Born in Sunagakure, dedicated to antagonizing Konoha for decades

Not long ago, there was such a person. Under the temptation of Onoki's niece looking for a son-in-law, the Konoha Anbu's archives manager couldn't resist. He was tired of working nine-to-five every day but never seeing a chance to get promoted. After receiving Onoki's promise from the Iwa ninja spy, he was tempted!

Oh no Ki's niece!

If she marries into Iwagakure and becomes Onoki's nephew-in-law, how far is it from her rise to power?

So after the information was relayed back and forth through the Iwa ninja spies, the two sides reached a consensus: as long as this ANBU underling brought back all the important information from the Konoha ANBU files, including the information on the spies Konoha sent to various villages, Onoki would guarantee that he would marry his eldest niece and help him rise to a higher position. One year as ANBU captain, two years as battalion commander, three ANBU captains, or even half-sleeve Tsuchikage would be no problem!

Under the lure of such conditions, any talented person with lofty ambitions would find it hard to sit still.

On a dark and stormy night, although it was unclear why murderers usually chose such times to commit their crimes, this underling was clearly caught up in the atmosphere. He secretly prepared to slip out of Konoha with the important ANBU intelligence he had copied and pasted some time ago, intending never to return. As an ANBU underling, even if he was just an office worker, he knew the ANBU's patrol and defense deployment in Konoha like the back of his hand. He knew exactly when the shifts changed, the patrol routes, and how many sentries there were. Moreover, the head coach had changed; it was no longer their ANBU god, Lord White Fang, but the Hokage, who rarely interfered with the ANBU. This made things even easier for him!

If he can successfully reach Iwagakure and hand over all the information he has to Onoki, he will also be a trendsetter of this era!

Perhaps due to excessive excitement, he had been dodging and weaving his way past the ANBU patrols and sentries, but as he passed through the territory under the jurisdiction of the Uchiha Guard, he was already thinking about his married life in Iwagakure, completely forgetting that the Uchiha Sharingan also had night vision. As a result, he was spotted as soon as he entered the territory under the jurisdiction of the Uchiha Guard. Although Konoha does not have a curfew at night, it is obvious to anyone that someone is preparing to leave the village like a thief at three or four in the morning. Even an idiot would know that something is wrong.

Because it was his first time betraying someone, this ANBU member's mental fortitude wasn't quite up to par, or perhaps he was just feeling guilty. When the Uchiha tried to stop him, he saw several Uchiha members, each capable of taking on five opponents, walking towards him. Thinking he'd been exposed, he immediately fled. His escape only confirmed his guilt to the five Uchiha members. It must be said that while the Uchiha members might seem arrogant, their professional skills were top-notch; they notified the village while sending two others to give chase.

After receiving the news, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to investigate. After confirming the guy's identity, he immediately summoned all the village members with two or more stripes on their shoulders for an emergency assembly. This guy's status in the village was not worth such a fuss, but his job was very special. He was the guy who guarded the ANBU archives.

This is Konoha's lifeline! Ever since Senju established the Anbu, most of the village's intelligence files have been transferred to the Anbu. Hatake Sakumo has been a big shot in the Anbu for so many years, making him even more secure. So, over the years, all of Konoha's intelligence files, including those of Sarutobi Hiruzen, have been transferred to the Anbu. They contain not only information on their spies, but also information on the village's high-ranking officials—everything imaginable. They even record what styles the Uchiha clan elders like, what series the second son of the Hyuga main family favors, basically everyone's lifestyle and hobbies except the Hokage. If an enemy village gets their hands on this, they'll be in big trouble.

So after gathering all the men with two or more poles on their shoulders, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately ordered the hunt down of this rogue ninja. Sakumo Hatake, who was in a semi-retired state, was still a half-sleeve Hokage even in retirement, and no one except the Hokage had the right to order him around. Hiruzen Sarutobi also planned to let his beloved general, Touma, rest for a few years and stay home to raise his son. Hunting down a clerical worker was not something he needed to do.

