Pakura had performed very well in Konoha over the years. It was just that in the past, she had not been trusted.
In the end, she was a war hero of Sunagakure. Even though she had been betrayed by her village, and Natsuhiko had vouched for her, allowing her to remain safely in Konoha.
In essence, it was still a fact that she could not gain the trust of those in power, even if Natsuhiko had given her a great deal of trust.
And after Natsuhiko became the Fifth Hokage, Konoha also developed an extreme shortage of all kinds of talent.
The ANBU was one of Natsuhiko's most important forces. Otherwise, he would not have let Kakashi, who had followed him for many years, remain in the ANBU.
Since Kakashi remained in the ANBU, he naturally needed helpers. Pakura was someone who was very familiar with Natsuhiko and had also teamed up with Kakashi for many years.
Naturally, she became one of the people Kakashi could make heavy use of. Although Pakura was only a division commander now.
Think about it. An enemy village's ninja being able to enter the ANBU and even become a squad captain was already something unbelievable in itself.
Besides, part of the reason for this was also that Pakura herself was unwilling to fight too much for promotion. Otherwise, with ten years, her talent, and her strength, it would not have been strange for her to become a division commander .
Now she was a squad captain in the ANBU, and Natsuhiko had heard that her squad performed very well in every aspect.
Under normal circumstances, Natsuhiko should not have chosen to transfer her out of the ANBU, because she was indeed a talented person.
Moreover, after she came out, it might cause some trouble, such as Sunagakure discovering her existence.
But Natsuhiko had indeed felt some sympathy. He understood the environment of the ANBU better than anyone, and it truly was not suitable for a person to stay there for a lifetime.
Pakura had already contributed enough. Letting her leave the ANBU now would cause some loss to the ANBU's resources.
But after she left the ANBU, Natsuhiko would give her a jōnin position. One had to know that Konoha's jōnin rank was something people were now fighting fiercely to obtain.
Whether in social status or benefits, it could be called an existence at the top of the pyramid.
To put it bluntly, Konoha's jōnin were existences that all the villages in the shinobi world combined could only look up to.
Pakura was still slightly hesitant about this proposal, but in the end, she agreed to Natsuhiko's decision.
In truth, just as Natsuhiko thought, the ANBU was indeed not a good place for a person to stay in for too long.
Pakura had stayed in the ANBU for almost ten years. For a female ninja, this was already long enough.
It was only because of concerns about her identity, as well as gratitude toward Natsuhiko for saving her, that she had never brought up leaving.
Now that Natsuhiko had given her a chance, a brand-new chance to live openly in Konoha with a proper identity, even if she was worried inside, she was unwilling to give it up.
...
"It looks like Kakashi will be busy. After Pakura leaves the ANBU, he will have to find someone to take over her position."
After the gathering ended, Sora stayed at Natsuhiko's house. In truth, she had wanted to leave, but Renge and Natsuhiko both asked her to stay, so she went along with it.
However, she was still somewhat embarrassed, so she looked for some topics to avoid that awkwardness.
She was also fairly familiar with Pakura. After all, Pakura lived near Natsuhiko, and they had dealt with each other quite a few times back in the ANBU.
She naturally understood how special Pakura's identity was. Now that Pakura could leave the ANBU and live with a normal identity, Sora naturally felt happy for her.
But she also knew that after Pakura left, Kakashi would probably have a headache, because Pakura was currently one of Kakashi's capable subordinates.
Now that Pakura was leaving, Kakashi had no choice but to find someone who could replace her, and this would make Kakashi very depressed.
Kakashi had been beside Natsuhiko during the earlier gathering. Even though he and Guy had been messing around, that did not mean he had not heard what Natsuhiko said.
Kakashi was indeed very troubled by this news, but at the time, he did not speak up to oppose it. After all, he also knew this was a good thing for Pakura.
"A little headache is not a big deal. After all, life cannot go smoothly in every matter, right?"
Natsuhiko smiled without concern, then spoke in a relaxed manner.
"And even if Pakura leaves, there are many talented people in the ANBU who can take her place. For example, Shisui's performance has been very good, has it not?"
"Shisui?"
