Sakumo Hatake was finished.
That outcome had already become inevitable.
The main issue was the Hokage's silence, allowing the rumors to spread throughout the entire village unchecked.
Even children now knew about Sakumo Hatake's incident.
Arin adjusted his glasses, the smile on his face becoming increasingly gentle—so gentle that even Nawaki and Minato felt goosebumps rise across their skin.
"But… missions are supposed to be confidential, right?" Kushina suddenly raised a fatal question.
"Whether they succeed or fail, aside from ninja records, ordinary people shouldn't know anything about them."
"So why does everyone know now?"
"Because two ninja committed suicide over this mission," Minato explained beside her.
"And one of them did it in the hospital," Nawaki added. "Everyone witnessed it firsthand. The other left behind a suicide note after dying."
"This whole thing caused an enormous uproar. It's the first time in Konoha someone committed suicide over a failed mission."
"Apparently the failed mission caused huge losses for Konoha."
"Huge losses?" Arin sneered.
"The so-called 'huge losses' are just White Fang-senpai's reputation being completely destroyed."
"There's no way he can become Hokage now."
Nawaki and Minato both fell silent.
Originally, Sakumo Hatake had practically been the predetermined next Hokage candidate.
Now—
No one would continue supporting him.
The civilians would not.
What they wanted was a White Fang who constantly brought victories and good news.
The ninja would not either.
Although many were questioning whether missions or comrades mattered more, in this era—
Mission failure itself was the original sin.
Aside from Sakumo losing his reputation, Root had also suffered enormous losses.
To prevent information from leaking, Danzo had ordered Arin to silence everyone involved.
Those had all been jonin.
The backbone of Root.
And they had simply been discarded.
At that point, Sakumo Hatake's defeat no longer seemed unfair at all.
"Why can't White Fang-sama become Hokage anymore?" Kushina asked quietly.
Nawaki sighed.
"Because only someone acknowledged by everyone can become Hokage."
"It's not that becoming Hokage makes everyone acknowledge you."
Minato and Arin both nodded.
That had been the First Hokage's famous quote.
Although technically, the Second Hokage had originally said it to stop Uchiha Madara from becoming Hokage.
And honestly—
The Third Hokage himself had not truly followed that principle either.
Wasn't he the perfect example of someone who gained recognition only after becoming Hokage?
Kushina's expression became complicated.
She did not truly fail to understand the reason.
She simply wanted confirmation one more time.
Minato suddenly smiled warmly toward her.
"As long as we work hard and do everything properly, everyone will definitely acknowledge us someday."
Only then did the gloom on Kushina's face begin fading.
Arin elbowed Nawaki lightly.
"Learn from him. That's what a real expert looks like."
Nawaki rolled his eyes helplessly.
And you still have the nerve to talk about Minato?
Kushina and Minato both blushed immediately.
Arin suddenly turned his head.
At the distant street corner stood a beautiful red-haired woman quietly watching them.
Uzumaki Mito.
When she noticed Arin's gaze, she nodded toward him.
Arin returned the gesture calmly.
"Big bro, what are you looking at?" Nawaki turned his head curiously—
But Mito had already vanished.
"Nothing."
Arin looked toward Uzumaki Kushina.
She was currently laughing brightly beside Minato, completely unaware that malice had already begun targeting her.
The next generation's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
…
The news surrounding Sakumo Hatake's failed mission showed no signs of stopping.
Instead, it only intensified further.
Yet amidst that atmosphere—
The entirety of Konoha suddenly entered a state of heightened alert.
All ninja were mobilized to monitor the entire village.
But no one actually knew what had happened.
They had simply received orders and obeyed them.
The whole village carried an atmosphere of impending crisis.
In contrast, the now-duty-free Arin felt completely relaxed.
He wandered through the streets shopping with Machi and Hyuga Natsuna.
"Machi-nee, try this one! It'd definitely look good on you!"
Compared to Machi's constant deadpan expression, the younger-looking Natsuna appeared far more lively as she constantly buzzed around Machi.
"Arin-nii, do you want to eat this?"
Aburame Mushihime—despite already being fifteen yet somehow still not growing taller—circled around Arin nonstop.
"Haah…" ×2
Arin and Machi sighed simultaneously.
The two exchanged glances.
Both felt the people beside them were incredibly annoying.
In a certain sense, Arin and Machi were actually quite similar.
Both were Transmutation-type ability users.
Both constantly lied.
The only difference was how they expressed themselves.
Machi outwardly appeared cold and detached.
Arin outwardly appeared like someone overflowing with malicious humor.
Honestly…
Machi might actually be the better one.
The four wandered casually through the streets.
Machi bit into a dango while staring toward the distant burst of overwhelming chakra.
"What exactly is that monster?" she asked curiously.
That level of aura—
Even in her world, nothing like it existed.
Even if every member of the Phantom Troupe combined all their aura together, it probably would not reach even one-tenth of that amount.
Calling it divine would not be an exaggeration.
If any Nen user possessed that quantity of aura, they would practically become omnipotent.
Arin bit into a meatball skewer while gazing toward the chakra erupting into the sky.
"It's not even considered one of the strongest weapons in this world."
"One of the Ten Tailed Beasts."
"The Nine-Tails."
"There are ten monsters like that?!" Machi was genuinely shocked.
One alone could probably flatten the entire Hunter Continent.
And he was saying there were ten of them?
How the hell had this world survived?
"You're overestimating them."
Arin sensed her shock immediately.
"They only possess enormous chakra reserves."
"But chakra isn't nearly as versatile as Nen."
"And there are still plenty of people in this world capable of suppressing them."
He paused thoughtfully before continuing.
"Besides, this one is only the second strongest."
"The others don't possess chakra on this scale."
After all, when Hagoromo distributed chakra, it basically went:
One share for Shukaku.
One share for Kurama.
One share for Matatabi.
Another share for Kurama.
One share for Isobu.
And another share for Kurama.
The favoritism had been ridiculous.
That was why the Nine-Tails possessed overwhelmingly greater chakra than the others.
"Then what's the strongest one?" Machi asked curiously.
Something this terrifying was only second place?
Arin's expression turned serious when he thought of the Ten-Tails.
"That one is the real monster."
"The entire ninja world would need to unite just to suppress it."
"Though thankfully… it's not something that appears easily."
"This world really is terrifying," Machi muttered in amazement.
Arin glanced sideways at her.
"Your world isn't weak either."
"The things on the Dark Continent are far stranger than these creatures."
The Hunter × Hunter world could become a server precisely because it was fundamentally on par with the Naruto server itself.
Arin then looked toward the erupting chakra once more.
It was gradually shrinking.
Or more accurately—
Being sealed away.
And that signified only one thing.
The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had changed.
✨ Bonus Chapter Goals ✨
10 Reviews = 1 Bonus Chapter
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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