Konoha Year 44, August
The lingering aftershocks of the Third Great Ninja War had finally faded. Konoha once again returned to its familiar atmosphere of peace and calm.
Civilians poured in one after another to issue missions. The backlog of requests from wartime kept the returning shinobi busy once more.
At Akio's small shop, however, a rare visitor had arrived, Hatake Sakumo.
Akio examined Sakumo's new prosthetic arm for a long while, tapping and testing. In the end, he was a bit disappointed.
It was a simple arm made entirely of steel and chakra-conductive metal, nothing like the advanced designs he had imagined with nerve-linking precision. It could only be controlled through chakra flow.
"Elder Akio, this will do. As long as it doesn't affect daily life, it's enough," Sakumo said calmly.
Akio shook his head.
"I'll find a way to get you a better arm someday. With this thing, your strength won't ever return to what it was."
Losing his right arm had almost cut Sakumo's power in half. It wasn't like some romantic tale of a swordsman mastering his left hand and becoming stronger.
The Hatake clan's kenjutsu relied on dual blades just like most sword styles in the ninja world.
Akio had hoped that Yuna might bring a surprise, but he'd forgotten, she'd always been more fascinated with steel mechanisms than with the human body.
"This is good enough, Elder Akio," Sakumo repeated, smiling faintly.
Akio chuckled.
"How did it end up with you comforting me instead? What about Kakashi? Didn't he return with you?"
"He did, but your apprentice stopped him. The two went to the training grounds for a spar."
Akio sighed helplessly.
"That brat Obito is looking for trouble again. Can't he hold back for once? He just awakened his Sharingan, this is the time for steady growth, not showing off."
Though Obito had awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan, his overall ability hadn't improved much besides his visual prowess. Challenging Kakashi so soon meant he was headed straight for another beating.
But that suited Akio just fine. What Obito needed was stimulation.
After a brief silence, Akio spoke again.
"Come on, let's celebrate your arm's… recovery, I suppose. I'll treat you to a bowl of ramen."
Sakumo gave a half-laugh, half-sigh. "That's it? Something this big, and you're buying me ramen?"
Akio noticed his expression and grinned.
"You have no idea how crowded Ichiraku Ramen is these days. The shinobi fresh from the battlefield haven't had it in months, they're acting like it's the most precious thing in the world. If we wait until dinner time, we might not even get in."
Startled, Sakumo followed as Akio headed out.
Sure enough, even with nearly an hour before dinner, Ichiraku Ramen was almost packed, filled with both civilians and ninja.
When the two entered, the bustling chatter quieted for a moment before shouts of "White Fang-sama!" filled the shop.
Akio's expression stiffened slightly as he remembered, he was still using his Hagoromo disguise. Eating with Sakumo like this might raise questions.
But he quickly regained his composure.
"What's wrong with White Fang eating ramen? A body like his needs its medicine!"
He ordered two of the most expensive bowls, extra noodles, extra pork looking every bit the carefree spender, while Sakumo could only smile helplessly.
"You're… really something else, Elder."
Akio ignored him.
The ramen took a while, but neither of them minded. Still, something about the atmosphere felt off.
When they'd first entered, the hush that fell because of Sakumo's fame made sense but for the shop to stay quiet for over ten minutes was strange.
Sakumo wasn't the type to make people nervous. Why was everyone whispering instead of talking normally?
They exchanged glances. Akio sighed.
"Can't even eat in peace anymore."
He focused his Wind-nature chakra, amplifying his hearing to catch the conversation of two nearby chunin.
"Never thought Lord Orochimaru would be that kind of person…" one said, clearly disappointed.
"What do you mean? I think he handled it the right way."
"You—shh!" The other cut him off, noticing Akio's gaze.
Akio frowned. Orochimaru? What's this about?
"Don't tell me his human experiments got exposed," he muttered.
But before he could listen further, even the whispers died down completely.
With a sigh, he turned to Sakumo.
"Go ask those two what happened with Orochimaru."
Sakumo blinked, then nodded and went over.
Akio didn't bother eavesdropping again, he was too busy stealing all the meat from Sakumo's bowl into his own.
A few minutes later, Sakumo returned, his expression dark.
"Elder Akio… something's happened."
Akio, still chewing noodles, asked absently,
"What is it?"
"The details of an S-rank classified mission Orochimaru undertook three years ago were leaked. To complete the mission, he… let a captured comrade die."
Akio froze. The story sounded eerily familiar, especially when he looked at Sakumo's grim face.
So, it's like that, he thought. A knockoff of your own tragedy.
"If saving a comrade would cause the mission to fail, risking great loss to Konoha, and that very comrade would later blame you for it… would you still save him?" Akio shook his head.
"I think I already know the answer."
Sakumo hesitated.
Akio waved a hand.
"Enough. Eat your ramen, it's getting cold. Don't get involved yet. Just wait and see how this plays out."
Sakumo hesitated again, but eventually sat and lifted his chopsticks, only to pause mid-motion.
Watching Akio hurriedly pay the bill and slip out of the shop, he could only sigh.
"Was this… really a treat?"
Later, at the Shop
Akio sighed deeply.
"The details of a top-secret mission spreading this widely? And something from three years ago, no less… someone's definitely stirring the pot. Danzo? Or maybe both Danzo and Hiruzen."
He leaned back, frowning in thought.
"But what's the point? This time it's not Sakumo, it's Orochimaru. He chose to complete the mission. Some might call him cold-blooded, but most shinobi will actually support that."
He frowned deeper.
"What, do they expect Orochimaru to break under criticism and… kill himself? If that happens, I'll know for sure I'm trapped in an illusion."
Just as he expected, over the next few days, the incident spread through Konoha like wildfire.
Whispers turned to open debate. Civilians and shinobi alike divided into two camps, one claiming the mission came first, the other insisting comrades came first.
Orochimaru, at the center of it all, remained silent.
Until one day, a new rumor spread:
"The new Senju clan head, Senju Nawaki, has spoken out against Orochimaru's actions, he says a comrade's life should always come first."
He was the first ninja of notable status to publicly take a side.
Akio sighed.
"Nawaki might be a simple-minded fool, but he's not reckless enough to say that in public… unless someone pushed him."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Two birds with one stone… huh?"
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