The faint light of dawn had yet to drive away the lingering chill in Konoha.
Inside the Hatake residence, Kakashi had woken up early as usual, quietly preparing a simple breakfast.
His father's recent state had made him more anxious than ever, and taking care of him had become a small but solemn responsibility on his young shoulders.
Carrying the tray of food, he approached the tightly shut door of his father's room and gently slid the paper door open.
A pungent, overwhelming stench of blood immediately hit him, choking his breath.
His pupils contracted sharply. The tray in his hands trembled violently, dishes and bowls crashing to the floor and shattering into pieces.
In the center of the room, his father, dressed in a plain kimono, knelt on the tatami in the most formal seppuku posture.
His head drooped. His silver hair had lost all its shine.
A short blade was deeply embedded in his abdomen. Blood had soaked through his robes and spread in a dark crimson pool beneath him, jarring and terrifying.
There was no pain or struggle on Sakumo's face. Only a stillness that bordered on deathly calm.
That calm was more suffocating than any grief.
Kakashi stood frozen at the doorway, his small body rigid, as if time had stopped. Even his blood felt like it had turned to ice.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Only cold air poured into his lungs, bringing a pain sharper than blades.
His eyes, always filled with pride and faith, were now empty with disbelief and shock.
Father... dead?
That thought burned into his mind like a searing brand.
"Fa... Father?" A broken, barely audible whisper escaped Kakashi's throat.
He dropped to his knees and lunged forward, slamming hard against the cold floor, yet felt no pain.
His trembling hand reached toward his father's cold body, but just before making contact, he pulled back sharply, as if that peaceful corpse was molten lava.
Just as Kakashi's world collapsed, two shadows silently appeared in the corners of the room.
It was the ANBU, tasked with monitoring the Hatake residence.
They had clearly just discovered the scene as well. The eyes behind their masks were filled with shock and disbelief.
"Lord Sakumo... committed suicide?" one ANBU muttered through his mask, voice quivering slightly.
The other ANBU stepped forward, knelt, and checked Sakumo's neck. After a brief pause, he shook his head heavily.
"Confirmed dead." His voice was cold, emotionless.
The two ANBU exchanged glances. They both saw the same grim understanding in each other's eyes.
One of them quickly retrieved a special signal scroll from his gear pouch and tore it open without hesitation.
A faint but distinct chakra pulse shot out immediately, heading straight for the Hokage's office.
"Report to the Hokage-sama immediately!" The ANBU's voice carried rare urgency.
In the Hokage's office, smoke hung in the air.
Hiruzen frowned, his breathing heavy.
The open file before him was Danzō's latest report on the "Wood Release Project"—a document filled with vague language and deliberate avoidance, clearly stalling for time.
"That bastard Danzō..." Hiruzen muttered under his breath, tapping the desk impatiently.
The Wood Release Project had absorbed massive resources, yet showed little progress, like a bottomless pit devouring Konoha's funding.
This project had to be suspended.
He needed a solid reason to make Danzō drop it.
Just then, the emergency ANBU signal cut through the stale air like an ice spike.
Hiruzen's expression changed drastically. His pipe nearly slipped from his hand.
An emergency signal of this level... from the direction of the Hatake residence.
A heavy sense of dread gripped his heart.
The office door burst open. The ANBU who sent the signal dropped to one knee, his voice carrying a hint of panic.
"Hokage-sama, urgent report. Lord Sakumo has committed seppuku at home. Confirmed dead."
"What?!" Hiruzen shot to his feet. The force knocked his chair over, sending it crashing to the floor.
His face drained of all color. Wrinkles twisted under extreme shock and grief. His pipe fell from his hand, embers scattering.
Seppuku... Sakumo is dead?
The news struck like a thunderclap.
He staggered, barely catching himself on the desk. His chest felt like it had been slammed by a sledgehammer. The dull ache spread rapidly, making it hard to breathe.
A top-tier shinobi, the White Fang of Konoha, had been driven to death by rumors?
He could hardly believe it.
One failed S-rank mission, a few strategically planted rumors, and it destroyed a man with iron will?
Hiruzen felt like an invisible hand was crushing his heart. His vision dimmed.
He suddenly remembered. Just yesterday, he had summoned Danzō.
The scene flashed back.
Hiruzen stared grimly at the bandaged man standing before his desk.
Danzō remained as always, wrapped in bandages, leaning on his cane, face expressionless.
"Danzō!" Hiruzen's voice shook with suppressed fury. "Look at what you've done. The situation with Sakumo has gone too far!"
Danzō slightly raised his head. The eye beneath the bandages was calm.
"Hiruzen, I merely let the village see the truth. The mission failed. The losses were enormous. That is undeniable. A shinobi is a tool of the village. The mission is absolute. He abandoned it for personal reasons. That's a violation of the rules."
"Enough!" Hiruzen slammed his hand on the desk. Papers flew.
"Spare me your twisted logic. Do you not understand how important Sakumo's strength is to the village? With the situation outside out of control, how is Sakumo supposed to face it? How will the other shinobi see the village leadership?"
He took a deep breath, forcibly calming himself.
"The objective has already been achieved. His reputation is stained. He no longer poses a threat to the Hokage seat."
Hiruzen's eyes bore into Danzō.
"That's enough. Call it off, now."
Danzō was silent for a few seconds. The corner of his mouth twitched faintly beneath the bandages.
