White Fang's Suicide

"Hey! You stuck-up Yamanaka Tohru, wait for me!"

The moment Yamanaka Tohru heard the voice, he knew it was Obito calling him. Ever since Tohru had taken first place in the class rankings, Obito had gone from refusing to accept Kakashi alone to refusing to accept both of them.

Kakashi usually ignored Obito's provocations. Whenever Obito pushed him too far, Kakashi would give him a thorough beating.

Unlike Kakashi, though, Yamanaka Tohru never got angry. As a man in his thirties who had lived two lives, he had plenty of self-control. That was how Obito's name for him became "stuck-up Yamanaka Tohru."

"Obito, you actually weren't late today? Didn't you run into an old lady?"

"I did, but I didn't help her."

"Why not? Don't you love helping people?"

"Hmph! Yesterday, I heard that old lady badmouthing Lord White Fang with some other people."

Yamanaka Tohru's Shadow Clone always dispelled itself as soon as school ended, while the original body had barely stepped out of the house these past two months, focusing entirely on practicing Medical Ninjutsu. He had paid no attention at all to the rumors circulating through the village.

"Obito, what happened to Lord White Fang?"

"You stuck-up Yamanaka Tohru, you don't know?"

Yamanaka Tohru shook his head.

Obito sighed. "It's like this. Lord White Fang and a companion went to Sunagakure to carry out a secret mission. Sunagakure set a trap and trapped his companion. Lord White Fang chose to abandon the mission and save his companion. I heard that mission caused enormous losses for the village, so the villagers became dissatisfied with Lord White Fang. What makes me the angriest is that the companion Lord White Fang saved even turned around and criticized him three days ago."

So it really was this incident. It was already Konoha Year 38. In the original story, Kakashi had been devastated by his father's death and chosen to graduate early in order to clear his father's name. Going by the timeline, Hatake Sakumo's death should be within the next few days.

Kakashi was one of the few friends Yamanaka Tohru truly acknowledged, and Hatake Sakumo was deeply connected to both of his parents. No matter what, Yamanaka Tohru would not let Hatake Sakumo die.

"Obito, go to school first. I have something to do. I'll be there soon."

Yamanaka Tohru did not know exactly when Hatake Sakumo would kill himself. The only thing he could be sure of was that Sakumo died several days after that companion condemned him. Obito had just said it was three days ago, so the suicide would most likely happen today or tomorrow.

After sending Obito away, Yamanaka Tohru turned and sprinted toward Kakashi's home. With his powerful spiritual strength, he would never forget a place he had visited even once. He quickly found his way to the Hatake Family residence.

No one guarded the Hatake Family home. In Konoha, apart from the Hokage, no one dared trespass into the Hatake Family residence. Seeing no one around, Yamanaka Tohru went straight inside.

The Hatake Family home looked no different from when he had seen it at the age of one. Yamanaka Tohru soon reached the inner chamber, where Hatake Sakumo lay in a pool of blood with a short blade through his heart.

"Lord White Fang!" Yamanaka Tohru was startled. Had he still arrived too late?

Yamanaka Tohru hurried over. After examining him, he confirmed that White Fang had committed suicide only minutes ago—and that he was not dead yet!

The short blade had pierced Hatake Sakumo's heart, cutting off the blood supply to his brain and sending him into a state of suspended death. Yamanaka Tohru was confident that he could save him in this condition.

Yamanaka Tohru used [Mystical Palm Technique], intending to repair Sakumo's heart first. At that moment, a ninja wearing an animal mask slowly approached from behind him.

The Yamanaka Clan were mostly sensory-type ninja, and Yamanaka Tohru was no exception. The instant the Masked Ninja appeared behind him, he had already noticed.

Pretending not to notice, Yamanaka Tohru used [Mystical Palm Technique] with his left hand to treat Hatake Sakumo's heart while secretly forming a Chakra Scalpel in his right hand.

