Childhood Arc: My Foolish Big Brother

Two months after we began carrying out missions together, Sakumo judged that both Kakashi and I were qualified to become Chunin. So, at the tender age of eight, I appeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi once again.

"These two children want to take the Chunin Ninja Exams? But it seems they're still missing one teammate. That makes things rather difficult."

"Third Hokage, though this may sound like self-praise, allow me to say this: my son and this little brother, who pulled me out of the darkness, both possess talents far beyond ordinary people. Keeping them at the rank of Genin would be too wasteful. I believe they should be assigned more difficult missions, and more attention should be given to their training resources."

Inside the Hokage's office, after hearing Sakumo's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi stood with his hands behind his back, facing the window and looking up at the sky.

Sakumo knelt on one knee before the desk, with Kakashi and me following behind him.

Perhaps because the old Third trusted Sakumo, I did not sense anyone else nearby.

"If Sakumo says so, then these two children truly are inheritors of the Will of Fire. However, the nation has been unstable lately. Becoming a Chunin does not merely mean being able to accept higher-level commissions. You understand what I mean, Sakumo?"

"I understand, Third Hokage."

There were still two years until the beginning of the Third Shinobi World War. According to my memories, Sakumo Hatake's death, along with Sasori's assassination of the Third Kazekage and framing of Konoha, had triggered the war.

From the looks of it, Sasori had probably been dissatisfied with the village's actions, so he had deliberately started the war and watched them fight like a snipe and clam?

But Sakumo had not died yet, and information about his temporary withdrawal from the front lines had been sealed off by the Third. Only a few people knew.

Orochimaru was still overseeing the military. Though Tsunade and Jiraiya were absent, the Third could still fight. Minato had yet to make a name for himself, but Konoha's ability to cultivate the next generation of talent was known to everyone.

Faced with such a powerful nation, would Sand Village still launch a surprise attack and declare war on Konoha like in the original plot?

[Lord Qingyue, Sand Village has no vegetation at all, and its finances have never been promising. Without funding from the nation, Sand Village's military lacks economic support, and the village will soon collapse.]

[So Sand Village has always wanted an opportunity to make a desperate gamble, and the closest, easiest target to invade is the powerful Land of Fire. But that doesn't seem right. Stone Village in the Land of Earth is also very close to Sand Village. Judging by strength, attacking the Land of Earth should be the safer choice, right?]

[That has to do with the Third Hokage's governing methods during his time in office. During the Second Shinobi World War, two of the Legendary Sannin left the village, the Hokage candidate Dan Kato died, and so on.

After losing so many outstanding ninja, the Third became indecisive. When it came to national affairs, he retreated whenever possible. That was how he protected the village.

Then there was the matter of hatred. After the Second Shinobi World War, the two villages had undoubtedly formed a blood feud. The couple Sakumo killed were Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, and Chiyo was one of Sand Village's upper echelon. Besides, compared to invading the resource-poor Land of Earth, it was obviously better to take a juicy bite out of the Land of Fire.]

So that was it. According to Hill's analysis, the Third Shinobi World War was inevitable.

Once Sand Village declared war on Konoha, the other great nations would not simply stand by, much less become our allies. It looked like we would be facing four enemies alone.

Fortunately, Rain Village did not seem to be participating this time. Otherwise, it would have been one against five...

"Since the Second Shinobi World War, Sand Village and we have had constant minor conflicts. Though I tried to negotiate peace, I never succeeded. Recently, the clashes have become increasingly serious, and the situation does not look promising. The reason is..."

"It was the couple I killed during the Second Shinobi World War. They were Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law. At the same time, Princess Tsunade broke through Chiyo's poisons. If it were me, I would not be able to let go of that hatred either."

"So, Sakumo, under such circumstances, I do not wish for children to step onto the battlefield. Even so, do you still wish to recommend that these two be promoted to Chunin?"

The old Third was truly terrifying. Even I had nearly been fooled. Speaking like that really did establish his image as lofty and noble. No wonder everyone in the village respected the Third Hokage so deeply.

Still, there was probably some sincerity in those words too, wasn't there?

