"Third Hokage, please—don't let Ryo be held back another year. If this continues, that child will be ruined."
Eno Uchiha wore a mournful expression.
True, the Preparatory Division was sealed off, but rumors still spread through expelled Genin, Anbu, and Medical Teams.
From what he'd heard, he already knew his son had chosen wrong—again.
"Hmm…"
The Third took a puff of his pipe, unsure how to respond.
Although he was technically in charge of the Preparatory Division, Akaba handled the actual execution—in many ways, his authority was limited.
Besides, Uchiha Ryo hadn't actually been disqualified.
Wanting to soothe the emotions of an elite Jonin father, the Third carefully avoided blunt words. After a moment's thought, he said, "Eno, the fact that Ryo hasn't been disqualified proves Akaba never intended to eliminate anyone. You can look at this—it's a reflection report he submitted."
Eno blinked in surprise and took the letter.
He opened it and saw the names: Obito… Kakashi?
A quick read revealed that Obito was part of the Uchiha clan, while Ryo's story centered on how Kakashi obtained his Sharingan.
That was pretty interesting.
Curiosity stirred within Eno Uchiha. He'd always wondered exactly how Kakashi acquired his eye, but Akaba's reflection on that manga volume didn't go into detail—only briefly mentioning it was a gift from a teammate.
Judging by this, Obito must've been Kakashi's teammate and also belonged to the Uchiha, yet was simultaneously The Fourth Hokage's student…
No, at that time he probably hadn't become a disciple of the Hokage yet.
Thinking deeper, Eno exhaled softly. Indeed, if Obito really did become a disciple of the Hokage, then within the Uchiha clan itself, loyalties would gradually split under the Hokage's influence until eventually facing destruction wouldn't have been surprising.
So in the end, Obito must've died.
Eno hadn't seen the full plot—he could only guess fragments from these scattered bits spoken by his son, so everything remained piecemeal and incomplete.
As for the actual content of the reflection…
It revolved around teamwork, camaraderie, and bonds—common themes, ending with his resolution to integrate into the group.
Previously, Eno would've scoffed at such nonsense.
But times had changed.
Since the Uchiha had already integrated into the village, they also needed to adjust their outward attitudes accordingly. If Ryo could genuinely change his mindset—as his reflection suggested—and integrate into the group, it would benefit the Uchiha clan greatly.
Therefore, after reading it, Eno deeply bowed to the Third. "Thank you very much."
"You don't need to thank me—I too hope the Uchiha can soon integrate smoothly into Konoha's collective whole."
The Third leaned back in his chair.
Recently, the Military Police had rapidly developed and achieved great success. Their patrol duties had expanded from Konoha to surrounding villages and towns.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without the Uchiha's contributions.
Eno Uchiha respectfully replied, "Yes, we will strengthen our cooperation."
"Oh, I heard you recently requested Yumekuma from Akaba for auxiliary training. How has that been going?"
"Very well, just…"
At this, Eno appeared hesitant.
The Third had originally just asked casually, but seeing his expression immediately sparked interest. Straightening up now, he looked like a curious listener eagerly awaiting the next line of a story.
Eno Uchiha picked his words carefully: "They've all recently gotten hooked on One Piece."
"Hmm?"
The Third looked briefly puzzled, not fully grasping the implication.
"You know about the dream training, right? The dreams they create are all combat scenes from One Piece. Their ninjutsu hasn't improved much, but their taijutsu and sword skills have dramatically increased."
The Uchiha clan had inherited sword techniques of their own.
When the Military Police were formed, the Uchiha shared parts of their sword arts with others. Now many non-clan officers had mastered basic swordsmanship, and with the help of dream training, their sword techniques were rapidly advancing.
However, this wasn't exactly the effect the Military Police originally intended.
The Third hesitated for a moment before chuckling heartily, "Perhaps you could communicate with the Hatake Clan and ask them to contribute personnel or sword technique scrolls for the dream training sessions."
Eno Uchiha's eyes lit up immediately.
Every member of the Hatake Clan is an excellent swordsman, but unfortunately the clan is small in number. Previously, after much persuasion, they've only ever agreed to provide financial support without sending personnel.
If this opportunity could be used to recruit Hatake members or exchange for some sword techniques, it would benefit both the Uchiha and the Military Police greatly. His mind raced with possibilities, but he quickly forced himself to stay calm.
This dream training originated from that Akaba guy. They couldn't set the conditions too high this time, otherwise if the Hatake Clan went directly to Akaba, their side would end up with nothing.
Back on the streets of Konoha,
Sakumo had just come back from a mission and planned to stop by and buy several manga volumes on his way.
But
As he walked down the street, crowds gathered around him, and some even pointed and whispered among themselves.
Sakumo kept his expression neutral, though inwardly he felt completely bewildered, unsure what was happening. When he reached the manga shop, he discovered many people had gathered there, asking questions regarding the "Kannabi Bridge incident."
"Will there be manga about Legend of the White Fang and the Kannabi Bridge incident?"
"Go get your boss to update! He hasn't released any new manga for over ten days! Tell him to hurry back and draw about Legend of the White Fang's death and the Kannabi Bridge!"
These onlookers were clearly parents of young ninja. They'd heard the stories from their kids.
Their focus wasn't on the children; rather, they were eager to know exactly what happened during the conflict involving Legend of the White Fang and the Kannabi Bridge.
