Chapter 87

By late afternoon, the rumors unfavorable to Sakumo, after fermenting all morning, had already spread to most corners of the village, and it was only a step away from becoming common knowledge.

No matter how hard the Uchiha ninja of the Security Force tried to suppress the spread of the rumors, compared to the vast population of Konoha, the manpower of the Security Force was already stretched thin. They were barely able to keep up with arresting people, let alone stopping the spread of the rumors.

Sakumo's home was located on a relatively bustling street in Konoha, not close to the village center.

It was a small, independent courtyard, with the name "Hatake" written on the doorplate at the entrance.

When Byakushi and Ruri arrived, they saw Kakashi standing at the entrance, looking even more silent than usual.

"Kakashi, is Teacher Sakumo at home?"

Kakashi, hearing someone call his name, looked up and saw Byakushi and Ruri. He nodded slightly, indicating that Sakumo was at home.

Byakushi and Ruri let out a slight sigh of relief. If he was at home, things would be easier to handle.

"But, my father..."

Kakashi said this, looking as if he didn't know how to explain further.

"Take us to see him."

Byakushi sighed, knowing that Kakashi must be feeling terrible.

With the rumors spreading so widely, it was impossible for Kakashi not to know.

Kakashi led the way, bringing Byakushi and Ruri into the Hatake residence.

The Hatake residence was a typical Japanese-style building, with a somewhat ancient charm. The three of them didn't walk far before reaching the door of the room where Sakumo was.

Before they could knock, a voice from inside said, "Come in." It was clear that Sakumo inside already knew someone had come.

Byakushi slid the door open and called out, "Teacher Sakumo, we're here..."

His voice trailed off.

Byakushi and Ruri were stunned as they looked at Sakumo.

"Teacher Sakumo, what is this..."

In front of them, Sakumo did not look as dejected as they had imagined due to the rumors. Instead, he was sitting at a table, eating a large bowl of ramen, and seemed to have a good appetite.

Seeing Byakushi and Ruri, he calmly and composedly wiped the oil from his mouth with a napkin and asked the two visitors, "Why are you two here?"

"..."

"..."

Byakushi and Ruri didn't know how to respond to Sakumo's question.

Before they came, they had imagined many scenarios where Sakumo would be depressed due to the rumors, but they hadn't anticipated this scene.

"Teacher Sakumo, about the rumors outside..."

Finally, Ruri stepped forward.

"Are you here because of this?"

"Yes, this is our duty in the Security Force. I want to understand the whole story, so please, Upper-Nin Sakumo, answer me."

Ruri walked up to Sakumo and spoke seriously.

She wasn't questioning him as a member of his former team but as a squad leader of the Security Force, to investigate the cause and effect of the incident.

Sakumo thought for a moment. Since this was the duty of the Security Force, there was no problem.

So, he straightforwardly narrated the events.

"This time, we were on a secret mission. However, during the mission, we encountered some trouble. Considering that my comrades were no longer able to continue fighting, I decided to abandon the mission and bring them back. This led to the mission's failure."

When Sakumo spoke, he showed no personal emotion, only recounting the events as an observer, leaving it to Ruri, the Security Force member, to judge.

Byakushi and Ruri frowned, and even Kakashi looked puzzled.

It seemed too simple.

"May I ask what the secret mission was?"

Ruri stared at Sakumo's face.

This was her main purpose for coming.

Even for a secret mission, there were different levels of importance and scale.

Some could affect the survival of the village, while others were trivial.

"I don't know. I was ordered to seize a certain object, but the mission failed, and the object was not brought back to the village. I don't know what it was."

For Ruri's question, Sakumo shook his head, indicating he didn't know what the object was.

Ruri felt the situation was getting complicated.

The information she got from Sakumo was minimal. To find out what object Sakumo was supposed to seize and how much the village had lost due to the mission's failure, she would have to go to the higher-ups.

After all, the mission was initially handed over to them and then given to Sakumo to complete.

But with the rumors already spreading to this extent, the higher-ups had not taken any action. Even if they went to ask now, they wouldn't get any answers.

Otherwise, they would have already clarified the rumors and minimized the impact.

Leaving the Hatake residence, Byakushi and Ruri looked up at the sky and sighed.

Exchanging a glance, Ruri asked Byakushi, "What do we do next? We can't break through with Teacher Sakumo. Should we find the person Sakumo saved?"

"Anyone who could think of this, the rumor spreaders, would have already anticipated it. They probably 'protected' the person when they planned their actions. If we go to the hospital now, the person would have already 'disappeared.'"

"Was it the higher-ups?"

