521. About to Back Down / 522. About to Fight Back

Seeing the Hokage lying unconscious on the ground, Izayoi Sakamaki rubbed his head helplessly. "You really are too stupid. Don’t touch him. Do you think he isn’t in enough pain already?"

"Or do you think that if you shake him hard enough, desperately enough, he’ll wake up? If that’s really what you think, then you’re unbelievably stupid."

"I originally thought you were just throwing little tantrums, but I never expected things to get this bad. I don’t even know what words to use to describe your stupidity anymore."

"Alright, don’t move for now. Spread out and give him some air. What he needs most right now is fresh air. With so many of you crowding around him, you’ll affect the air around him. If he becomes oxygen-deprived, even a chance of saving him could be ruined by you."

Izayoi Sakamaki had never seen people this foolish before. And there was a whole group of them.

Izayoi Sakamaki did not know much about this toxin either. If he had known this poison, he would not have been without an antidote. Izayoi Sakamaki never did anything without preparation, but the appearance of this vial of poison had truly been an exception.

Moreover, Izayoi Sakamaki had not expected them to be so rebellious, to completely treat his words as mere background noise and actually smash the medicine.

Most importantly, they had dared to reach out and touch it. The thing was already so conspicuous—after all, not many things gave off light. That alone should have been enough to scare people away, yet someone had actually been unafraid of death enough to touch it.

Izayoi Sakamaki truly did not know what to say now. He knew that anything he said would be useless, because these people were simply too stupid.

The Hokages were frightened as well. They had not expected Izayoi Sakamaki to be serious. Looking at their fallen companion, they asked nervously, "Alright, we’ll all listen to you, but you have to guarantee that our brother will be safe."

"After all, this was caused by you. If anything happens to our brother, we definitely won’t let you off easily."

After saying that, they spread out. When Izayoi Sakamaki saw someone about to touch the bottle on the table again, his heart leaped into his throat once more.

"Whatever you say now is useless. Do not touch anything at all, because there are plenty more dangerous things in there. If you touch something else, I’ll really have a splitting headache."

"Please listen to me this time. I know I was indeed a little forceful about what happened earlier, and it may have been excessive from your perspective, but when it comes to lives, you still need to listen to me."

"After all, what you’re risking is your lives."

Izayoi Sakamaki was afraid that they would touch something else and create another chaotic situation, so he spoke into the microphone. Hearing his words, the group looked around nervously. At that moment, one Hokage realized that he was about to touch the nearby table…

He jumped back in fright at once, getting far away from the table. They all scattered into the open area.

After they had done all that, Izayoi Sakamaki finally let out a sigh of relief. He immediately contacted Kagami Uchiha and told him what had happened.

When Kagami Uchiha received Izayoi Sakamaki’s call, he was somewhat surprised. He did not know what could have happened to make Izayoi Sakamaki contact him on his own initiative.

"Hello? What is it? Why did you suddenly think to contact me?"

"Quick, something happened. Do you remember that colored bottle in the laboratory containing the poison?"

Once the call connected, Kagami Uchiha’s voice came through. The moment Izayoi Sakamaki heard it, he spoke at once.

Hearing Izayoi Sakamaki’s words, Kagami Uchiha immediately became tense, and his attitude changed completely. "I remember. What happened? Didn’t you keep it safely in your laboratory?"

"Ah, it’s embarrassing to say. I had those Hokages go into the laboratory to test them, but I didn’t expect them to smash that bottle. Someone even reached out and touched it. He’s unconscious now. Get in there and save him quickly."

Hearing Izayoi Sakamaki’s words, Kagami Uchiha instantly rose from his seat and asked in disbelief, "What? What did you say? Poisoned?"

"You mean someone was poisoned by that toxin? What happened? How could someone suddenly be poisoned by that poison for no reason? How could someone be poisoned by something so potent?"

"It’s a long story. This isn’t the time for that. You should get here and save him first."

Kagami Uchiha had never expected that a vial of poison placed safely in Izayoi Sakamaki’s laboratory would be touched by a Hokage, much less poison someone. He was very confused as to why this had happened, so he questioned Izayoi Sakamaki over the phone. But looking at the unconscious Hokage, Izayoi Sakamaki could not explain it clearly for the moment. He could only urge Kagami Uchiha to hurry over and save him first, then explain everything slowly afterward.

