Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

Today is their first appearance.

They only released a message about the "establishment of the Anbu" at the Hokage Building to avoid the villagers worrying about foreign invasion.

There has been no public explanation, and even many clan leaders of the smaller ninja clans are unaware of it.

Only a few major ninja clans remained tight-lipped about this.

Many of them were relatives or friends who had been recruited into this newly established, mysterious organization. However, no matter how much they tried to find out, the recruits kept their mouths shut and refused to reveal any information.

Combined with the large-scale, covert purge operation in the early hours of the morning, and the unusual silence and vigilance from all sides, those in Konoha with keen senses had already realized:

The power structure of Konoha is likely to undergo a major adjustment in the future.

A power of unknown origin and unknown details, yet exuding a formidable and intimidating aura, was quietly taken into the Hokage's hands.

or……

It's not Naruto.

In short, the first appearance of the Anbu left a very strong impact on the villagers of Konoha.

With information restricted and the full picture unclear, various rumors fermented, turning it directly into an urban legend of Konoha.

This sense of mystery is exactly what Shen Er deliberately wanted.

Currently, the power of the Dark Division is his power.

Mystery itself is a form of invisible deterrence.

Sarutobi Sasuke submitted his mission summary on time. So far, the operation has captured four spies from the four major countries. These people all wanted to take advantage of the First Hokage's busy family affairs to gather intelligence.

There must be even deeper spies lurking in the shadows, who will report everything they see and hear about Konoha's ANBU back to their respective ninja villages.

Ultimately, this forced other ninja villages to follow suit, sparking a trend of forming ANBU (Anbu).

...

Shen Er, together with Uchiha Chiri, went to the Senju clan to attend the wedding of Takayuki and Princess.

They sat at the second table.

The wedding was an extremely grand affair, far exceeding the scale of Tobirama Senju's wedding. After all, the bride was the daughter of a daimyo, and in terms of wealth, the daimyo was the richest person in the Land of Fire.

There were many people attending the wedding.

Even daimyo from other countries sent envoys to celebrate this historic moment.

Shen Er looked towards the main table.

Hashirama Senju smiled brightly; although he was over forty years old, his smile still conveyed a sense of innocence.

He patted his son, Senju Takayuki, on the shoulder, and then whispered something to the princess of the Land of Fire.

Not long after, Hashirama's eyes reddened.

This legendary ninja god, who dominated the ninja world and looked down upon the world, was moved to tears at his own son's wedding. At the end of his life, to see his child get married; to see his granddaughter and nephew born—he had no regrets…

Upon witnessing this scene.

Even Uchiha Chiri, standing beside him, was somewhat moved, and his mood inexplicably plummeted:

"The journey of the Hokage has been...not easy. If Madara were still alive, he could have witnessed this scene today."

Shen Er casually remarked, "The Hokage and Madara Uchiha are enemies, right?"

"They are enemies, but they are also friends who grew up side by side and understand each other."

Everyone present was immersed in the wedding atmosphere.

Nobody noticed...

Outside the gates of the Thousand Hands Clan's territory, a burly man with flowing black hair and an eyepatch over one eye stood with his arms crossed, watching everything unfolding inside through the open gates.

He muttered to himself, "You'll drown in this illusion, Hashirama."

The Hyuga ANBU ninja on guard atop a high utility pole noticed his presence. He scanned him with his Byakugan, but finding nothing amiss, he turned his gaze elsewhere and ceased his vigilance.

A moment of silence.

The man took out the banknotes and placed them on the gift table.

The doorman glanced down, his face changed drastically, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Ten million taels?! May I ask your honorable name?"

The man paused briefly, then slowly began to speak:

"Maha."

“Okay, Mr. Maha, please come in and have a seat.”

When the doorman looked up to respond, the door was already empty; the burly figure had vanished. "Huh? Where did he go?"

The doorman looked around, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.

He looked down and saw that the gift money was still there.

"What a weirdo..."

The doorman scratched his head, noted down the strange incident, and planned to report it to the clan chief after the wedding.

Such a large gift must mean the clan leader is a good friend of the leader.

After several rounds of drinks...

After the wedding, Takayuki Senju and the princess were led to their bridal chamber.

Hashirama, quite drunk, entered the reception room, occasionally grinning foolishly.

He praised Shen'er, who was accompanying him, saying, "Shen'er, I'm relieved to have the Anbu in your hands! Today, the Anbu's operation resulted in the capture of several spies. I heard the report from Sasuke. Well done! No one dared to disturb Takayuki's wedding."

