To be honest, this matter could be considered either serious or trivial for Konoha.
If an outsider had done it, then it would unquestionably constitute collusion with an enemy village.
There would be absolutely no room for leniency.
But if someone from Konoha itself were responsible, there were two possible situations.
The first was a civilian.
In that case, there wasn’t much to discuss.
They would simply be thrown into the Military Police Force’s cells for a few days and fined.
The second was someone like Hatake Shibu—someone with influence and connections.
As long as the matter was discussed privately, it would basically amount to a symbolic punishment and a warning not to do it again.
Shibu really ought to be grateful that, back when he was in Konoha’s orphanage, he had cried his heart out in front of Hatake Sakumo.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be enjoying the benefits of power and influence now.
After putting on his equipment, Hatake Sakumo left.
Regardless of how one looked at it, the incident had caused quite a stir.
He needed to speak with the Third Hokage in advance and make sure he didn’t become overly nervous about the situation.
More importantly, Sakumo wanted to see whether Root’s investigation could be stopped directly.
That way, he could avoid unnecessary complications.
Some time later, inside the Hokage Building, Hatake Sakumo had just finished explaining the entire situation to the Third Hokage in detail.
Naturally, he had made Shibu look considerably better in the process.
He described it as a case of a young boy not knowing better.
A childish prank.
And, of course, he also took some responsibility himself, saying that he hadn’t properly disciplined his son.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn’t an unreasonable man.
He understood exactly what Hatake Sakumo meant.
He simply wanted Hiruzen to look at the matter through the lens of the White Fang’s reputation and turn a major issue into a minor one, or perhaps make the minor issue disappear entirely.
Although Hiruzen wasn’t particularly willing to do so, he still had to give Sakumo some face.
After all, Sakumo was currently the only truly powerful shinobi Konoha could rely on.
Konoha’s military strength was at one of its weakest points in many years, and Hiruzen couldn’t easily go to the battlefield himself.
The Legendary Sannin had yet to make their names.
Shimura Danzo had yet to earn the title of the Shinobi World’s Darkness.
Within Konoha, there were only a handful of truly powerful shinobi.
And at present, the only one who could really be counted on was Hatake Sakumo.
By “counted on,” that meant someone capable of intimidating an entire battlefield.
Therefore, Hiruzen had to give Sakumo this face.
Or rather, he had no choice.
“Sakumo, it’s not that serious. It’s merely a child being mischievous. I was like that myself when I was young. That’s what children are like. Just discipline him properly and it’ll be fine.” Follow the newest chapters on novelping . com.
A smile blossomed across Hiruzen’s face like a dried chrysanthemum.
Although he wasn’t particularly old yet, the pressure accumulated over his many years as Hokage had already made him look somewhat aged.
Hatake Sakumo breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, he knew that his request would be accepted.
But the moment it actually happened, he still felt a great weight lift from his shoulders.
“Then I’ll thank you in advance, Hokage-sama.”
Hiruzen waved his hand.
“No need. He’s my own junior in the clan, so it’s only natural that I look after him a little.”
“However, Sakumo, what do you plan to do next?”
Hatake Sakumo smiled.
“You don’t need to worry about that, Hokage-sama. That brat clearly wants to have a little contest with me.”
“Let’s see whether I can catch him tomorrow. Afterward, I’ll make him visit everyone he’s affected and apologize one by one.”
Only after hearing this did Hiruzen nod in satisfaction.
After all, once the matter had been resolved, no one would be able to accuse the Hokage of negligence.
Since Sakumo wanted to settle the matter through a father-and-son showdown, Hiruzen wasn’t about to ruin the fun.
He immediately agreed to Sakumo’s request and also stated that he would inform Danzo to cancel Root’s investigation into the matter.
The next day.
At the exact same time as yesterday, Hatake Shibu appeared at the same stall.
Uchiha Obito was especially excited today.
The moment the stall was set up, it meant another 1,000 ryō would be going into his pocket.
Shibu glanced around before speaking to Obito.
“Same as yesterday. I’ll go out and attract customers while you stay here and watch the stall. I’ll be back around noon, and I’ll bring you lunch.”
Obito nodded.
“Since that’s the case, I want barbecue for lunch!”
Hatake Shibu nearly fell flat on his face.
What do you mean, barbecue?!
Don’t you know how expensive barbecue is?
Having Ichiraku Ramen is already good enough!
And you still want barbecue?
Meat was extremely expensive in the shinobi world.
In fact, before large-scale livestock farming became common, the price of livestock was generally very high.
Poultry was relatively affordable.
But one meal of barbecue could easily bankrupt Hatake Shibu.
“Are you out of your mind? You want barbecue? Why don’t you just ask to fly while you’re at it?”
Shibu’s words made Obito scratch his head awkwardly.
Apparently, even he realized that his request had been a little excessive.
His figure instantly disappeared from the spot.
His mastery of the Body Flicker Technique had already reached a considerable level.
In the distance, Hatake Sakumo watched this and nodded in satisfaction.
After all, this was his son.
However, if that was all Shibu had up his sleeve, he was still far too inexperienced.
As expected, a child was still a child.
He actually underestimated the Anbu commander.
With that thought, Sakumo instantly followed.
He maintained a distance that would prevent Shibu from noticing him and quietly followed behind.
Shibu sensed Hatake Sakumo behind him.
The corners of his mouth curled into a strange smile.
True hunters always appear in the guise of prey.
Let’s see who gets caught today.
Will you capture me, or will I lead you around by the nose?
With that thought, Shibu suddenly accelerated.
He deliberately put on the appearance of someone trying to shake off the person following him.
Sakumo immediately followed suit.
Clearly, he intended to stay on Shibu’s tail for the entire day.
Time passed second by second.
Eventually, Sakumo began to feel that something wasn’t right.
After all, Shibu didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping.
It was almost noon, yet he still showed no signs of stopping.
Looking at the surrounding scenery, Sakumo became certain of something.
They had already passed through this exact place three times.
Sakumo frowned.
Something was strange.
Based on his understanding of Shibu, if the boy had said yesterday that he would deliberately continue his business despite being warned, then he would definitely do it.
Keeping his word was one of the few virtues Hatake Shibu possessed.
Sakumo increased his speed, wanting to catch up with Shibu and see exactly what was going on.
But the Shibu ahead suddenly stopped.
He turned around and made a face at Sakumo.
“Bang!”
With a puff of smoke, the Hatake Shibu standing in front of Sakumo instantly transformed into a cloud of white smoke.
It was clearly a Shadow Clone.