Chapter 57: The Third Hokage Is Still an Honest Man
"Kazekage, that remark was a bit too much…"
Hearing the "Kazekage's" words, Sarutobi Hiruzen showed an awkward expression.
"Too much? A dignified Nine-Tails jinchūriki actually defeats his opponent in this way. Hokage, are you planning to replace the Tailed Beast Bomb on the battlefield with the kind of ancient ninja 'Dung Bombs'?"
The "Kazekage's" tone was full of mockery.
Orochimaru's reason for launching the Konoha Crush Plan was not only his personal grudge against his sensei, Sarutobi Hiruzen, nor just his desire to lure Sasuke away. There was another layer to it.
Orochimaru's idea of "destroying Konoha" was, in essence, the same as Sasuke's thinking later on, using revolution to drive development.
It was just that Orochimaru was more "artistic" about it, saying things like "borrowing the wind of destroying Konoha to make the windmill turn again."
Later, when Tsunade asked why he had changed, he also said, "I used to want to become the wind that pushes the windmill; now I enjoy waiting for the wind."
From this, it was clear that Orochimaru truly liked wind.
No wonder he killed the Kazekage and impersonated him.
(Rasa: ?)
"The Nine-Tails?! I didn't expect the Kazekage to have even dug up information like that?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately revealed a wary, scrutinizing look.
Earlier, he had been thinking that even if the Mizukage and Tsuchikage had some sort of scheme, the Kazekage shouldn't be involved. But now…
"Even ordinary Konoha villagers can curse him as a demon fox. Is this really information that's hard to obtain?"
The "Kazekage" looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with a disdainful, speechless gaze.
Although Orochimaru had transformed into Rasa, he was well aware of how experienced his sensei Sarutobi Hiruzen was, so he still chose to cover his face with a veil and wear a hat, only exposing a pair of eyes.
"Haha… haha."
Thinking it over, Sarutobi Hiruzen realized it did seem to be the case, and he laughed awkwardly.
If someone approached this matter with a conspiratorial mindset, they might think Sarutobi Hiruzen deliberately allowed the villagers to bully Naruto so that he could later win people's hearts by acting benevolent.
But according to the conclusions Shiromo had previously analyzed, that wasn't actually the case.
Because Konoha villagers bullied everyone they wanted to bully, equally.
They didn't refrain from bullying Naruto out of fear because he was the "demon fox." They were very fair, giving Naruto a complete and authentic Konoha childhood.
Think about it again: Konoha's White Fang was scolded into suicide; the Hyūga clan's eldest daughter; the Uchiha clan's eldest son (referring to Itachi's clone being beaten when he was young), all of them had been bullied.
And then there's the strange logic that doesn't allow for much thought: the Uchiha Police Force was hated because they were responsible for law enforcement.
Not to mention Shiromo's previous world, even in certain countries where mass shootings happen every day, law enforcement officers aren't hated to that extent, are they?
Only one kind of person truly hates law enforcement: criminals themselves.
So in an environment like this, if Naruto's identity as the son of the "Yellow Flash" were really announced, the villagers would most likely curse Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina along with him.
Thinking about it that way, the Third Hokage really was an honest man.
"Mizukage-dono, could you help, "
Sarutobi Hiruzen awkwardly changed the subject and looked toward Terumī Mei beside him.
"Don't even think about it."
Terumī Mei covered her nose with her slender hand, her face full of disgust.
Using Water Release to wash away those things down there?
Did he think she was a toilet?
"Third Hokage, I heard from my grandfather that as the Professor of Ninjutsu, you're proficient in all five chakra natures. You shouldn't need to ask the Mizukage for help at all, right?"
Kurotsuchi spoke up from the side.
Only ninjas who had mastered Water Release could use water-style techniques without relying on naturally existing water sources.
Terumī Mei belonged to this category, and Sarutobi Hiruzen clearly did as well.
"My apologies. I'm old, and my memory isn't what it used to be. I only thought that I'm the Hokage and you're the Mizukage."