Yet searching for Sakuma Yunlang was like asking someone who knew absolutely nothing.
"Folks, folks, I don't even know what those things are," Sakuma Yunlang shouted loudly while standing on a stool. Then he noticed Sakumo outside and his eyes immediately lit up, "Look, look, Sakumo is here!"
Me?
Sakumo was momentarily confused. The next second, the crowd instantly turned toward him, staring for several seconds.
"Now that we think about it, 'White Fang' actually suits him pretty well."
"I remember your tanto is called White Fang."
"Legend of the White Fang sounds pretty good too, but why did he commit suicide? That damned Akaba just loves keeping us waiting—he's got it coming!"
Many in the crowd were skilled ninja who had interacted with Sakumo before, yet now they all looked at him as if watching an amusing monkey show, clearly there for entertainment and mockery.
The key problem was that Sakumo himself didn't understand any of this.
Legend of the White Fang?
Suicide?
What the hell were they talking about!
But he didn't know what had happened, though Sakumo was sure who was responsible—during the time he'd been away on a mission, that little brat Sakuma Akaba must've been scheming something again.
"Sakumo, go ask Akaba what exactly happened between Kakashi, Sakumo (White Fang), and Obito. These constant questions are driving me nuts."
Sakuma Yunlang continued.
As he spoke, he gestured toward the group of loitering ninja nearby. Since the war had just ended, everyone was on a well-earned break. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many people with nothing better to do crowding his doorstep.
Sakumo gave them an awkward glance and said, "You want the victim himself to go ask about this?"
"Aren't you teammates? Good buddies?"
Someone chuckled.
"Fine then."
Sakumo tightened his grip on the White Fang sword at his waist. After all, he was an innocent victim here. He deserved answers—even just knowing how he'd supposedly 'killed himself' would do.
Finding Sakuma Akaba wasn't hard—he had a routine. Home, manga shop, or the Preparatory Division. That's all there was to it.
So off he went, sword in hand.
The outer perimeter of the Preparatory Division had been fenced off with barbed wire, but for Sakumo, getting inside still posed no challenge.
Considering his status:
Disciple of Danzo, senior martial brother of Akaba, one of Konoha's fastest rising new-generation ninja.
With that identity, surely he had enough authority to enter the Preparatory Division?
Still, showing up with a blade might raise eyebrows.
As soon as Akaba saw him coming, he felt nervous and considered hiding somewhere, but he forgot—Sakumo may not have strong sensing abilities, but he had Fang.
"Akaba, you can't run from this. I'm faster than you, and I've got Fang to help me track you down—that's right, I'm talking to you! Don't leave, come out from behind that tree. I'm coming over."
After saying that, Sakumo hoisted Fang and quickly moved forward.
His speed wasn't just hype. In seconds flat, he reached the spot where Akaba had been hiding to nap.
Since he'd already been caught, Akaba stopped trying to escape.
It wasn't like he committed a serious crime anyway—just made a short film accidentally showing the supposed suicide of the White Fang.
People weren't discussing the touching friendship between Kakashi and Obito. What dominated conversations instead was how the legendary White Fang of Konoha had chosen to end his life by suicide.
How cowardly! It just didn't seem like Sakumo's style at all.
As a result, rather than spreading positive messages like camaraderie and emotion, the rumor of Sakumo's suicide spread wildly across Konoha.
You think I don't have it rough too?!
Akaba frantically tried to think up every possible excuse deep within his heart, but before he could settle on a reasonable explanation, Sakumo had already arrived.
He jumped down from the tree and faced Sakumo directly. After thinking hard, he could only say, "What do you think about that plot twist?"
"What am I supposed to think? All I know is that I died in your stupid storyline. Today, everyone was staring at me and whispering on the streets."
Sakumo explained, telling Akaba what he had experienced that day.
An astonishing 100% head-turn rate, with people muttering things like "White Fang is dead," and "White Fang committed suicide." At first, he hadn't even known they were referring to him. But eventually, someone finally clued him in—
He finally realized they were talking about none other than Konoha's legendary White Fang—Sakumo Hatake himself.
"It was just a plot point—between completing the mission or saving his teammates, he chose the latter."
Sakumo felt extremely awkward. Coming straight to the conclusion like that—who could understand?
He held up a hand and said, "Don't talk nonsense—just go draw it already! Telling me won't give me any visual. This is what the fans want, you get me?"
The fans are demanding it—who am I to say no?
Akaba thought for a moment. If so many people wanted to see it, then releasing this episode early wasn't a big deal. Plus, he could pick up some extra [Flying Thunder God] scrolls in advance, making him even more fearless of getting ambushed later.
And placing a [Vanish in an Instant] marker at home, the manga shop, Hokage Tower, and the Preparatory Division meant he could finally say goodbye to walking everywhere and start enjoying the luxury of instant teleportation.
Just thinking about it felt so good!
Sakumo spoke up on behalf of the people, begging for an early release, and finally couldn't help but slightly lift his blade: "I really committed suicide?"
"In my story's plot, yeah, that's exactly how it went."
Akaba replied with a nervous smile.
To Sakumo now, committing suicide truly seemed unimaginable.
But that's how Kishimoto wrote it. What else could he do?
"Draw it tomorrow or I'll come after you with my Three-Blade Style—I'm not kidding."
As Sakumo spoke, he loosened the strap of his sword belt.
Inside, besides his usual pair of swords, there was now an extra short blade.
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