"What happened this time?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively furrowed his brows. Situations like this had occurred far too many times, and each time, it had been nothing good.
"Hokage-sama, this issue of Ninja World Weekly contains an interview about Kakashi. Kakashi says he is still alive, but he is not in Konoha. The Kakashi in Konoha is fake."
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a thunderous boom inside his head.
Bang!
It was as if something had exploded in his mind.
For a moment, his consciousness seemed to drift away, and even his body could no longer remain steady.
The shinobi opposite him hurried forward and grabbed Hiruzen Sarutobi's arm to support him.
"Hokage-sama, are you alright?"
Alright? How could he possibly be alright?
Hiruzen Sarutobi came back to himself, and his entire body felt as if it had been plunged into an icehouse.
Kakashi was not dead?
And he had accepted an interview with Ninja World Weekly?
He said Konoha's Kakashi was fake?
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not dare imagine what kind of reaction this issue of Ninja World Weekly would cause once it spread.
What kind of criticism would he face?
It was unthinkable.
"Why? Why is this happening?"
"Why is Kakashi not dead?"
"Danzo, is this also part of your design?"
"Look at what you've done!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi hurried back to the Hokage's office with the copy of Ninja World Weekly. He sat down and spread the paper flat across his desk, but he did not dare open his eyes immediately.
Instead, after taking a deep breath and clinging to the hope that what had happened just now had been an illusion, he opened his eyes.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the words on the newspaper.
There was not the slightest trace of luck.
The words above were exactly the same as what the shinobi had said earlier.
Kakashi was still alive. Not only that, he had accepted Sunagakure's interview and personally stated that Konoha's Kakashi was fake.
"Kakashi!"
"Even if you are still alive, you should not have done this."
"Do you hate this old man so much?"
"The one who gave the order to kill you was not this old man. It was Danzo acting on his own initiative."
"Even if you won't consider this old man's face, could you not think of the village's overall situation?"
With the appearance of Ninja World Weekly, countless discussions erupted.
"Kakashi really is still alive, but he isn't the one in Konoha. The one in Konoha is fake."
"What does that prove? It proves that the one who tried to kill Kakashi was Konoha. Otherwise, why would Kakashi deliberately accept Sunagakure's interview at a time like this?"
"Because he hates Konoha."
"He did so much for Konoha, only for Konoha to try to kill him now. How ironic."
"This proves that the contents of the rumors about Konoha's White Fang must be true."
"Otherwise, why would Konoha want to kill him?"
"Because they were worried he would take revenge on Konoha."
Everyone discussed it this way, as if the matters of Konoha's White Fang and Kakashi had already been nailed down as fact.
"I never thought Konoha was actually a village like this. To think I used to have a decent impression of Konoha."
"I never thought Hiruzen Sarutobi was actually this kind of person."
"For his own selfish desires, he persecuted his own village's comrades. Does someone like that truly deserve to be Hokage?"
"With a Hokage like this leading Konoha for decades, Konoha must already be rotten beyond repair."
"In the future, it would be better to give commissions to shinobi from other ninja villages."
Some people mocked Konoha outright.
"Konoha, honestly… They tried to kill a mere Kakashi and still failed, allowing Kakashi to escape alive and expose their true faces."
"Exactly. Kakashi is a genius, yes, but at his age, how strong could he possibly be?"
"They couldn't even kill him. Konoha's shinobi are far too incompetent."
Someone beside them said,
"Could it be that the Konoha shinobi sent after him couldn't bear it and deliberately let Kakashi go? After all, Kakashi was already pitiful enough. Maybe some people in Konoha still have sympathy."
"That is possible."
But Kakashi would absolutely scoff at such an explanation.
Kakashi knew very well what kind of person Danzo was, and he remembered even more clearly how ruthless Danzo had been when he attacked him at that time. If the people of Akatsuki had not arrived quickly enough, he would have been minced into meat paste by Danzo's Wind Release.
Sympathy?
Everyone had that thing.
Only Danzo did not.
"What will Konoha do next?"
Everyone looked forward to Konoha's reaction—or more precisely, Hiruzen Sarutobi's reaction.
Iwagakure.
The one standing opposite Onoki was still Kitsuchi.
Even if Onoki was not satisfied with Kitsuchi's performance, the person he truly wanted to cultivate was still Kitsuchi.
After all, he was his own son. There was closeness in their bones.
"Kitsuchi, what do you think?"
Kitsuchi pondered for a while.
"I think Konoha may refuse to admit it."
"Refuse to admit it?"
"Yes. They will deny the contents of Ninja World Weekly and say that Sunagakure fabricated them. Even if Kakashi truly is still alive, they can say that the Kakashi there is the fake one, and Konoha's Kakashi is the real one."
Onoki glanced at Kitsuchi and nodded.
"Not bad. That is indeed one method. Deny it to the end. Let the real and fake Kakashi exist at the same time. Even if criticism still remains, at least public opinion will not be one-sided."
"And at the same time, they can dispatch shinobi to kill the Kakashi they failed to kill."
A thought formed in Kitsuchi's mind.
"Father, should we send people to protect Kakashi? As long as Kakashi remains alive, he will continue causing negative effects for Konoha. That benefits us."
Onoki shook his head.
"There is no need. There is no need for us to act. Right now, Sunagakure will definitely protect Kakashi well."
"What we should do now is nothing. The only thing we need to do is wait."
"Although I don't know why Sunagakure is taking the initiative to provoke Konoha, if Sunagakure and Konoha end up fighting, then Iwagakure will gain an opportunity."
"There is no need for us to offend Konoha at this moment."
"By comparison, what we need to do more is investigate Sunagakure's intelligence."
"Sunagakure has far too many secrets."
Kumogakure.
The Fourth Raikage suddenly stood up.
"I've decided!"
Below him, Cee was a little stunned.
"Raikage-sama, what have you decided?"
The Fourth Raikage said, "Now is the best opportunity to act against Konoha. Konoha is entangled with Sunagakure and has also been stabbed in the back by Kakashi. Right now, everyone from top to bottom must be overwhelmed."
"This is the best opportunity for us to obtain the Byakugan."
"Kirigakure once used a similar opportunity to obtain the Byakugan."
"If Kirigakure can do it, then Kumogakure can do it even better."
"Cee, you will formulate the plan this time. Be quick."
Cee hesitated for a moment, but said nothing in the end and nodded.
"Yes, Raikage-sama!"
The Fourth Raikage watched Cee leave, then turned his gaze toward the window and clenched his fist.
"The Byakugan… Kumogakure is determined to obtain it."
"That thing has caused Kumogakure far too much harm. Only if Kumogakure possesses it as well can our wariness be slightly reduced."