The Daimyō of the Land of Grass looked grim.
He did not see the banner of his eldest son.
When Hatake Sakumo and the others finally approached, the Daimyō noticed that the servants were wearing hastily made mourning garments.
The anger in his eyes flashed—then vanished.
He suppressed the hatred in his heart and forced his gaze to become calm.
Before the powerful shinobi of Konoha, a mere Daimyō had no right to show anger.
The only option was to find a way to contact the Hidden Stone Village and ask them to protect him… and protect his family.
Shimura Kōhi spoke.
"Daimyō-sama, the First Prince was unfortunately killed by Iwa shinobi during their assault. Even Konoha's White Fang was unable to protect him."
Observing the Daimyō's restrained fury, Kōhi thought to himself:
Lord Danzo's arrangement truly was flawless.
With this, the loss of the Land of Grass mission contracts would be blamed entirely on the White Fang of Konoha.
No one would notice that three consecutive Guardian Captains from the Shimura clan had died.
The Daimyō said nothing.
He simply beckoned the two tribal chiefs to follow him.
Several nobles entered the Daimyō's tent.
The heavy curtains were lowered, hiding whatever discussion took place inside.
Outside the tent, Yamashiro's heart was heavy with anxiety.
At this moment, no matter what decision the Daimyō made, Konoha would be in the wrong.
The White Fang of Konoha… the Guardian Captain… even such elite forces had failed to protect the Daimyō's eldest son.
If that was the case, what was the point of paying Konoha such enormous sums to hire their shinobi?
When the sky collapsed, the tallest person would always suffer the worst.
In this failed mission, the White Fang bore the greatest responsibility.
Whether in reputation or status, Hatake Sakumo far outranked Shimura Kōhi, the Guardian Captain.
Yamashiro swallowed nervously.
The prestige Sakumo had painstakingly built over the years was collapsing in this very moment.
He did not even dare imagine what would happen once Sakumo returned to the village.
A storm of accusations awaited him.
Namikaze Minato approached Yamashiro quietly.
"Brother Yamashiro… something feels wrong. Everything happened too perfectly. Do you think someone set us up?"
Yamashiro gave Minato an approving look and whispered back.
"Minato, your instincts are sharp. I feel the same way—but for now I can't find the reason.
The ninja world is terrifying. Darkness presses down like a massive stone, making it hard to breathe.
This mission to the Land of Grass was assigned by the village. Yet we ran into endless trouble, always reacting instead of acting.
We are in the light… the enemy hides in the dark.
They strike from the shadows, and we don't even know who the enemy is."
Minato felt something strange in Yamashiro's words.
The "darkness" he spoke of…
The "enemy"…
It sounded like he wasn't only talking about the Iwa shinobi.
Was he… blaming the village as well?
Could the enemy be inside Konoha?
For the first time in his life, doubt appeared in Minato's heart.
Is the village really what everyone says it is?
Does the Will of Fire truly illuminate every citizen of Konoha?
Several days later.
The Land of Rain.
Yako moved swiftly through the rainforest, searching for traces of Uchiha Madara.
The scroll at his lower back suddenly activated.
Yako signaled the Leaf Monkey squad to disperse and scout the surrounding area.
Once they left, he opened the right-hand scroll from Yakushi Nonō.
The moment he read its contents, Yako's heart tightened.
Nonō had obtained the latest intelligence.
Konoha's White Fang had failed his mission.
The Daimyō's eldest son of the Land of Grass had died.
After Hatake Sakumo's group withdrew, the Daimyō immediately contacted the Hidden Stone Village and expelled every Konoha guardian shinobi.
Meanwhile, Root began spreading rumors inside Konoha.
They claimed that the White Fang had prioritized saving his loyal subordinates.
That he had abandoned the mission to rescue his teammates.
Because of this failure, Konoha had lost the Land of Grass mission contracts.
Even worse…
The Daimyō's eldest son was dead.
Konoha could not retaliate against the Land of Grass.
Morally and emotionally, Konoha stood completely in the wrong.
Yako slowly closed the scroll.
This is bad.
With Danzo's methods, the rumors spreading through Konoha would completely destroy Hatake Sakumo's reputation.
And if a teammate betrayed him on top of that…
Hatake Sakumo would not be far from suicide.
Is this the White Fang's fate…?
The power of destiny is truly terrifying.
The bell rang at the Ninja Academy.
Kakashi rushed excitedly toward the school gate.
He had already seen his father from the second floor.
"Kakashi! I'll catch up to you!"
The bowl-cut boy Might Guy sprinted after him, bounding down the stairs two steps at a time.
When he reached the gate, Guy saw Hatake Sakumo and quickly bowed.
"Lord White Fang!"
Sakumo merely patted his shoulder silently.
Guy blinked in confusion as Sakumo and Kakashi walked away.
Usually, the legendary shinobi would offer him a few encouraging words.
But today…
The White Fang left in silence.
Soon, Guy heard several parents nearby speaking loudly.
"Look! That's Konoha's White Fang—the one who caused Konoha to lose the Land of Grass mission contracts just to save his subordinates."
"That's strange. I fought in the River Country war. Hatake Sakumo served as deputy commander and performed excellently."
"I heard he was fighting for power. He chose to preserve his own subordinates and abandoned the mission."
"They say he clashed with the village leadership several times during the Jonin council meetings."
Guy shouted angrily,
"Lord White Fang would never abandon a mission!"
The adults ignored the odd little boy with the bowl haircut and left with their children.
"Ten percent of Konoha's missions came from the Land of Grass. What are we supposed to do now that they're gone?"
"It's not just that. I heard the Daimyō of the Land of Hot Water is losing patience too. If the Land of Grass switches allegiance, they might follow."
