Accusations
Chi Yu looked Kakashi in the eye and asked quietly,
"Do you think your father—Sakumo Hatake—was wrong?"
Kakashi lowered his head, silent for a long time.
Finally, in a voice barely above a whisper, he said,
"I don't know."
As a shinobi, Kakashi had been raised to obey the rules.
The mission must always come first. That was the law.
But... could it truly be wrong to save a comrade?
He'd heard of other shinobi—respected ones—who had failed missions to protect their teammates. They hadn't been condemned the way his father had. Why was it different with Sakumo Hatake?
Chi Yu crouched down in front of him, voice calm.
"I understand your confusion. Lord Sakumo followed his own path—his own ninja way."
Kakashi looked up, eyes clouded.
"Then... was it wrong for him to follow the Will of Fire?"
Chi Yu slowly shook his head.
"I can't say for certain. But if his actions were wrong, then doesn't that mean the spirit of Konoha—everything built on the Will of Fire—is also wrong?"
He paused. "Kakashi, do you understand what the Will of Fire truly means?"
Kakashi nodded hesitantly—then faltered and shook his head.
"I thought I did. But now... I'm not sure anymore."
Chi Yu gently ruffled the boy's hair.
"Then take your time to think it through. One day, you'll understand—whether it's right or wrong. Take care of your father. I'll come again soon."
With that, Chi Yu left the Hatake residence.
Kakashi turned toward his father's door. His thoughts were tangled.
If the Will of Fire wasn't wrong...
If his father wasn't wrong...
Then who was?
He couldn't find the answer—and the more he searched, the more lost he felt.
But what worried Kakashi most wasn't the village's judgment.
It was his father.
---
In the following days, Chi Yu visited Kakashi nearly every day. He also entered Sakumo Hatake's room once—just once.
Sakumo lay motionless in bed. No matter how many times Chi Yu or Kakashi spoke to him, he didn't answer. His eyes were blank, hollow, sunken deep into a lifeless face.
Worried, Chi Yu summoned a surveillance snake from Ryūchi Cave to monitor the Hatake home day and night. He also kept a close watch on the village's public opinion.
It wasn't improving.
On the contrary, it was growing more vicious.
Rumors turned into blame. Whispering turned into open condemnation. People began pointing at Kakashi on the street, whispering behind his back.
And through it all, Sakumo Hatake remained in isolation—still, silent, and unreachable.
---
At Chi Yu's house one evening, Kushina Uzumaki took off her apron and handed him two bento boxes.
"I made extra dinner. Bring these to Kakashi later."
Chi Yu nodded.
"All right. I will."
Kushina frowned, crossing her arms.
"Honestly, the way people are treating Lord Sakumo... it's disgusting. Even if he made a mistake, no one has the right to act like he's a criminal. That man gave everything for Konoha."
Chi Yu exhaled slowly.
"When a bad person does good, the world praises them. But when a good man makes one mistake, the world crucifies him. It's easier to condemn than to understand. Most of them just want a show to watch."
Just then, the surveillance snake slithered back into the room, whispering in a hiss-like voice,
"Four intruders. Entered the Hatake residence."
Chi Yu's expression sharpened.
"Is one of them missing an arm, sitting in a wheelchair?"
The snake bobbed its head in confirmation.
Without a word, Chi Yu stood up.
"Kushina, I'm going."
Before she could respond, he vanished.
---
Chi Yu arrived silently at the Hatake residence.
Kakashi wasn't home—likely in the forest again, a habit he'd developed to escape the noise and cruelty of the village.
Chi Yu closed his eyes, reaching out with his Observation Haki.
Inside Sakumo's room... four men.
Sakumo's old teammates.
Chi Yu crept up to the door and listened.
"Lord Sakumo," one of them said, "this shouldn't have been our burden. We only abandoned the mission because you ordered it."
"Now we're being punished because of you. It's not fair. We're not the ones to blame."
"Please, speak to Lord Hokage on our behalf. Make it clear we were following orders. The failure of the mission has nothing to do with us."
Sakumo remained silent. His eyes stared at them, but he didn't seem to see them.
Once, they had been his comrades. Now, they looked like strangers.
Then Sakumo turned toward the one in the wheelchair—Tsugu.
Tsugu's gaze was conflicted. He had once cried with gratitude when Sakumo had saved him. But things had changed.
Stripped of his rank, crippled in body, and condemned by public opinion, Tsugu's heart had rotted under the weight of shame and resentment.
"Lord Sakumo," he said quietly, "there are days I wish you hadn't saved me."
"If I'd died out there, you could have completed the mission. My name would've been engraved on the memorial stone, remembered as a hero. Now I'm a cripple. Forgotten. Mocked. Burdening my family. I'd rather be dead."
Sakumo's fists trembled.
His voice cracked. "But you begged me to save you... You cried out for help."
Tsugu's expression hardened.
"That was instinct—just the human fear of death. But a shinobi must overcome that. The rules are clear. We do not abandon missions. You should've known better, Lord Sakumo. You were an elite jōnin. You failed us. I... I hate you for it."
Sakumo's breathing turned ragged.
He turned his face away.
"...I understand. You may go."
One of the others added,
"Please think of us too, Lord Sakumo. We still have futures."
And just like that, they left.
---
Outside the room, Chi Yu stood frozen.
He had heard every word. And it burned.
This was Konoha.
A village that preached unity, loyalty, and sacrifice.
But in its darkest moments, even its brightest were devoured.
Chi Yu clenched his fists.
They were snakes—every last one of them. Grasping. Ungrateful. Heartless.
And somehow, this was the village Sakumo Hatake had given everything for.
Visit patreon.com/Akeyno to get 30+ chapters