https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-478-A-Mission-Concerning-Konoha-s-Future-Part-1-/12558696/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-479-Mu-Yue-vs-Minato-Konoha-s-New-Era-Ultimate-Battle-/12558705/
Chapter 478: A Mission Concerning Konoha's Future (Part 2)
Chapter 478: A Mission Concerning Konoha's Future (Part 2)
Please look again. This tree is actually five centimeters taller than the previous one."
He had practiced just recently, and he was confident that he had made some progress since Shimura's last visit.
Up until Shimura spoke, Yamato had believed that he would receive praise for his efforts.
"Yamato, you are the elite of Root's elite. Your goal is to surpass Root's most perfect creation, Mo Yue. In the past two weeks, you've only managed this much progress. How can you account for the time and effort I've invested in your training?" Shimura demanded sternly.
Having witnessed Hashirama Senju create an entire forest with a single hand seal, Shimura was far from satisfied with Yamato's meager progress.
In his eyes, this negligible improvement only served as proof that Yamato had not been taking his training seriously.
"I… I…" Yamato opened his mouth to explain, but facing Shimura's stern expression, he eventually lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Lord Shimura."
Although he believed that he had been diligent in his training, if Lord Shimura, who had saved his life, accused him of slacking off, perhaps there were moments when he had unconsciously slackened without realizing it.
In truth, he didn't understand the significance of being the strongest ninja in Root or the ninja world, but he felt that whatever Leader Shimura said must be the right thing to do.
"However, I can also understand your hardships. You haven't eaten yet, have you? I brought you some food." Danzo patted Yamato on the head and had his subordinates bring out two dinners.
Yamato's eyes, which had dimmed somewhat, lit up again. "Thank you, Leader Shimura!"
During dinner, Danzo's demeanor softened considerably, and instead of saying harsh words, he even took the time to inquire about Yamato's well-being.
After they finished eating, Danzo patted Yamato's shoulder and said, "Listen, no matter what, I hope that you will cultivate diligently. This is not for me but for yourself, for Root, and for Konoha."
Yamato nodded vigorously. "I will definitely not disappoint you, Leader Shimura."
Danzo put on a kind smile, patted Yamato's head again, and then turned to leave with his subordinates.
Once they were a fair distance away, Danzo's amiable expression vanished, and his usual coldness returned.
As the leader of Root, Danzo Shimura was an expert in cultivating his subordinates.
Not to mention a child like Yamato, who was not yet ten years old; even adult ninjas would become die-hard loyalists within five years under his tutelage.
"Even a Wood Release ninja needs sufficient time to accumulate strength, it seems," Danzo mused.
Yamato's growth was slower than he had anticipated. Although he could be considered a genius, he wasn't as exceptional as Danzo had envisioned.
"Or perhaps it's because he doesn't have a suitable teacher?" Two ideas quickly formed in Danzo's mind.
The ideal solution, of course, would be to directly summon Senju Hashirama through the Impure World Reincarnation and have him teach Yamato.
Senju Hashirama was not only the God of Shinobi but also the most powerful Wood Release ninja, making him the ideal teacher in Yamato's eyes.
Danzo quickly dismissed this thought and focused his attention on the other idea.
There was no other reason; the previous notion was simply too outrageous and forbidden.
The Impure World Reincarnation, a forbidden technique concerning the dead, was already taboo in Konoha, and the idea of using it on Konoha's founder, Senju Hashirama, was something Danzo knew he could never get away with.
"If it were Mu Yue, she should also be able to speed up Yamato's growth," Danzo thought.
Mu Yue was a highly capable teacher. Her students' performance on the battlefield had even made Hiruzen Sarutobi worry about her safety, prompting him to refuse Danzo's suggestions for her to join battles.
The achievements of her disciples, including Yahiko and four others, proved her teaching abilities, and they were all considered geniuses.
"Bringing Yamato into Konoha will increase the risk of exposure," Danzo weighed the pros and cons.
Yamato did have an identity in Konoha. Danzo had helped him obtain the status of a genuine Konoha ninja; he was not an unregistered ninja.
The danger Danzo referred to wasn't that Yamato would encounter peril but that his identity as a Wood Release ninja might be exposed, and Hiruzen Sarutobi would take him away, which would be a loss for Root.
"With proper precautions in place, it should be fine," Danzo concluded after careful consideration, deciding to bring Yamato into Konoha.
Through his repeated tests, Danzo was confident that Mu Yue was extremely loyal to him.
With Mu Yue's loyalty and his own influence within Root, it would be difficult for anyone to discover their secret.
