Malphegor
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IUTT: Ch. 58
🕑 Added 2025-05-15 16:31:16 +0000 UTCOn a day like this, being a little polite and saying a few formal words, no one would think it's inappropriate.
Does anyone really believe there's some secret affair going on between you and me?
Do you really have to make your own wedding feel awkward?
Good grief. Just you wait, when Kakashi is born, watch how I mess with him.
Just as Sakumo was about to continue his tirade, Shin's weak voice sounded in his ear. "That's enough. Your wedding is more important."
Sakumo was stunned for a moment. Did I overdo the act?
"Today is my wedding day, I won't argue with you," he said quickly, then led a slightly bewildered Nao away, who was genuinely confused. After all, on normal days, Sakumo always praised Shin to the skies.
The two of them had actually met thanks to Tsunade, but the one behind the scenes pulling the strings was Shin.
Could it be...?
Thinking back on Shin's past circumstances, she immediately understood that the two were just putting on a show, and she felt relieved. From a distance, Hiruzen, who had arrived early to maintain a friendly image and win people's hearts, witnessed the scene and couldn't help nodding slightly.
Good. This is exactly the kind of scene I like to see.
Nowadays, Sakumo was practically a lone wolf in Konoha. Having not taken a mission in over five years, his original team had long since disbanded.
His former fame had also faded over time and was no longer mentioned by anyone.
And Shin... When Hiruzen first heard from Orochimaru that Shin had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, he could hardly sleep at night. He had considered trying to win Shin over, but what he wanted was a Shin he could control completely.
Mangekyō Sharingan... That was a power only Madara once possessed. How could he possibly control that?
Fortunately, Shin had only applied his eyes to research, never showing any inappropriate behavior. He kept a low profile, almost disappearing from view.
Later on, he overused the Mangekyō Sharingan to the point of blindness and could only assist Orochimaru in research, which greatly relieved Hiruzen. He could finally sleep soundly again.
So in his view, both Sakumo and Shin were no longer threats. But when it came to Tsunade, Hiruzen felt a little uncomfortable.
In the past six months, her prestige had risen sharply. She had not only fully taken over Shin's work at the hospital and cured countless wounded and sick, but she had also entered the Medical Department and, under great pressure, made several breakthroughs in pharmaceutical technology.
Just recently, she had even proposed several reform plans aimed at better training medical-nin and increasing ninja survival rates on the battlefield.
Combined with her lineage and the reputation she had already built, it was enough to make Hiruzen feel uneasy.
As his time as Hokage lengthened, Hiruzen's mindset gradually changed. At first, when he became Hokage, he was extremely cautious, afraid that people would compare him to the First or Second Hokage. He worked diligently every day.
But over the years, having enjoyed the power and status the role brought, he became somewhat addicted to the feeling of being Hokage. As a result, he unconsciously developed hostility toward anyone who might threaten his position.
Originally, he hadn't paid much attention to Tsunade. But in recent years, she had grown increasingly diligent. She no longer gambled or drank. Especially in the past six months, she had thrown herself completely into her work.
She was no longer the Tsunade that he once knew. Though she currently showed no intention of becoming Hokage, this "unhealthy trend" must not be allowed to grow.
So he had already begun to plan how to deal with her. And he wasn't the only one thinking that way, Danzō, who didn't attend the wedding today, shared the same thoughts.
His obsession with the Hokage position had consumed his entire life. He had originally been scheming how to make Hiruzen step down early so that he himself could smoothly become the Fourth Hokage. But suddenly, Tsunade had become the biggest obstacle in his path.
If things continued like this, even if Hiruzen retired, the Hokage position might not go to Danzō at all. Thus, both men turned their eyes toward Koharu.
She was a useful blade.
Over the past six months, she had become increasingly at odds with Tsunade. Now was the perfect time to have her stir up some trouble for her.
Step one: completely reject all of Tsunade's recent proposals.
If she couldn't deliver results, how would she continue building prestige?
As more guests gradually arrived, the wedding of Sakumo and Nao officially began.
Because the Hatake clan had dwindled to just Sakumo alone, and he had hardly socialized in the past five years, there were few people on his side.
On the other hand, Nao, ever since becoming Tsunade's assistant, had been busy running around and had made far more acquaintances than Sakumo.
So those who came to help were mainly her family, her colleagues from the hospital, and coworkers from the Medical Department, making the event feel lively.
Sakumo wore a smile from beginning to end and didn't refuse any toasts. After the music stopped and the crowd dispersed, he felt a surreal, overwhelming happiness wrap around him.
As the sun set and the guests had long gone, a lone figure suddenly appeared in the courtyard. The figure sat at the stone table, pulled out a jug of sake and two cups, and poured a drink into each.
"What are you standing there for? Don't want to share a few drinks with me?" Shin smiled as he looked at the nervous Sakumo glancing around.
"What are you doing here?" Sakumo hurried over. "Let's go inside, what if someone sees you?"
"Relax," Shin said confidently. "I've made some arrangements around your home. No one will notice."
"Nao!" he greeted as Nao stepped outside upon sensing the noise.
"Why are you…"
"I need to borrow Sakumo for half an hour. Please forgive me, but I promise I won't delay your wedding night!"
"No problem, borrow him all you want." Nao gave a gentle smile, showing no reproach. Instead, she looked sweetly at Sakumo.
Sakumo's face instantly flushed red from Shin's teasing. He gave her an apologetic smile and sat down beside Shin.
After Nao returned inside the house, he asked, "What is it? Do you have something important to tell me?"
"Why were you so cautious just now?" Shin didn't answer directly and instead asked a question of his own.
"Don't get me started," Sakumo replied helplessly. "The Hokage has never really trusted me. He's not exactly spying, but now and then there are ANBU lurking near my house."
"Could it be that he found out you secretly investigated the Konoha leadership back then?" Shin frowned and asked.
"No way," Sakumo immediately shook his head. "Don't you trust my skills? Besides, I was only verifying what you told me, I didn't dig deep. There's no way I could've been discovered. Besides, back when I was actually investigating, no one came snooping around. Now that everything's over, what's the point of sending someone now?"
"Then maybe it's because you've formed a new team and are preparing to go on missions again," Shin speculated.
"Sigh…" Sakumo sighed in frustration. "Why is he always making things difficult for me?"