Although Kagami Uchiha had already set out, he continued questioning him. "At least tell me first. How am I supposed to know what happened if you don’t tell me?"

"How am I supposed to save him otherwise? He’s already unconscious. Even if you tell me to rush over, it’s not like I can fly there. I’m already on my way, so use this time to tell me exactly what happened."

Seeing Kagami Uchiha insist so firmly on learning the cause, Izayoi Sakamaki had no choice but to tell him how it had happened.

However, Izayoi Sakamaki did not go into detail. He merely gave him the general outline, and after hearing it, Kagami Uchiha understood why this had happened.

"I see. But you really did go a little too far. After all, it was their first time dealing with something like this, so they naturally wouldn’t know what to do. You should have encouraged them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have developed such a strong rebellious streak."

"Things have gotten this serious now. I’ll be there soon, so don’t worry. How is he doing right now?"

Izayoi Sakamaki was helpless. He did feel that he had gone too far in this matter, but he knew that no matter what he said, it had already happened.

Hearing Kagami Uchiha’s words, Izayoi Sakamaki also knew that this had indeed exceeded his expectations. He had not expected their resistance to be so strong. The more he told them not to do something, the more determined they were to do it, and that was what had caused this tragedy.

Izayoi Sakamaki carefully examined the unconscious Hokage. "The situation isn’t good. His face and lips have already turned black, and his body is trembling slightly."

"You said you’re almost here. Where are you now? How much longer until you arrive? At this rate, if you don’t get here soon, he probably won’t make it."

"Hurry over, or there’ll be plenty of trouble later."

If this caused any one of them to lose his life, not only would the Hokages never forgive Izayoi Sakamaki, but Izayoi Sakamaki would not forgive himself either. He knew how serious this was—someone might lose his life over a simple test.

Izayoi Sakamaki would be the first to never forgive himself.

Hearing Izayoi Sakamaki’s words, Kagami Uchiha was also extremely anxious. Of course he understood the gravity of the situation, and he rushed to Izayoi Sakamaki’s laboratory at top speed.

Once Kagami Uchiha arrived, Izayoi Sakamaki looked at him and said, "Quick, go in first. Once you’re inside, I’ll lock the door immediately."

"If you lock the door, how am I supposed to get out? And what about the poisoned person?"

Kagami Uchiha had not expected Izayoi Sakamaki to lock him inside as well and refuse to let him out. If there was no order from Izayoi Sakamaki, that door would never be opened.

Kagami Uchiha was extremely shocked. Hearing his words, Izayoi Sakamaki’s expression turned grim. "It won’t have any effect. Bring everything you need inside and treat him there. I’ll have the others continue training."

"Don’t worry, I won’t let anyone interfere with your treatment. His life is in your hands. The others can’t slack off. If they relax just like that, there’ll be plenty of trouble later."

"But…"

Kagami Uchiha had not expected that even at a time like this, Izayoi Sakamaki still wanted the others to keep training. With this happening, not only was he deeply worried, but how could those who considered the poisoned man their brother possibly keep training?

So Kagami Uchiha tried to speak to Izayoi Sakamaki, but Izayoi Sakamaki’s expression became even uglier, and his tone grew harsher.

"No buts. Do exactly as I say. If you take one more second to go inside, his life will vanish before our eyes."

Kagami Uchiha knew that once Izayoi Sakamaki made a decision, he would not easily change it. Helplessly, he could only turn around and enter the laboratory to treat the poisoned man.

Once Kagami Uchiha entered the laboratory, Izayoi Sakamaki immediately locked the door. He spoke into the microphone, "The person who will save your brother has arrived. Continue your training, and don’t delay the rescue."

"At a time like this, you must not relax even more. Whether he wakes up or not, you must complete this task before you can come out."

Meanwhile, Kagami Uchiha said nothing. He silently carried the poisoned Hokage aside and began treating him without interrupting the others’ training.

The Hokages had not expected that, even after things had reached this point, Izayoi Sakamaki would not let them rest and would still make them continue training.

At that moment, they truly understood just how cruel and cold-hearted Izayoi Sakamaki was.

