Chapter 187: Ghosts in the Mist (Part-9) [The White Fang’s Son]

Chapter 187 - Ghosts in the Mist (Part-9) [The White Fang’s Son] {Unsuccessful. Even the immortal_jp guys with 24 stones couldn't save the goal this time, oh well} ~~~ Kakashi froze at Ren's quiet words, like really froze as his shoulders went stiff as a board. Ren didn't pull back; he leaned in and continued. "Kakashi," he said evenly, "I know you still can't accept what happened. But let me make one thing clear to you, right now. Your father did nothing wrong. The White Fang was the hero of the Leaf, he should be remembered as such, and it's your responsibility to make sure future generations know it." Ren raised a hand and tapped a finger against Kakashi's chest, right where his heart beat beneath the flak vest. "Kakashi, listen. Your father was too strong, too respected. That didn't sit well with Danzo and probably not with the Third either. I'm ninety-nine percent sure they were the ones who poisoned his reputation from the shadows. They couldn't kill him directly, so they killed him slowly and without actually moving with whispers, rumors, disgrace. They drove him to take his own life." Even behind the mask, Ren could almost see the color drain from Kakashi's face. His single visible eye widened, disbelief and something raw flickering in it. "Wh-what are you talking about?" Kakashi stammered, voice hoarse, but Ren just sighed heavily, like an old man burdened by a truth no one wants. "You think I'm making it up?" Ren's lips twisted into a humorless smile. "Listen. I'm the grandson of the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju. Shocking, right? But it doesn't matter now. I only found out the full story recently. Turns out, when I was born, Danzo and the Third were so afraid of an infant Senju heir that they hid me from the entire village. Told everyone even big sis Tsunade, that I was dead. Dead, Kakashi." He let that sink in for a heartbeat, his tone turning razor-sharp. "You know what that did to her? With me and my mother gone it meant she had no family left. None. And those two didn't care. They were terrified an infant boy would grow into something they couldn't control. So think and I mean it, really think, how much more they feared your father. Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of the leaf. The man who could've been the Fourth Hokage while the Third was still young and healthy." A muscle ticked in Kakashi's jaw. He didn't move and didn't even breathe as Ren pressed on, relentlessly. "And it's not just you. You know about Naruto, don't you? The son of your sensei. The Fourth's son, the kid who should've been celebrated as a hero for keeping the Nine-Tails contained. Do you know how I found him last year?" Ren let out a soft, bitter laugh. "I said 'happy birthday' to him, and he cried because it was the first time anyone had ever said it to him." Kakashi's wanted to speak something, anything that would prove that everything Ren was saying was false but he couldn't even muster any words, nothing came to his mind. Ren didn't care about Kakashi's silence as he kept going, voice dropping even lower, "They claim he's hidden for his own safety. That he has to be isolated because of Minato's old enemies. But think about it, what threat is there to a jinchūriki locked in the heart of Konoha, surrounded by the ANBU, with the strongest shinobi in the village watching over him? There's no threat Kakashi. The real threat is if that boy grows up happy, strong, and with people who love him. A happy jinchūriki can't be molded like clay. So instead, they break him down by letting the village treat him like a plague, then toss him scraps of affection so he's grateful for any kindness. They want him desperate so that they can keep their leash tight." At first, Ren never really cared about things like this, all he'd wanted was strength, freedom, and to protect the few people close to him. The rest of the world could burn, for all he cared. But that old system notification still lingered in his mind like a ghost that refused to fade [MAKING KID NARUTO TRULY HAPPY FOR THE FIRST TIME]. He'd read it once, but the weight of it clung to him ever since. He looked at Kakashi now, the same kind of boy, really, just older. A kid who'd never had the chance to live a childhood worth remembering becoming yet another casualty of old men's paranoia and greed. Ren clamped his hands down firmly on Kakashi's shoulders, holding him there like he was anchoring him to the ground. His eyes locked onto Kakashi's single, weary one. "Kakashi," Ren said quietly but seriously, "no one deserves that. Especially not kids. And you, you didn't deserve what happened to you either. But what's done is done. What you can do now, what we can do is make sure no other kid suffers like you did." He raised one