"Rasa's strength is beyond doubt. He is already number one in the shinobi world."
"Back then, Senju Hashirama was invincible in his era. Even an astonishingly brilliant and powerful existence like Uchiha Madara was no match for him. That was why he gained the title of God of Shinobi."
"Then there was Hanzo of the Salamander, born from a small shinobi village, yet able to suppress an entire era. He was called the Demigod of the Shinobi World."
"Rasa's strength may still be a little inferior to Senju Hashirama's, but he should already surpass Hanzo of the Salamander."
"Above a demigod, beneath a god… Sunagakure's Kazekage… how about calling him the God of the Golden Desert?"
Some people mocked the title.
"Desert God is already Desert God. Why add 'Golden' to it?"
"Because before Rasa became Kazekage, his main work for Sunagakure was panning for gold. He used his Kekkei Genkai to greatly ease Sunagakure's financial pressure."
"That is the road Rasa walked."
Some people felt Desert God was enough.
Others insisted on God of the Golden Desert.
When Rasa heard this title, he could not stop himself from criticizing it inwardly, but there was no good solution. The shinobi world was so large, and there were so many people. Rasa could not seal all their mouths.
Moreover, the more Rasa disliked it, the more some rebellious people would insist on using it.
Because in every other regard, they truly could not defeat Rasa.
Konoha.
The entire Hyuga clan was immersed in mourning.
All except Hyuga Neji.
In the end, Hyuga Yamatsubaki still failed to muster the courage to defect from Konoha. Moreover, in Hyuga Yamatsubaki's view, if the Hyuga clan left Konoha now, they would only become prey for even more people.
Forget one pair of Byakugan—the entire Hyuga clan might be wiped out.
They would be reduced to prisoners of other shinobi villages.
The Byakugan's attraction was greater than the Sharingan's.
And the strength of Hyuga ninja was inferior to that of the Uchiha.
An innocent man suffers for possessing treasure.
Hyuga Yamatsubaki understood that principle very well.
In the past, the Hyuga clan still had the Kaguya clan as an ally. But now, the Hyuga clan and the Kaguya clan had also broken ties.
Hyuga Yamatsubaki chose to retreat, to show weakness, to lower his head.
Through suicide, he handed over a pair of Byakugan to the village.
And he left the position of clan head to Hyuga Hiashi.
Hyuga Hiashi and his wife looked at Hyuga Yamatsubaki's corpse lying peacefully in the coffin, eyes missing, and wept bitterly.
Beside them, Hinata was still ignorant and confused, but she was affected by the atmosphere around her.
She cried loudly as well.
Only Hyuga Neji lowered his head, not a trace of sadness in his eyes.
There was only unwillingness and anger.
"Why?"
"Why was the one who killed someone Hyuga Hiashi, but the one who died in his place was my father?"
"Hyuga Yamatsubaki could sacrifice himself for Hyuga Hiashi, so why was there no hesitation at all when my father was made to die?"
"They were both sons. Was the difference really that great?"
"What exactly is the difference between the main family and the branch family?"
"Why were Father and I born into the branch family?"
"This is unfair!"
The young Hyuga Neji roared in his heart.
But he could not change anything.
Hyuga Hizashi was already dead.
Hyuga Yamatsubaki was also dead.
Hyuga Hiashi had inherited the clan head position.
And Hyuga Neji was still a lowly branch family member.
Kumogakure left with the Byakugan, fully satisfied.
"Hokage-sama, thank you for your gift! Kumogakure is very satisfied."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked deeply in the direction the Kumogakure envoy had left.
"Kumogakure… I will remember this."
Withdrawing his gaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi began handling the matter of the real and fake Kakashi.
There could only be one real Kakashi.
But there could be many fake Kakashi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's idea was simple—use multiple fake Kakashi to answer the doubts raised in Ninja World Major Events Weekly.
And at that very moment—
In Amegakure, the real Kakashi opened his eyes.
The surgery had ended several days ago. He simply had not woken up.
The first thing Kakashi did after awakening was examine his entire body.
Only after confirming that no part of him was missing did Kakashi let out a breath of relief.
"It seems Sasori of the Red Sand really didn't resent me because my father killed his parents."
"The surgery should have been fairly successful."
Kakashi carefully sensed his condition.
The heavy pressure that the Sharingan had once brought him had vanished.
An unprecedented sense of lightness appeared.
"Kakashi, you're awake?"
Konan walked in. Seeing Kakashi's eyes open, she casually picked up a mirror from the side and handed it over.
"Thank you."
Kakashi took it and examined himself in the mirror.
His original Sharingan had been replaced by an ordinary person's eye, though the color was somewhat different from his other eye.
"Even the scar is gone?"
"Sasori of the Red Sand's skill is this good?"
Kakashi felt somewhat pleasantly surprised.
Originally, there had been a scar running straight down across the area of his eye. But now, the scar had disappeared.
"Konan-senpai, how many days was I asleep?"
"Three days."
"How is Konoha? Can you tell me?"
Konan fell silent for a moment.
"Konoha refuses to admit that you are the real Kakashi. They say all of it is Sunagakure's frame-up. The real Kakashi is still inside Konoha, and every Kakashi outside is fake."
Kakashi: "…"
The joy brought by the successful surgery was immediately diluted.
"I already accepted the interview with Ninja World Major Events and explained everything so clearly, yet they still say I'm fake? Are they planning to completely deny my identity?"
"If they can even do something like this, then my father's death was absolutely a conspiracy."
"Konoha!"
"Too shameless!"
"Hiruzen Sarutobi!"
Kakashi took a deep breath and looked toward Konan.
"Konan-senpai, are there any missions I can do? I want to find something to do. I want to contribute to the organization. I hope the organization's plan can be completed sooner."
Konan said, "We don't know much about Konoha's intelligence. You can tell Zetsu everything you know. In addition, if there are suitable people we should try to recruit, you may also make suggestions."
Kakashi thought of someone.
"Suitable to recruit? I actually do have someone in mind."
"Who?"
"Uchiha Shisui."
Kakashi said, "Uchiha Shisui is the same as me. He once trusted Konoha deeply. When forced to choose between the Uchiha and the village, he chose the village."
"But the village disappointed him again and again."
"No matter how hard he worked, he could not change the Uchiha's situation in Konoha."
"He once asked Minato-sensei for help, but Minato-sensei died."
"After that, he came to me for help, but I was abandoned by the village."
"Now, in Konoha, he should no longer be able to find any hope."
"So I think there is a possibility he could be persuaded to join the Akatsuki."