Naruto Online: Hyuga Branch Family? Let's go all out!

Chapter 133 Inviting Sakumo Hatake

"How did Lord Sakumo know I was here to see you, and not Kakashi?" Ning Yuan asked curiously. "I hope I didn't give myself away!"

"Kakashi mentioned you to me, saying you're someone who doesn't care about anything except Kurenai Yuhi!" Sakumo Hatake laughed. "Besides, although you and Kakashi are classmates, you don't really interact. With that kind of relationship and your personality, even if you wanted to congratulate Kakashi on his promotion, you should just mention it when you meet him, why would you come to his door for a visit!"

Ning Yuan realized that it was because his personality had been too isolated on a daily basis.

"Furthermore, you've never demonstrated your abilities at school, but in my opinion, you're clearly very strong!" Hatake Sakumo continued, "Strong abilities not only mean you're hiding them, but combined with your previous personality traits, it also indicates you're a very goal-oriented person, the kind who won't reveal your strength unless absolutely necessary."

"Strength, very strong?" Kakashi Hatake immediately turned to look at Ning Yuan. He had always felt that his deskmate was very strong, and today his father finally confirmed it!

"Lord Sakumo's understanding of human nature is truly profound!" Ning Yuan exclaimed, "No wonder he's someone you can tell is extraordinary just by looking at Might Guy."

Since his sense of smell was so keen, Ning Yuan became curious: "Since Lord Sakumo is so insightful about human nature, he must also know our Hokage quite well!"

"Hokage, what's wrong?" Kakashi looked confused, not quite understanding.

"You want to talk to me about this?" Hatake Sakumo asked calmly, "Are you representing the Hyuga branch family or the Hyuga clan?"

As the most popular candidate for Hokage, how could he not attract the allegiance of certain clans? He had seen this kind of thing many times before.

I just didn't expect the Hyuga clan to send out a seven-year-old child.

"I can indeed represent the Hyuga branch family, but this time my identity is not that of the Hyuga branch family!" Ning Yuan said, "Lord Sakumo, I wonder if you have ever heard of the Ning Organization?"

"The Ning Organization?" Upon hearing this name, Hatake Sakumo's brows immediately furrowed.

The word "organization" itself sounds like something you shouldn't deal with.

Unfortunately, he had never heard of it before.

Konoha receives news of Akatsuki's random actions.

The Ning organization now has thousands of core members and hundreds of thousands of branch members, directly controlling the entire Land of Fire. Doesn't anyone sense something is wrong?

Not really!

Because the Ning organization's form of existence, communication methods, and recruitment methods were ahead of their time and exceeded the limits of the imagination of the ninja world.

First: Ning's core members communicated via paper, allowing them to transmit information without meeting in person. This method of communication offered even greater confidentiality than mobile phones, making it impossible to investigate!

Second: Ning Yuan, who frequently convenes meetings, travels all over the world by plane, making him difficult to track. In addition, he possesses the Byakugan and sensory ninjutsu.

Third: Although the changes in the Land of Fire are significant, they are so widespread that people tend to overlook them and consider them normal, because these changes are subtle and gradual.

Fourth: Ning's organization members not only have little contact with each other, but most of them don't even contact each other at all.

After their values ​​were reshaped, they all served the people spontaneously and voluntarily. If you investigated, you would only think that this person was selfless and a saint. You would never imagine that someone was behind this!

Some of the Ning organization's decrees were also issued through official documents, which concealed the Ning organization behind them.

All these factors led to the fact that even top ninjas and professional intelligence agents like Hatake Sakumo had never heard of the Ning Organization.

Seeing Hatake Sakumo's bewildered expression, Ning Yuan smiled. He had designed the entire Ning organization system, and the fact that it could be hidden right under the noses of someone like Hatake Sakumo was a testament to his excellent design skills.

"It's alright if you haven't heard of them, I can introduce them to you!" Ning Yuan said with a smile, "You should know Orochimaru and Tsunade, two of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha!"

