I Love the Village Too

Year 45 of Hidden Leaf.

Indra and Mikoto had ceased to be ANBU members last year.

Both had been promoted to Jonin and held considerable prestige within Konoha.

The medical-ninja system Indra and Tsunade had established had, after years of development, become one of Konoha's economic pillars.

Many students whom Indra had once spun around like tops in class now respectfully lowered their heads and called him Teacher whenever they saw him.

Yet despite Indra's efforts to improve the Ninja Academy's culture, he still could not change the fact that Konoha was full of troublesome rabble and the Will of Tyranny remained as strong as ever.

That year, Hatake Sakumo, the Hidden Leaf White Fang, committed suicide. This powerful man, whose strength surpassed even Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, died bitterly in his own home.

There was not much conspiracy involved, and even Danzo, Konoha's resident scapegoat king, could not take the blame for this one.

Hatake Sakumo had failed his mission in order to save his comrades. As a ninja, he had been wrong—but as a person, he had done the right thing.

The problem was that too few people shared Indra's belief that he had done the right thing.

The vast majority of Konoha's residents were troublesome rabble. If they saw someone different, they would bully them, regardless of how strong that person was.

Most chilling of all, even the comrade Hatake Sakumo had saved had criticized him.

The Hatake family's inherited swordsmanship likely came from samurai ancestors, and their family traditions also carried a samurai-like bushido spirit. His choice to commit suicide seemed shocking at first glance, but upon further thought, it made a certain kind of sense.

Hatake Sakumo's death also led Konoha to establish a new rule: from then on, no information regarding missions ranked B