I'm retrieving corpses in Konoha.

Uchiha Natsu felt relieved, and then saw a familiar figure walk into the mission center.

This time, Kakashi wasn't wearing a mask or Anbu uniform. After glancing around the hall, he went straight to Uchiha Natsu.

"Good morning." Uchiha Natsu greeted him with a wave.

"Natsu, the Third Hokage is looking for you," Kakashi said succinctly, as always.

Uchiha Natsu's hand froze in mid-air. He felt that Kakashi was almost becoming a tool for the Third Hokage to find him.

Summoned by the Hokage, Uchiha Natsu couldn't delay. After saying goodbye to Kakashi, he immediately left the mission center and went to the Hokage Building not far away.

Upon entering, Uchiha Natsu noticed several familiar faces besides the Third Hokage.

Standing on the right are Yamanaka Inoichi and Uchiha Shisui, while on the left stand two advisors from Konoha Village, as well as Danzo, whose right eye is bandaged and who is holding a cane.

Danzo kept his eyes squinted, like a dying old man, and only slightly opened them after Uchiha Natsu entered the room.

But it was clear that Danzo had no interest in Uchiha Natsu; after glancing at him, he continued to play dead with his eyes closed.

"Third Hokage, two advisors, Danzo-sama." Uchiha Natsu greeted them one by one, behaving very humbly and without revealing any unusual expression.

Although I felt extremely disgusted.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and said in a deep voice, "Xia, the reason I called you here this time is to have you participate in an A-rank mission, temporarily teaming up with Jonin Inoichi and Jonin Shisui."

Then, Hiruzen Sarutobi explained the details of the mission to Natsumi Uchiha.

Upon hearing the details of the mission, Uchiha Natsu's heart skipped a beat.

This unexpected development in Kumogakure made Uchiha Natsu feel something was amiss. This trip to Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning might be a trap.

Even if the chances are slim, if it really is a case of the Hidden Cloud Village retaliating in kind, wouldn't they be in danger?

After hesitating for a moment, Uchiha Natsu cautiously asked, "Third Hokage, could this be a trap set by Kumogakure?"

Upon hearing this, Danzo opened his eyes briefly in surprise, then slowly closed them again, seemingly lost in thought.

However, the two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, instantly had a much lower impression of Uchiha Natsu.

"This is the result of negotiations between the high-level officials of both sides, and Cloud Village does not currently have the strength to declare war on us. If you are afraid, then find someone else," said Koharu Utatane with a cold snort.

Koharu's words were exactly what Uchiha Natsu wanted to hear. He didn't want to get involved in this mess; he was just a Chunin and it wasn't worth taking the risk.

But before Uchiha Natsu could speak, Hiruzen Sarutobi burst into laughter.

"Haha, it's good to be cautious. It's understandable that Xia would have such concerns. In fact, it's precisely because of Xia's personality that I chose her to participate in this mission."

By saying this, Hiruzen Sarutobi had essentially given an order, effectively sealing off any possibility of Uchiha Natsumi refusing.

Uchiha Natsu thought for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Third Hokage, are there any other people participating in this mission?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard and then said, "Bring your disciple, Yugao Uzuki, along too."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's idea was simple: he believed that Uchiha Natsu was saying this to try and secure a mission opportunity for his disciple.

Since the goal was to win over Uchiha Natsu, the Third Hokage made the decision directly.

Since this mission involves signing a peace treaty, it is inherently not dangerous, and it is also an A-level classified mission, making this experience extremely valuable even for a chunin or genin.

Moreover, genin (lower-ranking ninjas) almost never have the opportunity to undertake such missions.

So he sold it to Uchiha Natsu as a favor, and Uchiha Natsu would be grateful for his kindness in the future.

Uchiha Natsu originally only wanted to suggest that the fourth person choose a powerful Jonin, such as Kakashi.

But since the Third Hokage had said so, Uchiha Natsu ultimately did not refute it. However, he made a decision in his heart: he would definitely use Shadow Clones to participate in this mission.

If a fight really breaks out, release a bunch of shadow clones to hold the line, and the main body can run as far away as possible.

With the two most important candidates decided, the two advisors didn't bother with the rest, so they didn't question the decision of the third generation.

Danzo, on the other hand, never uttered a word from beginning to end, and didn't even look at Uchiha Natsu directly. He perfectly embodied the air of a superior.

With the mission finalized, Uchiha Natsumi, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Uchiha Shisui left the Hokage's office.

"Senior Natsu, please take good care of me on this mission." Shisui said to Uchiha Natsu with a smile as soon as he stepped out.

The two were from the same clan, so they had known each other for a long time, but they weren't very close.

When they first met, Shisui had just started school, while Uchiha Natsu had already graduated, so Shisui addressed Uchiha Natsu as "Natsu-senpai".

Even now, Uchiha Natsu is a Chunin, but eleven-year-old Shisui is already a Jonin, yet their titles remain unchanged.

"On the contrary, it is I who need to rely on Jonin Shisui for more care," Uchiha Natsuya replied with a smile.

The group already knew each other, so there was no need for them to get to know each other better. After exchanging greetings, Uchiha Natsumi went to find Uzuki Yugao.

When Uzuki Yugao heard that she would be carrying out a very important A-rank mission with two Jonin and her teacher, she became excited and thrilled.

However, Uchiha Natsu explained his concerns to Uzuki Yugao.

"Be careful. My shadow clones are not easy for them to detect, so I will use them openly. But you are not proficient in the shadow clone technique, so you cannot use it in front of them. You must always be vigilant."

