That night, the lights in the Hatake house stayed on for a long time.
Sakumo sat in the living room with a cup of tea gone completely cold in front of him, and in his ears, he could still vaguely hear Shin-chan's voice.
"Mister, you saved your comrades and sacrificed the mission. Isn't that the Will of Fire?"
"Mister, you completed so many successful missions before this one. Even though this one failed, if you add up all the others, that should be way more than just this one failure, right?"
Those words were like a tiny key, unlocking something inside him.
For days, the blame had come crashing down from every direction.
The looks from the villagers, the silence of his teammates—even the man he had saved didn't dare stand up and say a single word for him.
He had started to believe he really was wrong.
He had even started to believe he ought to die to atone for it.
But that child had said—
You did nothing wrong.
You saved someone.
Sakumo lowered his head and looked at his hands.
These hands had saved many people, and they had killed many people too. This time, he had chosen to save lives and let the mission go.
Was that really wrong?
He remembered something the Third Hokage had once said.
"Protect the village. Protect your comrades. Protect the future."
He had protected his comrades.
That was all he had done.
Sakumo took a long, deep breath, then slowly let it out.
Outside, the moon had risen, and its cold light spilled in through the window.
Sakumo slowly stood up, walked over to the window, looked out at the moonlit night, and softly said,
"Thank you, Shin-chan."
The next morning, in the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage was reviewing documents when he heard a knock at the door. He paused, then said, "Come in."
The door opened, and Sakumo walked in.
The Third Hokage froze slightly when he saw him.
Sakumo still looked tired, but his eyes had regained the calm they used to hold.
"Lord Third." Sakumo walked up to him and bowed deeply.
The Third Hokage let out a quiet sigh. "You came."
Sakumo pulled a scroll from inside his robe and offered it with both hands.
"This is my written confession."
The Third Hokage accepted it and opened it.
The contents were written out clearly: the course of the mission, the reason for its failure, and his willingness to take full responsibility for everything.
The Third Hokage frowned. "Sakumo, this..."
"There's also this."
Sakumo pulled out one more item.
Half of a Hokage sleeve.
It was something the Third Hokage had personally given him years ago, after Sakumo had achieved countless merits.
Sakumo placed that half-sleeve beside the confession letter.
The Third Hokage's expression changed. "What are you doing?"
"I'm not worthy of it." Sakumo's voice was calm. "The mission failed, and the village suffered losses. That responsibility is mine and mine alone."
The Third Hokage looked at him, his expression complicated. "No one truly blames you."
Sakumo gave a bitter smile.
"Lord Third, you don't need to comfort me."
"I'm not comforting you." The Third Hokage stood up. "The choice between a mission and one's comrades has always been an impossible question. You chose to save your comrades. That was not wrong."
Sakumo shook his head. "But the mission failed."
"A mission can come again. Once a person dies, they're gone."
Sakumo remained silent.
The Third Hokage sighed and reached for the half-sleeve. "At least take this back for now..."
"No need." Sakumo interrupted him. "Lord Third, I know exactly what I'm doing."
The Third Hokage stared at him for a long moment before finally nodding. "Alright. Then I'll hold onto it for you for now."
Sakumo bowed once more and turned to leave.
"Sakumo." The Third Hokage called out to stop him, concern heavy in his voice. "Are you... alright?"
A faint smile appeared on Sakumo's face. "I'm fine. I just happened to come across a light."
The Third Hokage stood by the window, watching his back as he left, his brows drawn tightly together.
A light?
What light?
At the same time, deep inside the Root headquarters, Danzo sat in a dimly lit room, listening to his subordinate's report.
"Hatake Sakumo went to the Hokage Tower this morning, voluntarily submitted a written confession, accepted responsibility for the mission's failure, and returned the Hokage sleeve."
Danzo frowned slightly. "And that's all?"
"Yes. Afterward, he returned directly home. There was no abnormal behavior."
Danzo tapped his fingers against the desk without thinking.
Given Sakumo's personality, after being buried beneath endless criticism, then abandoned by the very people he had saved, he should have sunk into deep self-doubt. He should even have been driven toward something extreme.
And yet now, he had recovered too quickly.
Too quickly to be normal.
"What happened?" Danzo asked.
"A child went to his house yesterday evening."
"A child?"
"Yes." The ninja pulled a sheet of paper from his robe. "We already looked into it."
Danzo took it and lowered his eyes to read.
A few lines were written on the page.
Nohara Shinnosuke, age five, first-year student at the ninja academy.
Father: Nohara Hiroshi (chunin). Mother: Nohara Misae (civilian).
Classmate of Hatake Kakashi.
Previously studied swordsmanship under Hatake Sakumo.
Third place in the third-year exam.
The Third Hokage once gifted him a Leaf Guardian Bell and called him "a good child capable of inheriting the Will of Fire."
Danzo's gaze paused on the words "Leaf Guardian Bell."
So Hiruzen had actually given away the Leaf Guardian Bell too.
He let out a cold snort and continued reading.
Yesterday evening, the child returned home with Hatake Kakashi, spoke privately with Hatake Sakumo for about ten minutes, and after leaving, Hatake Sakumo's condition improved significantly.
Danzo raised his head, his expression turning deep and unreadable.
A five-year-old child spoke with Hatake Sakumo alone for ten minutes, and then Sakumo was suddenly fine?
What exactly had that child said?
After thinking for a moment, Danzo asked, "Have you thoroughly investigated the child's background?"
"We have." The ninja replied. "It's very clean. There's nothing suspicious. He's just... a somewhat unusual child."
"Unusual?"
"Yes. It's said that he's often late to class, hates eating green peppers with an extreme passion, likes flirting with pretty girls, but has good talent and improves very quickly in swordsmanship."
Danzo fell silent for a moment. Then the corner of his mouth slowly curved upward into a smile cold enough to send a chill through anyone who saw it.
"Interesting."
He set the paper back down on the desk and once again tapped his fingers lightly against its surface.
A child who could change Hatake Sakumo.
If such a child could be brought into Root and properly cultivated—
No, perhaps he wouldn't even need cultivation.
As long as he could be controlled, Hatake Sakumo could be influenced through him.
Danzo had had his eye on Sakumo for a long time. If he could seize indirect control of that blade—even if the chances were only one in ten thousand...
"Investigate him," Danzo said. "Find out everything about this child. His daily habits. His relationships. His personality weaknesses."
"Yes, sir."
"And one more thing." Danzo paused. "Find out exactly what kind of relationship he has with Hatake Sakumo, and why Sakumo is so affected by him."
"Yes, sir."
The ninja withdrew.
Danzo sat there in the dim light, staring at the name "Nohara Shinnosuke" on the paper.
"A good child capable of inheriting the Will of Fire..." he muttered to himself. "Then let's see whether your will is truly strong enough."
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 50 Chapters Ahead of Others!