Hokage's Office.
Naruto Uzumaki had a strange expression on his face. He held a chunin application, looked at the boy in front of him, and said softly, "Shikamaru, congratulations. Your promotion application has been approved."
"Ah..." Shikamaru Nara nodded, looking completely unmotivated. "Yeah."
The Fifth Hokage knocked on the desk, trying to put on an adult-like demeanor. "Cheer up, Shikamaru! You're the first of our generation to be promoted to chunin!"
Shikamaru couldn't help but roll his eyes. Cheer up? You're already the Hokage, and you're our age!
However, Asuma Sarutobi, standing behind Shikamaru, pressed a hand on his subordinate's head and said with a smile, "Lord Hokage, I will do my best to supervise him!"
After Team 10 left, a short ANBU member walked in, took off his mask, and scanned the empty office. "Is being Hokage this boring?"
It was Sasuke Uchiha.
"It can't be helped." Naruto pulled a few ninja certificates from a drawer and said softly, "The chunin and special jonin promotions are all ready for you."
"So fast?"
"The village is very short on manpower," Naruto said, shaking his head. He explained in a serious voice, "The Sand Village needs ninjas stationed there, we need to send people to investigate Orochimaru, and the Stone Village also needs scouts. The village is a bit short-staffed right now."
"I see..." Sasuke sighed and put his mask back on. "What mission has the Fifth Hokage arranged for me?"
"Hunting down Orochimaru. Any problem with that?" Naruto leaned over the desk, propping himself up with his arms. "By the way, you can also investigate the Land of Rice Fields. If everything goes according to plan, I want our village to become its protector ninja village."
More than a month had passed since he officially became the Fifth Hokage, and Konoha was gradually getting back on track. Because he was so young, Tsunade had taken the position of Hokage's assistant, helping him handle most of the village's trivial matters. This allowed Naruto to concentrate on arranging his own plans.
After careful consideration, Naruto decided to let Sasuke help investigate the Land of Rice Fields. As for hunting down Orochimaru, that was just a secondary objective.
Sasuke now had a three-tomoe Sharingan. Under Kakashi's guidance, he had completed his Chidori Stream lightning-style ninjutsu and was also working hard to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique. For this, he had even visited the reanimated Tobirama Senju, who resided under the Hokage Rock.
He was so focused on revenge that he was willing to disregard the teachings of his Uchiha clan.
When the Second Hokage learned that this young Uchiha was the teammate of the Fifth Hokage and that his target was the rogue ninja Itachi Uchiha, he didn't hold back. He told Sasuke everything about how he developed and learned the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"There's one more thing," the young Hokage said, pausing for a moment. He lowered his head, avoiding his friend's gaze. "According to the intelligence I've received, Itachi Uchiha is also in the Land of Rice Fields."
Konoha's spy in the shadows, Itachi Uchiha, was also hunting down Orochimaru. This was a good opportunity for the Uchiha brothers to resolve the matter between them.
Actually, Naruto thought, it'll be Itachi unilaterally resolving it...
After all, the current Sasuke, no matter how you looked at it, didn't seem to be Itachi's opponent. The gap between the two brothers was just too big.
"Good. I can get rid of him then."
Of course, Sasuke didn't think that way. He gripped the ninja sword at his side, a cold smile forming on his lips. Whenever he became stronger, he grew extremely confident. Especially after learning genjutsu and finally finding a way to break Tsukuyomi, he believed he could defeat Itachi's Mangekyo dōjutsu.
Naruto couldn't just sit back and watch this unfold. The young Hokage clasped his hands, looked at Sasuke, and continued, "After you leave Konoha, I will take the opportunity to visit the daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields. While I'm there, I'll completely destroy the Sound Village that Orochimaru established."
"Okay," Sasuke said after a moment of thought.
Ever since he became the only one left in the Uchiha clan, he had walked a lonely path. Now, his friend had helped him find information about Itachi. No matter what Naruto wanted to do, Sasuke decided he would help him.
Once he arrived in the Land of Rice Fields, he could gather intelligence on the region while also tracking down Itachi and Orochimaru. Two birds, one stone. No matter who he encountered, he would just kill them and be done with it.
Naruto nodded. "Sasuke, go and prepare. This mission might be quite dangerous. For the next few days, I'll order the ANBU not to give you any missions. I'll notify you when I'm ready to leave."
"...Alright." Sasuke's figure vanished from the office.
After he left, two white-haired figures appeared. One was the sturdy Sannin, Jiraiya; the other was the leaner jonin leader of the former Team 7, Kakashi Hatake.
"Is this really okay?" Jiraiya's face was worried. "That guy Orochimaru is not so easy to deal with. He's the most cunning person I know..."
Even though he knew Sasuke was strong, his current power was likely no match for Orochimaru. More importantly, many signs indicated that Orochimaru coveted Sasuke's body. Even if Naruto was in the Land of Rice Fields at the time, he might not be immune to Orochimaru's schemes.
"Someone will take care of Orochimaru," Naruto said, his face full of confidence, as if he had everything under control. "If nothing unexpected happens, perhaps two of Konoha's rogue ninjas will be dealt with."
"Two?" Jiraiya's expression became grave. He nodded. "If we can kill Orochimaru this time..."
"Impossible," Naruto said, cutting his teacher off. He slowly shook his head. "It's not that easy to kill Orochimaru."
He couldn't just say that he didn't actually want to kill Orochimaru, could he? After all, Orochimaru and Danzo had conspired to kill the Third Hokage and had nearly destroyed Konoha not long ago.
Kakashi was more concerned about his student. "Naruto, is it really time to let Sasuke know the truth about the Uchiha's downfall?"
He had been hiding it from his student for a long time. The truth of the Uchiha clan's destruction was too shocking—a grand drama of power, hatred, kinship, and conspiracy. The most pitiful person in it all was undoubtedly Sasuke. He was the only one who didn't know the truth and had spent his youth consumed by hatred.
It was hard to imagine how Sasuke would react if he learned that the revenge he had worked so hard for was actually part of a complex story of brotherly love and sacrifice. He would probably break down, wouldn't he?
"Don't underestimate Sasuke," Naruto said, looking at his former jonin leader. He thought for a moment before adding, "And don't underestimate Itachi. I'm just giving him the right to decide."
"Naruto, are you sure your plan will work?"
"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei. I believe in them." Naruto's fingers curled into a fist. "When the matter in the Land of Rice Fields is over, that's when things truly begin."