Kakashi's Thoughts

The upheaval in Kirigakure quickly drew the attention of the entire Ninja World, because the annihilation of the Kaguya Clan was a momentous event. Since the founding of the Five Great Nations, this was only the second major ninja clan to be wiped out; the first was the Senju Clan.

However, it is speculated that the Senju Clan may have assimilated into Konoha. Therefore, the Kaguya Clan may have been the first major ninja clan to be truly wiped out.

It is said that after the Kaguya Clan's rebellion failed, very few people escaped.

Yichen naturally received the news as well.

Although the exact date of the Kaguya Clan's extermination in the original story is unknown, and whether it occurred before or after the other ninja clans, Yichen knows that this is likely just the beginning, Obito will definitely not stop there.

In addition, Yichen was also thinking: Kirigakure's Kaguya Clan in Kirigakure was wiped out. He wondered what the Konoha High-ranking officials and the Uchiha Clan thought when they heard about it, and whether they would gain any inspiration from it.

Shouldn't we find an opportunity to go back to Konoha?

However, I'm afraid I won't be able to get away recently.

A month later, the final round of the Joint Chunin Exams, held by the Iwa ninja, arrived.

Yichen personally went to the entrance of Iwagakure to welcome his staunch ally Fourth Kazekage Rasa.

The Fifth Hokage Tsunade, did not come, nor did the three members of the Akatsuki Organization.

Accompanying Rasa was an envoy from the Rasa of the Daimyo of the Land of Wind. After all, the Iwa ninja and Sunagakure, and the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, needed to deepen their cooperation, so it was natural for the Daimyo from both sides to send representatives to participate in the negotiations.

At the Chunin Ninja Exams finals, Yichen and Rasa sat on either side.

Kakashi sat a little lower than the two of them.

Watching the match below, Kakashi seemed somewhat distracted. Lately, he Elite Jonin sparring frequently with elite Jonin from Iwa ninja, gaining a great deal of experience.

His progress far surpasses that of the Iwa ninja who challenged him; he has fought the most battles of all; and his talent is the best among all.

Kakashi felt that if he were to fight Ikura again, he was confident that he could remain undefeated against Ikura, who had intensified his attacks last time, and without even needing to use his Sharingan.

But Kakashi wasn't happy. For some reason, he kept thinking about his father's death and his teacher's death these days.

Perhaps it was the conversation between Yichen and Ikura that day that influenced him, or perhaps it was the content of the Iwa Village Bi-Monthly Report that left a deep impression on him, or perhaps he had always had this suspicion but had never expressed it.

During this month, when there was a battle, Kakashi was serious and his mind was free of distractions, but when he was calm, he would always have random thoughts.

Kakashi glanced sideways at Yichen, who was sitting diagonally above him, chatting and laughing with Rasa. He knew his heart was in turmoil.

"The Fox of Stone is really amazing!" Kakashi knew this was Yichen's scheme to sow discord, but he still couldn't help but fall for it.

In Konoha, he had nowhere to learn anything about his father, or rather, he dared not reveal even the slightest desire to know.

So even after all these years, White Fang's impression of him remains the same as when he was a child, with two extreme figures constantly tug-of-war in his heart.

One is the earlier impression: back then, White Fang was glory, a safe haven in everyone's hearts, and Kakashi's role model. This White Fang is facing Kakashi, his serious face revealing a kind and proud smile.

He was proud of the hero White Fang, and White Fang was proud of his genius.

Another impression is from his later period. During this time, White Fang is a symbol of shame, as if there are always shadowy figures pointing and whispering about him. This White Fang has his back to Kakashi, is hunched over, and exudes a deathly stillness.

Kakashi originally thought he had long since come to terms with his father's death, but now he realizes he hasn't. He simply didn't dare to think about it before.

But in this place beyond the control of Konoha High-ranking officials, the shackles on his mind seemed to be broken. All sorts of thoughts that had been suppressed before rose up one after another, and he couldn't stop them.

While chatting with Rasa, Yichen noticed Kakashi's change. He smiled slightly, almost imperceptibly. "Kid, you've finally taken the bait."

Rasa noticed Yichen's smile, glanced at Kakashi, and said nothing.

Speaking of the Iwa Village Bi-Monthly Report, two more issues have been published this month.

The fifth episode covered two major events. First, Iwagakure successfully hosted the Joint Chunin Exams again, further enhancing its international standing. After all, even Konoha sent representatives to participate in this Joint Chunin Exams.

The second matter is the annihilation of the Kaguya Clan in Kirigakure. However, it seems that the Iwa Village Bi-Monthly Report is targeting Konoha everywhere.

What was clearly Kirigakure was somehow linked by the author to Konoha, who directly predicted that Konoha would inevitably erupt into internal strife within a year to three years.

The root of the internal strife in Konoha lies in the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the Konoha High-ranking officials. The author speculates that either the Uchiha Clan rebelled proactively, or the Konoha High-ranking officials, to prevent a tragedy like the Mizukage's, decided to strike first.

Two major events in the sixth period: First, the Iwagakure (Iwagakure) finally established its branch in the Land of Snow, and the village called on everyone to visit the branch when they had time.