However, as the former leader of the Anbu, Hatake Sakumo was largely to blame for this incident so soon after leaving the Anbu. Therefore, before Sarutobi Hiruzen could even speak, he had already taken action with several of his men.

Hunting down a lowly administrative officer shouldn't be too difficult with so many elite troops deployed, especially with Sakumo Hatake personally leading the charge. Everyone thought the matter was practically settled, and even Shiki couldn't save him.

Even Sakumo Hatake thought so. He was very familiar with this kind of operation. At least if he performed normally, that underling would have no chance of escaping. Moreover, the various sentries in the Land of Fire were not just for show. They might be killed by the underlings in the shadows before they even caught up with them.

But this time everyone was wrong. Working in the most confidential position in the Anbu Archives requires a lot of skill and knowledge. This underling had been preparing to defect ever since he colluded with the Iwa ninja spy. Besides secretly copying and pasting various top-secret files every day, he spent most of his time memorizing the defense maps of the Land of Fire. After all, obtaining these top-secret files and intelligence was only half the battle. Successfully evading Konoha's pursuit and reaching the Land of Earth alive was the real achievement. Over the years, under Sakumo Hatake's leadership, the success rate of Konoha ninja defections was as high as 0.2%!

This shows how difficult it is. If White Fang hadn't left the Anbu, even if Onoki's niece was incredibly beautiful, he wouldn't have dared to have any ideas. The sheer power of White Fang's short blade has been proven by the painful lessons learned by countless defectors over the years.

After memorizing the Fire Country's ANBU defenses by rote, he dodged and weaved his way through the maze without encountering a single Konoha ninja when he reached the border of the Fire Country.

When Hatake Sakumo and his henchmen finally caught up with him after a series of dazzling maneuvers, running countless red lights, the other party was already making contact with the Iwa ninja. Onoki truly cared about this future nephew-in-law and sent a large group of Iwa ninja to meet him for his comfort.

Faced with such an enemy lineup, taking down the target under their heavy protection was practically impossible. Even though White Fang's movements were incredibly smooth, managing to remain unscathed amidst the chaos, his henchmen couldn't withstand the onslaught. They were nearly crippled by the Iwa ninja in less than two rounds. Although he had left the Anbu, these henchmen had been with him for at least ten years, and he couldn't bear to watch them be slaughtered. So, faced with the choice between completing the mission and his men, he didn't hesitate and decisively chose his men. He carried one on each shoulder and another on his back, managing to fight his way back to the village with his three crippled men.

And that's the end of the story...

573. The Hokage put a hat on his friend!

Although the story has ended, a new one has begun. He believes he did nothing wrong, but why doesn't anyone understand? Even the underling he rescued is blaming him.

"Hmm... Are the Anbu of Konoha really that bored that they even remember people's personal preferences? (⊙_⊙)?"

After hearing Sakumo Hatake's story and his question, Masato was still struggling with one question: should he say that Konoha's Anbu was so powerful and meticulous, or should he say that Hiruzen Sarutobi was crazy for even investigating the personal preferences of his own people? That was just too much!

"-_-.....Did you even hear what I said?"

Seeing that this bastard was still arguing about this, Hatake Sakumo's face darkened. If he weren't a guest, he would have thrown this bastard out and let the people outside drown him in their spittle.

