Before they died, both husband and wife murmured the name of their son, "Sasori." A pendant around Chiyo's daughter-in-law's neck struck the ground and sprang open, slowly revealing a family photograph of three.
In the photo, the husband and wife stood on either side, with a red-haired little boy of about five in the middle. An innocent smile hung on his face, and the family of three looked exceptionally happy.
Hatake Sakumo's expression became incredibly complicated. He stared at the photograph, his heart filled with countless emotions.
He was about to become a father himself, and in the future, he too would have a family of three.
He knew he had destroyed a family with his own hands. The little boy in the photograph would never smile like that again because of him, and perhaps would hate him for the rest of his life.
But he also understood that if the Sunagakure shinobi were not stopped this time, even more families in the Land of Fire would be destroyed.
This was the cruelty of war. What it brought was not merely death and destruction, but endless pain and sorrow.
At that moment, Hatake Sakumo, who was participating in a war for the first time, deeply understood war's cruel nature.
News of Sunagakure's failed attack on the Land of Fire was quickly sent back to the village by Sunagakure spies stationed in the Land of Rivers.
The conference room in the Sunagakure office building was silent. Some of the lower-ranking officials had even begun to sweat.
In the end, the Third Kazekage broke the silence.
"Who was responsible for gathering intelligence? They didn't even know that Hatake Sakumo, an elite Jonin, had returned to the village?"
That was right. The Third Kazekage placed all the blame for the failed attack