The evening wind had somehow turned crisp and cold, carrying a trace of graveyard chill as it brushed over the icy names carved into the memorial stone.
Hatake Kakashi's hand trembled.
It was not exhaustion after battle, nor was it the pain of his wounds. The scroll in his hand was clearly nothing more than paper and ink, yet it felt so heavy he could barely hold it.
He took a deep breath and finally unfolded it.
There were no unnecessary words, no sensational accusations. The first page of the scroll contained only a list of names written in the neatest handwriting.
They were the names of the comrades his father had risked everything to save during that mission.
Kakashi had heard every one of those names mentioned in passing by his father. Every one had been a symbol of "his father's failure" throughout his childhood.
And now, beside every name, was a new, ice-cold follow-up marked by "Zero."
[Jōnin, Arii Yasugi. Three months after the mission ended, he encountered an "accident" during a C-rank escort mission. He was ambushed and killed by a rogue ninja squad. The rest of the squad survived.] [Jōnin, Neshitsu Mikio. Six months after the mission ended, his entire family was transferred to the border of the Land of Grass to guard the most dangerous frontline outpost. A year later, the outpost was overrun by Iwagakure forces. His entire family was killed.] [Chūnin, Toji Makoto. After the mission, Root used his young son to threaten him into becoming the first "witness" to publicly accuse Hatake Sakumo of "putting private interests before public duty."]
Line after line, column after column.
The truth was like a rusty, mud-caked blunt knife, cruelly slicing open the scars in his memories inch by inch.