In the plaza outside the Hokage Building.
The moment Kakashi saw his father’s name appear as the twentieth entry on the ranking, his usual lazy, half-lidded gaze sharpened.
Without realizing it, he straightened his back.
Then he quietly slipped the copy of Make-Out Paradise in his hand into his pocket.
“Father…”
Might Guy immediately noticed the change in him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Kakashi, are you all right?”
Kakashi shook his head, indicating that he was fine.
But inside, his emotions were anything but calm.
Memories he had buried for years surged back to the surface.
It had already been twenty-one years…
Twenty-one years since the day his father died.
At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other members of Konoha’s leadership frowned.
None of them seemed willing to look directly at the screen.
Sakumo Hatake’s death was not a memory they were proud of.
Danzo’s expression darkened.
“What’s the point of dragging up someone who’s been dead for decades?” he muttered coldly.
“Whoever made this thing has far too much time on their hands.”
Hiruzen took a long pull from his pipe before letting out a weary sigh.
“Whatever else happened, I failed to handle that situation properly back then.
I bear some responsibility.”
Koharu Utatane frowned.
“There’s no point saying that after all these years.
Sakumo Hatake’s death cannot simply be blamed on us.”
Homura Mitokado remained detached.
“That’s right.
We never actually punished him.
In the end, taking his own life was his decision.”
…
Sunagakure.
Inside a tall building, two elderly siblings sat on opposite sides of a pond, fishing in silence.
Suddenly—
The fishing rod slipped from Chiyo’s hand and fell into the water.
Her entire body began trembling.
Ebizo looked across the pond.
“Hey, Sis…
You dead?”
The next second, Chiyo abruptly straightened up and grabbed her fishing rod.
“Got you!
I was just playing dead!
Wahahaha!”
Ebizo’s eye twitched.
“Could you not make it look so convincing?”
Chiyo laughed for another moment before suddenly falling silent.
Her expression hardened.
“The screen in the village seems to be showing the name of the man I hate most.”
Ebizo nodded.
“So it does.”
Chiyo immediately flew into a temper.
“That bastard actually made twentieth place on a list of tragic shinobi?
Then my poor son and daughter-in-law should both be in the top ten!”
“If you’re that curious, Sis, why don’t we go see for ourselves?”
Chiyo nodded.
“Fine.
I want to see exactly what makes Sakumo Hatake so ‘tragic.'”
And so, after more than a decade of living in seclusion, the elderly siblings left the building and headed toward Sunagakure’s central plaza.
…
Among veteran shinobi, the name Sakumo Hatake was far from unfamiliar.
Many of them had heard of the legendary White Fang of Konoha.
What few people knew, however, was exactly how he had died.
That was especially true for people such as the First and Second Hokage, both of whom had died long before Sakumo.
At that moment, information about Sakumo Hatake appeared on the screen.
[Name: Sakumo Hatake]
[Age at Death: Unknown]
[Rank: Jōnin]
[Alias: Konoha’s White Fang]
[Mission Record: 256 D-rank missions, 384 C-rank missions, 266 B-rank missions, 123 A-rank missions, 27 S-rank missions]
[Family: Son — Kakashi Hatake]
[Cause of Death: Suicide]
For anyone who still did not recognize the name Sakumo Hatake, the moment they saw Kakashi listed as his son, realization immediately dawned.
After all—
Kakashi Hatake was famous throughout the shinobi world.
The name Kakashi of the Sharingan was known even among powerful shinobi from other nations.
The messages in Live Chat Group One immediately began flooding in.
[Naruto Uzumaki: Whoa!
He was amazing!
He completed that many missions?
But if he was so strong, why would he kill himself?]
[Shikamaru Nara: There had to be more to it.
Someone like that probably would’ve preferred dying on a battlefield rather than ending his own life without a reason.]
[Sakura Haruno: Kakashi Hatake?
I’ve heard he became a jōnin when he was incredibly young.
If Sakumo Hatake was his father, he must have been an exceptional shinobi too!]
[Iruka Umino: There’s no mistake.
Sakumo Hatake was Kakashi’s father.
But I was still very young when everything happened, so I don’t know the details either.]
[Chiyo: What?!
Sakumo Hatake is already dead?!
Damn it!
I never even got the chance to kill him myself and avenge my son and daughter-in-law!]
[Rasa: Lady Chiyo, calm yourself.
Relations between Sunagakure and Konoha have improved considerably since those days.]
[Fourth Raikage: Looks like the old woman has quite a history with Sakumo Hatake.]
[Chiyo: Hmph!
I know it’s disrespectful to speak this way about the dead, but his death was far too easy.
If he’d fallen into my hands, I would never have let him off so lightly!]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: Chiyo, the grudges of the past should end with our generation.
Don’t pass that hatred down to the children.
Surely you don’t want the tragedies we suffered to happen again.]
[Chiyo: Easy for you to say!
Try losing your own son on the battlefield and see whether you can still talk like that!]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: My eldest son is dead.
So is my wife.
I have lost no less than you have.]
[Ōnoki: The Third Hokage has a point.
Arguing over old grudges here accomplishes nothing.
We should calm down and continue watching.]
Once the Third Tsuchikage stepped in, the argument finally died down.
No one in Live Chat Group One said anything more.
All eyes returned to the screen as everyone waited to learn exactly what had happened to the legendary White Fang of Konoha.