I'll Take an Arm as Interest

"Lord Ziyan, we were wrong in this matter, but everything we did was for... Aaargh!" Danzo broke off with a sudden scream.

Danzo clutched his severed right shoulder with his left hand. Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively moved to heal him, taking a step with his left foot, but the thought of Hatake Ziyan standing beside him forced him to stop himself.

"I'll take this arm as interest! Remember, the Hatake Clan isn't yours to mess with. Understood?" Hatake Ziyan walked up to Danzo and looked down at him.

"L-Lord... ngh! Lord Ziyan!" Danzo gathered himself and said through the pain, "Thank you for sparing my life, Lord Ziyan!"

"Hmm? You have some sense after all. I thought you might lose control and attack me. Then I'd have a reason to kill a senior official like you! After all, your sudden death would have a negative impact on Konoha. I don't particularly care, but Sakumo, that earnest boy, does! I'll let you off this time!" Hatake Ziyan sounded rather disappointed.

Danzo's face was already twisted with pain, but at Hatake Ziyan's words, the corners of his mouth twitched. He hadn't expected this Lord Sword God to be such a sneaky bastard. Had he called the arm interest just to provoke him into attacking? What a nasty old man!

Hiruzen Sarutobi broke into an even colder sweat. He was no longer worrying about what would happen to Danzo. Now he was worrying about what would happen to him.

Hatake Ziyan rubbed his chin, then stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Under Hatake Ziyan's gaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt uncomfortable all over, terrified that the man would attack at the slightest disagreement.

"Enough, stop trembling! I don't intend to attack you!" Hatake Ziyan told Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Thank you for showing mercy, Lord Sword God!" Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly said.

"But!"

At that word, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart sank. What trouble is he going to stir up now?

"But! You'll have to find a way to clear up all the slander you've heaped on Hatake Sakumo. One day should be enough, right?" Hatake Ziyan asked.

Only then did Hiruzen Sarutobi relax. He hurriedly nodded. "No problem! No problem!"

"Mm! All right, then! This is no fun. I'm leaving!" Hatake Ziyan said, his interest fading.

With that, he walked out, paying the two of them no further attention!

With a rueful smile, Hatake Sakumo bowed to Hiruzen Sarutobi. "I'm sorry, Lord Hokage! I didn't expect Uncle Ziyan to appear so suddenly!"

"It's all right. This was indeed Danzo's fault. He shouldn't have acted that way, and he's received the punishment he deserved. I hope you won't hold it against us, Sakumo!" Hiruzen Sarutobi deftly shifted the blame onto Danzo.

Hatake Sakumo glanced at Danzo lying on the floor and said, "You're too kind, Lord Hokage. I'll take my leave!"

With that, Hatake Sakumo also left the Hokage Building.

"Someone, get Elder Danzo medical treatment at once!" As soon as Hatake Sakumo had left, Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted toward the door.

Two Anbu ninjas rushed in and carried Danzo out.

Hiruzen Sarutobi paid them no attention. He went alone to the roof of the Hokage Building and gazed at the distant Hokage Rock.

"Lord First, you really left Konoha with a huge problem!" Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured.

Hatake Ziyan and Hatake Sakumo returned to Sakumo's courtyard.

"Uncle Ziyan, didn't you go a little too far today?" Hatake Sakumo asked cautiously.

At Sakumo's words, Hatake Ziyan slammed his hand on the table. "Hatake Sakumo! What did I teach you back then? This is a world where the strong prey on the weak. Did you think killing yourself would completely put those two men's fears to rest?"

Hatake Sakumo lowered his head and clenched his fists. "What else could I do? Was I supposed to abandon my clansmen and Kakashi's life? I couldn't do that!"

Smack!

Hatake Ziyan slapped Hatake Sakumo across the face and shouted angrily, "Useless! Your strength is what gives you leverage! As long as you're alive, who would dare touch your clansmen or your family? Wouldn't they fear your retaliation? Don't they have families and clansmen of their own?

"And do you think your clansmen would survive if you died? Once you're dead and they've lost your protection, they'll die on one dangerous mission after another! As for your son Kakashi, if he has talent, they'll raise him to be their puppet. If he doesn't, he'll die quietly along with the rest of your clan!"

"But..."

Hatake Sakumo tried to argue, but Hatake Ziyan cut him off. "You want to say that if you really resisted, Konoha would descend into chaos? That the other nations would exploit the opening and invade the Land of Fire, right?"

Hatake Sakumo nodded in agreement.

"Hmph!" Hatake Ziyan snorted, then continued, "All my lessons were wasted on you! You're the Konoha White Fang, renowned throughout the other four nations. Do you think they wouldn't get any ideas if you died? As long as you're strong enough, no one will dare say no to you! Indecisive and softhearted! That's what's truly irresponsible toward Konoha and the Land of Fire!"

Hatake Ziyan stared coldly at Hatake Sakumo. Seeing his bewildered expression, he could only continue explaining. "What is the will of fire? It isn't some bullshit creed about loyalty to the Hokage. Hashirama's original intention was peace. The true will of fire means being willing to sacrifice yourself for Konoha's stability, for your friends, and for the civilians of the Land of Fire to live in peace-not throwing your life away for some damned Third Hokage!"

Hatake Ziyan's words pierced Sakumo's heart like a sharp sword. Everything he had always held fast to had been wrong. Hatake Sakumo found that hard to accept.

Seeing Hatake Sakumo's state, Hatake Ziyan knew he needed time to accept it. He rose and went out into the courtyard, leaving Sakumo alone to think things through.

As soon as Hatake Ziyan entered the courtyard, he saw a little boy wearing a mask walk in.

"Who are you?" The boy who had just entered drew the short sword from his back and took a fighting stance.

The little boy was Hatake Sakumo's son-Kakashi Hatake. Hatake Ziyan studied the adorable little Kakashi. Compared with the dead-eyed man he would become, the cute little brat before him was much more endearing.

Hatake Ziyan immediately felt like teasing little Kakashi.

"Brat, are you Sakumo's son?" Hatake Ziyan drew the sword at his waist and pointed it at Kakashi.

Kakashi glanced toward his father's room and shouted, but his father was lost in thought and didn't notice his call.

When his father didn't answer, Kakashi Hatake tightened his grip on his short sword and stared at Hatake Ziyan. "What have you done to my father?"