The Shimura Actually Has Ice Release

"You're nothing but trash. Trash who doesn't even take missions seriously!"

Outside the door, seeing that Sakumo didn't dare come out, Yōmei Rikujin yelled even louder.

Only like this… could he avoid being made the scapegoat by the higher-ups.

Only like this… would his child be spared from being labeled the offspring of a failure.

Only like this… could he hold onto his Jōnin position...

Only like this...

Too focused on stirring up drama, Yōmei Rikujin let out a miserable scream before being sent flying backward.

When he lifted his face, clutching it in pain, trying to see which fool dared lay a hand on him—two short figures entered his field of view.

Takeshi was rubbing his sore knuckles, a trace of ferocity flickering in his eyes.

He had swung without thinking, completely forgetting to reinforce his fist with chakra. And there's no way Kakashi could step in—otherwise, the situation would be even harder to explain.

Standing beside him, Kakashi wore a deeply worried expression. He was originally the one who should've acted. But when Takeshi noticed his intent and threw the punch first, he had taken responsibility upon himself.

"Who the hell are you? You dare hit me?!" Yōmei Rikujin didn't recognize Takeshi at all. He spat on the ground and stood back up.

And then, he saw Kakashi standing at Takeshi's side.

"Oh, I see. Isn't that the son of that failure? What's the matter? Too afraid to act yourself, so you talked someone else into doing it for you?" Yōmei Rikujin naturally assumed Takeshi was someone Kakashi had manipulated.

"No—" Kakashi began, ready to speak up, but Takeshi cut him off harshly.

"You shut up, Kakashi. I'm the one who wanted to punch him. Just looking at this bastard's face pisses me off. Sakumo-san risked everything to save your sorry ass, and not only are you ungrateful, but you even dare to spout nonsense here?! I punched you because people like you deserve it!"

Takeshi stepped forward, tilting his head up to glare at Yōmei Rikujin.

"Hmph, is that so? Figures that the friend of a failure's son would be a failure too. You're all cut from the same—" Yōmei Rikujin wasn't backing down. He stared back with venom and instinctively reached for his ninja tool pouch.

"Shff." "Shff."

Before he could react, two masked ANBU appeared from thin air. One clamped down on his reaching hand, while the other pressed a kunai against his back.

"Stand down, Yōmei Rikujin. Are you seriously about to attack a child?" one of the ANBU whispered in his ear.

"Heh, everyone come take a look! The higher-ups are so biased in favor of Sakumo, they even dispatched ANBU to protect him!" Yōmei Rikujin's real goal was to provoke ANBU into appearing—he wanted the villagers to witness this moment and confirm that the higher-ups were shielding Sakumo.

But when he turned around, he found that the onlookers who had gathered earlier had completely vanished.

Not only that—the entire street had become eerily silent in an instant.

"Tch… So that's how it is..." Feeling the chill in the air, several unfamiliar shinobi appeared around him. Though dressed differently from the ANBU, they were clearly ninja—and they had encircled Yōmei Rikujin.

It seemed the villagers had been quietly dispersed through genjutsu. This chakra presence... it felt very similar to the people who had interrogated him earlier. Were these Danzo's subordinates?

"Yōmei Rikujin, you're currently suspended from duty. Who authorized you to freely wander the streets of Konoha and spread classified mission details to civilians?" Yamanaka Akira walked forward with his ninja blade in hand, surrounded by Root operatives.

"I was wrong." Yōmei Rikujin admitted his guilt without hesitation.

After all, he had already achieved his objective. What happened next no longer concerned him.

Things had already escalated to this point. The higher-ups would now have no choice but to punish Sakumo. More importantly...

A cold smirk tugged at Yōmei Rikujin's lips.

He knew that with Sakumo's personality, being publicly condemned like that—he would take full responsibility for the mission's failure. He might even...

Commit suicide.

I've won.

Standing to the side, Takeshi saw that bastard smirking again and furiously threw another punch. This time, he remembered to infuse chakra into his fist, and Yōmei Rikujin—completely unprepared—was sent spinning like a top.

"You… You little—" Dizzy, seeing stars, Yōmei Rikujin blinked in disbelief. Why didn't the ANBU stop him?

Then he noticed something terrifying.

All the ANBU present had quietly turned their heads, deliberately looking away.

Even the two ANBU who'd restrained him earlier were now gone—replaced by Root shinobi brought by Yamanaka Akira, who held him down with even greater force.

"I'll teach you to repay kindness with spite! I'll teach you to talk nonsense! I'll teach you to be ungrateful! I'll teach you to twist the truth! I'll teach you—"

Takeshi landed punch after punch until he was panting heavily. Finally, he stopped.

When someone stepped forward to treat his injured hand, Takeshi waved them off. He began drawing on chakra, using the medical ninjutsu methods taught by Nono.

Young master Takeshi's jutsu was clearly improving—though his temperament was entirely unlike Danzo-sama's... a bit too impulsive.

Yamanaka Akira stood off to the side, observing the green chakra glow in Takeshi's palm with a look of admiration.

"Take him away," he ordered, and the Root operatives dragged the now pig-faced Yōmei Rikujin off the scene. Yamanaka Akira left the space to Takeshi and Kakashi.

...

Creak.

As the door hinges groaned, Hatake Sakumo pushed open the door. His face was full of exhaustion, but he forced a smile.

"Takeshi, you're here. Come on in."

It had been a long time since he'd visited Kakashi's home. Takeshi barely had time to indulge in nostalgia—his focus was completely on the man in front of him.

No matter what, this man had brought him from that backwater hellhole of Kirigakure to Konoha. He couldn't allow him to die like in the original story—so pointlessly and full of regret.

From the way Yōmei Rikujin acted, he could tell: Sakumo's death had been caused by guilt and self-blame, not anything else. When someone's heart is set on death, no amount of persuasion will change their mind.

Now, Sakumo looked like he had aged a decade or more. Though he was still forcing a smile, the despair on his face was impossible to hide.

This wasn't the time to argue.

"Sakumo-san, I want to eat your cooking."

Takeshi didn't bring up what had just happened. He clutched his stomach and said he was hungry.

"Uh—alright. Hehe, I'll go make something for you." Sakumo was stunned at first, but quickly stood up and subconsciously began looking for his pink apron.

...

"So that's what happened. That kid Takeshi stepped in?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was reviewing the ANBU's report on the situation.

"This child… his personality is nothing like Danzo's." He shook his head with a wry smile, though his mind remained heavy.

Even though Yōmei Rikujin had been detained, the rumors he spread were already beginning to circulate through the village.

The two advisors would definitely seize on this as an excuse to pressure him into giving them an explanation.

This was going to be difficult...

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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