Chapter 16: Good person

"Hey, come back to your senses, Sakukaze, let's hurry to the Hokage Building to report the mission."

Looking at Sakukaze, who was a bit distracted, Uchiha Fugaku reminded him in a low voice.

It wasn't that the entire squad needed to go together to report the mission; after all, having him as the captain was enough.

But the opportunities to show one's face in front of the Hokage were few; this time it was also because they brought back more than forty outsiders, and the personnel involved in the mission were two major new stars of Konoha, so a detailed report was needed.

If it were an ordinary bandit suppression mission, you could see if there was a chance to meet the Hokage.

Did they really think the Hokage was made of iron, and every mission needed to be handled by him personally?

There were so many missions in Konoha; if all of them needed the Hokage to handle them one by one, the Hokage probably wouldn't live to be fifty.

It was only A-rank missions or above, or special B-rank missions, that needed the Hokage to handle them personally.

As for the massive amount of D-rank and C-rank missions, just send a few people specialized in handling them.

This time Uchiha Fugaku was prepared to bring his two disciples, also to brush their faces a bit more.

Even if this wasn't as important to Sakukaze and Kakashi as it was to ordinary ninjas, there were ultimately benefits.

Being able to help his two disciples, Uchiha Fugaku was still willing to do it.

"Sorry Captain, just now I thought of other things."

Hearing Uchiha Fugaku's voice, Sakukaze apologized hurriedly.

Uchiha Fugaku didn't care about these things, shook his head lightly, said it was fine, and took Sakukaze and Kakashi toward the Hokage Building.

On the way, Uchiha Sakukaze really couldn't hold back his curiosity and said to

"Captain, are the gatekeepers of Konoha passed down through specific clans?"

Regarding Sakukaze's inquiry, although Uchiha Fugaku was somewhat puzzled, he still opened his mouth to answer:

"That's not the case. Generally speaking, this position is entrusted to ninja whom the village trusts.

Of course, if one has this idea themselves, and there are elders in the family who have retired from this position, then it would certainly be considered first."

"Hmm? Sakukaze, you aren't thinking of going to guard the gate, are you? Although this position is decent, you will definitely have higher developments in the future, so don't be impulsive."

As he spoke, Uchiha Fugaku suddenly thought of something and hurriedly added.

Upon hearing this, Sakukaze hurriedly shook his head and said:

"Captain, you misunderstood. I don't want to become a gatekeeper; I was just purely curious."

"Phew, that's good."

Hearing Sakukaze's answer, Uchiha Fugaku let out a long sigh of relief.

It was fortunate that it wasn't what he had thought. If the Uchiha clan's most talented junior, Uchiha Sakukaze, had gone to guard the gate while under his command, he, Uchiha Fugaku, would likely have had to commit ritual suicide to apologize to the entire Uchiha clan.

Sakukaze naturally did not know Uchiha Fugaku's internal thoughts; at this moment, he was lamenting the situation of position inheritance in Konoha.

Konoha was originally a village that emphasized nepotism and inheritance, like the position of Hokage and so on.

He hadn't expected that even a small gatekeeper position would require connections to inherit.

Although Uchiha Fugaku didn't say it explicitly, such a high-paying, easy, and safe position as a Konoha gatekeeper would certainly be highly sought after among Chunin and Special Jonin.

If there are elders in the family who have retired, it will be considered first—why not just say it's hereditary succession?

Shaking his head, Sakukaze did not dwell too much on such matters.

He was just struck by a sudden curiosity, not wanting to go and snatch the gatekeeper position from others.

A moment later, the three members of the Fugaku Squad were already standing outside the Hokage Office.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Please come in."

As the knocking sound rang out, Sarutobi Hiruzen's vigorous voice instantly came from inside the door.

The Sarutobi who had not yet completely aged still possessed some of the aura of a Ninja Hero.

Without hesitation, upon hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice, Uchiha Fugaku directly led Sakukaze and Kakashi to open the door and walk into the Hokage Office.

Just after entering the Hokage's office, Sakukaze calmly sized up the surrounding environment.

Hmm, very simple; apart from office supplies, there was basically nothing else.

Not to mention anything else, just as a Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen was still very qualified.

At the very least, Sarutobi Hiruzen at this stage was like this.

Of course, Sakukaze only took a slight look, and the next second he withdrew his gaze, and like Kakashi, he imitated his captain and put on a serious appearance.

With the arrival of the three members of the Fugaku Squad, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was buried in processing documents, also raised his head.

Seeing the visitors, a kind smile appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face.

"Ah, it's Fugaku, Sakukaze, and Kakashi. Why have you come to me today?"

Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's inquiry, Uchiha Fugaku, as the captain, was the first to report the course of this mission.

Of course, Uchiha Fugaku focused on highlighting the excellent performance of Sakukaze and Kakashi, as well as the forty-two women they brought back.

After listening to Uchiha Fugaku's report, a look of contemplation first appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face, and then a gratified smile.

"Since you encountered a Chunin on this mission, let's upgrade the mission rank to B-rank.

As for the people brought back this time, I will count it as an additional C-rank mission for you.

Fugaku, Kakashi, Sakukaze, what do you think?"

Stroking his small mustache, Sarutobi Hiruzen asked softly.

Upon hearing this, the three hurriedly replied:

"No problem, Lord Hokage, everything is as you wish."

Looking at the serious appearance of the three, Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled while stroking his mustache:

"Don't be so tense and serious; I'm not that rigid. Just be more relaxed.

Especially you two, Kakashi and Sakukaze, you should smile more at your young age. You are much more outstanding than I was when I was young, so don't put too much pressure on yourselves.

However, you two performed well this time; you are worthy of being the Konoha Twin Stars. The village will have to be guarded by you in the future."

It must be said that Sarutobi Hiruzen was still very charismatic. Regardless of whether what he said was sincere, at the very least, it made Kakashi develop quite a bit of goodwill toward him at this moment.

Of course, Sakukaze's attitude remained reserved; after all, there was too much darkness hidden in Konoha, and he dared not say that Sarutobi Hiruzen was a good person.

Furthermore, he was ultimately surnamed Uchiha. Sakukaze, who could not abandon his family, estimated that his relationship with the Konoha high-ups would not be good in the future, especially with a certain guy surnamed Shimura.

However, for the time being, Sarutobi Hiruzen was still good to him. Regardless of whether it was because of remembering Uchiha Kagami, facts were facts.

If a bad person pretends to be a good person for a lifetime, can he still be defined as a bad person? Sakukaze did not want to think about such philosophical questions.