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"You're going to accept this mission? That choice doesn't really fit your usual personality. Are you changing?" Orochimaru said in his low, raspy voice. His eyes seemed to hold a hint of doubt.
Some things are easiest to see from a detached perspective. Orochimaru was one of the people who could see through the essence of human nature. Judging by Haori's previous personality and actions, he was definitely not the kind of ninja who would take responsibility for himself.
To describe it, no matter how strong he was, the most Haori would do was to fulfill his obligations as a Konoha ninja. Anything beyond that, that would be called contributing to the village. Haori had never had that kind of thought before.
So, why was Haori now trying to take on this responsibility that was beyond his obligations? This made Orochimaru a little confused.
In Orochimaru's eyes, although Haori was only 14 years old, his personality was already quite mature. Haori didn't seem to have any special pursuits, but that also meant that the village didn't have any necessary constraints on him. This was different from ordinary ninjas.
In Konoha, there were only a handful of people and things that Haori cared about. If one day Haori were to suddenly leave the village for some special reason, Orochimaru wouldn't be surprised.
They had the same background and the same education, but some people couldn't escape the village's constraints their entire lives, while some people had never been constrained by the village. Haori was clearly the latter.
Orochimaru, even now, was still considering things from Konoha's perspective.
Was Haori trying to put this kind of constraint on himself? No, he just wanted to do something.
"I'm still just an ordinary person. And ordinary people, whether subjectively or passively, will always change because of certain influences." Haori said.
Orochimaru chuckled strangely at Haori's statement. He didn't comment.
Sometimes, Orochimaru felt that Haori was like him, somewhat cold by nature. But other times, when faced with the same thing, the two of them would make completely different choices and judgments.
"You're very strong. Even if you don't consider your age, as a ninja, you're already strong enough. But that's not enough. Being strong doesn't mean you can handle everything… You saw what happened to Yashamaru of Sunagakure. For the village, whether it's the ninja's own village or the enemy's village, there are many assassinations and other behind-the-scenes tactics…"
"And you've chosen to accept this mission. The danger level is naturally S-class. Even with your strength, the chance of death is over 80%. Because once you're actually in Kirigakure, the choice won't be in your hands. It will be in theirs."
Facing an entire village of enemies, Orochimaru felt like he would die. Haori was no exception.
This mission was even more dangerous than the assassination of the Raikage. Because back then, Haori had transformed into an Iwagakure ninja and infiltrated the Iwagakure village with the invading force. But this time, he would be openly entering Kirigakure as a Konoha ninja.
Haori shook his head. Some of Orochimaru's words he agreed with, but some weren't entirely accurate. "I have my own judgment about the danger level of the mission. And since I'm willing to carry out the mission, then I naturally have some guarantee that I can ensure my safety. Besides, those are just potential dangers. Since Kirigakure is willing to seek peace with Sunagakure, maybe Konoha will have the same treatment."
Was it really just potential danger? Haori didn't even believe that himself.
Orochimaru was judging the danger level of the mission based on Haori's outwardly displayed strength. But if he really went all out, Haori himself didn't know how far he could go.
If necessary, if Haori really went all out, he could unleash a move that could instantly kill a Tailed Beast. Although the cost would be too great and he didn't have complete confidence that he could do it.
Based on all these combined judgments, Haori had taken the initiative to accept the mission of being Konoha's envoy to the Kirigakure Hidden Mist Village in the Land of Water.
Although Yashamaru's example was right there and Haori had witnessed it with his own eyes, he didn't hesitate at all to accept this mission.
After hearing the full details of the relevant events from Yashamaru, Konoha had some guesses about their attitude towards the war with Kirigakure. And they saw the possibility of achieving peace between the two countries.
So, after weighing their options, Konoha sent a message to Kirigakure through a secret channel, expressing their desire to hold peace talks. Sending an envoy to Kirigakure was the first step.
Kirigakure responded quickly. They quickly replied to Konoha's message and agreed to Konoha's request to send an envoy.