After a moment of silence, Sakumo, who had been lowering his head, suddenly looked up.

"Third Hokage, they can definitely do it. If anyone in the future can inherit the name Konoha White Fang, it will certainly be my son, Kakashi Hatake. And if anyone can stand alongside the name White Fang, it will certainly be this little brother Qingyue."

Hey, hey, Sakumo, don't just go putting such a huge title on me! What if you get me shoved into ANBU or Root later?

"Such high praise? Very well. However, this year's two Chunin Ninja Exams have already passed. I will arrange a special Chunin Ninja Exam to determine whether the two of them are qualified to become Chunin."

"Understood!"

"Thank you, Third Hokage!"

At Sakumo's signal, Kakashi and I thanked the old Third from behind him, then left the Hokage's office to await further notice.

"Come on, Brother Sakumo, you've praised me so highly. How am I supposed to get by in the future...?"

The current Sakumo Hatake was already a thorn in Danzo's side. It was dangerous enough for him to be my Jonin instructor at this time, yet today he had praised me so extravagantly before the old Third.

An eight-year-old Chunin, soon to be exceptionally promoted to Jonin, plus all that flattery.

I could already picture Danzo coming to recruit me.

"Huh? After today, the Third Hokage will definitely see you in a new light. He'll pay much more attention to you from now on. Maybe you'll be able to enter ANBU soon!"

I had nearly forgotten. To ninja like them, gaining the Hokage's favor mattered more than anything else.

"Brother Sakumo, do you know why you would be condemned by everyone after choosing to save your comrades during a mission?"

To prevent something similar from happening in the future, I should enlighten this big brother whose head was filled with nothing but swordsmanship as soon as possible.

Logically speaking, with Sakumo's warm personality, he should have been socially adept. Otherwise, he would not have enjoyed such high prestige in the village.

But whenever these matters came up, why did his brain seem to shut down?

"Why bring that up all of a sudden? Why would I be condemned by everyone... Surely because, in everyone's eyes, the mission is more important. Ninja should be that way too..."

"Wrong, wrong, my big brother. This has nothing to do with what you chose. In fact, no one would even care about that."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Kakashi, can you see any problems here?"

I did not rush to tell Sakumo the truth. I wanted to use the opportunity to test Kakashi. If the father and son had the same personality, I would have a hard time in the future.

"I also thought it felt strange. And Father, don't you think the news spread too quickly?"

Very good. Kakashi had at least noticed part of the issue, which meant he had been suspicious of the matter.

"The neighbors kept passing it around from person to person... Ah, now that you mention it, it really does seem strange."

"And Father, you're an important figure in Konoha. The missions you carry out should all be classified. Even if a mission failed, the higher-ups should not have allowed the residents to spread the news like this. It is clearly detrimental to unity, so I'm afraid..."

As expected of a genius, Kakashi had already noticed the heart of the problem.

Publicizing the failure of one's own village's top ninja was completely detrimental to unity.

The normal course of action would certainly be to first see whether the news could be concealed to avoid causing panic among the villagers, then find a way to minimize the losses.

Not let the information fly everywhere and leave everyone anxious and unsettled.

"Ahem, Brother Sakumo, your reputation in the village is far from ordinary. The undisputed MVP of the Second Shinobi World War... the most valuable ninja. The name Konoha White Fang resounded throughout the Shinobi World. The Hokage's half-sleeve, the support of numerous Jonin. With such prestige, rumors naturally emerged that you would become the next Hokage. There is plenty to work with there. Suppose there were other higher-ups whose ideals conflicted with the Third's. Do you think they might secretly meddle?"

After I explained it like that, Sakumo finally no longer looked completely confused. Kakashi, on the other hand, revealed a horrified expression. It seemed he had already guessed something.

"That's right. Someone was clearly pushing this matter behind the scenes. They used it to suppress your prestige, shaking the Third Hokage's authority and making it less secure, then allowed the Hokage candidate they supported to seize the opportunity to earn military achievements."

"Who would do such a thing? Everyone respects the Third Hokage..."

Sakumo stopped halfway through his sentence. It seemed he already had someone in mind.

"Brother Sakumo, ninja should keep a lower profile."