chapter 118 part 3
If Tsunade were standing here instead, she might have directly retorted to Koharu Utatane and then refused to execute the mission.
Furthermore, Sakumo Hatake had extensive experience fighting Hidden Sand Village ninja. Most of his brilliant military merit came from battles against the Hidden Sand Village, and he had killed countless Puppeteers.
Homura Mitokado said in a deep voice, "Tsukasa Kaede will not hand over such a Jutsu to the village. Even for the Corpse Release Secret Technique, he only submitted a Spatial Rift Jutsu that no one but him can use... Perhaps Hidan could learn it too."
Sakumo Hatake's brow furrowed even deeper: "Am I to understand that both Advisors wish Tsukasa Kaede to selflessly contribute all his Jutsu, whether Corpse Release or Living Corpse Reincarnation?"
"That's not what we mean. It's that the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu is of great importance, and since the Hidden Sand Village is showing signs of decline, we have no reason to let this opportunity pass."
"Kaedence the mission objective is to seize the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu, why not ask Tsukasa Kaede about it from the very beginning?"
The two Advisors fell silent, their expressions somewhat displeased, their gazes darting about.
Nonsense. The Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu is a Resurrection Jutsu, the principle likely involving Life Force Transfer and summoning souls? But Tsukasa Kaede most likely uses this Jutsu as a medical Jutsu, constantly drawing power from corpses to bolster himself.
And corpses are inherently dead, without souls, so this Jutsu is most likely... a Life Force-related Forbidden Jutsu? Naturally, if they could obtain more Life Force, wouldn't that mean they could maintain their physical condition for a long time...? They seemed to suddenly realize why Orochimaru and Danzo had once been so close to Tsukasa Kaede.
This was a Jutsu that could defy time.
"I'll be blunt, Lord Hokage. I will resolutely carry out the mission, but the village must be prepared to deal with any subsequent complications. Tsukasa Kaede does not have my temperament," Sakumo Hatake said gravely.
This was the advantage of having a radical image—everyone knew that Tsukasa Kaede, who toyed with corpses and had effectively been confirmed to reverse life and death, had long walked the dark path, even participating in human experimentation. So, no one wanted to openly provoke Tsukasa Kaede.
Because if Tsukasa Kaede got angry and acted on his own, doing something extreme like Danzo... to put it unpleasantly, it would be completely understandable.
But Sakumo Hatake was different; he could be provoked easily. Piling on words like "village," "Will of Fire," "meaning of a ninja," and "comrade" would make an honest man like Sakumo Hatake obey.
Finally, the Third Hokage spoke: "Sakumo, do as you deem fit."
Sakumo Hatake completely gave up hope—what did "do as you deem fit" even mean? His will was to follow the village's orders, and in the end, wouldn't it still be about secretly seizing Chiyo's Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu behind Tsukasa Kaede's back? Yet, Sakumo Hatake found himself surprisingly unsurprised.
"Then I will take my leave."
Sakumo Hatake walked out of the Hokage's Office, silently making his way through the boisterous crowd, his tight face devoid of expression, and headed straight home.
Kakashi had been waiting for a long time.
"Father, please train kenjutsu with me," Kakashi said. "In today's practical combat class, I lost to Obito again. His Taijutsu is terrifyingly strong; even without activating his Sharingan, he already put pressure on me."
"Is that so? You can spar with Gai. He inherited Might Dai's Taijutsu philosophy and diligent personality; he will surely be able to help you."
"It's no use, Gai was also beaten by Obito. I feel that the gap between us and Obito isn't shrinking with our efforts, but is actually widening."
Kakashi's mind was a mess. At most, he spared some thoughts for Tsukasa Kaede's great victory over the Hidden Sand troops, but the rest of his attention was entirely on Obito, constantly recalling the details of their battles.
He couldn't win, absolutely couldn't win.
He was clearly a super genius, yet he always fell short of Obito in every aspect. Why was that? Which powerful ninja was Obito training with, to be ahead in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, judgment, experience, insight, knowledge reserves, and general perception? One could only say he truly was the strongest descendant of the Uchiha Clan, likely having received full training from the Clan, with clan members specializing in various fields carefully teaching Obito, right?
"Moreover, Might Dai is training Might Guy and often refining movements with Hidan, so he probably doesn't have much time to train me," Kakashi said.
Hidan was already very proficient in Taijutsu. It was said that when he first came to Konoha Village, his skill level was clearly very low, but after just a few months of training by Tsukasa Kaede, he killed the Four-Tails, becoming ridiculously strong.
Now, it went without saying. Hidan seemed to completely disregard cultivating Ninjutsu, focusing solely on Taijutsu, and only making adjustments to his movements, unlike Might Dai and Gai, who spent a lot of time on physical training.
Sakumo Hatake looked at his unyielding son and finally found some comfort. He forced a smile and said, "Unfortunately, I don't have time."
Kakashi's face showed understanding. He knew his father was embarking on an important mission. It seemed his father couldn't even explicitly tell him he was going on a mission, let alone the details; he could only guess...
After bowing to Sakumo Hatake, he picked up his weapon and once again began to hone his kenjutsu.
That same night, under the cover of darkness, Sakumo Hatake led a team on a secret departure, heading straight for the Hidden Sand Village within the Land of Wind.
He was certainly not the first to move against the Hidden Sand Village, but he wouldn't be the last either.
Countries and villages everywhere were watching closely, some even intervening in various ways, eager for a piece of the pie.
Underground Bounty Station.
Bounty hunters from all over the Shinobi World appeared, mostly discussing the Hidden Sand Village. Various bounties on the Hidden Sand Village were emerging endlessly, and the prices were getting higher day by day!
Even a fool would know that so many high-priced bounty missions couldn't all be funded by individuals. It was highly likely that many countries and villages were also increasing the stakes.
At this moment, a man walked into a Bounty Office.
"Hmph, I smell money. This is good. It's been a while since the Great Ninja War ended."
Kakuzu's eyes gleamed with fanaticism. Ever since his defection from the Hidden Waterfall Village, money had been his sole pursuit. Whoever gave him money was his boss.
"Boss, I'll take all the missions concerning the Hidden Sand Village. Whether it's the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu, Puppetry, or some guy's head... I want it all!"
(end of chapter)