While Hatake Sakumo was still trudging his way back to the village, a piece of explosive news had already been disseminated by the Sand Village, reaching the high commands of every major ninja village and the nobility of the Land of Rivers.
The headline was brutal: Konoha dispatches the White Fang to indiscriminately slaughter the high-ranking officials of the Land of Rivers.
The ninja world instantly went into an uproar. Some, like the Hidden Mist, watched indifferently from the sidelines. Others, like the Hidden Rock, issued strong condemnations. Meanwhile, the nobles of the Land of Rivers were left in a state of sheer panic.
Konoha immediately fired back, dumping the entire truth of the incident into the public sphere. They furiously denounced the Land of Rivers for treachery and betrayal, while accusing the Hidden Sand of brazenly interfering in another nation's internal affairs.
In short, it turned into a massive mud-slinging contest. After all, in this line of work, everyone has a skeleton or two in their closet. Nobody's hands are clean.
---
While Konoha's leadership was busy dealing with the diplomatic fallout and public opinion, Hatake Sakumo and his teammate, Yusuke, finally arrived back in the village.
After checking his teammate into the Konoha Hospital, Sakumo went straight to the Hokage's office to report on the mission.
When Sarutobi Hiruzen heard that Sakumo had abandoned the mission to save a critically wounded teammate, he frowned slightly.
However, when he heard that they had run into Taiichi on their way back—and that with Taiichi's help, they healed Yusuke and subsequently completed the mission—a wave of relief washed over him.
The debriefing ended with Hiruzen offering a few standard words of encouragement before dismissing Sakumo.
Left alone in the spacious office, Hiruzen slowly lit his pipe. He took a deep drag, the scent of tobacco mixed with a sharp bite filling his lungs. As he exhaled a cloud of smoke that curled around him, he let out a long sigh—one filled with both satisfaction and regret.
Staring at the mission scroll on his desk, and thinking of the headaches caused by the other nations' verbal attacks, Hiruzen's expression shifted between light and shadow.
But then he remembered the intelligence Taiichi had sent back earlier: The Daimyo is actively inquiring about who is most likely to become the Fourth Hokage.
That thought hardened his resolve.
"Summon Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado," he commanded into the empty air.
"Yes, sir!" A voice echoed from the shadows of the office, followed immediately by silence.
---
Less than thirty minutes later, the top brass of Konoha had assembled in the Hokage's office.
Once everyone arrived, Hiruzen passed Sakumo's mission report directly to Koharu, who was closest, signaling her to read it first.
The room fell silent again, save for the rhythmic puffing of Hiruzen's pipe and the rustle of paper as the scroll was unfurled.
Eventually, the scroll passed from Koharu to Homura, and finally into the hands of Danzo.
When everyone had finished reading, Hiruzen asked a seemingly neutral question: "What do you all think?"
Koharu and Homura looked at each other, clearly confused by the Hokage's intent. In their eyes, the report had flaws, yes, but the mission was ultimately completed. There wasn't much to criticize.
Danzo, however, lived up to his reputation as the man who knew Hiruzen best. With just a simple turn of thought, he understood exactly what his old rival wanted. It was the classic play: he wanted to do the dirty work but keep his hands clean.
Considering Sakumo's current prestige—the name "Konoha's White Fang" was known worldwide—Danzo realized that suppressing him aligned perfectly with his own interests. He didn't hesitate.
"I believe this trend cannot be allowed to grow!"
Everyone looked at Danzo. The eyes of the two advisors still held confusion.
"What is a ninja?" Danzo began his speech with zealous intensity. "Completing the mission is a ninja's primary objective. Once you accept a mission, you must be prepared to sacrifice everything for it. How can one abandon the mission just because a teammate is injured?"
He spoke with such righteous indignation that if you didn't know better, you'd think he was the wounded ninja begging his comrade not to save him.
Koharu wanted to say something but held her tongue. Strictly speaking, as village leaders, Danzo's logic wasn't wrong. If you aren't prepared to die, why be a ninja?
Still, she thought, Sakumo did complete the mission in the end. There was no irreversible damage to the village.
But Danzo's next words showed her the difference between logic and politics. He demonstrated exactly what it meant to force a crime onto someone.
"It is precisely because he abandoned the mission the first time that the Land of Rivers had the opportunity to spread news of the assassination far and wide," Danzo argued coldly. "He should have killed every single witness on the spot. If he had, Konoha wouldn't be a target of public criticism right now."
Koharu and Homura stared at Danzo, dumbfounded. Even Hiruzen looked at him with a hint of surprise.
Good lord, you can spin it like that?
