Feng Bai's speech, to be fair, was actually quite good.
But that massive burp at the end completely ruined the entire moment.
"That idiot..." Kakashi closed his eyes, refusing to look at him anymore.
The Will of Fire—am I the only one who truly understands the Will of Fire?
Yes, the Will of Fire that Lord Third promotes is indeed, in my view, about protecting comrades and protecting important people.
Feng Bai is right. I can't just become despondent like this. I need to show them through my actions what the Will of Fire truly is!
Moved by Feng Bai's words, Sakumo's eyes showed a long-absent fighting spirit.
Death could indeed put an end to everything, but the disgrace would follow both himself and Kakashi forever.
Glancing at his son, Sakumo showed a genuine smile. Bringing this child back from Kirigakure was truly the right choice.
Seeing Sakumo's smile, Feng Bai breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he wouldn't be seeking death in the near future. The rest would depend on Konoha's F4's attitude.
...
Danzō, who had been urgently recalled from the Daimyō's residence, sat expressionlessly in the conference room.
He had already heard about what happened and had issued punishment for Yamanaka Zen's negligence.
However, the fact that his own son had beaten up Ib Rujin was truly beyond Danzō's expectations.
It seems that child Feng Bai has a deep bond with Sakumo.
Given this, I must do everything possible to protect Sakumo.
"Since everyone is here, let's begin." With an unlit pipe in his mouth, Hiruzen looked at the other three who had assembled and straightened his posture.
Hearing Hiruzen's words, the two advisors exchanged glances. After brief eye contact, Mitokado Homura spoke first as previously agreed: "Danzō, what does the Daimyō say?"
"He told us to handle it internally." Danzō's expression showed no change as he stated this fact in a calm tone.
"What about compensation?" Koharu Utatane still held onto a last glimmer of hope.
This money-obsessed fool.
Danzō cursed her internally, but his tone remained unchanged:
"Naturally, there won't be any."
"I see. Well then, all that remains is how to handle Sakumo and the others..." Though it was an expected answer, both advisors visibly deflated, shifting the topic to Sakumo with helpless tones.
"The White Fang of Konoha is a powerful Jōnin who serves as an effective deterrent against Sunagakure. I believe his punishment shouldn't be too severe." With the topic now on what he cared about most, Hiruzen removed the pipe from his mouth and stated his position.
"But doing so would confirm the village rumors and make the villagers think we're collectively covering for him. It might even trigger a wave of people deliberately abandoning missions." Mitokado Homura looked serious, disagreeing with Hiruzen's view.
"Exactly. As Konoha's leadership, we must enforce justice impartially. Even if he's a war hero, he must accept proper punishment." Koharu Utatane also sided with Mitokado Homura.
As their words ended, everyone's gaze simultaneously turned to Danzō.
If Danzō also agreed with their view, the situation would become 3-versus-1, and the two advisors' proposal would have to be implemented, even if Hiruzen was the Hokage.
"Strip Sakumo of his Jōnin status, demote him to Special Jōnin, and assign him to the border to repel Sand infiltration." Sensing their gazes, Danzō didn't take a stance but directly proposed a solution.
Stripping Sakumo of his Jōnin status wasn't much of a punishment—with his abilities, he'd climb back to that rank sooner or later.
As for assigning him to the border...
Border missions were filled with danger and death. The Sarutobi and Shimura clans, along with civilian ninjas, had always been stationed there. Except during wartime, major clan ninjas generally wouldn't send their children to such places.
"This plan would indeed silence the villagers." The two advisors nodded. They didn't want to suppress Sakumo too harshly either, though they hadn't expected Danzō to choose to spare Sakumo, who was openly in the Third's faction.
Seeing no objection from the two advisors, the Third also nodded. This was a plan he and Danzō had jointly devised, so naturally he wouldn't object: "Then let's go with Danzō's proposal. Please issue an announcement and put this matter to rest quickly."
"Understood. I'll send someone to deliver the announcement to the Daimyō's residence afterward, hoping to salvage some losses." Koharu Utatane nodded. She had always been responsible for communication with the Daimyō's residence and thought she might be able to recover some losses.
"That's acceptable." Hiruzen approved Koharu Utatane's suggestion.
With the announcement issued, the matter of Sakumo Hatake abandoning his mission, which had caused such an uproar in the village, finally came to an end.
All responsibility was shouldered by Sakumo alone. Ib Rujin's plan had succeeded—he wasn't held accountable by the leadership for this incident, but...
Imprisoned in the Root base with his face swollen like a pig's head, he looked at the Root ninja before him, his eyes filled with despair.
After being brutally beaten by Feng Bai, Root hadn't provided him with any medical treatment, leaving him to suffer in the detention cell until Danzō returned.
"Ib Rujin, Ib Hana—both are suspected of leaking village secrets. By decision of the leadership, you are stripped of ninja status and sentenced to life imprisonment in the ANBU prison."
Yamanaka Zen stood before Ib Rujin, reading out Danzō's orders.
"No, no, no—you can't do this! This is all Sakumo's fault! You can't treat me like this!" Unable to accept this outcome after all his desperate struggles, Ib Rujin crawled to Yamanaka Zen on hands and knees, grabbing his pant leg to vent his dissatisfaction.
"Get lost." Yamanaka Zen wasn't about to indulge him, kicking him away and signaling to his subordinates with his eyes.
The two Root ninjas understood Yamanaka Zen's meaning, nodded, and shortly after Yamanaka Zen left, forcibly dragged the sobbing Ib Rujin from the detention cell toward the depths of the Root base.
The handling of Ib Rujin and Ib Hana was conducted in secret. For Konoha Village, with its considerable population, the disappearance of two people didn't cause much of a stir.
However, for safety's sake, ANBU members used the Transformation Jutsu to impersonate the two and wandered around their neighborhood for a while. Only after the rumors completely died down did they cease this behavior.
People are forgetful.
Old scandals get replaced by new ones and are completely forgotten.
As new rumors began circulating on Konoha's streets, no one spoke of Sakumo's matter anymore, and he himself was approaching the day of his departure.
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