Konoha's Hextech Ninja

"I missed you too." Yagami Yoruichi reached out and stroked Kurenai Yuhi's little head.

The little girl squinted her eyes comfortably, tilting her head back slightly, like a lazy kitten.

Seeing the two of them being so affectionate and oblivious to everyone else, Kurenai Yuhi felt like she was about to explode with anger. She wanted nothing more than to draw her sword and kill the bastard who had run off with her daughter.

"You two!" Kurenai Yuhi finally couldn't help but yell, "Are you pretending I don't exist?!"

Just as Yagami Yoruichi was about to say something, Yuhi Kurenai jumped out of her arms and scolded Yuhi Shinku with displeasure, "Why are you being so fierce! What if you scare Yoruichi-kun?!"

Hearing her daughter's words, Kurenai Yuhi felt a pang of pain in her heart, and was filled with endless grief and indignation.

Yagami Yoruichi found it amusing but didn't dare to laugh out loud. Holding Kurenai Yuhi's small hand, she whispered, "Uncle Kurenai is just concerned about you. Don't be like this."

Hearing Yagami Yoruichi's words, Kurenai Yuhi felt a sudden warmth in her heart.

Although this brat is annoying, he's not entirely useless.

At least they're reasonable!

Just then, Yagami Yoruichi said, "Uncle, I haven't seen Kurenai in a long time, and I have a lot to talk about, so I'm going out on a date. I won't be back for dinner tonight, but I'll bring Kurenai back before 10 pm. Goodbye, Uncle!"

Before Kurenai could react, she saw the two holding hands, leaving only their receding figures.

"You little rascal!"

Seeing her daughter's complete obedience to Yagami Yoru, Yuhi Shinku almost broke down and couldn't help but start cursing.

……

the other side.

Mitokado Homura, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Hatake Sakumo have all gathered in the Hokage's office.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept over the four people, lingering briefly on Orochimaru before turning to Sakumo Hatake and saying, "Although I have already read your report, I would like to hear you tell me yourself about the situation you encountered in the Land of Wind."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Sakumo Hatake immediately began to explain: "I infiltrated the Land of Wind twice to try and gather intelligence. The first time, I encountered Sasori of the Red Sand. His poison was extremely potent; two of my teammates died on the spot after only minor injuries. Another teammate managed to suppress the poison thanks to a special antidote passed down in his family, but he was also critically injured and on the verge of death. If it weren't for the intervention of Tsunade's disciple, he would have perished as well. But even if he had survived, he couldn't remain a ninja and would have had to retire..."

When Sakumo Hatake spoke of this matter, his tone was extremely heavy.

Two dead and one disabled – this not only means the loss of the individuals themselves, but also the devastation and hardship of their three families.

All of this was because he underestimated the enemy's strength.

"You just said you're Tsunade's disciple?" Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted Sakumo Hatake, turning his gaze to Tsunade and asking, "Is it that child, Yoruichi Yagami?"

Tsunade nodded and said, "I have hemophobia and cannot perform the surgery. Yoruichi and Jabami performed the surgery."

“Snake-like Ci, I know that child. He’s a decent medical ninja. But his skill level isn’t high enough to treat that level of severe injury.” Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

His wife, Yuan Fei Biwako, was the second-best medical ninja in Konoha after Tsunade, and also the teacher of Orochimaru.

He was naturally very familiar with Sheci's abilities.

“Yoruichi has excellent talent in medical ninjutsu, but she lacks sufficient experience,” Tsunade said. “I plan to have her intern at Konoha Hospital.”

“You are the best medical ninja in the village. Since you think his abilities are sufficient, let him go.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a moment and said, "I remember this child; he's not only talented in medical ninjutsu."

"He is also skilled in Water Release, Fire Release, and Wind Release," Tsunade said.

“In that case…” Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a moment, about to say something.

Tsunade suddenly spoke up, "We can talk about rewarding merits later. Yoruichi's contributions this time are not limited to this one thing."

"Oh?" Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully, not rushing to ask further questions, but instead looking at Sakumo Hatake and instructing, "Continue."

"Yes." Hatake Sakumo nodded and continued to recount his experience: "After the first failure, I organized another small team to infiltrate the Land of Wind to investigate intelligence. But unfortunately, the mission failed again. We were besieged by several elite Jonin from Sunagakure. I judged that there was no hope of completing the mission, so I negotiated with the Sunagakure ninjas in exchange for abandoning the mission and led the team back to the Land of Fire."

After a pause, Sakumo Hatake hesitated before speaking, "I have a guess, but I can't confirm if it's correct."

"Tell me," Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "Even if it's just a guess, it's still valuable."

"As I said, I encountered Sasori of the Red Sand the first time I infiltrated. Logically speaking, the second infiltration should have been more difficult, and Sunagakure should have had more stringent defenses. But in reality, the second infiltration went much more smoothly. We didn't get our presence known until we were near Sunagakure, when we fell into one of their hidden traps."

Sakumo Hatake briefly explained the situation, then stated his conjecture: "I suspect that the higher-ups of Sunagakure, at least most of the Jonin, are unaware that a battle had taken place between me and Sasori of the Red Sand."

"You mean..."

After a moment's thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi blurted out a guess: "Sasori of the Red Sand has defected?!"

"It may not necessarily be a defection, but there is very likely that something has gone wrong between him and Sunagakure."

Sakumo Hatake, unwilling to let his speculation influence Hiruzen Sarutobi's judgment, emphasized, "Lord Hokage, this is just my speculation, and there is not enough evidence."

Guesses should only be used as a reference, and should never be used as the sole basis for formulating various plans, etc.

