Escalating Crisis: White Fang's Suicide

A day passed quickly, but the rumors in Hidden Leaf Village not only failed to subside with time—they instead spread like wildfire doused in oil, burning ever fiercer until the smoke even drifted into the once relatively pure school grounds.

The next day, when Uchiha Hara arrived at school, he felt that the teachers' warnings had not worked in the slightest. The students still spread whatever they wanted and said whatever they pleased, and the whispered conversations finally pointed clearly toward one name—Sakumo Hatake.

An Elite Jonin of Konoha, head of ANBU, commander-in-chief of the Land of Wind front during the Second Shinobi World War, the "White Fang of Konoha" once admired and idolized by countless children had now become synonymous in their mouths with "selfish," "useless," and "a stain upon Konoha's glory."

As Sakumo Hatake's son, Kakashi Hatake inevitably suffered the backlash as well.

During recess, several upperclassmen from who knew where came to the first-year Class A classroom and loudly mocked Kakashi to his face. "Hey, you're White Fang's son, right?"

"Hmph. With such a useless father, the son's probably a coward too!"

Kakashi's gaze beneath his silver hair instantly sharpened like a blade.

"Don't insult my father!"

Like an enraged leopard cub, he charged forward and threw a punch.

Though still young, the exceptional talent and rigorous training he had inherited from his father revealed themselves at that moment.

His movements were clean and decisive, and his evasions precise. In a classroom, no one dared use ninjutsu, swordsmanship, or Kunai Throwing, so those upperclassmen were actually beaten by him alone without any ability to fight back.

Of course, even if they had used ninjutsu and swordsmanship, they might not have been Kakashi's match.

Yet violence could not silence the masses.

The more capable he was at fighting, the more he resisted, the more distant and disgusted the people around him looked at him.

Even after being knocked to the ground, someone still craned his neck and shouted, "Go on! Beat me to death, and I'll still say it! Your father is a coward who brought shame upon the village!"

Isolation and hostility surged in from every direction like icy tides, tightly enveloping five-year-old Kakashi. Some people did speak up for him at this time, such as Might Guy, Rin Nohara, and even Uchiha Obito.

But their voices were too small. How could they possibly stand against the torrent of hecklers from every grade in the school?

On the fifth day, Kakashi took leave from school for the first time, locking himself at home and unwilling to face those piercing stares again.

The atmosphere in the Hatake Clan household was equally grim.

"Father, you did nothing wrong!" Kakashi shouted emotionally at Sakumo Hatake, who sat by the window, his figure looking somewhat desolate. "A companion's life is obviously more important than a mission! Didn't Lord Hokage say that when the Ninja Academy opened? Your choice was right! Why won't you stand up and explain it clearly to them?!"

Sakumo Hatake turned his head and looked at his son's little face, flushed red with anger and grievance. A weary, complicated smile appeared on his face.

He reached out and ruffled Kakashi's silver hair without offering an explanation.

Explain? How was he supposed to explain?

He had long seen through it. This was not a simple ideological dispute over whether a mission or a companion mattered more.

This was a carefully planned political strangulation.

With his illustrious achievements and unmatched prestige, he had inadvertently become an obstacle in certain people's path to greater power.

The White Fang of Konoha shone too brightly, making some people uneasy.

In truth, he had long entertained the thought of stepping down.

After all, at heart, he was a warrior who pursued the ultimate path of the blade and had no desire for the position of Hokage. It was his own strength and his repeated accomplishments in protecting the village that had pushed him into the eye of the storm.

Since some people did not want him to rise, then he would step down.

As long as I can keep Kakashi safe and let him grow up, what is wrong with becoming an ordinary civilian?

He had intended to find an appropriate time to state his position and withdraw from this vortex of competition, allowing the turmoil to settle.

However, the other side was unwilling to grant him even that much "dignity."

Just as he pondered how to comfort Kakashi and how to resign to the Hokage, the Hatake household's front door was suddenly struck from outside. No, it was being smashed.

A voice full of sobs and boundless "indignation" howled from outside the door:

"Lord Sakumo Hatake! I beg you! I'm not worth failing the mission to save! Hidden Leaf Village's honor outweighs everything! It outweighs my life!"

It was Bai Shinan, the teammate whom he had rescued from a desperate situation at the cost of mission failure and severe injuries!

Immediately afterward came the teeth-grinding sound of a sharp blade entering flesh, followed by the dull thud of a heavy body hitting the ground.

Chaos instantly erupted outside. Women wailed, children screamed, and even more vicious curses spread like a plague:

"Murderer! You forced him to his death!"

"You have no sense of responsibility! You got my husband killed, and now you want to harm our entire family too!"

"Come out! Sakumo Hatake, you are unworthy of the name 'White Fang of Konoha'!"

Sakumo Hatake abruptly stood. Through the gap in the window, he saw his teammate's corpse lying in a pool of blood, as well as the "family members" surrounding it, crying their hearts out while occasionally casting hateful glances toward his home.

A chill shot straight from his spine to the top of his head!

Bai Shinan's death made him realize that he had underestimated how low those people could go!

Bai Shinan had died today. Would Kakashi be the one to die tomorrow?

What? Bai Shinan had committed suicide?

As the head of ANBU and an Elite Jonin who had killed countless people, could he not tell whether someone had truly committed suicide or had been forced into it?

At that moment, he understood completely.

This was not merely a political struggle.

It was also a battle of ideals over the "Will of Fire"!

How ironic!

Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara had founded Konoha together so that children could run beneath the sunlight, so they would no longer have to step onto battlefields piled with corpses and soaked in blood at a young age, so that every person worth protecting could be protected.

But now?

Not only were children sent to war—he himself had risen to fame at a young age—even ninjas like Bai Shinan, who had a family and had made countless contributions to Hidden Leaf Village, were being driven to death by the most vicious words and vile schemes of the very villagers they had sworn to protect!

Konoha's upper ranks—the Hokage's advisors and elders whom he had once respected—the "Will of Fire" they preached had long since changed beyond recognition!

It had become a tool for eliminating dissidents, shackles for imprisoning thought, and a pretty slogan that could be twisted at will to satisfy personal desires!

A storm of anger, disappointment, sorrow, and bone-deep coldness churned through his chest like molten lava.

He nearly rushed outside with the White Fang Short Blade in hand and demanded answers from this filth!

But then his gaze fell upon Kakashi at his side, fists clenched, his eyes likewise filled with anger but even more confusion.

He could not.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's public image was too perfect. He was a "Kage" bathed in sunlight.

Even his own direct subordinates would likely not believe what he had discovered.

Furthermore, if he openly resisted, it would inevitably trigger an unpredictable split and turmoil within Konoha.

The situation in the Ninja World seemed stable on the surface, but hidden currents ran deep. Hidden Sand Village, Hidden Stone Village, and Hidden Cloud Village all watched Konoha like tigers eyeing their prey.

Once Konoha descended into internal chaos, foreign enemies would surely take advantage. How many ninjas and civilians would die needlessly then?

Sakumo Hatake suddenly realized that, for the village's superficial stability, to prevent foreign enemies from finding an opening, and so that... Kakashi could survive in a relatively safe—if false—environment.

He, Sakumo Hatake, had nowhere left to go.

Resistance would trigger civil war, killing countless people, and Kakashi might die amid the chaos as well.

Yielding? That was actually possible. As long as he lived on while bearing this enormous disgrace, he would never again have a chance to reach for the Hokage's position.

And once he could no longer become Hokage, with his strength, he would inevitably become Konoha's sharpest blade.

Who would not want to wield such a sharp blade?

But he was unwilling to submit like this.

I can put the greater good first for Konoha's peace and choose not to resist, but if they want me to lower my head and become a dog, my swordsman's will will not allow it!

At this point, the only path that could end this farce, preserve the village's stability, and secure some room for Kakashi to survive in the future seemed to be just one...

He slowly sat back down in his chair. The indignation and pain on his face gradually faded, replaced by the calm of a near-martyr.

From the depths of a drawer, he took out an old pipe, filled it with tobacco, and lit it with a tiny spark of electricity from his fingertip—something he had learned during breaks between missions in his youth and given up many years ago.

The acrid smoke entered his lungs and triggered a low cough.

He looked at the gray sky outside the window, his gaze seeming to pierce through time itself. He saw the afternoon when the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara had clasped hands in alliance, saw the moment Konoha's sapling broke through the earth, saw the backs of countless companions sacrificing themselves for one another on the battlefield... In the end, all those lights and shadows gathered into Kakashi's stubborn yet fragile little face before him.

So be it... he silently sighed.

The next day, as usual, and even with a faint gentle smile, he urged Kakashi to end his leave and return to school.

"Kakashi, go on. The knowledge at school, as well as your companions, are all important. Father is fine."

Kakashi looked at his father's face, which seemed to have regained its calm, but the unease in his heart did not lessen in the slightest. Still, he put on his backpack.

As he was about to leave, Kakashi suddenly turned around. "Father, are you really all right?"

"Of course. I've completed over a hundred S-Rank Missions, and this is my only failure. Could Lord Hokage possibly kill me over it?"

After thinking about it, Kakashi felt that seemed right, yet he still felt that something was off.

But faced with his father's urging, he still chose to go to school.

However, sitting in the classroom, Kakashi felt increasingly restless. The teacher's lecture sounded blurred and indistinct, as though separated from him by a thick curtain of water.

The faint discussions drifting in from the street and the occasional strange looks from his classmates made him feel as though he were sitting on pins and needles.

Finally, before the noon dismissal bell rang, he could no longer endure it. He abruptly rose from his seat, ignored the teacher's astonished stare, rushed out of the classroom, and sprinted toward home.

Only one thought remained in his mind: Go home! Go back to Father!

He shoved open the front door, and a familiar faint scent of tobacco mixed with a trace of rust assaulted him.

"Father, I'm back!" he called.

There was no response.

In the bedroom, Sakumo Hatake still lay on the tatami mat where he often slept, his body curled up like an infant.

His beloved White Fang Short Blade rested quietly across its stand, its blade polished bright enough to reflect a person's face.

Only, his chest no longer rose and fell.

His eyes no longer reflected light.

The once yellow-brown tatami had long been dyed red with blood.

The "White Fang of Konoha," who had once cut down countless enemies and protected countless companions, had now ended his own life with the short blade that symbolized glory and conviction.

With his death, he had martyred the original, purest "Will of Fire" in his heart.

With his death, he had extinguished the flames of internal conflict that were about to ignite.

With his death, he hoped to exchange it for a future for his son... perhaps still false, but at least one in which he could survive.

Sunlight streamed through the window, falling upon Sakumo Hatake's peaceful yet lifeless face, and upon Kakashi, frozen in the doorway, his pupils shrinking as his entire world instantly collapsed. The White Fang of Konoha had fallen.