"Really, sensei?"
Sasuke himself didn't realize how much he trusted Shinji.
When he got the same answer from Fugaku, his first reaction was to ask why. But with Shinji, he just wanted to confirm it again.
"Really, I also just found out not long ago." Shinji nodded very seriously.
"Don't worry, it's just an external directive to prevent some people from using Itachi's Konoha identity to cause trouble."
"But, nii-san he..."
Sasuke lowered his head, a little dejected.
This was unfair. Even if this rogue ninja identity was fake, who could guarantee his brother's safety?
"Don't worry, Itachi is very strong." Shinji stroked Sasuke's head, his tone very gentle.
"Sensei, can you tell me his mission?" Sasuke's eyes were full of worry.
At the very least, he wanted to know what it was about.
"No, Sasuke." Shinji shook his head.
This mission was now of the highest possible level.
Father had actually agreed to it, and even sensei couldn't reveal what the mission was.
Sasuke fell silent. That meant his brother was going on a very dangerous mission.
Shinji comforted, "Don't worry, if anything happens to him, I will help."
"But, sensei..."
Sasuke immediately looked up. He was very clear about Shinji's strength. But a distant water cannot quench a nearby fire.
"However, Sasuke, I think you should trust your brother. You should be even clearer about his strength. Missions are something a ninja cannot avoid."
Shinji felt Sasuke was just a little too worried, but there was really nothing that could be done about this.
Itachi was crazy enough to go directly to the Akatsuki, he couldn't stop him. He didn't know what Orochimaru had said to Itachi for him to make this decision.
Even Hiruzen had said that Itachi didn't need to go to such lengths, yet he still went. Presumably, it should be related to the Uchiha clan and Konoha.
The Uchiha part was still unknown, but if he wasn't mistaken about Konoha, it was the Tailed Beast.
However, he had killed three members of the Akatsuki one after another.
Now, they probably couldn't even manage the most basic two-person team, could they?
"Shinji-sama, Hokage-sama has requested your presence." An Anbu appeared beside Shinji, kneeling on one knee and speaking.
"Oh? Shisui?" Shinji was happy the moment he saw Shisui.
"Sasuke, your brother's strength is comparable to this person's. Fight him and you'll know." After speaking, Shinji left.
Shisui's appearance here, there was no need to think about what it was for.
It's just that Shinji was really tired of dealing with such messes. First Jiraiya, then Itachi.
One after another, why couldn't they just be a little more stable?
—
"Sensei."
Shinji stepped into the Hokage Office and spoke upon seeing Hiruzen.
"Hehe, Shinji, sit."
Looking at Shinji, whose face was full of resentment, Hiruzen couldn't help but twitch his lips.
Shisui was sent by him, but from the looks of it, Shinji mostly chose to ignore him.
"What's the matter, calling me here?" Shinji was speechless at Hiruzen's fawning appearance.
Hiruzen stood up, came to the sofa, sat down, and spoke, "The Land of Wind has submitted a surrender letter."
Shinji nodded. "Oh, that's normal, but has the Fourth Kazekage appeared?"
Iwagakure had already surrendered, so naturally, if the Land of Wind didn't want to be annihilated, it would definitely follow the same procedure.
"Yes, he appeared."
Hiruzen nodded. "As soon as he appeared on the battlefield, he immediately represented Sunagakure in surrendering."
Shinji twitched his lips.
Rasa was also miserable. The war started with him as an excuse, and now he had to be the one to speak for the ceasefire and surrender.
Presumably, after he returned, he would be sidelined by the higher-ups. He would more or less get to experience the treatment his son, Gaara, would enjoy in the future.
"But, what does this have to do with calling me over?" Shinji rubbed his temples, asking helplessly.
Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, speaking slowly, "Jiraiya sent word that Iwagakure is already in contact with him about when to negotiate."
Shinji spread his hands and said, "Uh, does this still require negotiation? If they lost, they cede land and pay reparations, isn't that enough?"
Hiruzen said, "That's right, but Jiraiya thinks it's necessary for you to go."
Shinji understood at this point. This was preparation for him to go and hold the fort. Given Ōnoki's personality, to put it bluntly, Jiraiya was worried that they would start fighting again during the negotiations.
"Fine, when do we leave?" Shinji shook his head, saying helplessly.
"It's fine, there's still a lot of time. Sunagakure will go with Iwagakure then, and the negotiation location is in the Land of Waterfall." Hiruzen's tone grew cold at this point.
Konoha had not forgotten what Takigakure had done.
"Understood. I'll go along when it's time to depart." Shinji nodded.
He also wanted to see what the so-called negotiations would be like.
—
On the training ground, Shisui had originally thought he would be pulled by Sasuke to ask questions.
Unexpectedly, Sasuke just greeted him and then went straight back to the training ground. A helpless Shisui could only go back and report to Hiruzen.
Naruto, on the training ground, saw Sasuke return and sit there alone. He couldn't help but walk over and ask, "Hey, Sasuke, what are you thinking about?"
"Thinking about something." Sasuke glanced at Naruto, responded, and then continued to zone out.
"What is it? Tell me." Naruto asked curiously, as this Sasuke was quite rare to see.
"That's right, Sasuke, tell us." Shikamaru and the others also gathered around, asking one after another.
Originally, if it were just Naruto, Sasuke would have retorted a few times, but now looking at his few companions in front of him, he fell silent. After a long while, he slowly spoke.
"Sasuke's brother, huh."
After listening, Naruto put his hands behind his head, his thoughts wandering.
Naruto said to Sasuke after a while, "Sasuke, I think, sensei is right. Moreover, becoming a ninja means there are some things you need to face yourself. Everyone has their own choices."
"This can also be considered their ninja way. We don't need to dwell too much on such things."
Shikamaru and the others' astonished expressions made Naruto very confused.
"What's wrong? Am I wrong?"
"No, it's just hard to imagine such words coming out of your mouth." Shikamaru looked at Naruto, speaking while confirming whether Naruto had been swapped.
"What do you mean! Don't treat me like an idiot!" Naruto said with a speechless expression.
These were words his father sometimes used to guide him.
Why did Shikamaru and Sasuke, these companions, have such a shocked expression when they came out of his mouth?
"Alright, but Sasuke, Naruto is right." Shikamaru gave up on being playful and turned to Sasuke.