It was as if Danzo assumed everyone in the Land of Rivers was an idiot. A dozen high-ranking pro-Daimyo nobles get slaughtered, and you think they wouldn't suspect Konoha just because there were no witnesses? And "kill all witnesses"? Did he think Chiyo and her squad of Sand Jonin were made of clay?
But in politics, logic and truth often take a backseat. As long as there is a reason—no matter how absurd—it can be executed if it serves a purpose.
Seeing Danzo take the bait so thoroughly, Hiruzen knew his old friend had caught his drift. The next steps were tacitly understood. The Hokage would maintain his benevolent image, and Root would handle the darkness.
"Danzo, you can't put it that way," Hiruzen said, switching to his lecture mode. "The Will of Fire teaches us to cherish our comrades. Helping a teammate in danger is the right thing to do."
Then, he pivoted sharply. "However, Sakumo did initially choose to abandon the mission. That behavior is indeed incorrect. Let's issue a public notice of criticism."
Koharu and Homura thought about it. Abandoning a mission really wasn't something they wanted to encourage, and a "public criticism" was a relatively light punishment. They nodded in agreement.
None of them—not even Hiruzen—realized the weight of this decision.
Flagship characters like Sakumo are often true believers. He was a devout follower of the Will of Fire: love your comrades, protect the weak, burn yourself to light the way for others. These were the principles he lived by.
When the village he served denied his philosophy, when his son couldn't understand him, when the comrade he saved cursed him, and when the villagers pointed fingers at him... his life lost all color.
Suicide was the only form of protest he had left.
But in this timeline, Taiichi had intervened. Whether his actions were enough to pull the White Fang back from the brink of his tragic destiny remained to be seen.
---
Soon, a notice was issued by the village high command.
Flagship Jonin Hatake Sakumo, due to unfavorable execution of his mission, has caused significant loss to the village. He is hereby publicly criticized.
There were no specific details. Just "unfavorable execution" and "significant loss." It was vague, ambiguous, and perfect for fueling speculation.
At first, people didn't care much. Mission failure happened; nobody has a 100% success rate. Even the White Fang failing just made people think, "Oh, even legends make mistakes."
And then, silence.
But the silence didn't last. Soon, various versions of "rumors" began to spread through the streets and alleys of Konoha. The speed of transmission and the breadth of coverage made it obvious to any sharp observer that someone was fueling the fire.
"Did you hear? Hatake Sakumo abandoned a top-secret mission just to save one guy." (This was the honest version.)
"I heard he failed the mission and got a bunch of border guards killed because of it!" (This was pure fabrication.)
"No, I heard his failure caused the village's mission contracts to drop significantly." (This one at least had some logical coherence.)
Gradually, all these disparate rumors coalesced into a single, unified narrative: Hatake Sakumo should not have abandoned such a critical mission for the sake of a single comrade.
---
Just as the rumors were reaching a fever pitch, Team 8 finally returned to the village after completing their escort mission.
They had barely walked through the gates when Taiichi sensed the atmosphere was wrong. Suspecting the worst, he immediately expanded his sensory perception.
Voices flooded his mind. Among the chatter, the harsh, stinging rumors stood out like jagged rocks.
Taiichi sighed. Things were heading in the worst possible direction.
Captain Yamaguchi noticed Taiichi's sudden shift in mood. "Taiichi, is something wrong?"
Yohei and Saori turned to look as well, having sensed the flare of chakra from his scan.
"Captain, I'm hearing some nasty rumors about Sakumo-san," Taiichi said. He proceeded to recount exactly what he had heard.
Yohei was furious. He started shouting immediately, wanting to go find the people gossiping and beat them up.
Saori was equally flushed with anger.
They were half-participants in this event. Sakumo had completed the mission despite being hunted by the entire Sand Village border force. How could he be slandered like this?
Wasn't cherishing comrades exactly what the Will of Fire preached?
Captain Yamaguchi remained much calmer. Although he saw the manipulation behind the scenes, he was seasoned enough to keep his mouth shut.
The four of them handed in the mission report and disbanded. Yohei complained the entire way home until Yamaguchi finally bonked him on the head to shut him up.
This time, however, Taiichi didn't go straight home.
At a street intersection, he turned and headed directly toward the Hatake estate.
Knock, knock, knock.
After three solid raps on the door, Taiichi stood waiting.
Footsteps approached from inside, and the door opened.
"Oh, it's Taiichi," Sakumo said, a self-deprecating smile on his face. "You're actually the first guest I've had in quite a while. Come in."
Taiichi followed him inside. The Hatake house was just as he remembered—simple, austere, with no decorations to speak of, though the training equipment was fully stocked.
After they sat down, Taiichi cut straight to the chase. "Sakumo-san, I just got back to the village today. Why are there so many rumors about you floating around?"
