White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo, was a ninja who had abandoned a mission for the sake of his comrades and then apologized for it.
Hadn't their team just done something similar? And what they had done was even worse.
Not only had they failed to complete the mission, they had also abandoned the comrade who was the mission's objective.
Wasn't that even more unforgivable than what Hatake Sakumo had done?
Yuhi Shinku and Kawaki Aoba both knew what Kurenai was worried about. They also knew she was worrying over nothing. Something like that would never happen to Yuhi Shinku.
Though he felt a little ashamed, Yuhi Shinku had to admit that he wasn't worthy of the treatment Lord White Fang had received.
As a Jonin, and not a fool, Yuhi Shinku could more or less guess what lay behind the White Fang incident back then. It was nothing more than that damn power struggle among the higher-ups.
Besides, White Fang hadn't needed to die. No matter how despicable the village leadership was, they could never have decided to have White Fang killed. But who could have expected that a powerful ninja like him would be so "fragile"?
It was an accident no one wanted to see.
Shaking his head, Yuhi Shinku cleared the distracting thoughts from his mind and looked at Kawaki Aoba.
The brat's strength and potential both impressed him. His usual performance was excellent, too, and when it mattered, he could be ruthless enough.
Still, Yuhi Shinku wanted to test him.
"Aoba, this is the first time our team has failed a mission since it was formed. What do you think about that?"
Kawaki Aoba was taken aback. He didn't think much of it, assuming Teacher Shinku just wanted to put Kurenai at ease, and answered directly, "Although I'm ashamed that our lack of strength caused the mission to fail and that we couldn't save our comrade from Konoha, if I had another chance, I'd still make the same choice. It was the right decision.
"You all saw the Third Kazekage Human Puppet in Sasori of the Red Sand's hands, right? Compared with our mission, bringing this information back to the village so Lord Hokage can learn of it is obviously more important."
At this point, Kawaki Aoba paused, deciding to sneak in a little extra. Though he'd forgotten when the Third Shinobi World War began, he still knew that the Third Kazekage's disappearance had been its trigger.
Now that they'd even encountered Sasori of the Red Sand, who had defected with the Third Kazekage Puppet, that meant the Third Shinobi World War could break out at any moment.
So Kawaki Aoba thought he should give Konoha a warning, since the village still hadn't realized how serious the situation was.
Why was Kawaki Aoba so sure Konoha was completely in the dark? The answer was right beside him.
Kawaki Aoba glanced at Sarutobi Asuma. That's right, this guy. If Sarutobi Hiruzen had truly realized that the Third Shinobi World War was likely to break out, he would never have sent Sarutobi Asuma to such a dangerous place as the Land of Wind on a mission—and without even assigning a squad of Anbu to protect him.
But before he could continue, Sarutobi Asuma, who had been sitting silently all along, cut in with a question.
"You think information takes priority over the mission and our fellow villagers? Aoba, your view is far too extreme." Sarutobi Asuma frowned at Kawaki Aoba.
Kawaki Aoba didn't need to think twice to realize that, judging by his words and expression, the guy had gotten himself worked up over nothing.
Still, the topic he'd brought up suited Kawaki Aoba just fine.
"What are you thinking, Asuma? There's no absolute rule about something like that. Information and missions both have priorities, and some things are more urgent than others. As for comrades, there are differences in how close we are to them.
"For example, if you were in danger, I'd choose to save you first, even if it meant risking our chance to get the information back to the village.
"But if it were a stranger from the village, as cruel as it sounds, I'm sorry, but I really couldn't give up my life to save them.
"Just like what happened a moment ago: in my view, the value of getting that information back to the village far outweighed the spy's life."
When Sarutobi Asuma heard the first part, he was happy, thinking his friend hadn't turned into such a coldhearted person. But then Kawaki Aoba went on about how information mattered more than a life, and Asuma felt a lump in his chest again.
"Asuma, you want to argue with me, right?" Having sensed every nuance of the guy's emotions with Observation Haki, Kawaki Aoba simply smiled and said what he knew Asuma wanted to say.
This left Sarutobi Asuma somewhat speechless.
All three members of the team turned their attention to Kawaki Aoba. Under their watchful gazes, the smile on his face slowly faded.
"Teacher Shinku, what do you think would happen if a village lost its Kage?" Kawaki Aoba asked.
Yuhi Shinku frowned. He had been thinking about that very question himself: what would Sunagakure do if it lost the Third Kazekage?
Remembering the special instructions the Hokage had given him before he left Konoha, Yuhi Shinku ventured, "They'll probably stir up some conflict along the border between the two countries, giving the village a chance to vent its pent-up unrest while showing the other villages that it's still strong."
Heaven knew, that was the limit of what Yuhi Shinku could imagine based on the information he had.
But Kawaki Aoba clearly didn't agree with that answer.
No, more precisely, he thought Teacher Shinku was being too conservative.
"Looks like even you're underestimating the importance of this information, Teacher Shinku. If I'm not mistaken, the Third Shinobi World War may be about to begin."
"Ahem, Aoba." Yuhi Shinku's mouth twitched, and he hurriedly cut in. "I understand that young people are eager to express their opinions, but that's going too far. The Third Kazekage was killed by their own genius, Sasori of the Red Sands, and turned into a Human Puppet. That's certainly shocking, but to say this will start a Shinobi World War just because of that..."
Yuhi Shinku let his words trail off, but Kawaki Aoba understood what he'd left unsaid.
He was helpless. He knew how things would unfold in the future, yet because of his age, he found it hard to convince even Teacher Shinku. It was a truly awful feeling.
But no matter how difficult it was, he decided to try.
"Teacher Shinku, don't argue with me just yet. And you two, don't make those faces either. Listen carefully while I explain.
"Sunagakure is different from Konoha. Without the Third Kazekage, their highest authority, it'll be difficult for them to unite behind a single voice. That's when divisions will emerge. At the very least, they'll split into two factions."
Actually, when it came to unity within the village, Konoha was far more divided than Sunagakure. But Kawaki Aoba obviously couldn't say that.
Before you continue