Chapter 143: Your Life Is Already Counting Down.
“Lady Chiyo, why do we have to lower ourselves like this?”
Outside the Uchiha clan district, the young Baki frowned at the elderly Chiyo walking beside him.
This was the first time he had ever seen Sunagakure acting so meekly, even to the point of seeming like they were begging for negotiations.
And Lady Chiyo’s attitude confused him even more.
Even if they were here to negotiate, was there really any need to be this humble?
Only three years older than Kakashi, Baki was already one of Sunagakure’s jōnin, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa’s right-hand man, and the future mentor of the Three Siblings, playing a key role in Gaara eventually becoming Kazekage.
On this trip, he was part of the negotiation delegation, tasked with protecting Lady Chiyo.
He was young and full of fire.
In his mind, Sunagakure was unmatched.
Which was normal—no shinobi would ever admit their village was weaker than another.
That was why, from the start, he thought the Kazekage was overreacting.
He’d heard rumors about the devastation in the Land of Earth, but rumors were just rumors.
One thing was certain: Konoha and Iwagakure had clashed.
From his perspective, this was the perfect opportunity to mobilize an army and invade the Land of Fire.
The last thing he expected was for the Kazekage to back down—to want to resolve things through negotiation, to even offer to admit Sunagakure’s previous opportunistic attack on Konoha and compensate for it.
That wasn’t the style of the Sand.
Had the Will of Wind lost all its sharpness?
If it were only that, he could still grudgingly accept it.
After all, leaders had to consider far more than someone like him.
But after arriving in Konoha, his anger erupted.
The impatience in how Konoha welcomed them, the pointing fingers and whispers behind their backs—he found it infuriating.
On top of that, they’d already been in the village for a while, yet every time they asked to meet the Hokage, the answer was always “busy with official duties.”
What kind of logic was that?!
They had come to negotiate first, which was doing Konoha a favor.
And this was how they were treated?
And now they were even being asked to go plead with some kid.
How could he stomach such humiliation?
The Baki of today was far from the calm, steady shinobi he would eventually become. His restless irritation made him look downright unpleasant.
“You still haven’t noticed?”
Chiyo beside him remained composed, as though everything was unfolding exactly as she expected.
“My apologies, but what is it I’ve failed to notice?”
Baki frowned.
“If your eyes are dull, keep looking. Don’t speak nonsense.”
Chiyo tilted her head slightly toward him. “You’re a jōnin, yet you can’t feel the changes in Konoha. That’s negligence.”
“You should know what Konoha was like after the Third Shinobi World War. Even though they won, the place was lifeless—nothing about it suggested any threat.”
“But look at it now. That vitality, that momentum Sunagakure completely lacks… it proves one thing.”
“Konoha, the number one village, has awakened.”
Chiyo shook her head, a hint of emotion in her voice.
How did I not see it?
Baki froze, stunned.
“Especially when we arrived—you saw the names on that so-called Wall of Honor.”
“Doesn’t one of them sound familiar?”
“Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha. The Konoha criminal who killed my son and daughter-in-law.”
The Wall of Honor was still being completed, and the curious Chiyo had taken a look.
She could overlook the other names, but Sakumo Hatake—she would never forget him for as long as she lived.
He assassinated her brilliant son and daughter-in-law, then escaped without a trace.
To her, that was the deepest agony of her life.
Yet what Konoha did afterward oddly brought her comfort. That so-called hero, the moment the war ended, became a criminal—driven to suicide.
Laughable, Konoha.
Turning a hero into a criminal takes only one mission.
When she heard the news, she laughed so hard she ate five or six bowls of rice, utterly delighted.
But when she saw that man’s name on the wall, she suddenly understood.
Konoha had truly changed.
They dared to acknowledge their past darkness and were now pushing everything toward the light.
A village like that was terrifying.
Chiyo took a deep breath, no longer wishing to explain anything.
Baki had only recently become a jōnin—his mindset was far from steady. Entering negotiations with such impatience would only magnify the risk.
“When we meet Hakken, don’t speak. Not a single word.”
“Otherwise, you’ll die.”
Chiyo gave Baki a long, heavy look. For Sunagakure’s sake, she was willing to lower herself. As for coming here to meet Hakken, it was because she already understood the truth.
The one who would ultimately make the final decisions in the negotiation… was that boy.
The boy who defeated the Raikage and threw the Land of Earth into chaos.
Why did Konoha always produce such terrifying geniuses…
Chiyo truly couldn’t understand.
“Both of you, please follow me.”
Just as Baki was inwardly scoffing—thinking he’d tell Chiyo there was nothing to fear from some brat—the Uchiha messenger returned.
Following him through the Uchiha grounds, they eventually arrived before Hakken.
The scene was… strange.
Two toddlers were rolling on the ground, wrestling fiercely. The blond one with whisker-like marks on his cheeks had grabbed the Uchiha-clan-robed child by a very sacred, absolutely untouchable area.
Well… “grabbed” wasn’t quite right—“yanking” would be more accurate.
Good heavens.
You can yank that?
Chiyo’s eyelid twitched madly.
They were fighting again.
Hakken sighed. He and Itachi each grabbed one child and finally pulled them apart.
During the scuffle, Sasuke had clearly been in pain—gritting his teeth before suddenly chomping down on Naruto’s cheek.
Indra and Ashura…
Two children carrying their chakra clashing was only natural.
Hakken could clearly sense two distinct auras on Naruto and Sasuke—one blazing and vigorous, the other cold and shadowed.
But chakra was only chakra.
Naruto and Sasuke were not Ashura and Indra. They were themselves.
“Heh, whose kids are these? Absolutely disgraceful. Aren’t their parents ashamed?”
A discordant voice cut through the air, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.
In that moment, Chiyo’s expression changed drastically.
It might have been meant as a joke—but it had obviously targeted the wrong person, especially in this situation.
Swish!
Blood sprayed into the air.
A horrifying sight unfolded.
Baki’s mouth had been sliced open in a clean, wide gash—his tongue already lying on the ground.
“If you can’t speak properly, I’ll help you keep your mouth shut.”
Hakken’s expression didn’t change. One hand held Naruto, the other Sasuke.
“Remember this. One of them is my younger brother. The other will be my future disciple.”
“Starting today, your life enters its countdown. One day, they’ll come and take it themselves.”