"Who doesn't recognize him!" Kakashi interjected, "Everyone knows him, okay!"

"It's good that you know them!" Ning Yuan nodded. "They are members of the Ning Organization!"

"What?" Kakashi was taken aback, and Sakumo Hatake's pupils also shrank.

Orochimaru and Tsunade are both high-ranking officials in Konoha!

Although they don't have any specific affairs to attend to and rarely appear in the village, as long as their strength and prestige remain, they can gather countless followers with a single call to arms!

"Are you kidding me?" Sakumo Hatake asked.

"Didn't you notice that those two haven't been in the village for a long time?" Ning Yuan retorted.

"This..." Hatake Sakumo thought for a moment, then said, "According to the Hokage, Tsunade is away traveling to study and research methods to treat hemophobia, while Orochimaru has other missions to undertake."

"It's just an excuse for them to go out and expand their organization!" Ning Yuan laughed. "Otherwise, how can they grow their organization if they're always stuck in the village?"

"Huh?" Sakumo Hatake didn't say anything, but Kakashi, lacking composure, spoke first: "But Lady Tsunade has been gone from the village for over two years. Doesn't that mean this organization has grown very large?"

"That's right!" Ning Yuan nodded and asked, "Kakashi, you've been going out on missions frequently this past year, haven't you noticed any changes in the Land of Fire?"

"Changes?" Kakashi thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know!"

He didn't know it because this change started two years ago, but he only started leaving the village a year ago and living amidst the changes, so he thought the changes were normal.

But Sakumo Hatake was born before the era of change, so he immediately frowned.

"The Land of Fire is building roads, fighting bandits, and still doing compulsory education?!" After thinking for a moment, Hatake Sakumo asked, "Could this be related to the Ning organization?!"

"What do you think?!" Ning Yuan nodded and smiled, "Do you think the daimyo and nobles alone would be willing to teach knowledge to ordinary people?"

As a samurai turned ninja, Hatake Sakumo found it difficult to speak ill of the daimyo.

But he was also an upright man, and he couldn't bring himself to say anything good about Da Ming against his conscience.

If you can't say anything nice, and you can't bring yourself to say anything bad, then you can only keep quiet.

Kakashi, however, seemed curious: "But I've met some nobles during my missions, and they seemed like quite nice people!"

"That's because they've been cursed by our Ning organization and are forced to become good people!" Ning Yuan said calmly.

"A cursed seal?" Kakashi was still inexperienced and didn't understand such a thing, but Hatake Sakumo's eyes flashed, and he understood the Ning organization's operation.

"How many people are you controlling?" Sakumo Hatake asked sternly.

"There must be 30,000!" Ning Yuan thought for a moment and replied.

He cast few spells twice a week, but as Yakushi Nonou saw the Ning organization getting better and better, with orphanages being built in various places, his enthusiasm grew more and more fervent, and he wished he could work 24 hours a day.

"What?" Upon hearing this, Hatake Sakumo was so shocked that he stood up immediately.

It's already a major taboo for ninjas to attack ordinary people, yet you actually used cursed seals to control people, and even controlled 30,000 people in a row?

"How dare you do this? You have violated the ninja's prohibition!" Hatake Sakumo shouted sternly.

"But we're not ninjas!" Ning Yuan spread his hands. "Our Ning Organization has never been a ninja organization either. It's just that some people in the organization are former ninjas! So what does your ninja ban have to do with our Ning Organization?"

"Huh?" Kakashi looked bewildered, as if he had heard something incredible.

Is it possible to do it like this?

Sakumo Hatake was also taken aback, and subconsciously thought about it, and realized that it really was true!

The ninja ban is meant to restrain ninjas, and the Ning organization has never claimed to be a ninja organization!

"Besides, even if we violated the ninja ban, so what!" Ning Yuan spread his hands: "We captured bandits, controlled nobles, and established a security force. Now the security situation throughout the Land of Fire is improving, roads are being built rapidly, taxes for ordinary people are decreasing, and they're earning more money. We're also distributing food to ordinary people. Last year, I heard that some people starved to death, but this year there haven't been any reports of people starving to death!"

