Morning.
Some villagers arrived early at the Hatake Family Residence.
Just as they were about to curse loudly, they noticed several large, blood-red words left on the white wall beside them—
You all said I colluded with the Uchiha Clan, so I'll do as you wish.
The villagers' expressions changed when they saw the words. After looking around, one of them immediately formed hand seals with both hands and vanished from the spot.
Hokage Building.
At the entrance, Hiruzen Sarutobi had just appeared when he saw an Anbu rushing toward him.
"Hokage-sama, this is bad!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. "The most important quality of an Anbu is composure. No matter what happens, you must remain calm."
"Do you understand?"
The Anbu ninja immediately straightened up. "Yes!"
Only then did Hiruzen Sarutobi nod in satisfaction. As he walked toward the Hokage's Office, he asked, "Speak. What do you have to report?"
The Anbu ninja cleared his throat and said methodically, "When I went to Hatake Sakumo's house today, I found a message on his wall."
The Anbu ninja repeated the words on the wall to Hiruzen Sarutobi, then continued, "I checked inside the Hatake Family Residence and found no sign of Hatake Sakumo or Kakashi Hatake."
The moment the Anbu finished speaking, he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi sway.
"Hokage-sama, what's wrong? Did you not rest well?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer hear the sounds around him.
His head felt as if it were about to explode, buzzing without end.
He had never imagined that Hatake Sakumo would directly choose to defect just because he had been made to take the blame...
Even if he had grievances, he could have discussed them with him first. How could he resort to such an extreme method?!
And if he was going to defect, what was the