Hearing Natsuhiko's words from the side, Renge raised her brows, then looked at Sora with a meaningful gaze, while Sora herself looked at Natsuhiko with a little embarrassment.
Shisui was the pledge Uchiha Shin had offered. Even though he had always performed well, and was now an outstanding squad captain.
This boy's identity was somewhat special. Moreover, after what happened recently with the Uchiha, suddenly promoting him would inevitably make people think too much.
However, if one considered experience, strength, and record, Shisui was indeed an excellent choice.
After all, he had already been in the ANBU for ten years. The eight-year-old child from back then had already become an adult, and no one would doubt his level.
"Yes, Shisui."
Natsuhiko nodded without hesitation, then spoke more seriously.
"That kid Shisui is still quite good. Before, because of various reasons, he was not promoted, and even after I became Hokage, I still needed him to help me keep an eye on the ninja below.
"After all, reforms were always ongoing, and the ANBU's talents also needed to be trained. But now, Konoha is basically stable, and the ANBU has also completed its reforms.
"If that kid keeps staying in the position of squad captain, then the other Uchiha who entered the ANBU will probably also become dissatisfied."
Shisui's presence in the ANBU was basically equal to a symbol for the Uchiha, and continuing to suppress him no longer had much meaning.
In truth, Natsuhiko had other thoughts when holding Shisui down. For example, he wanted to see whether this kid could produce a Mangekyō Sharingan.
In the original story, the two people whose ways of awakening the Mangekyō were the most unclear were Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Fugaku.
Of course, in the manga, Uchiha Fugaku did not have the Mangekyō, but here, he did possess that power.
Shisui's Mangekyō was truly a mystery. In the original story, it seemed he awakened the Mangekyō in Root or the ANBU, but what exactly happened, Natsuhiko did not know.
The ways the Uchiha awakened their eyes were strange and varied. No one could be certain which incident would touch their breaking point and make them explode.
Because of that, Natsuhiko had Shisui obediently remain in the position of squad captain and carry out missions for so many years, because he wanted to see whether he would show anything special.
In the end, his performance was quite good, but it seemed there had never been anything related to the Mangekyō, which made Natsuhiko somewhat helpless.
Since you cannot produce it, and now Pakura is leaving, then you can take that position.
I can only hope that your achievements will not be lower than in the original story, and that your intelligence will be higher than in the original story.
In the original story, Uchiha Shisui's intelligence actually seemed rather high, but this kid had one very obvious flaw.
That was, once he encountered an extremely troublesome matter, his intelligence became unstable, and his handling of many things was truly somewhat speechless.
For example, after Danzo ambushed him and he lost one eye, he finally chose suicide instead of properly using his brain to think of a solution.
Saying that his intelligence fell to rock bottom at that moment was completely fair, and saying that he escaped responsibility also made perfect sense.
Anyway, back when he read the manga and watched the anime, this pair of Uchiha turncoats really left Natsuhiko stunned.
They clearly held an unbeatable hand, yet they still managed to play it like that. It could only be described as shocking.
But now, he had become Hokage, and these two turncoats were completely leaning toward him.
And with the special influence of Konoha's training, Natsuhiko really was not afraid that they would go against him. These two had instead become people Natsuhiko could make good use of.
The only thing Natsuhiko hoped now was that they would not do anything that showed a lack of sense again, because he truly could not bear that kind of thing.
...
Pakura submitted her resignation from the ANBU on the second day after the gathering, and Kakashi already knew the result, so naturally, he would not hold her back.
After she fully handed everything over, Shisui also smoothly took over the position she left behind.
On the same day, Uchiha Itachi also entered the ANBU and reported to the division under Shisui's management.
However, Shisui was also truly unlucky. He had just taken over this division and had not even had time to feel happy before he was forced to accept a mission that nearly made him cry.
Find Tsunade and bring her back.
As an old member of the ANBU, Shisui naturally knew just how terrible the Fifth Hokage's attitude was toward the so-called Sannin.
Moreover, the reason Natsuhiko gave was impossible to refute. As one of the Sannin, she had not been there when Konoha needed her most, and she had not made the slightest contribution to Konoha's postwar reconstruction.
What difference did it make whether such a person returned or not? Since she liked being outside, then she could stay outside forever.
