Use Magic to Defeat Magic

"Hey! Have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"You know, that thing!"

"Then what exactly is 'that thing'?"

"What else could it be at a time like this?"

"Damn it! What are you talking about? If you're going to speak in riddles, get out of Konoha!"

"Hey, calm down. What else could it be lately besides that business with White Fang?"

"Lord White Fang? What happened? Did he slay another enemy? Don't tell me he's going to become Hokage!"

"You really don't know? I'm only telling you because we're close, so don't go spreading it around." A villager looked surprised, then continued:

"You know, my second uncle's neighbor's brother's wife works at the mission desk in the Hokage Building. I hear all kinds of inside information about the ninja lords from time to time.

"I heard that some time ago, Lord White Fang abandoned a mission, causing the village serious losses. Even Lord Hokage and the Daimyo in the capital couldn't help flying into a rage behind closed doors!"

The other villager was astonished. "How could that be? That was Lord White Fang! How could he fail? I heard the other hidden villages issued orders long ago that anyone who encountered Konoha's White Fang could abandon their mission without penalty!"

"Exactly! Apparently, during the mission, he chose to abandon it to save the life of a friend."

"Well, there's nothing he could do about that, then. Were the village's losses serious? What did they lose?"

"How would I know? I only heard about it. It's a very secret matter, so I've done pretty well to find out this much. I'm only telling you because we've been friends for years, so whatever you do, don't go spreading it around."

"Don't worry. Don't you know what I'm like?"

Somehow, the story that Konoha's White Fang had abandoned a mission to save a comrade's life, causing the village serious losses, spread through every street and alley in Konoha.

Under the influence of a certain mysterious force in Konoha, public opinion gradually turned against him. The villagers all began criticizing White Fang for abandoning his mission. Was one comrade's life really worth more than the entire village?

No one mentioned White Fang's past achievements anymore. Even the occasional person who tried to defend him was drowned out by the crowd.

Konoha's streets.

"Rin, why have you been so down lately? You can tell me if something's wrong. I'll help you." Obito Uchiha, fiddling with a pair of brown goggles, was worried sick.

At the Ninja Academy entrance ceremony, Obito had been late, but Rin had prepared his enrollment materials for him. From that day on, the kind, gentle girl had gradually found a place in Obito's heart.

"I'm fine, Obito. It's just that everyone seems to be talking about Lord White Fang lately, and I'm a little worried about Kakashi." Rin turned around at Obito's words, her face full of concern.

Hearing that, Obito, who had been worried about Kakashi too, immediately grew agitated. "What's there to worry about with that arrogant Kakashi? He's already a Chunin."

I'm just worried about a comrade. Rin is simply too kind. Obito kept reassuring himself.

"Obito, do you think we should go visit Kakashi at his house? But would it be rude to just show up?"

Once he had calmed down, Obito realized he was worried about Kakashi too. Just as he was wavering, a voice spoke up.

"If you're worried about your comrade, go see him in person."

It was Chiba Genichi, passing by. "I was going to visit White Fang anyway. Why don't we go together?"

"Lord Chiba, hello!" Rin placed her hands in front of her and bowed slightly, greeting him with admiration.

Chiba Genichi was the most outstanding ninja of Konoha's new generation. He was powerful, handsome, and gentle with others, making him an idol to the village's younger ninja.

His story was also widely known: he had graduated early from the Ninja Academy of his own accord, headed to the battlefield in the Land of Rain, and made a name for himself. He was the Ninja Academy's living legend.

"Wow, it's the living Lord Chiba Genichi! Hello, sir, I'm Obito, Obito Uchiha." Obito was excited too, and his words came out in a jumble.

"Actually, you're my fan—no, wait, I'm your idol. That doesn't sound right either."

"Anyway, I bought three copies of your Uchiha Eye-Opening Theory. One to keep, one to spread the word, and one I read devoutly every night before bed. When do you think I'll awaken my own Sharingan?"

In the original story, Obito was emotionally intense and his eye-opening was heavily influenced by external shocks. Yet he had awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan instantly, then skipped straight to the Mangekyo. He definitely had a talent for Yin Release.

"So you're Obito. Do you train your body regularly? How much genjutsu have you learned?"

"Huh? Why do I need to train? I heard that Senior Mikoto awakened her eyes just by casually listening to your theories!" Obito looked shocked.

"Obito, you idiot." Acting like this in front of a senior is so embarrassing. Rin couldn't help whispering it.

The Hatake Clan residence, its gates firmly shut.

