Hakushi did not directly respond to this question but instead let out a sigh.
Unlike Ayane, Sakumo had long passed the age of questioning who he was.
He knew very well why he made such a choice.
Whether he regretted it or not, he didn't know, but if he didn't do it, he would surely live in agony in the future.
It's like giving up a mission to save a comrade. Regardless of whether the person saved would blame him for the mission's failure, Sakumo remained unshaken.
Blaming him was someone else's business; saving a comrade was his own, and there was no inevitable connection between the two.
He was merely upholding the belief passed down by the Will of Fire.
He firmly believed that saving a comrade by abandoning a mission was the top priority, even if it meant breaking some rules.
To people like him, others' opinions could only serve as references and could not become decisive factors that shook their beliefs.
"Teacher Sakumo, you should rest early too. I'm heading back now."
Hakushi knew that coming here, he couldn't change anything, so he might as well go back and rest.
The weather was quite cold tonight.
Hakushi started walking on the way back.
"Take good care of Kakashi for me."
Sakumo's words suddenly came from behind.
In the silent night, Hakushi halted upon hearing these words and gently nodded.
When Sakumo turned to look, the place where Hakushi was standing was already empty.
◎
The air seemed a bit cold the next morning.
Kakashi woke up early, prepared breakfast in the kitchen, and found himself puzzled that his father, Sakumo, hadn't come over yet.
By this time, he would have usually come over already.
After all, after breakfast, there was morning training to do.
Kakashi carried the breakfast towards Sakumo's room, opened the door, and shouted to the person inside:
"Dad, breakfast is ready—"
The breakfast plate fell to the ground, making a loud noise.
A lavish, nutritious breakfast was scattered all over.
But those things didn't matter; in the center of the room, a man lay in a pool of blood.
Using the White Fang Short Knife, which had taken countless enemy lives, he quietly ended his own life.
Seeing this scene, Kakashi's mind went blank, unable to recall anything.
◎
Sakumo was dead.
This news spread through the members of the Security Team, and it was confirmed that it was suicide, not murder at home.
There were no traces of an Illusion Technique, nor signs of intense struggle or fighting with an enemy.
It was just an ordinary insertion of the blade into his body to end his life.
This news quickly reached the villagers of Konoha, and the higher-ups also came to know about it.
And the rumors ended in unspoken silence.
——In a large, dark space in Konoha, the ninjas living here have forsaken everything.
Names, emotions, even their lives, were all abandoned.
Using darkness as nourishment, they deeply rooted themselves into the earth.
Root.
That's the general name of their organization, originating from Anbu, yet operating outside the Hokage's jurisdiction.
Their leader, Shimura Danzo, was in the meeting room, where a Konoha Ninja was angrily shouting at the Root Leader:
"Why did this happen? Why would Sakumo... why would Captain Sakumo commit suicide? Elder Danzo, didn't you say everything would be fine? Why did things turn out this way?"
If not for the two Root Ninjas holding him back, he would likely have rushed over to Danzo and punched him hard.
Even Danzo was somewhat restless and irritable.
Konoha White Fang's suicide... why would he commit suicide?
Indeed, the rumors were disseminated by Root, and Anbu remained silent, neither approving nor stopping them.
Because the Hokage couldn't emerge on Sakumo.
Thus, his reputation needed to be suppressed.
As long as his reputation was lowered, Konoha White Fang would remain a Jonin, the leading figure among Jonin, but from then on, he would have no connection to the position of Hokage.
But... why did Sakumo commit suicide?
This level of rumor shouldn't have been deadly.
He had already planned to stop the spread of rumors this afternoon.
Danzo fell into confusion.
"Take him away; I need to calm down."
Unable to understand why Sakumo committed suicide, Danzo irritably waved his hand, letting the Root Ninja take the questioning Konoha Ninja away.
He also really wanted to know why, but Sakumo was dead, leaving no one to answer him.
◎
Sakumo's funeral was held in rather non-gloomy weather.
The number of people attending the funeral wasn't large.
Besides Kakashi and Hakushi, Ruri, and Ayane, only familiar people like Tsunade attended.
To this day, they probably all found it unbelievable, thinking Sakumo wasn't someone with a fragile will who would commit suicide over such rumors.
"Life is born and also vanishes..."
Orochimaru faced all this with a kind of melancholic gaze.
Everything seemed as if it held no meaning.
Nawaki was like this.
Dan was the same.
Now it was Sakumo's turn.
If one day it was his turn... Orochimaru didn't know why a nameless fear emerged in his heart.
Finally, he shook his head and was the first to leave Sakumo's funeral.
He had seen many deaths, and Sakumo was just one of them and not the last one either.
In the future, more people associated with him would die before his eyes.
Life is indeed such a fragile thing.
"Teacher Jiraiya, why did Senior Sakumo have to do this?"
Minato, who was accompanying, looked at his teacher Jiraiya and softly asked this question.
"Who knows about such things, the departed are gone, let's not discuss it further."
Jiraiya shook his head, troubled.
Minato sensibly nodded, refraining from asking more, and looked towards Kakashi, who was at the forefront of the crowd, filled with pity and sympathy.
Tsunade walked to Hakushi's side, seeing his seemingly calm face, knowing he must be pretending to be strong, wanting to comfort him yet unsure what to say.
Hakushi seemed to understand what Tsunade wanted to say, smiled, and said, "Don't worry, Teacher Tsunade, I'm fine, no need to worry about me."
Tsunade nodded.
Before long, she, along with Jiraiya and Minato, left the place.
People gradually left one after another until only Hakushi, the three, and Kakashi remained.
Hakushi placed the flowers in his hand before Sakumo's grave.
"Teacher Sakumo, you were the true inheritor of the Will of Fire, who epitomized this will entirely..."
The higher-ups weren't wrong in their thoughts; stripping Sakumo of political capital was to let him peacefully be a Jonin, having made proper arrangements and considerations for his future.
But... the method was the only mistake.
In this world, there are many people who regard dignity and faith as more important than their own lives.
To the enemy, he was the hated Konoha White Fang.
To his own people, no one felt safer than having him by their side.
This was a ninja who considered comrades more important than his own life.
What he upheld was the Will of Fire that had never been tarnished by anything in his heart.
Even the higher-ups did not adhere to it, willfully destroying the village's undeniable principles since its inception, using such things as a pretext to suppress him. That's the greatest humiliation.
Why was this village founded?
A village founded because of bonds, and yet the ninja choosing bonds was defamed by rumors. Isn't this the greatest irony?
The ninjas and villagers who thought they inherited the Will of Fire never doubted this, not even raising objections.
The Will of Fire they once believed in was personally twisted by themselves without knowing it.
They forgot what the village's initial founding reason was.
They lost sight of the initial and most steadfast principles of the village.
If one possesses people but not land, both land and people are gained.
If one possesses land but not people, both land and people are lost.
From the beginning, the starting point of thoughts between the higher-ups and Sakumo wasn't on the same path.
Teacher Sakumo, I hope the meaning of your death can be understood by those people, and that they take this event as a warning. In the end, Hakushi added this sentence in his heart during the funeral.
It was the most sincere blessing.
Otherwise, if such a vicious cycle continues, Hakushi could foresee that Konoha White Fang was just the beginning, but definitely not the last.
In the future, more people in Konoha will lose themselves in the unsteady rules and become tragic sacrifices among them.