Sarutobi Ryo's eyes snapped to the new message that suddenly appeared before him.
He glanced at Hyuga Ruri. The mission prompt was there for her, too, again.
I understand now...
After a few moments of thinking and putting everything together, Sarutobi Ryo quickly figured it out.
The Will of Fire system he had was giving out two kinds of missions:
Hyuga Ruri was getting a "Side Quest."
This new one was the "Main Quest."
Whether side or main, you got rewards for finishing them. That was easy enough to understand.
He refocused on the main quest. According to the system:
Before the Third Shinobi World War started, he needed to join the Anbu and become the Captain of Anbu Squad Six.
Anbu... were even darker than regular ninjas.
They had to do a lot of dirty work.
Usually, an ordinary Anbu member didn't have any authority.
You had to be an Anbu Division Leader to order people around, like Uchiha Itachi did in the original story.
Above them was the Anbu Captain.
People like Hatake Kakashi, and later Yamato and Uzuki Yugao.
The Anbu Captain could order around several Division Leaders, who then told the regular Anbu members what to do.
And "Anbu Squad Six" was the very squad Kakashi, Yamato, Uzuki Yugao, and even Uchiha Itachi had been in!
It was a squad with a lot of impressive names attached to it.
Joining the Anbu meant getting training and building a good reputation.
More importantly, it meant getting close to the center of power in Konoha because Anbu members knew secrets regular ninjas didn't.
In the original story, before Itachi ran away, he warned Danzo that if he touched Sasuke, he would tell all of Konoha's secrets to the enemy.
Anbu members sometimes knew more top-secret stuff than even the Sannin.
For instance, in the original story, Jiraiya didn't know until he died that Kushina was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. He thought the Nine-Tails attack was just a natural disaster.
Kakashi, who was in the Anbu, and many other Anbu extras knew who Kushina really was.
In some ways, joining the Anbu opened the door to being promoted to higher positions in Konoha in the future.
No wonder Konoha hadn't let any Uchiha join the Anbu until now.
Only later did Uchiha Itachi become the first Uchiha ninja in the Anbu.
Power...
A thought flashed through Sarutobi Ryo's mind, and he immediately saw all the advantages of becoming the Squad Captain of Anbu Squad Six.
He would learn countless secrets, get close to the center of power in Konoha, and, maybe most important of all, get to build his own team.
Then, he would really be a member of the Konoha elite, accepted by the higher-ups as one of their own.
"Honorable Hokage..." Just then, a ninja with silver hair walked in.
"Ah, Sakumo."
Utatane Koharu turned to the newcomer.
Everyone else did too, their eyes showing respect.
Konoha White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, was so powerful he surpassed the Sannin. Even the Sannin looked pale compared to him.
He was one of the strongest in Konoha, famous throughout the Ninja World.
"You've come at a good time. We were just discussing Sarutobi Ryo's and the others' arrangements for the Jonin exams..."
Utatane Koharu's eyes flickered. Clearly, the Konoha higher-ups had already made some plans.
"After Namikaze Minato becomes a Jonin, how about having your son Hatake Kakashi join his team and be trained by him?"
"Uh..."
Hatake Sakumo clearly didn't expect this kind of arrangement from the Konoha higher-ups.
His son, Hatake Kakashi, had been recognized by all the teachers at the Ninja Academy for his excellent grades, only half a year after starting school.
Soon, he would take the graduation exam (required to become a Genin, the lowest rank of ninja) with the older students.
This would make Kakashi go down in history as the youngest person to ever graduate in Konoha.
Or rather... the youngest Genin.
But...
"I'm not sure that would be appropriate..."
Hatake Sakumo's forehead started to sweat.
Even though he was one of the strongest in Konoha, a powerhouse whose strength was at the Kage level, he had always been a regular ninja. He hadn't joined the Anbu or held any political position.
He was gifted with great skill, and he dreamed of living a peaceful life.
Hatake Sakumo contributed to the village, but he didn't want to get involved in the messy world of politics.
"Hmm? What's not appropriate? Do you think Namikaze Minato isn't good enough to teach your son?"
Utatane Koharu frowned, becoming aggressive.
"..."
Sarutobi Ryo watched what was happening.
It was clear the Konoha higher-ups were trying to force Hatake Sakumo to choose a side.
He was such a powerful force, but he didn't hold any political position, which made them suspicious.
Hatake Sakumo wasn't like Jiraiya, who was the Hokage's disciple and had almost no political connection to the Konoha higher-ups.
How could the Konoha higher-ups feel at ease?
Letting Kakashi become Namikaze Minato's student was a way to win over Hatake Sakumo and put pressure on him.
Hatake Sakumo, who was single before, could easily refuse.
But now that he had a son, it was like having... a weakness.
Power... is a good thing indeed.
Sarutobi Ryo glanced at the system's shining main quest.
The path to becoming the Squad Captain of Anbu Squad Six!
Without power, even someone as strong as Hatake Sakumo could be manipulated by the Konoha higher-ups.
Hatake Sakumo, whose forehead was still sweating, looked to Sarutobi Hiruzen for help as he faced the gazes of the higher-ups.
But the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, didn't realize what Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Shimura Danzo were really up to.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura had been very obviously supporting Namikaze Minato in recent years.
They clearly intended to support Namikaze Minato to become the next Hokage.
As for Danzo, even though he wouldn't support Namikaze Minato, he was definitely planning to replace him as Hokage.
Konoha White Fang, Hatake Sakumo's name, was too well-known...
The three of them might not be thinking of killing Hatake Sakumo, but they had definitely talked about it in private, planning to control him first, even bury him, to make way for someone else to become the Fourth Hokage.
Otherwise, Hatake Sakumo, who was the strongest and most popular, would definitely become the next Hokage without any problems.
"Father, Mother."
Just then, Sarutobi Ryo stepped forward, catching everyone's attention as soon as he spoke.
"Sakumo-sensei isn't interested in politics and doesn't want Kakashi to get involved either. Serving Konoha peacefully is his greatest wish."
Sarutobi Ryo's words echoed in the Hokage Office.
He raised his head and looked around.
Ugly faces stared back, very clear.
Heh.
You want to eat people, but you pretend to be compassionate and don't dare to say it openly.
You preach the Will of Fire, but when I open it, every page screams "Cannibalism."