Hokage's Office
Without knocking, Kiyosuke pushed open the door with Haku behind him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was using his crystal ball to perform the Telescope Technique, doing his usual routine of monitoring the village.
Uh...
Maybe this wasn't the best time—
The image on the crystal ball was currently showing the women's bathhouse in the village.
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "..."
Kiyosuke: ?_?
I saw that!
Damn, my old age and reputation!
Hiruzen coughed and casually put the crystal ball away, pretending nothing had happened. As expected of an old veteran, he played it off effortlessly and said in surprise,
"Kiyosuke? When did you get back? No one informed me. And this child is...?"
Kiyosuke replied,
"This is Haku of the Yuki Clan. Haku, this is the Third Hokage."
Haku bowed politely.
"Hello, Hokage-sama. My name is Haku of the Yuki Clan."
"Wait—Yuki Clan?!"
Hiruzen immediately stood up.
Everyone knew the Yuki Clan was a famous bloodline family in Kirigakure. What was this kid trying to do by bringing one back?
If the people from Kirigakure found out, there'd be another major incident.
Each village kept tight control over their bloodline users. If a bloodline user defected, or if something like the Sharingan fell into enemy hands, the village would send someone to eliminate the traitor and retrieve the bloodline immediately.
The Yuki Clan was one of the major families in Kirigakure. For Kiyosuke to openly bring someone back like this—it was asking for trouble.
"That's right. Yuki Clan. But don't worry about Kirigakure coming after him. The village no longer has its three great clans," Kiyosuke said.
"What do you mean?"
Hiruzen already knew Kiyosuke had gone to Kirigakure, but did he bring back more than expected?
Kiyosuke proceeded to explain what had happened in Kirigakure—how the three great clans were wiped out, and how Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi lost his mind and was attacked by his own people.
He left out anything about Obito.
"I didn't expect something like that to happen in Kirigakure..."
Hiruzen stroked his beard, inwardly delighted. Kirigakure was practically asking for destruction. What village didn't treat their bloodline users with care? Even if they weren't revered, they were at least treated with dignity. For Yagura Karatachi to wipe out three great clans—was he trying to get himself killed?
If the current state of Kirigakure reached the Fourth Raikage, it could mean war. And Yagura wouldn't be able to stop it.
He was a perfect Jinchūriki, sure—but so was Killer Bee of Kumogakure.
The Six-Tails Jinchūriki was still young, but the Two-Tails host had been a proper ninja for years—strong, with a decent relationship with her tailed beast.
Add the brute force of the Fourth Raikage on top of that, and Kumogakure could grind Kirigakure into the dirt.
"Write up a detailed report for me. The intel is valuable—this counts as an S-rank mission. As for bringing Haku back... that's also worthy of an S-rank mission. Haku, live peacefully in Konoha. No one will bully you here."
If Kirigakure didn't want him, then Konoha would take him in.
They threw him away like trash—here, he'd be treated like a treasure!
And even if Kirigakure demanded an explanation, Haku had come willingly.
They tried to kill him—how could he not run?
Even if Kirigakure sent someone by force, Hiruzen would just send Kiyosuke over there again!
Let him pay them another visit.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Haku, still hiding behind Kiyosuke, nodded politely.
The more Hiruzen looked at Haku, the more he liked him.
"What a cute little girl."
"No, Hokage-sama, Haku's cuteness is exactly why he's clearly a boy."
"A boy?!"
"Yes, I'm a boy," Haku nodded.
Hiruzen fell silent.
As expected, the Yuki Clan was trouble.
Their faces were way too ambiguous.
"Haku's six this year. And isn't the Academy starting up soon? I was thinking of enrolling him in a few days."
Haku was definitely going to become a ninja. Otherwise, that Ice Release bloodline would be a waste.
"Fine by me. That's not a problem."
Hiruzen agreed. He thought it was a good idea.
This child had potential. Soon, Ice Release would belong to Konoha.
Another bloodline user for the village—how delightful!
"Ah, there's one more thing."
Kiyosuke gestured to Hiruzen.
Understanding immediately, Hiruzen clapped his hands.
A purple-haired female ANBU appeared.
"Hokage-sama."
"Take Haku around the village. Let him get familiar with Konoha."
"Yes, sir."
The purple-haired ANBU removed her mask, revealing a beautiful face. She walked up to Haku and smiled.
"Haku, come play."
Haku looked at Kiyosuke.
"Go on."
"Okay!" Haku nodded firmly.
...
After the two left, Kiyosuke pulled out a scroll and handed it to Hiruzen.
"This is the record of a transaction between Sunagakure and Kirigakure involving Pakura, a bloodline user. Sunagakure's funds are so low, they've resorted to selling off their own bloodline users."
After carefully reading it, Hiruzen let out a long sigh.
"Rasa really can't compare to his predecessor. Shortsighted. Where's the bloodline user now?"
"I rescued her. She's currently in Konoha Hospital receiving treatment."
"If I remember correctly, that Scorch Release kunoichi fought you during the Chūnin Exams, didn't she?"
"She did."
"And you specifically asked to fight her, too."
"I did."
"Very well. I'll leave her to you. Try to extract some intel on Sunagakure from her. I'll count that as an A-rank mission for now. If you succeed, I'll promote it to S-rank."
Kiyosuke said,
"She's currently obsessed with getting revenge on Sunagakure. It's possible. But she's extremely unstable right now. We need to wait until her emotions settle down."
Pakura was consumed by resentment toward her village. Betrayed and discarded, she couldn't let it go.
All she wanted now was to get revenge on Rasa—and Sunagakure.
"That's fine. Also, could I trouble you to keep an eye on her? After all, you're the one who brought her here."
"No problem. I won't be going anywhere for a while anyway,"
Kiyosuke replied.
"Good. Then submit your report later. As for Uchiha Madara—have you found anything?"
"No solid leads. Just a few vague traces, but nothing useful."
"Then I'll continue to rely on you."
"It's no trouble."
...
Leaving the Hokage Tower, Kiyosuke headed toward the Hyūga residence.
He hadn't been back in nearly a month. He wondered how Naruto was doing.
At the Hyūga household, he found Naruto holding a horse stance firmly. Hinata and Neji were sparring nearby. When the Hyūga brothers saw Kiyosuke approach, they all stood up.
"Kiyosuke-san! You're finally back! Hurry up and teach me a jutsu!"
Naruto ran up and clung to Kiyosuke's leg.
"Alright, alright, I get it. You haven't caused trouble for the Hyūga clan while I was gone, right?"
"Not at all. Naruto's been very well-behaved,"
Hyūga Hiashi said.
And honestly, ever since spending time with Naruto, even his daughter had become more cheerful.Perfect timing for her to enter the Academy.