Saving Sakumo (1)

Hyuga Iwa found Might Guy and told him what he had in mind.

"Guy, what do you think about the rumors going around the village lately?"

"Lord Sakumo?" Guy thought seriously for a moment before saying, "I believe Lord Sakumo and the village will definitely handle it properly."

"Let's hope so." Hyuga Iwa did not explain further. He knew there was no point in talking to Guy about conspiracies. If Guy's big mouth let something slip and offended someone they could not afford to offend, that would be bad.

"Iwa, are you worried about Lord Sakumo?"

Guy was still so innocent. It was better to keep those conspiracies far away from him.

"Yes. He was forced to abandon the mission for the sake of his comrades' lives, only to be condemned by those same comrades after returning. No matter who it was, they wouldn't feel good about that!"

There was more that Hyuga Iwa did not say—the village's attitude toward Sakumo!

With the White Fang of the Leaf's intelligence, he would surely be able to see through some things. What truly chilled his heart was the village's attitude toward a meritorious hero—or rather, the Hokage's opinion of him!

Hatake Sakumo knew that as his strength gradually grew, he had indeed begun to threaten the Third Hokage's position!

Although Hatake Sakumo had never truly fought Hiruzen Sarutobi, or even any of the three people known as the Legendary Sannin, many believed that Hatake Sakumo's strength was absolutely on par with theirs!

There were quite a few people who thought so. Hyuga Iwa did not know what the other great clans thought, but at least most civilian shinobi believed it, and they also favored Hatake Sakumo in the contest for the position of Fourth Hokage!

And that was something Danzo, who had always coveted the Hokage's position, could never tolerate!

"So, Guy, do you think the mission is more important, or are comrades more important?" Hyuga Iwa stared intently into Guy's eyes, hoping to see something there.

Guy froze at Hyuga Iwa's question. After considering it seriously for quite a while, he slowly said, "I don't know. But no matter what, someone who can't even protect his comrades—I won't acknowledge him, even if he completes countless missions! Iwa, as long as it's you, even if I die, I won't let anyone hurt you!"

Guy suddenly looked at Hyuga Iwa with deep affection and spoke his vow.

"..."

Seeing Guy's serious, affectionate expression, Hyuga Iwa could not help feeling moved. But he quickly thought of something, and a chill suddenly ran down his spine.

"Eek~ Guy isn't one of those guys, is he?" Hyuga Iwa was startled by his own thought, then burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha~" Seeing Hyuga Iwa suddenly laugh, Guy scratched his head and laughed along with him.

Having gotten his answer, Hyuga Iwa felt much better. Many things did not need words to be expressed. A movement, a glance, even a thought could receive a response from a companion. That feeling was truly wonderful.

"Come on, Guy. Let's go see Kakashi. We haven't seen him these past few days, and it seems like he isn't in a very good situation right now."

In truth, Hyuga Iwa wanted to see Hatake Sakumo. If possible, he hoped to talk him through it and keep him from doing something as foolish as suicide.

"Mm."

Guy thought carefully about it. If Hyuga Iwa had not mentioned it, Guy truly would not have noticed. It did seem like he had not seen Kakashi these past few days. Where had he gone? Was he out on a mission?

The two arrived together at Kakashi's home. Just as they got there, they saw Kakashi apparently preparing to head out.

Before they could call out to Kakashi, they heard a passing villager beside them speaking cruelly. "Look, that's the son of the coward who abandoned his mission. Hmph. If it were me, even if I had to risk my life, I would never let a mission fail."

His companion replied, "Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't either..."

Hyuga Iwa watched as several people openly discussed Hatake Sakumo in front of Kakashi, occasionally spouting ugly words. His expression changed at once.

His face turned icy, and his tone became sinister. "Hmph. It was because Lord Sakumo was dragged down by trash with no strength like you that he had to abandon the mission. Since you talk such a good game, why don't you kill yourselves? Without comrades dragging him down, Lord Sakumo definitely could have completed the mission."

