Genetics is a rather complex field of study, one worthy of in-depth research.
Take Naruto's upbringing, for example. Due to Kushina's premature death, he theoretically shouldn't have been influenced by his mother at all. Yet in reality, their personalities shared countless similarities; you could even say they were exactly the same.
It was just unknown whether the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero was as terrified of ghosts as Naruto was... Now that was a question worth exploring.
Practically speaking, if he wanted to guarantee Kushina's safety, the simplest method would be to erase the event of Naruto's birth altogether. But that was something Kamishiro absolutely could not do.
He had no reason, nor any means, to stop Kushina and Minato from getting together.
Or rather, deep down, he fully supported her marrying Minato. The reasons for that didn't need to be spelled out.
After his meeting with Kushina, he didn't linger in Konoha for long. He quickly returned to the front lines.
Accompanying him were his squadmates, Kurenai Yuhi and Aoba Yamashiro.
For some reason, even though the entire squad had been granted a rare period of rest and recuperation, Asuma Sarutobi hadn't chosen to return to Konoha. He had stayed behind on the front lines.
Was it out of a deep love for war? Highly unlikely. Some sort of family drama? Kamishiro Hagoromo had no idea.
This decision left him scratching his head in complete bewilderment.
Anyway, no matter how miserable it was, and even without his beautiful teammate by his side, Asuma remained at the front.
When the three returned to the frontline camp, they immediately spotted Asuma standing there looking like a lovesick statue waiting for his wife to return.
Upon seeing his teammates return, Asuma's eyes instantly lit up. He first greeted Kurenai and Aoba, then couldn't wait to ask, "Captain, I heard you got involved in some special, high-stakes operation again?"
Don't let the fact that he was stuck on the front lines fool you; this guy's eyes and ears were everywhere. His information network was incredibly vast. Things he should know, things he shouldn't know—he knew a lot of it... After all, being the Hokage's son definitely came with its perks.
"How do you even know about a classified mission like that?"
Kamishiro was genuinely curious about Asuma's intelligence network, but the guy just smiled and kept his mouth shut.
"I did participate in an operation. Based on the number of deployed ninjas and the ratio of enemy to allied forces, the mission difficulty should have been A-rank. But considering the importance of the objective, it was ultimately classified as an S-rank mission..."
"Unfortunately, it was all for nothing. In the end, the mission failed."
Asuma glanced at Kurenai and Aoba, then pulled him aside and lowered his voice. "So, did the Hyuga clan really lose a Byakugan?"
You know way too much, don't you?
But since the guy had already spilled the actual contents of the mission, he didn't hesitate and simply nodded.
If Asuma already knew this much, what was the point of keeping it a secret?
"..."
Asuma slapped his own mature-looking face, wanting to say something, but ultimately kept his opinions on the matter to himself.
After two minutes of silence, he seemed to make peace with the situation, and then... then he ran straight over to Kurenai to shower her with concern and affection.
Seeing this, he realized he was just being a third wheel. "You guys catch up," he said. "I have some other business to take care of."
Right when he arrived at the camp, he had received a message ordering him to unpack and immediately report to Jiraiya.
He had assumed it was another special squad mission, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be an assignment meant exclusively for him.
Over a year was plenty of time for any young ninja to undergo significant growth, whether in height and appearance or in sheer combat strength.
This was true for Kamishiro Hagoromo, and it was true for the other ninjas as well.
To list his current mission stats: 18 D-rank, 8 C-rank, 62 B-rank, 4 A-rank, and 4 S-rank.
He had definitely racked up quite a few high-level missions.
When he finally met up with Jiraiya, he found the man alone in his tent.
After exchanging greetings, Jiraiya didn't waste time on small talk and cut straight to the chase.
He pointed to the map spread out on the table and said,
"A year ago, we achieved peace with both the Hidden Sand and the Hidden Rain. Since then, the Sand hasn't made any moves against Konoha. As for the Rain... although I hold serious objections regarding certain backroom deals between Danzo and Hanzo, unfortunately, Konoha's official resolutions aren't dictated by my personal will..."
A flicker of complex emotion flashed across Jiraiya's face before he continued,
"However, for some unknown reason, Hanzo's recent movements have become highly ambiguous. His attitude toward the so-called 'rebel' factions has shifted. What exactly he is planning to do remains unknown..."
"You're not going to make me infiltrate the Hidden Rain to investigate Hanzo's movements, are you?"
Kamishiro asked, shooting him a sideways glance. This sounded bad. If it really was a high-risk infiltration mission like that, he wouldn't be able to find a good reason to agree, and he certainly wouldn't be feeling any of Jiraiya's so-called 'compassion' anymore.
Fortunately, in response to his question, Jiraiya shook his head.
"It's nothing like that. I brought them up to say that, based on our treaty, we can likely maintain our state of peace with the Hidden Rain."
"What I'm about to tell you next is top-secret intelligence. You are strictly forbidden from leaking this to anyone else." As he spoke, Jiraiya's expression turned dead serious.
"Understood," he said. He knew how to prioritize and read the room.
"Before I begin, I need to ask you one thing. That technique of yours... can you still use it?"
"I can still fire one shot."
Kamishiro Hagoromo naturally understood exactly which technique Jiraiya was referring to. Because he had used the Super Electromagnetic Cannon against Yagura (or was it Minato?lol), and factoring in the completely fabricated cooldown time he had previously established, Jiraiya was asking to verify his status.
But the moment those words left his mouth, he realized something terrible was about to happen.
Sure enough, Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear."
Then, he began to detail the so-called top-secret intelligence.
"After a year of continuous skirmishes, the border between the Sand and the Stone has essentially reached a temporary stalemate. The Sand lacks the strength to launch a large-scale counter-offensive against the Stone, and the Stone seems to have lost their appetite for invading the Land of Wind..."
"But the Hidden Stone isn't sitting idle."
"According to intel sent back from our spies, the Stone is preparing to divert their forces to launch a massive surprise attack against the Hidden Cloud."
"This intel is rock solid. Therefore, our plan is this: once the Stone begins their operation, Konoha will also launch a large-scale deployment. In practical terms, we'll be executing a pincer attack against the Cloud, aiming to heavily bleed their combat forces and force them into a dilemma that forces them to withdraw from the war."
"Considering the Cloud already has a mature defense system established on the Konoha front, it will be difficult for them to pull troops from here. Factoring in the deployment scale of the Stone, we have every reason to suspect that the Cloud will dispatch an elite unit to intercept the Stone. They might even send... the Raikage himself."
"Which brings us to your mission... specifically..."
Jiraiya pointed a finger at a specific spot on the map and began laying out the detailed operational plan.
After listening to Jiraiya's mission briefing, Kamishiro Hagoromo could only use a single phrase to describe his current mood.
"Holy shit!"
This was a compound, two-stage suicide mission!
He would genuinely rather go to the Hidden Rain to investigate that old man Hanzo!
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