Mito stared at Hiruzen for a long time, and Hiruzen likewise met Mito's gaze without subservience or arrogance.
After a long time, Mito let out a soft chuckle and said, "Monkey, you finally look like an excellent Hokage. Forming an alliance with Kumogakure was not the wrong choice."
After a pause, Mito continued, "However, this old woman has something to ask for your help."
With the serious matter at hand, Hiruzen quickly said, "Mito-sama, please speak."
"When Uzushiogakure was destroyed, I didn't know if any members of the Uzumaki clan were wandering outside. I want to ask you to search for those wandering Uzumaki clansmen and bring them to Konoha."
"Of course, you don't need to worry about subsequent problems. Even if there are some, there aren't many left, so they won't cause any impact on Konoha."
Mito stared at the four of them and said in a deep voice.
"What if they are Uzumaki clansmen who have joined other villages?" Danzo asked abruptly.
Mito gave Danzo a deep look before speaking, "Just bring back those who are willing to return to Konoha. This can be considered my way of tracing back our origins, and for Konoha, it should only bring benefits, not too many disadvantages."
Hiruzen agreed without a second thought. Just as Kazuki and Mito had thought, if the entire Uzumaki clan were to join Konoha, Hiruzen and the other great clans would find it very difficult to allow.
However, a small number of Uzumaki clansmen would indeed be a huge supplement for Konoha, almost entirely beneficial with no harm.
Even Danzo would not obstruct this point.
He even wondered if he should go find those Uzumaki clansmen and bring them all to Root.
Root currently needed this kind of talent.
"Well, I'll trouble you with this matter." Mito finished speaking and then stood up and left.
Hiruzen and the other three were left looking at each other.
After a long time, Koharu finally asked, "What do you think Mito-sama meant by this? For something , she only needed to say it casually. Why did she wait a year after Uzushiogakure's destruction to bring it up?"
"Perhaps she wanted to test our attitude?" Homura said uncertainly.
"Regardless, bringing those Uzumaki clansmen to Konoha really isn't a problem. If those people have issues, Mito-sama can detect them." Danzo's expression was full of envy when he brought this up, wishing he also had such sensory abilities.
"Forget it, let's send some people to help Mito-sama search for the Uzumaki clansmen." Hiruzen sighed helplessly, "It doesn't affect us. We just need to do our best."
The other three did not refuse either. They were worried that Mito would demand that they retrieve those Uzumaki clansmen who had been captured, and they could imagine the fate the Uzumaki clansmen would face after being captured by other villages.
But if it was just about finding those wandering outside, they could certainly do their best for that.
However, why Mito had waited so long to do this, the four of them couldn't figure it out for a while.
Little did they know that before this, Mito had felt that if there truly were clan members living outside, becoming ordinary people and letting the Uzumaki clan disappear from then on might not be a bad thing at all.
Ninja were not necessarily better than civilians.
The sudden attack by the Land of Rain on the Land of Iron was something none of the Five Great Nations had expected.
As expected, the Five Great Nations all came forward to condemn Hanzo, demanding that he withdraw his troops from the Land of Iron.
However, what they didn't expect was that Hanzo and the Amegakure Ninja not only didn't retreat but instead accelerated their offensive against the Land of Iron.
Kazuki learned about the front line situation from Tsunade every day and somewhat understood that the reason the Five villages didn't act immediately was probably to test the Daimyo's attitude.
After all, the Land of Iron was essentially under the Daimyo, and no matter how harmonious the relationship between the villages and the Daimyo, there were still some underlying conflicts.
It was not impossible that Hanzo had already reached a consensus with certain Kage before dispatching his troops.
If the Land of Iron were truly to be destroyed, it would be hard to guarantee that some villages wouldn't make a move against the Daimyo's Mansion.
Kazuki quietly ate popcorn every day, then developed the Rasengan under Mito's guidance, or taught Mikoto how to use the Sharingan and Chidori. His days were quite pleasant.
Soon, half a month passed, and the Combat arena refreshed.
Fourth Great Ninja War — Gaara
Third Great Ninja War — Uchiha Shisui
Akatsuki — Uchiha Itachi
When Kazuki saw these four names, he was somewhat silent.
Itachi from the Akatsuki period, the current Kazuki knew he couldn't beat him no matter what. He was still very far from Kage-level strength.
Gaara from the Fourth Great Ninja World War period. Without the One Tail, his strength seemed to have decreased on the surface.
But thinking about Gaara's battle with Deidara compared to his battle with Rasa, it seemed that without the One Tail, Gaara's strength hadn't decreased much. Instead, it had subtly increased.
For Gaara, the One Tail was more like a hidden danger.
Of course, it was also possible that during Gaara's battle with Deidara, he was held back by Suna ninjas and couldn't fully display his true strength.
As for the so-called Akatsuki Elder, Kazuki didn't pay him any mind. He was just cannon fodder, lucky to even have Jonin-level strength.
As an Uchiha, he certainly had the right to look down on ninjas from other small nations.
As for Shisui, the Body Flicker, Kazuki admitted that he couldn't beat Shisui at his peak, but Shisui from the Third Great Ninja War period? Wasn't that like a father fighting his son?
The facts proved this to be true. Although Shisui's strength during the Third Great Ninja War period was decent, there was still a significant gap compared to Kazuki.
In terms of Genjutsu, Kazuki's ocular power was stronger than his. In terms of Body Flicker Technique, both their Body Flicker Techniques were identical, but Kazuki understood these Body Flicker Techniques better than Shisui.
Coupled with the Flying Thunder God Technique and other abilities, Kazuki was significantly stronger than Shisui.
After killing Shisui, Kazuki gained Shisui's three-tomoe ocular power, which significantly boosted his ocular power, but still, the Mangekyo Sharingan remained a distant goal.
40 Advanced Chapters on