Seeing that the two Konoha ninjas who arrived behind had no objection to the mission change, Kato Kazuyuki immediately rushed to the place where Tsunade was with the two Konoha ninjas who came later.

……

Where Tsunade is.

"Alright!" Tsunade looked at the three Konoha ninjas in front of him and said, "In order to prevent anyone from trespassing into the depths of the forest, from now on, let's go back to the outskirts of the forest!"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" the three Konoha ninjas replied in unison.

After the words of the three Konoha ninjas fell, Tsunade took the lead towards the outskirts of the forest.

Seeing Tsunade taking the lead towards the outskirts of the forest, the three Konoha ninjas immediately followed Tsunade back to the outskirts of the forest.

……

Time passes like water.

As time passed, the natural changes caused by Hinata Ichiro's breakthrough became more and more powerful.

As the momentum of natural change grows stronger, not only the Konoha contact point in one town closest to the forest has noticed the natural changes caused by Hinata Ichiro's breaking of the shackles, but even the Konoha contact points in other towns around the forest have also noticed the natural changes caused by Hinata Ichiro's breakthrough.

After perceiving the natural changes caused by Hinata Ichiro's breakthrough, the Konoha contact points in other towns around the forest did the same as the Konoha contact points in the towns closest to the forest - sending a scout team to the forest.

For a time, the originally inaccessible forest welcomed many Konoha ninjas to set foot.

When the exploration team sent by the Konoha contact point in other towns around the forest crossed a certain boundary of the forest, in order to prevent outsiders from disturbing Hinata Ichiro's shackles and breakthroughs, both Tsunade and the Konoha ninja recruited by Tsunade and Sunset Red frequently traveled around the forest.

In the process of blocking the exploration teams sent by the Konoha contact points in other towns around the forest, in order to avoid accidental injury, Tsunade, the Konoha ninja recruited by Tsunade, and Sunset Red each showed their powers—Tsunade relied on his own wooden ninjutsu to identify himself, the Konoha ninja recruited by Tsunade relied on his identity plate to identify himself, and Sunset Red relied on the Hyuga family clan token given to her by Hinata Ichiro to identify himself.

(The reason why Ichiro Hinata gave the Hyuga Family Token to Sunset Red is that Hyuga Ichiro thinks that Tsunade can't use the Hyuga Family Token - after all, Tsunade's status is much higher than Sunset's status.) ）

……

In the evening.

Konoha Village.

Hokage Office Building.

in a certain room.

The three generations of Hokage, Mito Menyan, Koharu and Hinata Hinata gathered in one room.

"These documents on the table are reports delivered back by emergency communication!" said the three Hokage as he pointed to the documents on the table, "You three will take out a random document and take a look at it first!"

Hearing this, Mito Menyan, Koharu and Hinata Hinata each picked up a document to read.

When Mito Menyan, Koharu and Hinata Hinata had just begun to read the documents in their respective hands, the three Hokage spoke.

"These documents on the table all tell the same thing - that some kind of natural change is happening in the depths of the eastern forests of the Fire Nation!" said the three Hokage, "However, none of the Konoha contact points in the towns around the eastern forests of the Fire Nation know what kind of natural changes are happening in the depths of the eastern forests of the Fire Nation - because Tsunade and Sunset Red intercepted all the exploration teams that entered the depths of the forest!"

"I came to the three of you just to ask how this matter should be handled!"

After the three generations of Hokage finished speaking, Koharu looked at Hinata Hinata and asked, "Patriarch Hinata Foot, how can Sunset Red have the token of the Hyuga family's clan?"

"It should be Ichiro who gave the clan token I gave him to Red!" Hinata Hinata said.

"In other words, the natural changes in the depths of the forests in the eastern part of the Fire Country are related to Hinata Ichiro?" asked Mito Menyan.

"It should be!" said the third Hokage, "If the natural changes in the depths of the forests in the eastern part of the Fire Nation had nothing to do with Ichiro, Tsunade and Sunset Red would not have bothered so much to intercept all the exploration teams that entered the depths of the forest!"

"Especially Tsunade, when Tsunade intercepted the exploration team, he also issued a conscription order as the representative of the Hokage!"

Speaking of which, the three generations of Hokage looked at Hinata Hinata and asked, "Hizo, do you know what Ichiro is doing in the depths of the eastern forests of the Fire Country?"

"I'm sorry!" Hinata Hinata shook her head and said, "Hokage-sama, I don't know what Ichiro is doing deep in the eastern forests of the Fire Country!"

