Advisor Arrives

Time flowed into the early morning of the second day.

After bidding farewell to Yakushi Nonō, Kazashiro walked along, practicing the hand seals required for the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu with his hands.

"It's Kazashiro-kun, practicing Ninjutsu so early in the morning?" A soft voice called out. Looking up, Kazashiro saw Rin Nohara standing at the intersection, waiting for him.

"Are you alone? Kakashi didn't come?" Seeing only Rin, Kazashiro was a little confused.

Logically, Kakashi should have been the first to arrive every time. What, Obito isn't even dead yet, and Kakashi's already inheriting his "will"?

"I don't know, maybe something delayed him?" Rin shook her head. She also didn't expect to be the first one to arrive at the meeting point today.

The two stood waiting for a while, until Anko came skipping out from the roadside humming a tune. After a bit of roughhousing with Kazashiro, Kakashi finally arrived.

"What's up, Kakashi? If you're any later, even Obito would have shown up by now," Kazashiro teased, unable to see Kakashi's expression through his mask.

"It's nothing, my father returned yesterday." Kakashi glanced at Kazashiro and shook his head, not elaborating further.

Sakumo had returned home in the early hours of the morning. Kakashi, who had gotten up upon hearing the noise to greet him, witnessed a strange scene.

His father was being escorted back by two Anbu. Before leaving, they had spoken to his father in very hushed tones.

But when he asked his father what had happened, his reply was dismissive.

Although Kakashi didn't press further, his intuition told him that Sakumo was definitely hiding something.

Anbu...

Looking at Kazashiro, who was chasing Anko beside him, Kakashi wrestled with himself for a long time before finally making a difficult decision.

"Has anything been happening in the village recently? And does it concern your father?"

During the break, Kazashiro, having been invited by Kakashi to a secluded rooftop, was utterly bewildered.

Right, the easiest way to find out certain things is through Danzo's son, Kazashiro.

Given Kakashi's personality, he would never have opened up like this if it wasn't about his father.

"What's happening? Huh?" Kazashiro, who had blurted out his reply subconsciously, suddenly stopped, his brows furrowing deeply.

Danzo was on a mission, the Third Hokage personally visited, Kakashi's strange inquiry...

Sakumo is going to die?!

"Kakashi, quickly, tell me what you found out!" Kazashiro asked, his face tense, looking at Kakashi before him.

Seeing Kazashiro more flustered than himself, Kakashi realized the other boy must have thought of something. He then recounted what he had seen and heard yesterday to Kazashiro.

After listening to Kakashi's narration, Kazashiro was ninety percent certain that the story had reached the point of Sakumo's death.

I can't just stand by and watch Sakumo die.

Meanwhile, on the other side, in the Hokage Building.

Hiruzen, who thought the matter of Sakumo was settled, leaned back in his seat, leisurely smoking his pipe.

Although he felt a pang of regret about the substantial subsidy, money could always be earned back; it wasn't a pressing matter.

If this could earn Sakumo's even greater gratitude towards the village, then the money would be well spent.

He glanced out the window at his Hokage Rock face, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Third Hokage, two advisors are requesting an audience." This rare moment of peace didn't last long, as the arrival of the two advisors shattered the tranquility.

Extinguishing his pipe, Hiruzen looked back at the Anbu who had come to report, a flicker of unease crossing his mind.

Why are these two arriving at this time?

"Let them in." As soon as Hiruzen finished speaking, the two advisors pushed open the door aggressively.

"Hiruzen, I heard the mission entrusted to us by the Daimyo failed?" Utatane Koharu questioned Hiruzen with an aggressive demeanor as soon as she entered.

Hiruzen, caught off guard, didn't even have time to put down his extinguished pipe and retorted in surprise, "How did you know?"

After speaking, he realized the impropriety of his words and quickly corrected himself, "I mean, where did you hear about it?"

Seeing Hiruzen's attitude, the two exchanged glances, their hearts already convinced that the matter was true.

"We also learned about it from the ninjas in the village. Furthermore, they said the failure of this mission was entirely caused by Hatake Sakumo. Is that true?" Mitokado Homura said slowly.

Bang. Hiruzen slammed his pipe heavily onto the table.

Not only was the mission failure leaked, but the person who carried out the mission was also known to others?!

This was supposed to be a top-secret mission. Besides the person executing it, only they, the high-ranking officials, knew the details.

Who is it? An enemy village? Or a high-ranking official? Or the person who carried out the mission?

Startled by the sound Hiruzen made, Utatane Koharu softened her tone. "Hiruzen, we've come to verify the truth of this matter. After all, it concerns the Daimyo, and we need to know if these rumors are true."

"Yes, the mission failed." Seeing that the situation had reached this point, Hiruzen had no choice but to admit the fact, but he didn't mention Sakumo.

Receiving the answer, the two exchanged glances again, seeing a hint of regret in each other's eyes.

"This money could have been used to procure military supplies..." Utatane Koharu sighed.

Since the Second Shinobi World War, there had been no large-scale confrontations between the Five Great Hidden Villages. The Daimyos, accustomed to prolonged peace, had collectively reduced their respective villages' military spending.

There was no other way; the ninjas had to increase their efforts and seek commissions from more channels to maintain the number of ninjas in the village.

"There's no helping it, of course. I didn't deliberately hide it from you. I entrusted the entire matter to Danzo to handle. This might be his doing." Fearing the two would bring up his intentional concealment, Hiruzen simply pushed all the blame onto Danzo.

"Danzo?" The two were taken aback upon hearing Danzo's name, then nodded in unison. "It's indeed appropriate to leave this matter to Danzo. The mission details must be thoroughly investigated. If it's true, as rumored, that Sakumo abandoned this mission for someone, then he must be severely punished."

"Hiruzen, you absolutely cannot be soft-hearted at a time like this. If everyone starts abandoning missions casually like Sakumo without facing punishment, ninjas will follow his example. The village's interests will suffer greatly."

Mitokado Homura looked at Hiruzen, who remained silent, and added, "We'll go find Danzo later to inquire about the specific details. You have no objections, do you, Hiruzen?"

"Of course, that's your right." Hiruzen felt a headache coming on after listening to their lengthy speech, but he dared not say much and could only nod silently.