When Natsuki ca back with the ran, Hashirama and Tsunade were sohow still arguing.
Whether that family dynamic was "good" or "bad" was honestly hard to say.
"Alright, alright, eat first." Natsuki handed out chopsticks and casually offered a suggestion. "First Hokage, that little 'elder stipend' of yours really isn't enough to live on. If you want to make money, you could just take construction jobs. One Mokuton: Sanshitsu-Ittou (Wood Release: Three-Bedroom-and-a-Living-Room Technique), and you could build ten villages a day. Why would you ever worry about cash?"
What the hell is "Three-Bedroom-and-a-Living-Room Technique"? That's literally Hashirama's Wood Style housing, okay?
Still, everyone nodded in agreent. A house made from Hashirama's Wood Release really was ridiculously convenient.
Hashirama took his chopsticks and shook his head. "I can build fast, sure, but that's stealing craftsn's livelihoods. If it isn't an ergency project, I shouldn't be jumping in whenever I feel like it."
Natsuki stared. "First Hokage, you actually have principles. If you've got principles, can you stop gambling already?"
Tobirama instantly approved. "Exactly, aniki. Gambling has no benefits. If you have ti, you should train more. If you push your strength into Six Paths territory, the pressure on the rest of us drops a lot."
Slurp. Slurp.
Hashirama finished a whole bowl in two gulps, then bounced in place three tis like he was trying to shake the carbs into his muscles.
At last, he nodded. "Tobirama's got a point. I'll train when I can. I don't want to keep getting held down by you four brats forever."
That was the spirit.
Before the Ōtsutsuki ca crashing in at full force, getting stronger was the only correct answer.
anwhile, Team Kakashi received Natsuki's note, and everyone imdiately had trouble holding themselves back.
Kiba blurted out, "If we're spooking him, we just storm the company. I'll have Akamaru piss all over Victor. Guarantee we leave a scent, then we follow it. Clan Head Hiashi can find the Ōtsutsuki for sure!"
Victor: Do you have any manners? Dog pee?
Shino added, "I can plant female insects too. He won't get away."
Hiashi didn't speak. His Byakugan could see a lot, but if they needed to track Victor specifically, Kiba and Shino really were more convenient.
Kakashi weighed it carefully, then gave orders as team leader. "Charging the company directly is too reckless. If Victor bolts imdiately, we won't even have ti to plant anything. We'll wait until the employees get off work. Then we replace a few and infiltrate the building. The instant Victor appears, we move."
Hiashi nodded. "That's steadier. And we need to get into that mysterious lab as soon as possible and destroy the so-called fragnt."
Kiba and Shino had no objections.
Either way, it would end with them planting the hooks, and tracking Victor later would rely on them. No matter how they fought, they'd have a chance to shine.
Then, in the next mont, a black void opened beside them.
Team Kakashi jolted, but they imdiately recognized it as Sasuke's spatial portal and relaxed.
Sure enough, Sasuke stepped out and got straight to the point. "Kakashi-sensei. Shino. Kiba. Hiashi-senpai. Leadership discussed it and decided to send as support. My main job is to handle any Ōtsutsuki that might appear."
Kakashi's eyes lit up. "Perfect. With you here, we can finally act without holding back."
Kakashi was genuinely wary of the Ōtsutsuki.
He'd been on the main battlefield back then. Aside from Natsuki's Four Six Paths and the three Hokage, he was the only one present with Dual Kamui, so he understood exactly how terrifying Six Paths Madara had been.
Even though he hadn't personally watched Kaguya fight, he still knew the Ōtsutsuki were on another level.
Dual Kamui gave him confidence against most things, but if an Ōtsutsuki really showed up, he couldn't guarantee the team would survive, and he didn't even believe they'd necessarily escape cleanly, let alone transmit intel.
Now, though, Sasuke, a Six Paths powerhouse, was here.
With Sasuke present, at minimum they could pin an Ōtsutsuki down. And with Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God Technique), Sasuke could send a note for reinforcents instantly. That made the plan far safer.
"Sasuke, you showing up is huge," Kakashi said quickly. "We just worked out a plan. It goes like this…"
Kakashi laid it out from start to finish.
Sasuke listened and didn't object. "Works for . You find your opening and move. I'll stay outside as overwatch. If anything shifts, I act imdiately. Also, make sure only Victor is allowed to run. Nobody else gets away. Especially Victor's secretary. She might know plenty. If you can capture her and read her mories, we can extract more intel."
Sasuke wasn't going to steal the recon team's credit.
The spook-him plan was Team Kakashi's assignnt. They'd already built a workable thod, so they should execute it themselves.
If it were Naruto, he'd join the action and try to take the lead.
But Sasuke was different. He intended to beco Hokage one day. He understood that certain things needed to be done by others, because it wasn't just their job, it was their credit.
A leader shouldn't snatch other people's work. If you do, where does that leave them?
Don't assu your strength ans everything should be handled by you alone. Taking other people's responsibilities is wrong, and it can breed resentnt and distance.
People start thinking: If you can do everything, what do you need us for? Fine, do it yourself. We're out.
Sasuke knew his role clearly. He was here to prevent an Ōtsutsuki from appearing. Everything else belonged to Team Kakashi.
Sure enough, after hearing him say that, the whole team visibly relaxed.
Especially Kiba. He'd been itching to earn rit. If Sasuke really tried to grab the "fun" parts, Kiba might have cried on the spot. Thankfully, Sasuke had no intention of ddling, which ant Kiba still had room to perform.
Ti passed quickly. Before long, it was the company's quitting hour.
Employees stread out in waves. So walked in groups, so invited each other to go eat. They looked no different from modern office drones.
But there were also so who seed distracted and heavy-eyed. Maybe they knew secrets, like a friend vanishing. Soone like that wouldn't be happy at work, and even clocking out wouldn't brighten them.
Team Kakashi imdiately targeted employees like that.
People in poor spirits were easier to imitate. If they had to infiltrate and ran into soone familiar who said hello, they could just act listless and brush it off, lowering the risk of exposure.
Also, those employees might actually know sothing. They could try asking.
After locking onto a single man who lived alone, Kakashi flashed right in front of him, trapped him with genjutsu, and interrogated him.
As expected, it checked out. A friend of his had suddenly disappeared. Even going to the boss for answers got him nothing, and eting that friend again was impossible. The man believed sothing had happened, so he'd grown depressed. He even suspected the company was dirty, and he feared that one day he might vanish too.
(End of Chapter)
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