The danger of this mission was, as Orochimaru said, once the envoy entered Kirigakure Village, the choice of life or death would be completely in their hands.
Kirigakure had sought peace with Iwagakure and Sunagakure. There were actually two possibilities. First, they were preparing to gradually and completely withdraw from the war. Second, the opposite was true. They were preparing to eliminate their rearguard worries and focus all their efforts on fighting Kumogakure and Konoha. The two possibilities were 50-50. Konoha didn't know Kirigakure's true intentions. But no matter what, the latter was actually more likely, in terms of feeling.
Moreover, Konoha had been making Kirigakure's life miserable recently and was still doing so now.
The war had only restarted a few days ago. Konoha had first attacked Kirigakure's thousand-man base, then sent ninjas to infiltrate the Land of Water to cause various kinds of destruction. Then, they completely wiped out Kirigakure's elite Jōnin group, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen… Kirigakure undoubtedly had a grudge against Sunagakure, but they had an even bigger grudge against Konoha.
"If you think it's okay, then as you wish. I'll let you do it. After all, there aren't many ninjas who can carry out this kind of mission."
Orochimaru wouldn't stop Haori from making a decision based on his own will. Even if a "genius" was actively going to his death, Orochimaru would be sad, but he wouldn't stop him beforehand.
But this mission wouldn't happen immediately. First, there was a rather complex process involved. At least, before taking action, Haori needed to get a letter of authorization from the Hokage.
Second, Haori also needed to prepare himself. After all, it was a high-risk mission. He needed to prepare himself mentally for the worst possible situation.
So, he needed to make himself a set of large-scale weapons of mass destruction, that is, mass-produce a batch of high-energy grenades – the Four Symbols Sealing Scroll.
Drawing sealing jutsu on scrolls, no matter how complex, was easy for Haori. But the Four Symbols Sealing Jutsu was a super-offensive sealing jutsu that consumed a lot of the user's chakra. Without the corresponding preparation, even if Haori had a pile of scrolls, he could only throw a few at most. Throwing more would quickly drain his chakra.
So, in order to be able to use the Four Symbols Seal immediately and in large quantities, Haori made some modifications to the jutsu. The main change was to seal his chakra into the jutsu beforehand for temporary storage. That way, when it was time to use it, he would only need to form hand seals. This would avoid the burden and risk of instantly drawing a lot of chakra.
So, for a while before the mission began, because he needed to consume a lot of chakra every day, Haori was in a state of feeling "drained."
In this way, he made 20 Four Symbols Scrolls at a rate of two per day, using his small workshop. Although that temporary chakra-sealing method meant that the scrolls had a limited shelf life, it was enough to last until his mission was over.
When it was time to fight, Haori would first throw those things into Kirigakure Village. If he was surrounded by enemies, he would throw them specifically into the crowd. The combat effect would be absolutely amazing.
But because the scrolls already contained chakra in their jutsu, the jutsu was almost always ready to explode. As a result, Haori was always careful with them. He didn't want to turn his powerful weapons into a suicide terrorist bombing.
If the scroll exploded on him, Haori would be the first to go.
In this way, when the Hokage's letter of authorization arrived, Haori's preparations were almost complete.
Then, he was about to begin his third trip to the Land of Water, a trip with an unknown outcome. One morning, Haori left the camp and walked towards the Land of Water.
His actions were witnessed by three people.
"Huh? Isn't that Haori? What's he doing so early in the morning?"
"Maybe he has a mission."
"It shouldn't be…"
These three sentences came from the three people who had been saved by Guy: Ebisu, Might Guy, and Kakashi.
The last sentence was said by Guy, who knew Haori better. He explained, "He's probably going somewhere to test new jutsu. Haori likes to research those powerful things. If he was going on a mission, he would be wearing that white mask he always wears."
Guy didn't know that Haori's mask was no longer necessary.
Haori didn't expect Kirigakure to be welcoming of his arrival. He could even imagine enemies lying in wait on the road. But at this moment, he had a sense of confidence. He was going to Kirigakure, and no one could stop him. If he wanted to leave Kirigakure, no one could stop him.
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