"Well... it's hard to say. Those troublemakers outside are in a different position than you, and they see things from a different perspective. They're just ordinary people, so naturally they won't understand the feelings you have for those three good-for-nothings you rescued. They only care about the village's interests; after all, the village is where they live and work in peace. Those three good-for-nothings, on the other hand, are useless to begin with. After more than ten years, they're still just low-level henchmen. They can't afford such a huge loss. The punishment would probably be life imprisonment or a suspended death sentence. The key point is, if they died in the Land of Earth, they'd be heroes, and your village flag would be raised on their heads. But now that they're dead, they'll be cowards forced to surrender. They can't afford that." They wanted to take responsibility, but were afraid of being targeted by the villagers, so naturally they shifted the blame onto you. You're a half-sleeved Hokage, right? Did they think Hiruzen Sarutobi would sentence you to life imprisonment or a suspended death sentence for this? But they probably didn't expect this to have such a huge impact. I saw it when I arrived. Goodness, if this wasn't your property, I'd probably have used a few lion heads to kill all those people. That's probably how it is... But what are you going to do now? So many people are blocking your door. You can be a shut-in, but Kakashi can't. Here's what I'll do: I'll take him to Sunagakure first, and send him back in a few years when things calm down..."

After rambling on and on, Masato looked at the somewhat bewildered little white-haired boy, who was probably affected by his father's incident. He wondered if the situation would be as serious as before now that White Fang was still alive, but he guessed it would be about the same. Most people in Konoha were blaming his awesome father, and as his son, he would naturally be implicated. It was normal for him to lose his way and doubt his father's teachings.

Just like how Slam Dunk King Curry keeps saying that shooting three-pointers is the way weak players play, but then he himself is hitting threes the whole game...

"It'll be fine in a while. Forget about Kakashi. I'm not dead yet. If you're so capable, go find Tsunade and have a baby yourself...(▼he▼メ)"

At first, this bastard's explanation seemed to make some sense, but then this bastard actually tried to take advantage of his son. Hatake Sakumo's hand slowly reached under the table, where his ancestral short sword lay...

"Pshaw! So what if you have a son...?"

........

"Hey! Did you guys hear? Last night, the Hokage got into a fight with Danzo right there in the biggest restaurant in the Red Bronze Zone!"

"Tch! I already knew that, supposedly it's for a girl..."

"What?! Tell me what happened!"

"..."

Shock!

Last night, the Hokage and Danzo, the advisor, fought over food like two tigers!

Shock!

The Hokage, though old and still full of energy, was caught red-handed by Danzo, the advisor, in the Red Bronze Zone in the middle of the night. To make matters worse, Danzo was that girl's VIP!

Shock!

The Crimson Bronze Ward massacre points directly to the Hokage...

Just as Hatake Sakumo was fretting over his own affairs and trying to prevent the shameless bastard who was staying at his house from kidnapping his son, the next morning, the winds of change swept through the village, and some "exciting" news had somehow spread throughout the village.

According to eyewitness accounts, the two Hokage, whose combined age is over 100, and the chief advisor got into a fight with a young woman around midnight last night. During the fight, the Hokage was disheveled and appeared flustered, while the chief advisor, Danzo, was brave and decisive, his attacks deadly. Beside them was a disheveled young woman trying to persuade the two to reconcile and build a peaceful home together...

The scene truly sparks endless imagination.

Although the crowds of the Hatake clan who had been protesting at the Hokage Building had not yet left, they no longer had the same indignant emotions as the day before. Instead, they sat down in small groups to discuss the topic of their Hokage's aging but still vigorous spirit.

The atmosphere is quite harmonious now, completely unlike the infamous scene from the previous day where rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs were thrown around.

The failure of White Fang's mission led to the collapse of their faith. Although they had been holding back their emotions for several days, they had already vented them and it was over. This incident was sensational, but it wasn't dramatic enough and couldn't inspire people's imaginations. The story itself was lacking, there were no hidden plots, and it wasn't very gossipy. How could it compare to the incident involving their Hokage and Danzo?

The storyline is relatively complex, with many twists and turns, and most importantly, there's a big surprise inside!

"The Hokage put a hat on Danzo, the advisor? My goodness, I can't believe it! The Hokage has such a kind appearance, yet he has such a young heart."

In the crowd, extra B stared wide-eyed with endless exclamations upon hearing the news.

