Never try to change a fool. The moment you do, you become one yourself.
Kakashi Hatake was still turning Shinichi Hyuga's words over in his mind when Shinichi suddenly called out to him.
He looked toward his teacher. The Hokage was here now, so the Anbu should be working under his teacher's command.
He didn't understand why Shinichi Hyuga was asking him.
Was he simply trying to sow distrust between master and student?
"Shinichi, there's no need. Leave them a little dignity. I'll do what I promised you."
Minato Namikaze furrowed his brow. He didn't understand why Shinichi Hyuga would make such a request, either.
As shinobi from a clan affiliated with the Sarutobi Clan, these people were bound to know some of the Sarutobi Clan's secrets.
To protect the Sarutobi Clan, he couldn't let the Third's reputation be dragged through the mud.
He wanted to change some of the Third's policies, but he lacked the power to do so.
All he could do was slowly promote civilian shinobi.
"Perhaps you should hear Kakashi's opinion."
Shinichi Hyuga walked past Minato Namikaze and stopped in front of Kakashi Hatake. As he spoke, he took out a scroll.
The scene felt familiar to Kakashi Hatake. Hadn't he once delivered a Sealing Jutsu scroll at Minato Namikaze's wedding?
The difference was that he'd tried every trick to conceal what he was doing, yet the people lurking in the shadows had seen it all.
Now Shinichi Hyuga made no attempt to hide what he was doing. He wanted everyone to see it clearly.
Back then, Shinichi Hyuga hadn't accepted it.
Should he accept it now?
What could it contain that Shinichi Hyuga thought he needed?
Unable to decide, he looked at Minato Namikaze.
Minato Namikaze looked at the unfamiliar Shinichi Hyuga, then at Kakashi Hatake. In the end, he couldn't resist his curiosity. He knew Kakashi Hatake wouldn't keep anything from him.
Kakashi was a true loyalist, one of the new generation he would have to rely on in the future. He didn't want Kakashi Hatake to hold a grudge against him.
At last, he nodded.
With Minato Namikaze's approval, Kakashi Hatake took the Sealing Scroll and opened it on the spot.
Inside was a head: that of the Anbu Ninja who had undergone a Byakugan transplant.
"The Byakugan? It's evidence!"
The members of the Flying Thunder God Squad breathed a sigh of relief. They assumed Shinichi Hyuga had already yielded to Konoha but was too proud to admit it, so he had handed the evidence to Kakashi Hatake instead.
Minato Namikaze wasn't so optimistic. Shinichi Hyuga was no longer the person he'd known.
After all the threats and buildup, how could he have given in so easily—and in this way, no less?
"What...?"
Only Kakashi Hatake, standing closest to the head, noticed something and couldn't help exclaiming.
A dozen or so sealing tags had been placed at the neck, sealing the blood to keep it fresh and, more importantly, preserve the brain's activity.
This kind of Sealing Jutsu was usually used to protect the corpses of people who possessed sensitive information.
But the sealing array had extra words woven into it, forming a message anyone could understand.
"Hatake Sakumo died at this man's hands. Had Hatake Sakumo lived, the Third Shinobi World War would never have broken out. The answer lies in his memories..."
Kakashi Hatake unconsciously read the words on the sealing tags, finally grasping their general meaning.
His mind went blank. Only then did he realize why the head had seemed so familiar.
It was Yukimura Sanada's head.
His father was Sanada Shuichi, the comrade his own father had saved when he abandoned a mission.
Later, Sanada Shuichi had gone back on his word and falsely accused him, while the details of the mission had somehow been leaked.
Back then, Yukimura Sanada had come to the Hatake Clan's gate with the others to hurl abuse at them.
The day before his father died, Yukimura Sanada had come to their door again.
His father had died for his own code as a shinobi, consumed by guilt.
Now Shinichi Hyuga had given him this head and told him that the truth lay in Yukimura Sanada's memories.
What was he supposed to do?
Once again, Kakashi Hatake found himself lost at a crossroads in life.
