Konoha, the Hokage's Office.
"Lord Hokage."
Hiashi walked in alone and dropped to one knee. "I, Hyuga Hiashi, am willing to offer my corpse to appease Kumogakure's anger in exchange for peace for Konoha."
"This..."
The Third Hokage had not expected Hiashi to volunteer to die. He sighed softly. "Hiashi, why must you go this far?"
"To protect Konoha and my younger brother, Hizashi, I have no other choice."
Two days had passed, but there had still been no word from Shinichi, who had given him his promise. Hiashi had lost all hope, so he had simply come to the Third Hokage to volunteer for death.
Of course, not a single elder in his clan would agree with his decision.
As expected, those elders had proposed using Hizashi in his place. Unfortunately for them, he had anticipated this and hidden Hizashi somewhere extremely secluded. No matter how hard the elders searched, they could not find him. Hiashi alone held complete control over the situation.
"Hiashi, don't lose heart so soon."
To his surprise, the Third Hokage shook his head. "I understand your desire to protect Konoha and Hizashi, but things haven't reached the point of no return. To tell you the truth, Shinichi headed to the Land of Fire Border two days ago. If he can successfully hold off the Fourth Raikage, this farce will end right there."
"Hatake Shinichi? It really was him?"
Hiashi was stunned.
For a moment, he did not know what to say.
He had thought Shinichi was merely deceiving him, yet Shinichi had actually chosen to face the Fourth Raikage alone. Hiashi felt deeply ashamed.
"But is Shinichi really confident he can do it? That's the Fourth Raikage we're talking about..."
Hiashi spoke in a low voice.
"I don't know either."
The Third Hokage took a deep drag of smoke and said evenly, "But he seemed very confident, so I couldn't very well stop him. At this point, all we can do is wait for news."
Whoosh.
Just then, an ANBU operative appeared without warning and swiftly handed an intelligence scroll to the Third Hokage. "Lord Hokage, urgent intelligence from the border!"
"Oh?"
The Third Hokage did not even take the time to put down his smoking pipe. He hurriedly opened the scroll, afraid of missing a single crucial word.
Moments later, deep satisfaction spread across his aged face. By the end, he could not help bursting into laughter. "Excellent! Well done, Hatake Shinichi! I never imagined he would actually pull it off!"
"Lord Hokage, what happened? Did Shinichi really..."
Forcing down his shock, Hiashi hurriedly asked, his eyes brimming with anticipation.
"Indeed!"
The Third Hokage smiled. "Shinichi successfully drove back the Fourth Raikage! And according to Yamanaka Daisuke at the border, the battle was practically a one-sided rout. The Fourth Raikage was badly wounded and knocked unconscious, and he still hasn't woken up! It seems all of us have underestimated Shinichi all these years. The Hatake Clan has truly produced an extraordinary man!"
"From this moment on, Konoha finally has a new hero!"
Konoha's crisis had been resolved in an instant, and the outcome of this battle would shock the entire shinobi world!
More importantly, with someone as powerful as Hatake Shinichi guarding Konoha, the other ninja villages, including Kumogakure, would probably no longer dare harbor any designs on Konoha.
It was no exaggeration to say that Shinichi had truly won Konoha at least ten years of peace with this battle!
A new hero of Konoha had been born!
"Wonderful!"
Even Hiashi's usually stern, rigid face broke into a slight smile.
No one could have imagined events taking such a bizarre turn, or that the man who completely reversed the situation would be a chunin who had barely drawn any attention in Konoha for years!
Only now did he finally realize just how much weight the favor Shinichi had mentioned earlier carried!
"Could he have guessed long ago that Kumogakure would target our Hyuga Clan?"
For some reason, a strange thought suddenly surfaced in Hiashi's mind.
But it was only a fleeting notion, and he did not dwell on it. After all, how could anyone in this world foresee the future?
Beneath Konoha, at Root!
