Chapter 96: Boiling Tea and Discussing Hokage
"Meet at the village gate at nine o'clock."
After leaving the Hokage's office, Tsunade said.
"Okay."
Hanekawa said his goodbyes and went to the Ninja Academy.
He had nothing to do there except to get permission for his absence.
As for Kurenai, he had already told her about this morning.
Time quickly came to nine o'clock.
Hanekawa arrived at the Konoha Village gate and saw eight Anbu members lined up neatly.
They were wearing standard Anbu uniforms with different masks.
Standing together, they gave off an aura that screamed, "Stay away."
The two Konoha gate guards were quite intimidated, sitting uncomfortably and sweating profusely from a distance.
To many ninjas, the Anbu and the Foundation were like death gods, to be avoided at all costs.
"Teacher."
Hanekawa walked up and greeted them, "Uncle Sakumo."
"Let's go."
Tsunade said with a slight headache, "We need to make up for lost time."
The Land of Demons was located between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. At a normal ninja's pace, it would take about five or six days to get there.
This was definitely a long journey.
She and Sakumo Hatake would be fine, but she was worried that Hanekawa wouldn't be able to keep up.
Still, Tsunade had confidence in him.
Swoosh!
The eight Anbu instantly disappeared.
As Anbu, they naturally had to remain hidden in the shadows.
Hanekawa quickly followed Tsunade and Sakumo Hatake.
"To save time, we'll enter the Land of Wind through the Land of Rain and then head to the Land of Demons," Tsunade said as they ran. "It rains year-round in the Land of Rain, so be sure to put on rain gear in advance."
"Will going through the Land of Rain alert Hanzo?" Sakumo Hatake asked after a moment of thought. "Our relationship with him has never been good."
During the Second Great Ninja War, the Hidden Rain Village and the Konoha Village had a direct confrontation.
The most famous battle was when the young Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade fought against the leader of the Hidden Rain Village, Hanzo.
At that time, Hanzo was known as the "Demigod of the Ninja World," which also created the fame of the Konoha's Three Sannin.
As for the "God of Shinobi," that was naturally Hashirama Senju.
"No, he won't," Tsunade shook her head and said. "He's busy cleaning up the opposing forces in the Land of Rain and won't rashly offend us from the Konoha Village."
Hanekawa's heart stirred.
At this point in time, there was only one opposing force in the Land of Rain.
The Akatsuki organization founded by Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan.
They were still young and had a pure dream of achieving peace in the ninja world.
After Yahiko's death, Nagato's corruption would lead the Akatsuki organization to become the main antagonist from the original story.
It was worth mentioning that Danzo Shimura was also involved.
He sent the Foundation members to help Hanzo kill Yahiko.
It was completely reasonable for Nagato to come to the Konoha Village to destroy it.
After all, his parents were also killed by Konoha Village ninjas.
When they arrived in the Land of Rain, the weather changed abruptly, and heavy rain poured down without warning.
"We'll rest when we get to the Land of Wind," Tsunade said loudly after putting on her raincoat.
The sound of the rain muffled her voice, making it a bit unclear.
Sakumo Hatake and Hanekawa didn't say much, following her silently.
As night fell, the three finally reached the edge of the Land of Wind.
They didn't go any further because beyond that was an endless desert.
One of the reasons Konoha Village was a highly sought-after place for ninjas was its excellent environment.
"Hanekawa, let's set up the tents here," Tsunade paused and said. "Set up two tents."
"I'll go find some food nearby," Sakumo Hatake offered.
After Hanekawa had set up the tents, he went to pick up dead branches and leaves.
He found a bare branch and couldn't help but wave it around like a sword.
When he was a child, a branch like this would have made him the envy of all his friends.
A fire was lit.
Hanekawa and Tsunade sat around the fire.
A moment later, Sakumo Hatake approached from a distance, holding three strings of fish.
The fish had already been prepared and were dripping with blood.
"There's a river on the left," Sakumo Hatake explained casually before placing the fish on the fire.
"I brought seasoning," Hanekawa said, opening a storage scroll.
"Why would you bring seasoning?" Sakumo Hatake asked, a bit surprised.
It was normal for someone Hanekawa's age to bring anything, but bringing seasoning was very strange.
"I'm a chef. Isn't it reasonable to bring seasoning?" Hanekawa asked back with a smile.
"It really is reasonable," Sakumo Hatake was stunned for a moment before nodding.
Tsunade pouted.
She felt that Hanekawa was talking about her.
The only reason he had so much seasoning on him was because she wanted it.
When they first started going on missions, Tsunade would follow the rules.
But after one or two times, she would just ignore them.
In Tsunade's words, "You're already a qualified ninja, so don't bother with all those rigid rules."
"Hanekawa, I have a question," Sakumo Hatake said, grilling the fish as he chatted. "Why don't you graduate early?"
"I'm not strong enough," Hanekawa said after thinking for a moment.
"You're just as humble as Kakashi said you were," Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but laugh.
If Hanekawa wasn't strong enough, then what did that make Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, and Kurenai Yūhi?
Using ten years old as the benchmark, Sakumo Hatake couldn't find anyone stronger than Hanekawa.
"I'm actually telling the truth," Hanekawa coughed lightly and said.
He had memories from his previous life and knew about Madara Uchiha and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Compared to them, his strength was insignificant.
"Alright, kid," Tsunade raised her hand and ruffled Hanekawa's hair.
