The head nurse curled her lips and carefully turned the small old man onto his side. She then warned him seriously. "But you must put your own health first. You have too many old injuries, and as you grow older, they will all start to surface."
"If you twist your waist again, this problem will follow you for the rest of your life. It will seriously affect both your daily life and your combat ability."
Onoki snorted in displeasure but did not argue anymore. He lay obediently on the hospital bed and said impatiently, "Fine, fine. I will stay in the hospital and rest for a while."
"Mm."
The head nurse nodded with satisfaction and grinned. "Tsuchikage-sama, I will help take you to the restroom."
"W wait! I do not want to go to the restroom right now!" Onoki's expression changed as panic crossed his face. "Even if I wanted to go, I can do it myself!"
"Be good, Tsuchikage-sama. You cannot move right now."
"No, no. I can use Ninjutsu! You know the Light and Heavy Rock Technique, right? I can fly!"
"I am not a ninja. I have no idea about light rocks or heavy rocks."
Knock knock.
A heavy knock came from the door, and the head nurse instinctively stopped. Onoki immediately let out a breath of relief and called out, "Come in!"
Although she seemed disrespectful to Onoki, it was only professional concern for a patient. Knowing her limits, the head nurse quietly left the room. The door closed softly behind her.
Bang.
A very tall and burly figure walked in, accidentally bumping his head on the door frame. Rubbing his head, he looked at Onoki on the bed and spoke in a deep, muffled voice. "Father, how is your body?"
The man wore a red ninja hat and a tight red combat outfit, with brown Jonin armor layered over it. His build was imposing, and his large nose looked exactly like Onoki's. He was none other than Onoki's son, Huangtu.
"Information from ANBU?"
Lying on the bed, Onoki took the Scroll from Huangtu's hand. After scanning it briefly, he frowned deeply. His eyes moved quickly across the text.
"Yunchuan Hyuga? From the Hyuga Clan?"
He spoke in surprise. "No wonder Hiruzen Sarutobi was able to unify the ninja clans of Konoha and respond so cleanly. It turns out members of the Hyuga Clan were working with him."
"Tsk tsk. Listen to this. 'If our heads already hang over a tiger's mouth, reason alone cannot pull us out.' This was actually said by a kid."
Onoki clicked his tongue as he read through the detailed process recorded by the Jonin Council. Yet a trace of envy and jealousy flashed through his eyes. His gaze lingered on certain lines longer than others.
"A member of the Hyuga who does not focus on Taijutsu but instead trains Ninjutsu is rare. This is not a choice just anyone can make. To reach this level, with such steady temperament, is even rarer."
Konoha truly produced outstanding people. Every time it seemed that Konoha had no successors and had fallen into a Zetsu state, young talents would step forward to turn the tide and hold up the crumbling structure.
If nothing unexpected happened, this boy named Yunchuan Hyuga would soon step onto the battlefield with even greater strength. With the deep Ninjutsu and secret technique foundations of Konoha, as long as one showed value and talent, there would always be a technique suited to them.
The former Three Ninja of Konoha, the former Minato Namikaze, and now Yunchuan Hyuga. Who would it be next?
Looking at Yunchuan Hyuga's appearance in the report, at the gentle smile on his face, Onoki turned his head to look at Huangtu beside him. Comparing goods made the difference painfully clear. The gap in image alone was enormous.
With that thought, Onoki slapped Huangtu on the head, making him look confused as he scratched his hair. Huangtu did not understand why, but said nothing. The room fell quiet again.
As Onoki continued reading, his brow furrowed tighter and tighter. "The abyss in the Land of Hot Water. A power that changes terrain. A suspected monster breaking free of a seal." He muttered the intelligence collected by ANBU from the Scroll.
It was not until he saw that both Kumogakure and Konoha had secretly sent people to the Land of Hot Water that he closed the Scroll. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, his expression turning serious.
If it were only Kumogakure, it would not mean much. Those brainless brutes always swung their clubs whether there was a target or not. But now even Konoha was reallocating manpower to form a team for the Land of Hot Water during such a critical prewar period.
That could only mean one thing. There really was something valuable there.
"Father, do we need to do anything?" Huangtu asked at the right moment.
Onoki nodded, then quickly shook his head. "We will act, but not personally."
"The brutes from Kumogakure chase our people like mortal enemies whenever they see us. Is it not just because we killed their Third Raikage?"
He complained through clenched teeth, then pulled out another Scroll from his robe and handed it to Huangtu. Huangtu opened it, and his eyes widened slightly at the names listed.
"Kakuzu, the Xuanyuan Group, the Prajna Group, the Jashin Cult… and all kinds of bounty ninja and teams."
Huangtu looked up at Onoki and asked, "Father, do you want to hire these bounty ninja to investigate the Land of Hot Water?"
The Xuanyuan Group had a strong reputation in the black market. They claimed to belong to no village and no master, living by taking payment to eliminate trouble, and were known as ninja who hunted ninja.
As for Kakuzu, the so-called immortal, his mission completion rate in the underground black market was close to perfect. He had records of killing A-rank missing-nin and even Jonin. The Jashin Cult itself was an extremist religious group native to the Land of Hot Water.
Huangtu did not underestimate bounty ninja. Anyone who could build such a reputation clearly had real ability. The black market was a chaotic place, filled with all kinds of people, but never good people.
Anyone who survived there and made a name for themselves had blood on their hands. That was the rule of the market.
"These bounty ninja and teams are all quite useful. They are experienced fighters."
Onoki spoke plainly. "As long as the money is right, even missions with slim chances of survival will attract them. If used well, they can bring us good returns."
"I will not only send them to scout the Land of Hot Water, but also have them probe the Land of Rain. That way, we can enter the future conflict with precision."
Even the honest and straightforward Huangtu did not object to his father's plan. He simply nodded and accepted Onoki's decision. To him, it was a rational choice.
If they sent Iwagakure ninja, there was a high chance they would be wiped out by joint action from Kumogakure and Konoha. It was better to leave this dangerous task to bounty ninja who sold their lives for money.
For Iwagakure, whether they succeeded or failed, the loss would only be some money. The resources needed to train a capable Jonin far exceeded the cost of hiring a missing-nin of Jonin level.