Naruto: The Strongest Sage.

Konoha, cemetery.

Kakashi stood in front of a tombstone holding a bouquet of flowers.

Since his father's death, Kakashi has become more silent. There are not many things in this village that he can miss. The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, is one of them.

As his teacher and the leader of the team, Minato Namikaze is the most sunny and infectious person Kakashi has ever seen.

The profession of ninja is often accompanied by blood and darkness. But Namikaze Minato is different. He is like the sun, always able to illuminate the people around him.

There were footsteps behind him. Few people came here. Kakashi turned around with a little caution, and then saw a familiar figure.

"Long time no see, Kakashi. I heard you were in the village, and when I went to your house and saw no one there, I guessed you would be here."

"Qingye, when did you come back?"

"just."

"I'm glad you're back." Kakashi rarely communicates with others, and has almost no friends except Gai. But Aoba is an exception.

Because when rumors against White Fang appeared in the village, Kamikawa Aoba was one of the very few ninjas who stood on White Fang's side.

Kakashi was confused at that time. He didn't know whether his father was right or wrong. But he knew who was on his side.

This also makes Aoba one of the very few people who can talk to Kakashi.

"You look... different."

Kakashi looked at Aoba's face. It was a young and handsome face, not much different from what he remembered.

But there was one thing that was different: his right eye was covered by the tilted forehead protector.

"your eyes......"

"I can't help it. I had to pay a price for meeting that reckless Raikage. I used all my trump cards and barely escaped with my life."

"Being able to escape from the hands of the Raikage is already a remarkable achievement."

"It's OK. I gave him a small response, a finger. But it didn't have much effect on him."

As Kamikawa Aoba spoke, he placed the flowers in his hand in front of the tombstone of the Fourth Generation couple.

"Let's go and have something to eat. I don't think I can stay in the village for too long. Call Akai and go have some barbecue together. I've been craving this for years."

"......it is good."

At the Akimichi family's barbecue restaurant, Kamikawa Aoba, Kakashi, and Gai had already started eating.

"You all know that the effects of Tang Country are non-existent in the eyes of those bandits in Kumogakure. So what if they cross the border casually? Does Tang Country dare to say anything?

But the Fire Nation is different. I am stationed at the border outpost, and if they cross the border, it is a declaration of war, and we can only fight to the death."

"I know that. I've read the border reports. In recent years, the Kumogakure's incursions have obviously decreased. In the area where you're stationed, Aoba, there are almost no Kumogakure crossing the border. They used to be quite unscrupulous."

"That's right. Kumogakure is just that. They are a bunch of outright bandits. There's no point in talking to them. Even if you want to talk to them, you have to defeat them first."

The grievances between Aoba and Kumogakure over the past few years could be said to be endless. Kumogakure had always bullied Konoha's concession policy and provoked them every now and then.

As a garrison at the border post, if Aoba didn't care, it would be his responsibility. The Konoha upper echelons could use this as an excuse to hold him accountable at any time.

Therefore, he had no choice but to start a war. Fortunately, he also needed some opponents of sufficient strength to hone himself. So, he directly used the ninjas of Kumogakure as his sparring partners.

In the past few years, he has completed his unique combat system in actual combat. He even got the title of Wind Chaser, which means his sword is faster than the wind.

Qingye was not actually satisfied with this title. Because there were many people in this world who were faster than the wind. But at least the Wind Chaser Sword sounded pretty good. So, he finally accepted it.

What's interesting is that after Aoba started killing people, Konoha started to make trouble again. They even issued a document to criticize him for being too harsh and damaging the relationship between the two countries.

Qingye just treated this kind of document as fart.

Although he has killed many people, he cannot be held accountable because he always kills his opponents on the territory of the Fire Nation.

This was his duty. From the beginning to the end, it was the Cloud Hidden Village that started the trouble, took the initiative to cross the border, and provoked in various ways. In the real world, if you cross the border casually, the garrison on the other side will open fire directly.

As his fame grew, Konoha became silent, and even recalled him.

Aoba knew that this recall was probably to promote himself to Jonin.

Konoha is a militarized organization. The titles of Jonin, Chunin, and Genin are not just titles. Most of the time, they are actually the level of positions and the order of command.

A jonin is equivalent to a high-ranking officer in the military, and naturally has command authority over chuunins and genins.

Therefore, it is very difficult to be promoted to a jonin. Military strength alone is not enough. It also requires a certain level of leadership and comprehensive tactical skills.

There are a large number of special jonin in the village, who can only meet part of the jonin indicators and therefore cannot be promoted to real jonin.

For Aoba, these were not a problem. In three years, he led a dozen Chunin and Genin at the border outpost and fought dozens of bloody battles with the ninjas of Kumogakure.

He killed three jonin, sixteen chūnin, and several genin. He even saved half of his colleagues from the pursuit of the Raikage. Whether it was combat effectiveness or comprehensive tactical ability, he was absolutely qualified.

In fact, if it weren't for the legacy of Orochimaru, he should have been promoted long ago.

After the three of them had eaten and drunk their fill, they just walked out the door when they saw a masked ANBU member stopping them.

"Kamikawa Aoba, report to the Hokage's office immediately."

"Well, that's all for today. Let's get together again sometime."

"Okay, let's have some time together on the training ground..."

It was obvious that it was Kai who said this. And he shouted it out in a very loud voice. Fortunately, Qingye was prepared. Before he finished shouting, he used the body-flash technique to get away from the scene.

It would be better to let Kakashi handle this situation alone. He really couldn't stand up to Gai's enthusiasm.

The Hokage's office. To Aoba's surprise, not only Sarutobi Hiruzen, but also two old and scumbag advisors were present, with his right hand wrapped in a bandage and one eye covered.

"Hokage-sama." Aoba stepped forward and saluted.

"Well, Qingye. You have worked hard guarding the border these years."

"We are all serving the Will of Fire, so there is no question of whether it is hard or not." Aoba's answer was impeccable. Sarutobi Hiruzen also nodded slightly. At least his attitude was acceptable.

"The village is in need of people right now. I transferred you back this time for two main reasons."