Sakumo's Unloved Life

If nothing happened soon, Uchiha Kei felt things might take a turn beyond anyone's control.✌👣  💛🍭

Just as nobody back then had expected a Serbian idiot to fire a shot in Sarajevo and kill tens of millions of people.

The timid Kei, all bluster and no backbone, certainly couldn't let something like that happen.

At last, the awkward staring contest between him and Orochimaru came to an end. In the end, Kei spoke first.

"Long time no see, Mr. Orochimaru."

Hearing Uchiha Kei address him that way, Orochimaru's increasingly serpentine eyes narrowed.

Although he had not met Uchiha Kei many times, his subordinates regularly gathered intelligence for him. He knew that Kei showed none of the respect the village's ninjas usually gave the Sannin, who were addressed as "Lord."

To Kei, Lord Jiraiya was merely Jiraiya the jonin, while Tsunade was just Princess Tsunade. And even the honorific "Princess" wasn't a courtesy to Tsunade herself—it was a mark of respect for the Senju Clan.

Yet Kei was willing to call him "mister." That simple form of address set Orochimaru thinking.

"At least someone hasn't forgotten what I've done for Konoha!"

Proud as he was, Orochimaru obviously couldn't control public opinion, and Konoha's public sentiment was indeed no longer on his side. Even if he didn't care all that much, who wanted to be misunderstood?

He had fought Hanzo of the Salamander, commanded White Fang of the Leaf in the campaign against the Sunagakure Ninja, and helped Teacher Sarutobi fight Ōnoki.

With a record like that, he was now being compared to a newcomer.

Anyone would be unhappy about that.

As a member of Konoha's High Command and Sarutobi's student, Orochimaru understood better than most the schemes at play.

For example, that newcomer had originally been compared to White Fang of the Leaf.

The Yellow Flash of the Leaf and White Fang of the Leaf were the next generation of superstars after the Konoha Sannin, proof that Konoha's future was in good hands.

It had been a fine political standard to hold up.

But who could have guessed that a person with great ability might not have a strong mind?

Who said talented people had to be emotionally resilient? That was nothing but wishful thinking by people without talent.

Talent had always mattered far more than hard work.

Just look at Hatake Sakumo. He barely had to train to outclass most of Konoha's ninjas, even those who had clawed their way to prominence through life-and-death battles.

But everyone in Konoha assumed that someone so powerful must have a heart as unshakable as a mountain.

So, for the sake of what he called balance—no group could be allowed to dominate, and one of the twin stars needed time to grow—the other one had to be held back.

Danzo thought that someone that powerful couldn't be left outside his Root's control. If he did, Sarutobi would regret it someday. Sakumo had to be suppressed.

The others, Orochimaru included, were even simpler. They were just mediocre people jealous of a genius.

You could get so easily what the rest of us had to fight tooth and nail to earn. Who wouldn't resent that?

"So what if we talked about you behind your back? It's not against the law!"

At first, perhaps nobody had meant any real harm. They were just jealous of a genius.

Then, in Konoha's forty-fourth year, something finally happened that everyone was glad to see.

Even a powerful ninja like him had finally suffered a "failure."

He had abandoned a mission to protect his subordinates.

At last, the perfect man had a flaw.

It became the talk of the village that year.

Looking back on it now, Orochimaru felt differently.

"Back then, no matter how dangerous the mission, Sakumo could keep his subordinates safe. Even I couldn't match a record like that."

Thinking of Hatake Sakumo brought to mind the deaths of his former subordinate Nawaki and Dan Kato. Orochimaru understood all too well that no matter how powerful or ruthless his enemies claimed he was, he clearly fell short compared with Hatake Sakumo.

All he could do was bring death to his enemies. That man, on the other hand, could keep his teammates from dying.

That year, everyone misjudged one thing. A powerful ninja, someone no enemy could do anything against, had been killed by a few careless words from the villagers.

"Sakumo was just a kind man."

And so the whole village was left in an awkward position.

The village's political symbol was dead!

And he had died by suicide!

Driven to suicide by rumors and gossip.

What kind of absurd farce was this?

Chiyo, an adviser to Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, and Ebizo silently gave Konoha's villagers a thumbs-up.

At first, nobody believed it. Once they confirmed it was true, they began to accept the reality and feel guilty.

But that guilt soon turned into resentment.

After all, nobody wanted to admit they were at fault.

If everyone had been wrong, they would quickly shift the blame to whatever had made them act that way.

As the saying went, major matters were discussed in small meetings, and minor matters in big meetings.

At a small meeting of Konoha's top officials, the village leader, Sarutobi Hiruzen, made his position clear.

"This has had a terrible impact. We have to divert the public's attention, no matter what. We can't let schemers or outside forces take advantage of this and use it against us."

"This isn't the time to investigate who was right or wrong. We need to contain the damage. Konoha needs a new standard to hold up. Orochimaru, I'll have to ask you to take White Fang of the Leaf's place. You'll raise up a newcomer, so the public will stop dwelling on this and outsiders will see that Konoha still has depth. We can afford to lose a Kage Level fighter."

Sarutobi had originally thought it would be difficult to manage. He had prepared all sorts of contingency plans for Konoha's ninjas refusing to go along with it, as well as ways to placate the Hatake Clan.

But no one had expected Konoha to unite once again, after so many years.

Some of Konoha's ninjas felt too guilty to face the truth; others were so angry and ashamed that they blamed Hatake Sakumo's weakness. With the High Command deliberately steering public opinion, they all chose to ignore what had happened.

Only the Hatake Clan faced it head-on. But the strongest fighter in that small ninja clan was just a child, so they were powerless to stir up trouble.

