The Sword God returned to the village

"Hatake Sakumo! You are Konoha's disgrace! As a shinobi, you actually abandoned your mission for your comrades! Don't you know that a shinobi's first duty is to complete the mission?"

"You disgrace! Because of you, our families will have to go to war again!"

At the Hatake Clan's compound, a crowd of civilians stood outside Hatake Sakumo's courtyard, hurling abuse at the man inside.

Meanwhile, Hatake Sakumo knelt inside his house. On the table before him lay the blade that had accompanied him through more than a decade of battles-the short sword White Fang!

"Kakashi! It's time for school!" Without moving a muscle, Hatake Sakumo noticed Kakashi hiding outside the door and spoke in a calm voice.

"Father!" Kakashi opened the door. Looking at his father's despondent face, he asked worriedly, "Father, everything they're saying is a lie, isn't it? How could you possibly be a criminal against Konoha?"

"Enough, Kakashi!" Hatake Sakumo snapped, then continued in a gentler tone, "These matters aren't your concern! Go to school!"

Seeing that his father was angry, Kakashi dared not say anything more. He turned and left.

Once Hatake Sakumo sensed that Kakashi had left the courtyard, he could no longer hold back his tears.

"Kakashi, don't blame your father for being weak. Konoha has truly broken my heart!" Hatake Sakumo murmured, then picked up the short sword before him.

The Hokage Office, inside the Hokage Building.

"Danzo! How dare you tarnish the reputation of our village's hero!" the Third Hokage roared at Danzo, who sat nearby.

"Hiruzen!" Danzo waved dismissively and tapped his cane against the floor before saying, "Isn't this what you wanted to see, too? Konoha's White Fang has become far too renowned. His reputation is already threatening to eclipse yours. If you weren't afraid that his fame would surpass yours and force you to step down in his favor, would you have allowed me to ruin his reputation? I know your people have been helping fan the flames!"

"You!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was left speechless by Danzo's words, but quickly retorted, "I only wanted him to keep a lower profile. You're trying to drive him to his death!"

"Don't be naive! With Hatake Sakumo's strength, as long as he lives, he'll soon win back all his honors on the battlefield!" Danzo abruptly stood and shouted.

Danzo then turned and headed outside, saying as he walked, "I merely did what you wanted to do but didn't dare! Don't pretend to be a good man in front of me!"

Just as Danzo reached the door and extended his hand to open it, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke. "Then how do you intend to explain this to Lord Ziyan?"

Danzo's hand paused just short of the doorknob. Then he rested it on the knob and said, "I've never given up searching for the Sword God, but I've been looking for nearly twenty years without finding him. I don't think he's coming back! Otherwise, I wouldn't have moved against White Fang!"

Then he opened the door and left the Hokage Office!

Watching Danzo leave, the Third Hokage murmured, "Let's hope so! Otherwise, given that man's temperament, we..."

The Hatake Compound.

Hatake Sakumo slowly drew his short sword and gently wiped it with a white cloth. "Old friend, sorry to trouble you one last time," he said quietly.

After speaking, Hatake Sakumo's gaze hardened with resolve. He set down the white cloth and gripped the blade in both hands, turning its point toward himself.

Just as Hatake Sakumo was about to end his life, someone suddenly knocked on the gate outside.

Knock, knock, knock!

Hearing the knocking outside, Hatake Sakumo wondered who would come to his gate under these circumstances. Weren't they afraid of being implicated?

Though curious, Hatake Sakumo had no intention of answering the gate. He didn't want to drag anyone else down with him.

But the person outside called into the house, "Sakumo, you brat, hurry up and open the gate! I know you're home!"

At the sound of that voice, Hatake Sakumo's hands trembled involuntarily. He immediately sheathed his sword and rushed outside.

"Who are you? What's your relationship with that traitor Hatake Sakumo? Do you know that because of him, Konoha will be forced into war with other countries again?"

"Exactly! Hatake Sakumo is Konoha's scum, and you still have the nerve to associate with him! I bet this man's scum, too!"

The people outside began hurling insults at the man who had knocked.

"Silence!"

The man at the gate unleashed his aura. Its pressure sent everyone around him staggering, and not one of them dared utter another word.

At that moment, Hatake Sakumo opened his courtyard gate and looked at the visitor.

Once he saw who it was, Hatake Sakumo dropped to his knees with a thud. "Sakumo pays his respects to the clan head!" he said, his voice trembling.

"All right, all right! You're a grown man! Stop crying at the drop of a hat!" The visitor casually helped Hatake Sakumo to his feet. "Didn't I tell you? Don't call me clan head. Call me Uncle. I'm not the head of your branch!"

Then the man walked into the courtyard first.

Hatake Sakumo hurriedly shut the gate and followed him.

The man sat where Hatake Sakumo had been sitting earlier and looked at the short sword and white cloth on the table.

Hatake Sakumo sat across from him with his head lowered, like a child who had done something wrong, not daring to speak.

"What did I teach you back then?" the man asked.

"Clan head..."

Hatake Sakumo looked up and caught the man's gaze, then hastily corrected himself. "Uncle Ziyan! Of course I haven't forgotten your teachings, but if I did that, what would happen to Kakashi? What would happen to my clansmen? I really..."

"Useless!" the man Hatake Sakumo had called Uncle Ziyan snapped. "With your strength, never mind Konoha-there are few in the entire shinobi world stronger than you, yet you're still this timid! If you fought back, who would dare lay a hand on your clansmen or your family? Do they have a death wish?"

Hatake Sakumo's face flushed, and he seemed to want to argue with his uncle.

Hatake Ziyan naturally saw what Hatake Sakumo was thinking. Without giving him a chance to speak, he continued, "Enough. Drop that expression, as though sacrificing yourself to keep your clansmen and family safe makes you so noble! It seems Konoha really has begun to rot!"

Hatake Ziyan looked toward Hokage Rock in the distance, seemingly recalling something from the past. Then his expression eased as he said, "Hashirama's already dead. Why should I worry so much? But daring to move against my Hatake Clan-have they forgotten my warning?"

Kneeling across from him, Hatake Sakumo couldn't help trembling at Hatake Ziyan's words. Remembering how Hatake Ziyan had taught him as a child, and how his uncle treated his enemies, he couldn't help worrying for the village's current leadership!