Danzo's aged face was dark with fury as he hurled the intelligence report to the ground. He was clearly in a foul mood.
"Damn it! Why is it Hatake Shinichi again? He actually has Kage-level strength, and even the Fourth Raikage was completely outmatched?! That damned Hatake Clan! To think they could produce someone like him even after White Fang!"
"I should have killed that brat back then too. If only I'd known!"
In the darkness, Danzo once again flew into an impotent rage.
Ever since Hatake Shinichi had truly come to his attention, the brat had seemed like his natural nemesis. No matter what Danzo tried, Shinichi seemed able to anticipate his moves and respond in the most effective way possible.
Lately, Danzo had found himself constrained in everything he did, as though a pair of terrifying eyes were constantly watching him.
If he acted rashly, he might even risk death...
"That Hatake brat cannot be allowed to live!"
Danzo seethed with rage, the murderous intent in his eyes almost tangible.
The scene returned to the Land of Fire Border.
"Everyone, stop staring at me like that. Go get on with whatever you need to do."
Feeling the fervent, worshipful gazes of the many Konoha ninja on him, Shinichi grew a little uncomfortable and waved them away.
"Shinichi, you're incredible!"
"You wounded the Fourth Raikage so badly that he's still unconscious. Kumogakure probably won't dare invade our Land of Fire Border for years now. Shinichi, it's all thanks to you!"
"At first, I thought Lord Hokage had lost his mind, sending you to face the Fourth Raikage. Now I see how shortsighted I was. I couldn't have been more foolish!"
Everyone talked over one another, all saying more or less the same thing. In short, they were praising Shinichi to the skies!
Seeing their fanatical expressions, Shinichi even wondered whether they had joined some strange religious organization.
"Keep it low-key! I'm actually someone who likes to keep a low profile, so let's skip all the songs of praise!"
Shinichi clasped his hands behind his back, putting on the air of a master.
Fame means no more to me than drifting clouds. How could I, Hatake Washing Machine, be so shallow?
If you really want to thank me, just pay me in cash!
"No matter what, Shinichi, you're Konoha's hero now!"
Yamanaka Daisuke smiled.
"Hero! Hero!"
The Konoha ninja began shouting again.
The members of the Hyuga Clan were the most excited of all. After all, their clan could be said to have sparked this war. With Shinichi defeating the Fourth Raikage, they were undoubtedly the most grateful.
After a round of cheers, everyone gradually calmed down.
"Shinichi, when do you plan to return to Konoha? I'm sure Lord Hokage and the others are already prepared to welcome you back."
Yamanaka Daisuke asked again.
"There's no rush."
To his surprise, Shinichi shook his head and said thoughtfully, "A victory banquet would draw too much attention. That's not my style. Tell Lord Hokage for me that I might return a few days late. Oh, and remember to ask him to teach those members of the Kumogakure Envoy Group a lesson. Don't let them leave Konoha so easily."
With the fighting at the front settled, they could naturally afford to take a tougher stance in the negotiations back home.
As Konoha's Hokage, Shinichi believed the Third Hokage would not let this chance to hold his head high slip by.
As for returning to Konoha, he really was in no hurry.
He had finally left the village. He had to spend at least a couple of days enjoying himself before going back, or it would be a tremendous waste!
Before, he had lacked the strength to protect himself, so he could only lie low in the village every day, terrified of being killed. But things were different now. With Kamui at his disposal, where in the shinobi world couldn't he go?
"Kusagakure seems pretty close to here. Maybe I'll take a look there first. Who knows? I might stumble across a pleasant surprise."
Studying the map in his hands, Shinichi rubbed his chin and murmured to himself.
Judging by the timing, she should still be in Kusagakure, right?
Whatever. Even if I don't find her, I'll just treat it as a vacation. It's on the village's dime anyway, so what the hell is there to worry about?
I'm a bona fide hero of Konoha. Surely I can get my travel expenses reimbursed?
Of course I can!
Before you continue