Sora asked Kakashi, "Do you think what Hatake Sakumo did was right or wrong?"
Kakashi lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.
Finally, he whispered, "I don't know."
As a shinobi, Kakashi understood the rules of the ninja world—completing the mission always took top priority.
But when it came to saving his comrades, he couldn't believe his father had done anything wrong.
There had been so many shinobi who had abandoned missions or caused them to fail for the sake of their comrades, yet they weren't punished. Why did it have to be different for his father?
Sora squatted in front of Kakashi and reassured him, "I know you're confused right now. Lord Sakumo was following his own nindō."
Kakashi looked at him blankly. "So... was it wrong for my father to follow the Will of Fire?"
Sora shook his head. "I don't know either. But if Sakumo-sama's way of upholding the Will of Fire was wrong, then that would mean the very spirit of Konoha, from its founding until now, is also wrong. Kakashi, do you understand the Will of Fire?"
Kakashi nodded at first, then hesitated and shook his head. "I thought I did before… but now, I'm not so sure."
Sora ruffled Kakashi's hair. "If you don't understand, then take your time to think about it. Sooner or later, you'll figure out what the Will of Fire truly means—and whether it's right or wrong. Take care of Sakumo-sama. I'll come see you again."
With that, Sora left the Hatake estate.
Kakashi stared at his father's room, his thoughts in turmoil.
If the Will of Fire wasn't wrong, and if his father wasn't wrong… then who was?
The more Kakashi thought about it, the more confused he became. He couldn't understand why things had turned out this way.
But more than anything, he was worried about his father—worried that Sakumo wouldn't recover from this.
For the next several days, Sora visited Kakashi almost every day.
During this time, he even entered Hatake Sakumo's room to check on him.
Sakumo lay motionless on his bed, unresponsive no matter how many times Sora or Kakashi called out to him.
Meanwhile, Sora summoned a snake to monitor the Hatake estate around the clock.
At the same time, he kept an eye on public opinion.
But rather than dying down, the rumours and criticism surrounding Sakumo only grew more intense.
And Kakashi's mental state continued to deteriorate.
Every time he stepped outside, he was met with cold stares and harsh words.
Hatake Sakumo remained the same—silent, withdrawn, and confined to his room.
At Sora's Home
Uzumaki Kushina removed her apron, took out two lunch boxes, and handed them to Sora.
"I made some extra food. Sora, take this to Kakashi later."
Sora nodded. "Yeah, I got it."
Uzumaki Kushina sighed. "Those people are too much. Even if Sakumo-sama made a mistake, it's not their place to judge him. He's contributed so much to Konoha."
Sora sighed as well. "Bad people get praised when they do one good deed, but the moment a good person makes a mistake, they're treated like the worst kind of villain.
That's just how people are.
Most of them only care about their own interests. The rest are just here to watch a spectacle."
Just as Sora and Uzumaki Kushina were about to eat, the snake Sora had sent to monitor the Hatake estate returned.
"Lord Chiba, four people have arrived."
Sora frowned and immediately asked, "Is one of them missing an arm and in a wheelchair?"
The snake from Ryūchi Cave nodded.
Sora shot up from his seat.
"Kushina, I'm heading to the Hatake estate!"
Before Kushina could respond, Sora vanished.
She opened her mouth to speak, but the lunch boxes were still in her hands.
Sora arrived at the Hatake estate in silence.
Kakashi wasn't home.
He often went to Konoha's forests to vent his frustration, so he was most likely alone in the woods right now.
Using Observation Haki, Sora sensed the presence of four people inside Hatake Sakumo's room.
He moved quietly, stopping just outside the door to listen.
Inside, one of the men spoke.
"Sakumo-sama, this has nothing to do with us. If not for your orders, we never would have abandoned the mission."
"Now, because of you, we're being punished. It's completely unfair."
"That's why we want you to explain to Hokage-sama and the others that we were just following orders. The failure of that mission isn't our fault."
Hatake Sakumo remained silent, staring blankly at his former subordinates.
At that moment, they all seemed like strangers to him.
Finally, his gaze settled on Tsuki—the man whose legs were crippled and who had lost an arm.
Tsuki looked at Sakumo with complicated emotions in his eyes.
Back when he was rescued, he had been deeply grateful to Sakumo.
But after returning to Konoha, facing judgment, losing his status as a shinobi, and enduring the cold stares of his peers and family, that gratitude had turned into resentment.
Tsuki spoke in a quiet, bitter voice.
"Sakumo-sama… I've thought more than once how much better it would've been if I had just died there. At least then, I wouldn't have to endure the way people look at me now."
"If I had died in battle and you had secured that scroll, my name would've been carved onto the memorial stone."
"But now… it was all for nothing. I can do nothing but drag this broken body around until I wither away. No one will remember me in the end."
Sakumo's eyes turned bloodshot. His voice, hoarse from disuse, finally broke the silence.
"You think I was wrong?" His breathing was heavy. "But you were the one who begged me to save you back then."
Tsuki's voice was cold. "That was just my instinct to survive kicking in. But now? I wish I had never been saved."
"The iron law of being a shinobi is that abandoning a mission is strictly forbidden. As an Elite Jōnin of Konoha, you should have known better."
"You shouldn't have saved me. Giving up the mission was a mistake, and I hate you for it." His voice grew more bitter. "If I could go back, I would never want you to abandon the mission for me."
Sakumo's breathing turned ragged. After a long pause, he whispered, "I understand. Leave."
"Sakumo-sama, please think about our situation as well. We don't want our futures ruined because of this."
With that, the four men left the Hatake estate.
Outside the room, Sora clenched his fists.
Listening to that conversation filled him with anger and frustration on Sakumo's behalf.
This was no different from saving an ungrateful snake.
No, they were all the same.
This was Konoha.
On the surface, they seemed united.
But in reality, it was filled with people who were heartless and cruel.
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