"Sigh... Danzo, the advisor, is quite pitiful. He has so much revenge to spare, but not only has he not been able to use it, but now even the girl has been stolen by the Hokage. It's really..."

This person was clearly a die-hard fan of Danzo for many years. He was captivated by Danzo's grand vision back then and still stands on Danzo's side even now. He sighed upon hearing this.

"That's understandable. One is the Hokage, and the other is just an advisor. Anyone would know how to choose..."

"That's true..."

Humans don't limit their imagination because of their level of education. Even though they only heard some vague results, people helped fill in the gaps and come up with several versions of the story in less than half a day.

However, what is most surprising is that in the version of the story by Mitokado Homura, because Hiruzen Sarutobi has a higher status than Danzo, Hiruzen Sarutobi appears more frequently as the male protagonist. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi's behavior in the story is rather shameful, he has a higher status, so he is the protagonist.

In typical story settings, the male protagonist can be forgiven by the audience no matter how stupid he is, while the villain can never be redeemed, no matter how pitiful he is.

However, in the several versions that the villagers imagined, Danzo was uniformly described as a pitiful person who was cheated on by his brothers and abandoned by his girlfriend, which resonated with countless men and women.

Even the Konoha F4 were unaware that the news they created had gotten Sakumo Hatake out of trouble, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had ended up getting caught up in it too...

574. Hiruzen Sarutobi really fell in.

"What? Hiruzen Sarutobi cheated on Danzo??"

"...Aren't they best buddies? (⊙_⊙)?"

The saying "There's no place like home" is absolutely true. Even in a grand mansion like the Hatake clan's, nothing compares to his own glittering doghouse. He wanted to sleep in, but was woken up by the "whoosh whoosh whoosh" of the little white-haired boy's cultivation. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he came out and noticed that the white-haired boy's face no longer held the worry of yesterday, but instead looked surprised, confused, and bewildered. After digging deeper, he heard some exciting news that instantly refreshed him and banished his last bit of sleepiness.

Hiruzen Sarutobi is a traditional pervert. It's not surprising that he goes out to find girls in the middle of the night. With Konoha's entertainment facilities being so advanced, it would be a miracle if Hiruzen Sarutobi could resist.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite surprised that the girl he found was the one Danzo had protected for years. You see, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo were truly inseparable. He could forgive Danzo for things like making him so angry that he had a stroke and for sending people to assassinate him later. It's clear that he was deeply in love with Danzo.

Now, not only have they intercepted Danzo, but they've also started fighting in front of a large audience.

Why won't he believe it?

"...I'm not sure either. I felt something was off about the atmosphere outside this morning, and I only found out about it after asking someone from the Anbu. -_-||"

Sakumo Hatake shook his head, embarrassed. To be honest, he didn't quite believe it was true either. After all, the Hokage's tolerance towards Danzo over the years was so evident to even a blind man that it showed how deep their relationship was. Back when the Seven-Tails was being attacked, Danzo was supposed to kneel on durians before Lady Mito, and it was only after the Hokage pleaded on his behalf that Danzo was spared two. And that's even more true now. The Land of Rain suffered such heavy losses, and the Hokage was so angry he ended up in the ICU, yet he didn't punish Danzo. This shows just how deep the Hokage's love for Danzo was…

But now it's been revealed that the Hokage cheated on Danzo?

This... Although there's both eyewitness testimony and physical evidence, he still finds it hard to believe. The Hokage is indeed a bit of a lecher, but he always disguises himself when he goes to play ring toss, leaving no trace. Danzo's Root organization now only has a handful of big shots; the rest are just a bunch of inexperienced soldiers. How could he possibly have seen the Hokage at that shop last night, and at such a perfect time? It's too suspicious...

However, since there are now witnesses and physical evidence, even if he doesn't believe it, he can't refute it.

"This is good for you too. Can't you see everyone outside talking about Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo? Maybe they've already forgotten about you. After all, what's more interesting than a failed mission and a Hokage stealing your friend's girlfriend?"

