"What do you mean 'don't chase them'?" Fugaku, clutching his wound, frowned at Jokichi. "Those two guys were plotting something detrimental to Konoha."
"Do you have any evidence?" Jokichi looked at him indifferently.
"My experience wouldn't be wrong. Arrest them..."
"Captain Fugaku, is this how you've always handled cases?" Jokichi interrupted him, unable to hold back a cold snort.
"Even if you catch them and interrogate them to get evidence, what use is it?"
"Sunagakure and Konoha are allies. As long as they haven't taken action, even if Lord Hokage knows they're preparing to do something detrimental to Konoha, he won't do anything to them."
"Because what Konoha wants is to maintain the alliance, not go to war with Sunagakure. As long as there's a sliver of possibility for peace, Lord Hokage will not choose to initiate a falling out."
The Daimyo of the Land of Wind had outsourced the citizens' missions to Konoha. Once a war started, all this would be gone.
That kind of loss was no less than losing a war.
No, as long as it wasn't a disastrous defeat, it probably wouldn't be as big a loss.
The citizen missions of a great nation, even if they couldn't feed the entire village's ninjas, could at least feed a portion of them!
It could be said that once war broke out, regardless of the outcome, Konoha had already lost.
Why in the anime, after the Konoha Crush plan and Tsunade took power, did she unconditionally release Sunagakure's prisoners?
Did you really think it was out of kindness?
How is that possible!
She killed quite a lot of people during the war.
It could only be said that the game between nations is far from being as simple as war.
As someone in power, one must consider the overall situation.
If nothing unexpected happens, Baki might even flee directly to the Hokage's office to strike first and complain.
However, Kabuto's identity could indeed no longer be hidden.
But if Hayate went to pursue alone, he would definitely be counter-killed.
Kabuto's cunning was even harder to deal with than his strength.
"Lord Hokage has also heard rumors about Sunagakure's movements, which is why he dispatched me to tail Yakushi Kabuto," Hayate said at this moment.
He knew more about this matter, so he agreed with Jokichi's words.
"...Then let's listen to you!"
Fugaku fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
Then, his head spun, and he fell forward.
Jokichi quickly supported him with tree vines, and simultaneously noticed Fugaku's injuries.
There was a long bloody gash from his lower back to his left shoulder, covered in blood.
The wound on his lower back was caused by it bursting open, making it even more gruesome. The flesh inside was rolled outward, and the ribs inside were even visible.
"Tch, to be in this state and still want to chase after someone."
Jokichi jumped down from the treetop, picked up the person, and handed him to Hayate. "Please take him to the hospital, I'm going back to rest."
"Mhm!"
The two parted ways there.
...
Back inside the house.
Jokichi stretched out his bloodstained hand.
[Ding! Detected "Faint Sage Blood", can forge special items "Mangekyo", "Faint Sage Crystal". Do you wish to forge?]
"Yes!"
Jokichi chanted silently in his mind. Instantly, two things appeared in his hand.
A thumb-sized, completely blood-red crystal, and a pair of contact lenses.
Looking at the two things in his hand, Jokichi was somewhat hesitant.
"I wonder if Fugaku has awakened the Mangekyo."
The Naruto anime was adapted from Kishimoto-sensei's manga of the same name.
However, changes and original content were added to some plot points, leading to some contradictory plots where the logic didn't make sense.
As a real world, these contradictory elements definitely wouldn't exist.
In the original manga, Fugaku only had the three-tomoe Sharingan, but the animation studio later created an original plot where he actually also possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan.
He didn't know if this world followed the original manga or the world formed by the anime, or perhaps a combination of both, correcting the contradictions.
Jokichi naturally hoped Fugaku had the Mangekyo.
This way, he would have two more pairs of Mangekyo.
With a hesitant mood, Jokichi looked at the things in his hand.
"Faint Sage Crystal: Contains a faint Sage bloodline. After consumption, it will transform the body's bloodline and even DNA structure, granting a faint Sage bloodline and awakening the same Sage Eye as the crystal's owner."
Alright!
He couldn't tell just from looking at the description.
Jokichi turned his gaze to the other item.
"Mangekyo: These are degenerated Sage spectacle lenses. Wearing them allows the use of the Sharingan's abilities."
Uh, he couldn't tell from this either.
Jokichi had no choice but to put the glasses on and experiment himself.
As chakra was injected, the Mangekyo turned into three tomoe.
Next, he increased the amount of chakra.
No reaction.
"It seems Fugaku only awakened the ordinary Sharingan."
Jokichi wasn't too surprised.
The Mangekyo Sharingan requires a tremendous stimulation to awaken. Generally, one needs to personally kill or witness the death of the most important person.
Fugaku's entire family was alive and well, and he showed no signs of a stimulated emotional personality. It was impossible for him to have the Mangekyo.
This original anime content conflicted with the author's most basic settings.
Regardless of which nature this world adopted, the situation where Fugaku awakened the Mangekyo was impossible.
Since there was no Mangekyo, Jokichi fused the Mangekyo with the Eternal Mangekyo to upgrade it, significantly increasing its visual prowess.
Although he hadn't awakened the Mangekyo, the visual prowess of Fugaku's eyes was much stronger than ordinary three-tomoe.
As for Fugaku's Sage Crystal...
After thinking for a moment, Jokichi put it away.
It wouldn't be long before he awakened the Rinnegan. The visual prowess of the Sharingan wasn't of much use to him. He might as well keep it for now; perhaps it would be useful later.
After placing the Faint Sage Crystal into the system space, Jokichi took out a few more hairs.
These were cut from Fugaku's head using wind-attribute chakra when Jokichi handed him over to Hayate.
Because he was afraid of being discovered, he only cut a few strands.
[Ding! Detected special material "Pseudo-Protagonist's Hair", can forge special items "Pseudo-Protagonist", "Pseudo-Expert", "Body Emptied Out", "Invisibility Cloak". Do you wish to forge?]
"Pseudo-Protagonist..."
The corners of Jokichi's mouth twitched, recalling the situation when watching the Naruto anime in his past life.
At that time, he had just seen the end of the second stage of the Chunin Exams, when Hayate made his first appearance.
Dead fish eyes, listless, constantly coughing, and also the match referee...
Various characteristics fit an expert among experts. At the time, Jokichi thought Hayate was an expert even more powerful than Kakashi and Might Guy.
As a result, he was instantly killed by Baki.
Jokichi still remembered how dumbfounded he was when he saw Hayate instantly killed back then.
He originally thought this key character, who could turn the tide in the Otogakure and Sunagakure conspiracy and save Konoha from the fire, was actually instantly killed by Baki.
Thinking of his mood back then, Jokichi still felt like laughing a bit now.
Especially since the second part of Naruto was called Shippuden (Hurricane Chronicles), numerous people jokingly called Gekko Hayate the true protagonist.
However, the jokes from his past life brought him a harvest in his current life.
"Forge."
Jokichi chanted silently in his mind.
Instantly, four things appeared in his hand.
Two items looking like ordinary certificates, a black cloak, and a bottle of...
"Nutrition Express?"
Jokichi looked at the last item, tilting his head slightly.
That beverage-like item, except for the brand on it saying "Body Emptied Out", looked exactly like the famous nutritional drink from his past life.