At the village entrance, Kushina stared at Haruki with a mixture of confusion and reluctance.
His current appearance was… different. Not ugly, but entirely unremarkable. If he were thrown into a crowd, no one would spare him a second glance.
"Sensei, why do you look like this?" Kushina asked, her brows furrowed in confusion.
"I have too many enemies. Better safe than sorry," Haruki shrugged, adjusting his disguise.
He had been a bit too active in the past few years, and it hadn't taken long for trouble to find him after he last took Minato out.
Though he wasn't particularly worried for himself, constantly being targeted wasn't ideal for Minato and the others' growth. His students had to learn to survive without always relying on him.
"You brought kunai and shuriken, right?" he asked, scanning the three of them.
"Yes!" they answered in unison.
"Good. Now, apply this poison to your weapons."
Haruki pulled out three small glass test tubes and handed them over.
"Be careful, and whatever you do, don't copy Orochimaru's nasty habit of licking weapons. That'll be the fastest way to kill yourself."
He felt zero shame in using poison.
Survival mattered more than honor. Besides, Ninjas were creatures of the shadows. There were no right or wrong methods, only effective ones.
If a single drop of poison could increase their chances of winning, only an idiot wouldn't use it.
Minato, Kushina, and Mikoto didn't hesitate.
Carefully, they coated their blades with the toxin.
"This is a very lethal poison," Haruki reminded them. "One slip, and you might end up killing yourselves instead. Be careful."
"I know, I'm not that stupid!" Kushina huffed, raising a small fist.
Minato and Mikoto nodded silently.
With that, the four of them set off, rushing toward the western front of the Land of Fire.
The dim sunlight bathed the Leaf camp on the hillside, casting long shadows over the wounded and the weary. The atmosphere was heavy, with solemnity.
Haruki surveyed the scene, his brows furrowing. The damage was worse than he had anticipated.
After presenting his identification, he was led into a tent where Hatake Sakumo lay on a cot.
The legendary White Fang of Konoha looked far from his usual self. His face was pale, his body wrapped in layers of white bandages.
Even through them, Haruki could sense the residual traces of violent Lightning Chakra still wreaking havoc inside his body.
"You guys, leave," Haruki ordered with a wave of his hand.
The four medical ninjas attending Sakumo exchanged glances.
One of them hesitated before asking, "Excuse me, but… who are you?"
Haruki had momentarily forgotten about his disguise.
He couldn't reveal his true face just yet.
Thinking quickly, he put on a calm, authoritative tone. "I am a student of Master Haruki. He entrusted me with a secret medicine and a special medical ninjutsu. Together, they can fully heal Master Sakumo"
The medics accepted the explanation without suspicion. Since he had been allowed to approach Sakumo, his identity had to be legitimate.
As they left the tent, Haruki turned to Minato and gave him a subtle wink.
Minato immediately understood, channeling his chakra to create a simple visual-blocking barrier around them.
With the precaution in place, Haruki stepped forward and began forming hand seals.
Soft, luminous green chakra spread outward from him, radiating in gentle waves. The air inside the tent grew warmer as a complex healing technique took shape.
Minato watched intently, his eyes widening. "Is this… the Regenerative Healing Technique?"
Even after training under Haruki for nearly two months, Minato had never seen him perform large-scale medical ninjutsu.
This technique alone typically required a team of at least six or seven medical ninjas working together over an extended period.
And yet, this was only the beginning.
Haruki didn't stop there. He seamlessly transitioned into a series of A-rank medical jutsu, weaving chakra with an effortless precision that left his students stunned.
Minato, Kushina, and Mikoto could only watch in disbelief.
His chakra reserves… were far beyond those of a normal Jonin.
Finally, Haruki lowered his hands, his expression calm,completely unaffected by the immense chakra expenditure.
Sakumo's his eyes fluttered open, blinking in confusion. Then, he sat up suddenly, his wild white hair sticking out in all directions.
"Haruki… is that you?"
His hand moved to his torso, feeling for the wounds that, just moments ago, had threatened his life.
But there were none.
Aside from Tsunade, there was only one person in the entire village who could achieve such a miraculous recovery.
And that was Haruki.
Sakumo sighed, his expression still carrying traces of guilt. "It was my mistake that led to this situation."
"Now is not the time to blame yourself."
Haruki knew Sakumo's nature. He was a loyal and humble man, overly burdened by responsibility.
The kind of man who would rather take the world's blame upon his own shoulders than let others suffer. If not for this quality, he wouldn't have met such a tragic fate in the original timeline.
Sakumo exhaled heavily before explaining the battlefield situation.
Haruki had already reviewed the Anbu reports before arriving, so he had a general idea.
