Malphegor
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IUTT: Ch. 60
🕑 Added 2025-05-15 16:32:35 +0000 UTC"You jinx! You jinx, take back what you just said!" Sakumo hurriedly reached out to cover Shin's mouth. "Damn it, it's today is my wedding and you're saying things like that?"
"Mmph mmph..." Damn it, if you're going to cover my mouth, just cover my mouth, what's with covering my nose too? Are you trying to silence me for good?
Looks like our friendship really has gone cold!
Finally pulling Sakumo's hand away with great effort, Shin showed absolutely no intention of sparing his friend's joyous mood.
Instead, with a face full of "I'm doing this for your own good" expression, he said, "It's exactly because you're getting married today that I had to say it. I'm afraid your wife will end up a widow, so I couldn't keep quiet."
Mainly because I'm usually too busy. Once I dive into research, I forget everything else. I'd probably forget to tell him later anyway.
Of course, that part couldn't be said in front of Sakumo, otherwise they'd fall out.
"You're fearmongering again. Everything's fine, why would I die?" Sakumo couldn't help asking.
"After your honeymoon, you're definitely going to start taking missions again, right?"
"Of course I will!"
"With your strength, won't you once again become famous?"
"I suppose… probably…"
"Back then, you went crazy and completed ten S-rank missions in a single year. What did Hiruzen do?"
"He recruited me into the ANBU. Claimed it was to give me an important position, but in reality, he sidelined me." Sakumo's heart skipped a beat. "But… would he really go as far as to kill me?"
"Naive!" Shin said coldly. "Let me tell you straight, among the three teammates you recruited, one was specifically planted there by him."
"What?" Sakumo's eyes widened. "No, where did you get this intel?"
"Don't worry about that," Shin took a sip of sake and continued, "The point is, danger could strike at any time."
It's not that he didn't trust Sakumo, it's just that Orochimaru's surveillance of the Council was something that fewer people knew about, the better.
Sakumo's face darkened, filled with disbelief. "But why?"
Shin said, in a tone of bitter disappointment, "Because you're not part of the Hokage's faction. Because you don't listen to him. Because you're powerful. Are those reasons not enough? Once you rise to fame again, proving that he can no longer suppress you by any means, and worse, that you might even threaten his position, do you think he'll let you live?"
"I don't believe he'd attack me without cause," Sakumo said with a chilling aura. "And I am not weak."
"Heh." Shin chuckled. "To kill you, why use a blade? If it were me, I'd tailor a mission for you, one destined to fail. With a mole by your side leaking intel, that wouldn't be hard, would it? And then, when you realize the mission is impossible, and a teammate of yours just happens to fall into a prearranged trap and is on the brink of death, what would you do?"
Sakumo didn't hesitate. "Abandon the mission. Save them immediately."
Shin nodded, then continued, "But the moment you do that, someone in Konoha will start spreading rumors that you abandoned the mission and aren't fit to be a ninja. At that point, the Hokage's office will cooperate by deliberately cutting back mission assignments, and make sure word gets out that it's your selfish actions that caused Konoha's commission volume to drop drastically, causing huge losses to the entire village."
"Then that teammate of yours will publicly accuse you, even twist your usual behavior into signs of disloyalty toward Konoha. He'll say he never wanted you to save him, that your interference caused the mission to fail, and brought shame he can never live down, so now he hates you. Then Hiruzen will incite others to loudly proclaim that you are the true disgrace of the Hatake clan, that your generation is unworthy of the name Hatake. By then, all of Konoha will despise you, condemn you, say you should atone with your death. What will you do then?"
As Sakumo listened, his body began to tremble uncontrollably. With every word Shin said, his heart sank further. By the time Shin finished speaking, he was overwhelmed with intense panic.
How was he supposed to respond? What could he even do? His mind was in complete chaos. If something like that really happened, he might... he really might... take his own life.
Sakumo with the mask on and Sakumo without the mask were like two different people. When the mask was on, no one recognized him, so he could be a little shameless around Shin. But once the mask came off, he immediately reverted to his true self.
As the only remaining member of the Hatake clan, he placed immense value on his personal honor, and more importantly, his family's reputation. If both his and his clan's name were utterly ruined in Konoha, he would fall into utter despair.
"What's this? Thinking about dying before anything's even happened?" Shin flicked Sakumo on the forehead. "Can't you show a bit of spine?"
"Do you really think... something like this could actually happen?" Sakumo asked.
He wasn't afraid of death, not at all. But what terrified him most was dragging his clan's name through the mud because of his own actions. Ever since he was young, his father had told him that he hoped Sakumo would one day restore the glory of the Hatake clan...
"It's not a question of if it could happen. As soon as your prestige reaches a level they can't suppress, it will happen. This bomb has already been planted. The fuse is in Hiruzen's hands, and when it explodes, it's entirely up to him."
"How could he do this to me?" Sakumo was falling apart.
How could he?
How could he?
This was an outright, brazen scheme. A public trap meant to drive him to suicide. And yet, he had no idea how to counter it.
"Do you have a way to stop all this?" he asked hopefully.
"Of course. Why do you think I've been telling you all this today?" Shin replied with confidence.
"You just need to do this, and this... and then like this, and like that..."
As he laid out his plan, Sakumo's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
---
"With this approach, the whole situation won't be able to touch you." Having talked so much in one go, Shin took another sip of sake to moisten his throat.
"I really owe you one!" Sakumo said, full of gratitude.
If not for Shin's warning, his life would have truly been over, not just his own life, but the honor of all his ancestors would've been completely disgraced, and his wife and child would've never been able to walk with their heads held high.
"Don't thank me just yet." Shin quickly waved his hand and continued, "You really think it ends here?"
"Once you break this scheme, he will become even more wary of you. So he will definitely set up another trap. And if you break that one, there will be yet another after that. But I can't be watching over you all the time, so listen to me carefully."
Shin's face turned more serious than ever.
"Remember this: You must never, ever think of killing yourself."
