Chapter 386: What Steps Are Needed to Disrupt the Situation?
"Hikari, what's your New Year's wish?"
Amamiya Kenichi yawned as he looked at the warm sunlight outside the window. Then he reached out, ruffled Hikari's hair, and asked with a smile.
A night had passed, and a new year had arrived.
The festive decorations outside gave Amamiya Kenichi the illusion that he had returned to his previous life to celebrate the New Year. The Ninja World also had fireworks and firecrackers, but it still lacked some of the traditional atmosphere he remembered.
After all, this was the Ninja World. Many things were different from his previous life.
At the very least, there was no concept of a New Year's Eve dinner here, nor was there a Spring Festival Gala or the custom of pasting couplets.
Even the Spring Festival Gala, something he had once disliked, now seemed incredibly precious.
"I wonder what programs this year's Spring Festival Gala has," Amamiya Kenichi sighed inwardly.
He was genuinely curious, but unfortunately, he had no way to watch it.
"To always stay with Big Brother Amamiya!" Hikari tilted her head in thought, then gave an answer that left Amamiya Kenichi both amused and exasperated.
"I think it's better to wish for good health, freedom from illness and disaster, and for your family to be healthy and safe as well." Amamiya Kenichi ruffled Hikari's hair.
In the past, he had wished for great wealth. Later, he realized that health was the true foundation.
So, in later years, Amamiya Kenichi's wishes had always been for good health and freedom from illness and disaster.
"Then I hope Big Brother Amamiya stays healthy and free from illness and disaster!" Hikari said earnestly.
Amamiya Kenichi smiled when he heard that. He did not say much more and instead looked at the busy crowd outside.
The entire village was now filled with joy.
However, Amamiya Kenichi soon spotted three familiar faces among the bustling crowd.
Mikoto and her two sons.
"Happy New Year, Amamiya-sama." Mikoto looked much older now. There were more wrinkles on her face, and strands of her hair had turned white.
It felt as if she had aged more than a decade in an instant.
"Happy New Year," Amamiya Kenichi greeted her with a chuckle.
Sasuke, who was being led by Itachi, curiously looked at Hikari behind Amamiya Kenichi.
Wasn't this the girl he had seen yesterday?
Hikari clearly recognized the two people in front of her as well. Her face turned slightly red, but she still stood firmly beside Amamiya Kenichi, gently tugging at his sleeve.
"Mikoto-nee-san, are you going to pay respects?" Amamiya Kenichi glanced at the things Mikoto was carrying.
They were all offerings used for paying respects, most likely for commemorating Fugaku.
"Yes. It's New Year's Day, so I plan to take Itachi and Sasuke to pay respects to their father," Mikoto said gently.
Although she seemed to be smiling, a trace of sorrow flashed through her eyes.
Amamiya Kenichi scratched his head.
What should he say at a time like this?
After all, this was the kind of situation that left people at a loss for words.
Should he say, "My condolences, please accept this change with grace"?
Fortunately, the awkwardness did not last too long. After Mikoto and Amamiya Kenichi exchanged a few polite words, she left with Sasuke and Itachi.
They still needed to pay respects to Fugaku.
Before leaving, Sasuke turned back several times to look at Hikari.
Naturally, Amamiya Kenichi noticed this.
"Hikari, have you met Sasuke before?" Amamiya Kenichi asked, somewhat curious.
"Yes. I met that little boy yesterday when I was buying dango," Hikari nodded.
Amamiya Kenichi raised an eyebrow.
She had met Sasuke just like that?
How interesting.
When Amamiya Kenichi first saw Hikari, he had always felt that she looked somewhat similar to Sasuke. Now, looking again, he felt that Hikari and Sasuke truly did share a certain resemblance.
If he did not know Hikari's identity, Amamiya Kenichi might have thought Sasuke was her younger brother.
"Let's go. It's New Year's Day today, so let's eat something good." Amamiya Kenichi smiled happily.
Since it was the New Year, taking a rare break was fine.
—-
"Hokage-sama, five ninja squads responsible for guarding the border in the direction of the Land of Lightning have been attacked."
In the temporary office built among the ruins of Konoha's Hokage Building, Hiruzen was puffing on his pipe.
