Uchiha Mikoto Makes Her First Appearance

Samurai?

Samurai Spirit?

That made sense.

As a Chinese person, Chiga did not know much about the Japanese samurai spirit.

But one thing was clear: people who followed the Samurai Spirit were always fond of committing ritual suicide by disembowelment. It had practically become a cultural tradition.

Could Konoha White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, a ninja whose reputation resounded throughout the Shinobi World, have still been following the Samurai Spirit deep down?

Chiga thought about what Kakashi had said.

There really was such a possibility. From Kakashi's words, it was clear that before Hatake Sakumo, the Hatake Clan had all been samurai.

In other words, Hatake Sakumo's father had been a traditional samurai.

Hatake Sakumo had studied at the Ninja Academy in Konoha, but after returning home, wasn't the only thing his father could teach him the ways of the samurai?

Although the Ninja Academy also taught the Will of Fire, that ideology did not conflict with the Samurai Spirit.

The more Chiga thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Of course, there had definitely been a conspiracy behind Hatake Sakumo's suicide.

But Chiga believed that the conspiracy had been aimed more at damaging Hatake Sakumo's prestige than at taking his life.

A ninja more outstanding than the Legendary Three was extremely rare throughout the Shinobi World. How could Konoha possibly be so wealthy and powerful that it could afford to lose someone like that?

Chiga remembered that the original story had mentioned how Hatake Sakumo's suicide had only spread among the jonin. The people below them had known nothing about it. It had not been common knowledge.

In other words, Konoha had also sealed off the news about Hatake Sakumo.

But the way they had sealed it off was quite interesting. All the jonin knew, while no one below chunin rank knew anything.

One had to understand that in Konoha, regardless of how much prestige one had among the chunin, genin, or villagers, the people who determined whether one could become Hokage were the jonin of Konoha!

It was practically a clear target with a precisely aimed strike.

Konoha was, after all, a militarily governed village. If they had really wanted to protect Hatake Sakumo, who would have dared say another word?

As for who among the Konoha Higher-Ups would take the blame, the scapegoat king Shimura Danzō definitely could not escape it.

As for the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Chiga felt that he had simply failed to act.

Perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi had his own little schemes. He wanted his own disciple to inherit the position of Hokage, so he had allowed the rumors to spread and damaged Hatake Sakumo's prestige.

But forcing Hatake Sakumo to his death was probably beyond him.

Perhaps even Hiruzen Sarutobi himself had not expected Hatake Sakumo to recall the Samurai Spirit during his darkest period, or even perform its highest honor for him.

Thinking about it, when Hiruzen Sarutobi had first heard that Hatake Sakumo had committed suicide, his heart must have been bleeding.

After analyzing his guesses, Chiga made up his mind and prepared to try to pull Hatake Sakumo back from the brink.

Of course, Chiga could only say that he would give it a try. If something even darker was truly involved, Chiga would choose to stand by and watch in order to ensure his own safety.

Under Kakashi's hospitality, everyone drank tea and chatted for a while before going their separate ways.

Chiga had originally wanted to meet Hatake Sakumo, but after hearing that Hatake Sakumo had already left the village on a mission, Chiga took his leave.

Not long after Chiga left the Hatake residence, Kakashi Hatake began opening the congratulatory gift Chiga had given him.

The instant he opened the wrapping, Kakashi Hatake's expression changed.

"What does this guy Chiga take me for?!"

Kakashi Hatake looked indignant. He, Kakashi, was a reader of the Will of Fire. How could he possibly look at such vulgar things?

He picked up the book and wanted to throw it into the trash, but the moment he lifted it, the provocative figure of the woman on the cover made his eyes swim.

"Hmph! What an infuriating guy. He even used Genjutsu on the book, trying to bewilder me? Kakashi isn't that easy to fool!"

"Forget it. Since there is such powerful Genjutsu on the cover, there must be Genjutsu in the book as well. I want to see how powerful it is. I might as well treat it as Genjutsu training!"

Then Kakashi flipped open the first page. At that moment, it was as though he had opened the gates to a new world.

The book in his hands was like a holy relic, radiating dazzling golden light!

"I'll just read one page!"

"Hmm, one more page!"

"What powerful Genjutsu!"

Negative emotions from Kakashi Hatake, Emotion Points +2. First time obtaining negative emotions from Kakashi Hatake, rewarded with Lightning Nature Beginner!

Kakashi Hatake's negative emotions, Emotion Points +2. First time obtaining Kakashi Hatake's negative emotions. Reward: Lightning Attribute Beginner!

Chiga had just left the house when he received the system's voice. He blinked slightly.

But based on those two Emotion Points alone, Chiga knew that Kakashi was merely putting on an act. By now, he had probably sunk into it completely and could no longer pull himself away!

When Chiga returned to the Uchiha Clan Grounds, he had not even reached his front door when two people approached him.

Chiga looked up and saw Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto walking toward him.

"Fugaku, he isn't home. Where could he have gone?"

"How should I know where he went?"

"Don't you care at all about where your clan members go?"

"He's already seven years old and is about to become a genin. It's not as if he can't take care of himself!"

"You're not doing a very good job as Young Clan Leader!"

"You're sticking your nose too far into this."

The two seemed to be having an argument. When they noticed Chiga, they immediately stopped talking and walked toward him.

As they approached, Chiga spoke first. "Young Clan Leader, Sister Mikoto."

"Hmm." Uchiha Fugaku folded his arms and replied blandly.

"Oh, I was just about to look for you, Chiga!"

Hearing Chiga call her sister, Uchiha Mikoto looked especially happy.

"You were looking for me?"

Chiga narrowed his eyes and studied the two thoughtfully.

Something seemed off between them. It was one thing that they did not hold hands when standing together as a couple. After all, Uchiha Fugaku was not a romantic man.

But they were standing more than two meters apart. That was rather strange.

Added to that was their earlier argument.

Had the two of them fallen out?

A glint flashed through Chiga's eyes.

The opportunity has come!

Chiga stepped forward and tugged at Uchiha Fugaku's clothes, signaling for him to lean closer.

Uchiha Fugaku looked at Chiga in confusion, then crouched down and brought his ear close to Chiga's mouth.

Chiga covered his mouth with his hand and whispered, "Young Clan Leader, did you have a fight with Sister Mikoto?"

Uchiha Fugaku's face darkened. "Don't talk nonsense. Mikoto and I didn't have a fight."

Chiga asked even more curiously, "Then did you two get into a physical fight?"

"..."

Negative emotions from Fugaku Uchiha, Emotion Points +30!

Uchiha Fugaku's negative emotions, Emotion Points +30!

Uchiha Fugaku glared at Chiga and ground his teeth as he said, "You should know that a jonin's hearing is extremely sharp. Mikoto can hear you clearly from this distance."

If she couldn't hear me, I wouldn't have said it!

Chiga looked up at Uchiha Mikoto, who was smiling as she stared straight at him, then continued pressing Uchiha Fugaku. "So you really did get into a fight? You two look pretty tense to me!"

Uchiha Fugaku was helpless and could only explain his earlier behavior. "It was just a disagreement. It'll be fine after a while!"

Hearing that, Chiga said earnestly, "I'm not saying this to criticize you, but she was already giving you dirty looks before you were even married. If you actually get married, won't she be walking all over you? Young Clan Leader, let's not get married. That's right, don't get married!"

Uchiha Fugaku's face darkened even further. "If you don't want to give us Gift Money, just say so!"

Negative emotions from Fugaku Uchiha, Emotion Points +80!

Uchiha Fugaku's negative emotions, Emotion Points +80!