Hatake Sakumo opened his eyes, the hesitation in his gaze slowly dissipating.
No matter how unbelievable it seemed, the Hidden Leaf high-ranking officials had indeed made a move to kill Shinma. He had thought the friction between him and the village leadership was merely a difference in policy and direction; he hadn't expected it to be a struggle of life and death.
Pakkun continued, "The deaths of Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yui might have been Fox's doing. Whether you're going to confront Fox or take this chance to do something, make a decision quickly."
Hatake Sakumo stood up and said:
"Regarding Shinma's peril, I ultimately had Gekko Munen go to save him. I knew Shinma was being sent to his death, and through Gekko Munen's appearance, the village leadership knows that I know. It's a mutual understanding, just left unsaid."
"By now, it is no longer up to me. If I continue to compromise, the people around me—Gekko Munen, Yamashiro-Ji, Shirakumo Mai, Shinma, and even Kakashi and Namikaze Minato—could all be framed by the village high-ranking officials because of it."
"My strength and the threat I pose to the village leadership leave me with no other choice. Sooner or later, I will challenge the current order of the Hidden Leaf. If I retreat, Shinma and the others will eventually die. If I advance, there is still a slim chance of survival."
"There's no need to obsess over who killed Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yu. Tomorrow, I will go to the Hokage Building to take on the most dangerous missions in the Hidden Leaf—missions no one else can accomplish. I will use offense as a defense; there's no need to explain anything to the village."
...
In the underground training room of the Tsuruyue Tavern, Yagami waited all night. He hadn't received the contract chakra notification from the ninja dog Pakkun, which he found somewhat surprising.
How did Hatake Sakumo intend to respond? If Hatake Sakumo questioned whether he was the one who killed Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yui, he had prepared a set of arguments sufficient to handle him. Who could have imagined it was him? Who could prove it? Even the ANBU couldn't find the killer; could Hatake Sakumo?
After waiting a long while longer, there was still no sign of Pakkun's contract chakra.
The next day, Yagami quickly reached the Hokage Building using several Body Flicker Jutsu. Entering the Hokage's office, he found Sarutobi Hiruzen, Danzo, and Orochimaru inside. Why had they called him here? None of them gave off any killing intent. Surely they hadn't discovered he was the killer?
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke, "Fox was the first ANBU to investigate the Cloud Village's Perfect Jinchuriki. Let's hear Fox's thoughts."
Yagami was somewhat confused. Wasn't the major event recently the murder of Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yui? Why were they talking about the Perfect Jinchuriki again?
Hiruzen said, "Hatake Sakumo just came to the Hokage office and expressed his desire to lead men to the Land of Lightning to investigate intelligence on the Cloud Village's Perfect Jinchuriki, asking for my approval. I didn't refuse; I only said we would study the existing intelligence first. Fox, you were the first to obtain intelligence from the Rock Ninja. Who do you think is stronger: Hatake Sakumo or the Jinchuriki, Ryujin?"
Yagami suddenly understood. Hatake Sakumo was preparing to take the initiative to win higher prestige for himself and accumulate a more dazzling mission record. What could be more brilliant than suppressing a Jinchuriki?
Yagami thought to himself: if he said Hatake Sakumo was far stronger than the Jinchuriki, then Sakumo wouldn't get the chance to go. If he said the Jinchuriki was stronger than Sakumo, then Sakumo would be in mortal danger, and the Third would be itching to have him set out within the half-hour.
After slight deliberation, Yagami said:
"Lord Hokage, Hatake Sakumo's kenjutsu is very powerful. If the Jinchuriki maintains a conventional form, he is no match for Hatake Sakumo. However, Hatake Sakumo lacks the means to counter ultra-large-scale enemies. If the Jinchuriki goes berserk and takes the form of a natural disaster beast, I believe Hatake Sakumo will be at his wits' end."
The Hokage nodded; this evaluation was very objective. He turned and asked, "Orochimaru, what are your thoughts?"
Yagami was once again puzzled. Why was Orochimaru participating in this high-level discussion?
Orochimaru said, "What is there to fear? The Cloud Village has two Jinchuriki. Let Hatake Sakumo take one and I'll take the other. We'll see whose results are more significant. What harm is there in letting him go?"
This time, Yagami understood. It seemed Orochimaru was placing Hatake Sakumo in the position of a competitor? He realized that Orochimaru was beginning to contend for the position of the Fourth Hokage.
Before Namikaze Minato grew up, Orochimaru—as Hiruzen's disciple, one of the Sannin, and a multi-war deputy commander—was the top candidate for the Fourth Hokage. Facing the aggressive Hatake Sakumo, the leadership chose to push Orochimaru forward.
Yagami glanced at Danzo, who also didn't seem to object. After a moment's thought, Yagami figured Danzo didn't object because Orochimaru's hands weren't clean; Danzo was confident he could pull Orochimaru down at any time.
After thinking it over, the Third Hokage said:
"I will allow Hatake Sakumo to go investigate the Cloud Village's Perfect Jinchuriki, Ryujin. Let Fox follow Hatake Sakumo in the name of recording intelligence to ensure its accuracy. If Hatake Sakumo fails to find anything, that's naturally fine. If he does find something, Orochimaru, you can use the intelligence he gathered to deal with the Cloud's other Jinchuriki, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Blue B."
Orochimaru was somewhat displeased. Why should he follow behind Hatake Sakumo and eat the leftovers? He didn't feel he was inferior to Sakumo.
Hearing that he was to follow Hatake Sakumo, Yagami knew the leadership hadn't suspected a link between him and Sakumo at all; he had hidden himself well.
Danzo asked, "Is the death of Tan and Yui just going to be let go like this? Could this not be a tactic by Hatake Sakumo to divert attention?"
Yagami felt a slight unease. Were they going to keep investigating? Would they investigate him?
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Although Hatake Sakumo's various ideas are incompatible with ours, I believe in his character. He would not kill Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yui out of personal spite."
Danzo said, "Yesterday you said the one who assassinated Tan and Yui definitely couldn't be Tsunade, and today you say it isn't Hatake Sakumo. Surely it couldn't be the Uchiha clan? Uchiha Atsushi is a compromising, weak dove within the Uchiha. He wouldn't have the guts to rebel against the Hidden Leaf."
Hearing Danzo belittle Uchiha Atsushi so much, Yagami felt that Uchiha Atsushi really had no standing.
Sarutobi Hiruzen took deep puffs of his pipe. Before long, he alone had filled the entire office with swirling smoke.
Orochimaru said, "Smoke less. Tsunade says every time she comes to your office, she goes back smelling of smoke and has to change her clothes."
In this period, the one among the Sannin who cared most about the Third was actually Orochimaru. There was a reason why the Third only remembered the good side of Orochimaru before he died.
"I can't quit, and I can't do without it. I rely on this pipe every day to relieve the pressure," Sarutobi Hiruzen said. "Continue the investigation into the deaths of Shimura Tan and Sarutobi Yui. However, I believe there is no need to waste time on Tsunade or Hatake Sakumo. Tsunade loves the village her grandfather built in her heart; she wouldn't kill village compatriots."
"Hatake Sakumo also has his own moral bottom line and wouldn't do such a thing. The one who did this must be an extremely despicable careerist—a vermin in the darkness trying to incite internal strife in the Hidden Leaf."
Yagami thought to himself: 'That's going too far. How could you resort to insults? Just because you're the Hokage doesn't mean you can call people names. And you're insulting me right to my face?'