After defeating Kakashi, Asahi's reputation in the village rose by a lot. Even when he was walking on the street, he would sometimes heard someone whispering about him.
Konoha's White Fang, was an absolute powerhouse of the village, someone even above the Sannin, and was regarded as a hero by the entire village. Kakashi, as the genius son of Konoha's White Fang, would naturally receive widespread attention.
And this time Asahi defeated Kakashi, regardless of the means of winning, now at least his name was out there.
Especially in commoner ninja circles, this battle was even more widely spread.
At this time, it hasn't been very long since Konoha had just established as a village, and it was difficult for the commoner ninja to get themselves ahead. Most of the commoner ninjas were just used as cannon fodder during the war. Those important ninja clans never had to perform fatal missions.
(T.L Note: It has been like 30-40 years, so it can be called that Konoha is still new and though Minato was also known as a genius, he still hasn't become the Yellow Flash of the Leaf)
To the commoner ninjas, although they were very dissatisfied with this, they were powerless.
But now, among Konoha's existing top ninjas, Orochimaru and Jiraiya had commoner origins, and Jiraiya's disciple Namikaze Minato had also begun to make a name for himself. These things have given these commoner ninjas great hope about their future.
Now, Asahi, another commoner-origin ninja (student), had even defeated Konoha's White Fang's son.
All these deeds made Konoha's commoner ninjas excited, they seemed to have seen the bright future that was previously unreachable.
…
After the final exam, the ninja academy gave the students two months off.
Asahi had an adult mind, and knew that his opponents would only become stronger and stronger, so of course he won't become complacent just because he defeated Kakashi. In addition to daily training, Asahi often went to Yamamoto's home to consult about ninjutsu, and continuously absorb any knowledge he got regarding a ninja.
For this, Yamamoto was very surprised.
Asahi not only didn't lose sight after defeating Kakashi, he worked even harder. With joy, Yamamoto responded to his requests full-heartedly. Every time Asahi came to ask questions, Yamamoto would answer him without keeping any secrets.
Just like this, two months passed in the blink of an eye. For these past two months, Asahi had been a little depressed.
Originally he thought that after revealing his talent, he would receive the attention of Konoha's top management, and someone would even try to pull him in.
Asahi even thought that even if it was Shimura Danzo and he invited him to join the 'Root' department, he would just agree without the slightest hesitation.
Although Konoha's main objective was to trains ninjas, when Konoha was first built, it was composed of various ninja clan. In such a situation, it was too difficult for a commoner ninja to get a good position.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya seem talented and prestigious, but without Third Hokage's guidance, they would never have achieved such high achievements. Minato could become Fourth Hokage, for that Jiraiya's careful teaching was also needed.
In addition to these well-known people, in the huge organization called Konoha, there were thousands of if not tens of thousands of commoner ninjas that have very difficult time getting any kind of head start.
Although joining Root would be make him subject to various restrictions and even get him brainwashed, this was at least a shortcut that could help him become an elite.
Anyway, Danzo would die in the hands of Uchiha Sasuke in the future. As long as he's alive at that point, he would become free automatically.
But Asahi was disappointed, these two months had just been a peaceful time and nothing else.
Since he could not join Root, he could only wait until graduation to see if he could get a good teacher.
'It seems that I must continue to show talent!' Asahi secretly said in his heart.
Asahi didn't know that at the moment in the basement of the 'Root', Danzo was also gnashing his teeth.
When Danzo saw Asahi's talent, he really entertained the idea of pulling Asahi to the 'Root'. Especially now that he was only a five-years old and it was a good time to brainwash him.
Danzo had even started to fantasize that in the future, he would have powerful ninja in his hands, who would suppress the Hokage lineage.
It's just that Asahi had been enlisted in the ninja academy, and the ninjas from the academy could be counted as the indirect people of the Hokage lineage. If Danzo wanted to poach him, he still needed to talk to the Third Hokage first.
But how could that old fox, Third Hokage, easily send a child with talent to "Root", even if Danzo were to say that the kid had a shitty talent, Third Hokage would not agree.
The current Third Hokage was not the old man who was about to die in the future. The title of "God of Shinobi" was not earned by him in vain. Facing the strong Third Hokage, Danzo could only bow his head.
(T.L Note: He's called God of Shinobi of his time, still the title that remained attached to his name till his end was Professor than God of Shinobi. Only Hashirama retained such an overpowered name even after his death)
In this way, Asahi was just missed by the Root.
The days of the academy-life were boring, except for school, every day was training. Although life was boring, Asahi still insisted silently. To live better in the ninja world, he must become strong.
After defeating Kakashi, Asahi became the first place in his year. Although some people still insisted that Kakashi was stronger and Asahi was only able to defeat Kakashi by plotting but most commoner ninjas were on Asahi's side and supported him.
Asahi was still waiting for Kakashi's challenge. Until "that" rumor spread in the village, Asahi knew that he would probably never have such an opportunity again in the future.
Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo failed on a mission, causing heavy loss to the village.
Asahi doesn't know what mission Konoha's White Fang had given up on, or if the lies and slanders about Konoha's White Fang were just conspiracies by the high-levels of the village that were hiding behind the scenes. These things were too far away from his life, and he was naturally not interested in them.
There was darkness everywhere and politics was also present everywhere. Asahi doesn't care about those, as long as it doesn't involve himself.
It's just a pity for Kakashi, a genius with an amazing talent.
The death of his father and the death of his friends made Kakashi depressed for a long time and wasted a great deal of time. Asahi knew that maybe from this moment on, Kakashi could no longer be his opponent.
Rumors circulated around the village for several days, until one day it stopped suddenly, and in the village, no one ever heard any more about Konoha's White Fang's lies and slanders.
On this day, Kakashi didn't come to school.
Asahi knew that Konoha's White Fang was probably dead due to committing suicide by right now.
However, the death of Konoha's White Fang did not bring any big fluctuations to the village at all. It seemed that the villagers did not even know that Konoha's White Fang was already dead, and silently, the news about Hatake Clan was being passed around in the village.
As for the Kakashi that Asahi cared about, there was just no news.
Until two months later, a major event happened in ninja academy, Hatake Kakashi at the age of five officially graduated from the ninja academy, setting the record of Konoha's fastest ever graduate from the academy, the impact of this event was huge.
On the day of graduation, Third Hokage personally hosted a graduation ceremony for Kakashi, and personally put the Konoha's headband on Kakashi's forehead. Most students in the same year went to watch Kakashi's graduation ceremony.
Looking at Kakashi coming out of the examination room. Asahi felt that Kakashi seemed devoid of any vitality, and his heart at that time was maybe just full of despair and confusion.
This made Asahi think about it too. Even a ninja as powerful as Konoha's White Fang was dead. What about him? Will he die suddenly at some time, pushed by this dangerous world?
Was Konoha's White Fang not powerful enough to protect himself or just mentally weak?
'I will never die this way, sad and desperate!' Asahi vowed silently.
After the graduating ceremony, Kakashi also left silently without saying a word to anyone.
About Kakashi's graduation ceremony, Asahi also went there but for a different purpose, he went just to see the fall of a genius.
It could be said that Kakashi's talent was cut off by the dark side of Konoha. Seeing the darkness of Konoha in person, Asahi was even more cautious. Revealing talent and attracting high-level attention was necessary for his rise, and because of that it's inevitable.
But while showing talent, maybe he should also show loyalty to the village.
*****
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