The Hatake family soon faded from the village's sight, and a new legend took center stage.

Word was, another powerful ninja had appeared in the village, someone as strong as Lord Orochimaru.

He was hailed as Konoha's Yellow Flash.

Other villages had recognized that he was someone you could abandon a mission to avoid fighting.

What? You say that was White Fang's treatment?

Don't talk nonsense. He was a coward. Why would anyone treat him that way? That man didn't even exist in the village.

And just like that, the whole thing was brushed aside.

White Fang never became a legend again.

Orochimaru was the only one who had suffered.

"Minato Namikaze sure is lucky. He's done nothing, yet his reputation has already soared."

Watching the bustling streets of Konoha, Orochimaru was lost in memories.

But Orochimaru was clearly reading too much into it.

Kei respected Orochimaru because he revered science and respected scientists.

Even if Kei knew what Orochimaru was thinking, he wouldn't care.

What did Konoha's troubled past have to do with him?

Besides, in Uchiha Kei's eyes, a Konoha ninja who was virtuous, believed in loyalty, and was powerful was better off dead.

Once the Sannin had left and Minato was dead, that would be Kei's golden age.

Kei knew perfectly well who was on his side and who wasn't.

A great ninja who could never be on my side? I'd rather wait until he's dead before praising him.

If Sarutobi Hiruzen were willing to die right now, Uchiha Kei would be sure to praise his decades of service ruling Konoha at the funeral.

But the old bastard was young enough to refuse to die. He'd get what was coming to him sooner or later.

Still, at that moment, Kei's respect earned him Orochimaru's goodwill.

"That's right. It's been a long time, Kei."

The leaders of the two groups had shown each other goodwill, and the murderous tension around them immediately eased.

But the Third, watching through the Telescope Technique, grew even more nervous.

A pleasant atmosphere made it easier to talk.

"Mr. Orochimaru, are you taking your student out for a stroll?"

With Orochimaru's goodwill in hand, Uchiha Kei hoped to make this feel like nothing more than a casual chance encounter.

"That's right. Anko still has quite the appetite for a little girl. I hope she hasn't embarrassed you, Kei."

Anko was clearly unhappy with that description. But adults were talking, and children weren't supposed to interrupt. She could only pout and glare at Uchiha Kei, who wasn't much older than her.

She was the only one who took her irritation seriously.

A child's feelings couldn't affect the false friendship between adults.

But seeing Mitaraishi Anko freely act as spoiled as she pleased made Kei anxious.

That was the drawback of being able to see ahead, wasn't it?

Poor little Anko. All your freedom and everyone's indulgence are because you're Orochimaru's student.

One day, when you're no longer entitled to any of that, you'll have to give up far more just to survive.

I must never end up in that position.

"Mr. Orochimaru, you jest. Isn't the whole point of Konoha's founding to keep children off the battlefield and let them enjoy a happy childhood? We should be thanking you for bringing peace to Konoha during the Second Shinobi World War!"

Orochimaru was very pleased with the praise.

He was about to return Kei's polite words when Fugaku, holding Itachi's hand, hurried over.

Honestly, the Uchiha these days paid less and less heed to their clan leader.

sigh If the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain. There's no choice; it's all for the Uchiha Clan.

Fugaku hurried over without expecting Kei to smooth his way into the conversation. He didn't wait for anyone to greet him, simply saying, "We meet again, Lord Orochimaru."

Facing the head of the Uchiha Clan, who was being so deferential, Orochimaru had no choice but to turn his attention away from Uchiha Kei, who interested him greatly.

"Indeed, Lord Fugaku. We meet again."

As he spoke, he looked at Uchiha Itachi, whose face was streaked with tears. He was still a child, yet he seemed so much like an adult.

"Oh, this must be Itachi, the one born with the Hokage's way of thinking. What a genius."

That praise out of nowhere was also a political task from Teacher Sarutobi. Orochimaru had his own guesses about the reason.

It was nothing more than a hollow promise.

A vague promise could placate the Uchiha Clan for now. Whether it would ever be fulfilled depended on what the Uchiha were willing to give in the future.

As far as Orochimaru was concerned, it made no difference whether it worked or not. He could say a few nice words and build some goodwill.

Who would actually take that promise seriously?

Orochimaru could see it now: this bunch of politicians were vicious. What you thought was happening was never what was really happening. They simply went along with whatever suited them.

Hearing Orochimaru say that, Fugaku was very proud. After all, they were new parents, and parents with power especially had no idea what it meant to protect a child's mental health as he grew up.

Fugaku quickly demurred. "Not at all, Lord Orochimaru. You flatter him. He's still a child, and he still needs an excellent teacher to guide him."

Fugaku made his hopes clear: he wanted his promising son, Itachi, to become Orochimaru's student. But Orochimaru clearly wasn't accepting the hint.

"Yes. Children need time to grow."

The words neither confirmed nor denied anything. They could be taken as approval of Fugaku, or as Orochimaru's concern about the coming war.

To the onlooker Uchiha Kei, the meaning was already clear.

No direct confirmation meant no.

People involved in a situation were often blind to it because they already had hopes riding on the outcome. Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, they would find a reason to convince themselves there was still hope.

Hadn't Orochimaru also left the door open?

Fugaku wanted to keep pressing Orochimaru, but to everyone's surprise, a kunai struck the ground. A flash of light followed, and the Yellow Flash of the Leaf appeared.

"Hey, Lord Orochimaru, Lord Fugaku. You're both here!"

Konoha's Little Lightning was always so warm. He had a natural charm that made it seem as if no one could dislike him, whether friend or enemy.

That was what you called charisma.