Minato Namikaze noticed that something was wrong with Kakashi Hatake's expression. He went over to the Sealing Scroll and saw the message for himself.
He was instantly furious. This was an attempt to force him to break with the Third!
If Hatake Sakumo had been hounded to death by rumors, then the only person capable of directing the Sanada Clan from behind the scenes could have been the Third, who had been in power at the time.
He had been Hokage then, as well as head of the Sarutobi Clan.
The Third and the others were the support he relied on now, while Kakashi Hatake was someone he would rely on in the future. For a moment, he didn't know what to choose.
All he could do was turn his anger on the person who had stirred up this conflict.
"Shinichi Hyuga, this is slander! An outrageous claim! You'll destroy Konoha's harmony!"
Minato Namikaze turned around, his eyes narrowing slightly as a dangerous aura burst from him.
"Minato Namikaze, doesn't all this look familiar? Back then, people like these stood outside the Hatake Clan's gate, whipping up public sentiment and hurling abuse.
"Everything is going in circles.
"Even you don't believe the Third is innocent, do you?"
An aura erupted from Shinichi Hyuga as well—stronger and more dangerous than Minato Namikaze's. It forced Minato Namikaze back several steps.
Then Shinichi gave a faint laugh.
His words struck at the very question Minato Namikaze feared most.
The choice was Kakashi Hatake's now. What would he decide?
"No. Let them rest in peace."
After a long struggle, Kakashi Hatake made his decision. The weight of the whole world seemed to lift from his shoulders.
He resealed the scroll and handed it to Minato Namikaze.
He still couldn't come to terms with what his father had done.
But he knew Minato Namikaze needed his support now.
Kushina Uzumaki was pregnant and needed a stable environment. Nothing could be allowed to go wrong, and Biwako Sarutobi was looking after her.
Those two had been the ones to give him warmth again in this world.
At that moment, Kakashi gained some understanding of Hatake Sakumo's code as a shinobi.
He didn't need the clues Shinichi Hyuga had offered to uncover the truth about his father's death.
A trace of relief appeared in Minato Namikaze's eyes.
Shinichi Hyuga nodded too, silently impressed.
No wonder he would later become the Sixth Hokage. He could be called upon to take command in a crisis during the Fourth Shinobi World War. Even if his strength might have been the weakest among them, he was no less capable of weighing the pros and cons or understanding the political landscape.
Shinichi Hyuga couldn't bring himself to hate people who were willing to sacrifice themselves. Hatake Sakumo and Kakashi Hatake were both like that.
He hated people who sacrificed others while proclaiming their own greatness. The Third and the Fourth Hokage were both like that.
The Fourth Hokage was perhaps only half to blame. He'd merely tolerated it, despite having the power to stop it.
Always saying, "Wait a little longer. A new opportunity will come."
More often than not, that moment never came.
The Fourth Hokage hadn't lived to see it.
"I should be going. Remember what you promised. I don't want to see you there tomorrow."
Minato Namikaze felt a sense of crisis. Whenever Shinichi Hyuga got involved in something these days, it sent shockwaves through Konoha.
What he wanted was stability!
He also had to reassure Kakashi Hatake now.
The seeds of distrust toward the Third had already been planted in Kakashi Hatake's heart.
After issuing his warning, Minato Namikaze left with Kakashi Hatake.
Shinichi Hyuga had achieved his aim. He would gradually strip the Third of his prestige and power.
All that would remain was an old dog clinging to life.
"Tell our Hokage that someone from the Land of Fire Daimyo Office will come help him tomorrow."
Shinichi Hyuga gazed at the spot where Minato Namikaze had disappeared. His eyes flared with power, and he detected the other side of the space: the Hokage Office.
He couldn't help thinking with amusement, What a diligent Hokage. I should find him something to do. Does he really think no one will challenge them just because I'm not there?
The Daimyo hadn't grown so wary of the Hokage because of him.
He shook his head and looked at the Flying Thunder God Squad, who still hadn't left. He told them to pass on the message.
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