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Cold winds howled, lifting a flurry of fallen leaves. The already chilly atmosphere around the Memorial Stone area grew even more frigid.
After asking his question, Gensou turned his head calmly.
He saw a man standing beside him, dressed in gray-blue ninja attire, his eyes, ears, and neck, as well as the top of his head above his forehead protector, wrapped in white-gray bandages, with a complex expression on his face.
This was Hagoromo Suzumebachi, a Konoha Chunin, member of the Intelligence Analysis Squad, and a former proctor for the Chunin Exams. His current superior was Yamanaka Inoichi.
Though his resume wasn't as dazzling as that of the Jonin, his position in the Intelligence Analysis Squad, where he had first access to internal and external information, made him highly trusted by the Hokage.
Suzumebachi was one of the most important informants the Hagoromo clan had placed in Konoha.
Gensou had already notified Konoha's Hagoromo clan informants of his arrival.
While Sōsuke had promptly revealed his identity, knowing it meant he could never return to Konoha, Suzumebachi was different.
He had not taken the initiative to contact Gensou during this period. He had approached several times but always retreated at the last moment.
This behavior gave Gensou a suspicion, so he asked calmly:
"Where is the Fifth Hokage now?"
As expected, Suzumebachi remained silent.
After a moment, Suzumebachi sighed deeply and finally spoke, "I'm sorry, Clan Leader."
"Reason," Gensou said directly, still looking at Hashirama's tombstone.
Various emotions—guilt, fear, longing, relief—flashed across Suzumebachi's face.
After a moment of reflection, he responded slowly and heavily: "My grandfather... my father, my mother, and my wife all died fighting for Konoha."
"Don't you hate Konoha?" Gensou asked, staring at the dignified and stern photo of Hashirama on the tombstone.
"Hate? Of course, I hated it," Suzumebachi's eyes were complex. "But if I kept hating, wouldn't my grandfather, my parents, and my wife's sacrifices be meaningless? Wouldn't that be too absurd?"
"I'm sorry, Clan Leader. Although we are descendants of the Hagoromo clan, living in Konoha for decades has made us fully integrate into it. At least, my deceased relatives genuinely wanted to fight for Konoha, not because they were forced to."
Upon hearing this, Gensou reached out to catch a falling leaf, his fingers tracing its unique veins. He said indifferently: "So, you're an inheritor of the Will of Fire?"
"Yes!" Suzumebachi replied firmly.
Gensou understood.
Since taking over the Hagoromo clan at Jomae Village and understanding the current situation, he had anticipated this outcome.
Dispersing the clan to ensure its survival had brought about fragmentation.
No matter how much they emphasized their heritage, the clan members growing up in different places, cultures, and educations had developed distinct characteristics.
Over time, signs of a complete split would become increasingly apparent.
Unless a highly reputable and powerful figure emerged to reunite everyone.
Currently, Gensou played that role.
However, some individuals were beyond change.
Like Suzumebachi's lineage. Gensou could understand Suzumebachi's choice.
He wasn't angry and casually dropped the leaf, reminding the other, "Since you've made your choice, the worst thing is to be indecisive. You should have brought the Konoha forces here, not come alone."
Suzumebachi shook his head with a bitter smile, "Though I am a part of Konoha, the blood of the Hagoromo still flows in me. I could never harm the Clan Leader."
Gensou also shook his head, saying, "This will only bring misfortune to you."
"I understand," Suzumebachi replied with determination.
He took a deep breath and said, "As a Hagoromo clan intelligence agent in Konoha, I know my betrayal would bring terrible consequences to the clan. So, Clan Leader, I will end this with my death. I only have one request."
"Speak."
"My son. He has never left Konoha and doesn't know he's a Hagoromo descendant. I hope he can live in Konoha without any burdens, not having to bear the weight of the 'Hagoromo' name like I did."
Gensou paused for a moment, then nodded, "I understand."
He then turned to face Suzumebachi, saying seriously, "I apologize. In truth, it's because of me that we were separated."
"Without you, the fate of the Hagoromo clan would have been much worse," Suzumebachi replied sincerely, bowing deeply before turning to leave.
He needed time to say goodbye to his son.
Gensou didn't stop him.
When an intelligence agent defects, even if a guarantee of secrecy is given, the outcome is often death.
This is the way of survival for a clan or organization.
Gensou had long understood this truth.
After one last look at Hashirama's tomb, with nothing more to say, he also turned and left.
Arriving at the bustling street.
Gensou caught a three- or four-year-old girl who was playing and almost bumped into him.
The girl politely thanked him, "Thank you, uncle."
"Call me brother."
Gensou patted the girl's bun and, noticing a familiar face, signaled her to go play while he approached.
"That Gensou I saw with my own eyes is terrifying. I'm worried Sasuke might be in danger with him."
"Don't worry, Sakura. Even though Sasuke's unhesitating defection makes me furious, he's not stupid and must have his reasons. Besides, despite Gensou's fearsome reputation, he's actually a good person in some ways."
"A good person? Gensou? Ino, are you out of your mind? Let me check your forehead."
"Check your own wide forehead. Sakura, I'm telling the truth. Really! My family has records of Gensou's life."
Gensou raised an eyebrow and inserted himself into the conversation, curious: "Sakura, Ino, I heard you talking about Gensou. I'm curious about him too."
"What kind of person is Gensou to you?"
(End of Chapter)
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"Dr. Sōsuke!!" Hearing a familiar voice, Ino quickly turned around, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she greeted "Dr. Sōsuke."
Sakura, though not as animated as Ino, still had a favorable impression of the doctor who had taught her and greeted him warmly.
