Sakumo

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Hatake Sakumo (朔茂) 29
Alias(es)	White Fang of Konoha; Jiushi Luren, his Angel Fund identity; “White-Hair,” Kakuzu’s nickname for him 52 55 56 95
Gender	Male 29 32
Age	Approximately 11–12 at his introduction; 16 after five years of training under Kagami 29 32
Affiliation	Konohagakure; Hatake Clan 30 94
Occupation/Role	Shinobi; Kagami Uchiha’s personal disciple; deputy commander of Konoha’s First Shinobi Army; formerly Danzō’s second-in-command 30 94 98
Rank	Chūnin during his early training assessment; later identified among Konoha’s younger Jōnin 32 47
Status	Alive following the Riftwind Valley ambush 98
First Appearance	Chapter 29, “Hatake Sakumo” 29

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Academy student — refined sword fundamentals	29	Immediately applies Kagami’s corrections to his stance and body mechanics, producing more compact, stable, and powerful cuts and thrusts.
Hokage’s personal disciple	30	Kagami accepts him as a student, recommends early graduation, and promises personal instruction afterward.
Chūnin — abilities beyond ordinary Jōnin	32	After five years of instruction, his swordsmanship, taijutsu, and ninjutsu exceed ordinary Jōnin standards. He masters Lightning Release nature transformation and receives the custom White Light Chakra Sabre; limited mission experience keeps his formal rank lower.
Elite young Jōnin	47	Described as having a clear combat advantage over the young Sannin and unmatched offensive power among Konoha’s younger Jōnin. His lightning-charged strike breaks Jianyan’s reinforced stone defense. The promotion itself is not shown.

Background / History

Hatake Heritage and Apprenticeship

Sakumo descends from a dwindling samurai family. As the Hatake Clan’s last remaining child, he has neither clansmen nor secret techniques to support him, relying instead on ancestral swordsmanship and solitary practice 30.

Kagami discovers him training after most others have left Konoha’s training ground. Impressed by his persistence, the Hokage corrects flaws in his sword technique and watches him incorporate the advice immediately 29.

Kagami subsequently takes Sakumo as his personal disciple. Sakumo pledges to train diligently and serve Konoha, while Kagami begins cultivating him as a possible future leader. Their first evening as master and apprentice ends with a barbecue meal that makes Sakumo feel personally cared for 30.

Five Years of Training

By sixteen, Sakumo has spent five years under Kagami’s instruction and become known as the younger generation’s most unstoppable blade. Despite his abilities, he and the young Sannin still lack the mission experience needed to match their strength with formal standing 32.

Kagami tests all four at the Fourth Training Ground. Sakumo’s lightning-coated attack fails to surprise his teacher, who counters and kicks him through several trees. After Katsuyu treats him, he rejoins the fight, but Kagami’s Susanoo defeats the entire group. Over dinner, Sakumo asks whether Kagami used his full strength and learns that the test was intended to reveal their remaining limitations 33 34.

Broken Cloud Gorge

During Konoha’s campaign against Iwagakure, Sakumo moves through the melee using speed and precise sword strikes to exploit weaknesses in stone armor. He intervenes when Jianyan is crushing Torifu Akimichi, breaking the commander’s reinforced fist and badly injuring his arm 46 47.

Danzō orders Sakumo to pursue Jianyan during Iwagakure’s retreat. Sakumo kills him by piercing his chest through his stone defenses. When Danzō awards him the greatest credit for taking the enemy commander’s head, Sakumo modestly attributes his success to his duty and Kagami’s instruction 47 48.

Angel Fund Operation

Kagami assigns Sakumo to accompany Kakuzu to the Land of Wind and restrain Kazekage Shamon’s expansion plans without provoking full-scale war. Their operation uses a fraudulent investment fund: earlier investors receive payments from later deposits, creating an appearance of reliable profits before the organizers withdraw the money 52 53.

Under the identity Jiushi Luren, Sakumo presents himself as a former poor man turned billionaire. His public seminar advertises monthly returns of 20 percent, with 30 percent promised to the first thirty investors. Free food, planted testimonials, and claims of noble participation help attract more than ten thousand ordinary investors within a week 55.

Sakumo also acts as an Angel Fund senior director and receives Ebizo’s delegation while Kakuzu avoids public exposure. He continues relaying Konoha’s instructions, despite misgivings about both the scheme’s harm and Kakuzu’s trustworthiness 57 59.