hand in front of Kakashi with his palm open, an offer and a promise in one. His blue eyes didn't waver for a second. "So, Kakashi," Ren asked, "are you willing to work with me, really work with me not for missions or fight but to help others? To save the ones who'd end up with tragic fates because of the same twisted shit that ruined so many lives already?" For a moment, Kakashi just stared at Ren's outstretched hand. His fingers twitched at his side as he remembered his life till now, his dead father, his empty house, his dead comrades, for a while he wondered if he was even the right choice but then he looked at the much younger Ren, his eyes shining with resolve to change the world and, slowly, he lifted his hand and grasped Ren's in a firm, steady hold. Before he spoke, though, a little spark of his old stubbornness showed through as he asked, "You still didn't tell me what you hate about my way of operating." Ren barked a quiet laugh, a grin tugging at his mouth as if he couldn't help it. "Oh, that. Right. Well, it's not complicated. I just hated that even though you're weak," he jabbed, half seriously half jokingly, "you still have this hero complex strapped to your back like a delayed explosion tag. C'mon, man, that Sharingan practically stunted your growth. But you carry it around anyway because it's a memento from a dead friend." Kakashi's hand tensed in Ren's grip, but Ren didn't let him pull away. He shrugged as he continued. "I get it, but not really. The emotional value, the promise, the guilt there must be a lot of it. But at least do something about it. Look at you now, your chakra reserves are almost matching mine, mine, Kakashi in just a few days of your Sharingan being sealed and that's saying something. If you'd figured out that damn Sharingan already, you'd be an S-ranker for sure." Ren huffed, dropping their joined hands as he wagged a finger at Kakashi. "And it's not like you can't handle it. You're a level five fuinjutsu master and a genius of your own class. The only reason you didn't fix it is that you're still dragging around that emotional baggage like a funeral pyre. But now that you've decided to work with me, I'm not going to be lenient with you. First thing you do when we get back? You figure out the Sharingan. Until then" In a blur of motion, Ren's hand dipped into Kakashi's pouch and came back with a battered orange book clutched triumphantly between his fingers. "I'm confiscating your Make-Out Paradise." Kakashi's single visible eye went wide, insulted and scandalized all at once. He actually half-lunged for the book but stopped himself at the last second. He stood there for a heartbeat, then forced out a slow breath as the stiff edge of his shoulders relaxed just a fraction as he nodded. "Okay," Kakashi said finally, voice low but firm. "Deal." Ren raised an eyebrow, honestly surprised he hadn't put up more of a fight, then gave him a small, sly grin. He clapped the book against Kakashi's chest before slipping it back into his own belt pouch. "Good. Now shoo. Go run around and play with the Mizukage's dogs for me." Kakashi let out an exasperated sound behind his mask, but for the first time in a while, his eye didn't look quite so dead. He gave Ren a lazy salute and flickered out of the base in a swirl of leaves and mist. Ren stood there a moment longer, alone, the cave silent around him. He let out a slow breath, rubbing the corner of the book cover with his thumb before shaking his head with a faint grin. 'The first person saved from those old bastards' games,' he thought. 'I'll become a freakin' santa clause of this world and make sure that those old men can't ruin anybody else's life in the future.' With that, Ren flickered off to his room, the shadows swallowing him as he finally allowed himself a few hours' rest. ~~~~~ Mist Village Council Building Near the heart of Kirigakure, a massive structure loomed behind high walls, its entrance carved with bold words that read "Council Hall." This building hadn't always stood here; it was commissioned only after the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, took control of the village as a symbol of the iron grip he and his faction held over the Mist's old ways. Inside, it looked less like a council chamber and more like a daimyo's personal court. The high ceiling and red lacquer pillars gave the impression of grandeur, but the atmosphere was suffocating. At the far end of the room, on a raised platform like a throne, sat Yagura himself. His youthful face was calm, deceptively innocent but those pink eyes were cold and empty. Below him knelt the shinobi who had just finished his anxious report, sweating under the weight of Yagura's dead gaze. To the Mizukage's left, a row of elders sat stiff-backed, their faces hidden behind carefully neutral expressions. To his right