After knowing from Hinata Hinata Hinata and not knowing what Hinata Ichiro was doing in the depths of the eastern forests of the Fire Country, the three generations of Hokage groaned.

While the three Hokages were groaning, Mito Menyan, Koharu and Hinata looked through the other documents on the table.

"Hizai, judging from these reports, as time passes, the natural changes that occur in the depths of the eastern forests of the Fire Nation have become more and more influential!" Mito said Yandao.

"Yes!" said the third Hokage, "That's why I asked the three of you to discuss a solution to the matter!"

"How are you going to solve it?" Mito asked.

"I mean to send someone to the depths of the eastern forests of the Fire Country to take a look!" said the third Hokage, "After we have determined what Ichiro is doing, we will deal with it according to the situation!"

"Now that you have a solution, why did you call us here?" asked Koharu.

"Because of Tsunade and Hong, who holds the Hyuga family token, the status of the person sent to the depths of the eastern forests of the Fire Nation must be high!" said the three generations of Hokage, "In other words, the only person who can lead a team to explore the depths of the eastern forests of the Fire Nation can only be one of the four of us!"

As soon as the three generations of Hokage finished speaking, Mito Menyan, Zhuankou Koharu and Hinata Hinata suddenly realized.

"Then let the Hyuga clan go!" Mito Menyan said, "Hyuga Ichiro is a member of the Hyuga clan, if the Hyuga patriarch goes, whether it is Tsunade or Hong, who holds the Hyuga family clan token, there is no reason to prevent the Hyuga clan patriarch from entering the depths of the forest!"

After Mito Menyan finished speaking, Hinata Hinata immediately expressed his attitude.

"If Hokage-sama asks me to go to the eastern forests of the Fire Country, I'll leave immediately!" Hinata Hinata said.

"Hizo, it's not necessarily useful for you to go!" said the third Hokage.

"Why isn't it necessarily useful for the Patriarch of the Foot to go?" asked Koharu.

"Judging from the fact that Tsunade issued an order as the Hokage's representative, it is very likely that Tsunade will intercept Hinado!" said the third Hokage, "After all, this is the first time Tsunade has used the power of the Hokage's representative externally!"

As soon as the three generations of Hokage finished speaking, Mito Menyan, who was well aware of the three generations of Hokage, immediately understood the potential meaning of the words of the three generations of Hokage.

"Hizai, do you want to go to the eastern forests of the Fire Nation in person?" Mito Menyan asked.

"Yes!" said the third Hokage, "Only if I go in person, Tsunade, as the representative of the Hokage, has no power to intercept him!"

"You can issue a pass!" said Koharu.

"I issued a pass order that would indeed allow Tsunade to let him go!" said the third Hokage, "However, forcing Tsunade to let him go is contrary to our actions to strengthen Tsunade's prestige!"

"I can't go in the direction of Tsunade, but what about entering the forest in the red direction?" asked Koharu.

"How do you know that Red only holds the Hyuga Family Token in his hand?" the third Hokage asked rhetorically, "What if Red has the order signed by Tsunade in his hand?"

"When the Hyuga family clan token can't intercept someone with a special identity, Red shows the order signed by Tsunade, what should I do?"

The rhetorical question of the three generations of Hokage made Koharu not know how to reply - judging from the fact that Sunset Red was holding the Hyuga Family Clan Token, it was very likely that Koharu knew that Sunset Red had the order signed by Tsunade in his hand.

"Hito, you're the Hokage, you can't leave Konoha lightly!" Mito said.

"Although we don't know exactly what's going on in the depths of the eastern forests of the Fire Nation, we can't ignore the natural changes in the depths of the eastern forests of the Fire Nation!" said the three generations of Hokage, "Through these documents on the table, we can know one thing - that is, once the natural changes in the eastern forests of the Fire Nation get out of control, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"Do you really want to go in person?" Mito Menyan asked.

"Yes!" replied the third Hokage.

"What will happen to Konoha after you leave?" Mito Menyan asked.

"After I leave, you and Koharu will handle the big and small matters together!" replied the third Hokage.

"When will you be back?" Mito asked.

"Four days at the earliest, a week at the latest!" said the third Hokage.

"Who are you going to take with you?" Mito asked.

"Me, Hizo, and two shadow ninjas!" said the third Hokage.