"The Land of Hot Water gives even more missions than the Land of Grass, right?"
"Who knows what will happen."
"We clearly won the Second Shinobi War… yet somehow it feels like we lost."
"The Daimyō of the Land of Fire has already reprimanded Lord Third Hokage. Because the Land of Grass is leaning toward the Land of Earth, he's demanding Konoha take responsibility."
…
Guy tried to chase after them, but his father, Might Dai, lifted him up.
"Guy! It's not just one or two people saying these things. Arguing with them won't change anything."
Dai smiled and said,
"Lord White Fang is one of the strongest shinobi in the village. You should trust him."
At the entrance of the Ninja Academy, only that father and son still believed in the White Fang.
On the walk home, Kakashi's joy at seeing his father slowly turned into confusion.
People whispered and pointed at them.
Over the past few days, the teachers at the academy had started treating him differently.
He had thought it was because he performed poorly.
Now he realized…
It was because of his father.
Kakashi concentrated carefully, listening to the surrounding conversations.
He heard the rumors clearly.
One failed mission…
And the village might lose the Land of Grass mission contracts?
Was it really that serious?
After returning home, Sakumo said calmly,
"Kakashi, it's alright. I've already submitted a request to the Hokage. I'll lead another mission into the Land of Grass and turn the situation around."
Kakashi nodded.
He believed in his father.
Sitting at the desk beside the second-floor window, Kakashi worked on his homework—calculating kunai trajectories.
But he could not focus.
Voices drifted in from outside.
Two men were arguing outside the wall.
One of them was drunk.
He shouted that his wife had died for Konoha in the Land of Grass.
And now the mission contracts had been lost because of Hatake Sakumo.
He wanted to confront him.
The other man desperately tried to stop him from breaking into Sakumo's house.
Eventually, they staggered away down the street.
Kakashi's mood sank even further.
Why has everything become like this…?
He went downstairs.
His father sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the glass of water in front of him.
With his father's strength…
He must have heard every word outside.
"Father."
No response.
"Father?"
Only on the third call did Sakumo blink his tired eyes and look up.
"Kakashi… it's fine. Once I go to the Land of Grass again, I'll solve everything."
At the same time, in an abandoned house beneath Konoha's walls.
Shinma collapsed onto the dusty floor.
His fingers dug into the rotting wooden boards.
"No… I can't do that!"
Across from him, Danzo turned away.
He gave Shinma no chance to negotiate.
Either he did what Danzo demanded…
Or Root would ensure his nephew never returned home.
"Advisor Danzo! Lord Sakumo never even questioned me! He contacted the best medical ninja for me and defended me in the mission report! How can I treat him like this?!"
Danzo ignored him.
In the next instant, he vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.
Shinma slumped to the floor.
He had already paid a terrible price.
If he refused Danzo…
The truth about his disgraceful actions would be revealed.
That would be worse than death.
His nephew would also be forcibly recruited into Root, subjected to brutal training—or even killed in some murderous exercise meant to cultivate killing intent.
But if he obeyed Danzo and pledged himself to him…
…Would Lord Sakumo really punish me?
With his personality… probably not.
Confusion.
Hesitation.
Struggle.
At last, Shinma staggered to his feet.
He clenched his teeth and looked toward Hatake Sakumo's home.
Then he made his decision.
The next day.
Yamashiro sat studying a scroll, reviewing every detail of the failed mission.
Suddenly—
Hayama Shirakumo burst through the window.
"This is bad! Brother Yamashiro! Shinma is accusing Lord Sakumo!"
"What?!"
Yamashiro shot to his feet.
His fist slammed down onto the scroll.
The very passage describing the prince's strange departure from the mountain lay beneath his hand.
Shinma is definitely involved.
Yamashiro rushed toward Sakumo's house.
Neither he nor Shirakumo cared about the rule forbidding the use of the Body Flicker Technique on rooftops inside Konoha.
But when they arrived—
Moonlight Kento had already gotten there first.
His fist sent Shinma flying.
Shinma climbed back to his feet.
Oddly enough, there was a kind of relief on his face.
As if he had expected exactly this.
He pushed through the crowd and walked away.
Outside the gate, Kakashi saw people whispering behind their hands.
They occasionally glanced toward his father.
He did not know what his father would do.
Yamashiro landed and immediately said,
"Sakumo! I think something's wrong with Shinma! Let's review the investigation scroll again!"
Minato stepped forward.
"Sensei, I'll bring Shinma back!"
Sakumo raised a hand.
"There's no need."
"The mission failed. Nothing we say now will change that. Thank you for your concern—I'm fine."
After speaking briefly with everyone, Sakumo asked them to return home and prepare for the next mission to the Land of Grass.
Kakashi escorted the adults out and closed the gate.
Through the crack in the door, he saw even more onlookers gathering down the street.
Several days later.
Yako opened another scroll.
It contained the latest intelligence from Yakushi Nonō.
Konoha's White Fang…
Had committed suicide.
And more importantly—
Yako finally learned the name of the traitor.
Shinma.
Danzo's ability to manipulate people was still as ruthless as ever.
He had chosen the perfect pawn.
Nonō also reported that the Hokage Tower had been in chaos for days.
Arguments erupted constantly.
No one knew which was worse for Konoha—
The White Fang's suicide…
Or the loss of the Land of Grass mission contracts.
Meanwhile, Yako had not been idle in the Land of Rain.
While waiting for information about the White Fang, he had also been hunting.
Eventually he located an elite Jonin of Amegakure—Hanzo's assistant, Shiyu—and died to him.
This encounter granted him 0.2 times Kage-level chakra.
His total chakra reserves had now reached 2.2 times Kage-level.
Then—
A message appeared in his mind.
[Host death detected.]
[Arc of the Waning Moon system activating…]