As Kushina Uzumaki and Naruto Uzumaki embraced and wept, Jiraiya smiled in relief.
"But where was Minato Namikaze?"
A question surfaced in Jiraiya's heart.
After thinking for a while, he remembered that Minato Namikaze's use of the forbidden technique, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, to seal the Nine-Tails in Konoha had not been a particularly secret matter.
At that thought, regret welled up in Jiraiya's heart. But amid such a beautiful scene, he did not speak up to interrupt Naruto and Kushina's reunion.
"Naruto, how old are you?"
"Twelve!"
"Hatake Sakumo... I used to admire him so much, yet he actually did something like this. He's simply Konoha's disgrace!"
"What Konoha White Fang? He's nothing but Konoha's coward!"
"As a shinobi, missions are more important than life itself!"
"Why did you save me?! I was already prepared to sacrifice myself! You should have continued the mission! Why did you save me?! This is all your fault!"
"Father, you..."
In the darkness, countless rumors and slanders echoed. Even the people he had saved accused him, along with his own child's disappointment in him.
Was I really wrong?
With great difficulty, Hatake Sakumo opened his eyes and saw the world before him.
"Father!"
A man who looked very familiar stood before him, calling him Father.
"You are... Kakashi?"
Only after a long while did Hatake Sakumo recognize his child from Kakashi's white hair and the habit of wearing a mask that he had developed since childhood.
Kakashi walked straight over to Hatake Sakumo's side, and the two sat facing each other in perfect understanding.
"Father, can you tell me your story?"
Carrying the confusion in his heart, Kakashi spoke.
When he had been young, he had not understood why his father's reputation had gone from Konoha's hero to the scum of