Inside the Hokage's office, Uchiha Feng stood not far from the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He watched the exhausted man handle official business, his own expression calm and devoid of sorrow or joy.
"Uchiha Feng, do you have anything to say for yourself after injuring seventeen ordinary villagers and five Genin, then causing the Club Enforcement incident that left nearly a thousand people in the village injured?"
After working for a while and finally taking a break, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Feng before him and sternly questioned him.
While handling official affairs, he had also observed Feng several times. There was not the slightest trace of respect for him, the Hokage, in the other man's eyes.
Combined with what he had learned earlier—that Feng had repeatedly voiced dissatisfaction with him, the Third, and Konoha's other three elders on the streets—
It was clear that Feng was a thoroughgoing Hawk Faction member of the Uchiha Clan. Naturally, Hiruzen Sarutobi would not show a pleasant face to such a person.
"There's nothing to say. For Konoha's stability, I only injured a few people. What's the big deal?"
Facing Hiruzen Sarutobi's questioning, Feng answered calmly, and in a manner very much like an Uchiha.
"The disturbance you caused left nearly a thousand people injured, and you still think it doesn't matter? Those injured people are all Konoha villagers.
As a Konoha ninja, where is your Will of Fire? Where is your spirit of protecting Konoha?" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared.
"They are Konoha villagers, yes, but they are also criminals. We beat up a group of criminals to preserve Konoha's peace, yet the responsibility and infamy all fall upon the Uchiha Clan.
How is that not the Will of Fire? If silently bearing infamy and shouldering a heavy burden to protect Konoha isn't the Will of Fire, then please tell me, Lord Hokage, what is the Will of Fire?" Feng argued.
Although he had not been eloquent in his previous life, he had often argued with people online. After being steeped in all sorts of nonsense, there was no way a native like Hiruzen Sarutobi could outtalk him.
"Hmph! Not everyone who was beaten was a criminal. Many were victims, and some were even innocent passersby.
Yet they were injured because of this. Is this how you protect Konoha? How you protect Konoha's villagers!?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice rose involuntarily.
"As Konoha villagers, they were merely accidentally injured for Konoha's stability. No one died. They're being far too petty, showing not a shred of the Will of Fire to make sacrifices for Konoha.
Since they don't even possess the Will of Fire to sacrifice for Konoha, what's wrong with giving them a beating?"
Feng continued to quibble, and every word he spoke revolved around the Will of Fire. He knew Hiruzen Sarutobi would target the Uchiha, but he did not believe the man would dare deny the Will of Fire.
"What do you mean, no one died? What do you mean, accidentally injured? As a Konoha ninja, attacking innocent villagers is wrong.
And the Will of Fire means that one must possess the will to protect the village and make sacrifices oneself. It does not mean forcing others to sacrifice themselves for the village." Hiruzen Sarutobi's face had already darkened.
He was extremely displeased by Feng's sophistry and his twisted exploitation of the Will of Fire.
"Self-sacrifice? Heh heh, Nine...
Ahem, yes, yes, yes. You're the Hokage, so you're right about everything. I was wrong. I'll go apologize to the villagers."
Out of habit, Feng had been about to continue arguing, especially about Nine-Tails Night. The Fourth Hokage of the new generation had died, and most of the casualties had been ordinary villagers, while Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third from the old era, was still alive and well. Root had not even suffered a single injury.
If he said all that aloud, it would be enough to tear Hiruzen Sarutobi apart with words.
But then he remembered that he intended to flee Konoha in half a month. If he kept arguing with Hiruzen Sarutobi now, regardless of the outcome, the man would remember him.
That would greatly increase the difficulty of escaping Konoha. So Feng immediately changed his tune and softened, hoping only that Hiruzen Sarutobi would not assign Anbu to watch him after today.
"Hm? From your tone, it's obvious that you are not sincerely remorseful.
But it is good that you can take the initiative to admit your mistake and are willing to apologize to the villagers. It proves you can still be saved.
Sigh... I can see that you strongly disagree with what I said about the Will of Fire.
I suppose it has something to do with you never attending the Ninja Academy. Take this latest revised edition of Will of Fire, a required Ninja Academy text, back and study it carefully. In one month, I will test your understanding of it.
All right, take the book and leave."
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not understand why Feng had suddenly changed his attitude, but since the other man had admitted his mistake, continuing to press him would not fit Hiruzen Sarutobi's approachable image and persona.
Thus, he also changed his attitude. He no longer spoke in a questioning tone, instead addressing Feng as though instructing a junior.
Feng was also stunned by Hiruzen Sarutobi's change. It was not the altered tone that stunned him, but Hiruzen Sarutobi's motion of handing him the book.
Wasn't this the opportunity to make contact with him that he had been waiting for?
After a brief daze, Feng raised both hands with a delighted expression and accepted Will of Fire from Hiruzen Sarutobi, tucking it beneath his arm.
Then, with an excited heart and trembling hands, he tightly clasped the other man's hands with both of his and happily shouted, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Yet what he was thinking was: Copy Cards, appear. One card for each hand. Copy the Dead Demon Consuming Seal for me, and...
What should the other card copy? Five Releases: Great Combo Technique? Summon Enma? Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique? Hiruzen Sarutobi seems to have only these worthwhile techniques, but none of them are what I want.
Wait, there's one technique I can try. If he has it, I'll strike it rich. If not, I can copy Five Releases: Great Combo Technique first.
Anyway, once a Copy Card has copied a ninjutsu, as long as I don't consume it and use it, I can erase its contents at will and copy something else.
Seeing Feng tightly holding his hand, wearing a sincere smile, and lost in thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and quickly pulled his hand free.
He did not know or understand what was happening with Feng, but his years of experience and a strong person's instincts told him that letting Feng hold his hand like this felt very wrong.
Feng was not dissatisfied by this, because by the time Hiruzen Sarutobi withdrew his hand, he had already copied the ninjutsu he wanted.
Looking at the two cards visible only to him in his hands, one had copied the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, his backup technique for desperate situations. The other was a ninjutsu he had copied in a sudden flash of inspiration: Reanimation Jutsu: Hiruzen Sarutobi Version.
With the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, Feng was now ninety percent confident that he could escape Konoha.
As for why he had suddenly thought of this technique, it was because in the anime, the moment Orochimaru used the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, Hiruzen Sarutobi had recognized it.
Furthermore, as Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi could browse the Book of Seals whenever he pleased. He had to be familiar with this technique.
On top of that, Hiruzen Sarutobi was power-hungry and cowardly. At his peak, his Kage Level strength had not stood out much. He was weaker than the Tsuchikage and Raikage, slightly stronger than the Kazekage, and roughly on par with the Mizukage.
And in present-day Konoha, there were only two Kage Level fighters: Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō.
Taking all that together, in order to keep the village from falling into danger, Hiruzen Sarutobi, now old and declining in strength, would certainly seek a way to bolster either himself or the village.
But his talent was what it was. Even at his peak, he had only been so strong. Now that he was old, it was even more impossible for him to break through by conventional means.
That left only the forbidden techniques within the Book of Seals.
Feng did not know which forbidden technique Hiruzen Sarutobi would choose, but he had taken a gamble. Losing cost him nothing, while winning would bring a huge payoff.
And now, it was obvious that he had won.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had learned the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and even modified it to some extent. This technique also suited the current Konoha very well. Its shortcomings—too few powerful fighters and an inability to deter other ninja villages—were perfectly compensated for by the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.
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