Chapter 359
Haruto Saito took a deep breath and said seriously, "I'm leaving to fulfill my promise to Lady Mito! Recently, I've been reviewing all intelligence regarding Uzushio in the Anbu archives. Based on my analysis, in the past year alone, Kirigakure has secretly sent over two thousand shinobi to Uzushio, trying to re-establish their hidden forces there. And they've already made significant progress! I believe I can stop them!"
"Are you planning to establish a ninja village?" Hiruzen Sarutobi interjected.
"Exactly! Otherwise, what do you think I've been working so hard for over the past year, risking my life to earn money? The so-called Whirlpool Treasure—those few billion ryo—are only enough to sustain a military force for six months of warfare. There's no way that sum could fund an entire village. So, I have to pay out of my own pocket!"
"You're going directly to Uzushio?" Sarutobi asked, looking at Haruto.
"Yes!" Haruto nodded firmly. "I am confident that I can eliminate the hidden threat from Kirigakure once and for all! I also... don't want to disappoint Lady Mito. If she's watching over us, I want her to see me succeed!"
Haruto was using her legacy as a shield.
From a moral standpoint, he was honoring his commitment to Mito Uzumaki—Konoha had no reason to stop him.
From a strategic standpoint, if he succeeded, it would be a massive advantage for Konoha. A single person countering an entire country's infiltration efforts? If Haruto could stop Kirigakure's ambitions in the Land of Whirlpools, then Konoha would have one less major threat to worry about.
There was no reason to stop him.
Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into deep thought. He hadn't expected Haruto to act so urgently. It had only been a year, and even by Konoha's thirty-fourth year, Haruto would still be just fourteen years old. Establishing a shinobi village during wartime was a double-edged sword.
The downside was that in times of war, every faction acted without restraint, making village-building extremely difficult.