Chapter 87: White Fang's Mission
Hokage Building
"Sakumo, this mission is extremely dangerous. I'm counting on you."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Hatake Sakumo, clad in a standard Konoha flak jacket with a distinctive white armband bearing a red triangle on his left shoulder, carried the White Light Chakra Sabre across his back.
He was Konoha's feared White Fang—a name that struck fear in shinobi across all nations.
With solemn respect, he accepted the mission scroll handed to him by the Third Hokage.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, puffing quietly on his pipe, exhaled heavily.
The Land of Wind had recently grown increasingly unstable. The Third Kazekage, considered the strongest in their history, was rapidly expanding the military, and even academy students were being forced to graduate early.
The eastern border near the Land of Fire was now heavily fortified with all kinds of supplies and stockpiles.
This behavior, though not outright aggressive, had triggered Hiruzen's instincts.
Early graduation. Stockpiled provisions. Border reinforcements.
Whether it was war preparation or not, one thing was clear—if those stockpiles were destroyed, the enemy would lose any immediate advantage.
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Eastern Border of the Land of Wind — Sand Shinobi Stronghold
The Sand Shinobi commander wiped sweat from his brow. He already knew the identity of the figure standing before him.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of Sunagakure shinobi surrounded a single masked ninja wielding a glowing short sword.
The chakra-infused blade danced like a whip, its radiant edge extending dozens of meters, radiating violent wind chakra.
"Wind Style Secret Technique: Gale Stream Slash!"
With a fluid motion of the blade, scores of Sand Shinobi burst into smoke—revealed to be clones, substitution jutsu, or simply reduced to blood and sand.
But they kept coming.
"Captain! I'm sorry! I'm the one slowing you down—please go on without me!"
A cloaked member of the White Fang squad, dressed in hooded gear without any identifying symbols, staggered with dozens of kunai and shuriken lodged in his body.
"Take him out of here—now!"
"Yes!"
Obedience was swift. The other two squad members supported their injured comrade and fled through the gap their captain had carved open.
From behind came the furious voice of the Sand commander:
"Do not let them escape!"
Sakumo, still holding his short sword, turned and stepped forward to cover his squad's retreat.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Blade!"
The White Light Chakra Sabre suddenly crackled with an explosive charge of lightning chakra, expanding into a twenty-meter blade of lightning. Irregular arcs of current danced and hissed along its surface.
Without a word, the White Fang advanced.
The electric blade cut and seared through all in his path. The elite Sand Shinobi dodged the blade, but the chaotic lightning currents struck indiscriminately—dozens of ninja fell, writhing in agony.
Despite their numbers, the Sand Shinobi were overwhelmed.
The commander, growing desperate, signaled his guards to unleash a barrage of explosive kunai.
Boom!
The detonations filled the air mid-flight, an attempt to slow him.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
"Earth Style: Earth Prison Dome!"
Two of the commander's guards quickly performed jutsu. A barrier of earth rose, followed by a massive dome-shaped wall behind it—meant to trap the intruder in a makeshift kill zone.
The commander used the moment to retreat, hoping the layered defense would buy them enough time to overwhelm or finish him off.
They needed only to exhaust his chakra and close in.
But then—
"Lightning Style Secret Technique: Thundering Tiger!"
A giant lightning tiger, over thirty meters tall and glowing white-hot, erupted forward.
It not only disintegrated the barrage of explosives but tore through both layers of Earth Style ninjutsu, leaving scorched craters in its path.
With a thunderous roar, the tiger surged forward, incinerating everything in its way. Sand Shinobi who were grazed were incapacitated. Those directly hit were killed instantly.
The commander, barely escaping its path, knew he would've been reduced to ash if he'd hesitated even a second longer.
Seeing their jutsu dismantled and the beast bearing down on them, the remaining guards initiated their final contingency.
"Detonate!"
It turned out the ground for nearly a hundred meters had been laced with explosive tags—a last-ditch mutual destruction tactic.
A massive explosion engulfed the battlefield, creating a mushroom cloud and flattening everyone within range. Even those far from the blast radius were knocked over by the shockwave.
When the smoke cleared, the surviving Sand Shinobi regrouped—only to spot a bloody figure retreating swiftly toward the horizon.
Blood trailed behind him—but he was still alive.
"He escaped! That must be Konoha's White Fang!"
"He actually rescued his entire team... if he hadn't, our entire border supply line would've been wiped out!"
"That combination of kenjutsu and ninjutsu… terrifying power."
"So that's White Fang... how does Konoha have a monster like that?"
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Konoha — Hokage Building
Sarutobi Hiruzen reviewed the mission report. His face darkened as he reached the final section, which documented the mission failure and its cause.
"Had the Anbu not responded in time, the White Fang's squad would have been annihilated," Danzo said.
Danzo stood beside the Third Hokage, seizing the moment to sing the praises of Root.
"To think someone like Sakumo would make such a basic mistake…"
Danzo's tone was pointed. Sarutobi's expression grew grimmer.
But despite Danzo's provocation, Hiruzen exhaled slowly.
"Failure is failure. There's no such thing as an undefeated shinobi. This mission… was simply too dangerous."
Even as he tried to be understanding, the pressure of war planning bore down on him.
"Sunagakure is mobilizing. We'll need to gather supplies, increase patrols along the western front, and send additional shinobi. It'll be costly and complicated."
"I understand. I'll take care of it," Danzo said with a bow, then turned and left without waiting for dismissal.
As he descended the stairs of the Hokage building, Danzo muttered to the Anbu accompanying him:
"Leak this failed mission to the public. Let them talk. Let Sakumo's name rot."
"Yes, sir."
The two Anbu nodded, then vanished with Body Flicker Technique.
Danzo smirked to himself.
"Hiruzen, why pretend to be conflicted? I'm just doing the dirty work you're too proud to admit you want done."
---
Konoha — Streets
Uchiha Muhuo, a senior officer of the Konoha Military Police Force, was patrolling with three genin guards. They wore the signature navy-blue hats and tunics, with black pants and a green Uchiha fan on their sleeves. On their shoulders was the word "Public Security."
As they made their rounds, Muhuo began to notice murmurs among the villagers.
"Heard about White Fang's failure?"
"Yeah, I heard the mission failed horribly."
"They said he completed the mission but abandoned it to save his team—what kind of shinobi does that?"
"No, no, I heard he defied the Hokage. He let the front collapse on purpose so he could swoop in later and act like a hero!"
"Exactly! More than a dozen shinobi died because of him!"
"I used to admire him… but now? What a disgrace. Bah!"
The guards frowned. This was supposed to be a highly classified, S-rank mission—yet the entire village seemed to know about it.
Everywhere they patrolled, gossip followed.
Muhuo turned to his subordinates.
"You three continue the patrol. I'm going to report to the section chief."
"Understood!"
He moved swiftly to the Security Division headquarters, where Uchiha Naraku was already waiting, arms folded.
Muhuo gave a sharp report.
"Lord Naraku, villagers everywhere are spreading rumors about Lord White Fang's mission. The S-rank secrecy has been completely compromised."
Uchiha Suke, the section chief, stood nearby.
"Shall we begin arrests for slander and spreading sensitive information?"
Naraku calmly waved them off.
"No need. Just stay on task. Continue patrols."
"Understood."
As they exited, Naraku frowned.
An S-rank mission leaked to the public before even the Police Force was briefed?
Something stinks.
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