Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 14 An Unexpected Enemy

After rejecting Might Guy's special training method, the three of them only conducted some general combat training at Kakashi's house before returning to their respective homes.

After leaving Kakashi's house, Uchiha Touyu headed straight for his own home. However, halfway there, he sensed that Hatake Sakumo's soul emotions suddenly became agitated.

"What's wrong? Did you run into someone you know?"

Uchiha Tou asked with some curiosity, then turned his head to look in the direction of Hatake Sakumo's gaze and saw a ninja who looked somewhat familiar.

He was certain he had seen this ninja before, but couldn't recall his name. Clearly, he wasn't a close acquaintance; perhaps this guy had left a deep impression on him at some point... Right, wasn't this the bastard teammate that Hatake Sakumo rescued?

"So it's this guy... Are you looking for revenge, Sakumo Hatake-senpai?"

Uchiha Touyu asked a question, and Hatake Sakumo gave a wry smile:

"I'm in this state now, how can I possibly seek revenge? Besides, he's a Konoha ninja after all. Attacking a ninja without a reason won't do you any good."

"Don't worry... Don't forget our age. It's normal for ninjas our age to be a little impulsive!"

"I don't think you're the kind of impulsive ninja. Didn't you say your life goal was to do little and get more, to reap without sowing... Wait?! What did you say, 'we'?!"

Hatake Sakumo didn't think that "we" referred to himself and Uchiha Touyu. He wasn't some impulsive kid. It was obvious who it referred to—his precious son.

Uchiha Touyu's words confirmed Hatake Sakumo's guess. He said in a low voice:

"Of course it'll be us! I'll give the advice from behind the scenes, and then Kakashi and Guy will go and beat that guy up. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Theoretically speaking, this guy and Kakashi have a blood feud, and Kakashi only beat him up, which is already very restrained."

"The key issue... shouldn't just be about beating people up!"

"It seems you're quite knowledgeable, Sakumo Hatake-senpai! So you were still driven to the point of contemplating suicide?"

Upon hearing about his suicide attempt again, Hatake Sakumo felt a little embarrassed. After being relentlessly attacked by Uchiha Touyu these past few days, the White Fang of Konoha had come to consider that incident a dark chapter in his life.

However, now is not the time to worry about such things. Sakumo Hatake spoke with a rather serious expression:

"I did see something was wrong. What Bangyan said at my doorstep was clearly an attempt to stir up public opinion... There must be someone else behind him..."

"Just say he's being manipulated by a high-ranking Konoha official! Sakumo-senpai, which Konoha official do you think is behind him?"

"How would I know about this? And maybe it's not a high-ranking official in Konoha, but a ninja spy from another village..."

"If he were a spy from another ninja village, he'd probably be captured and tortured by now, right? I don't believe Konoha would show any mercy to a spy who killed a ninja of your caliber!"

Sakumo Hatake was speechless. Even if the other party was indeed a spy from another ninja village, he should have been the first to be investigated after his suicide!

Since the other party was not investigated, it is obviously because the higher-ups of the ninja village did not suspect that this guy was a spy at all. The only reason is that this guy's actions were instigated by the higher-ups of the ninja village.

Seeing that Hatake Sakumo remained silent, Uchiha Touma immediately shook his head:

"Looks like you can't even fool yourself with that!"

"Aren't you afraid of attracting the attention of Konoha's higher-ups?"

"That's why we're having Kakashi lead the charge! It's not unusual for someone to act irrationally because of their father's death!"

"You should know that after your death, public opinion underwent a complete 180-degree turn. If we don't act now, it will be too late if we wait too long!"

"I refuse to believe that the Konoha leadership would punish Kakashi for his impulsive actions!"

Hatake Sakumo was stunned for a moment. His memory was stuck on the day he died, but he never imagined that his death would bring about a series of consequences.

"Unexpectedly... after my death, public opinion reversed... I initially thought the villagers were still cursing me because the area in front of the Hatake family's house was so deserted!"

"Death is a serious matter! As long as someone isn't a truly inhuman villain, dying will at least leave them with a good reputation!"

"Okay, stop talking. I already regret it so much. Now I think I must have been out of my mind to even think about suicide!"

"Even with a good excuse, Kunihiko is a Special Jonin. If we don't count you, Kakashi alone wouldn't be a match for him!"

"A special Jonin? That's not unexpected."

Uchiha Touyu remained unmoved. Anyone who could appear alongside Konoha's White Fang on an S-rank mission couldn't possibly be an ordinary Chunin or Genin. At the very least, he must be a Special Jonin with some special skill. Otherwise, he would just be a complete hindrance during the mission.

However, since Uchiha Touyu already had an idea, he naturally already had a countermeasure in mind:

"Don't worry, Senior Shuo Mao, the technique of binding spirits and commanding generals can be used on more than just myself."

"I can use the Spirit Binding Technique to allow you to directly possess Kakashi's body. Since you two are father and son and have a strong blood relationship, there won't be much consumption when you possess Kakashi."

"With your combat awareness and experience, Sakumo-senpai, even using Kakashi's body, dealing with a special Jonin wouldn't be difficult, right?"

The "Spirit Binding and Conquering" technique, one of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques, has completely transformed Sakumo Hatake's body, making him more like the spirits below the level of a single person, and giving him the ability to directly possess others.

However, only Uchiha Hiu, who possesses the Spirit Binding Technique, can fully utilize Hatake Sakumo's spirit. Not only will he not be harmed, but he will also gain a portion of the spirit's power. If others are possessed, both Hatake Sakumo and the possessed person will suffer some harm.

In other words, since Kakashi, as a direct descendant of Hatake Sakumo, would not receive any special benefits after possessing the body, there would also be no backlash, which is why Uchiha Touyu proposed this plan.

The chakra system practiced by ninjas focuses more on techniques than on principles, so the essential nature of most ninjas' lives is actually not that different.

Even if Sakumo Hatake were to control Kakashi's body, his physique and chakra would allow him to exert strength exceeding that of an average Jonin, making it not difficult for him to deal with a Special Jonin.

(End of this chapter)