Chapter 563: Harvest Rewards

Name: Uchiha Shisui

Life Mission: The Uchiha and Konoha

Main Objective: Eliminate the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha, allowing the Uchiha to integrate into Konoha

Mission Progress: 46. Shimura Danzo's death directly made Shisui's life mission progress the highest among all disciples, not only reaching a settlement node but also not far from the next settlement.

However, when Mu Yue thought about the things Shimura Danzo did in the original story, he found it very reasonable.

Shimura Danzo, even before dying, had to warn him to be careful of the Uchiha, reminding him that the Uchiha were inherently evil, showing his attitude towards the Uchiha.

Mu Yue looked at the pop-up settlement rewards.

Disciple Uchiha Shisui's strength increased, promoting the reform of the police force, taking a small step on the road to eliminating the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha, obtaining progress rewards — Chakra +1600, Self-Select Extraction Scroll Fragment·S (Mastery Level), Yin Attribute Ninjutsu Mastery Scroll

The rewards were about the same as the other disciples' forty percent settlement, except for the attribute of the ninjutsu mastery scroll; the other rewards were exactly the same.

However, the awkward thing was that last time three disciples happened to gather three fragments, and this time only Shisui settled alone, so the fragments are temporarily unusable.

Mu Yue closed the reward information and clicked open Obito's life mission.

Name: Uchiha Obito

Life Mission: It's not that the one who becomes Hokage is recognized by everyone, but the one who is recognized by everyone becomes Hokage.

Main Objective: To become the Hokage of Konoha.

Mission Progress: 44. Obito's life mission progress was not as exaggerated as Shisui's, but it was still decent. After all, the life mission difficulty is high, and it's not easy to increase progress.

After receiving Nagato's notification, Yahiko rushed at full speed and quickly arrived at Amegakure.

"Did something happen? Why did they suddenly call me over?" Yahiko wondered in his heart.

Since the matter was rather complicated, Nagato did not explain the reason when contacting the Ninja Sect, only telling Yahiko to come as soon as possible.

But seeing the peaceful Amegakure, Yahiko felt it shouldn't be anything major.

Learning that Yahiko had arrived, Nagato activated his perception and quickly found Yahiko.

"Nagato, where is Teacher Sōsuke? Why did you suddenly ask me to come here?" Yahiko saw that only Nagato was there and asked.

"Teacher is handling the affairs of Amegakure," Nagato replied.

Yahiko looked at Nagato with some confusion. Weren't they invited to watch the Chunin Exam? Why were they helping handle Amegakure's affairs? Was Amegakure so busy that they couldn't handle their own matters?

Nagato didn't waste words and took Yahiko to a deserted place to explain: "Hanzo is dead. Now, Teacher Sōsuke is the true leader of Amegakure."

Yahiko was stunned, looking at Nagato with a confused expression.

How was it getting more absurd? How long had Nagato and Sōsuke been gone, and they had already taken over the entire Amegakure?

Moreover, Amegakure didn't look like it had experienced a coup; it looked quite peaceful.

"Actually, this invitation was a scheme, a scheme by Shimura Danzo..." Nagato began to explain the whole story to Yahiko in detail.

"So that's how it is. No wonder Teacher Sōsuke only brought you." Yahiko sighed.

In such a dangerous situation, insufficient strength would not only fail to help Sōsuke but also become a burden to him.

"Yahiko, I'm sorry. That night, I shouldn't have advised you, causing you to miss the last opportunity to meet Hanzo." Nagato said with a guilty expression.

They had estimated that this trip to Amegakure would be quite risky, but in reality, Mu Yue had dealt with the enemies very easily.

If they had also brought Yahiko, then Mu Yue wouldn't need to act; Nagato himself could protect Yahiko.

"It's fine. After all, you were thinking about my safety. There's no need to apologize." Yahiko shook his head with a smile.

"Besides, now I have an answer in my heart."

It was certainly a pity that he couldn't communicate with Hanzo, but after understanding the reasons for Hanzo's death and Sōsuke becoming the leader of Amegakure, Yahiko's previous doubts were resolved.

"At least, in his final moment, he was sincerely the Demi-God Hanzo of the Land of Rain." Yahiko showed a relieved expression.

Hanzo was not someone who always put the peace of the Land of Rain first; he had wavered and had selfish motives.