Genichi urged him on. "Go ahead, Obito."

"Bang, bang, bang! Kakashi, you bastard, I'm here to see you! Rin and Senior Chiba are here too! Open the door!"

The one who opened the door was Kakashi Hatake, the poker-faced prodigy, still wearing a mask despite his young age. His gloomy, lifeless eyes were unmistakable.

Genichi walked up, forcibly pinning Kakashi's head with one hand and ruffling his hair vigorously until he could no longer keep up his aloof act. Only then did he say, "Kakashi, do you want to know who's framing Senior Sakumo? If you do, take off your mask—"

"There's no framing involved. I did abandon the mission. Kakashi, your classmates came to see you, so hurry up and invite them in." Hatake Sakumo had also come out after hearing the commotion.

"Come to think of it, this is the first time we've properly met, isn't it, Genichi? Do you remember the Anbu Ninja in the ninjutsu archive ten years ago? That was me."

"Lord Hokage already told me about that, Senior Sakumo. I came today because I want to find out who's behind the recent rumors. Ninja missions are supposed to be confidential, and Anbu missions even more so. How did the whole village hear about it in just a few days?"

Genichi continued, "I've been observing things for a while. Someone's been manipulating public opinion behind the scenes and spreading rumors to discredit you, Senior."

"Ah, they aren't exactly rumors." Sakumo sighed deeply. "I really did fail the mission."

"The mission ended some time ago. Could you tell us exactly what happened?"

"Well, the confidentiality rules make that difficult." Sakumo still seemed hesitant.

"You know I'm Orochimaru's student, Senior. I'm already waiting in line to run for Hokage. Surely you don't suspect I'm a spy trying to pry out information?" Genichi hurriedly explained.

"Besides, this isn't just your problem anymore, Senior. Now, aside from criticizing you for failing the mission, the village is also debating whether a mission or a comrade matters more to a ninja.

"If things continue like this, ninja sent out on missions may not even dare trust the teammates at their backs. The losses will keep mounting, and that's where Konoha's future will go wrong."

"I didn't realize things had gotten this serious." Hatake Sakumo's gaze sharpened as he stared straight into Genichi's eyes, as if he'd made up his mind about something. "What about you, Genichi? Do you think a mission or a comrade matters more to a ninja?"

"Of course the mission matters more." Genichi's voice was utterly emotionless. As the other four stared at him in disbelief, he spoke coldly.

Then he reached out and ruffled Rin's head, leaving her looking as though she were questioning her entire life, and smiled. "For a ninja, the mission comes first. But before we become ninja, we're living, breathing people with hearts and blood. If we fail to protect our comrades, completing the mission means nothing."

"Mission or comrade? My answer is this: anyone who breaks the rules is trash. Anyone who doesn't cherish their comrades is worse than trash."

Those words struck Obito right in the heart. It was as if he'd said them himself. He couldn't help spacing out, and even missed the precious scene of Rin blushing as Genichi patted her head.

For a moment, no one spoke. Hatake Sakumo's feelings were complicated. He had already felt awful about failing the mission, and after returning to the village, he'd been constantly criticized. Now, at last, a younger ninja understood how he felt and agreed with his choice. After coming back to himself, he slowly began, "Since you want to know, let me tell you.

"That fellow Tenzan is my friend, and he's also a Special Jōnin from the village. His mission was to infiltrate the Hidden Cloud Village, meet up with the other intelligence agents, and bring back their information. Some time ago, Lord Hokage gave me a mission directly: infiltrate the Land of Lightning and extract the intelligence.

"After we met up, our whereabouts were exposed for some reason. We fought our way back with great difficulty, and by the time we were nearing the border, he was already gravely wounded.

"He said, 'Sakumo, it looks like I won't make it back. Take the scroll and return. I'll buy you a little more time.'

"I was still in fairly good shape at the time. I could have taken the intelligence and left without trouble, but I couldn't just watch my friend die in front of me.

"So I used a shadow clone to take the scroll and draw the enemy away by taking a different route. I abandoned the mission with my real body and brought Tenzan back to the village.

"You know what happened after that. The intelligence scroll still fell into the hands of the Cloud ninja. They could use it to work out the identities of our spies. This mission's failure may have gotten a lot of the village's intelligence agents killed."

"So that's what happened." Genichi had a clear picture of things now. "Since the mission failed and there's no fixing that, let's set aside the question of how the Cloud ninja discovered you two. Do you have any suspects in mind for who's been spreading these rumors in the village? It's been going on for days, yet the Hokage Building still hasn't responded."