However, those reports were often incomplete, missing critical details.
"In short, we're using the terrain to our advantage, shifting camps every two days to avoid complete encirclement. That's the only reason we've been able to hold off the Sand Village's attacks," Sakumo explained. "But the real problem is the Cloud ninjas lurking in the shadows. As long as their exact location remains unknown, it's difficult to organize an effective resistance."
Haruki listened intently before commenting, "Those two are just too fast. You can't blame yourself for that."
The enemy's movements weren't something Sakumo could have controlled.
"The most urgent priority," Haruki continued, "is to transfer the Hyuga clan from the eastern line to reinforce the western front against the Cloud ninjas."
Sakumo frowned. "But if we move them, won't the Cloud Village take advantage of the opening and launch a large-scale attack?"
It was a valid concern.
The Hyuga clan's Byakugan was practically built for tracking fast-moving enemies. With their ability to see through obstructions and detect movement from a distance, they had been stationed in the east specifically to keep an eye on Cloud Village's forces.
Moving them now would leave a gap in Konoha's surveillance.
However, Haruki had already considered this.
"No," he said after a moment of thought. "The fact that they only sent two ninjas means they're just testing the waters, trying to take advantage of the current chaos. This isn't a full-scale invasion, yet."
But this was only the beginning.
Haruki knew that in a few years, the Third Ninja World War would break out in full force. Cloud Village wasn't sitting idle. They were already maneuvering behind the scenes.
In the original timeline, it was around this period that they attempted to kidnap Kushina, proving that they had been subtly interfering in the war even before officially joining it.
"I will suggest to the Hokage that we transfer the Uchiha clan to the western front instead," Haruki added.
Right now, Konoha was stretched thin.
Reinforcements were nearly impossible unless they resorted to forcing early graduation on academy students.
Fortunately, things hadn't reached that level.
Sakumo thought for a moment before nodding. He had no better alternative.
"Alright," he agreed.
With the discussion settled, Haruki smiled and waved his hand. "Now that we're done talking about strategy, let me introduce my three students."
He turned toward the trio standing behind him. "Minato, Kushina, Mikoto."
Sakumo raised an eyebrow at the combination of names.
'An Uzumaki, an Uchiha, and… a name I don't recognize?'
His surprise was understandable. This lineup was pretty unique.
The three greeted Sakumo politely, and after exchanging a few words, Haruki bid the White Fang farewell.
Then, turning to his students, he gestured for them to follow.
"Alright, listen up," he said as they walked. "Let's go over your mission."
"It's an B-rank mission. Find out where the Sand Village is storing their supplies. Keeping over a thousand ninjas fed and equipped is no small task, so there must be at least one or more hidden storage sites."
Haruki unrolled the map and traced a line with his finger.
"Based on intel, the Sand ninjas are operating around this area. If we want to gather information, we'll have to go in ourselves. But that means we're bound to run into some fights, so stay sharp."
"Wait, Sensei, our first mission is B-rank?" Minato scratched his head, confused.
They had just graduated from the Academy, and this wasn't what he had heard from other genin.
"If you'd prefer, I can assign you to some D-rank or C-rank missions." Haruki smirked.
"Haha, yeah, no thanks!" Minato quickly shook his head.
"Sensei, you're not coming with us?" Mikoto asked.
"If I go, you'll just get used to relying on me." Haruki tossed the mission scroll to Minato.
"Minato, you're the captain now. Lead the team, and don't disappoint me."
Minato was caught off guard for a moment, but he quickly straightened up. "I'll do my best, Sensei!"
After a bit of preparation, the three set off. Haruki watched them disappear into the distance.
Unnoticed by anyone, three small white slugs slipped into their clothes.
Haruki recalled the information he had received from Orochimaru and made his way to a tent.
"Hiruko."
Inside the tent, a gloomy-looking man glanced up.
"Who's there?"
"Danzo sent me to assist you," Haruki said flatly, mimicking the emotionless tone of Root operatives.
Thanks to Haruki's interference, Danzo hadn't ended up working with Orochimaru in this timeline. Instead, he had partnered with Hiruko, another shinobi obsessed with science and one of Orochimaru's old friends.
Lacking natural talent, Hiruko had thrown himself into human experimentation. His most fascinating discovery was a forbidden technique that let him absorb and integrate kekkei genkai.
Judging by his relatively healthy appearance, he likely hadn't succeeded in fusing with one yet.
"Assist me?" Hiruko's voice dripped with suspicion.
Almost no one knew about his arrangement with Danzo.
"That's right," Haruki replied smoothly. "You need a kekkai genkai, don't you? I know how to get you a Byakugan."
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