"So, you plan to graduate normally?" Sakumo Hatake asked, flipping the grilled fish in his hand.
"Not necessarily," Hanekawa shook his head and said. "Maybe I'll graduate next year."
In the original story, due to the war, Kurenai Yūhi and Asuma Sarutobi graduated in their fifth year, which would be next year.
He guessed he wouldn't be able to avoid it.
"Kakashi will be very happy to hear this news," Sakumo Hatake said with a smile. "He actually wanted to graduate in his second year, but you stopped him."
"You can't blame me," Hanekawa recalled. "He was the one who said he wouldn't graduate until he defeated me."
"Actually, I should thank you," Sakumo Hatake's tone changed. "Graduating too early isn't a good thing."
Hanekawa nodded in agreement.
Due to the unique nature of ninjas, this world didn't focus on the psychological well-being of teenagers.
The most classic example was Itachi Uchiha.
He went to the battlefield and killed people at the age of four. It would be strange if his mind wasn't twisted.
"Here."
Sakumo Hatake handed the grilled fish to Tsunade and Hanekawa. "Thank you."
Hanekawa took the grilled fish.
There were four large fish on a single stick, and with the rice balls and sushi he brought, it was more than enough to fill them up.
"It's strange that the Hidden Sand Village didn't send any ninjas to the Land of Demons this time," Sakumo Hatake said, talking about Priestess Miroku's request.
Once Mōryō escaped, the first to be affected would be the nearby Land of Wind and Land of Earth.
Logically, they should be the most proactive.
"I don't know," Tsunade shook her head after a moment of thought.
Hanekawa took a bite of the fish and thought of a reason.
Could the Third Kazekage have already gone missing?
Without a leader, the Hidden Sand Village would be embroiled in power struggles and internal conflicts, so it was natural that they wouldn't care about the Land of Demons.
"Something might have happened," Sakumo Hatake stroked his chin and said. "When we get back, we'll ask Lord Hokage to investigate. There might be an unexpected gain."
The three of them chatted and quickly finished their meal.
"It would be great if we could have a cup of hot tea right now," Sakumo Hatake said with a sigh.
"I have tea here," Hanekawa said, blinking.
"How do you have everything?" Sakumo Hatake was stunned.
"As a chef..."
Before Hanekawa could finish, he was interrupted.
"I understand," Sakumo Hatake said seriously, giving the answer first. "It's completely reasonable."
Hanekawa couldn't help but smile.
Although the ninja world rumored the White Fang of Konoha to be cold and ruthless, Sakumo Hatake was actually a typical ninja of the Will of Fire.
In simple terms, he was loyal to Konoha, cherished his comrades, and cared for his juniors.
"You two drink. I'm going to walk around," Tsunade said, not a big fan of tea, as she stood up.
"Teacher, don't secretly go drinking," Hanekawa said, remembering something and reminding her.
"You're so annoying!" Tsunade glared at him.
She was actually thinking of Sakumo Hatake mentioning a river nearby and wanted to go take a bath.
With a Shadow Clone to stand guard, she wouldn't be discovered.
"The way you two get along is really interesting," Sakumo Hatake said with a hint of envy after Tsunade left.
"Uncle Sakumo, why didn't you become a squad leader?" Hanekawa asked, using the fire to boil the tea.
"My missions are too difficult. It's hard for genin to survive," Sakumo Hatake explained. "I can't harm them."
As the fire heated up, the aroma of the tea began to waft out.
"Good tea!" Sakumo Hatake couldn't help but say.
"Here," Hanekawa handed him a cup.
"Thank you."
Sakumo Hatake took a sip and his eyes lit up. "This tea isn't cheap, is it?"
"Asuma stole it," Hanekawa said with a mysterious smile.
"You— are you saying this is Lord Hokage's tea?" Sakumo Hatake coughed violently.
"Most likely," Hanekawa said with a smile and a nod.
"Amazing," Sakumo Hatake praised him and said without hesitation, "I'll have another cup."
"Uncle Sakumo," Hanekawa said, pouring him another cup, and then hesitated, "There's a question I don't know if I should ask."
"What is there not to ask?" Sakumo Hatake said, taking a sip of the tea and letting out a puff of warm air. "Just ask anything you want."
"Do you want to be Hokage?" Hanekawa asked directly.
Sakumo Hatake choked on his tea again and started coughing.
After he had recovered, he asked, "Did your teacher ask you to ask that?"
"No," Hanekawa said truthfully. "My teacher isn't interested in being Hokage right now. I'm just personally curious."
Sakumo Hatake nodded slightly.
He wasn't suspicious. After all, children in the ninja world were more mature, like Itachi Uchiha.
In the original story, Hiruzen Sarutobi's evaluation of him was "a boy who, at the age of seven, could think like a Hokage."
"My childhood dream was indeed to become Hokage," Sakumo Hatake sighed and said. "But a dream is a dream. When I grew up, I realized I wasn't suited for it."
Especially after his mission failure last year, he was subjected to all kinds of criticism, which made him realize the situation more clearly.
He was good at doing missions but couldn't handle things outside of missions.
"If your teacher wants to do it, I can support her," Sakumo Hatake said, reciprocating the gesture.
Setting aside the fact that Tsunade and Hanekawa had helped him, when it came to who was more suitable to be Hokage, Tsunade was a better choice than him.
......
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