At the end of December, the cold winter arrived.
Snowflakes floated in the sky above Konoha, and the river surfaces were also covered with ice.
After completing the last mission of the year, Ruri stayed at home.
If nothing special happened, this situation would probably continue until mid-January of the following year, when she would consider taking on missions again.
Opening the door, one could see that the ground in the courtyard outside was also covered with a thick layer of snow.
Hakushi sat opposite Ruri, with a table placed between them.
After the Shadow Dancer put tea and pastries on the table, it retreated silently to the side, occasionally sneaking a curious glance at the two.
For her, being not even half a year old, sometimes human relationships seemed overly complicated.
Take her family, for example; when she observed others, she found that others just had one father and one mother.
While she indeed had only one father, she had two 'mothers.'
Moreover, her brother, the Earth General, had a truly peculiar body; she often used the Shadow Blade to remove its head for observation, trying to find out why it always seemed so lively and undying.
But after observing for a long time, she couldn't find any mechanisms inside it.
Its external and internal body components were no different, made entirely of soft clay, and apart from that, it seemed to have no special materials.
Its body shape wasn't the only thing different from normal humans; even the language it spoke was unintelligible gibberish, making it impossible to carry out normal communication.
For her, being not even half a year old, all these things were truly hard to comprehend.
"Recently in the village, I've heard some things about Kakashi. He seems to have conflicts with several squads."
Ruri picked up the teacup and took a gentle sip of the hot tea.
"Isn't that to be expected? Ignoring the life and safety of comrades and only having eyes for task completion is sure to cause dissatisfaction among the team, leading them to exclude him."
Hakushi shrugged his shoulders and said.
"Sometimes I really can't understand what those people in the upper echelons are thinking. They themselves are also to blame for Kakashi becoming like this."
Ruri snorted coldly.
To her, Kakashi's thinking indeed seemed a bit extreme.
But thinking carefully, wasn't it precisely the inaction of those high-ups that forced Kakashi to this point?
"Our Hokage cannot actively assume responsibilities like these to maintain the balance of the village's various powers. That's why the existence of Root becomes meaningful."
Hakushi watched the snowflakes dancing in mid-air and drifting down to the ground in the courtyard, appreciating the beautiful snow scene as he spoke with a smile.
To better manage Konoha, the role of Hokage often requires them to maintain a glorious and righteous image, becoming a model and exemplar in the eyes of every Konoha Ninja and villager.
However, within a vast Konoha, it's impossible to have no filth at all; where there is light, darkness surely breeds.
So, having a shining and just Hokage also means that someone must bear the negative side of that light—darkness, to better maintain the village's interests and order.
Thus, under the unanimous push of the high-ups, the organization Root, which bears all of Konoha's darkness and sins, was born smoothly.
From its birth, this organization had the worst reputation, performing the dirtiest work, with its leader, Shimura Danzo, even being called the 'Dark Ninja.'
Precisely because of his ruthless and merciless way of doing things, leaving no stone unturned to achieve his goals.
This incredibly dangerous figure gathered similarly extreme-thinking ninjas under his command, dealing with countless dirty affairs in secret over the years, justifying the name 'Dark Ninja.'
Honestly speaking, just on this note, Hakushi still admires the political foresight of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, to some extent.
From a strategic standpoint, this arrangement has no major flaws.
But the problem lies in the series of measures the Third Hokage took afterward, which are considered classic failures—
Overly indulging in the growth of the Root, failing to restrict the Root thoroughly when necessary, and lacking a strong hand to match and control this enormous darkness, these are where the issues lie.
Not immediately providing any substantive punishment for Root's top who committed significant mistakes, and also failing to placate subordinates whose interests were harmed, directly led to a severe blurring of personal and village affairs, losing credibility.
Therefore, the balance maintained based on the indulgence of Root won't benefit Konoha, and in many situations, it will continuously consume Konoha's internal living strength, placing Konoha's future in an awkward situation of reverse growth.
If the upcoming Ninja Realm war breaks out, Konoha is likely to face a very tough battle, with even the risk of annihilation.
As for whether a great hero will emerge at that time to turn the tide, Hakushi cannot foresee.
The future in such matters is far too unpredictable.
And Hakushi himself is apparently not very interested in such matters.
By then, he would have long left Konoha, watching passively whether Konoha perishes or ushers in a new life.
"By the way, take these. I've already made them; it took quite some time."
It was at this point that Hakushi remembered something, took out two black metal rings from his pocket, and placed them in front of Ruri.