The Lord Tsuchikage promised that anyone traveling from Iwagakure to the branch would receive three nights' accommodation free of charge. However, spots are limited; only one hundred spots are available every three days, and those wishing to participate must draw lots at the Iwagakure First Training Ground.

Furthermore, the Lord Tsuchikage thoughtfully reminded everyone what items the Land of Snow currently lacks and what items are local specialties of the Land of Snow.

After some calculations, everyone figured that buying some goods from Iwagakure and selling them to shops in the Land of Snow, then buying some local specialties to bring back, seemed like a profitable business. So every three days, the lottery booth at the First Training Ground was packed with people.

The second story, like the previous ones, is about Konoha's Past. It tells the story of Konoha was originally Orochimaru's most promising candidate to become the Fourth Hokage, and his defection.

In that author's writing, Orochimaru's crimes were glossed over lightly. Orochimaru was portrayed directly as a tragic character who was framed and unjustly forced to leave Konoha.

Although the author never explicitly states that Orochimaru is a good person, he makes no mention of Orochimaru's inhumane Human Experimentation. He only says that Orochimaru is conducting research that is not permitted by the Konoha High-ranking officials.

So, to uninformed readers, he's just a nerdy guy obsessed with scientific research who, because he's too outstanding, is Lord Danzō ally of our Iwagakure, out of jealousy, and forced to become missing-nin.

Orochimaru was researching things that the Third Hokage and Danzo, the Hokage Assistant, Danzo also researched. They couldn't figure it out themselves, yet they still coveted the results that Orochimaru had worked so hard to achieve.

Kakashi bought both bi -Bi-Monthly Report immediately. He wasn't interested in the news about Iwa ninja holding the Joint Chunin Exams or establishing Land of Snow Branch. In any case, he didn't see from these two events that Iwagakure was gradually becoming the new overlord of the Ninja World.

The author used subtle language in the Orochimaru defection incident, and Kakashi wouldn't be foolish enough to argue with the villagers of Iwagakure. He was concerned about the Uchiha Clan.

He had no prejudice against the Uchiha Clan, as can be seen from his attitude towards Sasuke in the original work.

Sasuke's personality is so infuriating that you'd want to strangle him, yet Kakashi wholeheartedly mentored him and regarded him as his successor. This is something that readers of the original work find very puzzling.

Of course, as everyone knows, the main reason for this was Obito; Kakashi was practically living as half Uchiha.

So when Kakashi saw the newspaper article where an author predicted the Uchiha Clan would be wiped out, he was completely stunned.

After forcing himself to calm down, Kakashi began to use his wisdom to think about the things the newspaper said about the Uchiha Clan.

"The Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, never had good intentions towards the Uchiha Clan. He deliberately put them in charge of the most troublesome job: the Police Force."

"The Uchiha Clan's proud and straightforward nature makes them ruthless in their actions, and they disdain explaining themselves to commoners or Civilian Ninja are considered far inferior to them. As a result, both commoners and ninjas in Konoha are very dissatisfied with the Uchiha Clan."

"During the war, the Third Hokage watched as the Uchiha Clan and the Mist ninja weakened each other without sending reinforcements. Clearly, he intended to use an external enemy to weaken the Uchiha Clan."

"The Third Hokage lured the Uchiha Clan into war with the Hokage position, but afterwards broke his promise and refused to abdicate..."

"The crimson Sharingan in the eyes of the Nine-Tails during its Nine-Tails' Rampage."

"After the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Uchiha Clan was driven to the edge of Konoha."

These thoughts kept swirling in Kakashi's mind. He analyzed them one by one and found that although the author had exaggerated some things, what he said was basically true.

Kakashi's own analysis revealed the same conclusion as the author: the relationship between the Konoha High-ranking officials and the Uchiha Clan was irreconcilable; the only reason they could coexist peacefully was because they lacked a catalyst to ignite a conflict.

After reaching this conclusion, Kakashi felt a chill run through his body, and even breathing became difficult.

The most tragic thing is that there's nothing he can do. Even if he returns to the village immediately, he can only watch helplessly as the Uchiha Clan is destroyed.

"Damn it, I absolutely can't let this happen. The Uchiha are Obito's clan, the pride Obito has always been so proud of. I will protect the Uchiha's Obito!" Kakashi said firmly to himself.

But what should I do? As he watched the childish matches on the field, Kakashi's mind once again fell into deep thought.

Finally, he could only think of one solution: find the Tsuchikage. He believed that the Tsuchikage was trying to tell him all of this. The person with the title of "Fox of Stone" had been subtly and overtly guiding him to think this way.

Since the Tsuchikage is doing this, he must have a plan. Perhaps there's a conspiracy behind the Tsuchikage's plan, but it's still better than doing nothing and just watching.

"That's right, find the Tsuchikage. Go find the Tsuchikage after today's matches." Time is running out. The third exam will last at most three days, and after three days, their Konoha delegation will leave directly.

If all the candidates from Konoha are eliminated early, they will likely have to leave even earlier.