Hiruzen Sarutobi had already grasped Kakashi's decision.
No, this wasn't just Kakashi's decision; it was practically the stance of every young person with a backbone.
When a longtime enemy takes the initiative to seek peace, only to turn around and attack one of your comrades that very day.
How could anyone swallow that?
How could anyone put up with it?
If I tolerated this, how would my comrades see me?
Sure, maybe my comrades could grit their teeth and bear it for the sake of some greater good, but how do you mend a shattered heart?
How would even more comrades look at me then?
How would my enemies sneer and mock me?
These were simple, straightforward questions that didn't require any deep pondering.
As for whether the Raikage of Kumogakure would flip the script—such a headache-inducing issue wasn't even worth considering.
Having served as Hokage for decades, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Kumogakure's temperament all too well.
"Kakashi, is this your way of handling things?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a soft sigh.
"We have no other choice."
"If we back down, everyone will know that Konoha isn't the Konoha it used to be."
Kakashi replied softly to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Silence.
Time slipped by in that quiet, while Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind churned with turmoil.
After some unknown stretch of time.
A faint voice reached Kakashi's ears.
"Kakashi, what exactly is your goal?"
Goal?
The white-haired young man furrowed his brow slightly.
If there was a goal, Kakashi would absolutely wipe out all the Otsutsuki.
In this Byakugan incident, Kakashi could have washed his hands of the whole thing and stayed out of the mess.
But he dove in headfirst, personally taking out those three Cloud ninja envoys, which was completely out of character for someone like Kakashi, who usually avoided trouble.
It wasn't until this moment.
That Kakashi understood why he'd done it.
"Because I'm the disciple of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze."
It all came down to position.
Where you stand shapes what you think.
Kakashi was the most highly regarded among Konoha's young generation, the Fourth Hokage was his teacher, the Fifth Hokage treated him like a close confidant, he himself would become the Sixth Hokage in the future, and the Seventh Hokage would be Kakashi's own disciple.
What goal was needed here?
The entire Konoha should belong to him!
This was already a restrained line of thinking.
At least for now, Kakashi had no plans to use all of Konoha to launch a campaign to unify the ninja world.
Even though the current Kakashi was powerful, he was still just one person; it was impossible for Konoha to unify the ninja world on its own.
At least, not until Naruto grew up.
Kakashi's answer gave Hiruzen Sarutobi pause.
He had expected Kakashi, with his strong personality, to say something that would truly open his eyes.
Who would've thought it would be such a simple, straightforward truth.
"I understand what you're thinking."
"Once it's daylight, assemble in the conference room."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took one last look at the young man's back on the cliff, then made his way down the mountain step by step, his heart heavy.
Kakashi knew he'd won.
He'd convinced Hiruzen Sarutobi.
An old ninja hero was still a ninja hero.
A ninja hero who, before his death, could take down Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Orochimaru single-handedly.
Though the current Hiruzen Sarutobi was old, he wasn't senile yet.
However... Hiruzen Sarutobi descended the mountain steps one by one.
He had a stomach full of words with no one to say them to.
Biwako... if only you were still here, how wonderful that would be.
If she knew her husband had become like this, she'd probably be completely disappointed in me... Now in his sixties, this old man who had never confided his inner struggles and melancholy to anyone for decades, after truly connecting with a youth like the morning sun, realized for the first time that he had grown old.
Not only had his physical strength declined, but his inner resolve had gradually become conservative, worn down by time.
On a matter where there was clearly no room for choice, he had actually considered compromising his own people to seek peace with the enemy.
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of his wife, who had died on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack.
His heart filled with nothing but bitterness.
He looked up at the faint light on the horizon.
The old day was about to end, and a new day was dawning.
He himself was like that old day, becoming part of the past.
And the new day... thinking of the white-haired figure on the cliff, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed softly.
"I really am... old."
As the rising sun bathed Konoha in its light, the news of the Cloud Village delegation's demise swept through Konoha like a storm.
"What?!"
"Those dark-skinned barbarians and pale-skinned pigs actually used the guise of peace talks to try kidnapping the Hyuga clan's heiress?"
"Their credibility is about as trustworthy as crap in a latrine!"
"Thank goodness for Kakashi!"
"As expected of Kakashi—well done!"
"Good riddance; I've been sick of them for ages!"
"As expected from the son of Konoha's White Fang!"
Such comments spread like wildfire through Konoha's ninja community.
There was no way to keep this under wraps.
Kakashi's Chidori last night had caused such a ruckus that it drew plenty of ninja to check out the scene.
As soon as dawn broke, this bombshell news exploded outward.
Everyone cheered for Kakashi, but many also worried whether this would lead to war breaking out again.
A black ninja eagle ripped through the morning calm, its sharp cry echoing across the sky.
All of Konoha's jonin, upon spotting that special ninja eagle in the air, felt their expressions shift slightly. They immediately set aside their tasks and hurried to the Hokage Building.
A jonin meeting!
"It's time, then..."
The white-haired young man, sitting cross-legged at the cliff's edge, watched the special ninja eagle in the sky, murmured to himself, then stood up and leaped off the cliff.
With a few bounds, he landed steadily on the Hokage Building's rooftop.
And someone was already waiting for him there.
"Follow me."
Yugao Uzuki, who had also been up all night, looked at Kakashi and nodded.
Kakashi followed behind her, walking along the building's corridor.
Though he was only seventeen, Kakashi was, strictly speaking, a seasoned jonin, and he naturally knew the significance of that ninja eagle.
The purpose of this jonin meeting was crystal clear: it was about the Cloud Village delegation incident.
Convincing Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't enough; there were also... Kakashi's mind flashed with three elderly figures, his eyes turning faintly cold.
Koharu Utatane, Homura Mitokado, Danzo Shimura.
These three names surfaced in Kakashi's thoughts.
It was almost laughable.
Kakashi felt that the one most likely to back him up would be Danzo Shimura, the guy known in his past life as Konoha's "Pot King."
As a true hardliner, once he learned of Kumogakure's actions, even without Kakashi saying a word, he'd surely be the first to speak up in support.
"We're here."
Yugao Uzuki pointed to the tightly shut door ahead.
This was the Hokage conference room.
She was currently just a chunin and not yet qualified to join the jonin meeting.
"Thanks."
Kakashi nodded slightly, then pushed the door open.
With the creak of the door, dozens of gazes landed on Kakashi.
However... "My hot-blooded, youthful rival!"
"You drew your blade for our comrades, smashing Kumogakure's plot to pieces!"
"I, Might Guy, will always stand by your side!"
Might Guy, you bastard... [Might Guy's emotions are fluctuating...]