Takuya clicked his tongue in amazement.
"So, he's really going all out, huh? Just to get rid of me, Yagami Takuya, he's willing to sacrifice his own reputation. Well, I'm not one to miss an opportunity. Let's add some fuel to this fire and watch it burn even brighter."
As long as the Third Kazekage doesn't mind dying of embarrassment, I'm good with it.
You want to assassinate me? Want to snuff out Yagami Takuya early?
Then go ahead and try. Let's see which happens first—my early demise or your reputation going up in flames.
"....."
Sacrificing his own reputation?
Nawaki and Minato exchanged puzzled looks.
Considering what Takuya just said, if those rumors spread, would the Third Kazekage even have a reputation left? He'd probably become the laughingstock of the entire ninja world.
The key difference is that in peacetime, people might hold back out of respect, not wanting to tarnish your image.
But during wartime, who cares about your reputation? Propaganda is the name of the game. The worse it is for you, the better it is for me.
The goal is to smear the Third Kazekage, turn him into a massive joke, and see how the people of the Land of Wind react to their leader being ridiculed.
I, Yagami Takuya, might not fear the usual assassination attempts, but do you really think the Third Kazekage isn't worried about his reputation going down the drain?
In the Hokage's office in the Leaf Village, the lights were still burning late into the night.
The Third Hokage was, as always, working overtime. Even Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, both members of the village's council, hadn't managed to escape the burden of extra hours.
One managed the Medical Corps, the other handled logistics. Since the outbreak of the war, the increased demand for supplies had them both at their wits' end, forcing them to join the Hokage in his late-night work sessions.
"Koharu, how are the graduation prospects for the new batch of genin?" the Hokage inquired.
"Due to the war, we don't have many suitable candidates to serve as jonin instructors. This year's new graduates might have to face a significant period without proper guidance," Koharu replied, her tone grim.
The battlefield in the Land of Rain was consuming much of the Leaf Village's resources and manpower.
On top of that, with the Sand Village declaring war on the Leaf, the village was now fighting on two fronts, which meant many of their strongest ninja were dispatched to the war zones.
This left the newly graduated genin in a tough spot, often forming squads on their own without a seasoned ninja to lead them.
"Do your best to assign them simpler missions and tasks to minimize casualties among the squads," the Hokage said, knowing there wasn't much more he could do for the young genin at this time.
"Homura, how much longer until we get the weaponry from the Land of Crafts?" the Hokage turned his attention to the other advisor.
"It's going to take some time, I'm afraid," Homura replied, adjusting his glasses, clearly troubled by the situation.
The daily consumption of food, medicine, and ninja tools on the battlefield was enormous, and the village's reserves alone weren't enough. They needed to buy more from outside sources.
Unfortunately, during times like these, prices were skyrocketing.
And even if they had the money, it wasn't always enough to secure what they needed.
The most critical shortage was with explosive tags—no matter how much they were willing to pay, they simply couldn't get enough of them.
After a moment of deep thought, the Hokage sighed.
"The Leaf's reserves should hold out for a while longer. I'll speak with the clan leaders to see if they can open up some of their own stockpiles."
"Lord Hokage," an ANBU operative entered the office just then, respectfully placing a sealed scroll on the desk. "This is intelligence from the Land of Rain battlefield."
"Hmm," the Hokage acknowledged, nodding in thanks as he picked up the scroll and broke the seal.
Pfft~~ Cough cough cough!
After just a quick glance at the contents, the Third Hokage started coughing violently, his aging face turning a deep shade of red.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the scroll, which had slipped from his grasp onto the desk.
"???"
What kind of intel could make Hiruzen Sarutobi react like that?
Koharu and Homura got up and walked over to take a look.
"....."
Koharu froze in place, her expression utterly stiff.
Cough cough!
Homura coughed, clearly struggling to hold back his laughter.
After taking a moment to calm himself, the Third Hokage realized he needed a smoke to steady his nerves. He grabbed his pipe, took a few deep drags, and then tucked the scroll away before summoning another ANBU operative.
"Send this intel to the Intelligence Division and make sure it's distributed far and wide."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
The ANBU operative had no idea what the scroll contained, but dutifully picked it up and left.
The Third Kazekage was about to become famous!
His name would be known throughout the ninja world, though not in a good way.
The Third Hokage didn't even need to finish his pipe before he'd made up his mind to spread the news.
If you're going to play dirty, don't expect me to play nice!
Even if this intel is complete nonsense, I'm still going to make sure it gets out. Let's see how embarrassed you feel, Third Kazekage.
Koharu and Homura remained silent, clearly in agreement with the Hokage's decision.
After all, if you're going to bring an army to attack our Land of Fire, why should we hold back?
Besides, it was the Third Kazekage who started spreading rumors first. Since he doesn't care about his reputation, why should we cover for him?
Whether it's true or not doesn't matter. Let's spread it and see what happens.
After all, it's not our reputation on the line.
And so, Takuya's various embellished stories began to spread.
It started in the Leaf Village.
"Did you hear? The Third Kazekage from the Sand Village was caught doing some pretty shameful dancing."
"What kind of dancing?"
"Are you dumb? You know, the kind you pay to watch at a certain kind of place. It's all over the village now."
"Really? No way!"
"Absolutely! I heard it from my cousin's aunt's sister-in-law's nephew. It's legit."
Like a whirlwind, the rumors quickly swept through the Leaf Village.
In less than a morning, the Third Kazekage had become the butt of every joke.
People all over the village were talking about it, laughing so hard they could barely stand.
Meanwhile, spies from the Sand Village stationed in the Leaf were left stunned when they caught wind of the rumors.
This can't be true, right?
Does our Kazekage really have such... peculiar interests?
One spy couldn't help but imagine the Kazekage dancing like that and broke out in a cold sweat. The thought was downright disturbing!
Better get this intel out as soon as possible.
As the news spread from the Leaf Village, it reached the camps in the Land of Rain.
Before long, many ninjas were left dumbfounded.
Oh my god!
The Third Kazekage of the Sand Village has such a bizarre... no, twisted hobby?
You really can't judge a book by its cover. People were definitely learning something new.
Ninjas with nothing better to do started gossiping about it, and soon the rumors spread even further—to the Rain Village, the Stone Village, and even the Sand Village troops stationed in the Land of Rain.
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