In Leaf Village: Starting Off by Slapping White Fang

That slash just now hadn't come from White Fang, but from that uncle who lived on the outskirts of the village and spent his days plowing fields and growing vegetables!?

To them, Genetsu had always just been some guy who grew vegetables!

Even Lord Hokage's eldest son had said so.

No matter how unbelievable it was, Root had no choice but to accept the truth.

When a mediocrity everyone regarded as an Eternal Genin suddenly unleashed S-rank Ninjutsu,

no one's first reaction would be praise or admiration.

There would only be endless wariness and hostility.

Especially from groups like the Sarutobi Clan and Root, which had always been deeply suspicious by nature.

The next instant.

More than a dozen Root members drew their blades, while the Sarutobi Clan ninjas Genetsu had knocked down

also assumed combat stances.

"Hey! This is looking bad!"

Obito shuddered violently in fright.

"In that case, take Hatake Gengetsu back with us!"

the Root Squad Leader shouted coldly.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke immediately added:

"Hatake Sakumo too! He made a grave mistake during his previous mission in Sunagakure and should be punished!"

"Hahaha!"

The moment Sarutobi Shinnosuke said that, Genetsu doubled over laughing, leaving everyone even more confused.

"What are you laughing at?"

A sense of foreboding rose in Sarutobi Shinnosuke's heart as he asked.

"Kakashi told me that my thin-skinned big brother gave up the mission to save you, right?"

Genetsu hooked his thumb toward Hatake Sakumo behind him as he asked.

"Y-Yes, so what?!"

A bead of cold sweat slid down Sarutobi Shinnosuke's cheek before he barked, "Ninja are supposed to prioritize their missions! Don't think I'll thank him just because he saved me! If he hadn't abandoned the mission, the war against Sunagakure should have ended already! Ninja who can't complete their missions are just trash! Do you know how much Leaf Village lost because of him!? I did it all for Leaf Village!"

Well, well. "For Leaf Village" this, "for Leaf Village" that.

That alone was enough for Genetsu to conclude that this guy was definitely Hiruzen Sarutobi's biological son.

"Then by your logic, you held the mission back too. He should be punished, and you should die as well."

Genetsu grinned.

"What did you say?!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke's expression changed drastically.

"Ninja who can't complete missions are trash, and those who hold everyone back are trash among trash."

Genetsu said with a smile, "Why are you, trash among trash, still alive? For Leaf Village, hurry up and die. Stop wasting resources."

"Shut up!"

Furious and enraged, Sarutobi Shinnosuke immediately formed hand seals.

If Genetsu was right,

then White Fang was trash for abandoning the mission to save him.

But didn't that make him, who had fallen into the enemy's ambush due to his lack of strength and forced White Fang to abandon the mission, trash among trash?

So why was Hatake Sakumo being condemned rather than him?

Well... that was open to interpretation.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball over five meters wide erupted from Sarutobi Shinnosuke's mouth and shot straight at Genetsu.

Among Leaf Village's ninja, aside from the Uchiha, the Sarutobi were the most skilled in Fire Style techniques.

"Such a bad temper. Did I hit a sore spot?"

Genetsu did not move. He neither dodged nor raised a hand to defend himself, merely standing there with a faint smile as he asked.

Suddenly, a blur appeared beside Genetsu.

A flash of white light followed.

The fireball instantly burst like a balloon pierced by a needle, scattering into countless sparks.

It vanished without a trace!

When everyone focused their eyes again—

Hatake Sakumo!

"S-So awesome! W-What just happened!?"

Obito shouted excitedly.

"I-I couldn't see it. Too fast..."

Yūhi Kurenai's red eyes nearly popped from their sockets. "So this is Uncle Sakumo's true strength."

"Hatake Sakumo, what do you mean by this!?"

the Root Squad Leader shouted.

"You are not allowed to hurt my family!"

Hatake Sakumo snapped back without hesitation.

He might have been thin-skinned and a people-pleaser, but his family was his bottom line.

Besides, that slap from Genetsu had already woken him up quite a bit.

"Are you resisting arrest!?"

Under Danzo, Leaf Village's second-in-command, Root had grown thoroughly accustomed to throwing its weight around.

They were practically the low-budget Celestial Dragons of the ninja world. When they said that, they clearly hadn't considered the gap in strength between both sides.

"Big bro, what do we do? I don't want to go to prison~ I'm so scared~"

Genetsu turned to Hatake Sakumo at his side and pouted, wearing an expression that said, I'm sooooo scared.

Hatake Sakumo gave a helpless laugh, shook his head, and said seriously to the Root members, "My younger brother destroyed Lord Hokage's stone likeness. I will compensate for all of it. Can I go and explain things to Lord Hokage myself?"

Rebuilding Hokage Rock would cost a fortune.

But as the village's strongest ninja after the Hokage, his years of savings were barely enough to cover it.

"But he's still a criminal! He must be thrown into detention first! And Hatake Sakumo, don't forget that you're still under surveillance!"

Root did not give Konoha's White Fang even the slightest bit of respect.

With a wave of their hand, they ordered their subordinates to advance.

That was what happened when people were corrupted by power.

They had forgotten that strength was the foundation that determined everything in this world.

"I've really seen how easily power corrupts people's hearts. You people, unworthy of your positions, have become this arrogant already~"

Genetsu looked at them as if they were idiots, placing a hand on his sword as he smiled. "Big bro, what should we do? I still don't want to go to prison~ Not even for a minute~"

Watching these utterly unreasonable Root ninja, Hatake Sakumo hesitated for several seconds.

In the end, he could only sigh and reach for the short blade on his back.

"Hatake Sakumo, you want to resist arrest too!?"

Only then did apprehension finally flash in the Root members' eyes.

"Tell these Celestial Dragons that strength is what determines everything."

Genetsu turned his eyes toward Hatake Sakumo.

Though he did not know what Celestial Dragons were, Hatake Sakumo could still guess what his little brother meant.

The next instant, two white figures vanished from where they stood.

They became afterimages too fast for the naked eye to perceive, flashing past the Root squad in an instant.

Swish—

By the time everyone reacted,

the two brothers had already reappeared on either side of the Root squad.

Slowly sheathing their swords at their waists and on their backs.

Clang—thud! *2

When both swords were fully sheathed at the same time and gave off a sharp impact sound,

the masks of the dozen-plus Root members split cleanly down the middle, revealing their true faces, as well as straight scars running from their foreheads to their chins.

Then their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed unconscious.

Shizune: "W-What just happened?"

Uchiha Obito: "I-I couldn't see it. So fast... it was unbelievably fast!"

Nohara Rin: "So many Root ninja were defeated in an instant!?"

Asuma said nothing. He had already been scared senseless.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke cried out in terror, "Y-You actually killed—"

"Don't worry. I used the flat of my blade just now. They're not dead."

Hatake Sakumo replied.

"Huh? Big bro, you used the flat of your blade? How did I not think of that?"

On the other side, Genetsu flicked the blood off his blade, looking utterly surprised.

Eleven Root members: five unconscious, six dead!

The difference in the brothers' ways of doing things was displayed perfectly.

"Genetsu, you..."

Seeing the six corpses across from them, Hatake Sakumo unconsciously frowned.

"I'll be more careful next time. After all, it's hard to control your strength when stepping over ants without killing them."

Genetsu smiled mischievously.

Obito and the others' mouths formed wide "O" shapes.

Damn, that line was awesome.

"Now then, what should we do with these trusted aides of Lord Hokage?"

Genetsu walked forward with an amused smile. "These are the real 'Celestial Dragons.'"