Naruto: The Teaching System - 284

Chapter 284: Uchiha Itachi’s Request to Go Undercover

“What did you just say?”

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s voice boomed through the Hokage’s office like it had been run through a loudspeaker.

On the couch, Sawada poked at his ear in resignation. Why did everyone feel the need to shout their shock these days?

“Old man, you’re the Third Hokage. Try acting a little more dignified,” he said helplessly.

“You brat…” Hiruzen had half-risen from his chair. Seeing Sawada’s expression, he could only sigh. “Do you have any idea what it means to bring back a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan?”

“I do. But Hiruzen-sensei…”

Sawada lifted his head and met Hiruzen’s eyes. “Once you review Karin’s case file, you’ll understand,” he said slowly. “Until then, my advice is this: don’t get greedy.”

“Karin is not Kushina. In her current mental state, she cannot bear that kind of burden.”

Hiruzen’s brows drew together. He sat back down across from him.

“Explain it to me.”

Sawada did not hesitate. He laid out everything he knew. Hiruzen already knew that Sawada had techniques that could pry directly into thoughts; there was no point in holding back.

With every detail, Hiruzen’s frown deepened.

After a long silence, he exhaled a cloud of smoke.

“If that’s how it is, this will be troublesome.”

Sawada blinked and spread his hands. “Sensei, you know as well as I do that for the last ten years, Konoha has managed just fine with sealing techniques, even without Kushina.”

“Don’t let one leaf make you forget the whole forest.”

Hiruzen’s hand twitched. He almost rapped Sawada on the head with his pipe, but Sawada leaned away, and he just grumbled instead.

“You think I don’t know that? There are still certain seals that can only be performed by the Uzumaki,” Hiruzen said. “Do you really think the Nine-Tails incident would have gone the way it did if anyone else could have maintained her seal? Kushina was in labor. She could not hold it. We had to fall back on a modified village seal.”

That part, Sawada had not known, though it made sense.

“Forget it. We’re this far already,” Hiruzen said, waving it off. He might fret, but Sawada was not wrong. Right now, Konoha’s sealing arts were still the strongest in the shinobi world. They could revisit the question later.

“Anyway, Sensei, I intend to take the girl on as my student,” Sawada said. Karin’s talent was not low. His own strength might already be considered absurd, but there was no such thing as too strong. The future shinobi world would only get messier.

“Even if you hadn’t said it, I would have arranged it,” Hiruzen replied with a nod. He did not have the energy to take on another disciple himself. Better to hand her to Sawada.

“Actually, there’s one more thing. I want Jiraiya-senpai involved too,” Sawada added from his seat at the side.

“Oh?” Hiruzen looked puzzled. “What are you thinking?”

“For now, I think Jiraiya-senpai should not leave the village. Otherwise, I’m worried he’ll be in danger.”

Sawada’s tone grew serious as he explained the presence on the frontlines that even normal sensory-nin could not detect, along with everything he had inferred from it.

“Sawada, do you know something?” Hiruzen asked, brows knitting again.

“No. Just… think about it,” Sawada said. “Whoever can gather this many S-rank missing-nin under one banner… how strong do you think that person has to be?”

He flicked his hand, dismissing the topic. Better to let Akatsuki expose themselves in their own time.

“I understand,” Hiruzen said quietly. He did not press further. Instead, he shifted to a different matter.

“Uchiha Itachi found Orochimaru before your unit returned.”

“Oh?” Sawada looked at him expectantly.

“Orochimaru lost,” Hiruzen said. “He gave us information on that organization as well, but it reads more like bait, meant to lure Itachi in.”

Hiruzen rubbed at the bridge of his nose. No one knew his own student’s nature better than he did. And Itachi, of all people, believed this organization already posed a threat to Konoha.

“He formally requested permission to go undercover.”

Sawada did not quite know what to say. That was walking into the wolf’s den and shutting the door behind him. Without the Uchiha massacre, how would Uchiha Obito ever allow Itachi to join?

“You agreed?” Sawada asked.

“Yes. The ANBU exist for this sort of work,” Hiruzen said. “Itachi may not be a formally trained infiltrator, but he meets the standard.”

In terms of strength, Uchiha Itachi qualified. He had beaten Orochimaru with the Sharingan alone, which said enough about where he stood among shinobi.

Sawada could not refute the logic. ANBU was created for this, and with Root all but dissolved, ANBU was bearing most of that load now.

“By the way, Sensei, Iwagakure has medical-nin capable of using Mystical Palm,” Sawada said, remembering the medic at Ōnoki’s side.

“I heard from Jiraiya before you returned,” Hiruzen said with a nod. “Root sent someone years ago. The medic must have left scrolls in their residence. Iwa found them.”

His jaw tightened. Was Danzo out of his mind? Sending a top-tier medic to be a mole? How big did the hole in his head have to be? And now Konoha’s monopoly on elite medical ninjutsu had leaked.

“Don’t worry about Jiraiya,” Hiruzen added.

“Oh? Sensei, you have something in mind?” Sawada asked.

“Heh. Maybe I can’t keep Jiraiya here by myself,” Hiruzen said, a small smile tugging at his lips. “But there is someone who can.”

Jiraiya had never liked staying in the village. Hiruzen knew that better than anyone. But now that an Uzumaki bloodline had reappeared, that person should be able to come back.

Sawada’s eyes flickered. He thought of her, and the corner of his mouth twitched. Lust, gambling, and poison. It would not be long before all three vices of the Legendary Sannin were in front of him.

—

“All right, let’s begin,” Yamanaka Inoichi said solemnly.

He stood surrounded by the members of his unit. In front of them, Karin Uzumaki sat cross-legged atop a stone platform, eyes closed. If you wanted to enter Konoha for good, you had to pass the Intelligence Division and the Torture and Interrogation Division. It was their job.

Even Sawada could not interfere much beyond asking Inoichi to be gentle.

Thankfully, Inoichi knew where the line was. This was Uzumaki blood they were dealing with. It had been many years, but at last, another.

Handle the standard procedures, verify everything, and then let this child wake up as soon as possible.