"Sorry to interrupt your conversation. I just heard you talking about Hagoromo Gensou, and I'm also very interested in learning more about him."
Gensou explained with a "sincere" expression.
He was curious about how ordinary people, not those high-ranking individuals who saw everyone as part of their own circle, viewed him.
Upon hearing this, although she didn't understand why "Dr. Sōsuke" was so interested in Gensou, Sakura unhesitatingly voiced her opinion:
"Hagoromo Gensou must be a big bad guy like Orochimaru. Otherwise, why would the Hokage and everyone else be so wary of him?"
Upon hearing Sakura's words, Ino immediately stopped admiring the handsome doctor and quickly retorted, "Being wary of someone's strength doesn't mean they're a bad person. You have to look at their entire life's actions to judge them."
"Forcing people to hand over secret techniques? Kidnapping Sasuke?" Sakura retorted bluntly.
Ino's expression faltered but quickly waved her hands dismissively, "Those are isolated incidents. You can't judge someone's entire character based on a few actions."
Before Sakura could continue arguing, Ino adopted a revealing expression and said, "You won't believe it! Because of Gensou's reappearance in the ninja world, I specifically went to our clan's library and found a book recording his life written by our ancestors."
"Cough, cough, you know, the Yamanaka clan has been around since the Warring States period and, as experts in intelligence, has uncovered many secrets of the ninja world."
"The Yamanaka clan's reputation is well known," Gensou nodded.
Although not as prominent as the top ninja clans of the Warring States period, the combination of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, along with their ally the Sarutobi clan, made their collective influence significant in the ninja world.
Sakura, from an ordinary family, could only feel envious.
"So," Ino snapped her fingers dramatically and revealed, "according to our ancestors' records, the real Hagoromo Gensou is nothing like we imagined."
"Sakura, do you remember those knight novels and comics we used to read when we were kids?"
Don't doubt the existence of knights in the Naruto world. This is a world where things like rap and English phrases are casually mentioned.
Sakura, hearing this, glanced embarrassedly at "Dr. Sōsuke" and quickly waved her hands, "We're ninjas now, why bring up childhood stuff?"
Recalling the embarrassing memories of clinging to those novels and comics, fantasizing about the handsome protagonists riding white horses, kneeling before them to declare their love, and even arguing with Ino over which protagonist was better, made Sakura feel like she was being executed on the spot.
However, Ino's next words made her shock override her embarrassment.
"Actually, during the Warring States period, Hagoromo Gensou's actions were very much like those of knights and heroes in the stories."
"What???"
Sakura immediately forgot her childhood embarrassments, unable to believe her ears, "Hagoromo Gensou? A knight? A hero?"
She couldn't reconcile this image.
The man who had approached her, whose mere presence made her tremble with fear; the man who Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and the Hokage were all wary of; the man who had schemed to live a second life, causing the entire ninja world to tremble in fear of what he might do next.
Could he really be the knight and hero Ino described?
Hagoromo Gensou raised an eyebrow at this.
Then he and Sakura listened to Ino's detailed recounting.
"In the 132nd year of the Fire Nation calendar, in the village of Fuyū, a ninja tyrannized the villagers, killing 23 people and taking 14 women, torturing 10 of them to death. No one dared resist. Hagoromo Gensou encountered this and killed the ninja in anger."
Old memories resurfaced in Gensou's mind as Ino spoke.
He remembered that year, at the age of fourteen, he had left the Hagoromo clan's territory, traveling through the ninja world and passing through a village called Fuyū.
There were many villagers, but the atmosphere was oppressive, even during a wedding.
Upon learning that the village's only ninja was marrying a bride and had already killed ten young women, Gensou didn't hesitate to kill the mediocre ninja.
The matter was simple, just a minor effort for him, but for the villagers, it was a lifelong memory that spread and was somehow recorded by the Yamanaka clan.
"In the 133rd year of the Fire Nation calendar, in the town of Hakuryō, a Kaguya clan ninja with the Shikotsumyaku lost control and slaughtered 3,125 people. Gensou encountered him, fought for half a day, and killed him despite being severely injured."
Gensou recalled a Kaguya ninja whose Shikotsumyaku was highly developed and who had been consumed by killing intent.
The crazier the Kaguya clan members became, the more dangerous they were.
Back then, as a young man, he had taken a long time and nearly lost his life to kill the ninja.
Was it unwise to provoke such a formidable enemy?
Seeing so many people die, including a little girl in pain who, despite trembling, reached out to him before collapsing and never standing up again.
How could he stand by?
"In the 135th year of the Fire Nation calendar, during a great famine, the lord of Ishikawa Castle refused to open the granary, leading to cannibalism outside the castle. Gensou killed the lord in anger, opened the granary, and saved countless lives."
That year, Gensou witnessed the true horror of "famine and cannibalism" described in history books.
What infuriated him more was seeing the lord of Ishikawa Castle hosting lavish banquets, throwing large amounts of leftover food to stray dogs out of "kindness."
Without a word, Gensou threw the "kind" lord to the dogs as well, and then opened the granary, as the books recorded.
Of course, this act angered the higher authorities.
"In the 136th year of the Fire Nation calendar, he killed three ninjas who practiced forbidden techniques using human organs…"
"In the 137th year of the Fire Nation calendar, he killed twelve nobles who hunted humans for sport…"
"In the 138th year of the Fire Nation calendar…"
Listening to Ino recount the life of Gensou incident by incident.
Sakura went from disbelief to shock to silence, her face complex with emotions.
Gensou himself remained silent for a long time.
(End of Chapter)