Hatake Sakumo returned from the mission, but all five members of his team were injured.
The most seriously wounded among them had already been treated by medical-nin.
Hatake Sakumo sat against the wall as a medical ninjutsu tended to his injuries. His face was weary and sombre, his brows tightly furrowed.
Kakashi rushed to his side, his voice filled with concern. "Father, what's wrong?"
Hatake Sakumo seemed lost in thought and did not respond immediately.
Kakashi asked again, and only then did Hatake Sakumo snap out of his daze.
"It's nothing..."
He instructed the medical-nin to stop the treatment, then left for the conference room, where he summoned several shinobi.
Although Sora had not been invited, he was curious about what had happened. He decided to enter on his own. Regardless, he was already aware of the situation, and he knew Hatake Sakumo wouldn't mind him observing.
Nara Shinsuke asked anxiously, "Sakumo-sama, what happened? Was there an ambush?"
Hatake Sakumo shook his head, his voice hoarse. "No... I abandoned the mission."
Nara Shinsuke and the other shinobi were stunned.
Abandoned the mission?
Impossible!
What kind of mission could be so difficult that even Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, would choose to give up?
Hatake Sakumo explained in a deep voice, "The mission was progressing smoothly—we were on the verge of obtaining Iwagakure's scroll. But then, Tsuki was captured by the enemy. Those bastards from Iwagakure used her to lure us into a trap.
For Tsuki's safety, I had no choice but to abandon the mission and rescue her. But the trap was layered—there was a second stage to it. A series of explosive tags detonated, leaving Tsuki severely injured regardless..."
Tsuki was the sensory-type ninja on Hatake Sakumo's team.
A heavy silence filled the conference room.
That was the reason Hatake Sakumo abandoned the mission.
Sora carefully observed everyone's expressions.
At this moment, they all seemed to react normally—no one appeared to think Hatake Sakumo had done anything wrong.
Choosing to save a comrade in danger was the natural course of action. No one questioned his decision.
Hatake Sakumo had called this meeting solely to explain the mission's failure.
Seeing how exhausted he was, the shinobi left after advising him to rest.
This incident did not cause any immediate turmoil within the camp.
However, since many shinobi were unaware of the details, curiosity spread. When they learned that Hatake Sakumo and his team had returned injured, they began asking questions about what had happened.
Kakashi, on the other hand, remained deeply worried about his father.
He could sense that something was off—Hatake Sakumo's spirit was not as strong as before.
Then, just as the incident had begun to fade from everyone's minds, Anbu suddenly arrived.
The Anbu operatives summoned Hatake Sakumo and the four teammates who had been on the mission with him to return to Konoha.
Upon hearing this, Sora immediately understood—that Konoha's higher-ups were about to hold Hatake Sakumo accountable.
Hatake Sakumo and his four teammates departed.
A Few Days Later
Kakashi, unable to stop worrying about his father, became distracted during training, leading to frequent mistakes.
Sora stopped him. "That's enough. If you keep training like this, it won't do you any good. Go."
Kakashi looked up at Sora in confusion.
Sora explained, "You're worried about Sakumo-sama, aren't you? Then go back to Konoha."
"But—"
"There's nothing to hesitate about. Go see Lord Sakumo. He's your father—your only family. And you're his only family, too. Nothing is more important than your own kin. Do you understand?"
Kakashi took a deep breath and nodded. "Teacher Sora, I'll head back to the village right away. After that, I'll return to you."
Without wasting any time, Kakashi went back to his room, packed his belongings, and set off for Konoha.
After watching Kakashi leave, Sora returned to his room and began writing a letter.
Naturally, the only person he could write to was Uzumaki Kushina.
The Coming Storm
According to how events would unfold, Hatake Sakumo, who abandoned his mission to save a comrade, would soon be harshly criticized by his fellow villagers.
The final blow—the one that would shatter his faith in the Will of Fire—would likely come from Tsuki, the very shinobi he had saved.
First, his comrades would condemn him.
Then, Konoha's higher-ups would reprimand him.
And finally, even the one he had risked everything to rescue would turn against him.
Hatake Sakumo, who had always believed he was upholding the Will of Fire, would be left physically and mentally devastated.
Sora's letter to Uzumaki Kushina was a request for her to monitor the rumours surrounding Hatake Sakumo.
At the same time, he asked her to keep an eye on Tsuki.
If anything unusual happened, she was to inform him immediately.
After finishing the letter, Sora summoned a snake and sent it to Konoha to deliver the message.
Three Months Later
The next day, Sora set out alone once more—continuing his search for Karin's mother.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three months had passed.
Sora began to doubt himself.
Is Karin's mother really in the Land of Grass?
Without Kakashi, his search had become even faster.
In these three months, he had filled in the last remaining gaps on his map, covering almost every possible location.
And yet, not a single red-haired woman had been found.
Placing his hand over his right eye, Sora murmured, "At this rate, my only hope is my Sharingan… and leaving Konoha with Kushina."
At this point in time, defecting with Uzumaki Kushina was the most viable option.
Sora possessed the Sharingan, and Kushina, with her unique Uzumaki clan physique, was an easy target in this chaotic ninja world.
Even if Konoha provided opportunities for growth, his current strength was not yet at the level where he could fearlessly face all dangers—let alone protect Kushina.
The Message
Just as Sora was about to refocus and continue searching, a snake slithered up to him.
He retrieved the letter tied to its belly and read through its contents.
His eyes narrowed.
For the past three months, aside from the time it took for letters to be delivered, Sora and Uzumaki Kushina had been in constant contact. Several of his messenger snakes had even died from exhaustion.
Because public opinion about Hatake Sakumo in Konoha has changed drastically every day.
For some reason, rumours about his mission had spread throughout the village.
Now, nearly everyone knew that his objective had been to intercept a highly classified strategic scroll from the enemy.
If the mission had succeeded, Konoha would have gained a significant advantage—potentially saving countless lives.
But Hatake Sakumo had abandoned the mission for the sake of a single comrade.
At first, people merely questioned his decision.
Then, doubt turned into criticism.
Soon, the village was outright condemning him—placing full responsibility for the failure on his shoulders.
Konoha's higher-ups had officially stripped Hatake Sakumo of all his positions.
In his place, the leadership of the Land of Grass operations had been temporarily assigned to Nara Shinsuke.
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