Preparations (5k)

"Given the village's current situation, I'll probably be transferred to the Land of Wind front after this, where I'll be responsible for part of the defenses."

"The Third Generation asked me to come and ask for your opinions."

"Will you go to the front with me as a team, or split up and remain in the various village departments? Let me say first that I personally think it would be better for you to go together."

The spring breeze carried warmth, and the grass was lush and green.

Hatake Sakumo sat on a tree stump, tossed away an apple core, and put a blade of grass between his lips. He spoke of the upcoming reassignment as if it were nothing more than a trivial matter.

But he really was not good at lying.

Sahara Mizu looked at Hatake Sakumo sitting on the stump—when he said this, his fingers were clasped together, his brow faintly furrowed. Even though he had deliberately put a blade of grass in his mouth to seem relaxed, he had nearly chewed through the stem, and his toes kept tapping against the ground.

Normally, Hatake Sakumo was a man more relaxed than an old gay's asshole, his entire body radiating an irreverent, carefree air.

Even when facing an opponent on the level of the Third Raikage, he acted as though he were taking children on an outing.

But now, he was far too serious.

"..."

The three of them exchanged glances. Clearly, they had all noticed something was off.

In the end, Namikaze Minato was the one who spoke.

"Lord Hatake."

"Has something... happened in the village?"

Hatake Sakumo clearly had not expected that the one lie he had finally managed to tell would be seen through immediately by these children. His expression stiffened slightly.

After hesitating for a while, he ultimately decided to tell them everything.

"Rather than saying something has happened, it would be more accurate to say that something is about to happen up there."

"It's very complicated."

"Since you took part in Tsunade's rescue mission last time, there's a good chance you'll be caught up in it. If you're on the front lines, the impact on you may actually be smaller."

"Some people have set their sights on you."

Hatake Sakumo let out a long sigh and spat out the thoroughly chewed blade of grass. His brow furrowed deeper. "Minato, Yayoi, the two of you are in relatively good positions."

"Lord Mizu, you're actually the one in the greatest danger."

Hearing that, Sahara Mizu immediately recalled the scene from a few days ago, when Tsunade had pointed at Shimura Danzō's nose and cursed him out in the Hokage's Office. He understood at once.

What had happened that day had not simply faded away. Instead, it had intensified in places they could not see.

Hatake Sakumo had sensed the coming storm so keenly that he had no choice but to send several young people who might become involved in this matter to the dangerous front lines—in his eyes, even a battlefield filled with flashing blades and flying shadows might be far safer than this bloodless political arena.

Of the three of them, Namikaze Minato had Jiraiya's protection, while Yayoi had the Uchiha Clan behind her.

Only he was alone.

No.

To a certain extent, he was also bound to Tsunade and the Senju Clan, who stood at the center of this storm.

But...

Sahara Mizu smiled absentmindedly.

Hadn't this been expected from the start?

"Mizu?"

Hearing that, Uchiha Yayoi, who had not yet caught on, instinctively cried out.

"..."

Namikaze Minato had more or less understood by this point, but he did not speak immediately. Instead, he turned toward Sahara Mizu and waited for his opinion.

After their previous mission and that exhibition match...

The name Sahara Mizu had already settled into a position of considerable weight in Namikaze Minato's heart.

He wanted to hear what decision this man, who surpassed him in strategy, talent, and brilliance alike, would make.

Hatake Sakumo also looked at him, quietly awaiting his answer.

Sahara Mizu paused, then asked in return, "Lord Sakumo, do you think that if we run to the front lines, we'll be able to avoid the blades coming from the rear?"

"As for matters in the rear, Lord Tsunade and I will continue discussing them," Hatake Sakumo said slowly, though he clearly had no concrete plan in mind.

In truth, he had not expected this matter to grow so serious in the beginning.

Sahara Mizu understood that as well.

In the original story, both Hatake Sakumo's suicide and Tsunade's departure from the village in disappointment were the results of a chain of events brought about by similar causes.

Though they had occurred at different stages and were different incidents, they still revealed one thing—

These two young people could not outmaneuver that pack of old foxes.

They were too upright, and their methods were too soft.

How could that possibly work?

When it came to political struggle, it had to be handled by someone as despicable, shameless, filthy, and vulgar as him—a Mist Village spy who had memorized the classic lines from Yes, Minister.

So...

"If I remember correctly, Lord Tsunade should have questioned the Hokage Advisor Group over corruption last time."

