Master, Please Become a Hokage

Volume 2

Chapter 1. Farewell, Yurito of the Will of Fire Weapon Rain

"Young Master Ryo, where exactly is our destination?"

Outside Konoha, the group sped across the plains.

As a Genin, Might Duy usually only carried out D-rank and C-rank missions.

He frequently glanced sideways at the two Anbu beside the team... the Umino couple.

The scale of this mission was clearly unusual.

Common sense dictated that missions requiring Anbu involvement were usually B-rank or higher.

Might Duy had assumed that Young Master Ryo's invitation would be a C-rank mission at most, never expecting...

This made him feel excited, but also a little uneasy.

"We might clash with the Cloud ninjas..."

Sarutobi Ryo said casually.

Of course, this answer was just a guess.

In the original story, years later, during the Third Shinobi World War, Kakashi faced an Iwa Jonin who, upon seeing the White Light Chakra Sabre, mistook him for Sakumo Hatake himself.

This indicated that Iwagakure didn't know about Sakumo Hatake's death at that time.

Therefore, it could be determined that Sakumo Hatake's mission was unrelated to Iwagakure.

Currently, Sunagakure's attitude was ambiguous, but at least there was a ceasefire agreement with Konoha, so Sunagakure could also be ruled out.

That left Kirigakure and Kumogakure as the only possibilities.

Considering Yakushi Nonou's sudden departure, the Konoha higher-ups would likely arrange for her to infiltrate one of the villages, seize a suitable opportunity, and use the enemy's strength to screw over Sakumo Hatake.

Within Kirigakure, the Third Mizukage currently ruled, and that village was extremely bloody and brutal, making infiltration difficult.

In this light, Kumogakure was the only possibility.

"Kumogakure is currently led by the Third Raikage, and has many powerful ninjas under his command."

Yamanaka Kei spoke, organizing the intelligence for everyone.

Her cousin, Yamanaka Inoichi, was the leader of the Konoha Intelligence Division, so she could naturally obtain some extra information.

"However, in a one-on-one fight, few can match Sakumo-sensei."

To set up Sakumo Hatake and succeed, they could only resort to a human-wave tactic.

"The A-B duo, the Lava Release user Dodai, Black Lightning user Sarui..."

One by one, the names of powerful ninjas were spoken by Yamanaka Kei.

Yamanaka Kei's tone was tinged with emotion.

Sarutobi Ryo nodded.

This setting wasn't fan-made, but official content.

In the manga, Little Killer B rampaged during a mission, causing Iwa ninjas to say, "He's just a kid, but he's so strong. Are you the famous A-B duo?"

The official databook, "The Book of Formation," clearly stated that Killer B was only 5 years old at the time and had already become famous throughout the shinobi world with his adopted brother.

And that year.

Sarutobi Ryo, Minato Namikaze, Yamanaka Kei, and others had just graduated.

In the manga, Killer B was only 15 years old when he first fought Minato Namikaze.

"The shinobi world is never short of geniuses."

Sarutobi Ryo said calmly.

"However, everyone doesn't need to worry. Our mission this time only requires support; the main force is still Sakumo-sensei."

The dilemma of Sakumo Hatake's mission this time lay in:

Whether to choose to carry out the mission and abandon his teammates,

Or to save the team, abandon the mission, and cause huge losses to the Land of Fire.

Kumogakure would definitely send out powerful ninjas to try to hold back Sakumo Hatake.

Then, they would attack Sakumo Hatake's teammates on this mission in a two-pronged attack.

So, what he had to do was very clear.

As long as he investigated the specific details of Sakumo Hatake's mission, allowing him to focus on fighting the enemy, Sakumo Hatake wouldn't have to face a difficult choice.

To put it bluntly.

The Konoha higher-ups had definitely arranged for a few trash teammates for Sakumo Hatake this time, deliberately hindering him.

Sarutobi Ryo: "And my mission is to protect those few who are dragging their feet."

......

Soon after, Hyuga Ruri suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong? Ruri?" Yamanaka Kei immediately asked.

