This ninja in Naruto is unscientific

Chapter 142 Public Opinion Arises

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the seal down with a sharp "snap," leaving a bright red approval mark on the "Reform Plan for Medical Ninjas."

"Although equipping medical ninjas with guns might sound a bit unorthodox, given the current situation..."

The Third Hokage put down his pipe, glanced at the increasingly gloomy sky outside the window, and sighed.

"As long as it reduces casualties, we'll do as you say. I'll have the Ministry of Finance prioritize the allocation of the first batch of budget."

Standing in front of the desk, Tsunade crossed her arms, a smug smile on her lips. She turned to look at Nishikawa Tetsu, raising an eyebrow as if to say, "Done."

Nishikawa Tetsu put away the file.

"Thank you for your support, Hokage-sama. We will arrange the production line immediately."

Stepping out of the Hokage Building, the afternoon sun was a bit too bright.

Nishikawa Tetsu stretched, his joints making a slight cracking sound.

He strolled leisurely towards the commercial street, intending to stop by and check out the sales of Tianxi Ninja Tools Store's new products.

However, as I passed an izakaya, a deliberately hushed murmur drifted out through the half-open window.

"Have you heard? Konoha's White Fang's mission this time..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down, that's Lord Sakumo."

"What kind of 'master' is he? He's really messed things up this time. I heard that in order to save a few Chunin who were surrounded, he abandoned the classified information he was about to obtain and withdrew with his men."

"Really? That was an S-rank mission! Because of his retreat, the village suffered huge losses this time."

"I heard about it too. The guy who was rescued is crying in the hospital, saying he'd rather die than let the mission fail. Now everyone's saying White Fang is acting on emotion and doesn't deserve to be a captain..."

Nishikawa Tetsu stopped in his tracks.

He stood in the shadows of the izakaya, a coin he had just taken out of his hand stopping spinning between his fingers.

Although the sound was very soft, it sounded particularly jarring at that moment.

"Are they here...?"

Nishikawa Tetsu's eyes instantly turned cold.

He knows this plot all too well.

Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha, a man whose strength surpassed that of the Sannin, did not die by the enemy's blade, but by the gossip and accusations of those he had saved.

In the original work, it was this incident that led to a dramatic change in Kakashi's personality.

This public opinion is only just beginning to emerge.

Most people were only discussing it privately, and it did not form a wave of criticism throughout the village.

"If things had continued on their original trajectory, this fire would have burned ever brighter until it reduced Sakumo-senpai's psychological defenses to ashes."

Nishikawa Tetsu put away the coin, turned around, and changed direction.

Instead of going to the ninja tool shop, he went straight to the editorial department of the Konoha Weekly. He had already bought the newspaper, spending a considerable amount of his own money on it, but in the long run, it was still worth it.

This will come in handy.

……

"Editor-in-chief! What's this week's headline? Is it the Akimichi clan's eating contest, or the amusing law enforcement anecdotes of Uchiha Hima?"

Inside the editorial department, several clerical staff members were busily typesetting the pages.

"Take all of those away."

Nishikawa Tetsu pushed open the door and entered, bringing with him a gust of cold wind.

Everyone froze, staring in surprise at the behind-the-scenes boss who rarely came to the editorial department in person.

Nishikawa Tetsu walked to the editor-in-chief's desk, picked up a fountain pen, and scribbled a few large characters on the white paper.

"Use this for tomorrow's headlines."

The editor-in-chief leaned closer to take a look, and his pupils contracted slightly.

The headline wasn't some gossip news, but rather a line of startling, bold text:

[Life comes first! Konoha's White Fang did not abandon his mission; instead, he protected Konoha's future!]

"This..." The editor hesitated. "Boss, there are some rumors circulating lately, saying that Lord Sakumo this time..."

"Rumors are rumors, and the truth is the truth."

Nishikawa Tetsu interrupted him, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Who defines mission failure? Does failing to obtain intelligence automatically constitute failure?"

He tapped on the table, the sound echoing in the quiet editorial office.

