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"According to our intel, the situation is dire. This mission falls to you."
The Third and Fourth Hokage were both present, but Haori could only respond with silence to the task they assigned him.
The current situation was simple. It could be explained in four words:
Hanzo is dead.
The leader of the Rain, the so-called Demigod, Hanzo of the Salamander, was dead. Konoha received this intel promptly. The reasons, the process, the time, who did it, was it a natural death or an assassination? These details are unclear right now, but the source of the intel is reliable.
The death of a ninja like Hanzo is naturally good news for Konoha, but the underlying problems are also significant.
So far, the war between Konoha and Kumogakure hasn't ended. At the same time, due to the change in leadership, the relationship between the Rain and Konoha might also change. There's a risk of war breaking out again between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
The Rain without Hanzo is nothing to fear, but the key is whether this change will cause a chain reaction. For example, if Konoha and the Rain go to war again, will Iwagakure, which has already tacitly agreed to a ceasefire with Konoha, take advantage of the situation and counterattack?
No one can say for sure what the enemy will do.
After a period of silence, Haori said:
"With the Rain's closed-off, isolated state, how did Konoha learn about this? Besides, it's Hanzo. No one can kill him… To be precise, no one can easily kill him."
Of course, there are people who can kill Hanzo. And there are quite a few of them. But language serves the speaker's position, so Haori said that no one can kill Hanzo.
Thinking back to his joint operation with Danzō a year ago, it's highly likely that Hanzo died from an act of revenge.
"True, a ninja of Hanzo's level wouldn't die easily. The intel we received isn't accurate. But because of this ambiguous intel, we need someone to go to the Rain to investigate and confirm what happened. Will Konoha and the Rain face any changes? Under the current circumstances, you're the most suitable candidate." The Third Hokage said.
This is indeed a very serious situation, but Haori's answer is clearly not what the Third Hokage expected. Or rather, Haori has repeated this sentence many times.
"The mission is important, and it's urgent, but… Third Hokage, I can't accept this mission."
The Third Hokage was silent at first, then he said, "Haori, you've refused to carry out missions nearly twenty times in a row. You should understand that this is extremely unprofessional for a ninja."
Actually, even if Haori carried out missions one after another with high efficiency and density, he wouldn't be able to complete twenty missions in this amount of time. After all, under the current circumstances, the missions assigned to him are all high-level missions…
But that's the situation. The more he's idle, the more he refuses missions, the more missions will be assigned to him. Then, he still refuses. So, it seems like he has an attitude problem.
Haori guarding Kushina is normal. It doesn't mean he has a reason to refuse to carry out other missions.
"I can carry out this mission, but I'll have to wait until after Kushina gives birth, which is in a month and a half. If the mission can wait for me, then that's best. If it can't wait… then I can only refuse. Third Hokage, you'll have to assign the mission to other ninjas."
"Haori, after you complete this mission, you can return in time for Kushina's situation. The situation in the Rain is more urgent right now…"
"For me, Kushina's situation is more important. I think the Hokage understands my personality. Compared to the duties of a ninja, I need to fulfill my duties as a disciple right now." Haori interrupted the Third Hokage, making his attitude clear.
Actually, he wanted to say that the duties of a ninja were meaningless to him. He didn't care about Hanzo's life or death. But it wouldn't be wise to say that to the Hokage.
After all, this wasn't a matter of pride. Haori wasn't trying to be rebellious.
It's just that his sense of priorities is different from the Hokage's.
"Third Hokage, Fourth Hokage, this is my decision. Whether there are new missions or any punishments, everything will have to wait until a month and a half later." After saying this, Haori turned and left.
He left behind a silence.
After a while, Minato said, "Third Hokage, please understand. For Haori, Kushina is probably his only family. That's why he's acting like this…"
...
For Haori, it made no sense for news of Hanzo's death to come at this time. If he had a brain with a bit of persecution complex, he would even think that this was bait to lure him away from Konoha.
This kind of undercover investigation mission with a clear objective could be completed in three days, or it could take three months and still have no leads. So, if Haori left Konoha during this time, he had a feeling that he would miss something important.
Haori didn't know that Minato had made an explanation for him. He also didn't know how the Rain mission was going. But for the next half month, he continued to guard Kushina without incident.
It was now the height of summer.
In the evening, Haori would regularly check the sealing jutsu he had set up to prevent the entire sealing barrier from being destroyed without warning, rendering it useless.
One day, after confirming that there were no problems, he prepared to return to rest. But when Haori came back, he found Minato's three bodyguards standing at the entrance of the loft.
Inuzuka Kiba, he was Haori's contemporary, the one Haori was most familiar with among the three. He was also one of the ninjas that Might Guy saved with his life. At the time, he was still a Genin. But he probably worked hard because of his gratitude to Guy, so he became the bodyguard of the brilliant Fourth Hokage.
This was undoubtedly a very important position, a testament to a ninja's strength.
Then, there was Akimichi Chōji. Haori's understanding of him came from the descriptions of his former teammate, Yamanaka Shikamaru. After Haori's squad disbanded, Shikamaru basically worked with Chōji. So, Haori knew that Chōji was a skilled swordsman and assassination expert.
Finally, there was Hyuga Neji. Haori didn't know much about his past, but since he could become the Fourth Hokage's bodyguard, he must have something special about him.
But the three of them were still ninjas of the younger generation. Although they had become the Fourth Hokage's bodyguards, their combat strength wasn't particularly outstanding. Ninjas still need talent. For the younger generation, they couldn't compare to Uchiha Shishui, Haori, or even the now-retired Kakashi.
If they fought individually, Haori could one-shot them. Even one against three, they wouldn't last a few rounds.
They were incomparable to the original first-generation bodyguards, Haori, Chōji Akimichi, and Shizune Yūgao. After all, the latter were all Jōnin, and elite Jōnin at that. But Minato's three current bodyguards were only Chūnin.
But everything would change because of these three.
Because after becoming the Fourth Hokage's bodyguards, these three could activate the Flying Thunder God when they worked together.
There was no problem with the bodyguards guarding the entrance. Haori walked back to the loft as usual. In his perception, Kushina and Minato were both inside the loft, and numerous ANBU were on guard around them.
People's minds have inertia. All this time, Haori thought that the enemy he needed to face was just Obito, who had undergone mental conditioning.
But that wasn't the case.
To prevent emergencies, the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God jutsu was not only placed in Kushina's room, but there were also special Flying Thunder God Kunai outside the loft.
So, when Haori stepped lightly, the three bodyguards suddenly made hand seals together.
The Flying Thunder God jutsu hidden in the special Kunai instantly opened.
The essence of space-time ninjutsu is speed. The six-petal, line-shaped patterns spread out on the ground didn't give Haori time to react. He disappeared from his original location due to instant teleportation.
It was still a month before Kushina's due date. This should have been an ordinary day.
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