This Water Shadow is very strong, but overly cautious.

"call"

"Ok."

"Since this is your idea, I will respect it."

Sarutobi Hiruzen responded with pretended difficulty, still with a kind smile on his face.

Seeing this, Hatake Sakumo also breathed a sigh of relief.

"but"

"There's something you need to take care of before that."

While speaking in a gentle tone, a cold glint suddenly flashed in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.

Chapter 569: The Ancient Hero's Choice

Hatake Sakumo, who had kept his head down, did not see the flash of cold light in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.

On the contrary, after hearing Hiruzen's words, a hint of joy suddenly blossomed in Hatake Sakumo's heart.

Based on his understanding of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage has never been a person who likes to talk nonsense. Since the other party spoke like this, it means that this "mission" has another deeper meaning.

Combining the content of his conversation with Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hatake Sakumo guessed that this so-called "mission" was his last "test" before he escaped from darkness and walked into the light.

Sakumo, who was unable to understand Sarutobi Hiruzen's deeper meaning, only thought that this was the Third Hokage standing in the sun, with a gangway extended to him from the light.

"Yes, Third Generation-sama!"

At that moment, Hatake Sakumo responded to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Even with Shuomao's will that was stronger than steel, his voice was trembling a little because of his inner excitement.

No one knew how long he had been waiting for this day.

Sarutobi Hiruzen ignored the ninja who had just achieved a brilliant victory for Konoha on the battlefield. He simply stood up from behind his desk and walked towards Sakumo, who was kneeling on one knee, with unhurried steps.

Soon, Sarutobi Hiruzen came to Hatake Sakumo's side.

"Clap"

Due to the height difference, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't need to bend down and patted Hatake Sakumo's shoulder very easily.

Then, with his eyes still as indifferent as a dead pool, he whispered in Sakumo's ear in an extremely kind tone.

"hehe"

"Sakumo, this is what happened."

"You have to do it well."

Sarutobi Hiruzen whispered the details of Hatake Sakumo's mission.

Hatake Sakumo listened very carefully, not missing a single detail. He didn't hear anything unusual in Sarutobi Hiruzen's words; the mission described by the Third Hokage sounded perfectly ordinary.

"Hokage-sama, please rest assured.

"I will ensure that the mission goes smoothly."

So Hatake Sakumo once again made a firm promise to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Hearing this, a strange look flashed in Sarutobi Hiruzen's old eyes, and he smiled again and spoke to Hatake Sakumo.

"hehe"

“The future belongs to you young people.”

After saying this, he looked at Hatake Sakumo meaningfully, as if he was really just a gentle elder who was dedicated to encouraging the younger generation.

"Hokage-sama(cede)..."

Perhaps because he was too excited, the trembling in Sakumo's voice became more and more obvious.

In this situation, he felt that every word of the Third Hokage seemed to be full of hints.

After hearing what Sarutobi Hiruzen said, Hatake Sakumo, who thought he had been recognized by the Hokage, suddenly felt a heat surging in his veins.

What ninja wouldn't want the recognition of his village's Kage?

Which ninja doesn't covet the position at the top of the village?

Even Konoha White Fang Hatake Sakumo is not immune to this.

"The current situation is turbulent, and this mission is extremely urgent."

"Sakumo, go and complete your mission."

Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't say anything more and ended the conversation between the two with a casual tone.

"Yes!"

As a ninja, decisiveness is the first principle, and Hatake Sakumo will certainly not delay any further.

So he immediately turned into a shadow and disappeared in the room.

After Hatake Sakumo left, Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly returned to his throne as the Hokage.

As usual, he sat down slowly, struck a match, and lit the old pipe on the table again.

"Bata, bah"

"call"

Along with the sound of sucking on a cigarette holder, thick white smoke once again obscured the view in the office.

The white smoke was so thick that it blocked the sunlight from coming in through the window.

In an instant, everything in the Hokage's office quickly dimmed under the cover of smoke.

After leaving the Hokage's office, Hatake Sakumo moved quickly across the rooftops of Konoha Village.

At this moment, Konoha Village was peaceful and bustling with people everywhere, as if it was not affected at all by the war in the ninja world.

Seeing this scene, Hatake Sakumo, whose excitement had not yet subsided, became even more convinced that his ideal of protecting the village was right.

While thinking this in his mind, Hatake Sakumo decided to follow Sarutobi Hiruzen's instructions and complete the mission immediately without stopping.

But when Hatake Sakumo passed by a house in Konoha Village, he couldn't help but stop.

He glanced at the gate of the house from afar, and two clear large characters on the doorplate caught his eye.

"Hatake"

That's right, this house is Hatake Sakumo's home.

A hint of hesitation and struggle flashed through Sakumo's mind.

"Calculating the time, Kakashi should be home from school by now."