"......"

Hyuga Ruri pointed.

Following her gaze, a blurry shadow gradually rose from the puddle on the ground.

"Be careful... Mist ninjas!"

The Umino couple immediately warned.

This kind of disguise, lurking in puddles and difficult to detect, was undoubtedly the work of a ninja from the Bloody Mist.

Had Mist ninjas infiltrated the Land of Fire again?!

Just as the tension reached its peak, the shadow revealed its figure and stood on the water surface.

"Yo~."

A short female ninja with shark-like teeth and a good expression.

It was Ringo Yurito, whom they hadn't seen for two weeks.

"It's you..."

Yamanaka Kei immediately lowered her stance.

When the Umino couple saw the scratch on Ringo Yurito's forehead protector, they immediately understood.

"A rogue ninja?"

"Isn't she the genius Ringo Yurito of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?! Did she betray Kirigakure?!"

The two were extremely shocked.

Kirigakure... was an extremely closed-off village that never communicated with other villages.

So even if there were rogue ninjas, other countries wouldn't know.

"What is it?"

Sarutobi Ryo's attitude was even more indifferent.

Even before Hyuga Ruri pointed her out, Sarutobi Ryo had sensed Ringo Yurito's presence.

Nothing else, just the "Will of Fire Brand".

The curse mark outlined on Ringo Yurito's abdomen after the Will of Fire was injected became the reason Sarutobi Ryo noticed her.

Curse marks were such a mysterious existence.

The caster could definitely sense it within a certain distance.

"I've become a bounty hunter~."

Ringo Yurito spun around, like a whirling dancer, and came before the group.

"Young Master Ryo..." Might Duy couldn't help but feel a little nervous, after all, the other party was the famous Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Seeing Sarutobi Ryo familiar with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the Umino couple were also slightly bewildered.

"I have some information I can provide to you, as repayment for the favor last time, what do you think?"

Ringo Yurito smiled, but still sized up Sarutobi Ryo nervously.

There was no way around it; she had personally experienced his seemingly indifferent but actually cruel personality.

And what Sarutobi Ryo had said last time... that the curse mark could kill her at any time... also made Ringo Yurito uneasy, so she didn't dare to act rashly.

Of course, perhaps she hadn't come without the possibility of testing him.

"Speak."

Sarutobi Ryo remained expressionless, without joy or sorrow.

"Well, the thing is..."

In Ringo Yurito's description, the group learned about her recent experiences.

After healing her injuries, she left the port town and went to an underground gold exchange within the Land of Fire, becoming a bounty hunter.

After completing two missions, she saved up some money, and her days were quite comfortable.

The recent news she had heard was that Kumogakure had a small-scale movement to invade the Land of Fire.

Ringo Yurito's investigation also coincided with Sakumo Hatake's mission.

"Explain in detail."

Sarutobi Ryo's lips curled slightly, and the fake smile made Ringo Yurito feel a little uneasy.

She quickly spilled all the details.

"Very good."

With Ringo Yurito's information, they were one step ahead of the enemy.

"In that case, we can ambush them on their way... Target... the Land of Frost!"

Sarutobi Ryo decided to speed up their pace and move faster than Sakumo Hatake and the others, arriving ahead of them! Thus, striking first!

Of course, this would inevitably consume a lot of physical strength, which ordinary ninjas couldn't keep up with.

"Everyone, please do as you wish. Ruri, Mr. Duy, the three of us will go ahead."

"Oh, okay, Young Master Ryo." As a hidden taijutsu expert, Might Duy instantly accelerated and chased after him.

And Hyuga Ruri, who had practiced Gentle Fist taijutsu since childhood, looked delicate but actually had super endurance and physical strength.

The two chased after Sarutobi Ryo, and soon the three of them disappeared.

"Young Master~~!"

Yamanaka Kei felt so hopeless.

Every time there was a physical strength competition, it would turn out like this.

"There's no way around it. Who told me I'm not the type who's good at taijutsu? Sigh..."