The death of Sakumo Hatake had little to do with the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen!
Sato Hideaka reached this conclusion instantly after leaving the Hokage's office.
The Third Hokage had no motive to kill Hatake Sakumo, because Hatake Sakumo was Anbu leader promoted by the Third Hokage, and his political views were always consistent with the Third Hokage's. Faced with such an important figure, the Third Hokage would never be foolish enough to cut him off.
Secondly, if the Third Hokage had indeed joined forces with Sasori of the Red Sands of the Sunagakure to kill Hatake Sakumo, he certainly wouldn't have remained so nonchalant when questioned. He would have definitely tried to subtly inquire about any other information Sasori might have revealed, such as information detrimental to his reputation...
However, the Third Hokage did not ask any questions. Instead, he kept giving him pointers, helping him understand the changing situations in various countries and how to respond. From the above points, it can be seen that the Third Hokage was not wary of him having contact with Sasori and was still cultivating him as a confidant.
All of this shows that the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, could not possibly have been the direct or indirect cause of Hatake Sakumo's death!
There are three suspected individuals among the Anbu members who betrayed Hatake Sakumo and were responsible for his death: first, Danzo Shimura, the Anbu's Shimura Danzō; second, Orochimaru, the leading candidate for the next Hokage; and third, the Anbu Mitarashi Shishio...
These three people were the biggest beneficiaries of Hatake Sakumo's death, with Shimura Danzō the most likely among them...!
A bitter smile appeared on Sato Hideaka's lips. Continuing the investigation now would definitely be detrimental to him.
Regardless of their individual strengths, their influence and reputation far surpass what he could achieve. Moreover, even if the cause of Hatake Sakumo's death were investigated, it's unlikely anyone would delve deeper, as these three individuals were pillars of Konoha.
Inside the Hokage Building, the remaining five members of the Team Ao's Anbu were waiting in the lobby. Upon seeing Sato Hideaka emerge from the Hokage's office, Vice-Captain Giant Elephant immediately stepped forward and asked, "Captain, are we disbanding now, or do we have another mission?"
"No more missions. Return to the Anbu base, change into civilian clothes, and disband. We'll meet at the main base in two days!"
Sato Hideaka shook his head and addressed his team.
The six returned to their designated rooms at the Anbu base. As Sato Hideaka was changing his clothes, a thought struck him: according to the information Sasori had given him, Hatake Sakumo's companion who had been held hostage by Sunagakure seemed to be a key figure in this whole affair.
He deliberately allowed himself to be taken hostage by the Sunagakure to threaten Hatake Sakumo.
So, from this traitor, we must also be able to find out the identity of the mastermind behind it all. This thought had just surfaced in his mind when it became unstoppable. Even though he knew that continuing the investigation would be dangerous, after two years in the Anbu, his resistance to danger had diminished considerably.
After all, the Anbu is an entity that lives in constant danger!
Moreover, Hatake Sakumo not only owed him a debt of gratitude, but also to Yakushi Nonō. Knowing full well that Hatake Sakumo was caught in a conspiracy and slowly killed by his own people, with the truth remaining elusive, would ultimately leave him uneasy...
Over the past two years, Sato Hideaka had learned from the Third Hokage that Hatake Sakumo Yakushi Nonō. He could not completely ignore such kindness.
Thinking of all this, Sato Hideaka found an adult's trench coat, put it on, and then used the Crystal Release ninjutsu to condense crystals under his feet, increasing his height. After completely changing his appearance, his figure instantly disappeared into his narrow changing room.
Deep underground at the headquarters of the Anbu, all of the Anbu 'Anbu data is preserved, including mission information, completion status, intelligence analysis, and even highly confidential information about the true identities of Anbu members.
Therefore, you should be able to find Hatake Sakumo's last mission information inside.
Besides the mission details, it must also contain the number of members from the Anbu involved in the mission and their code names!
Once we know who participated in this mission, we can slowly sift through this group, find out the traitors, and follow the clues to find the real mastermind behind Hatake Sakumo's suicide!
Sato Hideto carefully concealed his chakra fluctuations, sensing the changes in the number of Anbu guards around him. He swiftly bypassed their gaze and moved into the Sato Hideaka Anbu, his movements as fast as the wind yet leaving not a sound...
This is a highly advanced stealth technique. Perfect chakra control almost completely conceals all chakra fluctuations, allowing the silent movement to evade the sight of all sentries and successfully pass through the heavily guarded and tightly deployed Anbu.
The deeper Earth Flow of the Anbu, the darker it becomes, and the fewer guards are hidden there!
However, the more this was the case, the more cautious Sato Hideaka, because the deeper he went into the Anbu, the stronger the internal guards became, and there might even be unknown near- Kage Level experts on duty inside.
