Chapter 3

"Cut the crap. Take Hatake Xuanzhe down first!"

The Root squad leader gave the order coldly.

Hearing this, Sarutobi Shinnosuke added:

"And Hatake Sakumo! Something went terribly wrong with his mission over in Sunagakure. He must be held accountable!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke had barely finished speaking when Xuan Zhe doubled over laughing. Everyone present was baffled, with no idea what he was laughing at.

"What the hell are you laughing at?"

A sudden sense of foreboding rose in Sarutobi Shinnosuke's heart.

Xuan Zhe did not rush to answer. First, he turned and gave Hatake Sakumo a thumbs-up, then asked:

"Kakashi told me my fragile-hearted big brother here abandoned his mission to save you?"

"Y-yes, so what?!"

A bead of cold sweat slid down Sarutobi Shinnosuke's temple, but he still stiffened his neck and snapped back:

"A Shinobi must put the mission first! Even if he saved me, I won't thank him! If he hadn't abandoned the mission, the war against Sunagakure would have ended long ago! A Shinobi who can't complete his mission is trash! Do you know how much he cost Konoha? Everything I'm doing is for Konoha!"

Tsk, tsk. "For Konoha," over and over.

Just hearing those words, Xuan Zhe was certain this guy was Hiruzen Sarutobi's biological son. No doubt about it.

"By your logic, weren't you the one holding everyone back on that mission? If he deserves punishment, shouldn't you deserve to die?"

Xuan Zhe grinned.

"What did you say?!"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke's expression changed sharply.

"A Shinobi who can't complete his mission is trash. Then someone who holds everyone back is trash among trash."

Xuan Zhe watched him with a smile.

"You piece of trash among trash, what are you still living for? For Konoha's sake, hurry up and kill yourself. Stop wasting resources here."

"Shut up!"

Furious and flustered, Sarutobi Shinnosuke began forming hand seals on the spot.

Because Xuan Zhe was absolutely right.

White Fang had abandoned his mission to save him, making him trash.

But his own lack of strength had gotten him caught in an enemy ambush, forcing White Fang to abandon the mission-so what did that make him? Trash among trash?

But why was Hatake Sakumo the one being condemned instead of him?

As for the reason behind that... well, those who knew, knew.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball over five meters in diameter spewed from Sarutobi Shinnosuke's mouth, hurtling straight at Xuan Zhe's face.

When it came to this fire release technique, only the Uchiha in Konoha were more adept than the Sarutobi Clan.

"Such a temper. Did I hit a sore spot?"

Xuan Zhe stood right where he was without moving. Forget dodging—he showed no intention of even blocking it, simply asking the question with a smile.

The next second, a blur suddenly flashed to his side.

A burst of white light followed.

The fireball burst like a punctured bubble, scattering sparks across the sky.

In the blink of an eye, not a trace remained.

Everyone stared with wide eyes-

Hatake Sakumo!

"G-good heavens! What was that just now? How did he do it?"

Obito shouted at the top of his lungs, his face full of excitement.

Kurenai Yuhi's red eyes nearly popped out. "Too fast. I couldn't see a thing... Uncle Sakumo is so strong."

"Hatake Sakumo, what do you think you're doing?"

The Root squad leader's face was stern, his voice as cold as a blade.

"Don't touch my family."

Hatake Sakumo said little, but his tone was firm.

He was softhearted and good-tempered by nature, but his family was a line no one could cross.

Besides, Xuan Zhe's slap earlier had brought him considerably to his senses.

"Are you trying to **?"

With Danzo, Konoha's second-in-command, backing them, these Root members usually swaggered around.

Calling them a budget version of entitled big shots in the Naruto world was no exaggeration. When they spoke, they never even considered the difference in strength between the two sides.

"Bro, what do we do? I don't wanna go to jail~ I'm scared to death~"

Xuan Zhe tilted his head and winked at Hatake Sakumo, putting on a frightened look.