Sahara Mizu directly turned the conversation toward the heart of the issue. "And now the matter has escalated, hasn't it?"

Hatake Sakumo froze at his words and looked at him in astonishment.

Some of the issues and decisions from above could only be learned through meetings by Jonin at the highest level, yet this young man had seen through it at once.

Where did he hear that? Hatake Sakumo instinctively wondered.

Sahara Mizu gave a helpless smile. "During the days Lord Sakumo was attending meetings, similar rumors were spreading all over the streets—the various ninja clans were exploiting Konoha's financial system and embezzling within their clan lands, yet there was hardly any news of corruption among those advisors. The spearhead began to shift without anyone noticing."

"Obviously."

"While you and Lord Tsunade were still discussing things, they had already started making their move."

Hatake Sakumo's expression abruptly grew several degrees more serious.

Even Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Yayoi realized the gravity of the situation, their expressions tightening further.

Yet Sahara Mizu still wore a gentle smile.

Konoha was a village.

The Hokage was a "village chief" responsible for managing tens of thousands of ninja, as well as the daily lives of over a hundred thousand civilians attached to this system.

Because most ninja came from ninja clans or served as mercenaries among civilians, the administrative staff of the Hokage Building numbered only a few hundred people from top to bottom.

After graduating, Sahara Mizu had spent most of his time moving about the Hokage Building. He knew very well how rudimentary its structure was, how unclear its responsibilities were, and how poorly its work was divided.

Even this simple administrative system had taken less than forty years to emerge and stabilize.

Before that, all ninja had been primitive people who fought one another for over a thousand years in units called "clans."

Even now, every top-level ruler bearing the title of "Kage" had seized power much like the chieftains of primitive tribes—through teacher-student connections and fists.

Among them, the most commonly used methods of political struggle were rumors and assassination.

Though certain people had recently been using the same tactics against the River Emperor—someone could get assassinated even while playing golf—the issue was that this bunch in Konoha used those two tricks against everyone.

Who the hell couldn't do that?

Against opponents of this level, if Sahara Mizu were asked to carry out operations and confront others head-on in the political arena, his lack of experience might indeed turn things into a complete mess.

But if he were asked to serve as someone else's strategist...

Heh!

He would raise one finger.

That was precisely why, for Sahara Mizu right now, what he needed most was actually just one sentence.

"Do you have a way?" Hatake Sakumo looked at him seriously.

"I do!"

Sahara Mizu gave him a calm smile, utterly composed.

Would you lose?

You would win.

At this moment, it was just like that moment.

Hatake Sakumo's gaze grew deeper and deeper.

After pondering for a long time, he finally patted his backside and stood.

Now, he could not spare attention for his other two students. He spoke directly to Sahara Mizu.

"Come with me."

Hokage Building, Jonin Council chamber.

The principle of holding small meetings for major matters and big meetings for minor matters applied everywhere.

At this moment, a very small meeting was clearly underway inside.

As for how could he tell?

Because Tsunade was letting out furious roars, and her language was filthy.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Dan and Andō shed blood for the village! Mokume still can't leave the hospital! They gave their lives to ambush the Third Raikage!"

"And now you're saying all of this happened because they and Sakumo's Team failed to complete the mission?!"

"Do you think you can escape the charges of corruption and selling intelligence like this?"

Inside the room, Shimura Danzō's voice was steady and indifferent. "Tsunade, slandering a Hokage Advisor is a serious crime. Do not make reckless accusations about matters that have not been investigated."

Mitokado Homura was still playing word games. "Ah! Precisely."

"The village is under tremendous pressure as well. To the west, we are locked in fierce fighting with the Sand Village, while in the north, we must simultaneously face pressure from Iwagakure and the Cloud Village. We had no hope of ambushing the Third Raikage again."

"If we let a few deceased martyrs suffer now and hand over their bodies to ease tensions with the Cloud Village, how many fewer soldiers will die in the northern defense forces? Besides, we'll be the ones who bear the infamy!"

Utatane Koharu was even more blunt. "Furthermore, killing the Third Raikage was originally your team's mission. The village provided you with the finest personnel and gave you enough time."

"Wasn't it your fault that you failed to complete the mission?"

"And that Hatake Sakumo, as reinforcements, failed to arrive in time to provide support. Shouldn't he be punished?"