Hiruzen Sarutobi certainly understood this.

As for how to verify and utilize this intelligence, he couldn't think of a plan that would be most beneficial to Konoha for the time being, so he simply put the matter aside for the time being and looked at Mitokado Homura, asking, "What's the situation in the Land of Rivers?"

Orochimaru was in charge of the Land of Rivers, but Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Homura Mitokado instead of Orochimaru, the implication of which was self-evident.

Orochimaru's eyes flickered, making it impossible to discern his thoughts.

Chapter 121 Merit, Ninjutsu

After gathering the information, Tsunade stayed behind alone, while the others returned to their posts or went home on leave.

"Now that there are no outsiders, you can speak." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Tsunade and asked, "Is it related to Yoruichi?"

"During her mission, Yoruichi accidentally discovered that Orochimaru and Root were plotting something in the Land of Rivers."

Tsunade succinctly explained the situation: "The Root ninjas tried to silence Yoruichi, but she killed them instead. After they told me about this, I discussed it with Advisor Yan and sent people to investigate. We confirmed that Root and Orochimaru were trying to control the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers. In terms of the root cause, Yoruichi deserves the credit for this."

The details of this incident have almost no connection to the original truth.

However, Tsunade didn't care about any of that.

As long as it doesn't pose a significant threat to the village, they'll say whatever benefits their own disciples.

That's just her personality; she's extremely protective of her own.

It's unclear how much of what Hiruzen Sarutobi believed.

“I see.” Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said, “Discovering Root’s conspiracy is indeed a merit. Treating the wounded counts as an A-rank medical mission. While there was an element of luck involved in discovering Root’s conspiracy, being able to do it is a testament to his skill, so it counts as an S-rank mission.”

"I still have quite a few merits to accumulate, don't I?"

Tsunade made a direct request: "I'll give my credit to Yoruichi and give her a scroll of Wind Release and Fire Release ninjutsu. Don't try to fool me with those trash ninjutsu."

Yoruichi Yagami's elemental attributes are water, fire, wind, and yang.

There's no need to elaborate on the medical ninjutsu of Yang Release; Tsunade herself is the number one medical ninja in the ninja world.

Tsunade also possesses various Water Release ninjutsu left behind by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, so she has no shortage of them.

The only thing missing is Fire Release and Wind Release.

If it were an ordinary ninja, simply making contributions wouldn't be enough to learn ninjutsu; they would also have to undergo rigorous screening.

However, Tsunade's disciples are naturally not comparable to ordinary ninjas.

Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for only a moment before nodding and saying, "I can give him five Fire Release techniques and five Wind Release techniques. No more than three of them can be B-rank or higher, and he can't choose forbidden techniques. Will you choose them for him, or will he choose them himself?"

Ten ninjutsu, including three advanced ninjutsu.

This number is already quite generous.

It's likely that Hiruzen Sarutobi was aware of Yoruichi Yagami's strengths and was helping her increase the diversity of her fighting methods, making up for her weaknesses as much as possible, and making her more well-rounded.

Tsunade was still somewhat dissatisfied. After thinking for a while, she said, "Add your notes on practicing Fire Release and Wind Release as well. I'm not good at the Five Elements Release techniques, so I can't teach him too much in that area."

Hiruzen Sarutobi is proficient in all attributes and has a deep understanding of the Five Elements Escape Techniques.

His training notes would be of great help to any ninja.

However, this thing can be 'copied' in batches, so giving out a copy wouldn't be a problem.

Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated only slightly before agreeing, nodding and saying, "Okay, I'll have someone make a copy and send it over."

"Let him choose his own ninjutsu." After demanding the benefits from her disciple, Tsunade didn't linger and turned to leave.

"Tsunade."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped Tsunade and said, "That child's strength has already surpassed many Jonin. Are you still planning to let him continue staying at the Ninja Academy? Why not let him graduate..."

“That depends on his own thoughts,” Tsunade interrupted Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying, “He can graduate whenever he wants.”

"Alright. Anyway, the current situation in the ninja world is barely holding on." Seeing Tsunade's resolute attitude, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't try to persuade her any further, but only reminded her, "But if one day the situation in the ninja world changes again, I hope he can be prepared at any time."

Tsunade understood Hiruzen Sarutobi's subtext.

The ninja world may appear calm on the surface, but it is actually turbulent beneath the surface.

No one can say for sure when the next Shinobi World War will arrive.

Once the Ninja World War breaks out, or even if there are only signs of it, a genius ninja like Yoruichi Yagami with outstanding strength will have to go to the battlefield.

It's impossible to let Yagami Yoruichi train and grow peacefully.

"The Ninja World War..."

Tsunade recalled her experience during the last Shinobi World War.

Especially the moment of losing the most important person in your life.

Tsunade stopped, without turning around, and after a long silence, said to Hiruzen Sarutobi with her back to him, "I understand."

……

That night, after reluctantly sending Kurenai Yuhi home, Yoruichi Yagami returned to the Senju clan's territory.

Just as I was about to enter the house, the door to the next room opened.

Tsunade came out and tossed a few scrolls to Yoruichi Yagami: "Learn these things as you see fit, but don't pass them on. Go to the Hokage Building tomorrow to collect your mission reward. If you don't know which ninjutsu to choose, I've prepared an explanation for you to refer to."

"Teacher?" Yagami Yoruichi held the scroll in confusion, wanting to open it and take a look.

When she looked up again, Tsunade had already closed the door and returned to her room.

Yagami Yoruichi hesitated for a moment, then took the scrolls back to his room and opened them one by one.