"Shimura Danzō." Those four words immediately came to Hatake Sakumo's mind. But there was no reason for it. He and Danzō had never even clashed. Why would he do this? Unable to think of an explanation, Sakumo fell silent.

Obito felt he understood. "So there's a bad guy in the village spreading rumors about Uncle Sakumo, right? It's strange. Why doesn't the Military Police Force just arrest them all?"

Genichi smiled at that. "Arrest them? Rumors spread from one person to ten, then from ten to a hundred. What's the Military Police Force supposed to do? Arrest all those villagers?

"The problem lies with the Konoha High Command. If they were willing to explain what happened during Senior Sakumo's mission and state what losses his failure caused, then whether they agreed with his actions or punished him lightly, the matter would be over.

"What ninja mission has never failed? When the Second Hokage died on the battlefield, Sarutobi Hiruzen was part of the Hokage Guard Platoon. Didn't that mean his mission had failed too? He wasn't punished at all. He returned to the village and inherited the Third Hokage's position.

"The key point is that the Hokage Building is standing by and doing nothing. The villagers are left to imagine the losses caused by Senior Sakumo's failed mission, and someone is manipulating them behind the scenes. That's why public opinion has become so one-sided."

Genichi knew all too well that if no one intervened, the blade of rumor would eventually kill the ninja known as White Fang.

"Senior Chiba, do you have any idea what we can do?" Kakashi, who had been feeling very down about the situation, now understood that his father wasn't entirely to blame. He pleaded with Genichi.

"Yes, Senior, can you help us?" Rin and Obito asked as well.

"Haha, leave it to me. I've accepted your mission." Genichi stood with a laugh. "We'll use magic to defeat magic."

Then Genichi looked into Hatake Sakumo's eyes and spoke with a hint of meaning. "We'll have an answer soon. Don't do anything foolish, Senior Sakumo."

Hatake Sakumo's pupils contracted and his heart stirred. Could he have figured out that I want to prove my innocence through death?

After saying goodbye to everyone, Genichi went straight to Nara Shikaku's home.

Genichi considered Konoha his own property. He couldn't just watch such a powerful ninja as White Fang die without it mattering. Besides, he wasn't in the habit of doing good deeds anonymously.

"Shikaku! I'm here again. Want to play shogi?" Genichi shouted from outside.

"Shogi? Sure, go ahead. Who could beat you at it, Genichi?" Shikaku looked helpless as he ushered Genichi inside.

"Have you heard about the rumors lately?" Genichi got straight to the point.

"You mean White Fang? Are you planning to get involved, Genichi?"

"That's right. I'm going to stop these rumors and further weaken the reputations of those people in the Hokage Building, paving the way to push the Third Hokage out later."

Shikaku asked in confusion, "At this point, if the Hokage Building doesn't step in, it'll be hard to quell the rumors. What are you going to do, Genichi?"

"Heh, I have my own plans. Shikaku, I want you to secretly have people spread what's written on this paper, just like a rumor, until the whole village knows about it." With that, Genichi handed him a folded sheet of paper in a mysterious manner, then continued:

"In a village like this, there's no point hoping rumors will stop with the wise. So I'm going to use rumors to defeat rumors. The Hokage Building is standing by, pretending it has nothing to do with them? I'll give them a push."

After reading what was on the paper, Shikaku looked like he'd bitten into something bitter. It took him a while to speak. "That's easy enough. The Yamanaka Clan can use the Mind Transfer Jutsu to control civilians and spread notes or rumors. We can finish the job within a day."

It was best if no one found out that Genichi had secretly asked Shikaku to help. Although he didn't think the Military Police Force could be of much use, he still planned to ask them to get involved—loudly.

"Take the main road as a diversion while secretly crossing the river."

Next, Genichi made no attempt to hide where he was going and headed to the Konoha Military Police Force.

"Big Brother Fugaku, it's been a long time. I hope I'm not interrupting your work." Genichi greeted him warmly.

Two years ago, Fugaku had been full of confidence, determined to make the Uchiha Clan great again. He'd been preparing to become clan head and make his mark, even thinking he might become the Uchiha Clan's first Hokage.

After becoming both Uchiha Clan Head and captain of the Military Police Force, Fugaku had come to feel how powerless he was. The gulf between the village and the clan was impossibly wide.

If an enemy stood before him, Fugaku wouldn't fear them, no matter how powerful they were. The Uchiha Clan feared no challenge.

