mission report; the three of you are free for now."
"Yes."
At the entrance of Konoha Village, the four parted ways. Sakumo was heading to the Hokage's office to submit the mission, while Shiraishi and the other two, having nothing to do, decided to find a place to fill their stomachs.
They had been traveling at full speed since morning and were so busy that they hadn't even eaten breakfast. The three were already ravenous, so at a time like this, they naturally wanted to enjoy a hearty meal in the village.
***
"Lord Hokage."
Sakumo knocked and entered, bowing slightly to Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was sitting at his desk.
He then noticed the two advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, were also present, and he nodded politely to them as well.
The two advisors had gone to the Daimyo's estate a few days prior to request war supplies and had safely returned with the supplies yesterday.
However, since Sakumo's squad had completed an extraordinary mission this time, they were sitting there as witnesses.
"You've worked hard, Sakumo. You did well this time. With this, the security within the Land of Fire should not be a major problem. The rest can be handled by the Anbu."
"Yes."
Considering Suna Hidden Village's heavy losses this time, it would not be wise for them to continue sending elite troops deep into the Land of Fire for covert destruction.
Therefore, the remaining security work within the Land of Fire would be handled by the Anbu and other Konoha ninjas at various outposts.
Sakumo's squad's mission, which had lasted several months, ended here.
"Have the bodies been handed over to the Interrogation Unit?"
"They've been handed over. None of the enemies survived."
Although Shiraishi and Ruri had taken the main credit that day, the other four scattered Suna Hidden Village ninjas, as well as the suspected Iwa Hidden Village earth-style ninja, were all pursued and dealt with by Sakumo and Ayane, with Tenchiku Jōnin also contributing some of his strength.
At this point, that Suna Hidden Village squad, which had caused Konoha so much trouble, was completely annihilated.
The difficulty and importance of this mission could be rated as S-rank.
Hiruzen nodded and looked at advisors Koharu and Homura, saying, "Next, let the Yamanaka clan ninjas thoroughly investigate, and we can obtain the enemy's secrets."
"Let's do that. The weaknesses of the puppet corps must be found out as soon as possible, and let Suna Hidden Village know our strength."
Koharu and Homura were also very satisfied with Sakumo's squad's performance, proving themselves to be Konoha's most outstanding Jōnin, even surpassing the Sannin.
"Your Sakumo squad performed exceptionally well this time. The remuneration for these past few months of missions will be calculated as one S-rank and five A-rank missions."
Hiruzen said with a sigh of relief.
Sakumo had no objections.
One S-rank mission and five A-rank missions, when distributed, would mean that even Shiraishi and the other two would each receive at least a million ryo in remuneration.
Of course, monetary reward was secondary.
Sakumo's squad had achieved such great merit this time, and money was merely the most basic reward; there would certainly be more generous rewards later.
However, the Hokage himself hadn't immediately thought of what would be the best reward, so this matter might be delayed for two or three days before the rewards would be implemented for each member of Sakumo's squad.
"Lord Hokage, regarding my share of the remuneration, please distribute it directly among the other three. They need these things more than I do."
Sakumo said.
"You're still the same, Sakumo."
Hiruzen heard Sakumo's request and gave him a helpless look.
"After all, I wasn't the one who dealt with those two puppet masters, was I?"
Sakumo chuckled.
Hiruzen already knew the details of the mission. Although Sakumo wasn't the one who defeated the two puppet master Jōnin, if he hadn't first severely injured them, no one else would have gotten the credit.
However, since Sakumo said so, Hiruzen could only let him have his way.
Because he truly had nothing left to reward Sakumo with.
Even when he had previously offered Sakumo a chance to view the Scroll of Seals, Sakumo had politely declined with a smile.
He was Konoha's White Fang, and his swordsmanship was his everything.
Ninjutsu and genjutsu would only hinder the speed and power of his blade.
But this didn't mean Sakumo couldn't use ninjutsu; on the contrary, his talent in ninjutsu was also exceptional, but he was a pragmatist.
For him, as long as he could take down the enemy with his White Fang swordsmanship before they could cast ninjutsu, that was all that mattered.
The White Fang short sword in his hand was his strongest 'ninjutsu'!
After reporting the mission, Sakumo left.
"Seeing so many excellent youngsters constantly emerging in the village, I truly feel much older."
Koharu suddenly remarked with emotion.
"We're only in our forties; it's not time for sentimental reflections yet."
Homura retorted, refusing to admit his age.
"Exactly! I can still stay in this position for about ten more years."
Hiruzen also interjected into their conversation.
"Hiruzen, have you decided who will be the next Hokage?"
Koharu asked, seemingly casually.
Hiruzen fell silent for a moment. He hadn't actually decided on this matter yet.
A Hokage is chosen from among many Jōnin, selecting the ninja with the most prestige, strength, and character.
Currently, Sakumo was the Jōnin closest to the Hokage position. His prestige was higher than that of the Sannin, his strength was greater than theirs, and his character was beyond doubt.
He was ruthless towards enemies but caring towards his comrades, though not very expressive. He treated everyone equally.
He could be said to be a qualified candidate for Hokage.
Most importantly, Sakumo's strength was still rapidly improving; he was far from reaching the peak age of a ninja.
Even so, he was already an extraordinary Jōnin in the village.
Ten years from now, he would be even more formidable, a nightmare that enemies could never shake off.
"He is not suitable to be Hokage."
Hiruzen said.
Koharu and Homura looked at Hiruzen in surprise.
"It's good that you have a plan. After all, his current squad has an Uchiha ninja who, at a young age, has not only reached Jōnin level but is also a member of the Uchiha's radical faction. We must always be cautious."
Hearing Homura and Koharu once again speak against the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen sighed and took another puff from his pipe, exhaling the smoke.
"Alright, I have this matter under control. You two can go back for now."
Unwilling to argue with them about such things, he had to complete his work for the day.
Moreover, how to further reward Sakumo's squad was also a relatively important issue.
The annihilation of the Suna Hidden Village squad this time was of great significance. Through the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques, not only could they obtain various confidential intelligence from the enemies' minds, but also many of Suna Hidden Village's secret techniques, including information about the puppet corps, could be acquired.
Even without these, merely stabilizing the internal situation of the Land of Fire was enough to warrant a heavy commendation for Sakumo's squad.
However, thinking of the two girls in Sakumo's squad, one from the Uchiha and one from the Hyūga... made things a bit difficult for Hiruzen.
For the girl from the Hyūga's branch family, he had some vague ideas. The key was Ruri, who was highly regarded by most of the Uchiha clan's influential elders and certainly not lacking in various resources.
If he were to reward her, he could only grant her one-time access to the Scroll of Seals, allowing her to choose a ninjutsu to learn from it.
But Hiruzen could imagine that if he opened the Scroll of Seals to an Uchiha ninja, Homura and Koharu would surely come with long faces to lecture him.
Subsequently, Hiruzen picked up Shiraishi's personal profile book. "Hmm, this one is easy to deal with. High-level ninjutsu, more advanced medical-related books, and so on, can all serve as rewards this time."
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