Standing up from his chair, Shiraishi finished his lunch and walked towards the place where Obito was practicing.

From behind, Lin's voice came:

"If possible, I hope that Senior Shiraishi can keep Obito a secret about what happened just now."

Baishi turned his back to Lin and waved, indicating that he understood.

Because that's what he planned too.

For such an immature but powerful child, it would not be good to let him know everything.

It would be better to wait until he matures and discover it himself, that way he will be more likely to accept all this 'deception'.

Considering Obito's almost dog-licking temperament, Shiraishi couldn't think of a better way than this.

Once Obito has mastered senjutsu, he will be given relevant training as a guard. In the future, he will help the grandmother and grandfather in the Kingdom of Demons, hoping that the darkness hidden in his eyes can be melted.

◎

The disappearance of the Nohara couple gave Hiruzen, the Hokage, a headache.

Nohara Rin stole the Nanao from Takigakure Village and her current whereabouts are unknown.

This led to the breakdown of the relationship between Takigakure and Konoha. When Konoha and Kumogakure were fighting, there was no guarantee that Takigakure would not use this matter to declare war on Konoha.

Although Takigakure is not a ninja village of the Five Great Nations, it still has considerable ninja power.

But in the face of Takigakure's difficulties, all he had to do was delay.

Because with the disappearance of Nohara Rin, Takigakure Village could not produce any concrete evidence. It was Nohara Rin who stole Takigakure's Nanao. This was just Takigakure's one-sided statement.

However, because he did not want to be at odds with Takigakure, and the other ninja villages seemed to be secretly adding fuel to the flames, Hiruzen had to respond to Takigakure head-on. But regarding the missing Chunin Nohara Rin in the village, and the theft of Takigakure's Seven-Tails

, then the past is blurred.

Hiruzen would not admit that stealing the Takigakure Seven-Tails was the work of Konoha ninjas until there was definite evidence.

After all, the whole thing looks really weird.

According to the time of Nanao's disappearance provided by Takigakure, it was the time when Nohara Rin disappeared from the Konoha camp in the Country of Grass.

Kakashi found the remnants of Wooden in a battlefield in the Country of Taki, and it was suspected that a Wooden ninja appeared in the Country of Taki.

After that, Takigakure attacked Konoha, saying that a female ninja in their village had stolen Takigakure's Nanao.

But Lin has disappeared. What is the specific truth? Hiruzen feels that he cannot completely listen to Takigakure's words.

Once the charge of stealing tailed beasts is confirmed, Konoha will be stained with breaking the tailed beasts agreement, and it will definitely be difficult for Konoha to move forward internationally.

Furthermore, how can a chuunin find the Jinchuriki from Takigakure, then peel the Seven-Tails from the Jinchuriki's body at lightning speed, and finally seal it within his own body to escape from Takigakure?

Therefore, Takigakure's attack only made Hiruzen solemn, but he refused to admit that he had stolen the tailed beast.

They also sent a team of ANBU to monitor Lin's parents day and night to see if they could find any clues.

More than half a year has passed, and the Nohara couple behaved normally. They just heard that their daughter was missing and her whereabouts were unknown. They felt sad for a while before they regained their composure. During this period, there was no suspicious behavior.

The missing Lin did not return to the village and had secret contact with her parents.

Until two days ago, the ANBU guarding the Nohara couple had an accident and fell into a coma at the scene. When they woke up, the Nohara couple mysteriously disappeared from their home and were missing.

This caught Hiruzen's attention.

Hiruzen immediately blocked the news, especially the envoy Takigakure stationed in Konoha, who was not allowed to know about it. Otherwise, they would definitely think that Konoha was guilty of being a thief, and that the disappearance of the Nohara couple was caused by Konoha itself shouting to catch the thief.

There have been a lot of things going on recently, Konoha and Kumogakure are fighting fiercely, and Uchiha and Hinata have issues that need to be appeased as much as possible.

Regarding Orochimaru's arrangement, Danzo's power is too great and needs to be restricted.

The election issue of the Fourth Hokage.

Hiruzen is responsible for all these matters.

Now that Nohara Rin's parents have disappeared from Konoha again, there is one more thing to be busy with.

Hiruzen had a huge headache.

It would be better if there was an assistant around to give advice.

The Sarutobi clan has many jounin, but their strength and status are insufficient to help them in these matters.

So now, everything can only be supported by one person.

Hiruzen could imagine that once the war was over, no matter what he said, he would abdicate.

The trend is inevitable.

But what he has to do has not been done yet, the Uchiha problem has not been solved, the balance between the ninja clan and the civilians is not perfect, and the large-scale defection of Uchiha and Hyuga that happened in the past few years... it all requires a lot

Time to prepare.

"Time waits for no one."

In the blink of an eye, I am already in my fifties, and my energy is not as good as before.

If I don't resolve those issues, I won't be able to trust the next generation to be the Hokage.

Whether it is Orochimaru or Minato, they are too young. They cannot handle these matters perfectly, and they lack experience in communicating with the ninja clan.

Therefore, the connection between himself and the position of Hokage cannot be completely severed.

Picked up a scroll and spread it out in front of him.

There are only two names on it.

Orochimaru, Namikaze Minato.

The position of the Fourth Hokage will only arise between these two people.

In terms of cleansing, he prefers his disciple Orochimaru.

But if Orochimaru comes to power and joins forces with Danzo, he will be marginalized.

After much deliberation, Minato is more suitable.

At that time, Minato will handle the chores, and he can go all out to solve the Uchiha matter. The balance between the ninja clan and the common people must also be maintained.

Clean up the mess you left behind.

But at that time, will there be enough time?

Hiruzen sighed again, then made up his mind.

He knew very well that under his conservative style, Konoha seemed strong, but in fact its power had begun to weaken.

But when dealing with foreign affairs, we must be at peace with ourselves.

Unlike other villages, Konoha is a ninja village where the ninja clan is quite prosperous.

It is not easy for the Uchiha, Hyuga, Nara, Akimichi, Yamazaka, Aburozuka and other ninja clans to balance and perfect the relationship between these ninja clans.

It is precisely because of this intricate connection that he has been seeking internal stable policies over the years.

Without unifying the internal voices, Konoha will stagnate.

Hiruzen has already decided on the first target.

Uchiha.

As long as the Uchiha problems are taken away, most of the problems won't be a problem.

Hiruzen looked through the window into the distance, where the Uchiha clan was located.
Chapter completed!