Chapter 113 – Time for This Old Man to Act
At this moment, Might Duy could only sit quietly and listen in silence. From the beginning, he had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.
"Kazane, you don't need to worry about the Five Kage Summit in five days," Orochimaru said. "Since the Hokage already failed at the Jōnin Council, none of it should affect you."
"Besides, I doubt the three great shinobi villages even have the strength to start a war right now."
As a battlefield commander, Orochimaru could clearly see that the Three Great Villages were merely putting on a strong front. They didn't actually have the resources to launch another war.
And if he could see that, then surely his teacher could as well.
But here, Orochimaru had misjudged things—Kazane had never been concerned about whether the other villages had the courage to declare war on Konoha.
Even if they did, if he'd defeated them once, he could certainly do it again. If they wanted to come back for more, all they'd be doing was delivering more heads to him.
What bothered him was that these defeated villages still had the gall to provoke him. It seemed it was time to show them exactly what kind of person Hatake Kazane really was.
—
Three days passed quickly.
Since that council meeting, Orochimaru had been paying formal visits to Konoha's major clans and respected Jōnin one after another.
And he did so openly, in broad daylight.
This created a noticeable tension among the average ninja in the village—an uneasy calm before the storm. Every clan was now simply waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi's next move.
But to everyone's surprise, Hiruzen didn't make any move at all. He continued his routine, doing exactly what he had always done.
However, among the civilian population, a different kind of conversation began to spread quietly.
"Did you hear? The three great shinobi villages are planning to invade the Land of Fire again!"
"Yeah, I heard about that. They say it's to avenge their fallen ninja—that's why they're coming after Konoha."
"I heard the same. Apparently, they're coming specifically for Kazane. He killed a ton of their shinobi."
"Exactly! They say Hatake Kazane killed the Third Raikage. And the Fourth Raikage is his son—of course he's going to come for revenge."
"Right, and not just that. He also killed the son of the Third Tsuchikage. If your son was killed, wouldn't you want revenge too?"
"Sigh, my cousin's a ninja too, and he told me that Hatake Kazane might look young, but he's completely bloodthirsty. Back during the Kirigakure campaign, even after their Mizukage surrendered, he still forced the Mist to hand over the heads of two clan leaders. Probably killed them himself."
"Ugh… And now we have to take the fall for what he did? The three villages are joining forces to attack us—and we're the ones who'll suffer? I'd rather die than accept that."
"Same here. You know, my son's a ninja. And from what I've heard, Kazane's father, Sakumo Hatake, committed suicide years ago after failing a mission that caused major losses to the village."
"Wait, seriously? So that's the real reason? I always admired White Fang and mourned his death for so long… I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
"Right? If he caused the problem, why can't he just fix it? The village should hand him over already."
"You don't know? He's Orochimaru's student. Orochimaru's personally protecting him. And now, Orochimaru's even a candidate for the Fourth Hokage."
"What? How could the Third Hokage even consider someone like that? If he spoils his student like this, Konoha's doomed for sure."
Jōnin Sasaki Yuki sat in a sushi shop, overhearing the conversation from the table beside him.
But by now, he was used to it. He'd heard far too many similar conversations over the past few days.
What began as whispers between one or two people had grown into loud group discussions. Strangers even started joining in the conversations when they heard others talking about it, eager to share their own version of events.
At first, he used to speak up and try to stop it. But now? He'd become numb to it.
He had only one thought left in his mind.
The "Demon Blade," the reaper who had once crushed all opposition on the battlefield—Hatake Kazane—might really be finished.
No matter how hard Orochimaru tried to protect him, there was no way he could stand against the will of the entire village.
—
Meanwhile, at the Hatake household—
Starting the day before, people had begun sneaking by and tossing rotten eggs and wilted vegetable leaves into the courtyard.
Some had even splashed layer after layer of foul liquid on the walls of Kazane's house.
And those spreading the rumors through the village? He'd already been warned about them.
Now, whenever Kazane walked through the village, no one dared speak to him openly—but the way they looked at him made him feel like he'd returned to when he first arrived in this world.
The same coldness. The same disgust.
But this time… it was laced with fear.
No one dared make eye contact with him anymore.
But Kazane knew exactly what was happening. The people behind these rumors wanted to provoke him into reacting with anger—into lashing out at civilians.
That's exactly what they were hoping for.
The villagers were ignorant. Followers.
They only cared about their own safety. They judged by appearances, and only saw what those in power wanted them to see.
Right now, none of them would bother to think about what Kazane had done for the village.
They wouldn't remember that it was because of Kazane killing those powerful enemies that Konoha had secured victory after victory.
They couldn't comprehend that if he hadn't ended the war, the same enemies would've stormed Konoha, carrying their heads and stealing everything they owned.
In the villagers' minds, there was only one thing:
Because of Kazane, they were about to face another war. And if the village simply handed him over, they could return to peace.
Right now, anyone standing in the way of that peace… was their enemy. And they'd do whatever it took to destroy that person.
Looking at the mess in the courtyard, Kazane couldn't help but sigh.
So this was Hiruzen Sarutobi's counterattack.
And it was just as familiar as ever. He had truly underestimated the Hatake clan.
Thanks to deliberate manipulation, the rumors against Kazane were spreading faster than ever—so much so that they had started to reach even Orochimaru.
Even among the lower-ranking ninja, talk was spreading that Orochimaru didn't deserve to be Hokage, and that the village should hand over Kazane.
Before long, the entire village began to ostracize both Kazane and Orochimaru.
Only a handful of Kazane's childhood friends still tried to defend him, arguing with villagers and trying to explain the truth.
But how could a few voices stand against the roar of the entire village?
Very quickly, their voices were drowned beneath the tide of rumor and scorn.