Hatake Sakumo could not help laughing. He shook his head, then turned to the Root members and said seriously:

"My younger brother smashed Lord Hokage's stone statue. I'll pay for it and explain things to Lord Hokage myself. Will that do?"

Renovating Hokage Rock would cost no small sum.

But he was, after all, second only to the Hokage in the village. If he gritted his teeth, the savings he had built up over the years would cover it.

"He's still a criminal! Lock him in the detention center first! Hatake Sakumo, you're still under surveillance. Don't think you're in the clear!"

The Root members refused to give him any respect.

With a wave of the hand, they were about to send their men charging forward.

Power really could rot people's brains.

They had forgotten that in this world, strength was what truly mattered.

"Now I understand just how easily power goes to people's heads. Do you people deserve your positions? Look how full of yourselves you've become."

Wearing the expression of someone looking at idiots, Xuan Zhe rested his hand on his sword hilt and grinned.

"Bro, I still don't wanna go to jail~ Not even for a minute~"

Hatake Sakumo looked at the utterly unyielding Root Shinobi, his brows furrowed for a long while.

Finally, he sighed, reached behind his back, and grasped the hilt of his **.

"Hatake Sakumo, do you want to ** too?"

Only then did the Root members look uneasy.

"Teach these entitled big shots that strength is what counts."

Xuan Zhe turned to Hatake Sakumo as he spoke.

Hatake Sakumo did not know what "entitled big shots" meant, but he could roughly guess what his younger brother was getting at.

The next second, two white figures moved at once.

Too fast for the eye to follow, they flashed past the Root squad like light.

Whoosh-

Two figures appeared like phantoms on either side of the Root squad.

The brothers sheathed their swords simultaneously, the blades sliding into their scabbards with crisp clicks.

The masks of more than a dozen Root members split down the middle, revealing terrified faces, each bearing a straight bloody line running from forehead to chin.

Then their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed in unison.

"What happened in that instant?" Shizune's eyes widened.

"I couldn't see... I couldn't keep up with their speed at all!" Obito's voice trembled.

"All those elite ninja, taken down just like that?" Rin covered her mouth in disbelief.

Asuma stood rooted to the spot, as though frozen, forgetting even to breathe.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke finally snapped out of it and shouted, "You-you actually killed-"

"Don't panic. I used the back of my blade. They're still alive."

Hatake Sakumo spoke calmly.

"Oh? You used the back of your blade, bro? Why didn't I think of that?"

On the other side, Xuan Zhe flicked the blood off his ** blade, looking surprised.

Eleven had fallen: five unconscious, six dead.

At that moment, the difference between the brothers' ways of handling things became starkly clear.

"Xuan Zhe, you..."

Hatake Sakumo looked at the six ** opposite him, his brows creasing slightly.

"I'll be more careful next time. After all, trying to stomp an ant to death without hurting it really does make it hard to gauge the force."

The corner of Xuan Zhe's mouth lifted in a somewhat mischievous smile.

Obito and the others' mouths formed O's.

That line was far too arrogant.

"So, what should we do with these trusted confidants of Lord Hokage?"

Xuan Zhe strolled forward, his tone teasing. "They're Konoha's real 'Celestial Dragons.'"

The Senju Clan had suffered grievously in the great war a year earlier and now existed in name only.

As for the Uchiha, no one of the younger generation capable of shouldering the entire clan like Tsunade had emerged yet.

The two founding clans had long since declined beyond recognition.

Meanwhile, with Hiruzen Sarutobi firmly established in the Hokage position, the Sarutobi Clan had risen along with him, its standing in Konoha directly surpassing both the Senju and the Uchiha.

That was why Xuan Zhe felt the Sarutobi Clan were the genuine Celestial Dragons.

"P-please stop!"

Watching the two Kage-level fighters approach step by step, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was so frightened that he immediately gave in.

Xuan Zhe stopped, his smile deepening, and turned to Hatake Sakumo to say: