Escape from Konoha.

"Hello, Tsunade."

Kakashi showed Tsunade respect before sitting down.

"We've been waiting for you guys, but didn't Sakumo come?"

Tsunade didn't see Sakumo and asked him about it.

“He’s out on a mission,” Kakashi replied.

As he spoke, he looked at the girl next to Tsunade.

"And this is...?"

"This is Silent, you could say it's a relative of mine."

Tsunade began her introduction with a smile.

Today is the big day that Shiraishi becomes a Chunin, so it's a bit inappropriate to bring a couple of friends and family members over. But she was worried about Shizune being alone at home, so she brought her here for a free meal.

Kakashi nodded to the girl named Shizune, who smiled and nodded back.

"Speaking of which, today is not only the day I became a Chunin, but also the day Kakashi became a Chunin."

Shiraishi smiled after sitting down.

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Kakashi with great surprise, especially Shizune, who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy, while this boy, who looked a few years younger than her, was already a Chunin.

"That's so long-winded."

Kakashi, who didn't want to attract attention at all, could only pretend to be indifferent and look away when he saw everyone's eyes were on him.

Fortunately, everyone knows that Kakashi is a genius, and his father is the famous White Fang of Konoha. It is indeed a bit unbelievable that he became a Chunin at the age of six, but since it was the Hokage's permission, it means that Kakashi is a qualified Chunin and there was no behind-the-scenes manipulation.

"Young people these days are getting more and more terrifying."

Tsunade glanced at Ruri sitting next to Shiraishi, feeling immense pressure from her.

Then look at Kakashi. Although he is still young and immature, he already has the flair of his father, the White Fang of Konoha, and is even more outstanding than his father was when he was young...

What a wealth of talent! Tsunade was happy for the village's future prosperity, but her mood was a little down when she thought about her current situation.

"Tsunade-sensei, what's wrong?"

Shiraishi was a little puzzled to see that Tsunade was in a bad mood.

"Ah, no, I'm just feeling a bit sentimental."

Realizing her loss of composure, Tsunade quickly recovered from her disappointment.

"Suddenly I feel a little embarrassed celebrating your becoming a Chunin today. Kakashi was already a Chunin when he was six years old."

At this moment, Liuli spoke.

"But Ruri, when you were six years old, weren't you also a student at the Ninja Academy, just like me?"

Shiraishi said this.

Then Shiraishi's face turned pale.

"Senior Shiraishi, are you alright?"

Kakashi glanced at Shiraishi, whose face had turned pale, and offered him words of concern.

"Children shouldn't meddle in adults' affairs."

Shiraishi knew that Kakashi was asking that question on purpose.

That brat is awful.

When I leave Konoha later, I'll teach him a lesson.

◎

Two days had passed, and apart from close friends, almost no one paid attention to the fact that Shiraishi had become a Chunin.

On the contrary, Kakashi became a Chunin at the age of six and gradually became known to the villagers, who believed that like father, like son.

As a result, Kakashi became the "other people's child" that many parents talked about.

After that, Shiraishi gave up on the idea of ​​competing with Kakashi. He realized that without showing his true strength, he could never surpass Kakashi in terms of speed of advancing in ninja rank.

Although he didn't want to admit it, Kakashi was indeed one of the most talented ninjas he had ever seen.

After all, he's an adult; you can't argue with a child.

—The days had barely settled into normalcy when this happened on Shiraishi's way to the guard post.

"Have you heard? Apparently, the mission failed..."

"Yeah, it's outrageous that a ninja like him would abandon a mission..."

"So this is all he's capable of..."

"This kind of person doesn't deserve to be a ninja at all..."

Among those exchanging words were civilians and ninjas, who huddled together, seemingly speaking cautiously.

Shiraishi glanced at them but paid them no further attention.

They had only walked a few steps when they saw Uchiha ninjas from the security team hurrying over from another street.

