The Shimura Actually Has Ice Release

Early the next morning.

After bidding farewell to Yakushi Nonō, Takeshi walked while practicing the hand signs needed to cast the Shadow Shuriken Clone Technique.

"It's you, Takeshi-kun. Practicing ninjutsu so early in the morning?"

A soft, gentle voice rang out. When Takeshi looked up, he saw Nohara Rin standing at the intersection waiting for him.

"You're alone? Kakashi didn't come with you?"

Seeing only Rin, Takeshi looked a little puzzled.

Normally, Kakashi was always the first one to arrive. What, is he already beginning to "inherit Obito's will" even though Obito isn't dead yet?

"I'm not sure, maybe something came up?"

Rin shook her head. She hadn't expected to be the first one at the meeting point either.

They stood there waiting for a while, until Anko popped out from the roadside humming a tune.

After messing around with Takeshi for a bit, Kakashi finally arrived.

"What's up, Kakashi? If you'd taken any longer, even Obito would've shown up by now."

Takeshi teased him, though Kakashi's masked face made it hard to read his expression.

"Nothing much. My father came home yesterday."

Kakashi glanced at Takeshi and shook his head, saying no more.

Sakumo had returned home at dawn. Kakashi, awakened by the noise, had gotten up to greet him—only to witness a strange scene.

His father had been escorted back by two ANBU, who whispered something to him in hushed voices before leaving.

When Kakashi had asked what happened, Sakumo brushed him off with vague, perfunctory answers.

Though Kakashi hadn't pressed further, his instincts told him something was definitely being kept from him.

ANBU...

Watching Takeshi playfully chasing Anko nearby, Kakashi hesitated internally for a long time before finally making a difficult decision.

"Has anything happened in the village recently? Something involving your father?"

...

During a break, Kakashi had invited Takeshi to a remote rooftop. Takeshi looked utterly confused.

Right—if you wanted to find something out, the easiest route was through Danzo's son, Takeshi.

And knowing Kakashi, he wouldn't bring something like this up unless it was truly about his own father.

"What do you mean, nothing's happ—hm?"

Takeshi instinctively denied it, but then his words stopped, and a deep frown formed on his face.

Danzo had left on a mission. The Third Hokage had visited in person. Kakashi was asking strange questions...

Sakumo is going to die?!

"Kakashi, quick—tell me everything you found out!"

Takeshi's expression turned tense as he questioned the boy in front of him.

Seeing Takeshi even more panicked than he was, Kakashi realized the other must've figured something out, and proceeded to share everything he had witnessed the previous night.

After hearing the full story, Takeshi was 90% certain—they had reached the part of the story where Sakumo dies.

He couldn't just stand by and watch it happen.

...

Meanwhile, elsewhere—inside the Hokage Tower.

Thinking the matter with Sakumo was now settled, Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, contentedly puffing on his pipe.

Though he felt some regret over the sizable subsidy they'd lost, money was money—it could always be earned back. What mattered more was that this might earn Sakumo's deeper gratitude toward the village.

Glancing out the window toward his own face carved into the Hokage Rock, a faint smile crept across Hiruzen's lips.

"Third-sama, the two advisors are here to see you."

His rare moment of peace was swiftly broken as the two village advisors arrived unannounced.

Putting out his pipe, Hiruzen glanced at the ANBU who had come to report, a sense of unease rising in his chest.

Why were these two showing up now?

"Let them in."

As soon as the words left Hiruzen's mouth, the two advisors burst through the door with an aggressive air.

"Hiruzen, I heard the mission entrusted to us by the daimyō ended in failure?"

Koharu Utatane wasted no time, her tone sharp and demanding.

Caught completely off guard, Hiruzen was still holding his extinguished pipe as he looked up in surprise.

"How did you hear that?"

Then he realized how wrong that sounded and quickly corrected himself.

"I mean, where did you hear it from?"

The two exchanged glances. His reaction confirmed that the rumor was true.

"We heard it from several shinobi in the village. Not only that—they say the failure of the mission was entirely due to Hatake Sakumo. Is that true?"

Mitokado Homura asked in a low voice.

Bang!

Hiruzen slammed his pipe onto the table.

Not only had word of the mission failure leaked, but even the name of the shinobi involved?!

This was supposed to be a top-secret operation. Besides those directly involved, only high-ranking officials like them knew the details.

Who was it? Enemy village? Some upper official? Or maybe one of the mission operatives?

Koharu, startled by the impact, eased her tone slightly.

"Hiruzen, we're only here to verify the truth. This involves the daimyō, and we need to know whether the rumors are true."

"Yes... The mission did fail."

Now that things had come to this, Hiruzen had no choice but to admit it, though he said nothing about Sakumo's involvement.

The two advisors exchanged glances again, both visibly disappointed.

"That money could've been used to procure military supplies..."

Koharu sighed.

Since the Second Great Ninja War, there had been no large-scale conflict among the Five Great Hidden Villages. With long-lasting peace, the daimyōs had uniformly slashed the budget for their respective villages.

Left with no choice, the shinobi had ramped up their efforts to take on more commissions, just to keep the village's ninja population sustainable.

"It couldn't be helped. Of course, I wasn't intentionally hiding this from you either. I had Danzo handle the matter personally. Perhaps this was his call."

Afraid they might accuse him of intentionally keeping things secret, Hiruzen pushed the responsibility onto Danzo.

"Danzo, huh?"

The two advisors were momentarily surprised at the name, then nodded in unison.

"It's true—Danzo is well-suited to handle something like this. The details of the mission must be investigated thoroughly. If what the rumors say is correct and Sakumo abandoned the mission for someone else's sake, he must be severely punished."

"Hiruzen, this isn't the time for soft-heartedness. If everyone starts thinking they can quit a mission without consequences like Sakumo did, other shinobi will follow his example. The village will suffer enormous losses."

Homura looked at Hiruzen, who remained silent, and continued.

"Later, we'll go speak with Danzo to get the full picture. You don't object, do you, Hiruzen?"

"Of course not. That's your right."

Listening to their long-winded demands, Hiruzen felt a headache coming on. But he didn't dare argue—he could only nod silently.

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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