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled, stood up, removed his hat and placed it on his seat, then walked to the railing and called down below, "Clear the area. There will be a half-hour intermission in the matches for cleaning."
After everyone had withdrawn, Sarutobi Hiruzen formed hand seals and spewed a surging torrent of water downward.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
The Water Dragon Bullet, with its power carefully controlled, continued washing the arena, gradually flushing away the filth Naruto had caused.
During the intermission, everyone left the stadium.
Shiromo also planned to go out onto the street to buy some snacks and drinks to eat while watching the remaining matches later.
As for why he hadn't bought them in advance, it was naturally because on the way here, he had already seen Naruto's strange expression and guessed there might be a feces, urine, flatulence segment.
After all, in the original story, Naruto won with just a fart.
To avoid affecting his appetite, he hadn't bought anything ahead of time.
However, just as Shiromo reached the exit, he was called to stop.
"That friend from Amegakure, please wait a moment!"
The one who stopped Shiromo was Nara Shikamaru, who was also one of the competitors scheduled for the next match.
"Hm? What is it? Do you need something?"
Shiromo didn't recall having any interaction with Shikamaru.
"A friend asked me to relay some questions to you. Could you spare a little time to talk privately over there?"
Shikamaru pointed behind him toward the arena, which had almost been cleared of people and was in the process of drying.
"Alright."
Shiromo nodded, then turned and instructed Konan, "Help me bring two bottles… two bottles of iced water, and buy a few bags of potato chips."
He had originally wanted to say cola, but then remembered that cola and burgers were things that only got "invented" in the Boruto era, so he changed his wording.
"Okay."
Konan, wearing a hat, responded and left.
"Potato chips? Shikamaru, anyone who likes potato chips can't be a bad person."
Chōji, who was slowly walking out behind them, immediately lit up when he heard Shiromo's words.
"…"
Shikamaru was momentarily speechless at his teammate's innocence.
Fortunately, before Chōji could say anything that might leak information, Ino dragged him away.
Shiromo and Shikamaru returned to the spectator stands and sat down.
"The one who asked me is Hyūga Hinata."
Shikamaru got straight to the point and looked at Shiromo.
"You should know the reason, right?"
Last night, after Hanabi returned home, in order to ensure she would win her agreement with their father and go to Amegakure, she had a talk with Hinata.
Hanabi told Hinata that she must go all out in tomorrow's match and satisfy Father, otherwise she would be sent to Amegakure to study abroad.
At the same time, Hanabi said that she really wanted to go out and see the world, broaden her horizons, so she hoped her sister wouldn't steal this opportunity. She knew her sister wanted to stay in Konoha more, so she had to give it her all.
This was Hanabi's way of removing Hinata's psychological burden.
Hyuga Hiashi knew about Hanabi's little tricks, but he didn't stop or expose them.
If simply provoking her like this could change his eldest daughter's personality, he would have succeeded long ago.
And Hinata?
Naturally, she didn't want to leave Konoha. But she also felt that sending her younger sister Hanabi to Amegakure was strange, could it be that her sister had been deceived?
So she sought out the smartest person she knew, Shikamaru, and asked for his help.
"Oh, Hinata. It should be for the sake of her sister Hanabi, right?"
Shiromo nodded slightly, as if he understood.
"The Hyūga clan's Byakugan has its own inherited training methods. No matter how you look at it, there's no reason to go to Amegakure to learn anything. What exactly is your purpose?"
Shikamaru stared at Shiromo with a tense expression.
"I can answer you, but could you ask the little girl hiding behind you to put her hands down first? Holding them like that, she could get hurt easily."
Shiromo spoke calmly.
After dragging Chōji away earlier, Ino had returned as agreed. She was now crouching behind the seats, both hands forming the seal for the Mind Body Switch Technique, aimed at Shiromo, watching him on Shikamaru's behalf. The moment he made a move, she would immediately activate her ability.
She just hadn't expected that she would be discovered before she even acted.
(End of this chapter)