Slipping Away in Defeat, the Leaf Village Higher-Ups' Helpless Rage!

The wind and sand howled as several dark figures fled desperately across the desert.

Three Leaf Village Anbu carried Kakashi, limp as mud, and did not dare look back.

The fanatical killing intent of over a hundred Hidden Stone Demolition Corps troops behind them was like an executioner's blade hanging over their necks.

They knew perfectly well that this mission had been a complete disaster.

The Fourth Hokage, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, and the entire Uchiha Clan.

They had all become succulent meat on the Hidden Stone Village's chopping block, and Leaf Village did not even have the right to snatch them back.

A few days later, Leaf Village, Hokage Building.

Bang!

A fine celadon teacup was hurled viciously against the wall, shattering into pieces.

Scalding tea splashed across the floor, and even the wall was dented by the impact.

Hiruzen Sarutobi braced both hands against his desk, his chest heaving violently as he wheezed like a broken bellows.

Before the desk, the Anbu responsible for reporting the news was so frightened that he buried his head against his chest, not even daring to breathe.

"Hidden Stone Village... that old bastard Ōnoki has gone too far!"

Homura Mitokado's shrill, cutting voice rang through the office.

She pointed at Hiruzen Sarutobi's nose and cursed him without restraint.

"Hiruzen! Is this the 'clever solution' you swore by?"

"Not only did Kakashi fail to persuade them to come back, he was driven into a mental breakdown by a few words from Uchiha Yoru! He is still lying in Leaf Village Hospital with an IV drip!"

Koharu Utatane adjusted the glasses on his nose, his face dark as he mercilessly piled on from the side.

"Now look at this. The Hidden Stone army is at our borders, clearly determined to protect that bunch of rogue ninja to the death."

"You have utterly disgraced Leaf Village!"

The veins on Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead throbbed wildly.

He grabbed the pipe on his desk, intending to take a puff to suppress his anger, only to discover that there was not even any tobacco in it.

"Enough!"

The old monkey slammed his fist onto the desk, making the solid wooden table groan under the strain.

"Can you blame all of this on me? When we decided to move against the Uchiha, which of you two did not approve the proposal?"

From the corner, Shimura Danzo, wrapped in thick bandages, let out a mocking, insincere sneer.

"I told you long ago that we should have used Root to kill them directly. You were the one who insisted on talking about some damn bigger picture."

"Now the Nine-Tails has fallen into enemy hands. Let us see how you explain this to the daimyo!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi glared at Danzō, wishing he could skin this old dog alive for doing nothing but offering hindsight.

But he no longer had the strength to argue, because an even bigger mess awaited him.

The rumors in the village could no longer be contained.

No one knew who had leaked the news, but now every teahouse and tavern in the streets was spreading the same stories.

"The Third Hokage was obsessed with power and watched the Fourth Hokage go to his death!"

"Heroes bleed and weep! The Uchiha Clan was forced into rebellion by the higher-ups!"

These rumors spread like a plague with wings, complete with vivid details.

Even the great clans like the Hyuga Clan and Ino-Shika-Cho now looked at him with scrutiny and distance in their eyes.

The credibility of the Leaf Village higher-ups had fallen through the floor overnight.

"Release all the B-rank and A-rank missions we have been holding back!"

Gritting his teeth, Hiruzen Sarutobi issued an order that was nothing less than drinking poison to quench thirst.

"Raise the village's commission rate and force civilian genin and small clans to take them."

"No matter the cost, we must maintain the illusion that Leaf Village is operating normally."

A cruel, cold gleam flashed in the old fox's eyes.

"We absolutely cannot let the other ninja villages see that our military strength is depleted, even if we have to fill the gap with human lives!"

The several higher-ups immediately fell silent.

They all understood that they were using the flesh and blood of lower-ranking ninja to patch the enormous hole the higher-ups themselves had created.

But things had come to this. They had no choice.

In stark contrast to the oppressive gloom and bitter resentment hanging over Leaf Village.

A thousand miles away, Hidden Stone Village was boiling with excitement as if it were New Year's.

The village's bustling Third Avenue had been designated by a stroke of Ōnoki's pen as the Uchiha's new clan grounds.

In the spacious central square, over a dozen enormous bonfires soared toward the sky.

Hundreds of long tables had been pushed together, covered with whole roasted lambs, platters of beef, and jars upon jars of strong rice wine.

The aroma of meat mixed with the scent of liquor, making mouths water.

"Cheers!"

Kitsuchi raised a wine bowl bigger than a cooking pot and clinked it hard against Fugaku Uchiha's.

Wine splashed all over both men, but neither of them cared.

"Brother Fugaku! From now on, as long as I, Kitsuchi, have a bite of meat to eat in Hidden Stone, the Uchiha brothers will never go hungry!"

Fugaku, who usually wore a cold expression, had drunk until even his neck was red today.

He watched his clansmen mingling freely with the Hidden Stone villagers in the square.

There were no wary looks, no secret surveillance.

There was only the pleasure of drinking deeply and eating heartily, along with unreserved, open-handed warmth.

This was how people were supposed to live!

Fugaku threw back his head and drained the strong liquor in his bowl, feeling as though all the pent-up frustration of the first half of his life had gone down with it.

At the guest table in the corner of the square.

Yoru sat with one leg crossed over the other, holding a skewer of sizzling, grease-dripping grilled beef and eating until his mouth shone with oil.

Minato had changed into loose casual clothes specially supplied by Hidden Stone. His face was still somewhat pale, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.

Kushina held little Naruto in her arms and eagerly asked several enthusiastic Hidden Stone aunties beside her how to make bone broth that would best promote milk production.

"Yoru, the barbecue in Hidden Stone Village really is incredible."

Minato handed him a cup of freshly squeezed fruit juice and teased him with a smile.

"Those Leaf Village higher-ups probably cannot even swallow water right now, can they?"

Yoru took the juice and gulped it down, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"They are doing far more than struggling to swallow water. They are probably locked in a room, panicking and cursing their heads off."

Yoru wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth and sneered repeatedly.

"That old monkey cares too much about saving face. The village's fighting strength is depleted, and the daimyo is going to audit the books."

"To keep up appearances, he will definitely squeeze those lower-ranking civilian ninja dry by forcing them to take dangerous missions."

Minato's brows furrowed slightly at that.

Though he had completely lost faith in the higher-ups, he still felt some sympathy for those innocent civilian ninja.

Yoru stood and brushed the cumin powder from his hands.

A shrewd, calculating glint like that of a seasoned capitalist flickered in his pitch-black eyes.

He turned to Minato, a meaningful curve tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Brother Minato, since they are short on people to do missions..."

"What do you think would happen if we snatched all the commissions from Leaf Village's big clients at low prices?"

Yoru patted Minato on the shoulder, his tone brimming with wicked amusement.

"Would that old bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi get so furious that he suffers a cerebral hemorrhage on the spot?"