Detained or Exiled

Chapter 44: Imprisonment or Exile (Seeking Recommendation Tickets!)

The top priority now is to find a way to minimize the impact!

This was the consensus among the many ninjas. After all, the culprit had been caught, and there was no possibility of escape. How they would deal with the matter later was entirely up to them.

So, they were all busy explaining to the villagers, trying to persuade them to leave.

At the same time, someone, holding the previously removed red cloth, flew over the Hokage Rock statues and completely covered the area next to the Fourth Hokage's likeness, as well as the 'Fifth Hokage statue' that made one's eyes burn!

It was likely that this fig leaf wouldn't be removed until the area was completely smoothed over.

Meanwhile, Master Yamashita and the other craftsmen stared dumbfounded, glaring at Qingyu, who had orchestrated all of this!

Especially Master Yamashita!

His feelings were so complex, so exhilarating, it was indescribable!

He never expected that the problem wouldn't be with the Fourth Hokage's statue, but rather with the 'empty' rock face next to it!

Although Qingyu had told him before that he would carve his own likeness, he had dismissed it as a child's aspiration and dream at the time, merely smiling faintly and not taking it to heart.

But who would have thought that this little brat not only took it seriously but actually did it!

And he did it secretly right under their noses!

It was pathetic that they had inspected for so many days and hadn't discovered anything, completely losing face.

The craftsman who had previously noticed something unusual also felt annoyed.

So the rock face really could move, he wasn't hallucinating!

It was just that even he hadn't realized that it was a fake rock face made of fabric...

Perhaps this was the charm of art.

Meanwhile, the major incident that occurred here was relayed to Minato by the Anbu almost immediately.

"What? Someone carved their own likeness next to it without permission and left a message like that? Are you sure?"

Even with Minato's good temper, he was stunned at this moment, showing an expression of disbelief.

"Yes, but Jonin Mikawa has already apprehended the culprit, and others are currently doing their best to appease the villagers and reduce the negative impact of this incident."

"Shimiya Aoba... why is it him again."

Minato felt a severe headache at this moment, even suspecting that this name was destined to clash with him!

From the day he took office as Hokage, this little brat had given him a 'show of strength,' then provoked the Uchiha clan, and later redeemed himself somewhat with the medicinal bath formula, only to now...

"Kakashi, how do you think I should deal with him?"

Kakashi, wearing an Anbu mask and standing before Minato, said almost without hesitation, "Vandalizing the Hokage Rock without permission is a serious crime. I suggest immediate imprisonment or exile."

Kakashi's attitude was clear: severe punishment was warranted!

His age was not a factor in his consideration.

Offending the Hokage, on this point alone, he would never forgive!

Hearing this answer, Minato didn't find it surprising at all. First, the death of White Fang, then the deaths of Obito and Rin, this series of blows had completely transformed Kakashi into someone else, making him more solitary, indifferent, and unforgiving, placing the ninja code and mission completion in an absolute position.

It was also to help Kakashi emerge from the blow, that he had arranged for him to join the Anbu and be stationed by his side, cultivating him as his right-hand man, hoping he could forget these painful experiences.

However, it now seemed that everything had been too hasty. Although Kakashi had changed somewhat after joining the Anbu, the intense coldness of keeping others at a distance was still too strong.

"Wouldn't this punishment be too harsh? After all, it was just a childish prank. You were previously responsible for re-investigating his past experiences, so you should know that children who have experienced sudden and drastic changes will do many out-of-line things when they come to a new environment, but essentially, it's just a way to seek attention and affection."

"Also, I don't think the impact of this matter is as bad as it seems. Wasn't the last incident resolved very well? The villagers didn't take it to heart, and instead, many good children started shouting that they wanted to become Hokage."

"Since the war began, the village hasn't been this vibrant in a long time."

As expected, Minato didn't seem to treat this matter as a very serious situation.

Furthermore, imprisonment and exile were indeed too cruel a punishment for a child who hadn't even reached school age.

As both a teacher and the Hokage, Minato had said this, so what could Kakashi do but remain silent?

However, how to punish Qingyu and quell the villagers' anger was also a big problem. It wouldn't do to be too lenient, nor too severe, so Minato was very troubled and decided to put it aside for now.

"Go, bring the person back. I will handle this matter personally."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

It didn't take long for Jonin Mikawa, his face dark, to bring a nervous Qingyu into the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage, the culprit has been brought here. Also, please punish me, Lord Hokage. I have failed the trust of Lord Third and yours, leading him to cause such a major incident. I will bear the main responsibility for this matter."

As soon as he entered, Jonin Mikawa dropped Qingyu and solemnly took on most of the responsibility.

Although he was so angry his heart couldn't take it, out of a sense of responsibility, he wouldn't truly stand by and do nothing.

This was a true man!

Qingyu then stated firmly, "Lord Hokage, the entire incident was my fault alone, and has nothing to do with Jonin Mikawa. Furthermore, Jonin Mikawa even tried to stop me in the end; he did his best."

Even if he couldn't be a good person, he wouldn't stoop so low as to involve someone who genuinely cared about him; that was his bottom line.

So, pleading for him was acceptable, but taking responsibility on his own behalf was not.

Another factor was that he was fairly confident there wouldn't be any life-threatening danger. As long as his life was spared, this suicidal act would be a success!

But he didn't know that his simple statement, "Jonin Mikawa did his best," only made Jonin Mikawa's face darken further. He was on the verge of exploding, ready to strangle him at any moment!

"You damn well know I did my best to stop you! Knowing it would cause a huge disaster, why did you do it anyway!" Mikawa roared internally!

Moreover, the words "you did your best" were incredibly disheartening, making him even more depressed.

In contrast, Minato watched this father and son duo perform their "fatherly love and filial piety" with an amused expression. He genuinely didn't take Qingyu's transgression seriously. In his opinion, it wasn't a big deal at all. It wasn't like he had defaced the statues of past Hokages; now that would be a major incident!

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