Danzo was a man of action, and the day after he made his decision, he dispatched his most trusted subordinate to bring Yamato into Konoha. That evening, he summoned Mu Yue to the Root base.
"Leader Shimura," Mu Yue greeted him respectfully.
When Mu Yue arrived at the Root base, she had a vague idea of why Danzo had summoned her.
She already had an important mission that occupied most of her time, so she couldn't afford to take on additional tasks.
However, after scanning the entire Root base with her Byakugan, she began to form a guess, though she wasn't entirely certain.
Seeing Mu Yue's respectful expression, which had remained unchanged over the decades, Danzo was quite pleased.
"I have an extremely important mission for you, one that concerns Konoha's future!" Danzo said gravely.
As the second Wood Release ninja after Senju Hashirama, Danzo believed that Yamato's importance was no less than that of a tailed beast.
"For the future of Konoha, I am willing to give my all," Mu Yue replied without hesitation.
"I will have my shadow clone request the cancellation of your training mission from the Third Hokage immediately."
As she spoke, Mu Yue quickly formed the necessary hand seals and created a shadow clone, which immediately rushed toward the door, seemingly eager to sprint toward the Hokage Tower.
Danzo's eyelids twitched. He was concerned that if Mu Yue suddenly told Hiruzen that she wanted to end her mission, Hiruzen, who was already keeping a close eye on her, would definitely investigate such unusual behavior. If he discovered anything amiss, it would spell trouble for Root.
"Mu Yue, dispel your shadow clone and listen to me first. Don't be too hasty," Danzo quickly stopped her.
In the short time he had been thinking, the shadow clone had already left the office, and he worried that if he didn't speak up soon, the clone would be sprinting toward the Hokage Tower.
Mu Yue's impulsiveness was a double-edged sword; it was a little too extreme at times.
"Leader Shimura, didn't you say you had a mission concerning Konoha's future? If I don't end this training mission, I won't have time to carry out your task," Mu Yue said as she dispelled the shadow clone, her expression confused.
Danzo's current mood was a bit complicated. Although Mu Yue's actions were not in his best interest, he felt a sense of relief.
"He even listened to my words and created a shadow clone to inform Hiruzen about ending the mission," Danzo thought, feeling that Mu Yue's every action was a testament to her loyalty.
"Ahem." Danzo cleared his throat and explained, "While this mission is indeed important, it doesn't require much of your time at this stage. You can continue with your training mission as usual."
Mu Yue's expression cleared, and she nodded as if she had finally understood.
"Your task this time is to mentor the Wood Release ninja in Root," Danzo revealed the specifics of the mission.
Mu Yue's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Danzo, as if she had heard something unbelievable.
Danzo couldn't help but smile proudly. No ninja in Konoha would remain unmoved upon hearing this news.
"You are the most outstanding ninja I have cultivated since the establishment of Root. I believe that you are capable of shouldering the responsibility of mentoring the Wood Release ninja.
Mu Yue played along, her face grateful, but in her heart, she thought that Danzo had some nerve. From Shimura's perspective, her current strength should be attributed to Hiruzen Sarutobi, yet he still said those words without blushing or batting an eye.
Following this, Danzo left the office and fetched Yamato from the adjacent room, bringing him into the office.
"This is the one you will be instructing from now on. His code name is 'A'," Danzo introduced.
Yamato had no name in Danzo's presence; only a code name.
On the one hand, Danzo truly didn't know Yamato's name, but more importantly, he wanted to instill in Yamato a sense of belonging to Root, to the point where he would consider his code name as his identity.
Otherwise, couldn't Danzo just give him a name if he wanted to?
"He is the one I mentioned before, Hanyu Muyue, Root's most perfect ninja," Danzo said, turning to Yamato.
He had previously shared some of Mu Yue's accomplishments with Yamato, encouraging him to strive to surpass her.
Yamato looked up blankly, and Mu Yue smiled at him gently.
"So bright," Yamato mumbled.
The radiance of Mu Yue's smile, like the morning sun, and her golden hair seemed to illuminate the somewhat dim office, making it appear brighter.
That warm and bright feeling made Yamato develop a favorable impression of Mu Yue, even though it was their first meeting.
However, this ray of light soon moved away from Yamato, as Danzo promptly had the Root ninja escort him to the neighboring room.
"This teaching mission must be kept secret. I will arrange for him to reside in a remote area south of Konoha, and you can teach him at the nearest training field. You can decide on the teaching time and specific curriculum yourself," Danzo continued, outlining his plans for Yamato's instruction.
