Chapter 7: The White Fang and the Golden Robe
Morning.
Nagato felt extremely uneasy seeing that his mother still hadn't come out.
"Sayan-niisan, why hasn't my mom come out yet? Is she hurt?"
Sayan could only offer an awkward smile, feeling a sudden pang of guilt. This might be the only side effect of the fusion. He knew what Tenshi no Ou (Angel King) was like from his previous life—always obsessing over making that thing stronger. Although Sayan wouldn't become perverse to that degree, the deeper the fusion went, the more he was inevitably influenced. Besides, Fusō had certainly stacked up a few too many "buffs" last night, so it was excusable! Totally excusable!
Sayan patted Nagato's head. "Your mother is fine. She was just too tired yesterday. It'll be better if she sleeps a little longer."
After speaking, he turned his gaze to Konan and Yahiko. "If you're awake, hurry up and eat breakfast. After you finish, help pack up the belongings so we can set off together."
"Set off?"
Nagato, who had been worrying about his mother, froze, his small face showing confusion when he heard those words.
"Sayan-niisan, are we going to leave this place together?"
"Yes, Nagato. I already discussed it with your mother last night. We will all go together to live in a new place. There is no war there, and no bad people. Once we arrive, Nagato can go to school, make friends, and you won't have to worry about going hungry or worrying about bad people breaking into the house."
Naturally, Nagato was extremely excited after hearing what Sayan said. He quickly finished his meal and started packing.
Perhaps the noise from the three of them packing was too loud, waking up Fusō, who was still sound asleep.
"Sayan-sama." Fusō walked forward and immediately bowed deeply to Sunaen.
"Ah, you don't need to call me 'sama' anymore. Just call me by my name."
"Alright, Sayan-kun."
Sayan had already informed Fusō about his identity the previous night. When Fusō learned that Sayan was the Kazekage of Sunagakure, she was shocked for a long time, but then she readily agreed to follow Sayan to live in Sunagakure.
Although the environment in Sunagakure wasn't ideal—it was the complete opposite of the Land of Rain, where one side was dying of drought and the other of flooding—it was still one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Its safety was naturally beyond question. This meant Nagato could grow up peacefully, no longer having to live in constant fear of someone suddenly breaking in one day.
And after what happened last night, she believed Sayan would take good care of Nagato.
"Mom."
Nagato, who was busy packing, quickly scampered over when he saw Fusō appear. After all, no matter how powerful he might become later, he was still just a little kid right now.
"Mom, are we going to live in a new place?"
"Yes, Mom and Nagato are going to live in a new place. It will be very safe there, and Nagato can make many new friends."
Nagato smiled, nodded, and cheerfully said, "Wherever Mom goes, I go."
"Alright, let your mother eat first. We still have to hit the road soon."
"Okay, Sayan-niisan. I'll go back to packing then."
He then scampered away in a flash.
"What a lively child."
Watching Nagato run off, Sayan turned and smiled at Fusō. "Go eat breakfast quickly. We can leave once you're done."
After Fusō finished breakfast, the luggage was mostly packed. Soon, the group of four was ready to depart. Of course, before leaving, they first went to the grave of Nagato's father.
"Well then..." Sayan looked at the somber mother and son, then at the two other children who were eagerly awaiting, and said with a gentle expression, "Let's go!"
There was no helping it; Lord Sayan was kind-hearted and couldn't stand seeing a widowed mother and her son being bullied.
Meanwhile.
The intensity of the war in the Land of Rain seemed to have escalated another notch, which certainly couldn't have happened without material aid from a certain Shinobi Village.
What kind of gear did the Land of Rain have before? Shinobi just charged in wielding their bare blades. Armor? What was that? Where would the Land of Rain get the money for that? All their funds went to buying gas masks. If they weren't completely broke, who would willingly give up their lives to fight? They weren't lunatics like the Uchiha and Kaguya clans.
But now, things were different. They were wearing vests, Shuriken clattered at their waists, and they could even afford to carry a couple of Kibaku Fuda (Explosive Tags). It was truly a case of the liberated serfs singing their songs. [Laktozlu: Sayan's "humanitarian aid" (selling stolen goods to Amegakure) has drastically upgraded their military power, making the war harder for Konoha.]
Konohagakure was initially stunned by the sudden change, suffering heavy casualties and quickly falling into a disadvantage.
Then, the neighboring Iwagakure saw their chance. Oho, opportunity knocked! They decisively attacked Konoha from the rear.
Konoha wasn't pleased. What is my status? What is your standing? You're forcing me to rage! So, they gathered another batch of Shinobi and deployed Sakumo Hatake. Originally, Sakumo Hatake had been held back to guard against an attack from Sunagakure, but since Sunagakure had completely retreated, Sakumo was idle.
Hiruzen Sarutobi saw this and thought, Good heavens, what is your status? What is your standing? You're neither my disciple nor my peer, so how dare you be idle? I'm so busy every day that I haven't even looked through my telescope in days. How can someone your age afford to be idle? Thus, he immediately ordered Sakumo to lead the Shinobi to the Land of Rain battlefield. [Laktozlu: The "telescope" refers to Hiruzen's Telescope Technique, often jokingly associated in fanfictions with him peeping on bathhouses.]
And so, the war intensified under these bizarre circumstances.
In just one night, Konoha had pushed the battle lines almost right up to Sayan's location, making the Shinobi World recognize Konoha's strength.
Upon receiving the news, Amegakure quickly reacted. Hanzō of the Salamander rushed directly to the front lines that very night, blocking Konoha's advance.
This caught Sayan completely off guard. According to the original plot, the war shouldn't have spread here until months after the three children met. He never expected the battle lines to be practically on their doorstep.
This meant Sayan's plan to quietly escort the group to the Land of Wind was instantly aborted. It looked like he had no choice but to reveal himself.
Sayan thought to himself.
Just then.
Sayan, deep in thought, seemed to sense something. He stepped in front of the other four, frowning as he looked ahead. The four who had experienced war seemed to understand what was about to happen and quickly huddled behind Sayan.
"Sayan-niisan..."
Before the sentence could be finished.
Swish, swish, swish. Three sounds rang out.
Immediately, three figures appeared ahead. The leader was a white-haired man with a short blade sheathed on his back—it was none other than Sakumo Hatake, the Konoha's White Fang (Konoha no Shiroi Kiba). Although he didn't have the "White Fang" title yet, after all, Sayan had already ordered Chiyo-baasama's son and daughter-in-law to be sent back home. [Laktozlu: Major canon divergence: In the original story, Sakumo kills Sasori's parents (Chiyo's son/wife), earning his title and Chiyo's eternal hatred. Sayan has prevented this by recalling them, changing history.]
"May I ask why the Kazekage is present here?"
Compared to the shock of Sakumo Hatake and his companions upon seeing Sayan, the three children behind Sayan were even more stunned, their mouths gaping open.
"Th-this must be a joke... Sayan-niisan... is... is actually the Kazekage."
Facing the wariness of Sakumo Hatake's group and the shock of the three children, Sayan knew he could no longer hide his identity.
He opened his storage scroll and pulled out the specially made Kazekage official robe and the straw hat symbolizing the Kazekage, putting them on.
The golden 'Sandaime Kazekage' inscription on the white official robe shone brilliantly. After all, Sayan had deliberately coated it with a layer of Sakin (Gold Dust). It was cheap, but being cool was forever.