"In terms of professional skills, you were the one who taught them; I didn't contribute much." Shen Er didn't take credit. "Besides, I only directed one Anbu operation on behalf of the Hokage. The Anbu is a force unique to the Hokage."

"Haha, don't be so serious! We're friends. There's no need to be so formal."

"Rules are meant to be followed. Even if I can be sure of my conscience, the leader who takes over the Root after I die may not be able to do so."

After saying this, he turned to Mito Uzumaki and said, "Hashirama has had too much to drink. Please take care of him, Mito-sama. I'll be leaving now."

After Mito left, she spoke to Hashirama about her family matters:

"Longzhi's wedding received a total of 20 million taels of silver in wedding gifts. What are you planning to do with them?"

"Save it!" Hashirama declared boldly. "No one is allowed to touch it. It's for my unborn granddaughter."

“That’s true. I asked the princess, and she also wants children.” Mito nodded, then added, “There’s something strange about this. At the wedding this afternoon, a man named Maha gave a separate dowry of ten million taels of silver. Do you know him?”

"Maha?"

Hashirama Senju thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know him."

"Ten million taels is no small sum. Think again, is this a friend you've overlooked? If so, that would be extremely rude."

Hashirama's drunkenness subsided somewhat, and his eyes cleared a bit: "Among my friends, the richest was probably Madara, but he's dead."

"Perhaps it was some wealthy person who shared my beliefs who happened to be passing through Konoha and heard about the wedding, and then gave it to me on a whim."

"There are quite a few rich people in the ninja world."

"Ah ha ha……"

Chapter 78 Heavenly Delivery Technique, Thunder Shadow Enters the Net

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye after Takayuki Senju's wedding.

In the past six months, the staffing of all four divisions of the Anbu has been fully filled.

And what Shen had been hoping for finally happened: the First Raikage fell seriously ill.

This intelligence was delivered to the Hokage Building this morning.

Hashirama Senju summoned Tobirama Senju and went to the Hokage's office.

He remained calm and handed over the letter, saying, "Take a look at both."

He glanced at it and found that the content was basically consistent with his prediction.

The Eight-Tails' rampage caused a great commotion. Although the First Raikage, A, successfully subdued the Eight-Tails and ended the chaos, he was also seriously injured as a result.

His injuries worsened over the course of six months, and he was now in critical condition.

Logically, such confidential information should be strictly guarded to prevent its leakage. However, this morning, an envoy from Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village) delivered a letter, along with the medical card from Gospel Hospital that Shen had personally handed over.

It originated from the Second Raikage's instruction.

The letter stated that in exchange for this medical card, they could exchange it for an opportunity to have Shen travel to Kumogakure to treat the First Raikage.

Hashirama was aware of and fully approved of the fact that he was giving medical cards to other villages. He had deliberately built the Gospel Hospital on a scale far exceeding the actual need for beds, with the intention of attracting people from all over the ninja world to seek medical treatment during peacetime.

If the First Raikage were the first outsider to seek medical treatment in Konoha, he would undoubtedly set a great example.

Tobirama immediately stated, "We cannot save him."

"The people of Kumogakure are fierce and have always been fearful of power but not virtuous. Saving them, the First Raikage, is just adding trouble to Konoha."

"What do you think, Shen'er?"

"Saved."

Shen Er slowly said, "I sent out the medical card, and Kumogakure did not violate the peace treaty, so I should fulfill my promise. But it's not me going to Kumogakure; it's having them send the First Raikage to Konoha."

Hashirama nodded: "That's the same idea. We need to show Konoha's sincerity to all the villages in the ninja world, but this sincerity must be based on Konoha's own safety."

"Since they need something from others, they shouldn't have asked the elders of Konoha to leave the village; they should have brought the sick person here themselves. Kumogakure is a bit clueless about this."

Hashirama Senju was definitely a kind-hearted person.

At the Five Kage Summit, the First Raikage wasn't as aggressive as Ishigawa or Retsuto, and their interaction was relatively pleasant. However, this doesn't mean he was a saint, rashly sending Jin to another country to rescue a Kage from another village.

"Send someone to inform the messenger from Kumogakure."

Hashirama defined the matter as follows: "Saving people is fine, but the First Raikage must personally go to Evangelion Hospital."

...

Hidden Cloud Village.

Raikage Building.