As the afternoon approached, the rumors that were unfavorable to Sakumo had spread to most corners of the village after a whole morning of fermentation. They were only one step away from becoming "everyone knows".
No matter how hard the Uchiha ninjas of the police force try to curb the spread of rumors, compared to the huge population of Konoha Village, the manpower of the guard force is already stretched thin. It is too late to arrest people, let alone stop the spread of rumors. .
Sakumo's house is located in a relatively prosperous section of Konoha Village, not close to the center of the village.
It was a small independent courtyard. At the door, the word "Hagi" was written on the door number.
When Shiraishi and Ruri came here, they saw Kakashi standing at the door, looking even more silent than usual.
"Kakashi, is Sakumo-sensei at home?"
Kakashi heard someone calling his name. He looked up and saw Shiraishi and Ruri coming. He nodded slightly to indicate that Sakumo was at home.
Baishi and Liuli breathed a sigh of relief. Things would be easier to handle if they were at home.
"However, father..."
When Kakashi said this, he looked like he didn't know how to explain it.
"Take us to see him."
Shiraishi sighed, knowing that Kakashi must be in a bad mood now.
The rumors spread so much that there was no way Kakashi didn't know about it.
Kakashi led the way and led Shiraishi and Ruri into Hatake's house.
The Hatake House is a typical Japanese-style building, and the houses also look a bit ancient. The three of them arrived at the door of Sakumo's room within a few steps.
Before he was ready to knock on the door, a word of "Come in" came from inside. It was obvious that Sakumo, who was inside, already knew that someone was coming outside.
Shiraishi had no choice but to slide the door open and shouted to the people inside: "Teacher Sakumo, let's come..."
The voice stopped.
Shiraishi and Ruri looked at Sakumo in front of them in a daze.
"Teacher Sakumo, what are you..."
Sakumo in front of them did not become depressed because of the rumors as expected. Instead, he was sitting at the table, eating a large bowl of ramen with a good appetite.
Seeing Shiraishi and Liuli coming, he calmly picked up a napkin and wiped the greasy lips. The two people who had been visiting him asked in confusion: "Why are you two here?"
"..."
"..."
Shiraishi and Ruri didn't know how to answer Sakumo's words.
Before they came, they imagined a lot of scenes where Sakumo would be depressed due to rumors, but they did not expect this kind of scene.
"Teacher Sakumo, about the rumors outside..."
In the end, Liuli stood up.
"Did you come to me for this kind of thing?"
"Yes, this is the job of our security team. I want to know the whole story, and I would like to ask Sakumo Jounin for your answer."
Ruri walked up to Sakumo and spoke to Sakumo in a serious tone.
He was not questioning him as a member of the former Sakumo team, but as a squad leader of the security team to investigate the cause and effect of the matter.
Sakumo thought for a moment, and since this was the job of the security team, there was no problem.
So, he readily recounted what happened at that time.
"This time we were carrying out a confidential mission, but we encountered some troubles on the way. Considering that my companions at the time were no longer able to continue fighting, I chose to abandon the mission and come back with my people. This also led to the failure of the mission. "
When Sakumo said these words, he did not have any personal emotions. He just told what happened as a bystander, and it was left to Ruri, a member of the security team, to judge.
Shiraishi and Ruri frowned, and even Kakashi looked confused.
I always feel that things happen too simply.
"What kind of secret mission is it?"
Ruri stared at Sakumo's face.
This is the main purpose of her coming.
Even confidential tasks range from light to heavy, big to small.
Some can be related to the survival of the village, while others are just insignificant.
"I don't know. The order I received was to seize something, but the mission failed. Naturally, the thing was not brought back to the village. I don't know what it was specifically."
In response to Ruri's question, Sakumo shook his head slightly, saying that he didn't know what he wanted to capture in the mission.
Liuli felt that things were a bit tricky.
There is very little information obtained from Sakumo. If you want to know what Sakumo captured during this mission, and how much the village lost due to the failure of the mission, you can only start from the higher-ups.
After all, the mission was initially handled by them and then handed over to Sakumo for him to complete.
But the rumors have spread to this point, and there is no movement from the higher-ups. Even if I ask now, it is impossible to get anything.
Otherwise, they would have clarified the rumors and suppressed the impact to a minimum.
After coming out of Hatake's house, Shiraishi and Liuli looked at the sky and let out a breath.
Looking at each other, Liuli asked Shiraishi: "What to do next? Teacher Sakumo can't use this place as a breakthrough. Do you want to find the guy who was rescued by Teacher Sakumo?"
"What we can think of is that the people who spread the rumors had already expected it, and they were probably 'protected' when they were planning the operation. We just went to the hospital now, and the person has already 'disappeared'."
"Did the higher-ups do it?"
"Besides them, there seems to be no one else. When such a big thing breaks out, as usual, Teacher Sakumo has been invited by the ANBU to drink tea and chat, instead of sitting at home."
Shiraishi was certain that someone at the top had done this, or that more than one person was behind it.
"A dispute over the position of Hokage?"
Liuli shook her head. The top management had done a perfect job in this matter. The police force alone could not accomplish anything.
Compared with ANBU, the police force does have greater power, but its reputation in Konoha is not very good, and it does not have the strong authority of ANBU.
Once the ANBU is dispatched, it represents the will of the Hokage himself.
