Chapter 059: Backing Down

Wang Bo sneered, interrupting Kakashi Hatake's words, "It was your Konoha ninja who captured me, trying to seize my property, and now you tell me Konoha means me no harm? Do you take me for a fool?"

Kakashi Hatake opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

Wang Bo waved his hand and said, "Alright, you can leave now. Remember to convey my words to your Hokage."

Kakashi Hatake glanced at Danzo Shimura lying on the bed, then finally left the base.

He now understood that this leader of Root had dragged Konoha into deep trouble.

Leaving the base, Kakashi Hatake rushed back to Konoha without rest, traveling day and night, and reported the matter to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind exploded.

"Danzo, Danzo..." How could he not have thought of it? Although most of Konoha's ninja followed his orders, only a small number disregarded him as Hokage.

That man was his old friend, Danzo Shimura.

No wonder Igarashi had sent two kids to interrogate Konoha—it was Danzo's doing.

He had been so confident in declaring that Konoha would never harm Igarashi. Remembering his assurances to those two kids, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his face flush.

He now felt that his earlier confident words must have seemed like a ridiculous clown in the eyes of those two kids.

And a clown who spouted nonsense without blinking.

He had utterly disgraced the title of Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly calmed down. Now was not the time to dwell on this; he needed to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Igarashi was no ordinary man, but a great merchant whose reputation had spread across the ninja world.

If he merely terminated his contract with Konoha, Konoha would only lose some money.

But if he spread this story across the ninja world, the trouble would be immense.

Then the entire ninja world would know that Konoha's people, while collecting payment from an employer, had kidnapped him in an attempt to drain all his money.

How was that any different from bandits? No, it was worse than bandits.

At least bandits had their own code of conduct.

Since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, Konoha had been thriving, with many foreigners coming to entrust missions, building a good reputation.

But if this got out, the reputation Konoha had painstakingly built would collapse completely.

Not only would foreigners be unwilling to come to Konoha.

Even merchants from the Land of Fire would probably avoid Konoha, for who would want to come to a ninja village that collected money while kidnapping its employers?

Even the Daimyo of the Land of Fire would reprimand him over this.

In short, this was no easy matter to resolve.

How could he make Igarashi keep his mouth shut and not spread the news?

The first thought that came to Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind was... murder.

If he could eliminate Igarashi and instantly kill everyone in that base, then no one would know what Konoha had done.

But soon, Hiruzen Sarutobi dismissed the idea.

Not because he was unwilling to solve the problem once and for all, but because he knew Igarashi was no fool.

Since he dared to act this way, he must have a fallback. If Konoha failed to nip this in the bud, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Then news that Konoha had not only attempted kidnapping but also tried to kill the victim to silence him would spread across the ninja world.

The reputation of Konoha's ninja would be ruined.

And he, who made this decision, would inevitably face hostility from many merchants in the Land of Fire, and even the villagers and ninja of Konoha would look down on him as Hokage.

He would surely become Konoha's disgrace.

As Hokage, he would have no choice but to apologize and commit suicide.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had devoted his life to Konoha; unless he had lost his mind, he would never take that path.

Since he couldn't solve it once and for all, he would have to bleed heavily.

"Kakashi, go to Lord Igarashi again and ask him what conditions he wants to forgive Konoha and not expose this matter."

Kakashi Hatake looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who seemed to have aged a decade in an instant, nodded, and left Konoha again, traveling wearily to Wang Bo's base.

With this back-and-forth, without even a moment's rest, even Kakashi Hatake felt exhausted.

But he knew the importance of this matter to Konoha, so he did not complain.

He arrived at Wang Bo's base in the shortest possible time, met Wang Bo, and conveyed Hiruzen Sarutobi's words.

After hearing Kakashi's purpose, Wang Bo snorted lightly.

"Not long ago, you claimed to be innocent, and now you want to settle this matter. Your Konoha is really good at changing faces."

Kakashi Hatake remained calm, as if the mockery was not directed at his home village.

"Lord Igarashi, we have cooperated for three years. You know Konoha. This was merely the independent action of certain individuals, not representative of Konoha. Konoha would never stoop to such despicable acts."

Wang Bo glanced at him dismissively. "First you said such behavior was impossible, now you say it was the independent action of certain individuals. Your Konoha is really good at shifting blame."

Kakashi Hatake said, "But it is the truth. Please investigate, Lord Igarashi."

Wang Bo waved his hand and said, "Forget the investigation. Since Konoha is willing to admit its mistake, I won't dwell on it. But I have one condition."

"Please speak," Kakashi Hatake said, lowering his head.

"From today on, I will not pay Konoha a single cent. However, for the next ten years, Konoha must guarantee the safety of my hot pot restaurant. Can you do that?"

Kakashi Hatake immediately understood. "Lord Igarashi wants Konoha to work for you for free for ten years?"

"If you're unwilling, pretend I said nothing," Wang Bo said calmly.

Kakashi Hatake quickly replied, "I cannot decide this matter. I must return and ask the Hokage to decide."

"Fine, but tell your Hokage that I will not negotiate on this matter. You can only accept. If you want to bargain, I'm not interested."

Wang Bo's face was cold.

Kakashi Hatake nodded, stood up, and left Wang Bo's base.

He needed to inform the Hokage as soon as possible.

Thus, Kakashi Hatake once again sped off, returning to Konoha just before collapsing from exhaustion, and reported everything to Hiruzen Sarutobi.