"I want to fight him, not out of politeness, but because his strength deserves that kind of respect," Sakumo said.
"Really?" Kakashi's eyes widened. Was Senior Takuya really that strong? Even his father had to take him seriously.
Back at home, Sakumo Hatake took out his tea set and motioned for Kakashi to sit down. After Kakashi sat obediently, Sakumo began making tea and said:
"For certain reasons, his reputation isn't well known. But that doesn't mean he's weak. In fact, back in the Second Shinobi War, he achieved many feats on the battlefield. Later, due to those reasons, he didn't go to the front lines again and stayed in the village instead."
"Senior Takuya is from the Uchiha clan? But he has white hair." Kakashi thought back to how Takuya had called him "little white-haired." I hate that nickname!
"His mother was from the Uchiha clan." Sakumo sighed, shaking his head, clearly regretful. Because of that mixed heritage, Takuya's name had faded into obscurity within the Leaf Village.
Sakumo then joked with his son:
"If it weren't for Takuya's peculiar habits, I would have loved to ask him to be your teacher."
Kakashi: "..."
Seeing his son's doubtful expression, Sakumo chuckled helplessly.
Never mind, Sakumo thought. Kakashi was still young. When he grew a bit older, maybe he'd understand.
The news that Sakumo Hatake had attempted to assassinate the Third Mizukage had already spread throughout the shinobi world. Although no one believed the Leaf would actually send someone to assassinate the Mizukage, it didn't stop everyone from enjoying the spectacle.
The Leaf's official response was that the entire incident was a misunderstanding—they hadn't intended to assassinate the Mizukage, but rather, it was just an intelligence-gathering mission.
Sneaking into another village for intel was one thing, but assassinating a village's leader? Those were two entirely different matters. The former might result in some diplomatic spats; the latter could easily lead to a full-blown conflict, even a war.
In response to the Mist Village's accusations, the Leaf offered what they deemed a reasonable explanation. But the Mist didn't seem willing to accept it.
"Does the Leaf really think we're idiots?"
"If someone snuck into the Leaf and tried to assassinate the Third Hokage, would the Leaf just call it a misunderstanding? Would they say it was just intelligence gathering?"
The people of the Mist Village were incensed by the Leaf's response.
Because Sakumo had indeed made an attempt on the Mizukage's life, the Mist completely disregarded the intelligence-gathering excuse.
If Sakumo was only there to gather intel, then why did he attack their Mizukage? And only after failing the assassination did he decide to retreat. It was obvious: the assassination attempt had failed, so he fled.
The prolonged reign of terror in the Mist Village had left the villagers and shinobi living in a highly oppressive environment. After a while, that kind of atmosphere began to warp people's mindsets.
With the Third Mizukage fanning the flames, the anger of the Mist Village was quickly ignited.
Even those families who usually didn't see eye to eye with the Mizukage joined in, demanding that the Leaf hand over Sakumo Hatake. If they didn't, the Mist would declare war.
The situation had escalated beyond mere threats—it could evolve into an actual war at any moment.
The elder, Genji, who wished to avoid war, felt powerless. He wanted to prevent the conflict but couldn't find a suitable way to calm the villagers and the shinobi of the Mist.
They must hand over Sakumo Hatake, or the Mist will declare war on the Leaf!
Takuya couldn't help but chuckle at this. The Third Shinobi War hadn't even started yet!
Even though the Leaf was recovering from the Second Shinobi War, they were still formidable. Not even the famously headstrong Third Raikage would demand that the Leaf hand over one of their top shinobi under threat of war.
The Hidden Cloud wouldn't even dare do something like this. Where does the Hidden Mist get this kind of courage?
The news spread, causing a huge stir throughout the shinobi world. Many simply sat back and waited to see how the Leaf would respond.
Faced with the Mist Village's war threat, the Leaf convened a major meeting.
Unlike usual meetings with just a few key individuals, this one had a much larger attendance. Nearly every jonin in the village was present. Takuya, Minato, and Nawaki were among them, having arrived with Tsunade.
The three sat in a corner of the meeting room.
Nawaki grumbled:
"The people from the Mist Village must be out of their minds, threatening our Leaf Village with war?"
"They aren't insane—otherwise, they wouldn't be trying something this crazy," Takuya replied.
It wasn't just speculation anymore—the Third Mizukage was definitely under someone's control.
No sane person would do something like this.
"Damn it!" Nawaki couldn't help but curse.
"Quiet!" Tsunade, who was walking over, frowned and smacked Nawaki on the head.
Today's meeting was a jonin-level meeting. The fact that they had called such a meeting meant that the Leaf was preparing for the possibility of war.
All the jonin who weren't assigned to specific duties were present. Takuya and his group were among the younger generation.
Cursing in this setting would make Nawaki look immature and poorly disciplined.
The meeting room was spacious, but now it was filled with people.
Many jonin, who were rarely seen in the village, were present. Even the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, which usually stayed at the political fringes, had sent their jonin to attend.
The Hyuga were modest in comparison, while the Uchiha occupied a significant portion of the room.
With over twenty Uchiha jonin sitting together, it was quite an impressive sight. In contrast, the Hyuga's presence seemed meager—they had fewer than half the number of jonin as the Uchiha.
The alarming part was that not all of the Uchiha jonin were present; some were still occupied with their duties. Otherwise, the Uchiha would have taken up nearly half the meeting room.
In the Uchiha section, Mikoto Uchiha glanced at Takuya and winked.
Takuya responded with a smile.
"Hey, hey, I'm not late, am I?" Jiraiya walked into the meeting room, grinning.
Tsunade, arms crossed, shot him a cold look:
"I thought you'd died somewhere out there."
"..."
Is that any way to talk to someone?
Alright, alright, I can't argue with you, but at least I can avoid you.
Knowing he was in the wrong for being away for so long, Jiraiya sheepishly smiled and went to sit next to Takuya and the others.
He ended up sitting right beside Takuya.
"Jiraiya, your spot is up front. This is where us younger folks sit," Takuya said, pointing ahead.
"Ahem!" Some of the older jonins, who were somewhat lacking in presence, couldn't help but cough at this comment.
"Oh, come on now, no need to be so rigid," Jiraiya laughed, giving Takuya a hearty slap on the shoulder.
"Not bad, not bad. Haven't seen you in a while, and you've grown stronger."
Try slapping me again!
Takuya looked at the handprint left on his shoulder and had half a mind to throw Jiraiya out of the room.
No matter how laid-back you are, personal hygiene is still important.
Judging by his appearance, Jiraiya had probably rushed back to the village upon receiving the news, without even taking a moment to clean himself up before heading straight to the Hokage's office.
"Go sit up front!"
_____________Bonus Chapter_____________
Next Bonus: 1400 Power Stones ╰ (´꒳`) ╯
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 320+ at patreon.com/ Emik01. ಥ‿ಥ
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