"That should be the case. After all, the candidate meeting for the Fourth Hokage will be held in the near future. It is natural to exclude some irrelevant people at this time."
It's a bit cruel to say that, in Shiraishi's view, Sakumo is just a victim of the power struggle.
His subjective will and thoughts are not the most important, and no one will understand it. As long as his current reputation can damage some of his interests, it is enough.
It doesn't matter whether you want to be Hokage or not. What matters is whether you have the qualifications and threats to be promoted to Hokage.
"That's fine. Now that the political capital is gone, after this incident passes, the senior officials will have no reason to suppress Mr. Sakumo."
Liuli understood what Shiraishi meant and felt that she was a little anxious.
The dispute over the position of Hokage involves the interests of many factions in Konoha.
A person whose reputation and strength surpassed that of the Sannin, and who was not affiliated with any party, was of course the highest priority target to exclude.
There seems to be no harm in suppressing Sakumo's reputation, plundering Sakumo's political capital, and letting him become a Jounin of Konoha in the future.
On the contrary, Sakumo will definitely be reused again in the days to come.
Because this is an important period for candidates to be the Fourth Hokage. As long as this stage is passed, Konoha White Fang will still be Konoha White Fang.
Based on Ruri's personal opinion, Sakumo is indeed not very suitable for the position of Hokage.
He has neither ambition nor desire, he is just an excellent Jounin of Konoha.
that is it.
"Really? It would be great if that were the case..."
Shiraishi murmured to himself, thinking of Sakumo's nonchalant look before, and his heart became filled with a haze.
That's not like nothing happened.
◎
Two days later, the rumors grew more ferocious.
More and more people are coming to the police station to cause trouble, and there are no longer enough cells in the police station.
The crimes of these people are not enough to be imprisoned in Konoha Prison. They are serious criminals. Although these people are spreading rumors, they do not reach the level of 'serious punishment'.
Bringing these people to Konoha Prison will definitely lead to obstruction from the ANBU and unnecessary conflicts.
"What's going on? Are there so many people here to make trouble?"
Liuli came to the guard hall early in the morning and felt that the place was almost overcrowded. There was also noisy outside the door, like a vegetable market.
The two members of the security team belonging to Liuli's squad saluted Liuli and replied: "Yes, in the morning, new rumors emerged. The manpower of the security team is completely insufficient."
Having said this, the guard member smiled helplessly.
He didn't know that a rumor could be promoted like this.
It's just that the mission failed. Konoha White Fang is indeed a famous ninja in the ninja world. In the past few years, he has gradually become Konoha's signature to intimidate enemies.
But even Konoha White Fang is still a human being, not a god.
Occasionally, a mission failure is not a big deal. Anyway, the above does not mention any serious consequences of mission failure.
If you put it this way, the so-called Sannin is just that. After all, this name is the name of a defeated general.
But how many people dare to underestimate the Sannin?
In the opinion of this Uchiha ninja from the security team, these villagers were just making a fuss and talking without knowing anything. They even said some ugly words that even the members of the security team could not listen to. Gradually, away from the core essence of the problem.
It's against the rules to beat them up, but to bring them to the security team for discipline, the room is no longer enough.
Therefore, the police ninjas who came to work this morning were all very worried about this problem.
Let these people go and the rumors will get worse.
If we don't let them go... overcrowding will affect the efficiency of the police force.
"Find a few people who are good at earth escape and build a few simple cells outside."
Liuli's face was frighteningly cold.
"……yes."
One of the members of the guard team immediately went down to find a few people in the guard team who knew how to escape, and expanded the temporary cell outside.
"Will this have any negative impact?"
The remaining guard ninja gave a wry smile.
"What's wrong? We are just following the rules. Even if the Hokage comes, I still have reason to argue with him."
"That's what I say, but if this continues, the reputation of our police force will..."
"The police force has long since lost its reputation. Why do you care so much? There is no need to give them lunch and dinner, and their families are not allowed to send food. Just feed them some water. They won't starve to death anyway."
Liuli snorted coldly.
"……Understood."
Since it is an order from the squad leader, all you need to do is execute it.
Just like Liuli said, these people will not die of hunger after two meals.
"By the way, you just said there were new rumors?"
"Yes, didn't Sakumo Jōnin give up his mission because he was rescuing people? The person who was rescued seemed to be accusing Sakumo Jōnin of not having a big picture view, saying that he was not suitable to be a ninja, and criticizing Sakumo Jōnin harshly. and humiliation..."
Seeing Liuli's face getting more and more ugly, the guard ninja stopped talking.
At this point, I believe Liuli already understands what's going on.
"Where is that person?"
"We couldn't find him. When we went there, he had already 'disappeared'."
It must have been hidden. Liuli sneered secretly.
"I understand, you go down and do your work."
"Yes... that, actually don't worry too much. Although I am not familiar with Sakumo Jōnin, a ninja like him has a very strong willpower. He will just laugh off such rumors."
He knew that his squad leader Liuli was once a member of Sakumo's team and must have a good relationship with Sakumo. Before leaving, he comforted Liuli.
"Just laugh it off?"
Liuli thought that when she visited Sakumo two days ago, he was eating ramen in a good mood and was not swayed by the rumors outside.
This did comfort Liuli, and yes, even if those rumors made him feel a little uncomfortable, they should be no big deal to Sakumo.
