I Can't Carry This Pot!

The next morning, Bing San finally crawled out of his futon.

After washing his face early, Bing San, who was preparing to go to school, was stopped by Tomoko.

Tomoko said with a strange expression, "Young Master Bing San, please be careful outside and come home early after school."

Bing San went to school feeling completely bewildered. In the morning, he ran into Namiashi Raidō, who, with a flushed face, groped all over Bing San.

Bing San, furious, kicked Namiashi Raidō over a meter away.

Upon arriving at school, all the students gave Bing San the spotlight, and even the teachers looked at him with peculiar expressions.

Back in the classroom, his classmates looked at Bing San with inexplicable, strange starry eyes.

Bing San scratched his head, utterly confused. What was going on?

Around ten in the morning, the teacher organized all the students to go to the Hokage Building to listen to the Third Hokage's speech.

Along the way, he kept hearing people nearby whispering, catching snippets like "so small," "Unrivaled in the West," and "hero."

By eleven o'clock, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, dressed in elder attire, emerged looking tired to maintain order.

Soon after, the Third Hokage appeared on the rooftop, wearing his ceremonial robe and Hokage hat. The scene was incredibly lively, like a celebrity tour.

The Third Hokage took off his hat and shouted to the villagers below, "Villagers of Konoha, good noon to you all. I am the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

I have gathered you all here today because, as you have likely heard.

The Land of Wind dispatched its former general, the Unrivaled in the West, Tachibana Muneshige, to infiltrate Konoha with the intent to attack, burn, kill, and plunder.

Fortunately, he was timely discovered by Shimura Bing San of the graduating class of the Ninja Academy. The opponent was ferocious and, in his rage, destroyed a large number of civilian homes in an attempt to kill Shimura Bing San."

The Third Hokage paused after speaking. Although there had been rumors among the villagers recently, this was the Hokage speaking directly, which carried a different weight.

The villagers immediately became indignant, especially with arranged "ringleaders" inciting their emotions.

Seeing that the atmosphere below was reaching its peak, Sarutobi Hiruzen continued, "The general of the Land of Wind, the Unrivaled in the West, Tachibana Muneshige, has been personally killed by my hand.

However, many of our villagers lost their lives. Although timely repairs and rescue efforts have been made, many civilians are still homeless."

After the Third Hokage finished speaking and observed the crowd's reaction, those who were arranged began to lead the chant: "Shatter Sunagakure, avenge our hatred!" "Blood debt must be paid with blood!"

The Third Hokage raised his hand and said, "Villagers, as the Kage of Konoha, to protect your peaceful and happy lives, for your safety and happiness, for our wives, children, grandchildren, and future generations.

I have decided to go to war with Sunagakure!

If we show weakness, we will surely be mocked and oppressed by the great nations of the ninja world. To live with our heads held high in the ninja world.

We will soon dispatch our ninja army to the western front to avenge our fallen villagers.

At the same time, we will tell the Land of Wind and others that if they want war, then we will give them war."

Below, the "ringleaders" shouted frantically, "War, war!" "Avenge!" "Defend our country!" and so on.

Seeing that the crowd was sufficiently stirred, the Third Hokage was about to step down. However, a glance fell upon the bewildered Bing San, and his eyes darted. He waved to Zixiao and whispered a few words.

Zixiao's face twitched, thinking, This is too much. Then, with a whoosh, he descended, scooped up the utterly confused Bing San into his arms, and with another whoosh, returned to the stage.

Bing San was completely bewildered, feeling as if the entire world had gone black, losing his sight and hearing.

The Third Hokage, with a resolute expression, reached out and took Bing San's hand, waving to the Konoha villagers below. He said, "This is Shimura Bing San, who thwarted Tachibana Muneshige. On behalf of all the villagers of Konoha, I express my gratitude to Bing San."

He then solemnly bowed to Bing San.

Sarutobi Hiruzen shamelessly pushed the credit for killing the legendary general Tachibana Muneshige onto Bing San, right in front of all the Konoha villagers.

Shimura Danzō, standing behind, his single eyelid twitched, his face flushed and body trembling, thought: Your son was also present at the time, why didn't you bring him up for "praise"?

Shimura Danzō, his face red, was about to rush forward but was held back by Jiraiya, who looked helpless, and Orochimaru, who looked like he was enjoying the show.

Orochimaru said sinisterly, "Elder Danzō, good things and bad things cannot always be judged by their surface appearance."

Then, as if thinking of something, he began to laugh sinisterly.

After finishing his bow, the Third Hokage said, "To thank Shimura Bing San, I have decided to bestow upon him the title of hero.

Since the Imperial General Tachibana Muneshige's title was 'Unrivaled in the West,' I have decided to also grant the title of 'Unrivaled in the West' to the little hero Shimura Bing San, who thwarted Tachibana Muneshige's plot."

The Third Hokage finished speaking with a solemn expression, slowly nodding as he looked at the somewhat bewildered villagers.

However, the "ringleaders" below didn't care; they just echoed whatever the Hokage said.

Then, sparse shouts of "Little Hero Shimura Bing San!" and "Unrivaled in the West Shimura Bing San!" began to rise from below.

The villagers of Konoha then began to follow suit, somewhat confused.

Finally, all the villagers on the scene, organized by the "ringleaders," shouted in unison, "Go to war with the Land of Wind and avenge our hatred!" "Little Hero, Unrivaled in the West Shimura Bing San!"

Utatane Koharu tugged at her elder attire and exchanged glances with Mitokado Homura, who wore glasses and looked helpless. They both shook their heads speechlessly.

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses and said, "This isn't bad either. At least it gives Sunagakure a target, saving us from a chaotic battle that would be hard to defend against."

Utatane Koharu fiddled with her ornaments and said, "Monkey is getting more and more unreliable. How could he not discuss such a big matter beforehand?

What if this child gets killed by Sunagakure..."

Utatane Koharu hesitated for a moment, then her eyes lit up and she said, "That doesn't seem bad either, it could further incite the public's anger."

Danzō, in the backstage area, was almost driven mad. He grabbed Jiraiya and started beating him, shouting, "Damn monkey, shameless, wash, wash, wash..."

Jiraiya was pummeled to within an inch of his life, unable to retaliate, only able to block and parry. Orochimaru secretly threw a snake at Jiraiya's feet. Caught off guard, Jiraiya stumbled and fell, only to be hammered by Danzo until stars danced before his eyes and he howled in pain.

Jiraiya: What did I ever do to deserve this?

Nara Shikaku watched Bing San from below and shook his head, saying, "Pitiful."

Hyuga Kyuya, clad in a loose robe, stood below with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked at Bing San above and shook his head, saying, "It seems we'll be losing another one from this year's batch."

Hyuga Go looked at Bing San on the stage with longing. Kyuya said calmly, "Do you really want to die so soon?"

Hyuga Go fell silent, not answering. This once hot-tempered guy, who knew what he had gone through to grow, silently watched Bing San.

Kakashi, wearing a green vest, gazed into the distance, completely ignoring the heated scene. No one knew what he was thinking.

Might Guy and Shiranui Genma, wearing their headbands, cheered loudly from below.

Uchiha Feng, standing with the patrol team, muttered under his breath, "Tch, unlucky bastard." He then continued patrolling with the team ahead.

Bing San stood on the rooftop in utter confusion. Who am I, where am I, what happened? Bing San just felt his vision go black, and when it brightened again, the whole crowd was cheering, "The Unrivaled of the West, Shimura Bing San!"

Bing San's mind was blown. Damn it, that old schemer, the Third Hokage, actually used the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique for this.

Bing San thought, on the verge of tears: I can't carry this burden.