"Lord Hatake Sakumo, you are an upright ninja who frequently travels the ninja world on missions. You should judge for yourself whether the Land of Fire has been getting better or worse since our Ning Organization was established these past two years?"

Sakumo Hatake was speechless.

To be fair, the Land of Fire has really been getting better since the Ning Organization came into being.

Previously, when he took on an escort mission, he might encounter seven or eight groups of robbers along the way, but now he hasn't encountered them even once.

Previously, escorting a caravan would take more than ten days, not only because of bandits along the way, but also because the roads were rugged, muddy, and difficult to traverse.

What now?

The roads have all been paved with cement, and cars can travel faster on them than before!

Moreover, service stations were built at intervals, where caravans could eat something, unlike before when there was nowhere to take shelter when it rained.

The changes in the lives of ordinary people are even more visible to the naked eye.

His ability to judge people was superb, so he could naturally tell what the living conditions of the people in the Land of Fire were like.

The people of the former Land of Fire had blank stares, hunched backs, and no trace of hope for survival could be seen in their bodies.

But now, the people of the Land of Fire have straightened their backs, their eyes have become brighter, and even their voices have become louder.

Is this a good change or a bad change? Is there even a question?

Of course, it cannot be denied that some people simply like dilapidated buildings and the hopeless state of the people.

Just like some big stars standing in the ruins and saying to the camera, although they lost their houses, they gained freedom.

However, such people do not exist in the ninja world. If even one is found, Ning Yuan orders them to be executed immediately, without even giving them the chance to be cursed and have their values ​​altered.

Fortunately, Sakumo Hatake is not that kind of person.

His silence is a form of approval.

After a long silence, Hatake Sakumo spoke: "So, why did you come to find me?"

"If the Ning Organization wants to change the world, it needs to unite all forces that can be united. I hope you can join us and work together!" Ning Yuan said earnestly.

"I'd like to learn more about the Ning organization, is that alright?" Hatake Sakumo was already intrigued.

He is a staunch supporter of the Will of Fire, and Ning's actions perfectly embody the Will of Fire.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's version of the Will of Fire is nothing more than a spirit of dedication. But when it comes to dedication, who can compare to the new humans of the Ning organization who have had their values ​​reshaped after being cursed?

"Of course!" Ning Yuan said, casually drawing a circle, and then a stack of books fell out of the circle.

"These are all the theoretical books and internal publications that our organization has been continuously enriching and developing over the past two years. They're all here, and they contain a wealth of examples."

Sakumo Hatake's eyes narrowed. Was that just now... a space-time ninjutsu?

No mistake, absolutely.

but

He looked at the boy in front of him again. If he remembered correctly, the boy was the same age as his son, only 7 years old this year.

A 7-year-old child knows space-time ninjutsu?

Turning to look at Kakashi again, Kakashi picked up a book with a curious expression, still unaware of what what had just happened meant!

"This organization..." Hatake Sakumo sighed. A seven-year-old child could use space-time ninjutsu, Orochimaru and Tsunade were members, and he himself did not reject their ideology.

It seems there's no reason to refuse?

"Oh, right!" Ning Yuan pulled out another scroll and handed it to Hatake Sakumo: "This is a mission our Hokage-sama is preparing to assign you!"

Naruto? Ready?

In other words, how did a task that hasn't even been released yet end up in your hands?

Are there members of the Ninja Organization around the Hokage?

Sakumo Hatake took a deep breath, took the scroll, and glanced at it.

"Go to the Land of Lightning to meet an important intelligence agent. Time and location."

"Is there a problem with this mission?" Sakumo Hatake asked.

If there are no problems, it seems unnecessary to bring it up here so formally.

