The Rising Tide of Public Opinion

The reason Uchiha Feiyu was called dead last was simply because he was older, and because he went through the motions during exams without putting in any real effort. In truth, both the teachers and students at the school knew that he was quite capable in a fight.

It was only because of his age that most people looked down on him.

"Mm-hmm, you're right. I only got to bully you because I'm older... After all, you're the Hokage's precious eldest son!"

"Bastard! What do you mean, the Hokage's eldest son? I'm me! I have nothing to do with that old man!"

The moment the Hokage was mentioned, Asuma immediately blew up. He had been a troubled child ever since he was young, and what he hated most was being treated as an appendage of the Hokage. In the original story, that was even why he went to the Daimyo's Palace and served as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja for a time.

Still, one thing was good about the Naruto World: few people were the type to rely on their fathers—meaning background, not bloodlines. There was certainly some preferential treatment, but absolutely no indulgence.

Although Asuma was the Hokage's son, when Uchiha Feiyu had beaten him up back then, he had simply beaten him up. So long as no one died or was crippled, even if the Hokage or other ninja learned about it, they would not care in the slightest.

"Fine, fine, I know you have nothing to do with Lord Hokage. Your old man has never given you any special treatment, and you earned your place as Top Student with your own fists and feet..."

Uchiha Feiyu spoke with a completely indifferent, sarcastic expression, making Asuma's face turn green and then white. Everything he said was true, so why did it sound so irritating?

Before Asuma could say anything else, Rin, who had been watching them from the side, gently spoke up and changed the subject.

"By the way, Asuma, you should know more than anyone about the movements of the ninja village's higher-ups. Do you know what exactly happened? Why are they suddenly going to war?"

"I heard... just heard, mind you! It seems a powerful Konoha ninja made a mistake while carrying out an important mission, provoking Sunagakure's hostility..."

Children's anger came quickly and went quickly. Asuma was only eight or nine years old, and after Rin changed the subject, he soon put the earlier matter behind him and began talking about the higher-ups' "secrets."

Naturally, anything Asuma could learn could not be considered a real secret. At the very least, among the village's official ninja, the information they knew was far more detailed than what Asuma had heard.

For instance, the name of the core ninja who had carried out that mission... Uchiha Feiyu believed that more than half of Konoha's Chunin and all of its Jonin already knew that it was Hatake Sakumo. Yet even Asuma, despite being the Hokage's son, did not know that intelligence.

In fact, an S-rank mission was highly classified by nature. In theory, aside from the ninja carrying out the mission and a few members of Konoha High Command, no one else could possibly be told about it, much less ninja students.

Even if only the general outline had spread, someone must have been pushing it from behind the scenes. And judging from the current situation, it might really end up becoming common knowledge.

Hatake Sakumo really had been set up. Otherwise, the news would not have spread so quickly!

As Uchiha Feiyu was pondering this, the Third Hokage sat in the Hokage Office, smoking his pipe and staring sternly at his old friend Danzo.

"Danzo, rumors have been spreading throughout the village lately, all about White Fang's failed mission. This was your doing, wasn't it?!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Danzo flatly denied it with a perfectly righteous expression. He knew the Third Hokage could see through his actions, but there was no way he would admit it.

"White Fang botched this mission, so it's only normal for people to discuss it. Because of this mission, we may soon be going to war with Sunagakure!"

"Such a major blunder occurred. It is perfectly normal for the village's ninja to discuss it. Are people not even allowed to speak when someone has made a mistake?!"

The Third Hokage ignored Danzo's excuses entirely. He knew his old friend far too well, and spoke coldly.

"Put away your petty schemes. No matter what, Sakumo is one of Konoha's finest ninja at present, and he has already been punished. This matter ends here!"

"Hmph! It has nothing to do with me, anyway!"

Danzo's heart burned with anger as he turned and left.

End here? How could that be possible? Sakumo's prestige within the village was far too high. These rumors alone were not enough to shake his position, much less utterly destroy his reputation. If he did not use this opportunity to crush Sakumo's prestige completely, how could he compete with him for the Hokage Position in the future?

A ninja should obediently be a Tool Man. What was the point of having such a great reputation?

With that thought, Danzo silently made up his mind.

"Not enough. Far from enough. I need to strike him harder, until he no longer has the qualifications to inherit the Hokage Position!"

To Sarutobi Hiruzen, he was the Hokage standing above all others. Although White Fang of Konoha currently possessed immense prestige, it did not pose much of a threat to him. As long as White Fang's reputation was weakened a little, he could make better use of that sharp blade.

But to Danzo, whose mind was filled with the Hokage Position, Hatake Sakumo was a thorn in his eye and flesh. Unless he removed him, he would not even be able to sleep peacefully at night!

Naturally, Uchiha Feiyu knew nothing of the confrontation in the Hokage Office. Right now, he was filled with disappointment that he could no longer coast through all six years at the Ninja Academy. The thought of soon being assigned to an official ninja unit filled him with unease.

By all rights, Uchiha Feiyu was not weak. At the very least, he had reached the level of a Chunin, and he was not considered poor even among Chunin.

In the original story, Chunin-level ninja were little more than cannon fodder. But in reality, Chunin had already risen beyond the bottom tier of the ninja hierarchy and could basically be considered middle-ranking officers. In ordinary squads, they generally served as squad leaders.

If this were peacetime, such strength would not be especially dangerous. But this was not peacetime. Once the Ninja World War began, even Jonin died in droves, let alone Chunin.

For example, Namikaze Minato's most dazzling achievement during the Third Ninja World War had been wiping out fifty elite Iwagakure Ninja in a single battle—those so-called elite ninja were all Chunin at minimum, and not one of them was weaker than Uchiha Feiyu.

Anything could happen on the battlefield. It was not as though, just because Uchiha Feiyu possessed Chunin-level strength, the enemy would only send Chunin to deal with him.

For all he knew, if his luck was bad, he might look up during a mission and see: Well, well, aren't those the Kazekage, Raikage, and Tsuchikage over there? This run is over. Young hero, please start again!

So during this final stretch of time, Uchiha Feiyu often passed by Kakashi's house, hoping to see when Hatake Sakumo would commit suicide.