The morning in Konoha should have been peaceful, but today the air was thick with an unusual restlessness.
Chiya stood by the window of the Security Force headquarters, watching the crowd gathering in the distance.
Wherever his gaze fell, small clusters of villagers were whispering among themselves, pointing in a particular direction from time to time.
"Clan Head."
Fugaku pushed the door open and stepped in, his expression grave.
"The situation with Hatake Sakumo is spreading faster than expected."
"Oh?"
Chiya did not turn around. He only narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Tell me."
"First, someone dug up old stories from the war. They are saying he was indecisive and caused multiple mission failures, that he delayed the counteroffensive against the Land of Wind."
Fugaku held out a scroll.
"Now there are also people coming forward claiming to have personally witnessed him retreating on the battlefield."
Chiya took the scroll, glanced over it, and gave a cold laugh.
"Quite convincingly fabricated."
"The worst part is..."
Fugaku lowered his voice.
"This morning, three ninja claiming to be former subordinates of Sakumo stepped forward to testify that he habitually put his own safety first and that comrades died on the battlefield because of him."
Before he finished speaking, a commotion suddenly erupted from outside the window.
Chiya turned to look. A group of ninja was marching down the street with purpose, several of them at the front holding up a banner that read: Cowards deserve to die.
Chiya tossed the scroll onto the desk.
"Let's go take a look."
Chiya took Fugaku and left the headquarters, heading toward Sakumo's home.
By this point, dozens of people had already gathered outside the Hatake compound.
Some were shouting and cursing. Others were hurling rotten vegetables at the courtyard wall.
A few children were laughing as they painted the word "coward" on the front gate in paint.
When Chiya and Fugaku approached, the crowd quieted somewhat.
The Uchiha clan crest reflected cold light in the sun, and the shouting villagers instinctively stepped back.
"What is the Uchiha clan head doing here?"
A chunin wearing a forehead protector asked, screwing up his nerve.
Chiya did not even glance at him. He pushed the gate open and walked straight through.
Inside the gate, a small silver-haired figure was waiting.
He stood warily under the eaves, watching Chiya and the others who had just pushed through the gate.
Young as he was, silver hair, and wearing a mask.
'So this little one is the fifty-fifty Hatake? Kakashi.'
Kakashi stared with his dead-fish eyes, his gaze shifting between Chiya and the crowd outside the gate.
"Where is your father?"
Chiya asked.
Kakashi did not answer. He only turned slightly to the side and revealed the half-open door behind him.
Chiya gave a small nod and walked toward the inner room.
The moment he pushed the door open, a strong smell of alcohol hit him.
In the dim room, Sakumo was slumped against the wall. The bottle in his hand was more than half empty.
The eyes that had once been sharp as a blade were now vacant and dull. The stubble on his chin made him look ten years older.
Hearing someone enter, he slowly raised his head and twisted his lips into a bitter smile.
"Chiya... why are you here? Come to watch me make a fool of myself?"
Chiya did not answer right away. Instead he looked around the room.
Scattered scrolls. An overturned picture frame. The White Fang blade tossed aside carelessly.
Every detail of this room was telling the story of its owner's collapse.
"I am simply curious."
Chiya walked to the window and pulled the curtains open in one motion. Blinding sunlight poured into the room.
"The legendary White Fang of the Leaf, just giving up like this?"
Sakumo squinted against the light and instinctively raised a hand to block it.
"What do you know..."
"You are right. I do not know."
Chiya turned around. His dark eyes looked straight at him.
"I do not know why a man who once made the Suna-nin tremble in fear on the battlefield is now hiding in here drinking like a dog that has lost its home."
Sakumo's fingers tightened suddenly. The bottle groaned under the pressure.
"Those people outside are not wrong."
He said in a hoarse voice.
"I am a failure. I could not protect my comrades on the battlefield, and now..."
"Nonsense."
The sudden bluntness startled Sakumo.
