Opening: Minato became my brother

This was a time when the village was in ruins and the entire Konoha Village was full of vitality. During this period, many energetic young people gradually emerged.

Uchiha Qingfeng, Namikaze Minato, Yuele, Kushina, Hyuga Hisaha...

Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his head and tapped the table subconsciously with his pipe, still a little hesitant.

He was considering whether this mission should be handed over to the team led by Orochimaru. Although he had no doubts about Orochimaru's ability, Yue Le and his companions were still children after all, and even though they had already carried out an A-level mission, the situation this time was different from before.

Or maybe the nature of their tasks is different...

After all, in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes, Yue Le and the others are still a little immature...

"Orochimaru, are you sure you are ready? This mission is different from the previous ones. You should know that the Bird Country you are heading to is next to the Earth Country. There, you are likely to encounter the Iwagakure ninjas on this mission. No, you will definitely encounter the Iwagakure ninjas on this trip."

"The Lord of Bird Country must be on guard against someone who dares to make such a move."

Sarutobi Hiruzen had a serious expression, and his slightly cloudy eyes stared at Orochimaru. There was persuasion in his eyes, but for some reason, there was also a hint of expectation.

"I understand, Sensei. But... I think Yuele and the others have the qualities that a ninja should have, and they will definitely be able to handle this mission."

"I promise to return with the head of Eagle White from the Bird Country!"

Orochimaru answered without hesitation, his words full of trust and determination in his disciple.

"call……"

Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke, slowly walked to the window, and stared at the scene outside. The residents were busy shuttling back and forth in the streets and alleys, working hard for their livelihoods, while at the corner of the street, a few naughty children were playing and having fun.

......

"Teacher, please don't always treat them as children..."

Orochimaru's words broke the silence. Sarutobi Hiruzen turned around and looked at the talented disciple in front of him, secretly sighing that time flies.

At this moment, the Hokage's office was silent, with only the sound of Sarutobi Hiruzen's gentle breathing exhaling smoke. Under the gray smoke, there was a story full of vicissitudes of life.

“Is that so…”

"Maybe, I'm old? Haha, in that case, I agree to this mission."

His eyes gradually became serious, staring at Orochimaru closely, his voice low and powerful.

Orochimaru raised the corner of his mouth slightly, easily took the scroll handed over by Sarutobi Hiruzen, and after carefully reading the details of the task, he turned and left, leaving behind a cold back.

"Teacher, believe me, and believe them..."

At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no intention of continuing to review the piles of files. He stood quietly in front of the window, gazing at the Konoha Village below.

Watching Orochimaru walking further and further away until he disappeared outside the Hokage Building, he couldn't help but feel a little doubtful. Was this arrangement wise?

With a soft sigh, Sarutobi Hiruzen murmured to himself: "I hope you can grow up quickly, children."

He was talking not only about Yue Le and others, but also Orochimaru and other ninjas.

In this world full of crises and challenges, risks often coexist with benefits. For ninjas, it seems that they have to wander on the edge of life and death all their lives, seeking a glimmer of hope. The so-called stability is nothing but a luxury for them.

Time is not forgiving, Sarutobi Hiruzen clearly feels that his energy is not as good as before, maybe it's time to consider stepping back...

However, the question is, who can take over this responsibility?

Orochimaru...but is he really capable of shouldering the responsibility of an entire village?

These thoughts kept lingering in Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind, making him feel stressed.

As the Hokage, he must be responsible for the future of the village, but he can't find a suitable successor. This helplessness and worry made this once powerful man in the ninja world feel at a loss.

It's not time for him to let go of this burden...

"Maybe I should believe them?"

......

Orochimaru's team is about to embark on a journey to the Land of Birds, but Orochimaru did not reveal too many specific mission details. He only emphasized that this mission is full of huge risks and its rating is as high as A!

This was obviously different from the last easy and safe peace negotiation mission. In the last mission, except for the contest between Yue Le and Killer Bee, Kushina and Hisahi could be said to have played through the whole process and didn't feel anything at all.

But this mission is different, because the mission location is close to the Land of Earth, and coupled with the recent changes in the Land of Birds, it is very likely that they will encounter ninjas from the Iwagakure Village.

Even so, after going through countless ups and downs and completing many difficult tasks, the few people had no extra thoughts about this. Whether it was Yuele, Kushina, or Hyuga Hisaha, they were not afraid of such a challenge.

As a ninja, proficient knowledge of maps is a basic skill. In terms of geographical location, the Bird Kingdom is located near the Earth Kingdom and is a smaller country.

The Kingdom of Birds is blessed with excellent geographical conditions. The country has fertile land, dense vegetation, abundant water sources, and many birds and beasts.

As a small country, nearly half of the tasks in the Kingdom of Birds were entrusted to the Kingdom of Earth. Although Konoha was a little far away, it also received 30% of the tasks. As for the amount of tasks left for their own country, there was only a mere 20%.

This time, the mission Orochimaru received was to eliminate the new ruler of the Bird Country.

One has to admit that the new ruler of the Bird Kingdom is indeed a man of great talent and strategy.

He not only attached great importance to the country's farmers, but also actively promoted business development, reduced tax burdens, and fully tapped into domestic high-quality resources.

However, for Konoha, these actions are nothing more than trivial matters. If the lord only stopped at this, Konoha would not necessarily pay too much attention to it, after all, his own strength is profound.

No matter how wise and intelligent the ruler of the Bird Kingdom is, he can only invade the territories of neighboring weak countries and expand his territory due to factors such as land area, population size and vital military strength, thus becoming a king who expands territory.

After such an operation, the international status of the Bird Kingdom will naturally be improved to a certain extent. The increase in size also means an increase in the amount of tasks, which is also a good thing for Konoha.

Unfortunately, this extremely intelligent leader made a fatal mistake - he actually reduced the share of tasks that should have belonged to Konoha by a full 10%!

To be more precise, this "wise" ruler even dared to tamper with Konoha's mission share.

But unlike Konoha, the Land of Earth was too close to the Land of Birds. The distance was so close that he dared not make any move at all, which also resulted in only Konoha being hurt...

This really bothered Konoha. If both sides reduced their shares by the same amount, in fact, a 10% share of the mission for a small country like this would not be a big deal for Konoha's size. It would be less, so be it. After all, Konoha was not the unreasonable barbarians like the Hidden Cloud Village who only knew how to rob, so they would not take such things too seriously.

The main reason is that this share of the task is not worth Konoha rolling up its sleeves to teach the Bird Country a lesson.

Yes, but the actions of this wise Lord of the Land of Birds and his different treatment of Konoha and the Iwagakure Village made the Konohagakure Dark Army furious. They ran to Sarutobi Hiruzen’s mansion at night and made a fuss. This cannot be tolerated, it must not be tolerated!

This kind of thing cannot start!

It was mainly because of the discriminatory treatment by the Lord of the Bird Country that made us, Danzo, who was extremely discriminatory against villages, angry.

What? The Land of Earth is close to you, but you dare not even fart. Now that our Konoha is far away from you, you dare to take back even one tenth of it?

Young man, you are so bold, the road you walk is narrow...

..........