But the choices Hanzo made in his life made Yahiko feel that he lived up to the name of Demi-God, and his previous admiration for Hanzo was not misplaced.

Nagato showed an expression of agreement. This time, he indeed had changed his view of Hanzo a lot.

Next, Nagato took Yahiko to see Hanzo's portrait.

Yahiko felt that Hanzo did not seem to have died in battle, but rather of natural causes.

Because Hanzo's expression showed no trace of reluctance or hatred; instead, he looked somewhat relaxed and happy?

Upon learning that the Ninja Sect and Amegakure were to deepen exchanges, Yahiko decisively signed up with Sōsuke.

Now that the Land of Rain had restored peace, the next focus was strengthening power. He wanted to work in Amegakure to let more Rain shinobi understand the true nature of the Ninja Sect.

Land of Fire, Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was processing documents when suddenly his mouth felt dry.

His eyes continued staring at the documents, his right hand put down the brush and reached for the teacup on the desk.

Crash!

Somehow or other, Hiruzen Sarutobi fumbled and failed to hold the teacup steady, causing it to smash on the floor, spilling tea everywhere.

Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the documents, took a deep breath, and touched his chest.

"I haven't been overworking recently; why is this happening all of a sudden?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked puzzled. Just a moment ago, he had felt a sudden palpitation.

Frowning, Hiruzen Sarutobi called for the Anbu at the door to come in, clean up the fragments, and mop the floor.

Losing a teacup was a trivial matter for Hiruzen Sarutobi; it wasn't a precious antique.

The real reason for Hiruzen Sarutobi's displeasure was that he suddenly realized he was no longer young, to the point where he could not even hold a teacup steady.

Returning to the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window that offered a full view of Konoha, and let out a slight sigh.

"Every single one of them is so worrisome. Can I really retire in peace like this?"

From being appointed Hokage in a time of crisis until now, Hiruzen Sarutobi was already somewhat weary.

If a suitable candidate appeared, once the shinobi world stabilized a bit, Hiruzen Sarutobi would unhesitatingly pass on the position of Hokage.

He had stood at the peak long enough; he had no great attachment to this power and authority.

Compared to toiling for Konoha all day, Hiruzen Sarutobi yearned more for a future retirement at home, fishing in his free time and helping to raise and educate his grandchildren.

Maybe he could even have a second spring in his teaching career, raising his grandson to become an excellent shinobi like Muyue.

The next night.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard someone calling his name, and the voice was somewhat familiar.

"Old man, get up quickly, Teacher Muyue is calling you." Asuma pushed open Hiruzen Sarutobi's door and said.

He also heard the voice outside the house and instantly recognized it as Muyue.

Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly dressed properly and walked out of the bedroom. Muyue coming to find him at this hour was certainly no trivial matter.

Asuma wanted to follow, but was ruthlessly chased back by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Go to sleep!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said sternly.

If not for thinking Muyue had urgent business, given Asuma's disrespectful attitude just now, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have scolded Asuma for a while.

"Fine, I won't go." Asuma retorted irritably, turned around, and went back to his own bedroom.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Hiruzen Sarutobi, but because Muyue hadn't called him. If Muyue had called his name, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi forbade him, he wouldn't listen.

Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly walked out of the house and saw Muyue with a mournful expression in the yard.

Seeing Muyue's expression, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart immediately skipped a beat, feeling something was wrong.

In his impression, Muyue had always been an optimistic and strong person. For Muyue to show such an expression, it was definitely no small matter.

"Muyue, are you alright?" Hiruzen Sarutobi first asked about Muyue's condition, then continued:

"Has something happened? You can take more leave from the Observation Color course, it's fine, no rush."

Hiruzen Sarutobi valued the Observation Color training highly, but compared to Muyue himself, a training program was clearly insignificant.

"Third Hokage-sama, thank you for your concern, I am fine." Muyue shook his head and replied, then his eyes reddened. "It's Lord Danzo. He, he… has fallen…"

After saying that, Muyue lowered his head slightly, his face full of pain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Muyue in disbelief, his oppressive eyes fixed on her. "You're saying Danzo sacrificed himself?"

Just a few days ago, they had been drinking and chatting, and now he was suddenly told that Shimura Danzo was dead—how could Hiruzen Sarutobi bring himself to believe it?

If it were on the battlefield, it would be normal for a friend you drank and ate with yesterday to die today, but he hadn't dispatched Shimura Danzo to the battlefield.