"If valuing your comrades is wrong, then the ninja's code should be rewritten to say comrades are disposable."
Chiya gave a cold laugh.
"Or are you saying that the people hiding safely in the rear, issuing orders with no blood on their hands, understand what it means to be a ninja better than you, who crawled out of mountains of corpses?"
Sakumo's breathing became unsteady. The blankness in his eyes was gradually replaced by something else.
"But the village..."
"A village is made up of people, when all is said and done. And wherever there are people, there will be prejudice."
The corner of Chiya's mouth curled in contempt.
"A village that can trample its own heroes so casually, is it worth sinking into despair over for someone like you?"
He walked up to Sakumo and looked down at the man who had once been so full of spirit.
"Hatake Sakumo, you disappoint me."
The words landed like a hammer blow directly on Sakumo's chest.
He shot to his feet. The bottle hit the floor and shattered.
"Then you tell me what I am supposed to do!"
His voice was raw.
Chiya was unmoved by his agitation. Instead a meaningful smile crossed his face.
"At the very least, the little brat who has been standing guard outside all day still believes his father is a hero."
Sakumo looked as though he had been struck by lightning. He stumbled to the window.
Through the glass, he saw Kakashi still standing stubbornly under the eaves. The small figure held its back perfectly straight, a kunai in hand that had appeared at some point, gripped tight.
Sakumo stared at Kakashi. A single tear dropped onto the windowsill.
"I..."
Chiya came to stand beside him. His voice was low but steady.
"Public opinion can destroy a hero. But it cannot destroy a father."
He placed a hand on Sakumo's shoulder.
"Besides, do you think the rats hiding in the shadows will stop at this?"
Sakumo turned sharply.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
Chiya walked toward the door.
"If they could turn white to black in three days, can you not guess what comes next?"
Sakumo fell silent.
'If things continue like this, I might...'
The thought frightened him.
"If one day you are gone, do you think the people who hate you will not find ways to take that hatred out on your son?"
"Will the resentment they built toward you not shift onto him?"
The light came back into Sakumo's eyes.
He walked to the White Fang, seized it, and slowly drew the blade.
Sunlight fell across the steel and reflected a sharp, blinding gleam.
"Chiya."
He said in a low voice.
"I do not know how to strike back..."
When Chiya heard those words his face broke into a full, bright smile.
The question had changed from "what do I do" to "how do I strike back."
It seemed the verbal assault had worked.
"Of course by reaching out to your former subordinates. Especially the ninja who fought in the war and stood by you. Have them come forward to clear your name."
"Address every single doubt they have raised, one by one."
"Especially the fraud behind this escort mission involving the important figure from the Land of Fire. Lay it all out in full detail."
"Make enough noise to force the Third to step in and put a stop to this himself."
"Those were all classified missions. That would not be appropriate..."
Chiya shook his head.
"You already broke the ninja's code. Are you really afraid to mention that those missions were classified?"
"These are nothing but completed missions. Besides, a brief mention does not count as leaking a mission."
"One more thing. For anything connected to the Third, do not bring up the Third directly. Put every question squarely on Danzo and the two advisors."
Sakumo was quiet for a moment, but it did not take him long to work it out.
After a short while he finally spoke, looking at Chiya with a complicated expression.
"I understand. Thank you, Chiya. I owe you one."
Chiya said nothing more when he heard this. He turned and walked toward the gate.
He stopped at the entrance and looked back once at the man who had reclaimed his edge. The corner of his mouth curved into a meaningful smile.
'A monument that has crumbled can be rebuilt. But a blood-soaked truth will tear apart any false peace in the end.'
'Hiruzen.'
'Your left arm and right arm are both mired in filth.'
'When the people of the village, when the other clans, see how tainted the people around you are, how will they believe you as Hokage are clean?'
'Pressure from within, and then "pressure" from without.'
'When that moment comes.'
'A Hokage who has lost the people's trust...'
'Will inevitably be made to yield his seat.'