"Ah! Precisely." Mitokado Homura nodded slightly in agreement. "Being able to make a final contribution to the village, I believe even those fallen martyrs would feel gratified."

The next moment, Tsunade's voice sounded as though it were about to blow apart the entire meeting room.

"You motherfucking (Konoha profanity)—!?"

Outside the door, Sahara Mizu wore a faintly mocking smile.

Tsk.

When it came to being beasts, you lot really were unmatched.

In the matter of not acting human, Konoha's upper ranks had done nothing wrong at all.

When he turned to look again, sure enough, Hatake Sakumo's face had turned livid.

Although they had roughly discussed some possible measures and the situation they might face on the way here, Hatake Sakumo still could not entirely suppress himself. The coldness in his bones seemed to seep out with every breath, as though it would freeze the ground around him.

Punishment?

Killing the Third Raikage, or rescuing Tsunade's Team from his hands, was an S-Rank Mission of the highest difficulty even across the entire Ninja World. Under normal circumstances, it would have paid at least three million ryō.

Yet because it had been issued as a wartime mission in the village's name, the four members of Sakumo's Team had received only five hundred thousand ryō in total after completing it.

And now they were supposed to accept punishment?

Thinking back on it now, Miss Yayoi, who had foreseen this scene long ago, had truly spoken prophetically.

Was shifting blame really a politician's instinct?

With that thought, Sahara Mizu turned to Hatake Sakumo beside him.

"Teacher Sakumo, do you still have any doubts now?"

Hatake Sakumo looked at him, struggle flashing across his livid face. "You should understand, shouldn't you? Defying one's superiors is a serious crime."

"It's only an act..."

But Sahara Mizu was brimming with confidence. "After all, this is for everyone in Konoha as well. Besides, under circumstances where they hold no advantage, they won't dare to make a move."

Hatake Sakumo finally closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, they were filled with stern resolve.

This, too, was... for Konoha.

"Bang."

The two entered through the door, and the entire meeting room immediately fell silent.

Hatake Sakumo wore a cold expression as he strode in front, with Sahara Mizu following behind him.

The instant they entered, they saw Tsunade with one foot planted on the table, gripping Mitokado Homura by the collar with one hand and raising her fist to strike.

Yet judging from everyone else's calm demeanor, Tsunade, who looked the fiercest, was actually the weakest in terms of momentum.

Three members of Konoha F4 were present.

At this moment, they all turned to look toward the two Hatake Clan members.

"Hatake Sakumo."

When Shimura Danzō saw him, he likely recalled Hiruko's earlier report. His brow immediately furrowed as he secretly gathered chakra and coldly rebuked him.

"A high-level meeting is currently in progress here."

"How dare you barge in without permission?"

As he spoke, his single eye glanced toward Sahara Mizu, and he said coldly, "...And you even brought along a little brat. How brazen."

"If any secrets are leaked, can you bear the responsibility?!"

The first half of his words had clearly targeted Hatake Sakumo himself, but the latter half immediately turned the spearhead toward Sahara Mizu.

Heh.

He could not afford to provoke Hatake Sakumo, but could he not afford to provoke this little brat?

Because he had personally watched Sahara Mizu's exhibition match with Namikaze Minato, even though Hatake Sakumo and Tsunade's mission reports had already used somewhat vague language to roughly summarize how he had "interfered" with the Third Raikage, Shimura Danzō still felt utterly confident.

Easy to handle!

Sahara Mizu was not angered. He merely smiled and turned his head, meeting that single eye.

In an instant, endless brilliant starlight seemed to shine in the depths of those azure pupils.

Shimura Danzō's brow faintly furrowed.

Vaguely, he seemed to sense that something had been left inside his body, yet it also felt as if he had discovered nothing at all.

"Oh, secrets?"

Hatake Sakumo turned his head without the slightest courtesy, his blade-cold gaze sweeping across the man's throat as he said icily, "You mean the village plans to hand over the body of the heroic ninja who ambushed the Third Raikage to Kumogakure as an 'official secret'?"

"What?"

"You dare do it, but you don't dare let every ninja in Konoha know?"

Bang!

As if she had been struck where it hurt, Utatane Koharu—the most hot-tempered and least clear-headed among them—immediately slammed the table and rose to her feet, shouting:

"Hatake Sakumo!"

"How dare you behave so outrageously before us?"

They had long grown accustomed to bullying this honest man. So what if he was strong? How could he dare run wild here?

