Malphegor
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GSiN: Ch. 11
🕑 Added 2025-02-23 20:19:09 +0000 UTC---Ryouma's POV---
"That's right, you. The point has never been whether Arima will apologize to your father or not. The point is that you, Kakashi, as his only son, went to see Arima and demanded that he apologize to your father," I looked at Kakashi and spoke earnestly.
"The village's opinion isn't what matters here, Kakashi. It's about what a son would do for his father."
"But why me specifically?"
"Because you're not just the White Fang's son, you're his reason to keep going. The village might forget their words tomorrow, but your actions will stay with him forever."
My goal from the start was to prevent the suicide of the White Fang. The opinions of the villagers or anything else were secondary.
When I heard the surname "Shimura," I immediately understood. Expecting Arima to apologize to give the White Fang the motivation to live again was unrealistic.
Everyone who's watched Naruto knew who the most famous person with the surname "Shimura" was: none other than Danzō. So, my conclusion was not baseless.
In the original storyline, it was mentioned that the mission Sakumo led was a secret operation deep in enemy territory. Such missions, whether successful or failed, were never meant to be publicly discussed within the village.
I knew that during wartime, every village inevitably harbored spies from other villages. If the results of every secret mission were made public, it would be chaotic for all ninja villages.
On the other hand, public opinion was just that, public opinion. A few spiteful comments from villagers might kill a samurai, but to kill a ninja with mere words would be laughable.
This made the intent behind the orchestrator of this situation quite clear to me. The goal was merely to bring down Konoha's White Fang, make him despondent for a while, and burden him with disgrace and scandal.
Considering Danzō's motives, it likely stemmed from concern that as Sakumo's achievements on the battlefield grew, it might eventually interfere with Orochimaru's succession as the Fourth Hokage.
A White Fang burdened with scandal would naturally be unable to compete with the clean reputation of the Third Hokage's disciples.
Even the Third Hokage was aware of Danzō's actions but tacitly allowed them because, during this period, the Third was more inclined toward his disciple Orochimaru.
However, there was one thing neither the Third Hokage nor Danzō could anticipate. They were trained as ninjas from childhood, especially under the teachings of the Second Hokage, Tobirama.
In their eyes, the kind of pressure from public opinion was insignificant to a ninja. But the Hatake clan was different.
It was well known that the Hatake clan transitioned from being a samurai clan to a ninja clan, so insults and ridicule had a particularly devastating effect on Sakumo.
Simply put, the White Fang broke down.
My purpose was straightforward: to give Sakumo a reason to live.
As long as a person had an excuse, choosing death was no longer a simple decision.
Moreover, I believed that he probably had no ambition to become Hokage. He likely wanted to end the war and spend more time with Kakashi.
"Kakashi, you are his only family. As long as he sees your actions and determination, as long as his own mindset remains unaffected, the external public opinion will eventually fade with time," I explained.
"But so many people in the village... I'm sorry. It's not that I don't believe you, Ryouma." Kakashi trusted my words but couldn't help feeling worried.
"Come on, Kakashi! Stop overthinking everything!" Obito burst out, his fists clenched with characteristic passion.
Rin placed a gentle hand on Kakashi's arm. "We're here to support you, whatever happens."
"No buts. Trust my judgment." I wasn't bothered by Kakashi's hesitation, knowing that over-cautiousness only led to more mistakes. I myself had the same mindset when facing my father before.
"What if Arima refuses to see us?" Kakashi asked as we walked.
I smiled slightly. "Then that itself tells us something important. Remember, we're not here to force an apology. We're here to show your father that his son stands with him."
---
We finalized our plan one last time before heading to Konoha Hospital. The air felt heavy, like before a storm, but there was something else in it.
Did I forget anything?
A quick inquiry with the ninja on duty pointed us to Arima's hospital room.
Outside the room, Kakashi went to knock on the door.
"Come in."
"Excuse us."
