The Will of Fire? What a joke?

At 1:30 in the afternoon, Kakashi Hatake and Sōkyū Hatake arrived early at the Heroes' Memorial Stone. A black coffin stood in the very center, surrounded by all kinds of decorative white flowers.

In front of the coffin, a black-and-white photograph of Hatake Sakumo sat on a table. He bore a strong resemblance to Kakashi, but unlike Kakashi, Hatake Sakumo was smiling in the photograph.

Looking at Hatake Sakumo's photograph, both Kakashi and Sōkyū fell somewhat silent.

This man had once shouldered the burden of steadily leading the Hatake Clan forward alone. One could even say he had always struggled onward for the sake of the Hatake Clan.

And now, Hatake Sakumo's death had left the already sparsely populated Hatake Clan even more precarious.

"There really aren't many people here." Kakashi Hatake turned to look behind him. Although it was not yet time, people would normally arrive early to pay their respects.

But the fact that hardly anyone had arrived yet meant one thing: most people were unwilling to come.

"Most people probably don't want to come. After all, there are those rumors," Sōkyū Hatake said flatly, without any expectation in his eyes.

"Probably. After all..." Kakashi Hatake fell somewhat silent. He knew his father's reputation in Konoha was not very good right now.

After exchanging those few words, the brothers fell silent. Kakashi kept his eyes on Hatake Sakumo's photograph, while Sōkyū Hatake looked up at the sky.

The sky, which had been perfectly clear at noon, suddenly grew dark and overcast.

When the sunlight disappeared, the surroundings seemed to dim all at once, and figures slowly began appearing near the Memorial Stone.

Tap, tap, tap.

A figure suddenly appeared behind Kakashi Hatake.

"Lady Tsunade, Lord Jiraiya, Lord Orochimaru." Sensing people behind him, Kakashi turned and found himself looking at the Konoha Sannin.

"Kakashi, about Lord White Fang... sigh..." Jiraiya walked up to Kakashi, his expression grim as he spoke.

He had only learned of Hatake Sakumo's suicide yesterday. Having seen so much darkness, he naturally knew who had orchestrated many of these things behind the scenes.

"Lord Jiraiya, I understand." Kakashi nodded. He had not expected all three of the Konoha Sannin to return.

The pressure on the front lines was growing, and some countries were beginning to stir, even though it had not been very long since the Second Shinobi World War.

"They've gone too far this time!" Tsunade clenched her fists. The matters involving Dan Katō and Senju Nawaki had already left her somewhat disappointed in Konoha's leaders.

She simply had not expected that this time, it would be their senior, the Konoha White Fang's turn.

"Even someone as strong as White Fang could be affected..." Orochimaru flicked his tongue as he looked at Hatake Sakumo's memorial portrait. His yellow snake eyes gave no indication of what he was thinking.

The Konoha White Fang had made his name earlier than Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, and he was currently the only person permitted to wear the Hokage half-sleeve.

That alone showed the standing that Hatake Sakumo, the Konoha White Fang, held in Konoha.

"Some things are beyond human control, aren't they? For example..." Sōkyū Hatake suddenly interjected, keeping his voice low enough that only Orochimaru could hear.

"Heh heh heh, you're White Fang's younger son, Sōkyū Hatake, aren't you?" Orochimaru flicked his tongue as he looked at Sōkyū Hatake. This child seemed rather unusual.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru." Sōkyū Hatake nodded slightly. He rather wanted to make contact with Orochimaru, but this was clearly neither the time nor the place.

After he stopped speaking, Sōkyū Hatake seemed to notice that Orochimaru's gaze remained fixed on his back, as though sizing something up.

"Is everyone here?" By the time Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived, the clear sky had disappeared completely, leaving only heavy, dark clouds, as though even the heavens were grieving.

Many people had attended the previous memorial service at the Heroes' Memorial Stone, even though that person had been no match for Hatake Sakumo in either strength or status.

Yet this time, only a handful of people had come to the burial of the renowned Konoha White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.

Most were the heads of major clans. These people understood perfectly well; they all knew the truth behind this matter.

By contrast, almost none of the villagers whom Hatake Sakumo had always protected came this time.

At the funeral, Hiruzen Sarutobi highly praised Hatake Sakumo's contributions and sacrifices for Konoha, calling on everyone to learn from him.

Of course, at a memorial service like this, Hiruzen Sarutobi would naturally not miss the opportunity to deliver a speech promoting his Will of Fire.

"Wherever leaves dance, fire will burn. The shadow of the fire will illuminate the village and make new leaves sprout..."

Of course, as far as Sōkyū Hatake was concerned, these speeches were putting him to sleep.

Heh. The Will of Fire?

What a joke.

Wasn't Hatake Sakumo driven to his death by people like you, so 'full' of the Will of Fire?

At the end of the funeral, after Hatake Sakumo's coffin had been buried, Hiruzen Sarutobi delivered the closing remarks on behalf of all of Konoha.

"Kakashi, can we talk?" Once the others who were leaving had left, a blond young man suddenly appeared behind Kakashi Hatake.

"You're... Lord Minato Namikaze?" Kakashi paused. Looking at Minato Namikaze's face, he remembered Hatake Sakumo telling him that Minato Namikaze would surely become one of the greats.

"Looks like you know me. That makes things much easier. I'm Minato Namikaze." Minato Namikaze wore his signature warm smile, trying to warm Kakashi's heart.

"What do you want with me?" Kakashi only paused briefly before quickly surrounding himself with cold indifference.

"I've come on Lord Hokage's orders to let you know that from now on, you'll be part of our Team Minato." Minato Namikaze did not mind Kakashi's coldness at all and continued explaining patiently.

"Team Minato? Sorry, I don't think I'm suited to being on a squad with other people." Kakashi refused outright. His previous team arrangements had fallen apart for various reasons, including friction with his teammates.

And now they actually wanted him to join another team?

"Don't be so quick to refuse. Why don't you come with me and take a look at your new teammates first?" Minato Namikaze said directly, a sly gleam in his eyes.

"Then... all right."