Since he wanted Mu Yue to teach Yamato, Danzo would not interfere with the teaching-related matters, as Mu Yue was indeed an authority in this area.
Danzo's role was to ensure secrecy, keeping Yamato's identity as a Wood Release ninja hidden from Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"I will definitely not disappoint you, Leader Shimura," Mu Yue assured sincerely.
After discussing the mission details, Danzo provided Mu Yue with a wealth of information on Wood Release jutsu, cultivation experiences, and asked her to create the best learning plan for Yamato.
Finally, it was time for the rewards. For Mu Yue's unwavering loyalty, Danzo naturally wouldn't skimp on the compensation, lest she be poached by Hiruzen Sarutobi or Orochimaru.
Firstly, Danzo expressed his intention to elevate Mu Yue's authority within the Root ninja hierarchy to the level of a squad leader. Moreover, she wouldn't be an ordinary squad leader; while a typical squad leader could only mobilize the ninja in their squad, Mu Yue would be able to mobilize all Root ninja below the rank of squad leader.
However, since Mu Yue was no longer officially part of Root, Danzo couldn't directly assign her this position in the Root hierarchy, so he conveyed this as a verbal order.
Danzo was a shrewd manipulator; if Mu Yue ever showed signs of disloyalty, he could revoke her privileges with a single word.
In addition to the position, there were also monetary rewards, secret techniques, and elixirs.
Mu Yue calculated that the most meaningful reward, ironically, was the Wood Release jutsu teaching materials. The rest, like the Root authority, seemed rather hollow.
Although Mu Yue possessed a proficient-level Wood Release, she hadn't yet learned a single Wood Release jutsu.
[Name: Yamato]
[Chakra: 12000]
[Potential: S (Hashirama's Cells + Natural Talent)]
[Skills: Wood Release (Entry Level: 420/500), Earth Attribute Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient Level: 200/3000), Water Attribute Chakra Nature Transformation (Proficient Level)...]
On her way home, Mu Yue recalled Yamato's status panel from the original story.
Perhaps due to his limited cultivation time, Yamato's panel, aside from his chakra and potential values, had skills that were quite lackluster.
"If there were another slot available, he would be a good choice," Mu Yue mused.
While Yamato was insignificant in Danzo's eyes, a useless child, in Mu Yue's view, he was an uncut gem waiting to be polished.
Due to the system's reward mechanism, Mu Yue benefited more from taking on weaker disciples, and Yamato's current weakness was actually advantageous for her.
The only regret was that Mu Yue currently had no available disciple slots.
The system tightly restricted the number of disciple slots, and in the nearly three years since her arrival in this world, she had only obtained one disciple slot.
Mu Yue didn't even know if she would ever gain another one.
Upon returning home, Mu Yue hadn't spent much time researching the Yang Breathing Technique when Kakashi knocked on her door.
"I can confirm the battle time now. I'll have plenty of time tomorrow afternoon," Kakashi said a little embarrassedly.
He had mentioned being busy for a few days, but it had already been almost ten days.
"Sunday works for me as well," Mu Yue replied after a moment's thought, offering Kakashi a cup of tea.
Training only occurred six days a week, with Sundays off.
"In that case, you can choose the venue," Kakashi said after taking a small sip of tea.
Mu Yue nodded, indicating that it wasn't a problem. "If you don't mind, I'll choose the place where I usually teach my disciples. They will be there to observe the battle."
Watching strong fighters in combat was beneficial for cultivation. On the one hand, it provided a clear understanding of higher levels of strength, and on the other hand, it allowed one to learn from the combat techniques of superior fighters.
"That's fine. After all, most of them are my disciples too," Kakashi added, looking a bit embarrassed. He had only visited his team a handful of times in the past two weeks, not even managing to spend half the time with them.
Kakashi felt a bit guilty and decided that after he finished his current task, he would fulfill his duties as a teacher and not leave all the work to Mu Yue.
"The battle against the Yellow Flash is indeed something to look forward to," Mu Yue teased lightly.
"And the battle against the Fiery Sun, Hanyu Muyue, is equally anticipated," Kakashi replied with a smile.
He was genuinely excited about this battle, and to ensure fairness, he hadn't even discussed his new jutsu with Mu Yue. The technique, inspired by the Tailed Beast Ball, was almost ready, needing just a little more refinement to be complete.
PS: I checked, and in the original story, Yamato is called 'A' in Root, and his later Anbu codename is 'Tenzo.' In the setting, the Third Hokage gave him the name 'Yamato,' but for ease of reading, I will simply use 'Yamato' throughout.
(End of Chapter)
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