Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 194 You are a "knife," and will always be just a "knife."

"And I hope you can come with me..."

Hinata Kumokawa's eyes narrowed slightly, and a perfectly timed look of surprise appeared on his face.

It seems that they were not surprised by the convening of the "Five Kage Summit," as this was almost an inevitable choice under the current circumstances, but rather by the second half of Hiruzen Sarutobi's statement.

"Me?" Hinata Kumokawa's tone held a hint of doubt. "Third Hokage, you mean..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked out the window, gazing into the distance, and said, "As a guard."

This identity may sound ordinary, but if there's anything special about it, then its meaning is quite profound.

Because the "Five Kage Summit" convened by Hashirama Senju last time can be said to have completely laid the foundation for the current state of the ninja world.

The five people who served as the guards of the Five Kage all later became the Five Kage themselves.

Aside from the First Mizukage's bodyguard who failed to defeat Hozuki Gengetsu and later became the Third Mizukage, the other four bodyguards all became Second Mizukage.

Undoubtedly, this outcome has added some political factors and influences to the identity of 'guardian'.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi had said these words to Danzo Shimura at this moment, even if it was just to have him accompany him as a bodyguard and subordinate, Danzo would probably have been overjoyed.

However, Hinata Kumokawa was actually quite calm inside.

Because he knew that he was definitely not the only one who went to the 'Five Kage Summit' with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Because of the special nature of the "guardian" identity, the other four "shadows" would never bring only one person to the meeting.

This is a decision that any competent leader would make without hesitation.

Sure enough, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly changed the subject and looked at Kakashi in the other bed.

“Of course, besides you, there’s Kakashi,” he said.

pat!

Upon hearing this, Kakashi, who was lying on the bed holding "Icha Icha Paradise," had the book slip from his hand and hit him in the face.

Then he sat up abruptly, his one exposed dead fish eye widening instantly, filled with incredulous astonishment.

"I?"

Kakashi pointed to himself, as if he couldn't believe he'd heard correctly, his voice noticeably hoarse as he said, "Third Hokage, you...you mean I want to too..."

“Yes, Kakashi.” Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. “You and Yun Chuan will both attend the Five Kage Summit as my bodyguards.”

“This…” Kakashi frowned. “Third Hokage, shouldn’t Shisui Uchiha be more suitable than me?”

The Uchiha clan has been almost completely wiped out, while the rest of Konoha escaped unscathed, leaving all the blame to Itachi and Obito.

Even Danzo had no reason to target the remaining elderly, weak, women and children, and Uchiha Shisui, who once belonged to the Hokage faction, was naturally also clean.

"There are still many unanswered questions about the Uchiha incident. Shisui, who was once close to Itachi Uchiha, cannot be completely cleared of suspicion in this incident."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said, "Besides, do you think Shizuru's injuries are less severe than yours?"

"After taking the blow from the 'vortex,' half of his body was shattered, and coupled with the excessive mental and physical exhaustion, he has not yet woken up from his coma."

"Based on the medical ninja's examination and speculation, even if he wakes up and the subsequent treatment goes smoothly, it will be difficult for him to continue as a ninja given the extent of his injuries."

Upon hearing this, Kakashi, who was learning about Shisui's injuries for the first time, fell silent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him and continued, "After all, you single-handedly defeated Obito Uchiha, who called himself 'Madara Uchiha,' and exposed his false identity as 'Madara Uchiha.'"

"The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, will definitely attend this meeting. As a victim who was also manipulated by Obito Uchiha using genjutsu and suffered greatly, Kirigakure has suffered heavy losses."

“Yagura, and the entire Hidden Mist Village, will inevitably feel strong resentment towards Konoha. After all, Obito Uchiha was once a ninja of our Konoha.”

"At times like these, your presence becomes crucial, Kakashi."

"You are both Obito Uchiha's former best friend, who knows his past, and now his enemy who personally injured him and exposed his true colors."

"Your very existence is Konoha's most powerful response to Obito Uchiha and the forces behind him, and it is enough to prove our determination to clean house and never tolerate such behavior."

"Regarding Obito Uchiha, details of his abilities and motives... no one knows better than you. You need to tell all of this to the other four Kage in person."

Having said that, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept over the two young men before him once more, a gentle yet weary smile appearing on his face: "So, Yun Chuan, Kakashi..."

"Are you now willing to accept the commission to protect this old man?"

A brief silence fell over the ward.

Hinata Kumokawa and Kakashi's gazes met silently in mid-air.

No words needed.

Almost simultaneously, the two nodded slowly and solemnly: "We will do our best."

"Alright, it will be a while before we set off. We need to wait for those four Shadows to give us their answer."

Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Hyuga Kumokawa on the shoulder and smiled, "Use this time to get everything ready. We'll probably be gone for a long time this time." "I understand, Third Hokage." Hyuga Kumokawa's face showed solemnity and a little excitement, seemingly moved by Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust.

