Chapter 26

What he had said was, "I didn't see Sarutobi Shinnosuke die at the Second Kazekage's hands," not, "I never saw Sarutobi Shinnosuke during the mission."

Simply put, Jiraiya had played a word game with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He had chosen the same stance as Orochimaru.

He would remain neutral between the two sides.

It's not like I lied, anyway.

I really didn't see Sarutobi Shinnosuke die at the Second Kazekage's hands.

Did I?

Kakashi Hatake was on the ground, wrestling with Obito, when Kurenai Yuhi grabbed him and dragged him over.

She hadn't come willingly at all; that girl had dragged her here by force.

"Hatake Style: Chidori!"

The white afterimage in midair was knocked away and briefly hung suspended.

Hatake Sakumo formed a hand seal with one hand.

Blinding lightning suddenly erupted from his sword-wielding right arm. As though completely out of control, Lightning Release chakra spread from his palm all the way up his arm.

Following Xuan Zhe's suggestion, he had compressed all his Lightning Release chakra into his hand to produce this effect.

But Xuan Zhe himself couldn't remember the hand seals for Chidori in the original story, so that was all the advice he could offer.

Hatake Sakumo was already highly skilled at stimulating his body with Lightning Release to boost his speed.

With Chidori added to the mix, he was far more formidable than before.

"Pfft-whoosh!"

When lightning erupted from his right arm and he charged forward again-

Even the air gave a muffled boom.

Chirrrrr-!!!

Chidori's piercing shriek sounded just like a thousand birds screaming at once.

That was where its name came from.

This speed... the stimulation is too much!

Hatake Sakumo gritted his teeth as his vision grew increasingly blurred.

The Lightning Release chakra overstimulated his body. His speed had increased, but his eyes couldn't keep up at all.

On the ground, Xuan Zhe tipped his head back and watched the figure hurtling down like lightning.

It was definitely faster than the version Kakashi Hatake would master in the future.

"Wat-"

Little Kurenai Yuhi cried out in fright as she watched.

But White Fang was simply too fast with Chidori active.

She had barely begun to say "watch" and hadn't yet gotten out "out."

Hatake Sakumo had already landed before Xuan Zhe.

At the very instant they were about to collide, Xuan Zhe's pupils suddenly contracted.

A deep voice, weathered with age, suddenly thundered through his mind-

"Call to me..."

"Huh!?"

Xuan Zhe's expression changed abruptly.

Screech-clang!

The brothers flashed past each other.

By the time Kakashi, Obito, and the other spectators could make out their positions again-

Hatake Sakumo was already standing behind Xuan Zhe.

Then a thin cut slowly opened beneath the outer corner of Xuan Zhe's right eye, and a trickle of blood ran down his cheek.

"Dad won!?"

Kakashi, who had just been pinning Obito down and beating him, shouted excitedly.

Spurt!

But he had barely finished speaking-

When a large gash suddenly burst open on Hatake Sakumo's right arm.

Blood sprayed from the slit in his ninja uniform.

"Dad!!"

Kakashi cried out and ran straight over.

"It's just a scratch. Nothing to worry about."

Hatake Sakumo waved a hand and smiled.

Rather than the sword wound on his arm, he was more concerned about the back of his hand-the Lightning Release chakra had stimulated it until the skin split open.

"It still needs more development."

Hatake Sakumo spoke quietly.

Rin Nohara crouched beside Xuan Zhe, deftly opened the medical kit she carried, and carefully bandaged his wound.

Watching from the side, Obito was so jealous his teeth practically ached.

"With your reflexes, you should've been able to dodge that, right, Xuan Zhe?"

Hatake Sakumo withdrew his gaze and turned to ask.

Xuan Zhe had already sat down cross-legged and answered offhandedly, "I gained a little something."

But inwardly, he was pondering the sound that had suddenly rung out in his head-

Could it be...