Although Natsuhiko's extreme remarks had not removed Tsunade and Jiraiya from the ninja registry, they basically left no face for them at all.
And these remarks spread very widely in the ANBU, with quite a lot of support. Aside from Kakashi, who was the most awkward about it, everyone else either supported them or did not care.
Shisui was also someone who supported this idea to some extent. Now that he had to go find the person back, although he did not dare show any dissatisfaction, he was still somewhat unhappy inside.
But since this was Hokage-sama's request, he could only honestly complete the mission.
In truth, the difficulty of this mission was not in finding her. After all, this was the ANBU, and its intelligence system was naturally not something ordinary people could compare to.
Even Jiraiya, who wandered outside all day, could not compare with the ANBU in terms of specific intelligence gathering.
The difficulty of this mission lay in how to persuade this woman, one of the Sannin and someone who suffered from hemophobia, to return.
Honestly, when it came to killing people, Shisui had no hesitation or uncertainty at all. After being trained in the ANBU for so long, he had long since lost any mercy he should not have.
Because he knew that the people he killed were people who had to be killed, and killing them benefited Konoha.
But persuading people touched a blind spot in his knowledge. Was he supposed to put a blade to this woman's neck and persuade her to return to Konoha?
Although that sounded rather good, the problem was that Shisui did not think he could beat Tsunade, a woman with the title of Sannin.
"This is really giving me a headache."
Shisui sighed faintly, then set out with Uchiha Itachi and several team members.
This mission did not have any real danger, so bringing Itachi out to adapt was also fine.
He truly had not expected that this little brother of his would really become a member of the ANBU.
...
Meanwhile, Natsuhiko was not as relaxed as he seemed right now, because he realized that he had said the wrong thing.
Last time, after being annoyed by Senju Hashirama, he had tried to disgust him by saying he would find Tsunade and revive Uzumaki Mito. He had not expected this man to take it so seriously.
Less than a week after Natsuhiko sent Shisui out, Hashirama actually brought Uzumaki Mito to his office, which truly left him somewhat stunned.
"You are the Fifth Hokage? You really look young."
Uzumaki Mito looked at Natsuhiko with a gentle smile. However, her expression, combined with the age she had been revived at, gave people a rather strange feeling.
The state she had been awakened in was not that of an old woman in her seventies or eighties, but that of a very young and beautiful woman.
But her smile and expression, no matter how one looked at them, felt like an elder looking at a younger generation.
Even though there was still respect on her face, Natsuhiko still felt somewhat uncomfortable, so he could only silently nod to show that she was right.
"Natsuhiko is far more amazing than you imagine. He has already been Hokage for many years."
Senju Hashirama also noticed the awkwardness on Natsuhiko's face, so he immediately laughed loudly and helped ease the situation.
"He can be said to be the youngest Hokage in Konoha's history. Even in the entire shinobi world, he is the youngest Kage.
"And this kid's strength is also extremely terrifying. Even if I go all out, I am not his opponent."
Although there was nothing wrong with Senju Hashirama's words, for some reason, Natsuhiko always felt as if he was being awkwardly praised.
As for the current Senju Hashirama, Natsuhiko truly did not dare go all out against him, because neither of them could hold back their strength. One mistake, and they might be waiting to be revived again.
As for being the youngest person in the entire shinobi world to become a Kage, perhaps he was for now, but Gaara was still waiting in the future, so Natsuhiko was really too embarrassed to brag about that.
After the three of them chatted casually for a while, Natsuhiko planned to be more direct.
Senju Hashirama must have had some idea in mind by bringing Uzumaki Mito before him. Natsuhiko had no need to beat around the bush with them.
"Lady Mito, do you have any thoughts or views?"
"I have already checked Hashirama's condition. It is truly very perfect. You have completed an extraordinary technique, Hokage-sama."
Uzumaki Mito smiled very calmly, but very soon, her expression became much more serious.
"Hashirama and Tobirama have both chosen to live again. If Hokage-sama wants to help me, I naturally will not refuse.
"Although I lived a very long life, I am also willing to look at more of the world's scenery. There is just one question troubling me."
"Oh?"
Natsuhiko looked at Uzumaki Mito curiously. This woman seemed far more open-minded than he had imagined.