A flicker of darkness passed through Sakumo's eyes, but he waved it off with a smile, acting as if the rumors had nothing to do with him. "It's just idle gossip from people who don't know the truth. It's best to just ignore it."
Taiichi stared closely at Sakumo's face. That fleeting look of pain hadn't escaped him. The nonchalant attitude felt forced. He decided to probe further.
"And that official notice from the village... it's absurd," Taiichi said. "It doesn't explain anything. It says you completed the mission but claims you caused 'significant losses.' It's basically inviting the villagers to make up their own stories."
Sure enough, Sakumo's face darkened further.
Taiichi realized then that Sakumo truly didn't care about the rumors themselves. What hurt him was who they represented.
The village's notice was a rejection of his philosophy. It told him that the leadership fundamentally disagreed with his choice to save a life.
And the only things left that he cared about were his son and his comrades.
Having confirmed his suspicions, Taiichi stopped dwelling on the politics. Instead, he chatted with Sakumo about their respective missions, even joining in to mock some of the more ridiculous rumors circulating in the village.
Eventually, under the guise of asking for pointers, Taiichi initiated a sparring match.
Blades clashed in the courtyard. Taiichi gave it everything he had, and Sakumo responded with serious focus.
Taiichi's kenjutsu had already reached a level of mastery where he could hold his own, but Sakumo was a true grandmaster.
The session shifted from a spar to a lesson. They fought for nearly half an hour before finally stopping.
Taiichi was drenched in sweat, hands on his knees, gasping for air. Sakumo wasn't much better off; the intense instruction had drained his stamina just as much.
After catching his breath, Taiichi straightened up and bowed deeply. "Thank you for the guidance, Sakumo-san. Today's battle showed me the path forward again."
> [Combat Instruction: Advanced Kenjutsu Experience +500]
Sakumo accepted the bow calmly, then stepped forward to help Taiichi up, a warm smile on his face. "Your kenjutsu is already excellent. You're top-tier among your peers—no, even compared to ninjas a decade older than you. Given time, you will definitely surpass me."
Taiichi smiled, though he deflected the praise. This was why he went out of his way to help Sakumo: the man was upright, generous, and never hesitated to lift up the next generation.
Looking at the sky, Taiichi saw it was getting late and prepared to leave. Sakumo himself seemed stable enough for now; the critical variables remaining were Kakashi and that teammate, Yusuke.
Before stepping out the door, Taiichi turned back with a warning. "Sakumo-san, you might be open-minded enough to ignore the rumors, but Kakashi doesn't have your experience. Please, pay attention to his emotional state."
This was Taiichi's attempt to bridge the gap. In ninja families like the Hatakes, fathers and sons often went weeks or months without seeing each other. Lack of communication was usually where the tragedy began.
---
At that very moment, Kakashi was in a terrible mood.
Since returning from his mission a few days ago, he had realized the streets were filled with gossip about his father.
At first, he didn't believe it. But after asking around and seeing the official notice, he pieced together the truth.
But regarding the core issue—Mission vs. Comrades—Kakashi was torn.
He had always believed in the absolute priority of the mission. Yet, Taiichi's words from a previous encounter echoed in his mind, causing him to hesitate.
Which is more important?
Kakashi couldn't find the answer. If Taiichi were here, he would have rolled his eyes and told him, "Everything depends on context. There is no standard answer for moral dilemmas."
Walking home, Kakashi spotted three ninjas on a street corner, loudly discussing his father. Their language was filthy, speaking as if the White Fang had committed some unforgivable sin.
Kakashi snapped.
He didn't care about the rules. He threw a punch.
Fortunately, everyone involved had enough sense not to use weapons or ninjutsu, or it would have become a major incident. It was a street brawl.
But even so, Kakashi was fighting 1-on-3 against two Chunin and a Genin. He was gradually overwhelmed.
Seeing they had the upper hand, the bullies got cocky.
"Yo, isn't this the genius Kakashi? Trying to defend your daddy's honor?"
"Honor? What honor? The White Fang is just a coward who abandons missions!"
Their words became more vicious. Kakashi, outnumbered and unable to defend himself effectively, had to endure their physical attacks and their verbal abuse in silence.
Just as defeat seemed inevitable, two roars echoed down the street.
"Bastards! Ganging up on one guy? Come fight me one-on-one! Kakashi, you idiot, hold on! The Great One is here!"
" The fires of youth are burning! Kakashi, do not fear! I am coming to support you!"
Without a second of hesitation, a black figure and a green figure charged out from the alleyways, intercepting two of the bullies.
"Gai! Obito!"
Kakashi stared blankly at the two idiots rushing to his defense. A mix of emotions swirled in his chest.
It wasn't until he took a punch to the chest that he snapped back to reality and rejoined the fight.