The Death of White Fang!

Senya saw that Kakashi was nearly overwhelmed by anger and hatred, and knew his goal was about to be achieved.

Next, it was time to reveal the truth piece by piece.

"After the Second Shinobi World War, the name 'White Fang of the Leaf' resounded throughout the shinobi world. At the same time, there was also the title of the 'Three Sannin.'"

"But the title of the 'Three Sannin' was bestowed by Hanzō. Your father, Hatake Sakumo, was different. The title 'White Fang of the Leaf' was carved out by your father, blade stroke by blade stroke, on the battlefield."

"So after the war, he naturally received the Hokage Half-Sleeve. His status was second only to the Third Hokage at the time—Hiruzen Sarutobi."

Kakashi frowned. Senya's words drew him into thought. If that was the case, who would actually want to make a move against his father?

Seeing Kakashi calm down slightly, Senya continued. When someone was consumed by rage, they would often overturn their own thoughts once they calmed down, because they knew those thoughts had been extreme. But if they arrived at an answer through calm reflection, they would believe it without doubt.

That was why Senya wanted Kakashi to think through this question and accept the answer! Only then could he truly pull Kakashi onto his side. It had been the same when he spoke with Hyuga Hiashi earlier.

It was just that Hiashi was already prepared to turn against the village elders, saving Senya many steps.

"Then who exactly wanted to drive my father to his death? Could it have been the Hokage?"

Kakashi was frightened by the answer he had deduced. He could not believe that the kind old man, always holding a pipe, had been the mastermind behind his father's suicide.

Only after Kakashi voiced his guess did Senya continue.

"It wasn't the Third Hokage. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi was still in his prime back then and did not want to give up the Hokage's seat, he had no intention of driving your father to death."

"He didn't want to give up the Hokage's seat?"

Kakashi repeated those words and began to think. Could the Hokage Half-Sleeve his father had received have carried another meaning? Was it meant to prevent his father from becoming Hokage?

Leaning against the wall, Senya gave him an affirmative answer.

"That's right. Hiruzen Sarutobi was not yet fifty at the time. For a top-tier shinobi, while the body had begun to decline, combat experience only grew richer, and his strength was still at its peak."

"At that time, the Third Hokage did not want to step down. But faced with a 'White Fang of the Leaf' who was not even thirty and had already become famous throughout the shinobi world—on top of the enormous losses and casualties Konoha suffered during the war—could he still hold onto his position as Hokage?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's image in Kakashi's heart continued to crumble. The image of that gentle, benevolent man who had cared so deeply for "Kō" began to collapse.

Kakashi's clenched fists began to tremble, but Senya's account of the truth did not stop.

"In the years after the Second Shinobi World War, as the name 'White Fang of the Leaf' grew more and more renowned, it eventually reached the point where his achievements overshadowed his lord. The Third Hokage panicked."

"At that point, Danzo proposed a plan: arrange for the 'White Fang of the Leaf,' who had never failed, to suffer a defeat. He wanted to shatter the myth of your father's 'one hundred percent mission completion rate' and strike at his prestige."

"What happened next, you experienced it yourself. You probably know it better than I do."

Kakashi, who had been kneeling on the ground, stood up with his body trembling. His furious eyes were fixed on the ground.

"Yes, I know. But if it was only to suppress my father, then Hiruzen Sarutobi had already achieved his goal. Why did my father still commit suicide?!"

Senya, leaning against the wall, laughed softly.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi achieved his goal, yes. But Danzo did not. Ever since Hiruzen Sarutobi became Hokage, Danzo had constantly coveted that position. He even secretly tried to assassinate Hiruzen."

"You know about that too, don't you? It happened after your teacher, the Fourth Hokage Minato, died, when Hiruzen returned to office."

Kakashi nodded. He had been in the Anbu at the time, so he knew about it. Hiruzen had merely issued a gag order, and Kakashi had no idea how Senya knew.

"So, do you understand who the culprit was now?"

Senya posed the final question.

Kakashi raised his head and met Senya's gaze.

"It was Danzo, wasn't it? But why? Why did he have to kill my father just to become Hokage? Why?"

By now, Kakashi knew the entire sequence of events. He had sorted through his thoughts and deduced the answer in his heart. But why? Why did Danzo have to kill his father to become Hokage? Today, he had to get to the bottom of it.

Senya had expected Kakashi to ask that. Everything was being guided toward the outcome Senya wanted.

"Because at the time, both Danzo and Hiruzen could afford to wait. As long as Danzo arranged for Hatake Sakumo to die, then once the Third Hokage stepped down, Danzo would be next."

"But what Danzo did not expect was that after the Third Shinobi World War ended, Hiruzen did step down, but the Hokage's seat was passed to your teacher, Minato Namikaze."

"That is why Root, under Danzo's command, did not appear on the battlefield during the Nine-Tails Attack. Do you understand now? Danzo used every possible method to frame your father and force him to take his own life. He stood by and watched your teacher Minato die. Only when he finally grew old and weak, when he truly could not afford to wait any longer, did he choose to assassinate Hiruzen."

"Everything, all of it, was for the seat called 'Hokage.'"

"Kakashi Hatake's defenses have been broken. Replicated Lightning Release Chakra Mastery. Mangekyo ocular power: 10%."

The system's voice sounded in Senya's mind. He was delighted. He had not expected breaking Kakashi's defenses to increase not only his ocular power, but also grant mastery over Lightning Release ninjutsu. As expected of the man known as "Hatake Fifty-Fifty."

Kakashi tore the forehead protector from his head and hurled it to the ground with all his strength.

"Is this the so-called 'Will of Fire'?! Father! Teacher Minato! They actually died for something so absurd! What have I been doing all these years?! Carrying out missions for my own enemies?!"

At that moment, the Mangekyo in Kakashi's left eye was exposed directly before Senya. Kakashi himself, however, did not realize it.

Seeing Kakashi look as though he had been completely shattered, Senya knew the troublesome cleanup work had begun again. He needed to rebuild Kakashi's broken "heart of the path" and give him a brand-new Nindo.

"Kakashi, your father's suicide was partly due to Danzo's scheme, but there was another reason as well."

Kakashi froze, then instinctively asked, "What reason?"

Senya walked up to Kakashi, reached out, and pulled him to his feet. Then he patted the dust from his clothes.

"First, it was the loyalty of 'bushido.' Your father was Konoha's last samurai, and also the strongest among those who had transitioned from samurai to shinobi. Although his identity had changed, your father's heart had always been loyal to 'Konoha,' not to the 'Hokage.'"

"But I believe the main reason was you."

When Kakashi heard Senya's final sentence, he staggered back several steps as if his soul had left his body, murmuring over and over.

"For me?"

Senya gave him another definite answer.

"That's right. Because if Hatake Sakumo had remained alive, you would have lived beneath his shadow. You would have been constantly ostracized by the people in the village, perhaps even cursed at. So he chose to use his 'death' to quell the resentment of the villagers in the Konoha he loved, so they would not take their anger out on you."