Uzumaki Kushina and Sora had been exchanging letters, with Kushina detailing the shifts in public opinion about Hatake Sakumo in Konoha over this period.
Now that Hatake Sakumo had been dismissed from all his positions, he remained at home.
Uzumaki Kushina had also investigated the source of the rumours surrounding him.
The Truth Behind the Public Opinion
Through her investigation, she discovered that the ones spreading the rumours were actually three of Hatake Sakumo's four teammates.
After Sakumo abandoned the mission, all four of his teammates—along with him—had been punished.
One of them, however, believed he had been unfairly reprimanded.
He felt the situation had nothing to do with him. The decision to abandon the mission had been made by Hatake Sakumo, and as a subordinate, he had merely followed orders.
Feeling wronged, he spoke out about the incident after getting drunk.
The other two teammates had also been resentful but had kept their feelings bottled up.
However, seeing their teammate openly speak about it, they no longer held back and revealed everything.
They claimed that the decision had been Hatake Sakumo's alone and that they had never wanted to abandon the mission. They insisted they had only followed orders because he was their captain, and as subordinates, they had no choice.
The Silence of Tsuki
Meanwhile, Tsuki—the one Sora had asked Kushina to keep an eye on—had remained completely silent.
Having lost an arm and both legs, Tsuki could no longer be a shinobi.
After receiving treatment at the hospital, his family took him home to recover, and he has not been seen in public since.
However, according to Uzumaki Kushina's observations, Hatake Sakumo's three former teammates had been frequently visiting Tsuki's home.
Sora's Realization
After reading the entire letter, Sora closed his eyes in deep thought.
He had never expected Hatake Sakumo's own teammates to be the ones who leaked the information.
It was chilling—being stabbed in the back by the very people you had fought alongside.
All to shift the blame onto Hatake Sakumo.
And it seemed that Konoha's higher-ups had done nothing to stop them, essentially giving their silent approval.
Since those three teammates were frequently visiting Tsuki's home, they were most likely trying to persuade him to accuse Hatake Sakumo.
If that happened, Hatake Sakumo's faith in the Will of Fire would completely collapse.
And at this point in time…
This was when Hatake Sakumo took his own life.
Sora exhaled slowly.
"Phew… It's time to return to Konoha."
Without hesitation, he burned the letter and immediately set off for the village.
Six Days Later
Sora arrived in Konoha in a hurry.
When he returned home, he found that Uzumaki Kushina had not gone out on a mission.
After exchanging a few words, they quickly got down to business.
Uzumaki Kushina asked, "Sora, are the things being said in the village about Sakumo-sama true?"
Sora nodded. "Yes, it's true."
Sora explained everything to Uzumaki Kushina.
Uzumaki Kushina covered her mouth in disbelief. "How could this happen? Was it really wrong for Sakumo-sama to choose to save his comrades?"
Sora spoke solemnly. "It was both right and wrong."
Uzumaki Kushina frowned, not understanding his answer.
Sora continued, "According to Konoha's Will of Fire, Sakumo-sama was right to save his comrades. But according to Konoha's strict regulations, which prohibit abandoning a mission, he was wrong."
Uzumaki Kushina's brows furrowed. "Why would such a rule exist? Are Shinobi just supposed to stand by and watch their comrades die? No one could do that, right?"
Sora shook his head. "It's not just Konoha. Every ninja village operates the same way. The village needs a philosophy—a unifying ideal—that makes its people feel a sense of belonging and loyalty.
At the same time, they also need shinobi who will carry out missions with absolute obedience, no matter the cost. These two things—loyalty to comrades and absolute mission success—contradict each other.
That's why there are strict rules in place that go against the Will of Fire.
If a mission isn't critical, saving a comrade is acceptable. But when a mission is of utmost importance, abandoning it—even for a comrade—is seen as a grave mistake."
Uzumaki Kushina felt a lump in her throat. "But why have such conflicting ideals?"
Sora sighed. "It's just the reality of the shinobi world, Kushina. There are some missions so important that no matter how many lives are lost, no matter how many shinobi must be sacrificed, the mission must be completed. When that time comes, comrades must be abandoned—because even that is considered part of the Will of Fire."
"But…" Uzumaki Kushina clenched her fists. "Sakumo-sama's mistake wasn't unforgivable, was it? The village is at war—surely they still need him?"
Sora narrowed his eyes. "They do. But the problem is that public opinion is out of control."
Uzumaki Kushina felt frustration bubbling up. "If he's so important, why aren't they stopping these rumours?"
Sora speculated, "Maybe they can't suppress it anymore.
The tension of war has everyone on edge. People need a scapegoat.
On top of that, many in the village genuinely disagree with Sakumo-sama's decision. Rather than fight public opinion, the higher-ups might be allowing it to spread—to use it as an example, a warning to other shinobi about the consequences of abandoning a mission."
This was the most likely reason Konoha's leadership had allowed the rumours to fester.
Sora suspected that the higher-ups originally intended to let Sakumo suffer for a while, then reinstate him once the outrage died down.
But what they hadn't foreseen—was that Hatake Sakumo would choose to take his own life.
Dying as a martyr to the Will of Fire he had once believed in.
His death would be a heavy blow to Konoha.
The village was already stretched thin in terms of high-level combat power, and now, they had lost another powerful shinobi—stabbed in the back by his own comrades.
Uzumaki Kushina let out a long sigh. "It's so complicated.
Oh, right—go check on your student. Sakumo-sama's situation has affected him a lot. Every time he goes out, people whisper about him."
Sora nodded. "I know. I'll go find Kakashi now."
After saying goodbye to Uzumaki Kushina, he made his way to the Hatake residence.
Hatake Clan Residence
Sora found Kakashi training alone.
Kakashi looked like he was venting his frustration—his fists pounding against a wooden training post without restraint.
"I never taught you to train like that."
Kakashi's head snapped up. A flicker of surprise crossed his face when he saw Sora, but it was quickly replaced by a gloomy expression.
"Teacher Sora…"
Sora approached him. "How is Sakumo-sama?"
Kakashi glanced toward the house, his voice tinged with disappointment. "He's locked himself in his room and hasn't come out. I've been bringing him food, but every time I go in, he's just lying on the bed. No matter how much I call out to him, he won't respond."
Sora studied Kakashi's expression. "And you? How are you holding up?"
Kakashi forced a small, bitter smile. "I'm fine."
Sora wasn't convinced. "Then tell me—do you think Lord Sakumo was right or wrong to abandon the mission and save his comrades?"
Kakashi inhaled sharply, then lowered his head, falling into silence.
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