She also did not cling to the thought of, "I am already dead, so why live again?" This gave Natsuhiko quite a good impression of her.
However, the fact that this woman still had a question surprised Natsuhiko somewhat. He was also rather curious about what she wanted to ask.
"Go ahead, Lady Mito."
Natsuhiko casually nodded, but when Uzumaki Mito spoke, his expression changed slightly.
"Hokage-sama, before I died, I sealed the Nine-Tails inside Kushina.
"And I heard that Kushina is still alive now, and that she went to a sacred place like Mount Myōboku to train. This proves that the Nine-Tails inside her has no problem.
"Then, where did the Nine-Tails inside Hokage-sama come from?"
Natsuhiko's face became somewhat ugly now, because he truly had not expected Uzumaki Mito's senses to be so sharp.
His Nine-Tails was clearly hidden very well. Even if he stood right in front of Kushina, he could be certain that Kushina would not discover anything.
Yet this woman had found the clue so easily. This truly made Natsuhiko feel a little unable to accept it.
This woman had found out and exposed him, and that truly left Natsuhiko somewhat passive.
Even though he had not used his alternate identity for a long time, that did not mean he would not use it.
"Nine-Tails? Could you have sensed wrong?"
Senju Hashirama froze for a moment, then looked curiously at his wife and asked. But when he turned his gaze toward Natsuhiko, he felt that something was wrong.
Because at this moment, the gentleness from before had already disappeared from Natsuhiko's face, replaced by a calmness that carried a hint of indifference.
This made Senju Hashirama himself not know what to say. In truth, to him, the Nine-Tails was just that, and there was nothing worth being surprised about.
Natsuhiko was so strong, so having the Nine-Tails inside him was not a big deal. Of course, he was not truly stupid either. Since he knew the Nine-Tails was inside someone else, and Natsuhiko also had the Nine-Tails.
Did that mean tailed beasts could actually be cultivated through some special method? Besides, it was not as if he did not know the legend of the Ten-Tails.
"Indeed, I have the power of the Nine-Tails inside me."
Only after a long while did Natsuhiko slowly break the silence. He lightly tapped the table and spoke slowly.
He had already thought it through. Since the matter of him having tailed beast power had been exposed, then let it be exposed. It was not a big deal.
He knew what these people were most likely worried about. Uzumaki Mito had only heard from Senju Hashirama that he was very strong, but she had not seen it herself.
Because of that, she felt that Natsuhiko's reliance on and interest in the tailed beasts would be very frightening and very great. The destruction tailed beasts could cause was also unimaginable.
Although she had indeed guessed some things, overall, her vision was still not broad enough.
Senju Hashirama's vision was broad enough. After all, he knew the legend of the Ten-Tails, so Natsuhiko also planned to give him a response and tell him some of his thoughts.
Thinking of this, Natsuhiko suddenly revealed a smile. At the same time, the chakra belonging to the tailed beasts began to surge out wildly.
In an instant, Uzumaki Mito's expression changed, and Senju Hashirama also raised his brows in surprise.
Because they both clearly sensed that the chakra Natsuhiko released was not from only one tailed beast.
Aside from the Nine-Tails, there was actually the power of the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, Six-Tails, and Eight-Tails.
What exactly was going on? Why did this man have the power of so many tailed beasts?
Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito were both somewhat stunned. Neither of them had expected this Fifth Hokage of Konoha to be hiding so deeply.
There were only nine tailed beasts in the entire shinobi world, yet this Fifth Hokage before them had unknowingly already gathered five of them. What exactly was he trying to do?
"Natsuhiko, are you trying to summon the Ten-Tails?"
Senju Hashirama was still very calm. After his surprise, he quickly recovered. He did not have any other thoughts right now; he was only purely curious.
He also noticed a small detail. He found that all the tailed beast powers seemed to be intertwined, and all of them came from the power of the Nine-Tails.
Moreover, these powers did not seem especially strong, or rather, they were not as frightening as a single complete tailed beast.
"Also, why does your tailed beast power feel somewhat strange?"
"That is normal, because this was originally nurtured from tailed beast chakra and formed after some fusion."
Natsuhiko smiled without concern. Then he reached out his hand, and in an instant, pale golden chakra wrapped around it.
