The Third Hokage had no reason to be unaware of the strength of the mysterious enemy who had invaded Konoha the previous night. Therefore, one could imagine the difficulty of rescuing Biwako Sarutobi under such circumstances.
Whether for public or private reasons, promoting Habara to jonin ahead of schedule was merely a small reward. In any case, in the Third's opinion, Habara's current strength was absolutely sufficient to qualify him as a jonin.
As for Kushina Uzumaki's direct support of Habara, the reason was even more self-evident… During the most critical moment of the previous night, Habara was the only Konoha ninja to appear before the couple. With this as a foundation, no one could prevent her emotional bias.
The meeting of the higher-ups concluded, and after everyone else had left, Kushina Uzumaki remained seated in the conference room. It was dark and quiet, with only a sliver of sunlight penetrating the gaps in the overlapping curtains. In this environment, Kushina remained silent for a long time… Grief was a difficult emotion to share or distribute; only Kushina herself knew the feelings in her heart.
Sometimes, those who appear strong are simply hiding their vulnerability, because reality demands that they be strong.
After another while, several other ninjas appeared before Kushina Uzumaki.
Shibi Aburame, Aoba Yamashiro, Hayate Gekko, Raido Namiashi, and Iwashi Tatami. Aside from the Aburame, the rest were ninjas that the Fourth Hokage had valued and promoted. And now, to put it nicely, Kushina Uzumaki had inherited the Fourth Hokage's political legacy. To put it bluntly, these young ninjas would inevitably be marginalized.
Objectively speaking, this wasn't intentional exclusion; it was simply something that would happen naturally. Because with the Third Hokage regaining power, he would naturally use the ninjas he was already comfortable with. It was unreasonable to expect the Third Hokage to abandon the familiar faces he had used for ten or even dozens of years and instead utilize these new, unfamiliar people.
Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to using people; it's a semi-objective issue.
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work… I'm very grateful for your help."
Kushina addressed these ninjas. It was through these ninjas that the previous rumors had been spread.
"Lady Kushina, it's what we should do."
The world had turned upside down overnight. Honestly, at a time like this, being able to do something was better than idly dwelling on things.
"Where's Kakashi?"
Not seeing Kakashi Hatake among them, Kushina asked.
"Kakashi should be on a special mission."
"A special mission?" Kushina nodded thoughtfully, then continued, "The Third Hokage has agreed with our approach, but others may not. Therefore, we need to spread the 'truth' of the events even more widely…"
"Yes, Lady Kushina."
If Danzo Shimura didn't stir up trouble, he wouldn't be Danzo Shimura.
Kushina Uzumaki should have been in the hospital at this time, or at least resting at home. Yet now, she had to force herself to come out and handle these matters… This was both taking responsibility for herself and for Minato Namikaze's legacy as Hokage.
So, the question was, what was Kakashi Hatake doing at this moment?
This morning, Kakashi had suddenly been subjected to Habara's "shock therapy," and his mind had been in a muddled state ever since. Even in this state, however, he had accepted a special mission from the Third Hokage.
It was just past noon. In an ordinary residential house in Konoha, a ninja wearing a Konoha forehead protector was tying a scroll to the back of a lizard-like creature. Because he was tying it with extreme care, and because the infiltration skills of the others were excellent, an arm unknowingly wrapped around from behind him, and a kunai was pressed against his throat.
"Don't move. Raise your hands and explain what you're doing," Kakashi's voice came from behind the man.
Kakashi's appearance instantly made the man tense up. With his life in the hands of another, he should have followed Kakashi's instructions completely. But, somewhat unexpectedly, something else happened.
The man gritted his teeth, and after slightly raising his arms, he suddenly formed hand seals rapidly.
They were just a few simple seals, which an ordinary ninja could complete in an instant. Then, the man leaned his upper body forward rapidly, and under the force of his own weight, the sharp kunai instantly sliced through his windpipe.
This didn't mean that this spy had much integrity. On the contrary, he knew what treatment awaited a captured spy, so he steeled himself and decided to die to spite Konoha.
The sudden spray of blood startled Kakashi for a moment, but he quickly reacted…
"Damn it…"
Fortunately, just as the lizard was about to be unsummoned, a kunai thrown from afar pierced its head, instantly killing the small creature, which was clearly only meant for delivering messages.
"Kakashi, focus!"
Another ninja came to stand before Kakashi. He reached out and took the scroll, frowning as he spoke to Kakashi.
"…Sorry."
Kakashi's attention had been lacking, and his performance just now had been rather poor. If not for the intervention of his companion, the message would likely have been sent… This level of performance was not what should be expected of Kakashi.
However, the other ninjas wouldn't be too harsh on Kakashi. In their eyes, Kakashi's poor performance was due to overwhelming grief.
The mission Kakashi and the others were currently undertaking was clearly to capture and deal with spies within the village. Although it was impossible to conceal the news of the Fourth Hokage's death, Konoha still wanted to delay the spread of the information as much as possible… Well, this kind of mission was actually quite pointless, just a small comfort.
Konoha was completely unable to prevent such major news from leaking out. All they could do was take the opportunity to catch some "rats."
That day, Konoha ninjas, represented by Kakashi, frequently went into action. They caught many rats, and their various operations were generally successful. However, as evening approached, there was finally an unexpected incident.
A spy attempting to send information out of the village, upon being discovered, grabbed a young girl as a hostage.
Logically, the ninjas could have even performed a Russian-style rescue, but firstly, the hostage's age was too young, making it easy to evoke sympathy; and secondly, not all ninjas were from Root, and they weren't so cold-blooded as to act in that manner.
"Kakashi, pull yourself together, we're counting on you… You're the disciple of the Yellow Flash," a ninja quietly said to Kakashi Hatake.
Kakashi had been despondent all day. It was time for him to get a grip, or he would truly become useless.
Kakashi extended his right thumb and pushed the forehead protector covering his right eye up to his forehead. When he raised his eyelid, the three-tomoe Sharingan was revealed.
Using his teammate's body as cover, Kakashi quickly completed the hand seals, and a bright ball of lightning appeared in his palm.
When the peculiar bird-like chirping sound arose, even a spy with a hole in his brain would know what the Konoha ninja was trying to do.
He was about to do something, but suddenly he saw that crimson eye appear before him. Looking down, he saw that his left chest had been pierced by an arm.
"I… know… you, you are…"
"Yes, I'm Kakashi of the Sharingan," Kakashi finished the sentence the man was trying to say.
In terms of thrusting ability, Kakashi was indeed in the top tier of the entire ninja world.
Just as Kakashi stabbed the enemy to death, his teammate quickly stepped forward and caught the kidnapped little girl. Then, he discovered a small problem.
"Hey, this child… is an Uchiha."
Explanations:
"Russian-style rescue": This is a dark humor reference to hostage situations where the rescuers prioritize eliminating the threat, even at the risk of harming the hostages.
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