They were also extremely confused. Their companion had been poisoned, so why was Izayoi Sakamaki still insisting that they continue searching for the poison among them? Finding poison was no simple matter. If they kept searching for it, they would surely endanger more of their companions. Naturally, they did not want anything to happen to their companions, so they began thinking about refusing to continue the search.

Thus, the Hokages gathered together to discuss it. One of them said, "Do you think we should keep looking for the poison among these things? I don’t think we should continue following Izayoi Sakamaki’s orders."

"Because I think his arrangement was wrong. It was precisely because of their arrangement that one of our companions was poisoned. If we continue following their arrangement, we’ll definitely suffer the same fate."

"Of course we don’t want to suffer that fate, so I think we should protest to them and withdraw from this challenge. I don’t think this challenge has any meaning."

"While it might, to some extent, test how much our observation skills have improved, I think this activity is far too dangerous. It’s supposed to be an activity for testing ourselves, so why make it this dangerous?"

"So I think we should protest to them. Even if they are our leaders and our coaches, we should still protest. Everyone is equal. We can’t just obey their orders because they’re one rank above us."

"And our leader is thinking of us too. Since something like this happened, he will definitely consider our concerns."

Everyone felt that this made some sense. If this continued, it would not just be one Hokage who got poisoned—more Hokages could be poisoned as well. Raising such a protest was also for the sake of their own safety.

After all, life only came once. Since they only had one life, they should cherish it. If they did not cherish their lives, they would be unable to do anything afterward.

The Hokages spoke in unison. "That’s right, we should protest. I don’t think this can go on. We don’t want to keep searching for these so-called poison bottles."

"I think looking for this stuff would be worse than training a few more times. Training would be more effective and wouldn’t be dangerous. The only question is whether the leader will agree."

"Because this matter is overseen by the leader and Madara Uchiha, ending this training requires their agreement. The leader naturally cares deeply about us, so he’ll definitely agree."

"But we don’t know whether Madara Uchiha will agree. Even though Madara Uchiha does not want to manage us, he still bears responsibility, so he has the power to veto our training."

"So we don’t know what Madara Uchiha will think. His thoughts will determine whether we can withdraw from this challenge, because this challenge is truly unnecessary for us."

"But it seems this challenge was also Madara Uchiha’s idea, so ending it will be very difficult."

"Even if it’s difficult, we have to try. If we know there are difficulties ahead and don’t even try, what’s the difference between us and cowards?"

Thus, they went to find Izayoi Sakamaki and Madara Uchiha. When Izayoi Sakamaki saw them unanimously saying that they did not want to accept this challenge, he was extremely puzzled. A challenge would inevitably result in injuries.

Because this was a challenge, it was difficult, and it could improve a person’s powers of observation to a certain extent. Therefore, encountering this kind of problem was only natural, as long as no one’s life was in danger.

Moreover, he did not think this challenge would truly endanger anyone’s life. As long as it was discovered, it would certainly be handled properly. That poison should not cause fatal harm either; at most, someone would be poisoned.

They could simply recover afterward. There was not actually any major problem. But these people were opposing it so fiercely. If he did not suppress them, their objections would surely grow stronger and stronger.

Thus, Madara Uchiha said to them, "Stop thinking about it. This challenge will definitely continue. No matter how eloquently you speak, it is absolutely impossible for this challenge to be stopped."

"So prepare yourselves to face the next challenge. The challenge is not over yet, so I hope you remember this lesson well. Don’t casually open bottles. Now you know the consequences, right?"

"So I hope that when you face the challenge again, you’ll think carefully. In any case, this challenge will continue."

Everyone was extremely confused. They did not understand why, after things had reached this point, Madara Uchiha was still so insistent. If the challenge were truly beneficial, they could accept it. But this challenge was clearly trying to take their lives, so how could they accept it? They did not know what Madara Uchiha was thinking. Since he would not agree to end the challenge, did he really want to force them to their deaths?

It seemed that Madara Uchiha and Izayoi Sakamaki were ultimately different. Asking Madara Uchiha for help was clearly impossible. Thus, they said to Madara Uchiha, "We already knew that you didn’t like us, but you didn’t have to do this."

"Because what you’re doing is completely forcing us toward death. We haven’t done anything to offend you, and even if we did, it was only something minor. You don’t need to hold such a grudge."