Very quickly, a fluffy little fox that looked as if it had not fully woken up appeared in Natsuhiko's hand, swaying its nine tails.
And at this moment, Natsuhiko saw faint red chakra appear on Uzumaki Mito's body.
That was the chakra of the Nine-Tails. Although Uzumaki Mito had not returned to her peak after being revived, she had still been the Nine-Tails jinchūriki when she was alive.
After being brought back by the Edo Tensei, even though the Nine-Tails was no longer inside her, her body had housed the Nine-Tails for so long, so naturally, it still possessed part of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Moreover, having no power did not mean her sensing ability had disappeared. When she was alive, her control over the Nine-Tails through her own strength was definitely not worse than Naruto's.
Now, she could rely on her sensing ability and the Nine-Tails' chakra to see through the hidden secret inside Natsuhiko's body, and that was truly not so strange.
"Actually, the activity of the Nine-Tails' chakra is far stronger than any of us imagined. Hashirama-senpai, you still remember the records we saw on the moon, right?"
"Of course I remember. And we have already modified that place. When I have time, I still plan to go over and take a look."
Senju Hashirama nodded very directly. They naturally would not let go of a place like the moon.
Especially when there were so many records up there, along with a Tenseigan placed there.
The evolution of Natsuhiko's eyes depended on the power of that Tenseigan, and on top of that, he also planned to establish a trial teleportation station in the Land of Fire.
Because of that, the importance of the moon's interior was far higher than imagined.
Over these three years, Natsuhiko, Senju Hashirama, and Senju Tobirama had constantly used shadow clones and wood clones to go up there and rebuild everything inside.
It could be said that the moon had already become their second base. If not for the fact that every trip up there brought the burden of the difference in time flow.
Which caused the trouble of time not matching the shinobi world, they might have gone up there personally every week.
"The power of the tailed beasts actually comes from the Ten-Tails, and the greatness of the Ten-Tails is beyond what we can imagine.
"I have always been very curious about what kind of existence the Ten-Tails is, so I carried out an experiment."
Natsuhiko spoke slowly. There were some secrets he truly could not tell others, but with Senju Hashirama and the others, he did not really need to keep them secret.
"On the night of the Nine-Tails incident, I accidentally obtained some of the Nine-Tails' chakra, so I placed it inside my body and nourished it with my own power.
"What I did not expect was that after this little guy swallowed my power, it slowly began to take shape.
"And after I mastered Yin-Yang Release and began feeding him with it, he completely became a brand-new Nine-Tails, different from the original tailed beasts."
Natsuhiko spoke slowly, while the little Nine-Tails, who had just been woken from his nap, could not help secretly rolling his eyes.
Could this nonsense be any more ridiculous? When you raised me, you did not know a thing about Yin-Yang Release.
Although the little Nine-Tails complained inwardly, he could not be bothered to open his mouth and refute anything. He could tell that his existence had been exposed.
However, he and Natsuhiko were connected in mind, so he could also sense what Natsuhiko was thinking.
He knew Natsuhiko did not care at all, so he had no need to think too much either. However, he still raised his head and glanced at the woman before him.
This woman really causes trouble. Why drag me out for no reason?
The little Nine-Tails' attitude toward Uzumaki Mito truly could not be called good. Since he had inherited the memories of the other Nine-Tails, it would have been strange if his attitude were good.
Of course, he also knew that this woman had spent her whole life fighting against that Nine-Tails, so it was understandable for her to be a little sensitive.
Moreover, she had never seen the battle between Natsuhiko and Senju Hashirama. She knew Senju Hashirama's strength too well, and because of that, she could not believe someone could reach that level.
It could only be said that relying too much on past experience could mislead people, and it could also only be said that Senju Hashirama had once been so strong that he made people feel despair.
Natsuhiko naturally sensed what the little Nine-Tails was thinking, and he also felt that this guy was right.
However, now was not the time to discuss these messy things, so he continued explaining casually.
"After this little guy appeared, I started thinking about whether I could do the same with the other tailed beasts.
"So I also did some risky things in order to collect chakra from the other tailed beasts.
"Of course, I did it using the identity of the Nine-Tails jinchūriki."
