Chapter 83: The Gathering Storm
Kagenori viewed the impending death of Hatake Sakumo not with sorrow, but with cold, analytical focus. It was a pivotal event, a nexus point in the timeline that promised a significant yield of Witness Points.
His analysis of the current warfront was clear: the stability on the Land of Grass border was largely due to the deterrent presence of the "White Fang of Konoha." Hatake Sakumo was a figure of immense renown, a genius whose name inspired fear in enemy nations and commanded respect even from the Legendary Sannin. His importance to the Grass front was analogous to Orochimaru and Jiraiya's role in the Hot Springs—a pillar so strong the enemy dared not test it.
Which made the man's destined end all the more absurd. To be hounded to suicide for abandoning a mission to save his comrades? It was a grotesque irony. A shinobi of such caliber, so loyal to Konoha, retiring for such a seemingly trivial reason? Kagenori found the official narrative laughably insufficient.
A man who had carved his name across the shinobi world did not possess a weak will. Rumors and public scorn were insects buzzing at a lion; they could not break him. He would not abandon his son, Kakashi, for something so petty. No, the truth was deeper, darker.
Kagenori's theory was one of shattered faith. The mission Sakumo abandoned must have been of critical, perhaps catastrophic, importance to Konoha. By choosing his comrades—an act that perfectly embodied the Will of Fire—he had inadvertently caused his village immense harm. The subsequent blame from the village was one thing, but what truly broke him, Kagenori suspected, was the condemnation from the top. The mission was supposed to be confidential. For its details to become public knowledge, for every villager and lowly ninja to know of his "failure," pointed to a deliberate leak from the higher echelons. It was a message: the establishment blamed him.
For a staunch Hokage loyalist like Sakumo, to be seemingly abandoned by the very system he dedicated his life to… that could shatter a core belief. It revealed the hypocrisy festering beneath Konoha's bright facade. Danzo's shadowy machinations, the systemic prejudice against the Uchiha, the political rot—it was all part of the same darkness. Sarutobi Hiruzen himself, whether by action or inaction, was likely complicit in this destruction. That was a weight capable of crushing even the White Fang.
But the personal tragedy was secondary to Kagenori. The true importance of Sakumo's suicide was strategic. His removal from the Land of Grass board would be the spark. The cunning, patient Iwagakure, unlike the brash Kumo, waited for a weakness to exploit. The collapse of Konoha's strongest defender on that front was the opportunity they needed.
Once Iwa moved, the dominoes would fall. Kumo would be compelled to escalate in the Hot Springs. Suna, ever-opportunistic, would see its chance to strike. And Kiri, lurking in the Waves, would finally join the fray. Sakumo's death wouldn't just be a tragedy; it would be the catalyst for the Third Shinobi World War to erupt in its full, bloody totality.
That was why Kagenori had to go to the Land of Grass. He needed to be there to witness the event that would set the world ablaze.
Yet, even without this looming catalyst, his path was set. Time was a relentless current. He was sixteen now. So was Kushina. In two years, she would be an adult. The last time he had seen Uzumaki Mito, the woman had been a ghost of her former self, her life visibly flickering. The clock was ticking on Kushina's destiny, and his window to alter it was closing.
He had spoken to Orochimaru about his other objective: finding an Uzumaki survivor in the Land of Grass. His target was the woman who would one day be Karin's mother. He wasn't certain she was there yet; Karin herself was years from being born. His theory was that the woman, with her clan's distinctive red hair, was likely in hiding somewhere in Grass, seeking stability and anonymity. It was only later, after Karin's birth and the discovery of her unique vitality, that they would be forced to seek the protection—and ultimately, the exploitation—of Kusagakure.
If he failed to find her, he had a backup plan: his Sharingan. Three years of relentless combat had advanced his dōjutsu to the three-tomoe stage in both eyes. But the final evolution, the Mangekyō Sharingan, remained elusive through normal means.
The system, however, offered a direct path. A glance at the Exchange Store confirmed it. Because of his Uchiha bloodline, the price was not exorbitant, merely… costly.
[Mangekyō Sharingan Awakening: 10,000 Witness Points]
He had miscalculated before. The price was higher than he'd thought. But the path was there, clear and direct. It was the fastest way to acquire the raw power he needed to challenge fate itself.
As he stood in the quiet camp, the calm before the storm, Kagenori's resolve was absolute. He would go to the Land of Grass. He would witness the fall of a legend, harvest the points, and search for the key to saving Kushina. The full-scale war was coming, and he intended to be ready, no matter the cost.