A year later.
One day, news spread through the village.
The legendary ninja renowned far and wide—the White Fang of the Leaf, Hatake Sakumo, Kakashi's father—
had failed a mission, causing losses for the village.
For ordinary ninja, failing a mission was nothing unusual,
after all, only a few ninja could achieve a 100 percent mission success rate.
But the one who had failed this time was the White Fang of the Leaf, a hero who had once used his exceptional strength
to win great honor for Konoha. No matter how they looked at it, the villagers found it impossible to accept.
Amada walked along the streets of Konoha, listening to the villagers' discussions all around him.
"I can't believe it. Even the White Fang of the Leaf can fail? It's an absolute disgrace to the village!"
"Exactly. He's the hero we've always looked up to. How could this happen?"
Amada frowned slightly and kept walking. Among the gathered ninja, there was just as much blame directed at Hatake Sakumo.
"He's a ninja who carries the village's honor on his shoulders. This failure is simply unforgivable!"
A young ninja looked utterly indignant.
The accusatory mood in the village grew increasingly intense.
Some went even further, saying:
"He should kill himself to atone!"
Hearing those words, Amada felt a wave of sorrow.
He couldn't understand why the people who had once admired and revered Hatake Sakumo
could so easily push him into the abyss after he suffered just one failure.
In Amada's eyes, Hatake Sakumo had given so much to the village.
How could a single failed mission erase all his past achievements?
The villagers had changed their attitude so quickly. It was truly chilling.
He sighed quietly and quickened his pace, wanting to escape the whirlpool of malicious gossip.
Amada looked at the angry villagers around him, spewing vile words, and felt nothing but contempt.
"What a bunch of fools,"
he muttered, slowing down without realizing it. A trace of disappointment showed in his eyes.
"An elite ninja with strength like his should be protected. What does one failed mission matter? He's still alive, and he still has his strength. How can they give up on him over such a small setback?"
"And the village's attitude is strange, too,"
Amada continued to ponder, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.
"They're just letting this atmosphere spread without taking any measures to quiet the rumors."
But he knew this was beyond the reach of a Ninja Academy student who hadn't even graduated.
He was like a Spectator, standing outside it all, able only to watch as everything unfolded and listen to the piercing accusations.
All he could do was hope that Hatake Sakumo would pull himself together soon.
Yet just a few days later, news struck like a bolt from the blue, leaving Amada utterly stunned.
"Hatake Sakumo killed himself?"
"No way. How could such a powerful elite ninja have such poor mental fortitude?"
Amada couldn't believe it. He couldn't understand how the once mighty White Fang of the Leaf, who had struck fear into his enemies on the battlefield,
could choose to end his life over a few accusations.
"They only said a few things. It's not like anyone would actually dare cause trouble for you. Your strength speaks for itself. Who would dare make a move?"
The more Amada thought about it, the more absurd it seemed.
"Even if the village planned to go after him, he could just take Kakashi and leave if he couldn't beat them. The world is huge—he could go anywhere. Who could stop him?"
Amada shook his head helplessly.
He simply couldn't understand Hatake Sakumo's choice. To him, such an ending was a terrible shame.
Amada couldn't shake the feeling that something about this incident was deeply strange.
An elite ninja with countless achievements, driven to his death by public opinion over a single failed mission—
could there not be some deeper reason behind it?
His mind was full of questions.
After the day Hatake Sakumo killed himself, Amada never saw Kakashi again.
Two years passed just like that.
At Konoha's Ninja Academy, everything was quietly changing.
The classmates who had once been so young and inexperienced had all begun to grow up.
Most were making their final preparations for graduation.
Thanks to his dedication to Taijutsu, Might Guy had graduated early the year before.
His graduation made Obito even more anxious.
Obito watched as one classmate after another drew closer to graduation,
while his own poor performance in theory classes kept holding him back. He was consumed with anxiety.
He often fretted over the difficult theoretical material.
Amada, meanwhile, had been capable of graduating for a long time.
The abilities granted by the Spectator potion had greatly enhanced him.
His ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and theoretical knowledge had all improved by leaps and bounds.
But he deliberately made sure his performance in theory class was less than impressive,
carefully keeping his score somewhere in the middle every time he took an exam.
He knew that graduating too early could expose him to danger and attention before he was ready.
Graduating a little later would give him more time to grow and consolidate his strength.
Over the past two years, Amada had accumulated Green Draw opportunities and obtained many precious Blue items.
Among them were the Fire Release techniques of the young Uchiha Itachi and the swordsmanship experience of an elite Marine from One Piece.
The young Uchiha Itachi's Fire Release techniques gave him an entirely new understanding and mastery of Fire Release Ninjutsu.
He began trying to incorporate those techniques into his own training.
Gradually, his Fire Release Ninjutsu grew not only much more powerful but also more flexible and varied.
The elite Marine's swordsmanship experience had also brought him great progress in swordsmanship.
It was as if he had opened a door to a whole new world, learning many unique ideas and techniques.
He began using his time after school to practice swordsmanship in a deserted forest.
The sword in his hand whistled as he swung it, each strike carrying a fierce force.
As time went on, his swordsmanship became more and more refined, gradually developing into a style of his own.
Besides that, he had also drawn some Blue-quality weapons.
Each one gave off a distinctive aura.
As for items that could directly enhance him, Amada didn't hesitate to merge them with himself,
further increasing his strength.
He dismantled the weapons he couldn't use and saved the materials.
He had a plan: once he'd collected enough, he would do a ten-pull of Blue draws.
The graduation exam was divided into a theory test and a ninjutsu test.
The theory test wasn't difficult. It covered the basic knowledge required of a ninja.
The ninjutsu test required students to use the Transformation Technique, Clone Technique, and Substitution Technique.
Passing required successfully using any two of them.
On the day of the theory test,
Amada deliberately slowed down while answering, making sure his score landed right on the passing mark.
The ninjutsu test was held on the Ninja Academy's training field.
Standing in the middle of the field, Amada transformed into the Third Hokage. His appearance and expression were both exactly the same.
Next came the Clone Technique. His hands moved swiftly, and several identical clones appeared beside him in an instant.
Finally, the Substitution Technique. While everyone's attention was still on his clones, he suddenly vanished from where he stood,
reappearing beneath a tree some distance away. A log had taken his place.
The whole sequence flowed seamlessly, without a single flaw.
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