I'm retrieving corpses in Konoha.

And yet, Hinata Rena still needs his protection, which shows how poor her talent is.

As for the team composition this time, Shisui and Uchiha Natsu's strength goes without saying, and Uzuki Yugao's strength also surpasses that of a Chunin.

This team is clearly tasked with carrying out some important missions.

Therefore, it's not quite right for Hinata Rena to be here.

Uchiha Natsu glanced around, then greeted them, bowed, and went inside, standing in the empty space.

Kakashi then left the room and closed the door.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the documents in his hand and solemnly began to speak:

"We received a message today that our ally, the Land of Demons, is being attacked by a ghost army created by the demons."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Natsu's heart stirred.

The Land of Demons, monsters and goblins. These two keywords instantly brought back some plot details for him.

The Wraith is a kind of otherworldly demon, which is said to have nearly destroyed the world when it first erupted.

In the original timeline, it seems that more than a decade later, Huang Quan finally broke the seal on the demon and revived the ghost army.

Before it was sealed, it was Miroku, the priestess of the previous Demon Kingdom, who sacrificed herself to finally seal the body and soul of the demon separately.

'From this perspective, the Wraith is roughly equivalent to a Tailed Beast, or even more powerful. That means it's at least at the Kage level?'

'Then what about the corpse of this demon...'

With his mind racing, Uchiha Natsu came to his senses and listened as Hiruzen Sarutobi continued to recount the information about the messenger.

The Land of Demons has always been the Land of Fire's largest trading partner.

It can be said that trade with the Land of Demons has brought many benefits to the Land of Fire.

However, the Land of Demons has no ninjas, only some secret techniques.

It's similar to the Land of Iron, but its military strength is even weaker.

Not to mention samurai like Mifune, there weren't even any as strong as Mifune's subordinates.

Therefore, when Konoha was attacked, the Land of Demons was powerless to help.

In that country, the most powerful person seemed to be the ruler—the priestess.

However, the priestesses of the Land of Demons are only skilled in some sealing techniques and that special ability to "predict life and death".

She couldn't possibly defeat the demon on her own.

Therefore, after the outbreak of the demonic energy, the priestess immediately sought help from Konoha, just like more than ten years later.

The priestess did not seek help from any other countries or ninja villages.

Uchiha Natsu hesitated for a moment.

Since the seal on the demon was broken more than ten years later.

So this time, it should be what Tsunade said back then: the demon almost destroyed the world, and the priestess Miroku sacrificed herself to seal it away.

In other words, this is the first time the Ghost Legion has appeared, and the current ninja world has no idea just how powerful they are.

Uchiha Natsu didn't know if the truth was really as exaggerated as Tsunade had said.

Even the Nine-Tails only nearly wiped out the village.

However, it's always best to be cautious.

After explaining the general situation of the Land of Demons, Hiruzen Sarutobi paused and continued:

“This time, we will be sending out four squads. The four of you will act as the priestess’s guards, and I will dispatch three more squads of secret agents to deal with the ghost legion.”

Uchiha Natsu frowned and said, "Third Hokage, this number of people is a bit too few to deal with the Undead Legion."

Uchiha Natsu's unspoken message was that Hiruzen Sarutobi should send more trusted ANBU to their deaths, thus reducing the "destabilizing factors" in the coup.

The world was almost destroyed, and sending a few teams of ANBU, whose highest-ranking members were only Jonin, to stop the Ghost Legion was no different from sending them to their deaths.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and said, "That ghost legion is just a bunch of puppets. The Anbu is strong enough; three squads are sufficient."

"Furthermore, the secret agents I dispatched have already set off. This time, Shisui will be the captain, and you must reach the palace of the Land of Demons as soon as possible to assist in protecting the priestess."

In reality, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't think that the ghost army was that powerful.

The soldiers of the Demon Kingdom are all ordinary people, which is why they are helpless against these puppets.

If it were an Anbu unit led by a Jonin, it would be a completely different story.

'They've already set off, which means Kakashi's team didn't participate...'

Uchiha Natsu nodded and said no more.

Shisui solemnly accepted the order, then hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something.

But in the end, he didn't say anything.

He actually wanted Uchiha Natsu to be the captain, but considering that his current rank was higher than Uchiha Natsu's, he gave up on the idea.

After this war, Uchiha Natsu led the Uchiha clan to play a significant role, but he was not promoted to Jonin.

