Sakumo Hatake.
In the original Naruto series that Hatani had watched in his previous life, Sakumo was a legendary figure who existed only in the stories told by others. Everyone knew he was powerful, but exactly how powerful was a topic that sparked endless, vitriolic debates among internet trolls.
Back then, whenever Hatani watched that "unburnable" sequel series—Boruto—he couldn't help but curse Kishimoto and his assistants for their choices. He often daydreamed about how much better it would have been if the author had chosen the Second Shinobi World War as a starting point instead. A detailed portrayal of Sakumo Hatake, the young Sannin, and Hanzo of the Salamander, the "Demi-God" of the shinobi world, would have been infinitely more compelling than the sequel ever was.
It seemed, however, that the universe had decided to compensate him for those regrets. Having been reincarnated into this era, he was now getting the chance to experience it all firsthand.
In the thirteen years since he arrived in this world, this was the first time Hatani had ever laid eyes on Sakumo Hatake.
It made sense. As an elite of the ANBU, Sakumo spent the vast majority of his time outside the village on top-secret missions. As a civilian orphan with no connections to the Hatake clan, Hatani had been perfectly content to delay this meeting. He had no desire to cross paths with the ANBU prematurely. It was like living in the Soviet Union during the early twentieth century—no one wanted a quiet life interrupted by a sudden knock on the door from the secret police.
Standing before him was the man who would eventually father the "Mr. Worldwide" of the ninja world, Kakashi. At this stage, Sakumo was only a year or two older than the Sannin, and his most striking feature was his sheer, overwhelming aura.
He was nothing like the kind, gentle father Kakashi would eventually meet by the campfire in the Pure Land. Currently in his absolute prime, Sakumo had just led a small ANBU unit to a decisive victory over a massive Iwa puppet brigade a year prior. He stood there like a divine blade that had been honed for a decade—cold, sharp, and radiating a killing intent so piercing that the phrase "daunting to look upon" felt like an understatement.
Seeing Sakumo in this state—exposed, sharp, and dangerously brilliant—Hatani began to understand why Danzo would later manufacture the mission-failure scandal to ruin him, and why Hiruzen Sarutobi would choose silence, or even covertly fan the flames.
"Great merit overshadowing the lord" was one factor, but it was more than that. Sakumo's sheer sharpness was a constant prick to the skin of those two "scheming old foxes." They wanted to blunt his edge and break his spirit.
What they likely hadn't expected was that a man who appeared so unbreakable was actually quite fragile. He was a man who chose suicide over "a few mere rumors."
But looking at him now, Hatani understood.
The stiffest tree is the first to crack.
A divine sword is defined by its edge. Once that edge is shattered, it is cast into the dust as scrap metal, remembered only with mockery. Sakumo, unwilling to bend or live with a broken blade, had chosen the most violent path of all: Gyokusai—shattering like a jewel rather than surviving as a common tile.
"Sakumo," Hiruzen Sarutobi called out.
Hatani's mind was swirling with these thoughts, but Hiruzen had no time to waste. He was desperate to save his favorite student. The moment Sakumo appeared, the Hokage issued his orders with palpable urgency.
"Team Tsunade has pushed deep into enemy territory to intercept the retreating Iwa mole-rats. They've used themselves as bait to draw the enemy out, but the situation is critical. They are surrounded and require immediate rescue and assistance to wipe out the stragglers. I order you to take a hundred master swordsmen and advance at full speed. Rescue Tsunade and help her block the Iwa retreat."
Hiruzen's feelings toward Sakumo were a complicated mix of admiration and wariness. Sakumo was the sharpest sword in his arsenal, but for that very reason, Hiruzen feared the blade might one day turn and cut him.
After a brief internal struggle, Hiruzen decided not to give Sakumo full command of the entire operation. Instead, he would use him strictly as he was intended: as the tip of the spear.
"Understood," Sakumo replied simply.
His mind didn't harbor the political machinations of the elders. As a man who would later sacrifice a mission for the lives of his comrades—an "outlier" who believed that those who don't cherish their friends are worse than scum—his heart tightened at the news of Tsunade's team being surrounded. He gave his acknowledgment and immediately turned to gather his men.
"This is Namikaze Hatani, the Genin from Team Tsunade who brought the report. He will guide you," Hiruzen added, pointing to the boy.
Sakumo's gaze swept over Hatani, and he gave a curt nod.
Hatani, who had been looking for any excuse to get close to Sakumo and convince the man to mentor him in kenjutsu, wasn't about to refuse. He bowed deeply to Hiruzen and followed Sakumo out of the tent.
"Hiruzen, what is the meaning of this?"
Once Sakumo and Hatani were gone, Mitokado Homura, who had remained silent until now, finally frowned. He didn't understand Hiruzen's tactical split. It was only an operation involving fifteen hundred ninjas; Sakumo was more than capable of commanding the whole thing.
"Tsunade is facing dozens of times her numbers. The situation must be dire," Hiruzen explained, having already prepared his excuse. "I want Sakumo to focus entirely on the rescue without having to worry about the grand strategy of the encirclement."
"And the commander for the rest of the purge?"
"Send Torifu," Hiruzen replied.
He had chosen his candidate carefully. Akimichi Torifu, another member of Tobirama Senju's elite guard, was an honest, loyal man who never sought fame or power. Hiruzen felt it was time to let his old teammate earn some prestige and merit.
Homura felt the move was a bit like "taking off one's pants just to fart"—an unnecessary extra step—but he wasn't going to object.
Shortly after Sakumo departed with his hundred elite swordsmen (all of whom were at least Chunin level), Akimichi Torifu set out with the remaining force of over a thousand ninjas, led by specialists from the Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans to begin the systematic purge.
While Sakumo's elite unit was racing to the rescue, the situation for the stranded Team Tsunade was rapidly deteriorating.
Just as Tsunade had anticipated, the Iwa ninjas—who had suffered heavy losses during the initial Konoha sweep—were eager for revenge the moment they realized a lone Konoha squad had strayed so far from their main army.
When they realized that the squad contained one of the Sannin, their bloodlust reached a fever pitch.
Worse yet, many Iwa Chunin recognized they weren't strong enough to kill Tsunade themselves. Instead of throwing their lives away in a head-on fight, they chose to sacrifice themselves just to buy enough time for a single teammate to escape and spread the word.
Tsunade, Minato, and Choza were immensely powerful, but on a chaotic, shifting battlefield, they couldn't control every variable. Too many Iwa scouts managed to slip away while their teammates held the line with suicidal desperation.
As more Iwa reinforcements caught wind of their location, the "bait" began to look more and more like prey.