Upon seeing the arrival of the security team, the civilians and ninjas immediately stopped talking and looked at the Uchiha ninjas of the security team with apprehension.

The guards merely gave these people a cold, sharp look, without saying anything.

Have all the guards been mobilized? Shiraishi, who hadn't thought it was a big deal at first, immediately realized something was wrong.

Ordinary rumors won't get the security detail's attention unless it's a major incident.

Thinking of this, he was a little puzzled, so he quickly walked towards the direction of the garrison building.

Upon arriving there, they saw a group of civilians and ninjas gathered in the lobby of the security building. Ruri stood there with an icy expression, silencing the crowd.

The Uchiha ninjas in her squad also had unfriendly expressions.

When Liuli saw Baishi coming, she asked the other members of the team to keep an eye on these people, and then led Baishi to a corner to the side.

"What happened? There are some inexplicable rumors circulating on the streets, and the police have arrested so many people. What happened in the village?"

Bai Shi asked, puzzled.

"Don't you know?"

"I've been in the lab for the past two days, and only came out today. What exactly happened?"

Shiraishi looked at Ruri, hoping she could explain.

Ruri took a deep breath and said in a rare tone of helplessness and headache, "Sakumo-sensei is in trouble."

"how?"

Shiraishi frowned.

Is Shuo Mao in trouble?

Then I remembered some rumors I had heard on the way, and I had a bad feeling.

“We don’t know where the rumors came from, but they spread throughout the village at an alarming rate starting this morning, and we can’t find the source anymore.”

For the first time, Ruri found this situation difficult to handle.

"And what's the reason?"

"Teacher Sakumo failed this mission. It is said that he abandoned the mission in order to save his companions."

Shiraishi was taken aback.

That's it?

Although it's a bit unbelievable that the mission was interrupted for Sakumo, because that person's strength cannot be judged by common sense, it's still surprising that rumors could spread throughout the entire village because of this.

"What explanation did the higher-ups offer?"

Such a big thing couldn't possibly be kept from the higher-ups.

The high command couldn't possibly be unaware that the ninjas of the security force had been mobilized on a large scale.

"I don't know. There are no orders from higher up, so we can only follow the rules of the garrison and take control of those who seriously disrupt public order."

"But this only treats the symptoms, not the root cause."

"Yes, if the higher-ups were willing to explain what mission Professor Sakumo was carrying out, and what losses the village suffered after the mission was interrupted, there might still be a chance for the situation to turn around. But now, the higher-ups have not made any statements to the public, leaving it all to the villagers' imaginations."

"..."

Shiraishi's expression was rather unpleasant.

Free imagination?

Shiraishi was unwilling to assume the worst about others, but if such rumors were allowed to continue to spread, the source of the matter would be overlooked, and it would eventually become a weapon in the hands of the rumor-mongers that killed without drawing blood.

That kind of situation is truly terrible.

"No matter what, let's go see Professor Sakumo first. He's not a weak-willed person."

After thinking about it, Shiraishi decided to go find Sakumo to understand the cause and effect of the matter and see if he could find any way to turn things around.

"Okay, I'll go with you."

Ruri nodded, intending to go see Sakumo with Shiraishi.

Since the higher-ups are indifferent, they'll have to find a solution themselves.

Chapter Eighty-Six: The Death of White Fang (Part One)

By late afternoon, the rumors unfavorable to Shuomao, which had been circulating all morning, had spread to most corners of the village and were only one step away from becoming common knowledge.

No matter how hard the Uchiha ninjas in the security force tried to suppress the spread of rumors, compared to the huge population of Konoha, the security force was already stretched thin. They were barely able to arrest people, let alone stop the spread of rumors.

Sakumo's house is located in a relatively bustling section of Konoha Village, but not close to the village center.

It was a small, detached courtyard, with the words "Qimu" written on the sign at the entrance.

When Shiraishi and Ruri arrived, they saw Kakashi standing at the entrance, looking more silent than usual.

"Kakashi, is Sakumo-sensei home?"