"Although taking part in this challenge is indeed somewhat useful to us, it is undoubtedly a vital threat to our lives. Don’t think that just because you hold veto power over us—"

"—you can act so recklessly. If this is how things are, then we might want to go against your wishes, because I don’t think we can amount to anything following someone like you."

"So I hope you understand. We truly cannot continue this challenge, because we think it is far too dangerous. Continuing it is not particularly necessary for us."

"Can’t you respect our thoughts, let us think things through properly, and let us train properly? Must we carry out this challenge? Is finding one non-poisonous medicine bottle among so many bottles really that important to you?"

Seeing that they were still defying him so openly, Madara Uchiha could not help becoming furious. Why did they not see him as one of their closest friends? Everything he did was for their sake.

If they could pass this challenge successfully, it would mean they possessed the strength to win that competition. Therefore, if they gave up midway through this challenge, it would bring them absolutely no benefit.

Things had already reached this point, so what was wrong with continuing? Thus, he shouted at the Hokages, "Are you really this fragile?"

"You encounter a tiny bit of difficulty and immediately retreat. I don’t think you should be people like that. At first, I thought you would spare no effort to complete this mission, but I never expected you to lose your nerve."

"Then what use are you? It seems I really was blind. I never expected you to be people like this. I thought I could witness your glorious moment of winning the competition, but now it seems unnecessary."

"Because you’ve already given up halfway. Although this has no direct connection to the competition, we can still see from this challenge that you have no real strength. Since you want to give up—"

"—then give up. I can’t control you anyway. But I absolutely will not agree to let you withdraw from this training, because I think this challenge is extremely important for you."

"So no matter what, I won’t agree. But if you want to go against my wishes, I have nothing more to say."

Seeing them argue, Izayoi Sakamaki was also extremely angry. He had not expected this matter to cause such a huge conflict. This was not the situation he wanted to see, but there was nothing he could do.

After all, things had already become like this. Since that was the case, he had to accept it calmly. Whether they could continue with the next challenge was now a problem.

But that was not the main problem he faced right now. The main issue was curing the poisoned Hokage, because if he could not cure him, it would be hard to convince the others.

Their faith was now entirely pinned on that injured Hokage. If he did not recover, it would be impossible for them to continue with the next challenge.

Thus, Izayoi Sakamaki said to them, "Stop arguing. What use is there in arguing here? Can’t you strengthen your resolve? Since you decided to take part in this challenge, then face it bravely."

"But I still respect your opinions. After all, someone has been poisoned, and our main purpose right now is to cure that poisoned Hokage."

"Because that is our most important task right now. So stop arguing. Saving him comes first."

Everyone nodded, feeling that Izayoi Sakamaki’s words made some sense. Their most important task now was to save the poisoned Hokage. If the poisoned Hokage was not rescued, who would dare participate in this so-called challenge afterward? Therefore, their most important task was to save him. And he was also their closest friend. If they could not even save their closest friend—

—then how could they call themselves his good friends? Thus, they said to Izayoi Sakamaki, "Alright, then save our friend properly. He has been poisoned."

"He has remained unconscious. If he still doesn’t wake up after a few more days, then I truly won’t believe you anymore. I feel like everything you said was a lie—saying you wanted us to challenge ourselves."

"And then things ended up like this. We are truly very disappointed. As for continuing with the next challenge, let’s put that aside for now. We don’t know whether we should take part in the later challenges."

"Because the later challenges are useless to us in the first place. Although they can train us a little, what can we actually learn from them? I feel like we can’t learn anything at all."

"So there is no need to risk our lives for something we can learn nothing from. Leader, let us think about it some more. Although this decision wasn’t yours alone—"

"—you were involved in advising on it, so you should be able to say something. And this was originally a decision made by Izayoi Sakamaki and Madara Uchiha, so you also have fifty percent of the veto power."

"If you truly care about us, then don’t listen to Madara Uchiha. Let us give up this challenge. But I know you won’t let us give it up. Still, we need to think about whether we should continue with the next competition."

Izayoi Sakamaki nodded as well. There was still some time before the competition, so letting them calm down was perfectly acceptable. This was not something he wanted to see either. Because of the poisoning incident—

—he did indeed bear a great deal of responsibility. Letting them consider whether they could continue with the next competition was actually a question he should consider too, because he was also extremely hesitant.