Upon entering the room, I saw a man half-reclining on the hospital bed. He had short black hair, was wrapped in many bandages, and looked pale and exhausted.
Each breath seems to cost him effort, I noted, watching his movements.
Despite the ongoing war, Konoha Hospital, as the greatest medical facility in the ninja world, did not experience overcrowding. Arima's room housed only him.
"So, you're Arima? Do you have any idea what your words have done? The White Fang is—" Obito, seeing him, immediately launched into heated criticism.
I gripped his shoulder firmly. "Remember why we're here."
After all, he already knew our goal wasn't to demand any particular action from Arima.
"That hair, you must be Kakashi, right?" Arima ignored Obito and, instead, directly called out Kakashi's name as soon as he saw the boy. His voice was... strange. There was recognition there, but also... regret?
Obito wanted to say something more, but Rin and I each grabbed one of his arms and pulled him back behind Kakashi.
"Enough, Obito. Let Kakashi handle this now," Rin whispered softly to him.
"Hmph…" Obito was clearly dissatisfied but ultimately kept quiet.
"I want to know, why did you criticize my father? If he was willing to abandon the mission to save you, then your relationship must have been good, right? Why would you say something like that?!" Kakashi's voice unconsciously cracked as he neared the end of his sentence. His hands trembled slightly at his sides.
"My father saved your life! He chose his comrades over the mission, and you... How could you turn against him like that?"
Looking at Kakashi in front of us, even though he was wearing a mask, his emotions were still visible.
Arima didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed a crutch beside his bed and, with some difficulty, climbed down from the bed on the side near the door.
Only then did we notice that half of his lower leg was missing.
Limping heavily, he approached Kakashi and softly said, "I'm sorry." Then, to everyone's shock, he knelt in front of Kakashi and performed a deep bow, the traditional dogeza gesture.
"Did he just...?" Obito whispered, stunned.
Rin held her breath, watching the scene unfold. This isn't just formality, I thought, noting the depth of his bow. There's real weight in this gesture. But I thought...
Forced, huh?
But before Kakashi could say anything, Arima propped himself back up with his crutch.
Kakashi tried to help him, but Arima waved him off, refusing assistance.
Each movement revealed the price he'd paid, not just in flesh, but in spirit.
Afterward, he lay back down on the bed, shutting himself off completely from further communication.
Despite our attempts to engage him, we got no response. Left with no other options, we exchanged glances and quietly left Konoha Hospital.
I could see that Kakashi had imagined countless scenarios for meeting Arima, but he had never envisioned this.
Though equally unprepared for this turn of events, I found it understandable. Sakumo wasn't a fool, far from it. He was incredibly smart.
For him to willingly abandon a mission to save a teammate, that teammate couldn't have been an irredeemable villain.
Furthermore, I had noticed a bouquet of carnations beside Arima's bed. Judging by their freshness, they had likely been replaced earlier that afternoon.
Still, there was no need to delve too deeply into these details. Whatever the reasons behind Arima's odd behavior, they wouldn't change my plans moving forward.
"Kakashi, what do you think?" I asked, wanting to know his current thoughts.
"I feel like Arima didn't criticize my father out of his own will. There's probably some reason I don't know about," Kakashi said, resting his hand on his chin as he thought.
"But he doesn't want to talk to us about anything right now," Obito grumbled, inserting his opinion.
"At least we now know that Arima feels guilty toward Uncle Sakumo. If he finds out, it might make him feel a little better," Rin added, joining the discussion.
Seeing Kakashi's expression, I silently decided that it was time to give him a stronger push.
"Kakashi, what matters isn't what happened in that room."
"Then what does?"
"What you do next. How you use this moment." Grabbing Kakashi firmly by both shoulders, I made him look directly into my eyes. "Your father needs more than just understanding, he needs to see his son fight for him."
"Kakashi, what you need to do next is simple: act as if the worst-case scenario, your father committing suicide because of public opinion, is inevitable. Take that resolve, and go persuade him!"
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