Chapter 106: What a Massive Scapegoat
"Good!"
All the people of Kumogakure agreed in unison. They would not refute their Raikage's orders.
Unlike the numbness and absent-mindedness after every departure before, this time, every Kumogakure ninja looked joyful upon leaving. Obviously, this was a victory.
"Sigh!"
This small war was over. The exhausted Hatake Sakumo and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio sat down directly. Looking at the miserable state of the surroundings, they couldn't bear to watch.
"Clean up the battlefield, tally the numbers!"
No matter what, what must be faced must be faced.
At this time, as if telepathic, Hatake Sakumo and Nara Shikaku looked in unison at Namikaze Minato not far away. He was directing a medical-nin to treat him.
"Senior White Fang! Mr. Shikaku!"
When Hatake Sakumo and Nara Shikaku walked over, Namikaze Minato finally came back to his senses.
His usual sunny smile couldn't be maintained anymore. He looked like he was about to cry at any moment.
"Why... why did it turn out like this!"
Namikaze Minato completely hadn't expected and absolutely couldn't accept such a result.
It must be known that Namikaze Minato would definitely have to shoulder the blame for this defeat.
Although the transfer order was issued by Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sarutobi Hiruzen was calculating; he wouldn't take the blame and would certainly find someone else.
Namikaze Minato couldn't escape.
"Report... Sigh!"
Originally, Nara Shikaku and Hatake Sakumo intended to say something, but seeing Namikaze Minato like this, the two could only fall silent one after another.
To put it bluntly, Namikaze Minato was just ignorant of the situation.
To put it nicely, he was young and arrogant, thinking he was amazing.
In reality, even though he had learned the Flying Thunder God, the current Namikaze Minato was just average.
Facing the high-defense Yotsuki A, Namikaze Minato, who lacked effective attack Ninjutsu, couldn't do anything at all.
Just then, the ninja responsible for counting the numbers walked over.
"Lord White Fang, Lord Shikaku!"
Perhaps frightened, the ninja lowered his head, looking like he didn't dare to look up and speak.
"Just give the results directly!"
Sakumo waved his hand.
They all guessed that this number would be absolutely heavy, but Hatake Sakumo and the others were prepared.
"Yes!"
Not daring to hesitate, the ninja could only speak out the intelligence just collected.
"In this war, we have a total of 473 injured and over 1,200 killed in action!"
"..."
Even though they were prepared, everyone fell silent after hearing this report.
Hatake Sakumo closed his eyes in pain.
"Over one thousand two hundred people died!"
It must be known that the Konoha ninja responsible for the war on this side didn't even number two thousand in total.
More than half were gone instantly.
Besides the regret, there was more despair for the upcoming war.
The few remaining ninja were simply insufficient to face the following war situation.
"Senior White Fang! Mr. Shikaku!"
At this time, Namikaze Minato, who had undergone simple treatment by the medical-nin, slowly stood up.
"Let everyone return to the camp first. I will bear the responsibility for this result alone!"
"..."
This blame was not something just anyone could carry.
Even for the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato.
Hatake Sakumo and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio looked at each other in silence, gathered the surviving ninja, and went back one after another.
...
Soon, the news of the battlefield defeat against Kumogakure spread throughout the Ninja World.
Before this, Namikaze Minato was somewhat famous near Iwagakure because of the existence of Aoyama Ryūun, but now Namikaze Minato could be said to be famous throughout the Ninja World.
Of course, it was definitely not a good reputation.
"Impossible! This is impossible!"
On the Kirigakure side, in the conference room, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the war report from Kumogakure in his hand, his face full of disbelief.
"What on earth is this Namikaze Minato doing!"
The furious Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his fist directly onto the table in front of him, sounding somewhat hysterical.
A matter he was originally fully confident about had actually turned out like this.
"Lost over a thousand ninja. Such a massive failure has never happened since the start of the war until now!"
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't handle this battle loss report.
Shimura Danzo, who was on the side, remained calm on the surface, but internally, he laughed cheerfully.
Danzo had long seen that Sarutobi Hiruzen intended to groom Namikaze Minato as a tool.
He originally planned to set up Namikaze Minato but never had the opportunity.
Now it was great.
Danzo didn't even need to lift a finger.
Namikaze Minato had pitted himself.
"Hiruzen!"
Danzo said faintly.
"Someone needs to take responsibility for this battle loss!"
"..."
They were all thousand-year-old foxes.
Sarutobi Hiruzen instantly understood Shimura Danzo's meaning.
This news would sooner or later spread throughout Konoha.
With over a thousand ninja gone, it couldn't be hidden.
If everyone knew that the cause of this matter was Sarutobi Hiruzen's error, this blame would be enough to ruin Sarutobi Hiruzen's reputation.
"But..."
He was somewhat hesitant. After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen was really satisfied with the tool that was Namikaze Minato!
Danzo appeared indifferent to this.
Noticing Sarutobi Hiruzen's hesitation, Danzo didn't think much of it. He just shrugged and spoke with a tone that didn't care.
"Actually, it doesn't matter. Anyway, after this Great Ninja War ends, you won't be Hokage anymore. It doesn't matter if you take this blame!"
"No!"
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen refused without hesitation.
Although that was the fact, Sarutobi Hiruzen still had thoughts of becoming Hokage again.
He absolutely could not carry this matter on his back.
Here, Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes flashed with some resolve.
If they had defeated Kumogakure, everyone would be happy.
But now, he could only let Namikaze Minato take the blame.
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