In Konoha, who had the ability to kill a Konoha high-ranking official silently?

Muyue silently nodded.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's body trembled slightly, and he took a step back.

In fact, the first time Muyue said Shimura Danzo was dead, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already believed it on a rational level.

Because the person saying it was Muyue. Muyue was a representative of Konoha's younger ninjas, once a member of Root, and had no reason to lie about such news.

But this news really made it hard for Hiruzen Sarutobi to stay rational, so he subconsciously resisted and questioned it.

However, he was still the Third Hokage after all; fooling himself wasn't something he should do.

Muyue quickly stepped forward to support Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head to indicate he didn't need it—the shock had just hit him too hard at once, not that he was truly old.

"Where did he die? Did you bring his body back?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in a deep voice.

Shimura Danzo couldn't have met his end in Konoha, and not even in the Land of Fire.

"The Land of Rain. The body is now at the Root base," Muyue answered truthfully.

"Besides Lord Danzo, most of the Root ninjas also sacrificed themselves. Now Root only has one member left."

Although Muyue and Yamato could also be considered Root members, they were not in Root's roster and weren't Root members on the surface.

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't speak, just rubbed his furrowed brow.

At this moment, he already had some conjectures about Shimura Danzo's death.

Previously, Shimura Danzo had brought up his opinion to Hiruzen Sarutobi, saying they should pay attention to the Ninja Sect and the ninja forces in the Land of Rain.

Now Shimura Danzo had died in the Land of Rain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt it was very likely because he hadn't agreed to Shimura Danzo's proposal, and then Shimura Danzo had acted on his own, flipped, and been killed.

"Do you know how Danzo died? Why did he go to the Land of Rain? Why did he die in the Land of Rain?" On the way, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked directly.

From Hiruzen Sarutobi's understanding of Shimura Danzo, the Root ninja left at the base probably didn't have much intel.

Although Muyue was no longer a Root member now, given the current situation, she might know quite a bit.

"I'm not sure why Lord Danzo went to the Land of Rain. He never told me the reason, just that there was a very important matter he needed my help with, and that I couldn't tell you, Third Hokage-sama." Muyue looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with an apologetic expression.

Shimura Danzo was very cautious. The scroll he gave Muyue only contained instructions for her to go to the Land of Rain, without explaining what to do.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression didn't change. That was so like Shimura Danzo—it sounded exactly like something Shimura Danzo would do.

"The one who killed Lord Danzo was Sousuke of the Land of Rain." As she spoke, Muyue's eyes reddened again, and her tone became self-reproachful.

"If I had arrived a little earlier, or if I had told you, Third Hokage-sama, about this, perhaps Lord Danzo wouldn't have died."

"By the time I arrived, Lord Danzo had already been severely injured. Although I immediately used Flying Thunder God to rescue him, it was already too late.

Lord Danzo's injuries were too serious; my Medical Ninjutsu couldn't heal him, so I could only watch helplessly as Lord Danzo died."

Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a deep sigh, as if he could see Muyue's joy when she rescued Shimura Danzo, and her guilt and helplessness when she witnessed his death.

After all, Muyue had been raised by Shimura Danzo since she was a child; it was impossible for her to have no feelings for him.

"Muyue, this is not your fault." Hiruzen Sarutobi placed his hand on Muyue's shoulder to comfort her.

He was deeply pained by his old friend's death, but judging purely by the nature of the matter, Shimura Danzo was definitely in the wrong first, not Muyue for being slow to rescue him.

"But even if it wasn't being a bit faster, if my Medical Ninjutsu were stronger, perhaps Lord Danzo wouldn't have..." Muyue remained immersed in sorrowful self-blame.

"No ninja can advance all abilities evenly. If one could, then he would be a mediocre ninja. This isn't your problem; you are already outstanding enough." Hiruzen Sarutobi consoled her.

Honestly, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt this was Shimura Danzo's predestined demise.

Even with Muyue personally going in to rescue him, she couldn't save him. Even if Muyue had notified him immediately, he would have been powerless by then.

The way to resolve this deadlock does not lie with Mu Yue, but with Shimura Danzo himself.

It is Shimura Danzo's own actions that have led to his deadlock; based on the currently known information, Sarutobi Hiruzen made this judgment.

As the two talked, they arrived at the Root base, and Sarutobi Hiruzen also saw his old friend lying on the ice platform.