Satori Hyūga was slightly taken aback that his identity had been uncovered, but he remained calm.
His fearless demeanor puzzled Sakumo Hatake.
Frowning tightly, Sakumo Hatake stared at Satori Hyūga and asked, "You intercepted me here—what exactly do you want?"
Satori smiled. "Naturally, I'm here to save your life."
"You don't really think being sent overseas means it's all over, do you?"
"The higher-ups' targeting and suppression of you is only just beginning now. They'll target what you care about most, pressuring you until you submit and become their obedient puppet."
At these words, Sakumo Hatake's expression darkened. After a brief pause, he replied,
"You're exaggerating. Konoha wouldn't stoop to that, and neither would the Third Hokage."
"I've contributed so much to Konoha—I can't believe the village would ever target me."
"Care to make a bet?" Satori Hyūga said. "Bet whether the village will start assigning you increasingly dangerous missions just to wear you down."
"Even if you stormed into Sunagakure, your chances of survival would still be high."
"But you're not invincible. Everything you hold dear—your beliefs, your loved ones—will all be turned against you."
"Maybe one day, you'll be forced to choose between your mission and your comrades. How will you decide then?"
"Save your comrades or complete the mission—neither path will lead to a perfect outcome."
"And when that happens, rumors and gossip will erupt within the village. Do you really think the villagers won't turn on you, ruining your reputation?"
As Satori Hyūga laid out the grim possibilities of the future, Sakumo Hatake felt an immediate unease.
Panic surged in his heart as though those events might truly occur.
"What are you trying to accomplish by telling me these things?" Sakumo didn't understand Satori's purpose in seeking him out. Could it really be that he genuinely wanted to save his life?
He didn't completely disbelieve what Satori Hyūga said.
As leader of the Jonin Division, he had indeed encountered and sensed some of the darkness and corruption lurking within Konoha.
"I'm doing this to save you—and also for your value."
"In my eyes, you're an extremely talented individual. I don't want you dragged into the political struggles of the village."
"Leave Konoha and come work for me instead."
"If you stay in Konoha, you'll continue to face attacks and oppression—and worse, it might even affect your son, Kakashi Hatake."
Realizing Satori Hyūga had come to recruit him, Sakumo Hatake slightly relaxed inwardly.
However, he remained skeptical toward Satori's words.
Most importantly, he didn't know much about Satori. He only knew that the man was enigmatic, came from the Hyūga Main House, and had a talent for business.
He asked, puzzled, "With such overwhelming power already, shouldn't you be more than enough?"
In his view, Satori's strength had already surpassed his own significantly—he could almost be called invincible.
Though Sakumo believed himself to be formidable, he wasn't sure he could defeat the Third Hokage.
Against Satori Hyūga, however, he stood no chance at all.
Someone who had secretly amassed such overwhelming power now sought to recruit him—it didn't add up.
In the eyes of Sakumo Hatake, Satori Hyūga had become a terrifyingly ambitious figure in the ninja world.
Patiently enduring and lurking in the shadows, amassing wealth and gathering subordinates, waiting for the perfect moment to conquer the world.
During his decades-long career as a ninja, he'd seen countless others like that, but all of them were extremely weak in strength.
But Satori Hyūga was different—and far more dangerous.
As the head of the Hyūga Clan, Satori naturally had a powerful backer and background.
Rumors even claimed he demonstrated extraordinary business acumen, establishing factories and companies, building a massive fortune.
Now his strength had already surpassed Sakumo's, achieving his foundational rise in power.
He now had his sights set on Sakumo himself—his plan to dominate the ninja world was nearing completion.
Looking at the overthinking Sakumo, Satori Hyūga spoke up, explaining, "Don't get the wrong idea. I found you simply because it would be too much of a waste to see you die under the political machinations of the village."
"Besides, I also need to pay a visit to Sunagakure. Since our missions are about to conflict, I came ahead of time to stop you."
"To Sunagakure? Why?" Sakumo Hatake looked at Satori with confusion.
Could it be that he had secretly colluded with Sunagakure?
"Of course to gather expertise and transform the world, reshaping it into a better place," Satori openly revealed his plan in his usual outgoing manner.
Yet these words earned only an indifferent snort from Sakumo.
A man like a puppet master, how could he possibly want to benefit the entire world?
The moment Satori appeared, Sakumo's chain of suspicions had already started to form.
"Satori Hyūga, what qualifies you to reshape the world and make it better? Even the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju—the Sage of Shinobi—wasn't able to accomplish that."
Satori proudly replied, "You don't have to believe me, but just because Hashirama couldn't do it doesn't mean I can't."
Compared to others, Sakumo Hatake was someone Satori was willing to talk to a bit more.
After all, while working silently behind the scenes to change the world and work toward world peace, he didn't want to bear the weight of these accomplishments alone. Occasionally, he wanted to share his great achievements with others too.
And Sakumo was no ordinary ninja—he was someone who valued comrades over missions. Talking to him made sharing them even more satisfying.
"Don't you want to come see for yourself the changes I've brought to the world?"
Satori extended the invitation to Sakumo Hatake.
Sakumo nodded slightly, also curious to see where Satori had drawn his confidence and courage from.
Still, he glanced toward the direction behind him, where his other teammates were stationed.
He was still worried about their safety.
"Don't worry," Satori said. "They'll be fine."
"I simply used a Puppet to lead them away."
Hearing this, Sakumo finally felt reassured.
He believed Satori, a powerful expert who had surpassed him, wouldn't deceive him over something like this.
Sakumo followed closely behind Satori, moving at incredible speed.
Not long after setting off with Satori, they reached a small village.
This village wasn't big, but Sakumo Hatake was very familiar with it, having been here on previous missions.
Walking into the village, Sakumo immediately sensed that something was off.
In the past, the village's structures had been mostly made from branches and mud bricks—shabby, decrepit, and outdated. The villagers had always seemed numbed by despair.
But this time, Sakumo noticed that the previously dilapidated houses had been replaced by sturdy brick-and-tile structures.
People walking the streets stood tall, smiled broadly, and exuded vitality and energy.
For a fleeting moment, Sakumo wondered if he'd come to the right place.
It wasn't until a child approached, spotted him, and came running forward with unrestrained excitement.
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