Land of Fire, Konoha Village.
In the Hokage Office, Sarutobi Hiruzen was using the Telescope Technique to peek... observe Konoha's civilian life, when the office door was suddenly knocked upon.
Sarutobi Hiruzen calmly placed the Crystal Ball into the desk drawer and said, "Enter."
"Hokage-sama, Captain Commander Hatake has returned."
"Oh?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was surprised.
Didn't he go to the Uzushigakure for a mission? Why was he back so soon?
"Sakumo finished the matter? Quickly let him come in to see me."
"Um... Captain Commander Hatake is currently at the Konoha Hospital."
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "...?"
----
Konoha Hospital, Intensive Care Unit.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared in astonishment at Hatake Sakumo, who was wrapped up like a zongzi, and said incredulously, "...Sakumo?"
When Hatake Sakumo saw Sarutobi Hiruzen, he immediately tried to sit up, but Tsunade slapped him back down.
Tsunade impatiently said, "Don't move around!"
"Hiss—" Hatake Sakumo gasped, feeling as if his injuries had worsened.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face twitched, and he quickly said, "Sakumo, receive treatment first. We can talk about everything else later."
Hatake Sakumo apologized, "My apologies, Hokage-sama."
Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head and gave him a look telling him to relax and accept the treatment.
But his expression was very solemn.
Hatake Sakumo, currently Konoha's greatest Genius Shinobi!
Even his three Disciples could not compare to him!
Even the proud Uchiha Clan had to lower the arrogance of their geniuses before Hatake Sakumo.
Since becoming a Shinobi, every single mission, without exception, had been perfectly completed!
At the young age of twenty, he attained the position of Anbu Captain Commander!
His status was second only to him and Danzo!
These brilliant achievements, without exception, proved Hatake Sakumo's talent and strength!
From Sarutobi Hiruzen's daily observations, Hatake Sakumo's strength at this time was already infinitely close to Kage-level!
Sarutobi Hiruzen truly couldn't imagine who or what kind of situation could injure someone of this caliber so severely!
Moreover, he had only gone to the Uzushigakure to execute a mission.
Even if he had been surrounded by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Sakumo could have escaped completely unharmed if he wanted to!
So, what exactly happened to Sakumo?
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned deeply, unconsciously pulling out his pipe, wanting to take a puff.
Tsunade glared, "This is a hospital!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen paused the hand holding the pipe, then calmly put it away and asked, "How is Sakumo's condition?"
"Not bad."
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief.
Tsunade said expressionlessly, "It's just some comminuted fractures and internal organ damage."
Hatake Sakumo: "!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "...You call that 'not bad'?"
Backup
Tsunade glared and retorted, "Are you the doctor or am I the doctor?"
In her opinion, as long as it's treatable, it's not a problem.
"Uh..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was choked, and could only give an awkward smile.
But he sighed in his heart.
Ever since Konoha refused the Uzumaki Clan's plea for help, Tsunade had become increasingly cold towards him.
However, he believed that time would make Tsunade understand that he was right.
Seeing that Hatake Sakumo was almost done, Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, "What exactly happened?"
Hatake Sakumo glanced at Tsunade.
Tsunade was also very tactful; no Shinobi's mission could be revealed without permission, and besides, she wasn't very interested.
"You two talk."
After saying this, Tsunade walked towards the door of the ward.
But as she reached the door, she was suddenly called back by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Tsunade, you should listen too."
Tsunade twisted the doorknob and said coldly, "Not interested."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said calmly, "It's related to the Uzushigakure."
Tsunade paused, said nothing, but stopped her movement to leave.
Seeing this, Hatake Sakumo said with a solemn expression, "The Uzushigakure has changed!"
Hatake Sakumo, with a solemn expression, began to report the intelligence gathered from this mission, detailing the abilities, characteristics, and even names of each person.
Sarutobi Hiruzen listened, his expression growing heavier.
Gotei 13?
When did the Uzushigakure have such a force?
And they even seemed to have mastered the technique of Unmarked Ninjutsu?
They released no less than five types of Unmarked Ninjutsu?
There was even a ninja sword that could release Bloodline Limit abilities?
Ice Release? Smoke Release? Fire Release? And the ninja sword could even transform into a gigantic snake-shaped Spirit Beast???
This... the more he heard, the more unbelievable it became???
Had the Ninja World already developed to a stage he didn't recognize?
Or was he already old? Unable to keep up with the changes in the Ninja World??
But he was only in his thirties!
What? Almost every Lieutenant possessed the strength to kill the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?!
There were thirteen such Lieutenants?!
And above them were Captain-level figures?! Also thirteen?!!
Hatake Sakumo was still speaking.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen was starting to feel overwhelmed, his brain somewhat frozen.
Too much shocking information was crammed in at once, his mind was a mess.
Sarutobi Hiruzen rubbed his forehead and said, "Wait, you mean that woman, who is suspected to be the Captain of the Second Division, kicked you into this state with one kick??"
Hatake Sakumo said somewhat ashamed, "Yes, my subordinate's ability is insufficient..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was exhausted.
If Sakumo said so, wouldn't it mean that he wasn't a match for that woman either?
After all, he didn't have the strength to defeat Sakumo in one move. If it was really that terrifying, and there were thirteen such Captains.
Hiss—
"This force must not be underestimated!"
Even if not all Captain-level individuals had the strength of the suspected Captain of the Second Division, they still couldn't be taken lightly!
What's more, there were those strange ninja swords and Unmarked Ninjutsu!
Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to smoke again.
Such a force taking root in the Uzushigakure was not a good thing.
Sarutobi Hiruzen murmured to himself, "I wonder if this force is friend or foe..."
Hatake Sakumo said seriously, "Hokage-sama, there's one more thing..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a headache, "There's more?"
Hatake Sakumo said with a serious expression, "The one who commands this force seems to be a person called the 'Soul King'."
...Soul King.
Sarutobi Hiruzen brainstormed, searching his memory bank, but found no information about this title.
Unfamiliar!
Everything was too unfamiliar!
"Ah, right."
Hatake Sakumo suddenly remembered something else.
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him a resentful look.
"From their conversation, I learned that they seem to call themselves Shinigami?"
Shinigami?
Now Sarutobi Hiruzen had some clues.
After the Anbu brought Uzumaki Kushina back to Konoha, he copied a copy of the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Technique scrolls under the guise of safekeeping.
There was a Forbidden Jutsu related to Shinigami on it; he didn't know if it was related to this force.
Tsunade had listened for a long time from the side, and although she was also surprised by this suddenly appearing powerful force.
What she cared about more was a person Hatake Sakumo mentioned.
Tsunade asked earnestly, "Is that red-haired Lieutenant from the Uzumaki Clan?"
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