Seeing the dead look in Hatake Sakumo's eyes, Akaseki and his two companions froze for a moment.
His eyes did look dead, but the man himself was clearly still alive!
Surely those troublemakers hadn't meant he'd died spiritually when they said he'd committed suicide?
Since when did Konoha have poets?
Although Hatake Sakumo was in a bad mental state and hadn't even invited them inside, the three entered anyway.
Kakashi came in then too, telling his father sullenly, "That Wangjie guy seems to have killed himself."
Akaseki: ...
So Wangjie was the one who'd killed himself?
Kakashi's attitude was strange too. He seemed cold toward his father, completely unlike the affection they'd shown each other when Akaseki saw them at the start of the school year.
Still, Akaseki now understood why those troublemakers had worn those expressions when faced with his righteous questioning...
Wangjie Chouzhen-wasn't he the Jonin who'd turned on Hatake Sakumo?
Apparently, the Uchiha Clan had even "cornered" him to death...
In other words, from everyone else's perspective, the Uchiha Clan had first viciously criticized Hatake Sakumo, putting him under tremendous pressure.
Then, once Wangjie Chouzhen could no longer take it and "righteously distanced himself" from Hatake Sakumo, even turning on him, the Uchiha Clan had suddenly switched targets. They'd accused Wangjie Chouzhen of being "an ungrateful wretch" and "unworthy of being a Konoha Ninja," trampling all over him and bullying him mercilessly...
Thinking about it, Wangjie Chouzhen really must have broken down.
He'd already thrown away all propriety and shame, deciding to use "I would rather have been sacrificed" as a fig leaf to sever ties with Hatake Sakumo and join "everyone" condemning him. To justify his position, he'd even attacked Sakumo with exceptional viciousness.
And then, right at that moment...
The Uchiha Clan had pulled the