"Tatsumi, is your injury completely healed now?"
Orochimaru asked this question as soon as Uchiha Tatsumi arrived.
"It's fully recovered," Uchiha Tatsumi said hesitantly.
Whenever Orochimaru asks about his physical condition, it's never just about concern; in reality, the question means: Are you ready to start performing missions again?
Having been tricked a few times before, Uchiha Tatsumi understood Orochimaru's routine. It seemed this guy wanted to exploit him again.
That's why Uchiha Tatsumi was so hesitant.
His injury wasn't serious, and he had long since fully recovered. Plus, Tsunade was watching him like a hawk, so he couldn't even tell a little white lie.
Hearing Uchiha Tatsumi's reply, Orochimaru looked satisfied and nodded, continuing, "That's good. I have a new mission for you to carry out."
"A mission? Teacher, are you kidding me?" At that moment, Uchiha Tatsumi looked at Orochimaru with a shocked expression.
"I'm just teasing you."
Unfortunately, Orochimaru would never say such a thing; he had no intention of teasing his beloved disciple.
Uchiha Tatsumi sighed. He couldn't understand what mission there was to do now. They were already so close to Konoha. Could it be that he was being sent back to the Rain Country to find Jiraiya?
Uchiha Tatsumi felt a bit of melancholic sadness.
However, ninjas generally have no room to refuse missions assigned by their commander. In peacetime, ninjas might have some choice, but in wartime, the commander's orders are absolute and unquestionable.
For example, if Orochimaru had a sudden impulse and ordered Uchiha Tatsumi to infiltrate Sunagakure and assassinate the Third Kazekage, even knowing it was a dead end with zero chance of success, he would still have to go—unless Uchiha Tatsumi wanted to abandon Konoha.
So, there was no possibility of refusal. Uchiha Tatsumi was therefore somewhat unhappy.
"Teacher, what is our mission?"
He immediately asked the question.
"Our war with the Sand Ninjas may continue for a long time. But according to my previous investigation, a large amount of unexplained supplies appeared in Sunagakure," Orochimaru said, taking out a document.
"Evidence shows that these supplies were sold by the Land of Fire. There are two possibilities: one is that merchants in the Land of Fire are secretly contacting the Wind Country's ninjas without the Daimyo's knowledge and selling them our country's grain at high prices. The second is that they are being sold with the Daimyo's support."
Orochimaru handed the file to Uchiha Tatsumi.
"I need you to investigate this matter."
The entire tent was quiet for a moment as Orochimaru waited for Uchiha Tatsumi to digest the whole situation. Anyone hearing this for the first time would be shocked, and Uchiha Tatsumi was no exception. That's why Orochimaru had delayed so long before sending someone to investigate.
"Shouldn't Lord Hokage negotiate with the Daimyo about this?" Uchiha Tatsumi finally squeezed out this sentence after a long time.
Orochimaru pondered for a moment and continued, "I thought so too before. But you may not know much about the Third Hokage's personality. In this matter, the Third Hokage would just argue with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
It wouldn't be of much use. Moreover, the Daimyo wouldn't admit such a scandal. At most, he would promise to give Konoha more supplies to support our fight."
"But in the meantime, while the war is being prolonged indefinitely, we should consider the deaths and injuries of Konoha ninjas."
Uchiha Tatsumi nodded. Orochimaru was right. Sarutobi Hiruzen's indecisive personality was well-known. By the time he finished investigating, the Third Shinobi World War might have already begun. So, this would only delay the entire war.
Speaking of which, the current Orochimaru was truly a patriotic youth who loved Konoha.
He knew that the Third Hokage's negotiation with the Daimyo was just a formality. Without solid evidence, the Third Hokage couldn't pressure the Daimyo. In the end, the best outcome would be to obtain a sum of supplies to appease the people.
The Third Hokage couldn't do it, but that didn't mean their ninjas couldn't. There were some things that the Hokage couldn't do, but ninjas could. So, Orochimaru decided to act on his own and solve this problem for Konoha.
"What's the mission rank?" Uchiha Tatsumi no longer hesitated and decided to complete the mission seriously.
"B-rank. You haven't been to the Daimyo's residence before, so be careful. But considering that there might be ninjas from the trade association at the Daimyo's residence as enemies, let's tentatively set it as a B-rank mission."
"If there are unexpected circumstances, it would probably be Sunagakure dispatching relatively high-level ninjas to protect their 'employer,'" Orochimaru said, stating his guesses.
Uchiha Tatsumi nodded. "What's the mission duration?"
"Let's define it according to the usual B-rank mission duration, which is fifteen days. If there are any unexpected situations, notify me using Great White or other methods."
"I'll mark the mission as confidential. No one will see it except for me and Tsunade," Orochimaru said in his hoarse voice.
"Okay, then I'll leave first, Teacher Orochimaru," Uchiha Tatsumi nodded, preparing to gather his teammates.
A B-rank mission… it could be a little difficult because of its uncertainty.
Not to mention the Daimyo hiding behind the scenes, the trade association might also hire Sand Ninjas to protect themselves in exchange for benefits.
In that case, the difficulty of this mission might increase, and it might even be upgraded to A-rank.
A mission involving Jonin, as long as the opponent's strength isn't too overwhelming, is basically an A-rank mission.
Jonin, as the backbone of a ninja village, unconditionally possess such deterrence.
But it didn't matter. Uchiha Tatsumi just wanted to finish it quickly and return to Konoha.
After all, half an hour ago, he was still reminiscing about life in Konoha, but now he had received a mission from Orochimaru. This made him deeply feel the malice from this world.
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