After listening to the Anbu's report, Hiruzen sighed. Then he looked at the list of fallen ninja in his hand, his brows furrowing so deeply that they could trap a fly.
"Tsunade, what do you think?" Hiruzen did not answer directly. Instead, he looked at Tsunade, who was sitting nearby.
"…According to the intelligence, this seems to have been done by Kumogakure, but I don't think Kumogakure would be so foolish. We have a cooperation treaty with Kumogakure, and the possibility of them causing trouble for us during the New Year is very low." Tsunade frowned as she looked at the report in her hand.
She could now read many classified intelligence reports.
The Konoha Elder Council, Homura, and the others had no objections. Everyone knew that Konoha was about to welcome its Fifth Hokage, Tsunade Hime.
"Mm. Kumogakure has no reason to do this. It's too obvious, almost as if they're begging people to suspect Kumogakure. But the more they do that, the more it shows that Kumogakure likely knows nothing about this. There must be someone behind the scenes." Hiruzen nodded.
The method was too crude.
It was almost like openly telling Konoha that Kumogakure had done it.
"As for Kumogakure, I've already arranged for someone to go and inquire. I imagine they should also have some new…"
Before Hiruzen could finish speaking, an Anbu hurried in with a rather strange expression.
"Hokage-sama, there is a piece of intelligence you need to see."
The Anbu directly handed over the report.
Hiruzen took it and glanced at it. Then he froze completely, almost dropping his pipe.
"What's wrong?" Tsunade asked curiously.
Could it really have been Kumogakure?
"…Read it yourself." Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, his expression complicated, then handed the report to Tsunade.
Tsunade took it and looked it over.
Her eyes also became somewhat vacant.
She found it extremely difficult to believe what she had just read.
At that moment, inside the Raikage Building in Kumogakure, the atmosphere was heavy and suffocating.
"Who can tell me where this rumor came from?"
Raikage A gripped the cup in his hand, his voice suppressing a furious anger. The more he spoke, the more that anger surged, until the cup in his hand was crushed directly into powder.
The Kumogakure higher-ups swallowed.
They could see that the Raikage was truly furious.
Then again, this rumor was truly outrageous.
"And according to the intelligence from Konoha, many of their border defense squads stationed in our direction have died. What do you think this means?"
A slammed his palm onto the table.
The metal table let out a loud bang, and a dent appeared under his strike.
"Raikage-sama, according to intelligence, this rumor seems to have originated from within Iwagakure." A Kumogakure higher-up stood up and reported.
"Would that old man Ōnoki dare say something like that? This is clearly meant to provoke the relationship between Kumogakure and those rats in Iwagakure, and even to provoke our relationship with Konoha." Raikage A clenched his fist tightly.
This morning, an exaggerated rumor had spread.
It claimed that he, the Fourth Raikage A, was actually the illegitimate son of Tsuchikage Ōnoki.
According to the rumor, the Third Raikage discovered that he had been cuckolded and wanted to return to abolish this "green-hat son," but Ōnoki noticed it in advance and used sheer numbers to kill the Third Raikage.
All of it had supposedly been done to pave the way for his son's rise to power.
When the Fourth Raikage A first heard the rumor, he was so furious that he almost tore down the Raikage Building on the spot.
Considering that he and his father had practically identical faces, how could such a rumor possibly spread?
Did he look like that bastard Ōnoki?
Not at all.
And Ōnoki had that enormous nose, that red bulbous nose. There was no way he was related to him.
But there was nothing he could do. The rumor was spreading in a strangely convincing way.
It even claimed that the reason the Fourth Raikage A's mother cheated was because Ōnoki's large nose meant he was exceptionally virile, so it was only natural that she became pregnant on the first try, and so on.
Although Raikage A was furious, he knew there had to be something fishy behind it.
The fact that this rumor had originated from within Iwagakure was very suspicious.
If he truly were Ōnoki's son, how could he not know?
And even if Ōnoki knew, he would surely keep such a matter as top secret. He would never allow it to spread casually.
Anyone with a brain could tell there was a trick here.
However.
As the saying went, humans had a natural instinct for gossip.