Looking at the three generations of Hokage who answered like a stream, Mito Menyan said: "Hito, what do you say, you can only be led by one of the four of us to explore the depths of the eastern forests of the Fire Country!"

"Actually, the purpose of you calling me and Koharu is to let me and Koharu manage Konoha instead of you!"

"Hehe!" the third Hokage smiled.

"When you go, keep your whereabouts as secret as possible!" Mito said, "Don't let outsiders know that you've left Konoha!"

"I'll find a way to cover it up for you!"

"Hmm!" said the third Hokage.

……

——————————

January 14, Konoha 58.

Midday.

When the three generations of Hokage, Hinata Hinata and the two shadow ninjas arrived at Tsunade's location, they were all stunned by the sight in front of them - with Hinata Ichiro as the center and Tsunade as the radius, half of the eastern forests of the Fire Nation had disappeared.

"Tsunade, what's going on?" asked the third Hokage with a serious face, pointing to the bare ground as far as the eye could see.

When he saw the three generations of Hokage coming in person, Tsunade knew that the news that Hinata Ichiro had broken through the shackles could not be hidden.

Therefore, when the three generations of Hokage opened their mouths to ask, Tsunade simply confessed.

"Ichiro is breaking through the shackles inside!" said Tsunade.

"Breaking through the shackles!?" asked the third Hokage in disbelief, "You said everything in front of you was caused by Ichiro breaking through the shackles?"

"No matter how surprised you may be, it's just the way it is!" Tsunade said.

"I'm going to go in and have a look!" said the third Hokage, "Let's see if Ichiro is breaking through the shackles!"

"No!" Tsunade refused.

"What's the reason?" asked the three Hokage.

"It's for your safety!" Tsunade said, "When Ichiro breaks through the shackles, the further you go, the more dangerous it becomes!"

"Even me will be in danger?" asked the third Hokage.

Hearing the three generations of Hokage ask, Tsunade, who was concerned about the face of the three generations of Hokage, fell silent.

Although Tsunade didn't speak, everyone could see from Tsunade's face what Tsunade wanted to express - that is, if the three generations of Hokage went inside, they would also encounter danger.

Neither the three Hokage themselves nor the others present were surprised that the three generations of Hokage would also be in danger - after all, the natural changes caused by Hinata Ichiro's breakthrough were too alarming.

"Tsunade-hime, count the days, it's been at least two days since Ichiro broke through the shackles to now!" Hinata Hinata asked, "Don't you think it's been too long for Ichiro to break through the shackles?"

"Or have you ever seen Ichiro break through the shackles for a longer period of time?"

"I'm also worried that Ichiro has taken too long to break through the shackles!" Tsunade said, "However, we can only wait for Ichiro to take the initiative to end the shackle breaking process - because I know what the consequences of unauthorized interference are!"

Tsunade's words stunned the three Hokage and Hinata Hinata for a moment.

Subsequently, the third Hokage asked, "Have you interfered with Ichiro's breakthrough?"

"Yes!" Tsunade said, "I, Hong, and Ichiro came here in mid-December last year!"

"At that time, although the vision caused by Ichiro's breakthrough was not so strong, it still worried me and Hong!"

"So, Red and I went against Ichiro's previous instructions and approached Ichiro without permission!"

"As a result, Red and I almost died!"

"As for Ichiro, Ichiro, who was expected to successfully break through the shackles, failed to break through - at the moment when Ichiro failed to break through, if Ichiro hadn't prepared life-saving means in advance, Ichiro would have died at that moment!"

"You and Red almost died!?" The third Hokage looked at Tsunade, who had no unusual body, and asked with a puzzled expression, "Tsunade, you don't look like you're injured!"

"After Ichiro's treatment, Red and I recovered!" Tsunade said, "But, whether it's me or Red, my strength has vanished!"

Tsunade's words made everyone else present look shocked.

"What!! the third Hokage asked with a shocked expression, "Is it true that you and Red's power has vanished?"

"On the day Ichiro cured me and Hong, the power of me and Red really vanished!" Tsunade said.

"That's not what the report says!" said the third Hokage, "In the report, you used the Wood Escape Ninjutsu!"

"From the day Ichiro healed me and Red to now, after rebuilding, Red and I have regained some strength!" Tsunade began, "Besides, what I have lost is strength, not memory—the method of using the Wood Escape Ninjutsu is still engraved in my mind!"

"In other words, what you call the loss of power is just the loss of chakra?" asked the third Hokage.

"Exactly!" said Tsunade.