rrrrrrerad ending in patreon ilham20
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded stiffly, jaw tight.
"Jiraiya, I'm glad you didn't fall for it."
"This is clearly the enemy trying to drive a wedge between us."
"You know me. I don't give a damn about the Hokage seat. As long as the job gets done right, I'm happy to hand it over to anyone who can handle it."
"I've been tired for years. I wanted someone to take over a long time ago."
Hiruzen let out a heavy sigh.
"Minato… what a fucking tragedy."
"After the war I was ready to give him the hat. But Orochimaru had Danzo backing him, so I figured I'd wait until Minato had a real shot at winning the election."
"Orochimaru changed. I felt like if he took the seat he'd drag the village straight into the gutter."
"But then Minato died anyway."
"If I'd known, I would've moved faster. I should've been the one to slap the Reaper Death Seal on the Nine-Tails."
Hiruzen's eyes went red, thick with regret and guilt.
"If only Kushina hadn't gotten pregnant…"
"Jiraiya, you want to know why I cut that deal with the Hidden Mist, even when it pissed off the Sand?"
Hiruzen decided to lay the secret out. He needed Jiraiya to believe him.
"Yagura offered me something I couldn't refuse—data that could turn Kushina into a near-perfect jinchuriki. For Konoha, that was worth everything."
"It would've stopped another Nine-Tails rampage from ever happening again."
"And it would've made Kushina stronger than Yagura or Killer B. The kind of power that puts us back on top and takes back everything we lost."
Jiraiya's interest sharpened.
"A near-perfect jinchuriki?"
"Exactly."
Hiruzen nodded.
"Too bad she was already pregnant. During pregnancy the Tailed Beast gets unstable, so we couldn't risk it. I planned to hand her the data right after she gave birth."
"Then the Nine-Tails hit out of nowhere."
"Minato died. Kushina died too."
"Minato died saving the village. That day plenty of people saw the Sharingan pattern in the Nine-Tails' eyes. It was probably the Uchiha's revenge."
Jiraiya's face darkened.
"Controlling the Nine-Tails, killing all those people… whoever's behind this is a goddamn monster."
"Sensei, I'm fine. Go handle village business. I'm not letting the enemy's bullshit get to me. You can relax."
Hiruzen nodded, visibly relieved.
"Rest up, Jiraiya. Heal as fast as you can. There might still be a way to fix those arms and legs someday."
With Jiraiya's reassurance, Hiruzen finally breathed easier. He headed straight for the newspaper office.
"Homura."
Homura Mitokado got the alert and hurried downstairs to meet him.
"Homura, how's the paper holding up?"
"Still solid."
Homura led Hiruzen upstairs, talking as they climbed.
"Konoha Weekly's doing pretty well now—news section's strong, stories are pulling readers. I pulled in a few dozen writers from the Land of Fire…"
Hiruzen cut in.
"How's it stacking up against One Piece?"
Homura went quiet.
They stepped into the office and shut the door.
"Homura, you've heard that rumor floating around, right?"
"Yeah. Total bullshit."
Homura said, "No surprise it's the Sand Village again. They love this kind of dirty work these days."
Hiruzen shook his head.
"This time… I don't think it is them."
Homura frowned.
"Why not?"
Hiruzen explained, "A rumor like this actually hurts the Sand too. Rasa's fight with you made half the ninja world call him the real number one. This story would trash that reputation."
"And you're crippled now. Driving a wedge between us doesn't help the Sand—it hurts them. Rasa wouldn't pull something this stupid."
Homura paused, thinking it over.
"You've got a point. But if it's not the Sand, then who?"
Hiruzen said, "Rock or Cloud are both possibilities. The Mist's got enough problems—they wouldn't dare piss us off again right now."
"Cloud's the most likely, if you ask me. They used the chaos to grab the Byakugan. They know we'll hate them for it, so they're spreading this shit to keep me distracted."
Homura nodded slowly.
"Even Cloud's stooping this low now."
"The ninja world's morals really are going straight to hell."
"Back when we were young, none of this garbage existed. Ever since Ōnoki kicked it off, the Sand ran with it, and now Cloud's doing the same."
"Pretty soon nobody's reputation will be worth a damn. No more respectful rivals."
Both men sighed, agreeing the new generation had no honor left. Morals had dropped way too far.
"Homura, I need you to run a statement in the Konoha Weekly. I just talked to Jiraiya—neither of us believes that rumor."
"Print it loud and clear: Konoha strongly condemns this kind of rumor-mongering. We'll hunt down whoever's behind it and make them pay."
Homura didn't hesitate.
"Don't worry, Hiruzen. I'll slap it right on the front page."
…
Outside Konoha, in a roadside town.
Kakashi sat by the window in a teahouse, listening to locals gossip about the rumor. He let out a cold snort.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi… you'd do anything to keep that damn hat."
"My father. Minato-sensei. Now Jiraiya-senpai."
"Is the seat really that fucking important?"
"By the time the village is gone, what the hell are you gonna do with it?"
A figure walked toward him. Kakashi raised a hand.
The person came upstairs and sat across from him.
"Kakashi-senpai."
"Shisui."