Kiyoshi's reverse psychology left Natsu Hyūga speechless.
She was the one asking for too much?
Shouldn't it be that Kiyoshi Uchiha's demands were excessive?
After a moment of thought, Natsu suppressed the feelings in her heart and said nothing more.
She bowed her head in silence to bid farewell and walked slowly out the door.
Kiyoshi rubbed his chin, quietly watching Natsu's figure, which had developed much more.
Year after year, the flowers look similar, but year after year, the people are different.
It wasn't just him growing; others were growing as well.
To Kiyoshi, this was like wheat nearly ripe; the season for harvesting was approaching.
"Hidden Mist will launch an attack on Hidden Sand. This is an opportunity."
This was the source of Kiyoshi's confidence.
The war between Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand would break out, and Pakura would die precisely because the Hidden Sand high-level officials went to negotiate a truce with the Hidden Mist leadership.
Pakura was the "sincerity" offered by Hidden Sand.
Look, we even handed over a rare genius of Hidden Sand; this is our sincerity.
This could only be described as abstract; Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, simply didn't treat people like human beings.
He was equally ruthless to everyone; whether it was his biological son Gaara or Pakura, they were all just bargaining chips in his eyes.
Of course, the matter regarding Pakura's death would have to wait until later.
The relevant event right now was the Hidden Mist's attempt to seize the Byakugan from the Hyūga Main House.
In war, even children have to go to the battlefield, let alone these holders of Bloodlines.
After losing a Byakugan, the Hyūga clan would expend the strength of the entire clan to snatch it back.
After all, it would be the first instance of the Byakugan leaking out.
Once someone discovers that transplanting a Byakugan puts no burden on the body, a new world will open up.
Far-sightedness, X-ray vision, 360-degree observation capability...
The buff to a ninja is simply too much. It's a pity the Hyūga clan doesn't know how to use it.
They stubbornly study the Gentle Fist, yet they lack the chakra capacity of their ancestor, Kaguya.
At the very least, if the Hyūga clan practiced more long-range ninjutsu and fought from a distance, wouldn't they be much stronger than playing around with Gentle Fist in close quarters?
"Hiss..."
The white snake, which possessed the intelligence of a three or four-year-old child, had even learned to close the door under Kiyoshi's guidance during this period.
After closing the door, she quickly crawled onto Kiyoshi and curled up.
The temperature of Kiyoshi's body made her feel comfortable.
Kiyoshi played with the white snake for a while before continuing his training in Wind Style ninjutsu.
...
Hokage Building.
"Hiruzen, Hidden Sand has been a bit restless lately."
Danzō Shimura set down a report, his face grim.
Hidden Sand had achieved a certain level of cooperation with the Land of Demons and obtained some imported resources.
But these greedy Hidden Sand people were not satisfied; they even wanted to lay hands on the fertile land of the Land of Fire.
"It was an act of grace for the First Hokage to grant Hidden Sand a piece of land. These ungrateful Hidden Sand dogs still want to push their luck!"
Danzō Shimura slammed his hand on the table.
He was a man who aspired to become Hokage; if the Land of Fire lost a piece of land, wouldn't that be his loss?
"Enough, Danzō."
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head.
Being Hokage for so many years allowed Hiruzen's vision to see much further than Danzō's.
"Someone needs to go to Hidden Sand to reinforce the alliance treaty," Hiruzen said.
This was also an important measure to confirm Hidden Sand's attitude.
If Hidden Sand's stance was ambiguous, Hidden Leaf would have to increase its war vigilance.
"Who should we send?"
Homura Mitokado said, pushing up his glasses.
As a member of the Hokage Council, his words carried significant weight.
"Let Tsunade go."
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a moment and spoke.
Tsunade hadn't performed a mission since she developed hemophobia, and she rarely even treated patients.
But this trip was to represent Hidden Leaf in visiting Hidden Sand; it didn't require force.
Hidden Sand wouldn't be stupid enough to move against an ally's envoy.
Moreover, Tsunade's status was suitable to represent the face of Hidden Leaf.
"Send her alone?"
Koharu Utatane frowned.
Ever since her lover and younger brother died, Tsunade had fallen into a slump.
Eating, drinking, and gambling—she was only missing the last of the four vices.
Aside from that, she had the other three fully covered.
Interestingly, the last one... was being perfectly exemplified by Hiruzen's other disciple, Jiraiya.
"That's right."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.
Jiraiya was too flighty, and Orochimaru was too gloomy.
As long as gambling wasn't involved, Tsunade was a relatively serious person; it couldn't be more appropriate for her to serve as the envoy.
"Let Tsunade take the Yūki Team. Yūki's hands are injured."
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a while, took a puff of his pipe, and spoke.
"Hmph, Hiruzen. If you want to pave the way for your son, just say it."
Danzō Shimura, who was eyeing the position of the next Hokage, was particularly sensitive to this.
"Danzō, I have always been upright in my actions as Hokage. This time there simply happens to be a squad vacancy."
Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke.
Team Minato had taken a D-rank mission and was already out.
It wasn't that there were no squads better than the trio of Asuma, Kiyoshi, and Kurenai Yuhi, but they were all out performing missions.
And there was no need to send anyone inferior to them.
Their squad had just received a letter of gratitude from the Land of Demons Daimyō, and their reputation was quite good.
"Hmph."
Danzō Shimura flicked his sleeve and walked away.
He saw that neither Homura Mitokado nor Koharu Utatane beside Hiruzen showed any opposition, so he knew the matter was settled.
Since that was the case, there was no need to stay.
"An Uchiha, huh..."
As he walked out, Danzō Shimura remembered there was another person in the Yuki Team.
Kiyoshi Uchiha.
Years ago, he had asked Hiruzen Sarutobi for this person, but Hiruzen hadn't given him up, instead placing him in his son's squad.
What happened unintentionally was that his subordinate had actually taken Kiyoshi as a disciple.
Not only that, but he had also had a lot of contact with Orochimaru.
"Holding an Uchiha in my hand isn't bad either."
Danzō Shimura glanced back at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen was already old; in a few years, a new Hokage would have to be selected.
At that time, the Orochimaru he supported would be the most favorable candidate.
When that time came, he could force Orochimaru to step down.
Anyway, that fellow only liked doing scientific research and had little interest in the Hokage position.
Once he became Hokage, Kiyoshi's usefulness would become prominent.
Using Uchiha to deal with Uchiha is the most effective method.
Disintegrate the Uchiha from within!
...
"Ha! I'm going to lead these brats?"
A drunken Tsunade felt a surge of anger after hearing what the Anbu said.
The Anbu member watched Tsunade's clenched fist and silently took a step back.
"This is an order from Lord Hokage. Please go and meet the squad members, Lady Tsunade."
After the Anbu finished speaking, he disappeared with the Body Flicker Technique. A black figure could faintly be seen flickering across the rooftops in the distance.
"What a pain."
Tsunade muttered.
"Shizune! Shizune!"
Tsunade called out twice.
Shizune, who had just gone to pay Tsunade's bill, came running over quickly and asked what Lady Tsunade needed.
"Go and call Asuma, Kiyoshi, and Kurenai over here."
After Tsunade finished speaking, she grabbed her bottle, planning to go home and lie down for a while.
Shizune had to walk a distance, occasionally asking passersby how to get to the homes of these three...
Aside from Kiyoshi's house, she had never been to the homes of the other two.
***
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