The operation earns four billion ryō overall, leaving Konoha two billion after repayments and other shares. Kagami orders a reward of one hundred million ryō for Sakumo. Sakumo and Kakuzu leave the Land of Wind under Sunagakure warrants, with Sakumo bearing much of the public blame 65.

Intervention in the Land of Whirlpools

After the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools, Sakumo arrives beside Danzō with two thousand Konoha ninja. Their military pressure forces the attacking villages to release captured Uzumaki. Once the other forces withdraw, Sakumo levels his White Fang blade at Hanzō and contemptuously orders him to leave; Hanzō retreats rather than confront Konoha 82.

Riftwind Valley

Serving as Hiruzen’s deputy on the western front, Sakumo receives warnings about Sunagakure’s lingering hostility and his active bounty. When a reconnaissance squad disappears, he accepts the need for backup and takes two squads to investigate Riftwind Valley 94.

The search party falls into Chiyo’s prepared ambush. Koizumi is killed, and five hundred Sand ninja block the valley entrance. Although his comrades insist that he escape, Sakumo refuses to abandon them 95.

Sakumo shields Daimaru from Chiyo’s poisonous attack, then bypasses her puppets to kill Saya. Her husband, Red Sand, charges him in grief and is also killed. Chiyo summons the Chikamatsu Ten Puppets to avenge her son and daughter-in-law, but Hiruzen arrives with reinforcements before the confrontation resumes 96.

Sakumo supports Hiruzen’s pressure on the Sand forces, which ends with compensation and Chiyo’s retreat. Afterward, he blames himself for endangering his team. Hiruzen rebukes his unwillingness to accept battlefield sacrifices, while Kagami concludes that Sakumo still needs firmer judgment before assuming greater responsibilities 97 98.

Original-Story Fate Known to Kagami

Kagami remembers a different future in which Sakumo becomes a legendary military asset, earns the honor of wearing the Hokage’s half-sleeve, and inflicts devastating losses on enemy villages during the Second Shinobi World War. These are recollections of the original story, not completed events in the novel’s altered timeline 29.

In that original future, Sakumo abandons a classified S-rank mission to save his comrades. The village—and even those he rescued—condemns him, eventually driving him to suicide. Kagami considers that fate unjust and takes him as a disciple partly to prevent his talent and compassion from ending in the same tragedy 29 30 98.

Appearance

Sakumo first appears as a slender boy in clean, faded training clothes, with sweat flattening his short hair against his forehead. As he grows older, his reserved expression and upright bearing remain characteristic 29 32.

• Hair: Short, silver-white hair; during the Angel Fund operation, it falls past his temples 52 57.
• Battle clothing: White clothing at Broken Cloud Gorge; later wears a standard Konoha Jōnin vest with his short blade strapped to his back 47 94.
• Undercover clothing: An immaculate black suit and a mask covering most of his face during his work for the Angel Fund 56 57.

Personality

Sakumo is disciplined, courteous, and unusually persistent. As a child, he repeats basic sword movements despite trembling arms and exhaustion, then receives correction without defensiveness. His outward seriousness conceals shyness, excitement, and a strong desire for his teacher’s approval 29 30 32.

He is warm toward comrades but ruthless toward enemies. His loyalty to Kagami gives him purpose, yet his concern for others also creates moral discomfort: he remains guilty about deceiving ordinary people in the Land of Wind, even while justifying the operation as service to Konoha and peace 55 94.

His attachment to comrades becomes a command-level weakness in his mentors’ assessment. At Riftwind Valley, he cannot accept escaping while his subordinates die for him. Hiruzen and Kagami regard his compassion as valuable but insufficiently balanced by the judgment required of a commander or future Hokage 95 98.

Abilities & Skills

Swordsmanship

Sakumo develops his inherited samurai swordsmanship through relentless practice and Kagami’s personal instruction. His attacks emphasize compact movement, precise targeting, and decisive killing blows 29 30 46.

• Channels force from his waist and spine rather than relying on arm strength alone 29.
• Targets joints and other gaps in hardened defenses 46.
• Defeats Jianyan by cutting through his stone protection and piercing his chest 48.
• Rapidly destroys attacking Sand puppets 95.

Lightning Release

Sakumo masters Lightning Release nature transformation and concentrates chakra into his short sword to increase its cutting power 32 47.

