Imprisonment or Exile (Please Vote for Me!)

Imprisonment or Exile (Please Vote for Me!)

Right now, finding a way to reduce the impact was the top priority!

This was the consensus among the many shinobi. After all, the culprit had already been caught, and there was no possibility of escape. As for how to deal with him afterward, that would be just a matter of saying the word.

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

At the same time, someone grabbed the red cloth that had been torn down earlier and moved across the rooftops to Hokage Rock. They covered the entire area beside the Fourth Hokage, along with that infuriating "Fifth Hokage statue" that made their eyes burn with rage!

It seemed that before the place was completely restored, this fig leaf would not be removed.

Meanwhile, Old Man Yamashita and the other craftsmen stared dumbfoundedly, glaring with bristling brows and beards at Aoba, who had caused all of this!

Especially Old Man Yamashita!

The complexity and bitter frustration he felt were simply indescribable!

He had never imagined that the problem would not be with the Fourth Hokage's statue, but with the "completely empty" cliff face beside it!

Although Aoba had told him before that he intended to personally carve his own likeness there, Old Man Yamashita had taken it as nothing more than a child's aspirations and dreams. He had merely smiled and paid it no mind.

But who could have expected that this little bastard would not only mean it, but actually do it!

And he had secretly completed it right under their noses!

Pitifully, after inspecting the place for so many days, they had not noticed a thing. They had completely lost face.

The craftsman who had discovered something strange earlier was equally frustrated.

So the cliff face really had moved. He had not been seeing things!

He just had not realized that the spot was actually a fake cliff face stuck on with cloth...

Perhaps this was the charm of art.

At the same time, the major incident that had occurred here was conveyed to Minato by the Anbu almost immediately.

"What? Someone secretly carved his own likeness beside the others and even left behind a message like that? Are you sure?"

Even Minato's normally excellent composure was shaken. He stared in stunned disbelief.

"Yes. However, Jonin Mikawa has already caught the culprit, and everyone else is currently doing their best to calm the villagers and reduce the negative impact of the incident."

"Shimiya Aoba... Why is it him again?"

Minato felt a splitting headache and even began to wonder whether the name was naturally at odds with him!

From the day he took over as Hokage, that little bastard had given him a "welcome gift." Then he had provoked the Uchiha. Afterward, he had offered the medicinal bath formula and managed to recover some goodwill. And now this...

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

Standing before Minato and wearing an Anbu mask, Kakashi answered almost without hesitation, "He damaged Hokage Rock without authorization. That is a serious crime. I recommend imprisoning him immediately or exiling him."

Kakashi's attitude was perfectly clear: show no mercy in punishing him!

As for the culprit's age, it was not within his consideration at all.

He had offended the Hokage. On that point alone, Kakashi would never forgive him!

Minato was not surprised by this answer in the slightest. First came White Fang's death, then Obito and Rin's deaths. That series of blows had completely turned Kakashi into another person, making him even more withdrawn and cold, even less willing to show leniency. He placed the shinobi code and mission completion above everything else.

It was also to help Kakashi recover from those blows that Minato had arranged for him to join the Anbu and transferred him to his side, intending to groom him as his right-hand man and left-hand aide in the hope that he could forget his pain.

But now, it seemed that everything had been too hasty. Although Kakashi had changed slightly after joining the Anbu, his coldness and aura of "keep away from me" remained far too strong.

"Wouldn't that punishment be too severe? After all, this was merely a child's prank. You were responsible for reinvestigating his past, so you should know that children who suffer sudden, drastic changes often act out after arriving in an unfamiliar environment. But essentially, that behavior is just a disguise for seeking attention and affection."

"Besides, I don't think the impact of this incident will be all that terrible. Didn't we resolve the previous incident quite well? The villagers didn't take it to heart. Instead, many more good children who loudly proclaimed that they wanted to become Hokage appeared."

"Ever since the war began, the village hasn't been this lively in a long time."

Just as expected, Minato did not seem to regard the incident as particularly serious.

Moreover, imprisonment and exile would indeed be far too cruel for a child who was not even old enough to attend school.

With Minato, both his teacher and the Hokage, saying this, what else could Kakashi do? He could only remain silent.

But how to punish Aoba and quell the villagers' anger was also a major problem. The punishment could not be too light, but it could not be too severe either. Thus, Minato was extremely troubled and could only set the matter aside for the time being.

"Go and bring him back. I'll handle this personally."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

It did not take long before the grim-faced Jonin Mikawa entered the Hokage's office, dragging the anxious Aoba along by the hand.

"Lord Hokage, I've brought the culprit. I also ask that you punish me. I failed the trust placed in me by the Third Hokage and you, which allowed him to cause such a huge disaster. I must bear the primary responsibility for this incident."

As soon as he entered, Jonin Mikawa let go of Aoba and solemnly took most of the blame upon himself.

Although he was so furious that his heart could barely take it, he would not truly stand by and do nothing out of a sense of responsibility.

This was a true man!

Aoba, meanwhile, spoke firmly. "Lord Hokage, this was entirely my fault. It has nothing to do with Jonin Mikawa. Besides, Jonin Mikawa tried to stop me at the end. He did everything he could."

Even if he could not be a good person, he would never stoop so low as to implicate someone who genuinely cared about him just to save himself. That was his bottom line.

So pleading for mercy on his behalf was fine, but taking responsibility for him was out of the question.

Besides, he was fairly confident that his life would not be in danger. As long as he stayed alive, then this act of courting death would count as a success!

What he did not know was that his words, "Jonin Mikawa did everything he could," only made Mikawa's face turn even darker. The man hovered on the verge of grabbing him and strangling him to death!

So you knew I did everything I could to stop you! If you knew this would cause a huge disaster, why did you do it anyway?! Mikawa roared inwardly!

And the words "You did everything you could" were simply too cutting to hear, making him even more depressed.

Minato, on the other hand, watched the two of them perform their little show of "a loving father and filial son" with great interest. He genuinely did not take Aoba's latest mischief seriously. In his view, it was not a big deal at all. It would only have been a major disaster if Aoba had damaged the statues of the successive Hokage!

P.S. I'm on my knees begging everyone for your votes, follows, investments, and tips! Old Faceless loves you all!