But now the Hokage faction was secretly suppressing the Uchiha Clan. Their enemy was in the Hokage Building, and he simply couldn't lead his people to charge at them again.

The Uchiha, one of the two founding clans that had built the village, now had no one in a position to take part in Konoha's decisions, let alone the Hokage Position. The Third Hokage never invited the Military Police Force captain to his High Command meetings.

The Konoha Military Police Force looked powerful and seemed to have authority over everything. But when it came to matters involving ninja, so many of its duties overlapped with the Anbu's that the Hokage assigned most of them to the Anbu instead.

So the Military Police Force was left handling arguments and street brawls or keeping order. The Uchiha Clan also tended to be arrogant, making it hard to get along with the villagers and often leading to conflicts. Those petty daily affairs constantly irritated Fugaku.

Although Fugaku still maintained his strong image in public, telling his clan he would restore its glory and planned to run for Fourth Hokage, he was already preparing a fallback plan. He intended to build ties with and support a Fourth Hokage who wouldn't be so hostile to the Uchiha Clan.

After thinking it over, he decided Chiba Genichi was the best choice. Genichi came from the Hokage faction, was powerful, and happened to have a good relationship with the Uchiha Clan.

"I'm not interrupting at all. The Military Police Force mostly handles little things anyway. What brings you here, Genichi? You're practically one of the Uchiha, so just tell me what you need." Fugaku was even more enthusiastic than Genichi, glad to have a chance to grow closer.

"It's nothing major. Have you heard about the rumors going around the village lately, Big Brother Fugaku?"

Fugaku thought Genichi had come to clear White Fang's name. His expression stiffened. "Ah, of course I've heard. Genichi, this matter isn't as simple as you think. I had people investigate it secretly, and it seems the ones spreading the rumors are the Konoha High Command.

"You know what the Uchiha Clan's situation in the village is like. It's best not to come into conflict with the Hokage faction. We really can't get involved in this."

"I understand. We can talk about this in private, at least. What do you think of the Third Hokage, Big Brother Fugaku?"

Without waiting for Fugaku to answer, Genichi continued, "During the Second Shinobi World War, those people in the Hokage Building barely went to the battlefield. In the next war, they'd probably rather send Ninja Academy students out early to fill the ranks than leave the rear of the village themselves.

"I used to think they were too old to even lift a kunai. Turns out that while they're spineless toward outsiders, they're pretty good at targeting their own people."

Fugaku felt the same way. The Uchiha Clan had had such a hard time all these years.

Genichi continued, "When they pushed the Uchiha aside, I stood by and watched because I wasn't one of you. When they sent the village's children to fight on the battlefield, I couldn't stop them because I was just an ordinary jōnin. Now they've started targeting Konoha's White Fang and excluding anyone who disagrees with them. Am I supposed to keep standing by? If they come after me in the future, who'll speak up for me?

"Big Brother Fugaku, in the dead of night I often ask myself whether I should sit back and let those people drain Konoha dry just because I benefit from the Hokage faction too. My answer is this: I can't turn my back on the comrades they've hurt.

"The Uchiha Clan is one of Konoha's founding clans. Should we really just watch the village decline under the Third Hokage and the others?

"We can't afford to wait, Big Brother Fugaku.

"Let's make Konoha great again!"

"Let's do it." Fugaku thought of all the Uchiha Clan's difficulties, the hostility of the Konoha High Command, the Military Police Force's endless petty work, and the Uchiha Clan's usual tendency to get carried away.

"It's a coup, isn't it? Let's do it! I've been sick of those old geezers for ages. Genichi, I support you, and the Uchiha Clan does too."

Genichi had no idea how Fugaku had leapt straight to a coup. He gave an awkward smile. "No, no, it won't come to that. Calm down, Big Brother Fugaku. A coup would hurt the village and everyone in it. Since the Third Hokage and the others are in the wrong this time, we just need to seriously damage their reputation. There's no need to rush into a coup. That can wait."

Huh? If it wasn't a coup, why had Genichi sounded so grim and impassioned? Fugaku had gotten himself excited for nothing.

Once he'd calmed down, Fugaku asked, "So, Genichi, what should we do?"

Genichi replied, "It's simple. Over the next few days, the Military Police Force should publicly step up its investigation into the people behind the rumors, but secretly do nothing and let the rumors keep spreading."

"What good would that do?" Fugaku didn't understand. The Military Police Force wasn't very capable of controlling rumors to begin with.

"I've already made arrangements. Just sit back and watch, Big Brother Fugaku." Genichi gave him a mysterious smile.