"This brings us back to the question I asked you at the beginning: what kind of person is our Hokage?" Ning Yuan said calmly, "I don't want to waste too much time, so I'll just tell you simply that he is a person who is obsessed with the position of Hokage. He wants to occupy this position permanently and wants to pass it on to his son and grandson."

Sakumo Hatake paused for a moment, then nodded.

After all, he was already a high-ranking member of Konoha, and he was also very good at judging people. He could probably sense what the Hokage was thinking.

"It's obvious you're blocking his way!" Ning Yuan shrugged. "If it were just you who's powerful, that would be one thing, but your son is also incredibly powerful. Hiruzen Sarutobi believes that if you become Hokage, the next Hokage might be Kakashi, so he teamed up with Danzo to assign you this task."

"Is there a problem with this mission?" Kakashi also came over and curiously glanced at the mission details. It was just about picking up someone!

"The mission itself is fine, but the execution of the mission is problematic!" Ning Yuan said. "During the mission, your father's teammates will be captured, and then Lord Sakumo will face a dilemma: choose between his teammates and the intelligence!"

"Of course, it's about choosing teammates!" Kakashi immediately said. "Anyone who doesn't value their teammates is worse than trash!"

"Then the village will say that this intelligence is extremely important, related to Konoha's ten-year strategy, and that the loss is enormous!"

"Uh..." Kakashi was speechless for a moment, then asked, "So, should we choose intelligence?"

"So your father doesn't value his comrades. How can someone who doesn't value his comrades become Hokage?"

Kakashi was speechless. It seemed like no matter which way he went, it was a trap!

"Based on the organization's assessment of your character, you will prove your loyalty to the Will of Fire with your death!" Ning Yuan looked at Hatake Sakumo.

Sakumo Hatake silently looked at the mission details, pondering the two possibilities Ning Yuan had given him.

After a long silence, he nodded.

It has to be said that this organization not only knows Naruto very well, but also knows him very well.

If he were truly faced with such a dilemma, he might indeed choose to die to prove his innocence.

"Father?" Kakashi looked up immediately upon hearing that his father might die, only to see that Sakumo Hatake's eyes were desolate and his gaze was distant.

Kakashi, who spent every day with his father, immediately understood that what Ning Yuan said might be true!

"Father, I don't want you to die!" He immediately lunged at Hatake Sakumo and hugged his leg.

Sakumo Hatake, however, was frowning, still pondering a way to break the deadlock.

If he encountered this situation without knowing it, he might really be helpless.

But now that we know, it would be unreasonable to fall into the same trap again.

"With my strength, if I were paired with three powerful teammates, this kind of thing shouldn't have happened, right?" Sakumo Hatake asked.

"How do you know your three teammates are your own people?" Ning Yuan asked in return.

Sakumo Hatake was speechless again.

"Of course, the organization can help you through this difficult time, but what about the next one?" Ning Yuan continued, "Unless your reputation plummets or you die, their schemes won't stop!"

"The Hokage, is he really that kind of person?" Kakashi was still somewhat incredulous, but on one side was his father, and on the other was the Hokage.

Without a second thought, he sided with his father.

What? You're saying Ning Yuan deliberately came to deceive the two of them?

With his extensive social and combat experience, Hatake Sakumo was not easily fooled.

The changes in the Land of Fire are real, the newly built roads and schools are real, and Ning Yuan's space-time ninjutsu is real.

Even though it's impossible to verify whether Orochimaru and Tsunade are members of the organization, the mission on the scroll can be verified very soon!

Surely he can't have bribed even the Hokage!

If all the Hokage are members of the Ning organization, then joining the Ning organization or not makes no difference.

"Since you came to me and had a premonition of this, you must have made some arrangements!" After thinking for a moment, Hatake Sakumo suddenly realized that he was not without a way out.

If he was destined to die, then what was Ning Yuan doing here? Was he recruiting corpses?

"We do have other plans for you!" Ning Yuan nodded with a smile.

It's easy to talk to smart people, especially someone like Sakumo Hatake who understands human nature.

