Chapter 174: Chapter 176: What a Legend You Are, Scapegoat King!
[Classic gekokujō]
[Oh, this is way more than just gekokujō. This is gekokujō stacked on top of gekokujō]
[Technically shouldn’t it be the lower overthrows the lower to overthrow the upper?]
[I mean, Gaara’s not wrong. The Wind Country’s missions were being contracted to Konoha by the Daimyo in the first place—Daimyo dies, Hidden Sand gets their work back]
[Grass (a type of exclamation), it really is "the enemy at Honnō-ji" isn’t it]
[What even is a Daimyo?]
[Think of him as something like a king]
[More like a Western European feudal lord, actually]
Gaara’s declaration earned Hanabi a small uptick in Popularity Points—though not much.
Gaara wasn’t the main protagonist of this story. He was a supporting character, so there was only so much "wool" to be sheared. The sheer audacity of killing the Daimyo, though, was enough to give Kankuro and Temari cold sweats.
Hanabi, for her part, was delighted by the chaos.
"That said, it’s still early. Let things brew for a while first..."
Let the bullets fly for a while.
In the meantime, Hanabi had materials to prepare. A new piece of equipment to build.
The Workshop could only be accessed by her main body. Even though there was virtually no difference between a Shadow Clone and the original, the Clone couldn’t enter the Workshop.
But not all work had to be done inside the Workshop.
She called Hikari over, and got to work.
"Are those... shoes?"
Hikari watched Hanabi grinding away at a heel.
Or rather—a blade.
"Technically they’re geta," the Shadow Clone said, "but made of steel."
She glanced up at the uniform worn by the girl called Nameless—Uchiha Hikari.
These shoes were based on Mumei’s from Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.
A pair of iron geta. Styled like an ordinary pair of wooden clogs, but the material was steel throughout. And the heels weren’t carved into a traditional multi-tooth style—they were blades, like the runner blades on ice skates.
There was also a hollow section at the heel, with a small bell fitted inside. Every step would produce a soft, clear ringing.
The original design was Mumei’s. Hanabi had made her own modifications.
(Mumei’s Iron Geta)
(Mumei in casual clothes)
(The official shoe design isn’t as nice as the fan art)
One important consideration: the heels couldn’t be too low.
The shortest person in Team 7 absolutely had to be Naruto. Non-negotiable.
"Can you actually walk in these? It feels like standing on knife blades."
And not exactly dull ones, either.
Maintaining balance like that seemed nearly impossible.
"It’s fine, actually—the balance part isn’t as hard as it looks. Layer a thin coat of chakra over them and it works like skating—smooth movement, no trouble walking."
Not every location worked for Zhuixia’s vertical maneuvering. And these blade-heels wouldn’t interfere with her normal walking either.
In everyday movement, Hanabi didn’t take particularly wide strides to begin with.
The construction itself wasn’t the end of the work, though.
Next came the paint: a lacquer coating in deep glossy black.
The raw steel color didn’t match the white silk stockings of her outfit, so it needed to be coated in that deep, brilliant black.
Then Hanabi applied decorative patterns on top, tying the shoes to the rest of her look.
Half a day of work, with Hikari’s help along the way—and the ice-blade geta were done.
"Heave—"
They were heavier than expected. Hooking and lifting them with just the toe strap wasn’t easy—she’d have to rely on chakra adhesion, or just lash them directly to her feet with Zhuixia’s bindings.
(And this one is Hanabi’s version~)
"Now—let the Ice Release channel through the blade tips...ha~"
This part Hanabi had borrowed from Western comics.
Concentrate Ice Release to the tips of the blades. While moving, a thin film of ice forms automatically—and she really could glide like a skater.
"Now for the striking power."
Hanabi lifted her skirt, stepped outside the villa, and chose a target: one of the great trees nearby.
A quick, snapping kick.
Boom.
The tree sheared clean through.
"Good. Very good."
So once she added a dual-blade weapon to her loadout...
Hanabi turned it over in her head.
She found herself rather amused by the combination.
"Whoa, that’s impressive." Hikari clapped.
"Oh—Hanabi, when do I actually get to become a ninja? I want to go on missions with you."
Uchiha Hikari didn’t particularly want to be a ninja in general. But if it meant becoming one with Hanabi, then becoming a ninja was absolutely her dream.
"Sure. Once the Chūnin Exams are finished, I’ll arrange it."
Not just Hikari—there was Karin too.
And if she wanted to field a proper squad, she’d need one more. That could wait until after the exams.
"Then I’ll go back to keeping an eye on that Sasuke person."
Once the work here was done, Hikari prepared to return to her post—guarding Sasuke as Orochimaru circled.
"By the way—what’s your read on Sasuke’s talent?" Hanabi asked.
"Hmm. For this era, quite good. His combat instincts aren’t exceptional, but he has real conviction. Just... conviction and nothing else, really."
Hanabi’s TL;DR: still a long way to go.
"Although he does seem to have a genuine affinity for Lightning Release. That Kakashi person is actually quite good at teaching." Hikari gave him a grudging nod.
Then, after a pause: "But there are a lot of people watching that kid. It’s getting complicated."
"Other village ninja?"
The Uchiha were considered top contenders to win the whole tournament—plenty of eyes were on them. The past couple of days had seen no shortage of visitors to the Hyuga Residence too; there were people who rated the Hyuga as not one step below the Uchiha.
Not to compare fairly—but next to the Uchiha, the Hyuga had bled for Konoha down to the bone. Main house and branch house alike, generation after generation of ninja stationed in the village, working like oxen. The Uchiha, to put it politely, had a somewhat different relationship.
"Those people are so boring."
Hikari had no patience for them.
Hanabi knew what this was really about, of course.
Most of those "visitors" were running gambling odds. The Chūnin Exams had been held many times—twice a year, normally—but a joint exam with multiple villages was rare.
The last one had ended without a proper conclusion in the original story. It would be another two years after this before the villages ran a joint exam again. So the betting pools this time were substantial.
"If the Wind Daimyo actually ends up dead, that would make for quite a show," Hanabi mused.
"Oh—by the way. Some of the people watching aren’t from other villages."
"Hmm?"
That shouldn’t be possible. The Third Hokage had the Telescope Technique.
Which meant—was it Root?
Root had been disbanded once by the Third Hokage, but it had never truly stopped operating. Many of its members, bound by the seal or other means, remained loyal to Danzo.
What the—Danzo, you’re even running out here to grab the blame yourself?
This was apparently a man who didn’t just shoulder blame when it landed on him. He came running to snatch it first.
A legend, truly. Konoha’s Scapegoat King!
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