"We're very sorry, but our shop is full."
With a standard fake smile on his face, the owner of a snack shop sent Hiruzen and Danzo away.
This was already the fourth place.
This owner's temper was actually considered good. At least he was still being polite.
The owner of the previous shop had been cursing at them the whole time, and even spat at their feet. If Hiruzen had not stopped him, Danzo might have actually fought him on the spot.
"But aren't there still empty seats over there?"
Danzo was furious. He pointed straight at the vacant spots.
He was a proud jonin of Konoha, one of the Hokage's bodyguards, and now he was being chased away just for trying to eat a meal.
Even a clay figure had a little anger in it.
And besides, he was here to support this man's business. In times like these, only ninja-sama could still afford to eat out every now and then. Ordinary civilians would never dare be that extravagant. They were lucky enough just to have enough to eat.
"Those seats are reserved. The guests will be here soon."
The snack shop owner had already started getting impatient.
In his eyes, the two men in front of him had abandoned the Hokage and caused his death. They were cowards. Deserters. They did not deserve to be Konoha ninja.
And they still wanted to eat here?
They could go eat shit.
"Then I'll wait right here and see when these so-called guests of yours are supposed to come!"
Danzo shoved aside Hiruzen, who was still trying to stop him. He was determined to get justice here.
"Enough! Do you really want me to spell it out for you?"
"I don't want your business!"
"You're all cowards, deserters, and trash! You don't deserve to be Konoha ninja!"
"You're the ones who got Hokage-sama killed!"
"So get lost!!"
The shop owner no longer wanted to keep dealing with them, so he started yelling openly.
"What did you just say?"
"Today I'm definitely teaching you a lesson!"
Danzo was furious enough to explode.
These lowly civilians who did nothing but enjoy Konoha's protection had no idea how dangerous the situation back then had been. They knew nothing of Teacher Tobirama's great Will of Fire.
Hiruzen hurriedly grabbed Danzo.
Konoha had rules. Ninja were not allowed to casually use force against civilians.
If they broke that rule, they would be hauled off to the Military Police for questioning. And the Uchiha were hardly known for being soft-hearted. Anyone who went in would be lucky to come out with only one layer of skin missing.
More importantly, at a time like this, if they ended up on Uchiha turf, they might not come out at all.
Hiruzen absolutely could not let Danzo lose control.
"Oh? You want to hit someone now?"
The shop owner saw Danzo trying to make a move and immediately raised his voice even louder.
Hiruzen and Danzo were already incredibly conspicuous at this point. People nearby had been watching them for a while already, and the commotion instantly drew a crowd of curious onlookers.
The indignant villagers began cursing them one after another.
Cowards.
Traitors.
Deserters.
Those words flooded their ears, and some people went even further and started insulting their parents and clans too. The crowd had strength in numbers and felt no fear at all of Danzo losing his temper.
The Uchiha had already taken special care to spread the word. If these people dared to lay a hand on anyone, they would be arrested immediately and thrown into prison. And once they got dragged into the Uchiha Military Police, they would never come back out, so there was no need to worry about retaliation afterward.
Danzo's eyes turned bloodshot. He was so furious he looked ready to kill someone.
Hiruzen felt awful as well. His face had gone dark, but he still retained enough reason.
If they clashed with the villagers now, there would be no benefit at all. It would only make things harder for Mito and lower her opinion of him.
These were just villagers misled by public opinion. There was no need to sink to their level.
Hiruzen gripped Danzo's arm tightly, afraid Danzo might lose it and fire off a few Vacuum Bullets into the crowd.
"Let's go, Danzo. Don't waste time with them."
Hiruzen dragged Danzo out of the crowd and kept running until they reached an open area.
"Damn it! Damn it!"
"These filthy civilians!!"
Danzo picked up a branch and started lashing it wildly against the weeds to vent his anger. Only after dozens of swings did he finally calm down.
"Hiruzen, aren't you angry at all?"
Danzo looked at Hiruzen, who had been standing quietly to the side. Back there, Hiruzen had endured the villagers' insults without a single outburst. He had just silently taken their abuse while Danzo alone had been fighting them with words, only to lose miserably in the end.
Angry?
Of course he was angry.
Anyone would be angry after being cursed at and insulted, especially when their parents and clan were dragged into it too.
But anger was useless.
The more you tried to explain, the more excited they became, because they thought that meant they were getting to you.
Hiruzen was not stupid.
Mito had already warned him that the Uchiha would try to destroy him through public opinion.
Since he had been warned in advance, there was no way he would let ignorant villagers provoke him so easily and walk straight into the Uchiha's trap.
There might very well have been Uchiha ninja hiding nearby in the crowd or in the shadows, just waiting for a chance to arrest them and drag them into the Uchiha Military Police.
And Hiruzen was absolutely right about that.
The Uchiha really had posted people to watch him.
Though they were not the only ones.
The Senju, the Hyuga, the Ino-Shika-Cho, and others had also sent people.
"Now isn't the time to be angry."
"I have more important things to do. The Kage of a village won't be brought down by something like this."
Hiruzen had already started forcing himself to think like a Hokage.
If he wanted to become a qualified Hokage, then he had to possess the mindset of one.
A few insults were nothing.
For the sake of becoming Hokage, even if people spat in his face, he would gladly endure it.
Looking at Hiruzen's confident and composed expression, Danzo suddenly felt a strange fire rise in his heart.
Had the gap between him and Hiruzen already grown this large?
A gap in strength could still be bridged through hard work and training.
But a gap in mentality and vision was not something effort alone could easily make up.
A thick wall already stood between Danzo and Hiruzen.
Hiruzen, I won't lose to you!
Watching his best friend Hiruzen pull ahead of him so far in terms of bearing and vision, Danzo had no intention of accepting defeat so easily.
A man who believed all his life that he was no weaker than Hiruzen still convinced himself that the only thing he lacked was opportunity.
If Tobirama had chosen him back then, he would never have done worse than Hiruzen.
Regret and unwillingness churned in his heart.
"Danzo, let's train."
"We can't waste a good time like this."
Hiruzen had not forgotten Mito's warning. She could help him deal with the Uchiha, but there was still Toma waiting for him as an opponent.
He had to keep cultivating and raise his strength as much as possible during this period. Mito was still helping him buy time, but once Tobirama-sama's body was brought back to Konoha, the real test would begin.
I must not disappoint Teacher Tobirama, Hiruzen swore silently to himself.
...
At this very moment, a young man stood at the gates of Konoha.
He had black hair, handsome features, and looked seven or eight parts similar to Hashirama.
Toma stood there looking at Konoha's gates. He should have been returning home in high spirits, but instead, his heart was full of unease, as if some great disaster had struck Konoha.
Just what had happened to make Mother summon him back to the village with such urgency?
(End of Chapter)
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