At this point, Natsuhiko stopped and calmly looked at the reactions of the two people before him.
It had to be said that Senju Hashirama remained calm from beginning to end. Of course, he realized what Natsuhiko's words, "collecting chakra from the other tailed beasts," meant.
But for the current him, after being bombarded repeatedly by Natsuhiko and Senju Tobirama with the topic of "why did you not unify the shinobi world back then," he had long since become numb.
Naturally, he also felt that perhaps he really should not have acted as he did back then. Otherwise, Uchiha Madara would not have left.
And now, the other villages in the shinobi world could basically be considered Konoha's enemies. Even if they had stopped fighting, certain identities would still not change.
Although what Natsuhiko did was rather unreasonable, and the impact was also very bad, aside from being somewhat worried about the safety of civilians, Senju Hashirama did not think there was much else to it.
As for Uzumaki Mito, she was overly surprised. She probably truly had not expected that there would be someone like this in the world.
Likewise, she did not really understand what exactly her husband and this Fifth Hokage were discussing.
However, she clearly understood one thing. Her husband did not care at all, and she also knew that there was probably no room for her to speak now.
"It was not exposed, right?"
Suddenly, Senju Hashirama asked.
"You know, if it was exposed, your identity would become very troublesome."
"Do I look that stupid?" Natsuhiko shook his head disdainfully.
"I also needed to train the tailed beast's power, did I not? And for safety, I specifically chose Kirigakure."
Hearing this, Senju Hashirama could not help nodding. Kirigakure was indeed very suitable. That place was now completely sealed off, and even if Natsuhiko's actions were exposed, the news might not get out.
"So you are currently fusing the tailed beasts?"
Senju Hashirama lowered his head, then reached out and poked the little Nine-Tails standing on Natsuhiko's palm. This made the little Nine-Tails dissatisfied enough to want to bite him.
However, the little guy clearly still carried fear from his bloodline. He had not forgotten how badly this man had beaten him, so he was only putting on a show.
"And how is your use of the Nine-Tails' power? Why do I feel like this little guy is not that strong?"
"Do you think everyone is you?"
Hearing this, Natsuhiko nearly rolled his eyes, while the little Nine-Tails also showed an expression of extreme displeasure and helplessness.
Originally, he had been sleeping peacefully, but he was suddenly woken up. Being woken up was one thing, but then he also encountered someone who had sealed him and someone who had beaten him badly.
Most importantly, the person who had beaten him badly also said he was weak. This truly made him extremely depressed.
"As for the performance of the Nine-Tails' power…"
Natsuhiko ignored the little Nine-Tails. He slowly absorbed the little guy back into his body, and immediately after, pale golden chakra suddenly emerged from all over his body.
In an instant, a powerful aura echoed through the office.
...
"According to the intelligence, it should be here."
In the Land of Hot Water, after Shisui exchanged information with the newly formed Hot Water ninja, who were trying simple missions, he returned to his squad and spoke.
Before setting out, they already knew that Tsunade's general location was in the Land of Hot Water, so they spent some time tracking her down.
However, knowing she was in the Land of Hot Water was one thing; the country itself was vast, so finding her was not easy.
Fortunately, the current Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire could be politely called "all-weather strategic partners." To put it bluntly, it would not be a problem for the Hot Water Village to call Konoha "Father."
Since they had already "accepted Konoha as father," if Konoha had a problem and came to them, they naturally could not refuse.
It did not take long for them to lock onto this city. After exchanging information with the ninja in this city, they could be considered to have obtained some information about Tsunade.
"However, there is one more thing I need to mention."
Shisui thought for a moment before continuing.
"According to them, they did not find Lady Tsunade herself. Instead, they discovered a very similar little girl who often appears near the casino entrance.
"I think this is very likely Lady Tsunade's technique, and it will not be the Transformation Technique. Everyone must pay attention, understood?"
"Captain."
Just as Shisui finished speaking, Uchiha Itachi suddenly pointed ahead.
"Are you talking about her?"
Hearing this, all the ANBU ninja could not help turning their heads.
They saw a blond little girl walking forward.
And that street ahead was not an ordinary place.
--------
Read Advanced Chapters on : www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin
~ Every 100 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]