The room was still silent, but Sakumo now turned to face Katsuro fully, making direct eye contact with him now, and as the student and master assessed each other and the former saw the tears in the latter's eyes, Katsuro's harsh expression and voice finally softened.
"Sensei, I probably can't understand what you're going through, but I can try. You're a man of honour, duty and sacrifice to the village, beyond anyone else's I've ever met, and you value those traits immensely. And for so many in the village to turn their backs on you so badly, disgrace your name - even the people that you saved and sacrificed for - I can't imagine how unbearable that must have been, yet you had to go through it. The pain must have been unfathomable."
"But even still," Katsuro spoke louder, with more determination. "Sensei, not everyone has turned their backs on you. You stopped the mission to save your comrades. You have Kakashi, me, Tsunade, Kushina, your own close friends, those you saved in the war, those you led - people who trust you, people who value you, people who believe in you. You are not a failure."
Sakumo, after what seemed like eons of silence, finally spoke.
"Thank you, Katsuro. Truly. But I broke the rules, and those who break the rules are scum."
Katsuro stared his master down.
"Maybe, you're right, and that's true… but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum!"
At his words, both father and son looked at Katsuro, clinging onto his words, and finally, with a great, long sigh, Sakumo finally broke down. The White Fang of the Leaf, one of the strongest Shinobi alive, sobbed quietly in front of his student and son - all the pain from his wife's passing till now being let out. He finally accepted that he hadn't made the wrong choice, and Kakashi cried with him.
Despite the circumstances, Katsuro couldn't help but smile at the scene, and slowly and quietly retreated from the room, leaving father and son some much needed privacy to talk.
_____________________________
Soon after the room had gone silent, Katsuro re-entered the room. Kakashi had finally fallen asleep, albeit in the chair next to his father, refusing to leave.
Expected, Katsuro thought. Even if he is strong and adamant, he's still a kid. He stayed up all night through morning to wait for Sensei to wake up, he deserves some rest now.
Sakumo looked up, his expression tired but holding some contentment, no doubt stemming from his conversation and time with his son. That's good.
"There's something you should know, Sensei," Katsuro said in a serious tone, and Sakumo instantly regained alertness and nodded at Katsuro to continue, causing the latter to smile inwardly. Still a Shinobi, huh?
"I realised something - how did such confidential and important information about an S Class mission get 'leaked'? It's never happened in my lifetime, and I'm assuming it hasn't happened in yours either. And not only that - how did it spread so quickly? Rumours travel fast, but the effect was almost instantaneous. Almost as if it was being spread on purpose."
Sakumo opened his mouth to protest, but Katsuro was way ahead of him, and quickly continued.
"I know what you're gonna say, Sensei. But luckily, I have proof."
Katsuro immediately used Flying Raijin to get to the seal he had placed on the Root prisoner, grabbed him after some brief words with those looking over him and then used it again to get back to Sakumo's room, shocking Sakumo.
"Look," Katsuro said, grabbing the unconscious Shinobi's mouth and forcing it open.
"Recognise that?" he asked, and Sakumo's eyes widened in shock, seeing the seal on his tongue.
"He's Root," the younger man said with obvious disgust. "Me and some of my clansmen were investigating the rumours - when we tried to track down the sources, the people always tried to run away, but we caught one - him. Do you know what this means, Sensei?"
Judging by the look on Sakumo's face, he did, but Katsuro continued regardless, ensuring his point was set in stone for his teacher to acknowledge.
"Danzo set you up, Sensei. Sarutobi is likely at least complicit, by the looks of it - you got the mission directly from him, right? They intentionally sent you on a hard - no, an impossible mission - and in an impossible situation too. They planned this, Sensei. And you know why too, don't you?"
Again, Sakumo knew, but Katsuro continued anyway.
"It's because you are a rival for Hokage. That man will do anything to keep his power - even destroy the reputation of those loyal to him and the village, using underhand, disgusting tactics no less! Now, finally, do you understand, Sensei? He is not the man you thought he was!"
Finally, Katsuro was done, and he stared at Sakumo, who closed his eyes shut tightly, as if thinking. Finally, he spoke.
"But… but why? I told him I would never… he knows I would never…"
If Katsuro wasn't angry before, he was now. So Sensei even told Sarutobi that he wouldn't take the Hokage seat, even if it was offered to him, and he still went ahead with this? No - I will not let this go.
Katsuro's mind wandered further as his fury grew.
Danzo. He organised this. He orchestrated it, and was pulling the strings on Sarutobi. There's no doubt - if Sensei became Hokage, he would refuse to let Danzo act freely ,like the monkey Third Hokage does, and would disband the Root. So he decided to curb the threat before it could even become real - they likely didn't anticipate for Sensei to take such drastic measures, but the fault still lies with them.
Everything's ready - I've already done my investigations and found their base. I refuse to wait any longer - I'm doing it - now.
"I'm done waiting, Sensei. I don't care what you, Tsunade or anyone else says. Danzo will pay, and he'll pay now."
Without waiting for a response, Katsuro used Flying Raijin, and teleported straight to his target destination, a place he had scouted out previously just in case - the Root headquarters.
__________________
Upon entry, Katsuro was nearly immediately surrounded by Root Shinobi.
"Where is Danzo?" he asked, his voice quiet but deathly. There was no response - instead, more and more Root Shinobi piled into the room.
"I see. Well, in that case, let me give you a choice."
Lightning burst from his body, and wind surrounded him.
"Get out of my way, and live-"
Katsuro drew his blade.
"Or fight, and die."
There was a moment of hesitation from the Root - just a fraction of a second of fear - but it was soon overcome. The enemy charged, but Katsuro merely smiled - a cold, unforgiving, almost evil, smile. To those who faced him, it looked like the smile of the very devil himself.
Good. I've been waiting for this.
AN: If you would like to view up to 20 chapters ahead, and would also like to support me, please visit my P@TR30N, at pa tr eon.com / GhidorahWriter (remove the spaces). Thanks for reading and make sure ADD to your COLLECTION and VOTE with POWER STONES! The next target is 350 POWER STONES for the next BONUS CHAPTER!