Instead, he was promoted to Special Jonin by Hiruzen Sarutobi on the grounds that he hadn't awakened his Sharingan.

The reason is that there is no precedent in the Uchiha clan for someone being promoted to Jonin without awakening their Sharingan, so Uchiha Natsumi is encouraged to work hard to awaken his Sharingan first.

Of course, Uchiha Natsu knew that these were all excuses.

However, this ninja rank doesn't matter anymore.

Uchiha Natsu no longer cared about ninja ranks, and his goals and vision were much longer-term than before.

After Uchiha Natsu and the others left the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the doorway expressionlessly for a long time.

Then, he murmured in a low voice:

"Rena and Uchiha Natsu are getting too close. In order to sever the bond between the Uchiha and Hyuga, this is the only way."

These four people were all handpicked by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Uchiha Shisui possesses the Mangekyou Sharingan and is currently the number one threat within the Uchiha clan.

Uchiha Natsu also began to emerge, leading the Uchiha clan to overcome many difficulties and becoming the second greatest threat.

Although Uzuki Yugao is a rising star, she is too dependent on Uchiha Natsu.

After the war ended, he actually teamed up with Uchiha Natsu and applied to return to their original team.

Therefore, even if they grow up, they will still be a threat.

Finally, Reina Hyuga became very close to Natsu Uchiha when they were in the corpse disposal unit.

After the war ended, Hiashi Hyuga actually applied for her transfer to Natsu Uchiha's team.

Most importantly, Hiashi Hyuga actually spoke up for her, which is simply unbelievable.

Reina Hyuga's behavior also put Hiruzen Sarutobi on guard.

He made this team arrangement after taking all these factors into consideration.

After a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes slightly, then looked away and continued to examine the documents expressionlessly.

.

Outside the Hokage's office.

Uchiha Natsu and the other three closed the door behind them, then walked along the corridor toward the main gate.

Uchiha Natsu walked on the far left, against the wall, while Hyuga Rena rushed ahead and came to Uchiha Natsu's side.

Honestly, I've been using Wildfruit Reading to read and follow my favorite books lately. It has easy source switching, multiple reading voice options, and works on both Android and Apple devices.

As they walked, they saw Hinata Rena looking straight ahead with a smile on her face.

His body leaned more and more to the left, and the corners of his mouth turned up more and more.

Uchiha Natsu instinctively accelerated forward, losing a step of his body.

Over the past few years, it has almost become muscle memory, like a conditioned reflex.

"oops!"

Reina Hyuga, who was about to lean against Natsu Uchiha, suddenly found herself leaning against nothing.

He cried out in alarm and slammed into the wall on his left.

Uchiha Natsu seemed to be slow to react, slowly turning around and looking at Hyuga Reina with a puzzled expression.

The other two also looked over, but it was Uzuki Yugao who reacted quickly and grabbed Hinata Rena's hand.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Uchiha Natsu asked, puzzled.

Hinata Rena didn't need to be pulled at all; she steadied herself.

Upon hearing this, she blinked her big eyes twice and pouted her rosy lips.

"Hmph, it's nothing. I was just annoyed by a cute guy."

After saying that, Hinata Rena returned to her seat as if nothing had happened.

Uzuki Yugao's long eyelashes trembled slightly as she looked at her "plain-looking" teacher and then at Hinata Reina, who had an "ordinary appearance."

Her slender right hand pinched her snow-white chin, sensing that things were not so simple.

Chapter 73 Terracotta Warriors

Only Shisui believed it to be true, that Hinata Reina was actually feeling unwell, which was why she lost her balance.

Shisui quickly said, "Let's disperse and prepare the items needed for the mission. The journey to the Land of Demons is long, and we may encounter urgent needs along the way."

"Rena-senpai can also take this time to rest properly. Natsu-senpai, what do you think?"

After speaking, Shisui turned his gaze to Uchiha Natsu, seeking Uchiha Natsu's opinion.

In Shisui's eyes, Hinata Rena and Uchiha Natsu had worked together for many years and were contemporaries, so it was only natural to classify them as seniors.

Uchiha Natsu nodded calmly and smiled, "Now that you're the captain, you're in charge."

Having received confirmation from Uchiha Natsu, Shisui said with relief, "Then let's meet at the main gate in two hours. Dismissed for now."