Shinto nodded as if he understood, perhaps... Danzo sent people to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi in the future, and Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't take it seriously because of this incident.

After all, it's one thing for a married man to have an extramarital affair, but he even managed to snag his best friend's girlfriend in a ring toss game. So he feels guilty but can't make amends, and the only way he can compensate is by being more forgiving when his best friend makes mistakes...

.....

The Naruto puts hats on his friends.

As time went on, the topic grew increasingly popular, and by evening, no one in Konoha was talking about Sakumo Hatake anymore. After all, it was just a failed mission, nothing compared to the excitement and thrill of the Hokage cheating on his friend.

As time went on, the unruly people who had originally besieged Hatake Sakumo were influenced by their own imagined versions of the story and turned their sympathy into strength, turning their guns on Sarutobi Hiruzen. By evening, the Hatake clan's gate was deserted except for mountains of rotten vegetable leaves and eggs; they had gone to the Hokage Building instead.

At this time, the area below the Hokage Tower was packed with people, with not even a place to put their feet. Those unruly people, holding rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs, were shouting angrily at their Hokage, throwing rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at the Hokage Tower without any regard for the Hokage, showing no respect whatsoever to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

In their eyes, the Hokage represents the image of the entire Konoha, and only someone of both virtue and talent can shoulder such a great responsibility. In the past, whenever Hiruzen Sarutobi left the Hokage Building, he looked like an old man to everyone he met. In addition, he was known as the "Ninja Doctor" and the "Strongest Hokage in History." People didn't know Hiruzen Sarutobi's true face, so they all thought he was a virtuous and talented Hokage. Because he had been in office for a long time, his popularity was too large, which caused his image to collapse among the villagers. In addition, Danzo's failure to kill Nawaki led to Tsunade's departure from Konoha, which gave him a criminal record. In the minds of these unruly people, Hiruzen Sarutobi's historical status has been greatly reduced.

The villagers also had reason to believe that it wasn't impossible for such a thing to happen to their Hokage.

Even the most outstanding man is still a man...!

"Hiss...! So many! Even more terrifying than last time! What do we do now? (#`n′)"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, inside the Hokage Building, was furious as he looked at the dense crowd of villagers below. He glared at Homura Mitokado with annoyance, "You're the one who caused this mess, what are we going to do now?"

If it weren't for the barrier set up by the secret agents below, these villagers would have already attacked.

It's not too late yet. Last night was too rushed, and he didn't have time to communicate with Biwako and his eldest son. Now he doesn't know how to explain to Biwako and his eldest son, especially his eldest son. Over the years, he has been building a great and upright father image in front of his eldest son. If this is not handled well, it's secondary if he doesn't become Hokage, but if it leads to the destruction of his family, that would be a much bigger problem.

It was all that bastard's terrible idea. (#`n′)

"Well... um... although the ending wasn't perfect, the result was indeed good. You saw it yourself, everything's alright with Sakumo now, right..."

Mitomon Yan was speechless. He glanced out the window at the scene below and was startled by the dense crowd of excited people. His scalp tingled. He hadn't expected the villagers' reaction to be so strong.

His plan was simply to use this incident to divert the villagers' attention. The matter of Hiruzen and Danzo was, in itself, dispensable, just something to look forward to later. After all, in his story, although Hiruzen was somewhat despicable and shameless, he didn't cause any harm to the village. The Hokage is judged by his professional skills, not his character. The villagers would only be interested for a short time, and would just bring it up to reminisce when they were bored.

But who the hell knew it would resonate so deeply with so many villagers...?

575. Who is that white-haired guy below?

This was something Mitokado Homura hadn't expected. He hadn't anticipated these villagers being so sentimental, or perhaps they'd all been hurt by love, that they could resonate with Danzo so deeply. But regardless, the ending was ultimately good; they had successfully rescued Sakumo from the center of the fishing boat. As for his companions…