"At this critical juncture, are several experienced Chunin, or even future Jonin prospects, less valuable than a cold, hard intelligence scroll?"

"As long as you're alive, you can do more tasks. But when you die, everything is gone."

"What we need to do is not to dance to those stupid rumors, but to define public opinion."

Nishikawa Tetsu pulled out a draft he had just written from his pocket and slapped it on the table.

"Write it this way, emphasizing that: Sakumo Hatake made the most difficult and greatest decision after weighing the pros and cons, in order to preserve Konoha's fighting force. He bore the infamy, but brought back his comrades."

"The article should downplay the concept of mission failure and focus on depicting how Sakumo-senpai fought against hundreds of enemies to protect his comrades in dire circumstances, and how he never abandoned them. Portray that reassuring figure! Make every parent who reads this newspaper think: If my child went to war, I hope his captain would be Hatake Sakumo!"

"And let the data speak for itself—what is the cost of training a mature ninja? How much value can these rescued ninjas create in the future? Let the numbers tell the villagers that White Fang brought back not a burden, but an asset to the village!"

"I'll label that guy who was crying in the hospital saying he'd rather die than fail the mission as having severe post-traumatic stress disorder. In the reports, imply that he's mentally deranged and cognitively distorted due to extreme fear, and that his words shouldn't be taken seriously. He's a mental patient who needs compassion and treatment, not some so-called ninja with backbone."

The editor-in-chief was stunned, his pen trembling.

Turning the accusations of the person involved into the ravings of a madman... that's a ruthless move.

"Do you understand?"

"yes!"

The entire editorial department instantly sprang into action, the sound of typewriters clattering away like a battle without gunfire.

After settling things at the newspaper office, Nishikawa Tetsu didn't stop.

In the war of public opinion, it's not enough to just have pens; you also need guns.

He turned and walked out of the editorial office, heading straight for the police force chief's office.

"Fugaku-senpai, we've got some work to do."

Pushing open the door, Nishikawa Tetsu looked at Uchiha Fugaku, who was drinking tea, and got straight to the point.

"You know about Sakumo-senpai, right?"

Fugaku nodded, his brow furrowed. "I heard about it. The assistant administrator reported it. White Fang's mission was top secret, I don't know how it leaked out. Those ignorant fools have no idea what White Fang's level of combat power means to the village."

"Therefore, it's time for the police department to take action."

Fugaku nodded. Although White Fang's relationship with the police department wasn't that good, he had helped her to some extent.

"I will inform the Public Security Section to increase patrols recently. If anyone on the street openly spreads remarks that insult heroes or undermine morale, whether they are drunk or have ulterior motives, they will be brought back for questioning on charges of 'disturbing public order.'"

"Find out the source. If it's just ordinary villagers complaining, that's one thing, but if it's certain people stirring things up behind the scenes..."

Fugaku didn't finish his sentence, but Nishikawa Tetsu understood the chill in his tone.

If it's someone with ulterior motives or a spy from an enemy country causing trouble, then the police department's "civilized law enforcement" might be a little too rough.

"We can also have the members of the Hyuga branch family keep an eye out for groups of people telling stories while they're on patrol," Nishikawa Tetsu added. "Public opinion is also a battlefield, and we can't let rumors take our ground."

Fugaku put down his teacup, stood up, and straightened his police uniform.

"Don't worry, Sakumo Hatake is not only Konoha's White Fang, but also a friend of our police department. I'll be the first to object to anyone trying to harm a friend of our police department!"

"In this incident, I sent Yashiro to lead a team to 'rectify the atmosphere.' The Criminal Investigation Department has been too idle lately, so it's a good opportunity to give them something to do and get them to cooperate with the Public Security Department."

Nishikawa Tetsu walked to the window and looked in the direction of the Hatake mansion in the distance.

The place was brightly lit, and one could almost see the silver-haired man wiping his dagger in the courtyard.

"Trying to use moral blackmail to drive a hero to suicide? Did you even ask me?"