• Lightning Release: Body Flicker Slash combines extreme speed with a lightning-infused sword strike 47.
• His blade shatters Jianyan’s reinforced rock fist and disrupts the chakra pathways in his arm 47.
• Lightning coating can make an attack conspicuous; Kagami identifies and counters it during their spar 33.

Body Flicker and Battlefield Mobility

Sakumo uses Body Flicker to move through crowded battles, evade attacks, and strike before opponents can respond 46 95.

• Slips out of encirclements rather than remaining surrounded 46.
• Uses Lightning Body Flicker to evade senbon and shuriken barrages 95.
• Changes direction and accelerates past Chiyo’s attacking puppets to reach Saya 96.

Earth Release

Sakumo can perform Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall, forming seals with one hand 96.

• Raises a heavy wall decorated with a dog’s head 96.
• Blocks Chiyo’s Three Treasures Suction Crush and its poisonous powder, protecting Daimaru 96.

Leadership and Persuasion

Sakumo serves as a deputy commander and demonstrates both tactical coordination and effective public speaking 55 94 95.

• Orders medical treatment, defensive formations, signal flares, and protection of medical ninja during an ambush 95.
• Coordinates with Hyuga Ten to locate concealed puppet masters 95.
• Convincingly performs the role of a wealthy investment promoter and senior fund director 55 57.
• His reluctance to sacrifice comrades remains an obstacle to higher command 98.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Standard-issue short ninja blade — His original training weapon, used before receiving a custom sword 29.
• White Light Chakra Sabre / White Fang Short Sword — Commissioned by Kagami from one of the Land of Iron’s finest swordsmiths. Forged from rare Chakra-forged Gold over more than a year, it complements Sakumo’s Lightning Release 32 46.
• Face mask — Adopted during the Angel Fund operation after Sakumo worries that the Land of Wind will become permanently unsafe for him 55 56.

Relationships

• Kagami Uchiha — Personal teacher and father figure. Sakumo longs for his approval and privately considers adopting the Uchiha surname after ensuring the Hatake line continues. Kagami nurtures him as a possible successor but is disappointed by his judgment at Riftwind Valley 30 32 52 98.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi — Additional mentor and commanding officer. Deliberately tests and develops Sakumo, rescues him from Chiyo, and challenges him to become less soft-hearted in command 94 96 98.
• Shimura Danzō — Former commander. Entrusts Sakumo with pursuing Jianyan, praises his victory, and passes along Kagami’s special mission 47 48 52 98.
• Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru — Fellow young prodigies and training partners. Tsunade arranges treatment for Sakumo during their spar; he privately envies her easy affection toward Kagami 32 33.
• Kakuzu — Partner in the Angel Fund operation. Their cooperation includes professional distrust, near-conflict, and Sakumo’s continued monitoring of Kakuzu’s loyalty 53 59 65.
• Sakamoto — Kakuzu’s employee and mission associate. Introduces Sakumo to Kakuzu and intervenes when their first discussion threatens to become a fight 52 53.
• Might Duy — Academy acquaintance whom Kagami asks Sakumo to befriend; Sakumo already knows him as an energetic student frequently mocked by others 30.
• Yamashita Daimaru — Subordinate willing to die for Sakumo. Urges him to escape Chiyo’s trap and shields him from Red Sand; Sakumo later saves him from a poisonous attack 95 96.
• Hyuga Ten — Reconnaissance teammate who identifies hidden puppet masters and supports the effort to secure Sakumo’s escape 95.
• Chiyo — Enemy whose initial grievance concerns the Land of Wind fraud. After Sakumo kills her son and daughter-in-law, she vows personal revenge 93 95 96 97.
• Unnamed Uchiha woman — Sakumo is reportedly courting her by the time he serves on the western front 94.

Notable Quotes

“I, Sakumo Hatake... would be honored to become your disciple, Lord Hokage! I'll study and train with all I have. I won't let you down, Master, or fail Konoha!” 30

“What? You want me to stand by and watch you die, then flee alone? Daimaru, have you lost your mind?” 95

“I know it doesn't matter. I just didn't want to watch my companions die right in front of me...” 98

Trivia

• The narration credits Sakumo with inventing Thousand Years of Death and later passing it to his son, Kakashi. Kakashi claims his own version is less powerful 29.
• Kagami promises that Sakumo may choose a puppy as a future summon; the provided events do not show him receiving it 52.
• Kagami’s recollection gives Sakumo’s original-story mission record as 27 S-rank, 123 A-rank, 266 B-rank, 384 C-rank, and 256 D-rank missions 29.