"Why did you save me?! I didn't need you to save me!"
"Do you know that a ninja's mission comes first?! Do you know how many ninja died because you saved us?!"
"The flames of war spread into the Land of Fire, and at least several hundred ninja died because of you!"
"How could the two of us possibly be compared to the village's interests? Are you insane?!"
"Do you know I would rather have died! Rather died there!"
"Get lost! I never want to see you again!"
"..."
In the hospital room, facing the frenzied accusations and curses of the two comrades he had rescued, Hatake Sakumo's back gradually hunched over.
People's slander was like a mountain pressing down on him, and his comrades' furious rebukes became the final straw.
That was right. Even the people he had saved did not think they should have been saved. Even his comrades would rather die than let the village suffer such losses. Having chosen to save his comrades, what reason did he have left to defend himself?
It was because he had failed to follow the rules, because he had saved his comrades without authorization, that the mission had failed, that the village had sunk into the mire of war, that so many innocent people had sacrificed their lives...
A sin like this could not be washed away even by death...
Hatake Sakumo moved his feet with difficulty, turned around, and walked step by step with the heaviest strides.
Each step felt as if his feet were glued to the ground.
He headed for the hospital room door, carrying the soft blades his comrades had driven into his back...
"You..."
The two ninja on the beds looked at his retreating figure, wanting to speak but stopping themselves. Their mouths remained open