In his previous life, hot searches often involved celebrity scandals or international events. So, even though smart people knew this was impossible, people still loved to spread and discuss it.
Because of that, whenever the Fourth Raikage walked through the streets of Kumogakure now, he felt somewhat disgraced.
"The speed of its spread is too fast. This is not right." Another Kumogakure higher-up sighed.
He had keenly sensed the scent of conspiracy.
Someone seemed dissatisfied with the current peaceful situation in the Ninja World and wanted to disrupt it, perhaps even trying to trigger the Fourth Great Ninja War.
"From the perspective of who benefits, Kirigakure and Sunagakure could both be behind this." Another higher-up offered his thoughts.
"What if Iwagakure did it themselves? Ultimately, there has been no real communication between us, and even if there is, whether either side can trust the other is another question. If Danzo Shimura hadn't died, I would say Konoha could also be a possibility."
In an instant, Kumogakure's higher-ups began arguing.
None of them were willing to give ground, which made the Fourth Raikage A's face grow darker and darker.
When they saw the furious Raikage A, even electric arcs leaping around his body, the Kumogakure higher-ups finally quieted down.
"The rumor must be suppressed as quickly as possible. Explain to the outside world that this is completely baseless. My father and I are practically carved from the same mold. How could there be a problem?" A decided to clarify his identity first.
Otherwise, if some fool believed the rumor, or if someone with ulterior motives used it to stir up trouble, the matter would become extremely troublesome.
"Then issue a statement to Konoha. Tell them we did not attack Konoha's border defense forces. Order the Anbu to fully investigate the ins and outs of this matter and find the rat hiding in the gutter!" Raikage A gritted his teeth.
Although he was making decisions that benefited the village, anyone would be angry in such a situation.
He had better not find out who had done this.
Otherwise, he swore he would let that person experience what hell was like.
Meanwhile, in Iwagakure, Ōnoki was looking at the investigation report in his hand with a dark expression.
The moment this outrageous rumor appeared, Ōnoki had known about it. He immediately arranged for people to investigate.
But by the time the results came out, the culprit had already left, which gave Ōnoki a headache.
"Send out the Anbu to track them down. Iwagakure cannot take the blame for this." Ōnoki sighed.
There was no true peace between the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Sometimes, sufficient evidence was not needed. Mere suspicion was enough for one ninja village to launch a war against another.
As Anbu from the various villages were dispatched one after another, the atmosphere throughout the Ninja World also grew tense.
There was a strong sense of an approaching storm.
A shadow was cast over what should have been a happy and peaceful New Year.
"Hikari, do you like sukiyaki?"
At that moment, Amamiya Kenichi was sitting with Hikari in a sukiyaki restaurant in the small Uchiha village, enjoying a meal.
Looking at the ingredients in the pot, which had originally been clearly separated but were now mixed together into a messy stew, Amamiya Kenichi smiled faintly.
"I like it. It's delicious." Hikari was practically drooling.
The aroma of the sukiyaki was rich, and the tender white tofu looked especially appetizing.
Amamiya Kenichi smiled.
Sukiyaki was similar to hot pot, and at Amamiya Kenichi's request, it had now been transformed into something closer to hot pot.
The owner had no objections. After all, Amamiya Kenichi was paying.
He had even ordered many expensive ingredients. If Amamiya Kenichi wanted, making it into a dry pot would not be out of the question.
Just as Amamiya Kenichi was about to eat, he saw a blonde girl walk into the restaurant.
Amamiya Kenichi instantly recognized that face.
It was his teacher.
"Kenichi, you seem to be enjoying your meal quite a lot." His teacher smiled gently.
Yet Amamiya Kenichi felt a little nervous.
He could naturally tell that his teacher was not in a very good mood.
"Cough, cough. Teacher, Happy New Year. Are you…" Amamiya Kenichi looked at his teacher curiously.
He was rather curious about what his teacher had been doing.
He remembered that his teacher had gone to Konoha to find his foolish junior sister earlier, but he did not know what the situation was now.
"I found something interesting." His teacher showed a mysterious smile.
Then he walked over, sat beside Hikari, and even ruffled Hikari's hair.
"About time."
.....
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