Right now, Sato Hideaka walking through a dark corridor with many rooms on both sides. Each room has a coded message on its door, and the meaning of these messages can be barely deciphered through the secret methods of the Anbu.
These codes record the year, which could be a major event of that year, or it could be a record of Anbu within that year!
Sato Hideaka's gaze fell upon the doors marked with the years. He walked forward down the dark corridor and finally found the door whose code indicated two years ago. However, the door was locked and as solid as steel.
It's not difficult to destroy it, but it's very difficult to destroy it silently.
Just then, Six Paths humanoid electric currents rapidly approached from both sides of the dark passage. They were patrol personnel from the Anbu base. Normally, given Sato Hideaka's status, he would never be allowed to enter the Anbu's interior without a special mission...
If Sato Hideaka were caught by these people at this time, he would definitely be charged with espionage!
Of course, whether Sarutobi Hiruzen will ultimately prosecute Sato Hideaka for espionage is another question, but being caught or having his identity revealed will definitely cause a lot of trouble, and some people might even find fault with him. If he is used by someone with ulterior motives, it could even put his life in danger.
Sato Hideaka suddenly rose to the top of the dark ceiling, bracing his feet against a right-angled corner of the ceiling. He took out a black cloth from his ninja bag and held it in front of him as cover, his breathing rate rapidly decreasing.
His gaze, aura, and chakra fluctuations were perfectly concealed.
The light footsteps of the two groups grew closer and louder, even passing directly beneath Sato Hideaka. However, Sato Hideaka was hidden behind a black cloth that absorbed all light, and even his breathing was extremely slow. The group did not notice Sato Hideaka's presence.
The two teams converged not far from where Sato Hideaka was standing. After exchanging unidentified signals to confirm they were on the same side, they each went their separate ways, back to back, and gradually disappeared into the distance...
After the two groups had gone some distance, Sato Hideaka retrieved his black cloth and put it back into his ninja bag.
He lightly descended four meters to the ground, then walked back to the incredibly sturdy gate. He gently placed his right hand on the keyhole, using his chakra to sense the structure inside the lock, and then began to condense the shape of a key using Lava Release chakra.
A crystal key appeared in his left hand...
Insert the crystal key into the lock and turn it gently. The door opens, and a smell of old books, with a strong ink odor, wafts out from the dark room. This is the smell of printed documents that have been left out for a long time without ventilation.
He gently closed the door, plunging the room into complete darkness. Sato Hideaka gathered Lava Release chakra in his right hand, and the scorching magma began to emit faint Kakkō, completely illuminating the dark and narrow room. Rings of red light quickly spread outwards.
The room consists of several open bookshelves, each filled with numerous documents.
Sato Hideaka flipped through these documents and searched for about half an hour before finally finding the document about Hatake Sakumo's mission records on a secluded bookshelf near the wall. After flipping through a few more, he found the document about his last mission.
Task: Command the shift change according to the "Sentry Post Change Map" (Level A Top Secret)
Mission personnel: White Fang, Canghe, Falcon, Guiniu, Yi, Heilan, Miaoni, Shejing, Gama, Sin, Hudie Lan, Lao Zhu.
Specific details: Command the 432 resident ninjas of Konoha in the Land of Fire Western Defense Line carry out the rotation of guards at the old and new outposts, in accordance with the biennial tradition, and collect and analyze the rotation locations.
Mission outcome: Lao Zhu, Canghe, Yi, and Heilan died in battle. Hayabusa was captured by Sunagakure and held hostage. As a result, White Fang handed over the defense rotation map to Sunagakure, leading to mission failure ( White Fang bears the main responsibility).
Mission Consequences: All old and new outposts on the Western Defense Line were exposed. Sunagakure launched a surprise attack on the outpost personnel who were unable to evacuate in time. Twelve border defense posts were wiped out, nineteen Konoha border ninjas were killed, thirty-two were seriously injured, and one hundred and thirty-two were slightly injured. The consequences were extremely dire.
I never expected White Fang's mission to fail, resulting in such a huge loss...
Sato Hideaka carefully reviewed the document regarding White Fang's final mission, and couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion. The severe consequences and casualties were probably one of the reasons why Sakumo Hatake committed suicide.
This is it... right here!
Sato Hideaka's left hand moved slightly downwards. According to the records in this document, the code name of the Anbu Sunagakure was... Hayabusa. This must be the Anbu Ninja codenamed Hayabusa; he was the traitor of the Anbu...
Just as Sato Hideaka confirmed the traitor's code name and was about to leave the archives, a series of footsteps suddenly came from the doorway. The footsteps grew closer and closer, and then stopped at the door of the archives. (To be continued.)