[Host: Hatake Xuanzhe]

[Swordsmanship: Hatake Style Swordsmanship (Naruto world) → Hawkeye Black Blade Swordsmanship (One Piece world), evolution: %]

[Fire Release Ninjutsu (Naruto world) → Kekkei Genkai: Blaze Release (Naruto world), evolution: 82.5%]

[Body Flicker Technique (Naruto world) → Hohō (Bleach world), evolution: 30%]

As he was checking the panel, Tsunade's faintly sarcastic voice drifted over.

"Well, well, our Lord Black Blade certainly knows how to enjoy himself."

The moment she finished speaking, Rin Nohara hurriedly backed away two steps in fright.

Her imposing presence had thoroughly intimidated the little girl.

Meanwhile, at the Sarutobi Clan's old residence.

"Get out!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, had once again been thrown out of the bedroom by his wife, Biwako.

Although his son Sarutobi Shinnosuke had died, Hiruzen Sarutobi could still maintain an outward appearance of calm.

Biwako had no such rationality left.

The moment she heard the news, she had nearly rushed off to fight Xuan Zhe to the death.

Coupled with the things Xuan Zhe had said before leaving Konoha, she was all but convinced that Hatake Xuanzhe had caused her son's death.

In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi had stopped her.

The price was-sleep in the study tonight!

He was in his fifties and couldn't even get that much consideration. Who would believe it?

What Jiraiya had told Hiruzen Sarutobi that day-"I didn't see Shinnosuke die at the Second Kazekage's hands"-had sent Lord Hokage's suspicions soaring straight to ninety-nine percent.

Since Jiraiya hadn't seen it, that meant his eldest son most likely hadn't died at the Kazekage's hands.

Instead, Xuan Zhe had killed him!

Even if he hadn't killed him personally, merely standing by and letting him die was enough to make Hiruzen Sarutobi hate him completely.

If Xuan Zhe knew the convoluted thoughts running through the old man's head, he probably wouldn't be able to resist pissing on him to wake him up.

He would have to quit sugar first, too-what if the old bastard tasted something sweet and got addicted?

Saving him was wrong, and not saving him was wrong.

What the fuck do you want, then?

But if Jiraiya had said, "I never saw Sarutobi Shinnosuke during the mission at all," his suspicions would have risen straight to a hundred percent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the corridor of his home as the night wind blew, without even someone beside him to warm his bed.

Only that one percent was missing, but that one percent was enough to be fatal.

What could he do, no matter how much he suspected Xuan Zhe? He had no evidence.

Ultimately, the key was that Xuan Zhe was strong enough.

Had it been an ordinary Genin, a Chunin, or a Jonin without any backing-

Who would need evidence? He could simply send the Anbu over at night to tie them up.

The Elders Council and the Hokage had jointly held Konoha's highest authority for nearly thirty years. When had they ever bothered with something like evidence?

"Lord Hokage."

A figure suddenly landed in the courtyard.

He was so fast that even most of Konoha's Jonin couldn't keep up.

That conspicuous yellow hair meant anyone who had seen him once could recognize him at a glance, even with his mask on.

Minato Namikaze, Anbu codename [Hikari].

The Anbu was supposedly Konoha's elite unit, but in reality, it was more like a training class for geniuses.

Those powerhouses in the original story-Minato, Kakashi, Shisui, Itachi-which of them hadn't served in the Anbu?

But the Anbu did covert work, after all.

Once their masks could no longer conceal their fame, they would remove them, leave the unit, and work openly as regular ninja.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi had another purpose in putting geniuses into the Anbu.

Simply put, it was indoctrination.

The Anbu was full of those most deeply influenced by the Will of Fire.

You didn't have to be strong, but you had to be a die-hard fan of the Will of Fire.

In that place, even if you had no interest in the stuff at first, you couldn't escape it after enough time.

Minato Namikaze went without saying.

Fourteen years old, born a commoner, with neither a kekkei genkai nor a special bloodline, he was already strong enough to make ordinary Jonin weak in the knees.

Looking at him, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help recalling his own youth-

Bullshit. When had he ever been that good in his youth?