But in fact, he was very calm at this moment. He knew very well that even though he had done so much, it was still not as important as Kakashi's position in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart.

From what Hiruzen Sarutobi said to Kakashi, it's clear that Kakashi is the one who will truly appear before the Five Kage this time.

Moreover, putting everything else aside, if he dares to release the Caged Bird Seal now, Hiruzen Sarutobi will immediately become suspicious.

Because he had previously pulled out the 'Greed' weapon, and the word 'Greed' has always been associated with ambition.

Even Shimura Danzo could understand the implications, so how could Sarutobi Hiruzen not see it at all? The old man was just indecisive, not stupid.

Even without any evidence, it is enough for those in power to have doubts in their hearts.

As an aging politician, Hiruzen Sarutobi's continued "trust" in him is not due to any sense of gratitude or contribution.

It was because Hiruzen Sarutobi believed he held his life in his own hands; otherwise, how could he trust a member of the Hyuga branch family, and how could he dare to use someone whose life didn't even belong to him?

Hiruzen Sarutobi would indeed feel sorry for Hyuga Kumokawa because he was from the branch family, but if he were to suddenly release the Caged Bird Seal, the first to attack him might not necessarily be the main Hyuga family.

Because Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust in him was actually based on the Caged Bird Seal.

The Hyuga main family certainly held his life in their hands, but Hiruzen Sarutobi also held his life in their hands.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi never intended for him to become Hokage; at most, he just wanted to use him as an obedient and useful "sword."

It's highly likely that he plans to hand over this "sword" to his successor after he steps down.

Everything Hiruzen Sarutobi did without restraint, including making him a 'guard,' was based on the certainty that he would be a caged bird for life.

As long as the Caged Bird Curse on his forehead cannot be removed, his "knife" will remain just a "knife" for life, and no matter how high his reputation or status, it will be meaningless.

"Unfortunately."

Hinata Kumokawa lowered his eyes, his eyelashes casting a small shadow that concealed the indifference in his eyes, thinking to himself, "Your plan is going to fail."

The only solution to this situation is to use an absolutely reasonable method, through a lie that everyone believes, to break the caged bird curse under the watchful eyes of the public.

Coincidentally, Hinata Kumokawa had been preparing this lie for a long time...

"By the way, Lord Sandai."

Kakashi seemed to have thought of something and suddenly asked, "The village is already weak internally. What if the Espada attack again while we're away..."

Normally, the fact that 'Shadow' leaves the village needs to be kept secret to prevent the possibility of invasion by external enemies.

But this is a 'Five Kage Summit', which is impossible to keep secret. At most, one shadow clone can be left behind.

"I've thought about this issue."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and said, "I have received replies from Tsunade and Jiraiya, and they are on their way back."

"Besides that, we should also strengthen the village's power before we leave."

As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Hyuga Kumokawa, or more precisely, at the 'Greed' sword at his waist.

Seeing this, Kakashi's pupils narrowed slightly, and he subconsciously looked at the wakizashi 'Jealousy' that he had placed to the side.

Without a doubt, it was during this chaos that the 'Jealousy' truly demonstrated its formidable power.

If Kakashi hadn't used 'Jealousy' to materialize Obito Uchiha's Hokage mirror image, Konoha would probably have faced two Susanoo and those three 'Espada'.

Now, Kakashi Hatake, free from the Sharingan's influence and possessing 'jealousy', could easily steal Naruto's later title of "Number One in Accidentality".

The stronger the ninja, the greater the effect he can have.

This also allowed Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had previously paid little attention to the 'Seven Deadly Sins,' to see the true power and terrifying potential of these seven weapons.

"Apart from the three weapons that already have owners..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes flashed as he said, "I plan to have all the currently active ninjas try to gain the approval of the remaining four weapons."

Besides 'greed', 'envy', and 'sloth', which are ruled by God, there are 'pride', 'wrath', 'lust', and 'gluttony'.

The conditions for choosing a holder of the 'Seven Deadly Sins' are not yet clear, but with so many ninjas in Konoha, surely they can't all draw one?
If they could just pull out another weapon whose power is no less than 'Jealousy', Konoha, which is currently lacking in combat strength, would have an extra layer of protection.

"Third Hokage, I shall take my leave now and return to prepare," Hinata Kumokawa said.

"Yes, remember to attend the Jonin meeting. I will announce the existence of 'Hollows' and 'Espada' and announce the Five Kage Summit, and I will have you and Kakashi serve as my guards."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, but then, as if remembering something, he looked up at him and slowly said, "Also, regarding the conflicts and disagreements between the main and branch families of the Hyuga clan..."

He paused for a moment, then sighed, "I understand your and the branch family members' dissatisfaction, but Yun Chuan, you should understand that Konoha cannot afford any more losses now."

"If another massacre of the Uchiha clan were to occur, and another 'Uchiha Fugaku' were to emerge, the 'Espada' would very likely turn their attention to us once again."

"so……"

(End of this chapter)