It seems that the Ning organization will have another pillar of support.

Look at the people in my Ning organization: Orochimaru, the master of technology; Tsunade, the master of medicine; Sakumo Hatake, the king of assassination; and Nono Yakushi, the king of spies.

The Akatsuki organization next door: a rebellious, explosive teenager; an artist who transformed himself into a puppet; a problem Uchiha who killed his entire family; a money-grubbing old man; a cult leader.

How can you change the world with such a bunch of worms?

"The organization's advice is to actively enter the game and then commit suicide!" Ning Yuan said.

"What?!" Kakashi immediately exclaimed, "What kind of suggestion is this? It's just asking for death!"

"So this death isn't real, it's a fake death!" Ning Yuan said. "Since only Lord Shuomao's death can stop their schemes, then let him die in front of them! Our Ning organization happens to be lacking a disciplinary inspector, and I think Lord Shuomao is perfect for the job!"

Currently, there are only two S-rank core members working full-time for the Ning organization: Tsunade and Yakushi Nono, which is still a bit too few.

Sakumo Hatake hasn't agreed yet, but it is indeed one possible path.

At worst, one could infiltrate the Ning organization to see if it's really as good as they claim.

But Kakashi was already unhappy: "Does it have to be this way? Can't we just fight back?"

Hatake Sakumo was taken aback, then looked at Ning Yuan.

He didn't mean to rebel, but he was curious about this question: if you have two of the three legendary Sannin and now you have Sakumo Hatake, you should have the power to rebel against the Hokage, right?

Then why not oppose it?

"Our organization has its own considerations!" Ning Yuan shrugged.

He didn't know the reason either!

He couldn't very well say that he was a fun-loving person and really wanted to see Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression when he was abandoned by everyone, could he?

To just push him out of office like that would be too easy on him.

He needs to be imprisoned and witness firsthand how Konoha can thrive without him.

Sakumo Hatake stopped asking questions and instead picked up a book titled "Ning's Organizational Structure and Functions": "Aren't you afraid I'll take this and report it to the Hokage?!"

"Whatever!" Ning Yuan shrugged. "What can a book like 'The Romance of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms' tell me?"

"Huh?" Hatake Sakumo was taken aback and immediately looked at the book in his hand, only to find that the title of the book was "The Organizational Structure and Functions of Ning" just now, but it had now become "The Romance of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms"!

What kind of tactic is this?

Is it ninjutsu?

What kind of ninjutsu could do such a thing?

At this moment, the Ning organization, whose name he had only just heard of, suddenly shrouded Hatake Sakumo like a fog.

He looked up, about to say something, but then realized that Ning Yuan, who had just been sitting upright in the chair, had vanished into thin air!

"It's space-time ninjutsu again!"

Looking at the book in my hand again, it had become "Ning Organizational Structure and Its Functions".

It was as if what had just happened was all a hallucination.

But how could that be!

As a dignified elite Jonin, Konoha's White Fang, whose strength is already at the Kage level, is in his prime and has no wife. Could he possibly be old and blind?

"Father?" Kakashi turned to look at Sakumo Hatake, then extended his hand: "Whatever you choose, I will firmly support you!"

Sakumo Hatake raised his hand and stroked Kakashi's slightly prickly hair, but kept his eyes fixed on the gate, remaining silent for a long time.

After a long while, a gentle voice came from the room: "Why don't you read a book first?"

Regardless of whether I join the Ning organization in the future or agree to their suggestions, it's always good to learn about the organization first.

As for informing on someone?

Sakumo Hatake really hadn't thought that much about it.

He is an adult and knows that the world is not simply black and white.

Even with the Akatsuki organization, Hanzo knew to negotiate first, and only take action if negotiations failed.

Whether or not to oppose the Ning organization is something only the Hokage needs to consider. He's just a Jonin class leader, why should he think so much?

Of course, whether or not to join the Ning organization is his own business, and he can make that decision himself.

(End of this chapter)