Just as the ninja prepared to kill Yamanaka Tohru, Tohru suddenly turned around. The Chakra Scalpel in his right hand severed the Masked Ninja's leg tendons. If Yamanaka Tohru had been taller, that strike could have sliced straight through the Masked Ninja's throat.

With both leg tendons severed, the Masked Ninja collapsed to the ground. Only then did Yamanaka Tohru get a clear look at his attire—it was identical to the outfits worn by Anbu or Root in the original story.

"Who are you? Why did you sneak attack me?" Yamanaka Tohru asked while maintaining [Mystical Palm Technique].

The Masked Ninja did not answer. Yamanaka Tohru could not be bothered with him anymore and focused on repairing Sakumo's heart. In his previous life, four minutes without oxygen could cause irreversible brain damage. Even with chakra in this world, Yamanaka Tohru did not dare assume Hatake Sakumo's brain could endure oxygen deprivation for long.

[Ice Release: Freeze]. This was a jutsu Yamanaka Tohru had developed based on his own body. It could temporarily freeze the human body. Seventy to seventy-five percent of the human body was water, and even bones contained ten to forty percent water. This jutsu could freeze the water within the body, suspending its functions and preserving it at the exact moment it was frozen. To save Hatake Sakumo, Yamanaka Tohru used Ice Release before outsiders for the first time.

The Masked Ninja on the ground, whose tendons Yamanaka Tohru had severed, was most likely from Root. The Hokage's Anbu would not casually attack people within the village. Combined with the plot from the anime in his previous life, Yamanaka Tohru believed that the Third Hokage had not known about Hatake Sakumo's suicide, and that the village's public opinion campaign had not been the Third Hokage's doing either.

Since the ninja on the ground had seen Yamanaka Tohru's Ice Release, and Yamanaka Tohru had no intention of exposing his greatest secret yet, only the dead could keep secrets. A Chakra Scalpel formed once more in Yamanaka Tohru's right hand.

[Water Release: Water Ripple]. Although the Masked Ninja's legs could not move, he had long noticed the killing intent in Yamanaka Tohru's eyes.

A C-rank Water Release came hurtling toward him. The Masked Ninja remained calm; a C-rank Water Release was not worth his concern. What he needed to watch out for was the Chakra Scalpel.

Ice Seal! The instant Water Ripple struck the ground, Yamanaka Tohru froze it solid. The Masked Ninja had never expected Yamanaka Tohru's Water Release to suddenly turn to ice. Sensing his chakra within the ice, Yamanaka Tohru teleported onto an ice block behind the ninja and swept his right hand, severing the ninja's throat.

After killing the Masked Ninja, Yamanaka Tohru controlled the ice to melt.

Yamanaka Tohru had no time to dwell on the feeling of killing someone for the first time. Right now, he needed to race against time to save Hatake Sakumo.

Yamanaka Tohru had originally planned to send Hatake Sakumo to Konoha Hospital. With the help of medical equipment, he was confident that he could save Sakumo.

Only after lifting Hatake Sakumo did Yamanaka Tohru realize that he had almost no chakra left. He had used Mystical Palm Technique once, formed Chakra Scalpels twice, and frozen both the Water Release and Hatake Sakumo. His chakra was nearly exhausted.

Yamanaka Tohru's Ice Seal could last no more than twenty minutes, leaving him no time to recover his chakra. Fortunately, Kakashi's Mother heard the sounds of fighting in the inner chamber and rushed over.

"Sakumo!"

"Aunt Junko, I'm Yamanaka Tohru, Yamanaka Seiko's son. Please help me take Lord White Fang to the hospital."

Junko was also a Medical Ninja. After examining him, she fell into despair. Her eyes went dull as Hatake Sakumo's "death" dealt her a devastating blow.

"Aunt Junko! I can save Lord White Fang. He isn't dead. Believe me—help me take Lord White Fang to the hospital."

"Really?"

"Really!" The determination in Yamanaka Tohru's eyes rekindled Junko's hope. She carried Hatake Sakumo on her back while Yamanaka Tohru followed behind, and together they sprinted toward Konoha Hospital.