The Samurai

Kakashi's breathing grew ragged as he read this.

He continued reading.

[Investigation findings: The true purpose of Hatake Sakumo's mission to cut off the supply line was to obtain the text of the strategic materials agreement secretly signed between Kumogakure and the Land of Grass. When "Crow" was captured, he already had a copy of the agreement. Hatake Sakumo chose to rescue his comrade, which, in effect, resulted in the copy falling into the hands of the Land of Grass and failing to make it back to Konoha.]

But none of that was the most damning part.

There was a red annotation below.

Only the true upper echelons of the Hokage's office could read this.

[Supplementary Report · Top Secret]

[The day before the mission, Kumogakure submitted a formal protest to Third Hiruzen Sarutobi, claiming that Konoha Ninja had illegally infiltrated a noncombat zone. The Third knew that Hatake Sakumo's team had been exposed and that the mission was highly likely to fail. To avoid diplomatic complications, the Third decided to deny any connection between the mission and Konoha's High Command, and promised to hold the Ninja who had "acted on their own" accountable.]

[Addendum: The day after the mission failed, Third Hiruzen Sarutobi received Kumogakure's envoy at the Hokage Office. The two sides reached a verbal understanding, which included Konoha's promise to punish those responsible for the "border-crossing incident."]

A chill ran down Kakashi's spine. What did this mean?

It meant that from the moment his father, Hatake Sakumo, received this mission, he had been nothing more than a pawn marked for sacrifice.

His father's rescue of his comrade had been nothing but a thoroughly orchestrated farce.

Kakashi kept turning through the scroll.

And those who had first attacked Hatake Sakumo weren't ordinary villagers.

The Root had deliberately and systematically manipulated public opinion, pinning all the blame for the mission's failure on Hatake Sakumo alone.

And Third Hiruzen Sarutobi had remained silent the entire time.

He had neither deliberately suppressed the growing outrage nor condemned or defended Hatake Sakumo.

He had simply allowed it to happen, and that in itself showed where he stood.

Kakashi was so agitated that his voice came out hoarse. "What happened to the person my father rescued?"

Uchiha Yan took out another file. "See for yourself. You've worked in Anbu long enough to know that everything I've shown you is real."

Kakashi nodded gravely and took the file.

It clearly stated that "Crow" had died on a reconnaissance mission.

Hearing Uchiha Yan's words, Kakashi closed his eyes.

It all fit. Every piece fell into place.

His father hadn't killed himself. He had been hounded to death.

And the ones who hounded him to death were the very people he had protected: his own village.

"Why?" Kakashi asked hoarsely, bewildered. "Why did Konoha's High Command decide to abandon the mission, yet still drive my father to his death?"

"Because the White Fang of Konoha had too much prestige. And, to be precise, Hatake Sakumo's death was an accident."

Kakashi looked up at Uchiha Yan in disbelief.

"What? Too much prestige? An accident? What exactly do you mean?"

Uchiha Yan remained composed. He sat in his chair, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip to moisten his throat. "I mean exactly what I said. During the Ninja Wars, Hatake Sakumo had a one-hundred-percent success rate on the front lines. His reputation had reached its peak."

Kakashi nodded. He knew how brilliant his father had once been.

Uchiha Yan continued, "At the time, the Ninja in the village had a saying they repeated in private."

He set down his teacup and spoke, enunciating each word. "The White Fang is the next Hokage."

As if by magic, Uchiha Yan took out another document.

"This is a copy of the confidential report Danzo sent to Sarutobi Hiruzen back then. Root and Anbu each kept a copy. I got Root's. You should be able to judge whether it's genuine."

Kakashi unrolled the scroll. It bore Danzo's handwritten notes. He had dealt with Anbu's files too often not to recognize the Root leader's handwriting.

The report was divided into three main sections.

The first section surveyed Hatake Sakumo's standing among the Ninja. It listed the names of the jonin who had openly expressed their willingness to follow him. There were twenty-three of them, nearly a third of Konoha's active jonin at the time.

The second section analyzed Hatake Sakumo's personal background, with one line specially highlighted: "He comes from a samurai family, not a traditional ninja clan. If he rises to power, Konoha's ninja system will undergo its greatest restructuring since the era of Senju Hashirama."

The third section contained the conclusion, just two lines long.

"If Hatake Sakumo is not suppressed, within three years at most he will possess the ability and prestige to contend for the Hokage Position. He is a man of unbending character. If he realizes the High Command is trying to push him aside, there is a risk he may defect to the Uchiha camp."

After reading the scroll, Kakashi's hands trembled.

He had never imagined that the village his father had spent his entire life protecting could be like this.

Uchiha Yan looked at Kakashi. "As for the accident, it's simple. Neither Sarutobi Hiruzen nor Danzo intended to kill Hatake Sakumo."

"Danzo's plan wasn't extreme, either. He only wanted Hatake Sakumo saddled with a stain on his reputation, disqualifying him from competing for the Hokage Position."

"Sarutobi Hiruzen felt the same way. Their original plan was to let the public outrage run its course, then quietly reassign him after a couple of years. That would have preserved Hatake Sakumo while diminishing his prestige."

"But..." Uchiha Yan drew out the word. "They overlooked one thing."

Kakashi looked at Uchiha Yan. "What was it?"

Uchiha Yan didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Your Hatake Clan descended from samurai who became Ninja, right?"

Kakashi didn't deny it. He nodded. "That's right. And?"

Uchiha Yan continued, "Samurai and Ninja think differently. A Ninja puts the mission first; comrades, dignity, and honor can all be sacrificed. But samurai have only one creed: honor is life."

"Danzo and the Third both thought like typical Ninja. They believed losing his reputation wouldn't matter much to Hatake Sakumo. So they never actually punished him. Judged by the standards Ninja use to measure one another, their reasoning wasn't unreasonable."

"But Hatake Sakumo wasn't a Ninja. More precisely, he was a samurai who could use ninjutsu, and samurai valued honor more than life itself."

"When he accepted the mission, he knew it was a trap. But he wanted to see just how far the village he protected would go."

"So when he returned and saw the villagers condemning him, he understood everything."

Kakashi couldn't help clenching his fists.

Uchiha Yan continued, "A samurai betrayed by the lord he served, abandoned by the comrades who fought by his side, and cursed by the villagers he had protected."

"Do you think Hatake Sakumo would still choose to live? As a samurai, he was bound to choose death to prove his innocence and preserve his honor."