The group's expressions changed instantly upon hearing Hyuga Iwa's words. One of them glared viciously at him, murderous eyes stabbing straight at him and raising goosebumps without warning.

Seeing that the speaker was only a child, the man wore a fierce, twisted grin. "Brat, didn't your elders teach you? You can fart wherever you want, but you can't talk however you want. Careless words can get people killed!"

"Hey, Guy, where did this rabid dog come from, barking nonsense over here? Take a look. How come I can't see where it is?" Hyuga Iwa loudly said as he circled around Guy, pretending to search everywhere.

The innocent Guy did not understand what Hyuga Iwa meant and helped him look. "A dog? Where's the dog? Iwa, I don't see one."

"Oh, we couldn't find it. So it's not even as good as a dog. At least dogs are much more loyal than certain people. They don't bark at their masters whenever they please."

Hearing Hyuga Iwa and Guy casually mock them, the group immediately flew into a rage. The man who had spoken first turned green and purple with fury and could not help rushing forward.

"Brat, you really have a death wish. Let me teach you a proper lesson!"

As he spoke, the man grabbed at Hyuga Iwa, fury blazing from his eyes.

A mocking smile hung on Hyuga Iwa's face. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes, and with a flicker of his body, he instantly appeared behind the man.

Hyuga Iwa leaped lightly into the air, then drove a kick down hard onto the man's back. Borrowing the force, he flipped through the air and landed steadily on the ground again.

The man was merely an ordinary civilian. How could he possibly be a match for Hyuga Iwa? He only saw a blur flash before his eyes, and the insolent brat had vanished. Just as he prepared to turn around, a tremendous force struck his back. His whole body toppled uncontrollably toward the ground, slamming heavily into it and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Ah!!"

A belated scream came from the ground. The man clutched his waist with one hand, his whole body bent over. Cold sweat poured from his forehead like rain, and the muscles on his face twisted uncontrollably.

"Hiss~" The others, who had originally wanted to attack together, sucked in a sharp breath. One of them saw Hyuga Iwa's distinctive Byakugan and began trembling all over in terror, shaking like a leaf.

"Sh-shinobi! These two brats are shinobi!"

"S-so what if they're shinobi? Does being a shinobi mean they can beat people whenever they want? I'm going to the Hokage to demand justice! That's right, I'll go demand justice from the Hokage!"

That man seemed to have some knowledge. He even knew to seek out the Hokage.

Hyuga Iwa could not help sneering. They still wanted to see the Hokage? Then they could repeat everything they had said in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi and see what expression the Hokage wore!

It probably would not look very good, would it?!

Watching the show from the shadows was one thing, but if this truly blew up and everything was laid out in public, would it be easy for the Hokage to handle?

Wouldn't that be like putting him over a fire to roast?

Countless thoughts flashed through Hyuga Iwa's mind in an instant, only to be dismissed one by one.

Some things might feel satisfying when done, but no one could say what would happen in the end. Besides, he had to consider Hatake Sakumo's feelings as the person involved.

Better to let sleeping dogs lie. Getting angry with these civilians would not solve anything. It would only make Hatake Sakumo feel worse.

Hyuga Iwa gave a cold snort and said, "The ANBU lord on that rooftop, haven't you watched enough of the show by now?"

The group froze upon hearing Hyuga Iwa's words. Even the man moaning in pain on the ground involuntarily shuddered and looked toward the rooftop.

The rooftop was completely empty!

"Hmph, do you think I'll let you off just because you made up some ANBU lord? Just you wait. I'll definitely go to the Hokage, there—"

At first, the man looked quite smug. But as he spoke, he saw someone in ANBU attire rise from a corner of the rooftop. He immediately froze, unable to even speak properly.

The ANBU on the rooftop looked at Hyuga Iwa, his eyes filled with gravity!

What sharp perception!

