Early the next morning.
On the streets of Konoha, the atmosphere was even more oppressive than in the previous days.
Far from dying down, the talk surrounding Sakumo Hatake had flared up even more due to rumors that the Anbu had surrounded the Hatake estate late last night.
“Did you hear?
Even the Anbu were deployed last night.
They completely surrounded the Hatake estate!”
“Could Lord Sakumo have wanted to defect?”
“Defect?
I bet he wanted to commit suicide!
I heard he’s kept his doors shut for days…”
“Sigh, a hero of his generation, reduced to this…”
“If you ask me, if he had even a shred of shame left, he should just…”
The speaker’s voice cut off abruptly before he could finish.
For he had spotted the figure walking around the street corner.
He wore a white combat uniform, his silver hair was tied back, and the White Fang short sword was strapped to his waist.
His steps were steady, his back straight.
Although traces of exhaustion still lingered on his face, his eyes were sharp and clear.
They even carried a long-lost edge, one that belonged to Konoha’s White Fang.
Sakumo Hatake.
He walked down the early-morning street just like that, meeting countless shocked, bewildered, and ashamed gazes.
Step by step, he headed toward the Hokage Building.
Wherever he passed, a dead silence fell.
All the chatter vanished.
Everyone stared with wide eyes at this man who was supposed to be “completely broken” or “possibly already dead by suicide.”
And yet, he had reappeared before them with such a powerful presence.
“L-Lord Sakumo…” A Chunin who had gossiped about him behind his back subconsciously lowered his head.
Sakumo did not break his stride, nor did he even spare him a glance.
He simply walked forward.
Like an unsheathed blade, slicing through all the rumors and slander.
…
The top-floor office of the Hokage Building.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, watched Sakumo Hatake walk in from outside the window, a complex look in his eyes.
Setting down his pipe, he whispered to the Anbu captain, Kagami, who stood waiting beside him, “Have the others leave first.
And…
tell the guards outside the door to withdraw to the stairwell.”
“Yes.” Kagami’s figure vanished.
A few seconds later, there was a knock on the office door.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
Sakumo Hatake stepped inside, stopped five paces before the Third Hokage’s desk, and dropped to one knee.
“Lord Hokage.”
His voice was very calm, devoid of any resentment or defensiveness, carrying only a serene acceptance of responsibility.
“Rise, Sakumo,” the Third Hokage sighed.
“I know everything about your situation.”
Sakumo stood up and looked at the Third Hokage.
“The mission failed, and the responsibility lies with me,” he said.
“I am willing to accept any punishment.
Whether it’s a demotion in mission rating, suspension of my Jonin allowance, confinement for reflection…
or even being stripped of my shinobi status, I have no complaints.”
The Third Hokage watched him in silence.
A few seconds later, he slowly spoke: “Punishment is necessary.
However, your action in saving your comrade…”
“I do not regret it.”
Sakumo Hatake cut him off.
His voice was not loud, but every word was absolute.
The Third Hokage froze.
“Lord Hokage.” Sakumo Hatake took a deep breath, and his voice suddenly rose, so resonant that it nearly penetrated the walls to reach the hallway outside.
“A shinobi’s duty is to complete the mission.
That is correct.
But a person’s bottom line is to protect their comrades!”
His gaze was burning, like a blazing fire:
“If we abandon even our comrades for the sake of a mission, then how are we any different from cold, unfeeling tools of murder?!”
“I, Sakumo Hatake, have been a ninja for thirty years.
I have killed countless enemies and saved countless comrades.
This time, I chose my comrade.
The mission failed, and I accept the punishment.
But my Nindo—”
He straightened his back, speaking one word at a time:
“—will never be shaken by this!”
His voice fell.
Inside and outside the office, a heavy silence fell.
In the hallway outside, several clerical ninja who “just happened” to be passing by, along with two Anbu who were “handing over duties,” all froze in their tracks.
They had heard these words with absolute clarity.
Every sentence struck their hearts like a heavy hammer.
Indeed…
Shinobi were also human.
If they could abandon even their own comrades, then what was the point of protecting the village?
The failure of the mission deserved punishment.
But saving a comrade…
was that wrong?
No one could answer.
But in everyone’s heart, an answer had formed.
…
Inside the office.
The Third Hokage looked at the man who had stood tall once more.
After a long silence, he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.
“The decision on your punishment will be discussed during this afternoon’s high-level meeting,” he said.
“For now, go home and rest.”
“Yes.” Sakumo Hatake bowed and turned to leave.
As he stepped out of the office, the people in the hallway instinctively parted to make way for him.
The way they looked at him was no longer with disdain or pity, but rather…
admiration.
Sakumo Hatake did not linger and went straight downstairs.
As he walked out of the Hokage Building, the morning sunlight fell perfectly upon him.
He looked up and squinted slightly.
Then, across the street, he saw the black-haired youth with glasses leaning against the wall.
Ryuha Uchiha.
Sakumo Hatake walked over.
The two locked eyes, but neither spoke.
Everything went unsaid.
He turned and walked in the direction of his home.
His silhouette stretched long under the sunlight.
Like a blade that had finally shed its rust to reflect its brilliant light once more.
Ryuha Uchiha watched his retreating figure, pushed up his glasses, and curled his lips into a slight smile.
Then, he also turned and departed.
The two walked in opposite directions.
…
Half an hour later.
The Root base, in the deepest stone chamber.
Danzo Shimura looked at the report that had just been delivered, his face so dark it looked ready to drip water.
The report detailed everything that had happened this morning: Sakumo Hatake’s public appearance, his declaration in the Hokage’s office, the shift in attitude among the villagers and shinobi…
Sakumo Hatake, hailed as “Konoha’s White Fang,” had once enjoyed a level of prestige that surpassed even the Sannin.
When it came to the prospects of competing for the position of Hokage, Sakumo stood a far better chance than Danzo did.
Had it not been for Sakumo Hatake’s failed mission, Danzo would never have been able to manipulate public opinion to pressure him.
He had finally found a way to eliminate this rival, but now…
Danzo Shimura’s hand suddenly clenched tight.
The report paper was crumpled into a ball in his fist.
“Sakumo Hatake…”
A cold light flickered in his single eye, his voice squeezed out from between his teeth:
“Who…
changed you?”
Silence.
Only his heavy breathing echoed inside the stone chamber.
A few seconds later, Danzo Shimura slowly released his grip, tossing the crumpled report onto the ground.
He stood up and walked over to the wall covered in the tenets of “Root.”
His gaze fell upon one of the lines:
“Any uncontrollable factor must be eliminated.”
“Or…
controlled.”
Danzo closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, only cold resolve remained.
“Sakumo Hatake…”
He muttered the name in a low voice.
Like reciting a death sentence.
“You must die!”