The door to the Hokage's office was pushed open, and Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he looked at Lin Yu entering. This was the second person to barge in without knocking! Right, Kushina was the second person to slam the door on me. These two kids really were on opposite sides of the fence!
Lin Yu walked expressionlessly into the Hokage's office, dragging several bruised and battered Cloud ninja behind him. It wasn't that Lin Yu had been too rough; they had fallen on their own!
Seeing people following behind, Hiruzen Sarutobi quietly closed the drawer he had opened. He cleared his throat and said sternly, "Uzumaki Lin Yu, what is this..."
Lin Yu tugged on the ropes, signaling them to stand up straighter, then turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "Hokage-sama, these are a few Cloud ninja scouts I accidentally discovered while training. They seemed to be trying to gather intelligence in our Leaf Village, but their strength is rather weak, and I subdued them easily."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. He greatly acknowledged Lin Yu's strength. He had sparred with Lin Yu once two years ago, before the Third Great Ninja War had fully erupted, and the result had greatly shocked him; he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had almost lost.
Fortunately, his combat awareness and techniques were far superior to Lin Yu's. Otherwise, he would have truly been defeated by his Wood Style jutsu, especially his signature technique, the colorless jutsu, which left a deep impression on him. He never imagined that a teenager could develop such a high-level ninjutsu.
That Orochimaru guy was incredibly lucky!
Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand and said, "Alright, I understand. Take them to the interrogation department."
Lin Yu pointed at Nohara Taro and said, "This person's sensory abilities seem rather special."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Nohara Taro with interest. Someone recognized by Uzumaki Lin Yu shouldn't be too bad. He clapped his hands in the darkness.
Soon, an ANBU ninja appeared in the Hokage's office with a Shunshin, bowed to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Take them down."
"Yes!" The ANBU ninja took the ropes from Lin Yu, nodded to him, and then led the Cloud ninja away.
As for their fate, Lin Yu didn't care. The matter he was about to inquire about was the key to his visit.
Seeing that everyone was gone and only Lin Yu remained, Hiruzen Sarutobi took out his pipe from the drawer and began to polish it gently.
Lin Yu's expression was somewhat indifferent. He took a few steps forward and said, "I want to know if the rumors circulating in the village are true?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, confused. "Rumors in the village? About the front lines? Is someone trying to sow discord?"
Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed unaware, Lin Yu continued, "It's about Senior Hatake Sakumo. Why has it become so widely known?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyelids twitched. He seemed to understand what was going on. Sakumo's punishment had only recently concluded. The fact that it could be arranged so quickly and preemptively must have come from the Leaf's high command, and their position must be quite high. Hiruzen Sarutobi had a guess.
However, was it necessary to go to such lengths?
Hiruzen Sarutobi had a bad premonition. He suddenly asked, "Where is Sakumo? How is Sakumo now?"
Lin Yu sneered and said, "What else? Depressed and withdrawn, he almost decided to end it all because of this."
"How could this be! I never made the news public. I was planning to announce both matters together after Sakumo achieved more merits on the battlefield, so that the villagers could understand him." Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat angry. Was someone trying to push Hatake Sakumo to his death?
Lin Yu certainly wouldn't tell Hiruzen Sarutobi that after he brought Might Duy to Hatake Sakumo, the two old men hugged and wept, pouring out their stories to each other. The scene, tsk tsk tsk, was quite telling.
"Hokage-sama, I understand the entire situation. The incident stemmed from Senior Sakumo choosing to save lives over completing a mission, resulting in the mission's failure and causing losses to the village. Senior Sakumo was in the wrong, I admit that, but I believe we shouldn't place all the blame on Hatake Sakumo."
"This was a dilemma with no right answer. But if I were Senior Sakumo, I would have made the same choice as Senior Sakumo," Lin Yu said earnestly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi relit his pipe and, with a grim face, took a puff of smoke. After a long while, he replied, "Ninjas have rules. Completing missions is the ninja's code. No one can break it, or the village will descend into chaos."
Lin Yu chuckled and angrily retorted, "What damn ninja code? Hiruzen Sarutobi, listen to me clearly. First and foremost, you are a human! Then, you are a ninja! It's true that ninjas must prioritize completing missions, but it also depends on the situation. If, in order to complete a mission, one loses their humanity, then that ninja is not worth being!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils contracted. He smoked faster. His heart was deeply unsettled. He never expected a mere teenager to see things more clearly than he did. Sarutobi, Sarutobi, you've lived these decades in vain.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a wry smile. "But I am the Hokage. I have to be responsible for the village, for everyone. Some things cannot be done just because you want to."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at Lin Yu with a complex expression. He didn't want to make things too difficult for Hatake Sakumo, but he truly was bound by circumstances. The Leaf was currently under immense external pressure. If Hatake Sakumo's case was set as a precedent, then the Leaf would truly be in danger.
Lin Yu didn't care about any of that. Perhaps this was why he didn't want to become Hokage.
Lin Yu's eyes narrowed slightly and he said, "What about the two ninjas Senior Sakumo saved? I heard they also turned on Senior Sakumo. Do people like that deserve to be ninjas?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi also felt some disgust towards those two. He took a puff of his pipe and said, "I have already dispatched them immediately to the Land of Lightning battlefield."
Lin Yu smiled slightly and asked, "Which area is the most critical right now?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi blurted out without thinking, "The Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth."
The Third Raikage and Onoki, huh?
"Do you need me to go and provide support?" Lin Yu said.
Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment, then shook his head. It wasn't that he didn't want to send Uzumaki Lin Yu to the battlefield, but it was inconvenient. He would rather go himself than mobilize Uzumaki Lin Yu, not to protect him, nor because Hiruzen Sarutobi cherished geniuses.
It was because of the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. The best person to protect the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was Uzumaki Lin Yu. This was also why Orochimaru, despite having his own team, could not take them to the battlefield.
Kushina cannot leave the Leaf Village! At least not until she can control the Nine-Tails!
It was strange. Other ninja villages treated their Jinchuriki as weapons of war. Only the Leaf tightly bound their Jinchuriki to the village, fearing they would be captured. But this could not be said to be the Leaf wasting resources; it was just that other villages had perfect Jinchuriki, while their Leaf's proud fox was difficult to tame.
"Is that so..."
Lin Yu nodded slightly and turned around. As he was about to leave, he paused and softly said, "If it were you, Hokage-sama, in Senior Sakumo's situation, what would your choice be?"
After speaking, Lin Yu didn't wait for Hiruzen Sarutobi's answer and gently closed the door.
*Clack.*
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared out the window and took a few strong puffs of his pipe, his mind unsettled.
If he were in Hatake Sakumo's position, with Danzo as his comrade, would he choose to complete the mission or rescue Danzo?
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a few more strong puffs, broke his pipe, put on his Hokage robe, and donned his hat. He had an answer...
*Clack...*