But Hatake Sakumo's reaction today left everyone stunned.

Boom—

The moment her words fell, explosive chakra mixed with killing intent erupted around Hatake Sakumo, forming a storm that spread outward in all directions. The wooden floor beneath his feet cracked open.

That gaze alone, brimming with murderous intent, gave everyone present an almost illusory sense of disorientation.

Sharp. Wild.

It was his will, pure to the extreme—not as a ninja, but as a swordsman.

Utatane Koharu, who had been baring her fangs just a moment ago, suddenly seemed to have been locked in place, unable to move even a finger.

His hand clearly was not resting on his sword hilt.

Yet Utatane Koharu abruptly had the powerful illusion that if she made even the slightest movement, she would immediately be cut down by his blade.

Her entire body stiffened.

Shimura Danzō and Mitokado Homura could no longer remain seated either. They rose together and confronted the man before them.

But their momentum was weaker by several degrees.

What was wrong with him today?

Hatake Sakumo's gaze swept across the three of them, his expression disdainful and his voice cold to the bone:

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do about it?"

This was the arrogance of a ninja at the height of his power, one of the strongest men in all of Konoha.

Just as he could commit suicide to uphold his own heart, he could naturally kill others to carry out his own will.

What Hatake Sakumo despised most in his life were people like these, who could abandon their comrades for all sorts of reasons and even desecrate the bodies of fallen heroes.

Out of loyalty to the village, he had never acted as wildly as this before today—but that did not mean he feared the people before him.

Konoha F4?

Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen, also at the peak of his strength, came here, he would at most have a sixty-forty chance against Sakumo in a one-on-one fight. If Sakumo got close, it would become seventy-thirty, and a moment's carelessness could cost Hiruzen his head.

What were these three old fools, who had been away from the battlefield for nearly ten years, worth?

Everything he had done was for the village.

Taking advantage of the opportunity Sahara Mizu had created today, Hatake Sakumo suddenly vented all that pent-up anger here.

Everyone present, just as he had said.

Did not move.

Who would dare face an honest man's fury without knowing the situation?

At this moment, even Tsunade beside them could not help being intimidated by Hatake Sakumo's imposing presence.

Though she was usually hot-tempered, this woman who could patiently study medical arts solely to save others was actually quite soft-hearted.

As a fellow pillar of the front lines, she knew that Hatake Sakumo, who usually seemed so carefree and could joke with anyone, was actually the most short-tempered person in all of Konoha.

If anyone in this room truly lost their temper and drew a blade first today, at least three people would die.

Just then, Sahara Mizu, whom no one in the room had paid any attention to, suddenly spoke.

"Teacher Sakumo."

"It's about time."

With just those words, Hatake Sakumo, who had been overflowing with killing intent a moment ago, suddenly withdrew his aura.

Everyone present felt the tension in their hearts ease.

Leaving Shimura Danzō aside, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who were respectively in charge of finance and law, had indeed, as everyone knew, long lost the fighting spirit they possessed when they risked their lives on the battlefield.

Hatake Sakumo glanced at them, then stepped out the door first.

"Lord Tsunade, we came to see you."

"Please come with us as well."

Sahara Mizu continued to address her with impeccable courtesy.

Seeing that it was him, Tsunade somehow felt a little more at ease. She nodded slightly, climbed down from the table, and followed them out.

Only then did Sahara Mizu smile gently and nod to the remaining three:

"Sorry to disturb you."

After saying that, he walked out the door as though nothing had happened.

Once the other side of the long table had been left entirely empty, the three advisers suddenly exchanged glances, staring at one another in bewilderment.

After a long while, Shimura Danzō's furious, impotent roar suddenly rang out in the room:

"Bastards!!!"

Thanks to readers Greed-Anger-Ignorance Need Not Be Seen Through, 160805224237990, Primordial Starry Sky, and Brother Zhuo for their monthly votes!

Wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

The next chapter will be around midnight.

Also, I'd like to test the popularity of Uchiha's ancient ancestor, Hikari.

Note: Some readers may have different opinions about Hatake Sakumo's strength here, perhaps thinking he was not this strong, or that the F3 were not this weak.

But then again, the original work never showed it directly. The only one who ever displayed anything was Mr. Danzo, who pulled off that pathetic stunt of using SL to tank shuriken and kunai before stabbing Susanoo, so for the sake of the plot, I'm taking some liberties with the secondary creation. I hope you understand.