Tsunade clenched her fists.
"The White Fang disappearing… it'll weaken Konoha's strength. But wait—Sakumo's power isn't much lower than the Third's. If they want to get rid of White Fang, the price will be huge!"
She didn't believe Sakumo would stand still and let the higher-ups kill him.
Her confusion made Shiki smile faintly.
"Believe it or not… White Fang will commit suicide."
"How is that possible!?"
Tsunade slammed the floor.
A Powerful Shinobi...a man like Sakumo Hatake, killing himself?
Ridiculous.
Of course she wouldn't believe it.
Shiki didn't blame her.
If he hadn't been a Reincarnator who knew the plot, even he wouldn't believe it.
"That's what I'll bet on," Shiki said.
"I bet White Fang will commit suicide."
"...Fine. I'll gamble!"
After a moment, Tsunade nodded firmly.
No matter how dark Konoha was, she refused to believe Sakumo Hatake would take his own life.
"What's the wager?"
"I haven't decided. What do you want to bet?"
Shiki asked casually.
This was a spontaneous bet, not something he had planned out.
"In that case… if you lose, you have to help me."
Tsunade's voice hardened.
With the Senju clan gone, she desperately needed someone powerful at her side.
Someone who could stand with her against Konoha's corrupt core.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru were strong—
but they would never go against the "higher-ups" for her sake.
"You'll point your blade at the elders… at the Hokage himself.
Dare you?"
Her eyes burned as she stared at Shiki.
After learning the truth behind the Senju clan's destruction, Tsunade no longer felt anything toward Hiruzen Sarutobi as a teacher.
You destroyed my clan, and I'm supposed to respect you?
Impossible.
Shiki snorted lightly.
"Wait until you actually win."
Lazy, dismissive, completely confident.
Shiki didn't believe for a second that Tsunade would win the bet.
"Ugh!"
Tsunade gritted her teeth.
So strong but so damn lazy…
Half a month passed.
Shiki kept up with his daily sword swings, and every spare moment was spent experimenting with the Fuwa Fuwa Fruit.
In that time, he had already unlocked several new abilities.
Konoha, on the surface, remained peaceful.
But today...
Everything changed.
For the first time ever, Konoha's White Fang—
the man known for a perfect 100% mission success rate—
failed.
During a mission, Sakumo chose to save a comrade's life rather than complete the objective.
The mission failed…
but he saved everyone.
He had no regrets.
To him, comrades were worth more than a scroll or an objective.
But reality wasn't kind.
And Konoha was cruel.
"Is that Konoha's White Fang? What a disappointment!"
"If not for him, the war would've ended sooner!"
"We actually called that man a hero? Blind fools!"
"Trash! A sinner!"
In just one day, the hero of Konoha became its disgrace.
People who once praised him now spat venom at him.
On the street, Sakumo walked like a corpse.
His face was pale, eyes lifeless.
Every whispered insult stabbed deeper than a kunai.
But the final blow—
The most painful part—
Was that even his own son, Hatake Kakashi, didn't understand him.
Is the mission more important than a comrade?
Kakashi… you too?
Silent…
devastated…
Sakumo lowered his head and walked away without saying a word.
"This… this is…"
On the side of the street, Shiki and Tsunade stood shoulder to shoulder.
They watched Sakumo Hatake—Konoha's White Fang—walk through the village like a ghost, villagers whispering behind him with cruel words.
Tsunade's hands trembled.
"How… how did it become like this?"
Shiki exhaled quietly.
"The villagers are ignorant. Whatever the higher-ups say, they believe."
He knew this would happen.
But seeing it unfold with his own eyes…
Even he felt a flicker of pity.
"What do these villagers even understand?" he muttered.
Tsunade looked heartbroken.
"The village Grandfather built… he wanted a place where everyone could understand each other.
A peaceful home."
She laughed—cold, bitter.
"And now look at it.
Under the third and Danzo… Konoha is rotting from the inside."
Her voice was filled with grief and disgust.
Tsunade glanced at Shiki.
"Are you just going to stand here watching?
I heard you and Sakumo are close?"
"Just normal acquaintances," Shiki said bluntly.
"He's too soft."
His tone held no emotion.
"In the war we were on the same squad, but…
a man who's about to commit suicide isn't worth saving."
Tsunade didn't argue.
She looked again at Sakumo's lonely back—
"…I lost."
White Fang hadn't killed himself yet,
but any intelligent person could see the end was near.
"What do you want me to do?"
There was something strange in her heart as she said it.
Expectation?
Discomfort?
Something she pushed down immediately.
What am I thinking?
I must be drunk.
Shiki raised a brow at her sudden head shake.
"…Are you stupid?"
"…"
If she could beat him, she would have punched him already.
Tsunade crossed her arms.
"Just say your conditions. I don't do tricks!"
Shiki stared at her silently for a moment.
You're one to talk.
Then he spoke plainly:
"If that's the case...
then fight for it.
Become the next Hokage."
"Ah—!? WHAT!?"
Shiki said the words and immediately turned around to leave.
Tsunade froze for three full seconds before snapping back to reality and running after him.
"What do you mean!?
You want me to be Hokage!?"
Despite all her resentment toward Hiruzen and Danzo, Tsunade had never fully considered the idea of herself becoming Hokage.
Shiki looked back at her with calm, mocking eyes.
"Don't you dare?"
"Who said I don't dare!?
I'm not scared of anything!
It's just—"
Tsunade's steps slowed.
Can I actually do it?
Am I capable of it?
Confidence was one thing.
Responsibility was another entirely.
Shiki didn't bother sugarcoating anything.
"Danzo is unfriendly to geniuses.
Especially to me.
And if he stays in power, people like us won't survive long."
He shrugged.
"Instead of letting that old snake stay safe under the Hokage…
I'd rather support someone trustworthy."
Tsunade's breath caught.
"Don't you want Konoha to improve?
To become the village your grandfather dreamed of?"
He stopped walking and looked at her seriously.
"Is it better to stand aside and watch Konoha decay? Or become Hokage and fix it yourself?"
Tsunade's fists trembled slightly.
That reasoning…
she had no way to deny it.
Konoha was cracking at the seams.
If she didn't step forward now—
Who else would?
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