He had not even activated his Byakugan, yet his perception was this sharp? Even ordinary sensory shinobi might not be capable of something like this!

The ANBU shinobi did not speak or make any move. He simply kept staring at Hyuga Iwa, seemingly lost in thought.

After the ANBU revealed himself, Hyuga Iwa put away his expression. No matter what, he definitely could not defeat that man in his current state. He still needed to show the proper respect.

"Hello, sir."

Hyuga Iwa and Guy bowed to the ANBU together, then consciously moved to one side and said nothing more.

The other civilians also helped the man on the ground to his feet and moved to the other side, looking up at the ANBU on the rooftop.

Watching their actions, the ANBU immediately felt a headache coming on. Knowing more of the hidden details, he too felt that Hatake Sakumo had been treated unfairly. But he was a shinobi. A shinobi's duty was to complete their client's mission—otherwise, how could they still be called shinobi?!

After all, no one knew when it had begun, but this had become the common understanding throughout the Shinobi World: clients issued missions and provided money, while shinobi completed missions and earned money. This practice had continued for nearly a thousand years.

Their obsession with completing missions could even be said to be carved into the bones of shinobi, accepted by the majority of people.

But Hyuga Iwa did not entirely agree with that way of thinking. Shinobi should not be bound by missions. They should have a broader stage!

The ANBU did not know what to do and was so anxious that a faint sheen of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Just then, Kakashi's front door opened once more, and a lonely figure stepped out.

He looked at the people before him, then at the ANBU on the rooftop. A cold gleam flashed through his eyes before disappearing without a trace.

Before Hyuga Iwa and the others could speak, his voice slowly rang out. "All of you, leave. Don't come to my house again."

After saying that, he did not wait for anyone to respond before closing the door again.

Seemingly given an excuse to leave, the civilians indignantly said, "Hmph, what are you acting so proud for? It's because you failed the mission and caused the Leaf Village losses. Fine, we'll leave! Like we're afraid of you!"

"Say that again." Hyuga Iwa's calm voice came from behind them, frightening them into fleeing as if for their lives.

"Hmph, a bunch of idiots who don't know anything. They're being used without even realizing it. Useless fools who ruin everything!"

Hyuga Iwa cursed under his breath a few times, then pushed Guy over to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, don't be upset. Hey, why's your face so long? Who upset you? Tell me, and see if I don't go teach him a lesson!"

Hyuga Iwa began joking around in front of Kakashi, his skin so thick it rivaled a city wall.

Kakashi watched Hyuga Iwa lie through his teeth with such complete confidence. He could no longer maintain his expression and said helplessly, "Iwa, Guy, thank you for coming, but we'll handle these matters ourselves. You aren't even shinobi yet, so don't get involved in so much."

At once, Guy became unhappy and shouted, "Kakashi, we're friends! When friends run into trouble, how can we not help?"

"You can't help with this."

"With Iwa here, he'll think of a way, right, Iwa?" Guy said, turning to Hyuga Iwa.

"Actually..." Just as Hyuga Iwa was about to speak, he remembered the ANBU still on the rooftop. He looked over and found it empty.

"Heh..."

Hyuga Iwa chuckled softly and said nothing more. He turned to Kakashi and said seriously, "Kakashi, I want to meet Lord Sakumo."

"Iwa, you..." Kakashi froze, then thought for a moment before saying, "But Father stays alone in his room every day now. I haven't even seen him many times..."

"It's fine, Kakashi. Do you still want my help or not? Some things have to be tried."

After thinking for a while, Kakashi nodded. "Thank you, Iwa!"

"Why are you thanking me? Aren't we friends?" Hyuga Iwa smiled and patted Kakashi on the back. Then he added, "Besides, I agree with Lord Sakumo's beliefs too. Comrades can never be compared to a mission!"

"Iwa..." x2

Guy, whose tears came easily, immediately burst into tears.

"Iwa, as expected of the dearest friend acknowledged by me, Might Guy..."

"..."