Chapter 46: 44: Reward
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The news of Sakumo's team successfully eliminating Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law caused a significant stir among Konoha's senior officials.
This victory marked Konoha's only major triumph on the battlefield since the war with Sunagakure began over two years ago. In many ways, this victory equated to the success of a large-scale war.
As the son and daughter-in-law of esteemed advisors, they were top-ranking experts in the Sunagakure's puppet army. The information and secret techniques stored in their minds were of utmost importance to Konoha.
Upon receiving this news, the ANBU swiftly relayed it to the Third Hokage, who immediately instructed Sakumo's team to return to the village.
Their primary task was to extract vital secret information and puppet techniques from the deceased puppet masters and gather intelligence on how to counter the puppet troops. These findings held immense significance for Konoha's current situation.
Thus, upon receiving the Hokage's orders, Sakumo led Shiraishi and the others back to Konohagakure, their absence lasting several months.
"I'll go submit the mission. You three can have some free time for now," Sakumo said.
"Yes," they replied.
At the entrance to Konoha, the four of them parted ways. Sakumo made his way to the Hokage Building to report their mission, while Shiraishi and the others, plagued by hunger after their nonstop journey, sought out a place to satisfy their empty stomachs.
...
"Hokage-sama" Sakumo greeted, knocking on the door before entering and offering a slight bow to the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who sat beside his desk.
To his surprise, he found that advisors Koharu and Homura were also present. Sakumo nodded in acknowledgment, showing respect to the two advisors who had recently returned from securing supplies for the war.
As the Sakumo team had accomplished an exceptional mission this time, the advisors were present as witnesses to the proceedings.
"Thank you for your hard work, Sakumo. You did an excellent job this time. With this victory, the Land of Fire's security shouldn't be much of a concern. The rest can be handled by the ANBU," Sarutobi commended.
"Yes," Sakumo replied.
Considering the heavy losses suffered by the Suna Village, it wouldn't be wise to continue sending elite troops deep into the Land of Fire for covert operations. Hence, the security work within the country would be entrusted to the ANBU and other Konoha ninjas stationed at various outposts.
Thus, Sakumo Squad's months-long mission concluded here.
"Have the bodies been turned over to the interrogation department?" Sarutobi inquired.
"They've already been handed over, and none of the enemies survived" Sakumo answered.
Although Shiraishi and Ruri had made significant contributions on that day, Sakumo and Ayane had also chased down and neutralized the fleeing Suna ninjas and the Iwa ninjas suspected to be involved. Take had also played a part in their capture.
With this, the troublesome Suna team that had given Konoha so much trouble had been eliminated. The difficulty and importance of this mission could be classified as S-rank.
Sarutobi nodded, then turned to advisors Koharu and Homura. "Next, let the members of the Yamanaka clan thoroughly investigate. We need to acquire the enemy's secrets."
"Consider it done. We must uncover the weaknesses of the puppet army as soon as possible, allowing the Suna Village to Understand the true strength of Konoha." the advisors agreed, highly satisfied with Sakumo's team's performance. As expected, they were Konoha's top jōnin, surpassing even the Sannin.
"This time, your team has done exceedingly well. Your reward will be calculated based on one S-rank mission and five A-rank missions completed over the past few months," Sarutobi said, visibly relieved.
Sakumo had no objections.
With one S-rank mission and five A-rank missions, even if Shiraishi and the others split the rewards evenly, each member would receive at least one million ryo. However, the monetary reward was merely secondary.
Such significant contributions warranted more than just financial compensation, and the village would surely offer additional generous rewards in due time. It was just that the Hokage hadn't decided on the specifics yet, so it would take a couple of days for the rewards to be distributed to Sakumo's entire team.
"Regarding my reward, Hokage-sama, I would prefer if it were given directly to the other three. They need it more than I do," Sakumo proposed.
"You never change, Sakumo," Hiruzen responded, giving him a helpless look.
"Well, after all, I didn't personally eliminate those two puppet masters, did I?" Sakumo chuckled.
Though he had come to understand that it was not he who had defeated the puppet masters, if he hadn't taken the lead and inflicted heavy damage on them, no one else would have received the credit.
Hiruzen, therefore, had no choice but to acquiesce to Sakumo's request since he genuinely had nothing to offer in reward.
Even if he had allowed Sakumo to access the sealed book in the past, it had been declined with a smile. Sakumo was the White Fang of Konoha, and swordsmanship was his essence. Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and the like only served to enhance the speed and power of his sword.
It didn't mean Sakumo lacked knowledge of ninjutsu—on the contrary, he possessed exceptional talent in that field. He was merely a pragmatist who believed that as long as he could kill the enemy with Kenjutsu using White Fang before they could utilize ninjutsu, he would emerge victorious. The White Fang in his hand was his most potent "ninjutsu".
After submitting the mission report, Sakumo left the office.
"As I see exceptional young talents emerging in the village, I can't help but feel my age," Koharu sighed with emotion.
"We're only in our forties, we're not that old yet" Homura complained, dissatisfied with being called old.
"Well, I still have about ten years left in this position," Hiruzen chimed in.
"Hiruzen, have you decided who the next Hokage will be?" Koharu asked.
Hiruzen fell silent for a moment. He hadn't made up his mind on this matter yet.
The selection of the next Hokage involves choosing the most renowned, powerful, and charismatic ninja among the jōnin. Currently, Sakumo is the closest candidate to the position. He has a higher reputation than the Sannin, stronger abilities, and his character is beyond reproach.
He is ruthless and cold-blooded toward his enemies but caring and protective toward his comrades, even if he struggles to express it.
One could say he is a qualified candidate for Hokage.
Moreover, Sakumo's strength continues to advance rapidly, and he is far from reaching the peak age for a ninja. Even now, he is already a great jōnin in the village. In ten years, he will be even more formidable and a haunting nightmare to the enemy.
"He's not suitable to be Hokage" Hiruzen stated.
Koharu and Homura looked at Hiruzen with surprise.
"I'm glad you understand. After all, he now has an Uchiha ninja in his team. She achieved the rank of jōnin at a young age and the genius of Uchiha clan. We must be cautious around him at all times"
Upon hearing Koharu and Homura once again bringing up the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled.
"Alright, I've taken that into account. You two can head back now."
He didn't want to argue with them about this matter. He had other tasks to focus on and, more importantly, how to further reward the Sakumo team.
The annihilation of the Suna troops held great significance. By utilizing the secret jutsu of the Yamanaka clan, they could extract valuable information from the enemy's minds and acquire various Suna secret techniques, including intelligence on the puppet troops.
Even without these considerations, the Sakumo team deserved substantial rewards for stabilizing the internal situation in the Land of Fire.
However, Hiruzen found it challenging to determine how to reward the two girls in Sakumo's team—one from the Uchiha clan and the other from the Hyūga clan.
The girl from the Hyūga clan belonged to a separate branch, but he had some reservations.
The key issue was Ruri, who was highly regarded by the majority of the ruling elders in the Uchiha clan. It was unlikely that she lacked resources.
If they were to receive rewards, the only option would be to open the scroll of seals once and allow her to choose a ninjutsu to learn from it.
However, Hiruzen could already imagine the disgruntled expressions on the faces of Homura and Koharu when the seal book was opened to Uchiha ninja.
Subsequently, Hiruzen picked up Shiraishi's profile book again. Well, this one was easier to handle. High-level ninjutsu, advanced medical-related texts, and more could serve as rewards this time.
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