Chapter 15: Coming to Seek Revenge

Kondo Kunihiko's mood has been very unstable lately.

After finishing his patrol today, he sat in his room as usual, his heart filled with complex emotions—regret, guilt, and even a hint of panic.

This teammate of the White Fang of the Leaf truly never expected that things would end up developing into what they are now.

The White Fang actually died, died by his own hand; how is this possible? This is the White Fang, the White Fang of the Leaf!

Isn't it just one failed mission? Isn't it just some idle gossip from villagers and ninja? That something like this could actually force a Shadow-level ninja to his death is simply ridiculous!

Come on, you are the White Fang of the Leaf, aren't you? You are the executioner who makes everyone tremble with fear, aren't you? You actually committed suicide over such a trivial matter? Is your mental fortitude even worse than mine? How did you become a powerhouse?!

However, things have reached this point, and there is no use in saying more. Whenever he thinks of the crime of forcing the White Fang to his death, and that a large part of it was his own doing, Kondo Kunihiko feels like he is on the verge of a breakdown.

Even though Konoha has not taken action against him yet, this Special Jonin can still feel the cold gazes of his colleagues, which has kept him feeling terrified almost all the time; he doesn't even dare to walk on the road at night.

Honestly, when he first heard the news of Hatake Sakumo's suicide, he was almost scared enough to defect immediately; in fact, if he hadn't been watched so closely, he probably would have already defected.

As for now, he lives in fear every day, afraid that someone will come to kill him to silence him—yes, silence him! Because only he knows that there was a push from Konoha High Command behind the White Fang incident!

He doesn't know who the person who came to find him that night was, but he is very clear that it was definitely a member of Konoha High Command. Ordinary spies wouldn't be able to have several ninja guarding the surroundings while talking; do they really think Konoha's Anbu are dead?

Under the coercion and inducement of the High Command, and perhaps with a little guidance from the mysterious person's Genjutsu, he made his decision: he ran to Hatake Sakumo's doorstep to publicly apologize, unloaded all the pressure onto the White Fang, and delivered a heavy backstab.

Kondo Kunihiko thought this approach would at most stigmatize Hatake Sakumo and suppress the reputation of this White Fang of the Leaf, but after the White Fang died, the situation completely changed.

Damaging the reputation of a Shadow-level ninja and forcing a Shadow-level ninja to his death are two completely different things. No matter how deep Konoha's foundations are, it cannot ignore such a loss, not to mention that because of the White Fang's death, the Third Shinobi World War is on the verge of breaking out!

This has poked a hole in the sky, and since he knows so much, he might just be killed to silence him!

The only reason he isn't dead yet is because the White Fang only died recently; if he, a person involved, were to suddenly die as well, it would likely draw the eyes of Konoha ninja. But once this storm passes, his fate will not be good no matter what.

Even if he manages to barely save his life, he will likely have to go to some dark department, live under an assumed name for the rest of his life, and do dirty work until he dies.

Just as Kondo Kunihiko was filled with pessimistic thoughts, there was a sudden bang at the door, followed by a low male voice:

"Kondo Kunihiko, you've been exposed!"

Kondo Kunihiko, who was already lost in wild thoughts, was shocked. Without a word, he slammed into the window with a boom, intending to turn and flee!

"What's wrong with this guy? Could it be that he has a guilty conscience?"

Uchiha Feiyu, who had kicked open the door, blinked and asked Kakashi beside him.

Kakashi, who had been dragged here by Uchiha Feiyu, had initially been hesitant about this act of venting anger. Seeing Kondo Kunihiko flee the room without even making contact, he was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage:

"This guy has a problem! Let's chase him!"

After saying this, Kakashi, who had been hesitant and dragged along, leaped up, faint electricity flickering on his body, and chased directly after Kondo Kunihiko.

Kondo Kunihiko ran out of the room, and only after being hit by the cold wind did he calm down. He looked left and right, but didn't see a dozen Anbu surrounding him, and his heart suddenly sank:

Wait, why am I running? If it were really the Anbu coming in to take action, would they kick the door and shout?

Having regained his senses, Kondo Kunihiko turned his head and happened to see Kakashi jumping onto the roof; the expression on his face became somewhat distorted.

It's actually that brat Kakashi! This is bad... doesn't my behavior clearly show that I have a guilty conscience?

Kakashi stood on the roof, looking coldly at Kondo Kunihiko:

"You bastard, are you going to surrender yourself, or should I beat you up and send you to the Intelligence Department?"

Send me to the Intelligence Department?! Kondo Kunihiko's scalp went numb. The village's Intelligence Department is not a good place; those who go there almost always lose a layer of skin!

Those intelligence ninja don't perform interrogations; they go straight to using Genjutsu for torture. If Genjutsu doesn't work, they simply use mental Secret Techniques to search memories!

If a small problem occurs during the process of viewing memories, it is very easy to leave behind some mental Aftereffects in the brain.

During this process, if one or two ninja who hold a grudge against him because of the White Fang of the Leaf decide to mess with him, will he have any way to survive!?

What's even worse is that although he is not a spy, he did indeed play an inglorious role in the White Fang incident, and he still doesn't know who the person who forced him to play that role was.

In other words, there was indeed someone fanning the flames behind the White Fang's death, and he can be almost certain it was someone from the village's High Command, but he never even saw that High Command member's face.

You say he is Konoha High Command, so he is High Command? I could also say he was definitely a spy or traitor from another village! This matter simply cannot be explained clearly!

No, to be precise, Konoha High Command will definitely not take the blame; this pot will ultimately be dumped on his own head! By then, he will have to die miserably under the stigma of being a spy for another ninja village!

Are you telling me to go to the Intelligence Department??!

You are trying to take my life!!

The more Kondo Kunihiko thought, the more afraid he became. His expression kept changing, from panic to fear, from fear to suspicion, and then from suspicion to determination. All of this was seen by Kakashi.

As a genius ninja, especially with his father being the head of the Anbu, Kakashi had also received training and knew how to observe.

Isn't that a guilty expression on this guy's face? His body is slightly tilted, his footsteps are shifting, his eyes are flickering—what is he trying to do? Trying to escape?

Sure enough! Now it is certain, this guy definitely has a guilty conscience!

Huh, this guy's expression changed again. This kind of expression...

I have learned this expression too—no, I have seen it. This is the expression of someone putting up a desperate struggle!

Good, so you are planning to resist to the end!

(End of chapter)