011 : Two Missions

"You've finally arrived..." In the Hokage's office, The Third Hokage looked at Shigen and the others with a kind expression. "How is it? Have you been resting and practicing together well recently?"

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Hokage. We're getting along well." Uchiha Shisui bowed slightly and spoke, but he was somewhat hesitant when he said this.

Whether it was thinking about how they had met these days, but mostly Shigen and Yugao practiced swordsmanship, and other than that, they were doing their own things, there was basically no practice together.

Or thinking that he had actually questioned the Hokage's decision, as well as the 'well-intentioned lie' at this time, all of this made him feel uneasy.

"That's good."

Hiruzen Sarutobi actually knew the situation of their team, but he didn't point it out.

The creation of bonds takes time, and he wouldn't be impatient, whether it was for Shisui or Shigen.

He wanted to solve the Uchiha problem.

Although the Nine-Tailed Fox incident made him suspicious of the Uchiha, he would at least not make subjective judgments like Danzo.

Besides, he also knew that the Uchiha were not of a singular mentality. Maybe in the future, he could rely on Shisui to solve these troubles.

As for Shigen, although his purpose in entering the ANBU was not pure as he came with Danzo's mission, during the last operation against Orochimaru, he took the initiative to protect his teammates and face Orochimaru, which gave Hiruzen a great impression.

What's more, there was also the matter of Naruto.

He didn't want Naruto to be tricked by Danzo, so he would naturally find a way to prevent Shigen from being influenced by Danzo.

"This time, there is a mission for you, Its a dangerous one, and I hope you can be mentally prepared."

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Shigen and the others immediately said in unison. The Hokage stood up and took out a map and spread it out.

"For this mission, I want you to go to the Land of Wind."

Land of Wind?

Shigen's face also fell when he heard this. The Land of Wind was a poor and desolate place!

Although it was impolite, as a place surrounded by sandstorms, where the Daimyo constantly reduced the funding of the ninja village, and their Kage had to pan for gold to exchange for money.

Shigen really couldn't have any good feelings for it.

On the topic of that... Kabuto, that guy, seemed to be lurking in this ghostly place now, right?

Serves him right.

"I think you all know that Sunagakure is our ally, but this ally of ours is partaking in some dangerous ventures."

The Hokage pointed to the map, and then said in a deep voice.

"According to Intelligence, Kirigakure Shinobi's have appeared in the Land of Wind and has been harassing Sunagakure. At the same time, Iwagakure seems to be intending to move south as well. These two villages are likely to have some direct conflicts, which will affect Konoha."

"If we add Kirigakure, the situation will be even more critical. For the sake of Konoha, I hope you can go and understand the actual situation there, and if possible, neutralize the threat before if becomes something major"

In the ninja world, conflicts or wars between the five great ninja villages are never isolated.

Now Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure have begun to move in the Land of Wind. Konoha, located in the center of the ninja world, has to worry.

If the situation further develops in an uncontrollable direction, as an ally of Sunagakure, Konoha would have to get dragged in the middle of a conflict that they couldn't afford to right now!

Currently, Konoha is short of successors and internally empty. With the attack of Nine-tails five years prior, a lot of Elite Shinobi's dies, a loss which still impacted Konoha even now.

"We understand." Shigen and the others immediately nodded to show that they understood the mission. No matter what the inner meaning of the conflict was, it would not be good for Konoha to be dragged into it.

"Also, you must be careful of the people of Sunagakure." Hiruzen reminded them again at the right time. "Although Konoha and Sunagakure are allies, There are always unsavory elements present ready destroy this alliance, tread carefully"

Obviously, Konoha didn't trust Sunagakure at all. Otherwise, there would be no need to send the ANBU on this mission and would have been handled through diplomatic means.

"We will definitely be careful." Shigen and the others nodded again, seeing that this mission was indeed quite troublesome.

"Then go and prepare, you will have to leave early" Hiruzen sat down again, and then sighed. "Originally, I planned to let Kakashi go with you this time, but unfortunately, we have discovered some traces of Orochimaru again, so he went to deal with this matter."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't give you reinforcements, but I believe you can do all of this, protect yourselves and each other, and I will wait for you to come back in Konoha." The Hokage said very calmly, but his words moved Shisui and Yugao very much.

Even Shigen had to sigh, Third Hokage's ANBU was really completely different from his ROOT boss.

ROOT was 'If you don't complete the mission, you will come back with your head', but here it was 'Protect yourself, I will wait for you to come back'.

Although there was a suspicion of giving the donkey a carrot, it gave people a feeling of being trusted, which Danzo could not compare to.

"No wonder He's the Hokage!" Shigen muttered to himself, following Shisui out of the Hokage's office with Yugao trailing him.

They quickly disbanded on the spot, each returning home to prepare, and agreed on a time to meet up tonight and depart.

[New Mission Acquired]

[Investigate the Secrets of Sunagakure]

Walking on the road home, Shigen glanced at his mission panel and began to consider the situation of this mission.

"Kirigakure harassing Suna and Iwagakure moves south." Shigen felt a strong sense of déjà vu about this.

After thinking it over repeatedly, Shigen finally remembered what he was missing.

'Isn't this about the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, sending Pakura to Kirigakure order to focus on competing with Iwagakure for the interests of the small border countries, in exchange for Kirigakure ceasing hostilities and later betraying her?'

Pakura of the Scorch Release

Shigen remembered her quite clearly, because in a sense, she was very similar to Uchiha Madara, both embodiments of a ninja with 'high attack, low defense'.

"So that's what's going on, then this mission will be a lot easier." Shigen nodded and said to himself, but he was still annoyed that his system hadn't settled the reward, which meant he still had to follow up.

Just when Shigen about to rach home, he suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on a shadowy area to the side.

"Very perceptive, it seems you haven't grown lax even after leaving Root." A figure slowly walked out of the shadows.

Seeing this guy, Shigen raised his eyebrows slightly.

This was one of the guys who, along with Danzo and Orochimaru, tricked him into joining Root, Danzo's eternal lackey, Aburame Torune!

"Danzo-sama knows you are going to the Land of Wind, therefore he has a mission for you." Torune took out a scroll and handed it over, then said indifferently.

"The mission details are inside, the master awaits your news."

"I understand." Shigen nodded. Suddenly, he thought of something and asked with a strange expression. "Am I the only one? Can I apply for reinforcements? The Land of Wind isn't our territory after all. If there were someone like 'Kinoe', to come with me..."

"Hmph, don't you have your ANBU teammates?"

Torune snorted coldly.

Although he was wearing sunglasses, Shigen could to feel his gaze turn cold.

"'Kinoe' has other missions, don't disappoint Danzo-sama."

After saying this, Torune turned and left without looking back, while Shigen thoughtfully watched him disappear into the shadows.

"Kakashi went to investigate Orochimaru, 'Kinoe' has a mission, could it be..." Shaking his head, Shigen simply hurried home, then closed the door tightly and opened the scroll to read it.

But as soon as he looked at it, his expression, which was of interest at first suddenly soured, and now he wanted to curse.

"You old fker, you're going too far!"

[New Mission Acquired]

[Resolve Pakura of the Scorch Release]

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T/N : Two Chapters Everyday.

Every 300 Power stones will be an extra chapter

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