Looking at the sky, Hatake Sakumo said to himself.

No matter how urgent the task is, there should be enough time to go home.

Ever since Hatake Sakumo went to the battlefield in the Land of Wind, he hasn't seen his wife and children for half a year.

At this moment, as I passed by my home, all my thoughts burst out at once.

But after a brief hesitation, he shook his head secretly.

Half a year has passed, so one or two days won’t make a difference.

Now he has received the "promise" and "hint" from the Hokage, and his hard work will soon pay off.

It’s better to get rid of everything completely and spend more time with your family.

Now that he is returning home, Hatake Sakumo is afraid that he will feel reluctant to let go of his lovely son after seeing him.

So, Hatake Sakumo resolutely turned around and left quickly in the opposite direction.

At this moment, his choice was the same as that of an ancient hero from the East - to pass by his home without entering.

But will Hatake Sakumo really retire after achieving success like that oriental hero?

Following Sarutobi Hiruzen's instructions, Hatake Sakumo left Konoha and came to the predetermined location. Here, a team of Konoha ninjas was already waiting for Hatake Sakumo.

Seeing Sakumo's arrival, the Konoha team immediately came forward to greet him.

The attire of this Konoha ninja team seems to be slightly different from that of ordinary Konoha ninjas.

"grown ups!"

Facing the greeting from the team's leading ninja, Hatake Sakumo subconsciously frowned.

He looked at his mission partners in front of him and keenly noticed the numb and cold aura of these ninjas.

This is a kind of "dead air".

In Hatake Sakumo's past experience, he had only seen a similar aura in the ninjas of the "Root".

This is the breath of "tools".

Although Sakumo felt a little disgusted with Danzo and the Root under his command, he did not feel confused or express it.

For a mission like this that is verbally given directly by the Hokage himself, urgency is one factor, but the more important factor is of course the top-secret nature of the mission.

It is normal to dispatch Root ninjas to complete such missions.

"I already understand the mission. What's the current situation?"

Hatake Sakumo had no intention of getting too entangled with these Root ninjas, and directly asked the ninja in front of him about the current situation.

Chapter 570, A Death Order

Hearing Hatake Sakumo's question, the Root ninjas didn't hesitate at all and began to tell Hatake Sakumo the information like a machine.

"This is the situation, my lord."

From the Root ninja's emotionless narration, Hatake Sakumo also understood the specific situation.

Overall, considering Hatake Sakumo's rich ninja experience, this is not a very complicated task.

About three days ago, the Root received a mission assigned by the Hokage.

——According to Konoha's intelligence, there are enemy ninjas operating on the border of the Land of Fire, and they seem to be intending to invade the Land of Fire and launch a surprise attack.

As he was not sure about the situation of the place, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately ordered the Root to investigate the invading ninjas and find out their identities and intentions.

Afterwards, the Root sent a team of ninjas to investigate.

Unexpectedly, this reconnaissance operation caused heavy casualties to the team. Two of the four team members were killed in the battle, one was captured and one escaped.

According to the description of the ninja who escaped back from the team, the enemy was very strong. There were several senior ninjas among the invading ninjas. He was able to escape successfully because of the life-saving protection of his teammates.

"Which country is the other ninja from?"

When he heard that there were several jonin among the enemies, Hatake Sakumo couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and asked.

"It's the Mist Ninja."

The Root ninja still responded to Hatake Sakumo's question with a blank expression.

"Mist ninja?"

Sakumo was startled at first, then his brows furrowed even more.

The current situation in the ninja world is extremely turbulent, and Konoha has fought successive wars with the Wind Country and the Rain Country, suffering heavy losses.

Under such circumstances, the sudden appearance of the Kirigakure Ninja at the border of the Land of Fire was not a good sign. It was hard not to make some associations.

Could it be that Kirigakure, who have lived overseas for a long time, are unwilling to be lonely and plan to take advantage of the war between Konoha, Amegakure and Sunagakure to rob?

After all, Kirigakure had attacked Konoha together with the other three countries as early as the First Ninja World War.

Even if we think about it further, the Mist Ninja suddenly appeared at the border of the Land of Fire. Is there the shadow of the Rain Ninja and the Sand Village behind this?

If Kirigakure took action at the instigation of Sand Village and Amegakure, and the three parties formed alliances, the situation would develop further in an unpredictable direction.

This matter is of great importance. No wonder Sarutobi Hiruzen mobilized the Root and appointed him, a Kage-level strongman, to handle this matter personally.

"Where is the man who escaped?"

Hatake Sakumo had no doubts about all this, but being cautious by nature, Sakumo still planned to go and ask in person to confirm it.

Hearing this, the Root Ninja's poker-like face remained expressionless.

"died."

"He died shortly after delivering the information."