He understood the subtext. Sakumo's political career was finished. His "mission" was complete.
"Understood," Danzō replied in a flat tone. "I'll order my men to stop pushing public opinion."
He paused, adding coldly, "The objective has indeed been achieved."
One less obstacle between him and the Hokage position.
But did Danzō intend to stop?
His eyes flickered. He decided to press further while the iron was hot.
"Hiruzen, now that you've seen how effective public opinion can be, shall we consider using the same method on Kamiyama Ryo?"
Hiruzen's brows furrowed at the mention of that name.
Ryo... strong, unruly, and lacking respect for the higher-ups.
He was definitely a destabilizing element.
Hiruzen's fingers drummed on the desk, eyes turning distant in thought.
But now, news of Sakumo's suicide had yanked him back into harsh reality.
Sakumo... was truly dead.
Not compromise. Not surrender. He had chosen the most defiant, irreversible way out.
Hiruzen clutched his aching chest. His mind still held the image of Sakumo's exhausted but resolute eyes.
Just yesterday, he had been considering how to suppress, sideline, maybe even someday reuse this powerful comrade.
He had assumed Sakumo would endure for the sake of Kakashi's future.
He had completely misjudged.
"Sakumo... why did you have to be so stubborn? Why couldn't you just learn to bend?" Hiruzen murmured hoarsely, his voice filled with disbelief and deep regret.
Then he remembered Danzō's final words yesterday.
"Shall we give Kamiyama Ryo the same treatment?"
A chill ran from his feet to the top of his head.
Danzō was planning to do it again. Target Ryo with another wave of public pressure.
Hiruzen snapped his gaze to the corner where Danzō now stood. He had been summoned the moment the news broke.
The bandaged man stood stiffly. His expression unreadable.
It was over. They had gone too far.
Konoha had just lost an irreplaceable top-tier shinobi.
The loss was devastating.
And the fuse that ignited it all... was Danzō's orchestrated public opinion war.
Danzō, this time you've gone too far. Far beyond what you can bear.
Hiruzen's gaze turned cold and resolute.
Someone had to take responsibility. Someone had to answer to the villagers, and to the grief-stricken Konoha.
That person could only be Danzō.
His eyes swept to the Wood Release Project report on the table, and he thought of the strained village finances. A complete resolution began to take shape in his mind.
He had no choice now.
Hiruzen took a deep breath and composed himself, voice heavy with sorrow and authority.
"Danzō."
Danzō looked up, meeting Hiruzen's gaze.
"Sakumo's death has had a disastrous impact. He was a hero of Konoha, a top-tier asset. His death is a huge loss to the village. And you... Root bears undeniable responsibility."
Danzō stiffened, but said nothing in response.
"A few days ago, I ordered you to submit a results report on the Wood Release Project within three months. And this," Hiruzen picked up the file and slammed it in front of Danzō, "this is the garbage you give me? It shows no real progress at all."
Hiruzen's voice rose sharply.
"The village poured massive resources into this. And this is your answer? Combined with the trouble you've stirred up... Root must be held accountable for Sakumo's death. You cannot escape this."
He glared at Danzō, his tone sharp and final.
"Effective immediately, you are to return home and reflect. Without my permission, you are not to take a single step outside. All Root operations will be temporarily overseen by Orochimaru. The Wood Release Project is hereby suspended, indefinitely."
He paused, as if explaining to others, or convincing himself.
"The resources invested are too great. Konoha... can't afford to keep bleeding. The budget issue almost got exposed last time. We have to end this now."
Danzō listened in silence. His face behind the bandages betrayed no emotion.
Being placed under house arrest and stripped of Root was not unexpected.
All of Root's operatives were bound by Tongue-Curse Seals. Orochimaru could take control, but not the secrets or loyalty.
At worst, it would be a hollow position.
He would return eventually.
But the suspension of the Wood Release Project made a flicker of cold fury flash in his lone eye.
That project was his ticket to absolute power, the path to becoming Hokage.
He wouldn't give it up.
If the public route failed, he would continue in secret. Plans were already in motion.
He understood Hiruzen too well.
Hiruzen needed him, to handle the darkness a Hokage couldn't touch.
He would bide his time.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Danzō's voice was still flat and emotionless.
He did not argue. He bowed slightly, turned, and slowly left the office, silence trailing behind him.
Hiruzen watched him go, then sat down heavily, rubbing his aching forehead.
Dealing with Danzō was only the first step.
Worse problems remained. How to calm the villagers? How to comfort the child... who had just lost his father?
"Someone, come!" Hiruzen forced himself upright. "Issue orders in my name. First, posthumously declare Hatake Sakumo as a Hero of Konoha. Second, from this moment forward, any talk of his failed mission is strictly forbidden. Violators will be punished. Third, bury Sakumo with the highest honors at the Memorial Stone."
The orders were quickly dispatched.
Soon, a squad of solemn-faced ANBU arrived at the Hatake residence.
They carefully gathered Sakumo's body. Their movements were respectful, honoring a fallen comrade.
Kakashi remained kneeling beside his father's body, still as a statue, like a finely carved puppet with no soul.
The sound of footsteps, whispered voices, the subtle movements around him... all felt distant, like echoes behind thick glass.
He did not cry, did not scream. His face held no expression, only a silent, desolate emptiness.
When the ANBU tried to lift him and guide him away, he followed numbly, his eyes blank and lifeless.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)