Fictional Truth and Fictional Lies

The masked ninja did not speak, merely revealing a strange smile at the corners of his mouth; despite his ruse being exposed, he showed no intense reaction.

Instead, he appeared somewhat sluggish, as if he had come here purely to throw his life away.

Throw his life away?

Hatake Sakumo's expression tightened. Long years of battlefield combat had made his intuition and senses incredibly sharp, and he heard the faint sound of something burning.

The ninja before him had not performed a single hand seal, yet there was the sound of paper burning; Hatake Sakumo instantly realized what that sound was.

Explosive Tags!

The sound was a dense, overlapping cacophony!

"BOOM!"

The shockwave of the explosion and the flames instantly swallowed the masked ninja, then spread outward.

The scorching blast and powerful impact, accompanied by a blinding, dazzling light, instantly demolished the wooden hut, the ear-piercing roar sounding exceptionally loud in this quiet border area.

In just an instant, the perimeter of the wooden hut's ruins was filled with many ninjas.

The rolling crimson flames and smoke slowly dissipated in the breeze, revealing the Susanoo standing amidst the fire.

The small-scale Susanoo quickly dispersed, revealing the two people protected within.

The high heat and impact had thoroughly devastated the surroundings, leaving only a massive crater where the masked ninja had originally stood.

The originally earthy-brown ground had turned charred black under the burning of the high-temperature flames.

Within the smooth, concave pit, one could occasionally see slight [tremors]; cyan smoke rose slowly from those charred objects, appearing quite eerie.

"Blown clean away. Even his forehead protector was blasted into slag, and his head was blown apart so thoroughly that I don't even know where his skull went. There isn't a single piece of evidence left on his body to prove his identity."

Uchiha Yuji carefully observed the surroundings.

But how could a guy who had been blown into bits leave behind any evidence?

Special toxins gradually spread amidst the burning flames, and the Mangekyo in Uchiha Yuji's eyes quietly unfolded.

The gate of chaos sucked in all the poisonous gas, then flung it into a corner of space where it gradually dissipated.

"A suicide attack. Sarutobi Hiruzen really is a 'good' Hokage."

The veins on Hatake Sakumo's hands bulged, his tightly clenched fists turning his knuckles white, his hands pale.

Most Root ninjas were those who had abandoned their own identities, sacrificing everything for Konoha for the sake of a simple slogan.

Even if their way of thinking was slightly different from normal people after undergoing brainwashing—with many of them being nothing more than madmen—Hatake Sakumo still considered them comrades, companions from the same village.

After Danzo died, a group of Root ninjas loyal to him had slit their own throats, while other die-hards pondered how to take revenge, and many more were taken over by Sarutobi Hiruzen.

No matter how naive Hatake Sakumo might be, he would not believe that this matter had nothing to do with Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He was a ninja who would decisively choose his comrades over his missions; faced with this bloody reality, his anger rose uncontrollably.

"No more waiting. Yuji, we are heading straight to Konoha."

Hatake Sakumo's entire aura was completely different from usual; his face was stern, but his eyes were filled with raging flames—the expression he wore when facing the battlefield, when facing an enemy.

"Fine."

At this moment, no words were more important than support.

Hatake Sakumo returned to his camp, shouldered White Fang, and slowly walked out of the tent.

The warm sunlight cast a cold chill over his white hair and stern gaze.

"Let's go."

Hatake Sakumo took a firm step forward, and before they had gone far, they ran into the Uchiha clansmen coming toward them.

Uchiha Yuji casually arranged, "Toshihiko, you and the clansmen stay behind to prevent further enemy attacks."

"For the glory of the Uchiha clan, ensure your own survival, and protect our subordinates well."

"Yes!"

When the word 'glory' reached their ears, the spirit of Uchiha Toshihiko and the others instantly changed.

Hatake Sakumo did not speak, his expression remaining as steady as before, but as he took a step, his body became like an arrow released from a bow, with faint afterimages and flickering arcs of electricity clearly visible.

He was no longer concerned with the consumption of chakra or stamina; Hatake Sakumo intended to return to Konoha at the fastest possible speed.

However, no matter how fast one traveled on foot, it was not as quick as a ninja hawk taking flight; a ninja hawk could soar continuously, while Hatake Sakumo needed to rest.

When Hatake Sakumo arrived at the gates of Konoha, he already felt that something was wrong.

The ninjas guarding the gates of Konoha looked at Hatake Sakumo with complex expressions; some wanted to speak, but were pulled back by their companions.

After entering Konoha, everyone who saw Hatake Sakumo was whispering about something.

"What happened, Shimono?"

Halfway through, Hatake Sakumo finally saw a familiar partner and hurriedly asked.

Many people knew Hatake Sakumo's character clearly, but sometimes the general trend forced people to do things they had no choice but to do.

The ninja pulled aside by Hatake Sakumo let out a long sigh, "Sakumo, the village is full of rumors about you right now."

"Disregarding the overall situation, you charged into the Land of Earth on your own, causing the sacrifice of support personnel, slaughtering civilians wantonly, and returning to Konoha without orders, all of which led to the frontline in the Land of Earth being breached and suffering heavy losses."

"Take care." Shimono wanted to say more words of advice, but in the end, under the gazes of the villagers, he still distanced himself from Hatake Sakumo.

Is the person who launched this attack the Third Raikage?

Who could possibly inflict such heavy losses while surrounded by dozens of elite ninjas with Three-Tomoe Sharingan?

The intelligence fabricated by the Raikage was already outrageous, but I never expected the Third Hokage to be even better, overshadowing even the news about the Uchiha.

Hatake Sakumo grew increasingly silent, walking straight toward the Hokage Building.

With every step he took, the aura around him grew more profound and heavy.

For some unknown reason, the Hokage's office was packed with the core strength of Konoha.

Just as Hatake Sakumo was preparing to let White Fang do the talking, Uchiha Yuji, who had been trailing behind him, stepped out in front.

"Everyone knows about the bad blood between us, so there's no need to hide anything; I'll speak plainly."

"Third Hokage, you believe you are in the right, and I believe I have committed no error. Neither of us can convince the other, and neither will acknowledge the other."

"Then let us make our decision using the method of our predecessors."

"You are the Hokage, and I am the Clan Head of the Uchiha, even our statuses are the same as those of our predecessors."

Uchiha Yuji pressed his index and middle fingers together, pointing them toward the sky, his eyes locked onto Sarutobi Hiruzen.

This was the Seal of Reconciliation.