Uzuki Yugao suppressed her excitement, nodded seriously, and understood the danger of this mission.

Uchiha Natsumi was satisfied with Uzuki Yugao's reaction and continued, "If there is an emergency, break my shadow clone, and I will find a way to deal with it."

Chapter 16 Misunderstanding?

After giving instructions to Uzuki Yugao, Uchiha Natsumi led her to the main gate of Konoha Village.

Yamanaka Inoichi and Uchiha Shisui were already waiting at the gate. After they met up, they set off for Kumogakure.

Without an employer accompanying them, ninjas do not need transportation, so Uchiha Natsu and the others all walked.

"Teacher, the Land of Lightning is so far away, why don't we take a carriage?" Uzuki Yugao asked in a low voice, puzzled.

Uzuki Yugao's only mission experience was recovering caravan supplies with Uchiha Natsu. The merchant employer had his own carriage, so they also benefited from it.

Another reason is that they have to stay with their employers before they can travel by car.

Therefore, Uzuki Yugao thought that such an important mission, and with such a long journey, should be accompanied by a carriage.

Uchiha Natsu's shadow clone shook its head and explained:

"In a carriage, if we are attacked, our reaction time will be slow and we won't easily spot an ambush. We are ninjas, and we should always be ready to react quickly."

Although the two tried to keep their voices down, they couldn't hide their conversation from Shisui and Inoichi.

Upon hearing Uzuki Yugao's question, Uchiha Shisui, who was walking ahead, couldn't help but smile helplessly.

In fact, Uchiha Shisui was a year younger than Uzuki Yugao, and Uzuki Yugao was a grade higher than him in school.

However, given Shisui's talent, he graduated from the Ninja Academy early.

By the time Uzuki Yugao graduated, Shisui had become a well-known Jonin, known as "Shisui of the Body Flicker".

It's estimated that the bounty on the black market is still quite high.

Yamanaka Inoichi, who was standing next to Shisui, didn't turn around after hearing the conversation, pretending not to have heard the whisper.

Although Uzuki Yugao, who was on the mission with him, seemed to have very little experience, this situation should not have occurred in an A-rank mission team.

However, Yamanaka Inoichi is a very humble and gentlemanly senior, so he sees Uzuki Yugao as if he were looking at his daughter who is about to grow up, and he is very tolerant of Uzuki Yugao.

After hearing Uchiha Natsumi's explanation, Uzuki Yugao suddenly realized and said, "I understand, teacher."

"Senior Xia, you two, master and disciple, get along so well," Uchiha Shisui said with a smile, slowing his pace and turning his head.

Uchiha Natsumi said modestly, "I'm only bringing her along. If there were two more, I'd probably be overwhelmed."

"Senior is too modest. The Third Hokage has praised you several times for your maturity and composure, making you suitable to lead the younger generation," Shisui said with a light laugh. Her long, feminine eyelashes fluttered slightly as she blinked.

Dude, you're really good at praising people...

Uchiha Natsu glanced into Shisui's eyes, then began to make plans.

If someone uses their Sharingan near Shisui, Shisui, who also possesses the Sharingan, will sense it even if Shisui is wearing sunglasses.

On this trip to the Land of Lightning, Uchiha Natsumi must not use his Sharingan lightly unless absolutely necessary.

Uchiha Shisui is so naive he's almost stupid. He has the Mangekyou Sharingan but doesn't know how to hide it. He might just expose his Sharingan too.

At that time, Danzo, that insidious Sharingan-collecting maniac, might set his sights on him.

Uchiha Natsu was not only afraid of being robbed, but also even more afraid of being targeted by thieves.

The Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire are very far apart, so every now and then they have to run quickly through the trees to increase their travel efficiency.

A week later, the team had crossed the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost, and then passed through the border of the Land of Lightning, approaching the Hidden Cloud Village.

Looking into the distance, you can see countless mountains standing tall, reaching into the clouds.

The winding mountain road encircles it, and there are few pedestrians on the road.

The Hidden Cloud Village is built on a high mountain, and just by looking at it, you can feel its grandeur and majesty.

"I really don't understand where they're going to grow their crops. Are they so rich that the whole village has to buy their food?"

As the group watched and sighed, Uchiha Natsu suddenly asked in confusion.

Upon hearing this, Yamanaka Inoichi joked, "Perhaps they only eat meat, after all, many people here are quite burly."

They all smiled and didn't pay attention to the topic.

Since it was a peace treaty, there were naturally special people to receive them. Some people were already guarding the "mountain gate" of Kumogakure, waiting for the Konoha envoy to arrive.

The person leading Uchiha Natsu and the others was a tall, young Chunin.

He led the group to a reception room not far from the Cloud Hidden Thunder Shadow Tower, and then waited outside the door.

On the way, Uchiha Natsu's shadow clone discovered that there were very few ninjas in Kumogakure, and they could hardly see any ninjas.

But after thinking about it, I figured they were all out on missions, so I didn't pay much attention.

Upon entering the reception room, one can see that many tables are set up in the room.

But there was nothing on the table; it was very clean.

The Fourth Raikage sat in the central seat, his sharp gaze sweeping over the Cloud Village team.

On either side of Lei Ying stood a middle-aged man with one eye and a dark-skinned but very beautiful gray-haired girl.

[I highly recommend Wildfruit Reading; it's really good for tracking your books. You can download it here and give it a try.]

Uchiha Natsu remembered that the middle-aged man held a high position in Kumogakure and was named Tsuchishiro.