The next morning, Bing San finally crawled out of bed.
After washing up early, Bing San was just about to head to school when Tomoko stopped him.
Tomoko gave him a strange look. "Young Master Bing San, be careful out there, and come straight home after school."
Bing San headed to school, completely confused. When he ran into Namiashi Raidō that morning, Raidō's face was bright red as he groped all over Bing San.
Bing San was so furious that he kicked Raidō more than a meter away.
When he arrived at school, all the students turned to stare at him. Even the teachers gave him odd looks.
After he returned to class, his classmates all looked at him with strange, starry eyes, leaving him baffled.
Bing San scratched his head. What was going on?
A little after ten that morning, the teacher organized all the students to go listen to the Third Hokage's speech outside the Hokage Building.
Yet as they made their way there, he kept hearing people nearby whispering. He caught snippets like "so young," "Peerless of the West," and "hero."
By eleven, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura came out in their elders' robes, looking exhausted as they tried to maintain order.
Soon, the Third Hokage appeared on the rooftop, wearing his Hokage robes and hat. The crowd went wild—it was as lively as a celebrity tour.
The Third Hokage took off his hat and called down to the villagers, "Good afternoon, people of Konoha. I am the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"I've gathered you here today because I'm sure you've already heard the news.
"The Land of Wind sent its former general, Peerless of the West, Tachibana Muneshige, to infiltrate Konoha and burn, kill, and plunder in an attempt to bring our village down.
"Fortunately, Shimura Bing San, a student in the Ninja Academy's graduating class, saw through his plot in time. The enemy was utterly vicious. Enraged, he destroyed a large section of the civilian district in an attempt to kill Shimura Bing San."
After he finished, the Third Hokage paused. Rumors had been spreading among the villagers lately, but hearing it from the Hokage himself was another matter entirely.
The villagers erupted in righteous anger, especially with the "ringleaders" planted in the crowd fanning the flames.
Seeing that the mood was right, Sarutobi Hiruzen continued, "The Land of Wind's general, Peerless of the West, Tachibana Muneshige, has already been killed by my own hand.
"However, many of our villagers lost their lives. Though the damaged area has been promptly repaired and aid provided, many civilians are still homeless."
The Third Hokage watched the crowd's reaction. The people he'd planted began shouting, "Crush Sunagakure! Avenge the dead!" and "Blood for blood!"
The Third Hokage raised his hands to quiet them. "People of Konoha, as your Kage, I must protect your peaceful and happy lives, safeguard your families, and ensure a bright future for our children and grandchildren.
"I have decided that we will go to war with Sunagakure!
"If we show weakness, the great nations of the Shinobi World will laugh at us and bully us. We must be able to live with our heads held high.
"Soon, we will send our shinobi forces to the western front to avenge our fallen villagers.
"We must also tell the people of the Land of Wind this: if they want war, then war is what they'll get."
The "ringleaders" below shouted themselves hoarse: "War! War!" "Avenge the dead!" "Defend our home!"
Seeing that the crowd was worked up enough, the Third Hokage was just about to go back inside when he spotted Bing San, who was staring up at him in bewilderment. His eyes shifted, and he waved Zixiao over, then whispered something to him.
Zixiao's face twitched. That's a bit too much, isn't it? Then, in a flash, he appeared below, scooped the bewildered Bing San into his arms, and flashed back onto the stage.
Bing San was completely stunned. The whole world went black, and he lost his sight and hearing.
With a resolute expression, the Third Hokage took Bing San's hand and waved to the people of Konoha below. "This is Shimura Bing San, who stopped Tachibana Muneshige. On behalf of all the people of Konoha, I thank him."
Then he bowed solemnly to Bing San.
In front of all the people of Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen shamelessly foisted the credit for killing the legendary general, Tachibana Muneshige, onto Bing San.
Shimura Danzō, standing behind them, twitched his eyelid. His face flushed as he trembled with anger. Your son was there too. Why didn't you bring him up to "praise" him?
Shimura Danzō's face was red as he charged forward, but the helpless-looking Jiraiya and the delighted-looking Orochimaru held him back.
Orochimaru said in a sinister voice, "Elder Danzō, good things and bad things aren't always what they seem."
Then, as if he'd thought of something, he began to laugh ominously.
After finishing his bow, the Third Hokage said, "To thank Shimura Bing San, I have decided to grant him the title of hero.
"Since the general of the Empire, Tachibana Muneshige, was known as Peerless of the West, I hereby bestow that same title upon the young hero Shimura Bing San, who foiled his plot."
The Third Hokage finished speaking with a solemn expression and slowly nodded at the villagers, who looked rather bewildered.
But the "ringleaders" below didn't care. They shouted whatever the Hokage said.
Scattered shouts rose from the crowd: "Young hero Shimura Bing San!" "Peerless of the West, Shimura Bing San!"
Then the people of Konoha began joining in, still not quite sure what was going on.
In the end, with the "ringleaders" organizing them, every villager there was shouting in unison: "March on the Land of Wind and avenge the dead!" "Young hero, Peerless of the West, Shimura Bing San!"
Utatane Koharu tugged at her elder's robe and exchanged a helpless glance with Mitokado Homura, who was wearing glasses. They both shook their heads speechlessly.
Mitokado Homura pushed up his glasses. "This might not be so bad. At least it gives Sunagakure a target, so they won't just attack at random. That would make defending ourselves difficult."
Utatane Koharu tugged at the ornaments on her robe. "Monkey's getting more and more unreliable. How could he not discuss something this important with us beforehand?
"What if the Sand Shinobi kill the child..."
Utatane Koharu hesitated, then her eyes lit up. "On second thought, that might not be so bad. It could stir up public anger."
Backstage, Danzō was nearly mad with rage. He grabbed Jiraiya and started beating him, shouting as he struck, "You damn Monkey! Shameless! Die, die, die..."
Jiraiya was beaten senseless but couldn't fight back, so he could only fend him off. Orochimaru secretly tossed a snake at Jiraiya's feet. Jiraiya didn't notice in time and fell flat on the ground. Danzō beat him until he saw stars, and he howled in pain.
Jiraiya: What the hell did I do to deserve this?
Nara Shikaku watched Bing San below and shook his head. "Poor kid."
Hyuga Kyuya stood below with his hands tucked into the sleeves of his oversized robe. Looking up at Bing San, he shook his head. "Looks like our class is about to lose another one."
Hyuga Go looked up at Bing San on the stage with envy. Kyuya said flatly, "Do you want to die young?"
Hyuga Go fell silent. The man who had once been hot-tempered had changed in ways no one knew, and now he silently watched Bing San.
Kakashi, wearing a green flak jacket, stared into the distance, completely ignoring the commotion. No one knew what he was thinking.
Might Guy and Shiranui Genma cheered loudly from below, their Forehead Protectors on.
Uchiha Feng stood among the patrol squad and muttered, "Tch, what an unlucky guy." Then he continued patrolling with the group ahead of him.
Bing San stood on the rooftop in a daze. Who am I? Where am I? What happened? He only remembered the world going dark. When his vision returned, the whole crowd was cheering, "Peerless of the West, Shimura Bing San!"
Bing San was losing his mind. Damn it, that old fox Third Hokage actually used the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique to pull something like this!
Bing San thought miserably, I can't bear this burden!
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