"Mr. Hatake, if you refuse to say anything, it puts us in a difficult position. Besides, this interview was requested by the Daimyo's envoy. If you have any grievances or know any inside details, you can tell the public through Shinobi World Weekly."
The president of the Konoha Newspaper tried hard to persuade him, but Hatake Sakumo still showed little inclination to speak. Rin Nohara, sitting nearby, was getting anxious too. She had just heard the newspaper president say that if this continued, it might affect Kakashi.
Hatake Sakumo had been somewhat moved at that, but he still had not changed his attitude. No matter what the newspaper president asked, he either shook his head or said nothing. Hatake Sakumo was no political fool. He was simply more uncompromising at times, not incapable of seeing Konoha High Command's attitude toward him.
The Daimyo wanted him to become Hokage, but Konoha High Command did not want a Hokage who was close to the Land of Fire. In their eyes, the Hokage should be loyal to Konoha rather than treat it as a subordinate institution of the Daimyo.
Hatake Sakumo also understood the Third Hokage and the other members of Konoha High Command. He had held his own position on that issue ever since becoming a ninja.
But they should not have used saving his comrades as an excuse!
Had they used some other reason, Hatake Sakumo might have acknowledged his fault after thinking it through. He had failed to complete his mission, causing losses to the Land of Fire and Konoha. But saving his comrades was absolutely not wrong. It should not have been an excuse tainted by politics.
That was why Hatake Sakumo had refused to accept it all along. He turned down missions and shut himself away at home.