stood the leaders of several bloodline clans, the Terumi clan among them. Mei, stood just behind her father, the Terumi clan head as he listened with a cold face as the shinobi painted all the blame of leaf shinobi's presence in the village on the Terumi Clan. When the shinobi fell silent, the room seemed to grow colder still. Yagura's gaze slid across the hall slowly until it landed on Mei. His voice, when he finally spoke, was so soft and cold that it clashed violently with how young he looked. "So. What you mean to tell me... is that Leaf shinobi, especially high-profile ones like Kakashi Hatake and Ren Takahashi managed to sneak into my village... extract so many of their agents... and you," he said, letting his eyes drift to Mei's face, "couldn't do a single thing about it?" One of the elders from the Mizukage faction added oil to the fire. "Lord Fourth, there should be no surprise here," Elder Kanihara said, voice dripping with disdain. "It was the Terumi clan leader's precious daughter who let them go. From what we know, the Terumi clan invited those Leaf rats into our village to strike some secret deal behind your back." Another elder spoke up immediately, fanning the spark into flame. "Elder Kanihara is correct, Lord Fourth. Our hunter-nin even confirmed that the Leaf bastards killed Elder Shin who is one of our own just to prove their so-called loyalty to the bloodline clans. In my opinion, these traitorous clans should be punished severely for their collusion." A ripple of murmured agreement spread among the Mizukage's elders with a hum of righteous condemnation, so quick that it looked clearly rehearsed. Their narrow eyes flicked toward the bloodline clan leaders, the hostility no longer hidden. Before the bloodline clan leaders could even open their mouths to protest, Yagura raised one slender hand silencing the entire hall. His eyes, pink and unblinking, swept over the room. "The elders are right," Yagura said, his voice calm, even gentle, but each word carried the threat of death. "There must be punishment." "I hereby order that Jōnin Mei Terumi is stripped of her title for her inability to act in the best interest of the village. Those shinobi who followed her on these missions and managed to crawl back alive shall be executed. Their relatives will join them on the execution stand, as an example to all who would invite foreign filth into our lands." Gasps and muted curses rippled through the bloodline faction's side but the Mizukage faction's elders smiled like snakes. One leaned toward another, whispering gleefully as if they'd already won the war. "The Terumi clan," Yagura went on mercilessly, "will be barred from taking any missions for the next three years for their suspected collusion with outside villages. No missions means no funding. No funding means no growth. Remember that." He shifted his cold gaze to the other bloodline clan leaders, who stiffened under the weight of it. "In addition," Yagura said, "the hunter-nin will place all bloodline clans under direct surveillance at all times. So that this..." he gestured dismissively at the hall "...never happens again." Though the Mizukage practically announced the death of their clan, Mei and her father looked as if they didn't even care however the air around them turned colder even though the clan was famous for lava release techniques. The elders of the Mizukage's faction were practically glowing with triumph now. This was the outcome they'd schemed for, open surveillance on their rivals, the Terumi clan hobbled and humiliated, the bloodline clans fractured even further. But Yagura wasn't done. He leaned back slightly, like a king on his throne, and let his eyes drift to the trembling shinobi still kneeling at the center of the room. "And the Leaf..." Yagura's lips curled in something that could never be called a smile. "They think we are soft. That we will suffer intruders on our soil and not flinch. That we are prey." His hand lifted again and in an instant, the shadows of the council hall came alive. Dozens of hunter-nin flickered into existence around him, kneeling with reverence. "Our village was built on the art of assassination," Yagura said. His tone was calm, almost bored but the air itself seemed to shudder from the chakra he was exuding. "We are hunters. Let every Leaf rat in the Land of Water remember what it means to trespass on our shores." He inhaled slowly, then spoke the words that would drown the forests and swamps of the Land of Water in blood. "Let the manhunt begin." ~~~~~ {How do you guys think this arc might end? Because I honestly am confused with 2 conclusions and can't decide which one to follow.} {If you want, you can support me on pat-reon} { h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n } {You know what else} {280 Stones = Extra Chapter} {STONES!!!!}