The rumors about Tsunade and Dan Kato quickly vanished. The reason was simple: the renowned White Fang of the Hatake clan had run into trouble.
As the Princess of the Senju clan, the public couldn't help but discuss Tsunade's relationship problems, but it still couldn't overshadow how significant this new incident had become.
Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang, was on an outdoor mission. He chose his comrades over the mission, which led to the mission's failure. Upon returning to the village, he was immediately criticized by everyone in the village. This mission failure resulted in considerable losses for the village!
Moreover, Sakumo Hatake's teammates, far from being grateful for his rescue, instead reproached him for why he had done it.
For a time, various criticisms spread throughout the entire village, directly overshadowing the minor affair between Tsunade and Dan Kato.
"I can't believe the White Fang would do such a thing."
"Yeah, that was a mission that absolutely had to be completed, but he caused it to fail just to save someone."
"The village seems to have suffered great losses because of it."
Sakumo Hatake, once the White Fang of Konoha, a hero of the village, had now become like a rat crossing the street. Everywhere, one could hear criticisms unfavorable to him.
Ronglin wondered how much pressure Kakashi Hatake would endure. Although Kakashi Hatake always looked at him with those forty-five-degree dead fish eyes, he was still one of the few friends Ronglin had made since coming to this world. If he could, Ronglin didn't want Sakumo Hatake to walk down that path, but unfortunately, he was powerless to change these events.
"Mission postponed, to be assigned to other squads."
The special training had ended, and Tsunade's Squad was supposed to continue with missions. However, at the meeting point, Tsunade arrived hastily and left just as quickly.
Now, with the White Fang incident causing an uproar in the village, Tsunade, as one of the higher-ups, was no longer suitable to lead a squad on missions.
"Oh, I'm so disappointed. We trained so hard for so long, and now it's postponed again."
Ronglin received Tsunade's special training, and so did Otogakure and Yoru Matsuda. However, their training was merely child's play; Tsunade would casually give them pointers and then let them tire themselves out.
Ronglin's personalized training was not something everyone could enjoy.
Yoru Matsuda looked disappointed. Otogakure remained expressionless. Glancing at the two, Ronglin said, "It must be because of the White Fang incident. You know things haven't been very peaceful lately. Tsunade-sensei, as one of the higher-ups, naturally can't get away."
"Does that mean we have to stay in the village?"
Otogakure, who was usually silent and disliked speaking, rarely asked a question.
"That's impossible." Ronglin shook his head, asserting, "Although the White Fang incident is causing a big stir, the missions that need to be executed won't decrease. No matter what, the village's development cannot be interrupted. Once all missions are put on hold, it's not good for the village's development and will also affect the village's honor. So, I think we might get a temporary replacement teacher to lead us on missions until Tsunade-sensei returns."
Ronglin thought far more deeply than the "mistake duo." In such a situation, the most likely outcome was to find another Jonin to act as a temporary teacher to lead the squad and continue executing missions.
The village's development would not be halted due to the impact of the White Fang incident.
Especially since Konoha was very weak after the Second Great Ninja War and needed time to develop and restore its strength, it was even less likely to stop.
"By the way, Ronglin, what kind of training have you been doing these past few months? I haven't seen you in ages."
Yoru Matsuda, unable to stay idle, quickly shifted the topic to special training. Ronglin shook his head with a smile. Of course, he couldn't talk about the special training. Otherwise, Tsunade would be subjected to unpleasant accusations of favoritism. Even if no one dared to say it directly, circulating rumors privately would still be bad for Tsunade.
"I have something to do, so I'll be going now. I'll see you at the next mission."
Before a temporary teacher for Tsunade was chosen, the three of them could only stay in the village. A figure flashed in Ronglin's mind. After bidding farewell to the "mistake duo," he walked towards the training ground.
"Thump-thump-thump~~~"
Several kunai, from various tricky angles, hit the pre-arranged targets. Kakashi Hatake gasped for breath, completely disregarding the sweat all over his body. At this moment, he forced himself to not think about anything else during his training. That feeling could drive a person mad.
"Your body is already under heavy load."
Looking at Kakashi Hatake's stubborn back, Ronglin felt regret. Who could have foreseen such a thing happening to him?
Although it wasn't Kakashi Hatake himself, Sakumo Hatake was Kakashi Hatake's father, and the clan head of the Hatake family. Such an incident was inextricably linked to him!
The usually lively Hatake clan members had become quiet these past few days. Unless necessary, they preferred to stay within their clan compound rather than go outside.
They couldn't endure the criticisms and accusations. Kakashi Hatake, bearing those accusations, was already doing well by venting at the training ground. An ordinary six-year-old child would probably just hide at home, afraid to go out.
"Whew~~~"
Ronglin's words caused Kakashi Hatake, whose nerves had been tightly strung, to collapse directly onto the ground, looking very disheveled. Sweat and dust mixed together, making his silver hair grimy.
It's really nice to have such white hair, Ronglin thought, feeling a hint of envy, as he slowly walked over.
Thought is thought, but Ronglin didn't want to become a member of the Hatake clan. People from this clan had a peculiar characteristic: a scarce amount of chakra!
Just think about it, the later Kakashi Hatake possessed the strength of an Elite Jonin, but in terms of chakra volume, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki could easily outclass him.
Neither the Uchiha nor the Uzumaki clan's chakra reserves could be compared to the Hatake's.
"Have some water."
Handing over his canteen, Ronglin sat beside Kakashi Hatake, looking at the targets hit by the kunai, and smiled: "Very good. It wouldn't be easy for me to do that."
Rolling his eyes, Kakashi Hatake didn't believe Ronglin's words. He had secretly watched Ronglin train. Kakashi Hatake, exhausted to the point of collapse, drank all the water in the canteen in one gulp. Looking at the canteen he carried on missions, his gaze became a little dim:
"Preparing to go on a mission?"
"Yeah." Ronglin nodded, took the canteen, capped it, and placed it on the ground.
"Unfortunately, because of Uncle White Fang's matter, it's been suspended. Tsunade-sensei can't get away, so a temporary teacher might replace her."
"I'm sorry…"
Kakashi Hatake clenched his fist and apologized in a low voice. Although it wasn't him directly, it was still related to him.
"Hahahaha…"
Unexpectedly, Ronglin burst into laughter, making Kakashi Hatake frown, his face filled with suppressed anger. He turned to stare at Ronglin, seemingly questioning, What are you laughing at?
"Kakashi, no matter what, it's already happened, hasn't it? No one can undo the mission's failure now. The village's losses should be considerable, but can't they just be compensated for?"