A rumour was going around, that his Sensei had let the village down, betraying it. Apparently, he had failed to complete an S rank mission and had led to the village suffering heavily. The villagers were angry at him and his previous image as a hero was desecrated. Katsuro was not the type to just rely on rumours, however, so he went straight to the source. He used his Flying Raijin to appear next to a mark he had left on a tree next to Sakumo's home before making his way in.
Even as he stepped into the house, the mood was heavy. It felt similar to how the home was when Ayako passed away from her illness.
"Sensei, are you in?"
Sakumo walked out of one of the rooms into the main hall, he looked noticeably worse for wear. His firm footsteps lost their strength, and he looked more frail and tired.
"Oh Katsuro, it's you… What happened?"
"Sensei, what happened on the mission, there's rumours going around."
"Oh I see, you're here for that. Yes, they are right. I failed my mission and let the village down."
"Sensei, don't give me that nonsense, I know it's not that simple."
Seeing Katsuro's firm expression, unwilling to take no for an answer, Sakumo sighed and sat down on the zabuton on the floor before gesturing for Katsuro to do the same.
"It was an important S Class mission, and it was one I could have completed. But it would require sacrificing my comrades… It was not something I was willing to do, so I saved them but it meant we failed the mission. I knew of the consequences but I still made my choice, I was the mission leader and I bear the responsibility for the failure. Even the Shinobi I had saved told me I should have completed the mission and not cared for their lives…"
"Sensei… why does it matter, one failure cannot outdo all the good you have done for the village. You clearly had good intentions, and those cannot see that are irrelevant. Sensei, you stuck to your morals, I think you did the right thing."
"No Katsuro, I made the wrong choice. Even those that were saved criticised me, and the entire village is angry at what I've done. I've let everyone down… I'm sorry."
Katsuro could clearly see his teacher was heavily affected by the situation, in both mind and body. He had never seen the man look so weak before as he did today.
"Sensei, are you okay? Do not take the opinions of those who change like a leaf blowing in the wind to heart. Everyone who has sense knows what you have done for the village."
Seeing the worry in Katsuro's eyes, Sakumo replied with a tired smile that didn't reach his own eyes "... I'm fine, Katsuro, truly. Thank you for worrying about me. But could you give me some space? I need some time to think."
Katsuro had a lot more to say, but he could only respect his teacher's wishes. He looked at Sakumo for a moment with pursed lips before nodding and standing up. As he began to leave he spoke, "Sensei, remember if there's anything you need I'm always here." After a brief pause with them looking at each other he added, "I would go to war for you, you know that right?"
Sakumo chuckled ever so lightly, "Of course I know, don't worry about me at all."
With that Katsuro nodded and walked out, once he reached the outside he looked back at the house. He didn't like how his teacher reacted, and as his thoughts whirred he reached out to the outer wall for a few minutes.
Just in case…
His teacher had told him to give him space, and not worry about the issue. But Katsuro did anything but, he tried for a couple of days but when he repeatedly saw Kakashi going into a worse and worse mood, throwing himself into training that was becoming harmful. He needed to investigate.
He sent out his clan members to collect information, because even after a few days had passed the rumors didn't show any signs of dying down. In fact, they seemed to be growing more and more.
This isn't right, it's not natural. I pushed it behind me before, but how is it possible that the details of an S rank mission have leaked to the civilians of the village?
No, something was fishy, so Katsuro had authorised his clan members to use whatever force was necessary - he would take responsibility.
Soon enough, Kaito with a couple of his other clansmen dragged a man dressed in civilian clothes in. While he was disguised as a normal person, his eyes told the truth.
Kaito reported after a brief salute with his fists. Although Katsuro didn't care for such a thing, Kaito believed in appearances and respect especially in an official matter.
"Patriarch, we have captured this man after following him for a few hours. He was seen deliberately loudly spreading rumours in many popular places in the village including the market, restaurants and even the hot springs. He was not the only one, there were many more like him. So many people doing nothing but going around spreading rumours was weird, and when we went to question one, they immediately began running after seeing us. We didn't want to cause a commotion so obviously in the village so we immediately pivoted to someone else. Strangely, everyone we had an eye on quickly began retreating - likely informed by the one we questioned somehow, but we managed to snag this one discreetly. It is as you suspected, Lord Katsuro, the details of the S Rank mission are being deliberately leaked and the rumours are being pushed."
Kaito kneeled down briefly, grabbing the jaw of the man tied up with a chakra suppressing seal on him. As Kaito forced his mouth open, what he was showing became obvious, "Again, it is as you suspected, the culprit is the Root."
Katsuro's expression contorted after the confirmation, and the wooden armrest he was grabbing onto was crushed. Does Danzo really think he is untouchable? Didn't I warn them? No, enough is enough; the one chance I gave for Tsunade's sake is gone. This is the last straw, consequences be damned, I'll fight the whole village if I have to!
But just at that moment something flared within Katsuro's mind, the fairly complex seal he had placed outside his Sensei's house had gone off. And its condition? A sudden decrease in vitality and chakra of the target.
Katsuro reacted immediately, teleporting straight to Sakumo's house leaving his subordinates somewhat confused. He runs inside, just to see Sakumo in the middle of the hall slumped over in a pool of his own blood. Katsuro's own freezes inside his body but his mind takes back over, forcing himself quickly to Sakumo's side. He rolls his Sensei over slightly, not caring for all the blood now on his hand and his clothes. Sakumo's own short sword was still embedded in his stomach and from the way his hands were on the hilt, he had put it there himself.
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