"Besides them, there seems to be no one else. With such a big incident, according to usual practice, Teacher Sakumo would have been taken to the Anbu for a chat, not sitting at home."

Byakushi was certain that this was the work of someone in the higher-ups, or perhaps more than one person was behind it, fueling the fire.

"Is it a struggle for the position of Hokage?"

Ruri shook her head. The higher-ups had handled this flawlessly. With just the Security Force, they couldn't do much.

Compared to the Anbu, the Security Force had more power but a worse reputation in Konoha and lacked the authority of the Anbu.

Once the Anbu acted, it represented the will of the Hokage.

"It's probably like that. After all, the Fourth Hokage candidate selection will be held soon. At this time, excluding some irrelevant people is a natural outcome."

It sounded a bit cruel, but in Byakushi's view, Sakumo was merely a pawn in the power struggle.

His personal will and thoughts were not the most important. No one would understand him; as long as his current reputation could harm some interests, that was enough.

Whether he wanted to be Hokage or not was irrelevant; what mattered was whether he had the qualifications and the threat to become Hokage.

"Better this way. Since the political capital is gone, after this incident, the higher-ups will have no reason to suppress Teacher Sakumo."

Ruri understood Byakushi's point and felt a bit anxious.

The struggle for the position of Hokage involved the interests of many factions in Konoha.

A person with a reputation and strength surpassing the Sannin, and not belonging to any faction, was naturally the top target for exclusion.

Suppressing his reputation and stripping him of his political capital, and letting him quietly serve as a Konoha Upper-Nin, seemed to have no bad consequences.

In the future, Sakumo would certainly be re-used.

This was a crucial period for the Fourth Hokage candidate selection. Once this stage passed, the White Fang of Konoha would still be the White Fang of Konoha.

From Ruri's personal perspective, Sakumo indeed didn't seem suitable for the position of Hokage.

He had no ambition and no desire for it; he was just an excellent Konoha Upper-Nin.

That's all.

"Is that so? If it's like that, it would be good..."

Byakushi muttered to himself, thinking of Sakumo's nonchalant appearance before, a shadow of doubt clouded his mind.

That wasn't the look of someone who was unaffected.

◎

Two days later, the rumors grew even more intense.

More and more people came to the Security Force to cause trouble, and the cells were not enough.

The crimes of these people were not severe enough to warrant imprisonment in the Konoha Grand Prison, which was for serious criminals. These people, while spreading rumors, did not reach the level of "serious crimes."

Sending these people to the Konoha Grand Prison would certainly lead to interference from the Anbu, causing unnecessary conflicts.

"What's going on? There are still so many people causing trouble?"

Ruri arrived at the Security Force headquarters early in the morning and found it almost overcrowded, with noise outside the door like a market.

Two Security Force members of Ruri's squad bowed to her and replied, "Yes, new rumors appeared this morning, and the Security Force is completely overwhelmed."

The Security Force member smiled helplessly.

He couldn't understand how a rumor could spread to this extent.

It was just a failed mission. The White Fang of Konoha was indeed a famous ninja in the忍界, and in recent years, he had gradually become a symbol of Konoha's deterrence against enemies.

But even the White Fang of Konoha was human, not a god.

Occasionally failing a mission was not a big deal, and the higher-ups hadn't said that the mission failure caused any serious consequences.

If that were the case, the so-called Sannin would be nothing special, as the title was given to defeated generals.

But how many people dared to underestimate the Sannin?

From the perspective of this Uchiha Security Force member, these villagers were just causing a commotion, talking nonsense without knowing anything, and gradually deviating from the core issue.

Beating them up would be against the rules, but bringing them to the Security Force for education, the cells were already full.

So, the Security Force members who came to work this morning were very troubled by this issue.

Releasing these people would make the rumors worse.

Not releasing them... the overcrowding would affect the efficiency of the Security Force.

"Find some earth users and build some temporary cells outside."

Ruri's face was cold and frightening.

"Understood."

One of the Security Force members immediately went to find some earth users to build temporary cells outside.

"Will this have a bad impact?"

The remaining Security Force member smiled bitterly.

"What's bad about it? We are just following the rules. Even if the Hokage came, I would have a reason to argue with him."

"That's true, but if this continues, the reputation of the Security Force..."

"The Security Force already has a bad reputation. Why care so much? Don't give them lunch or dinner, and don't let their families bring food. Just give them some water to drink; they won't starve to death."

Ruri snorted coldly.

"Understood."

Since it was an order from the squad leader, they just needed to follow it.

As Ruri said, two meals wouldn't starve these people to death.

"By the way, you said there were new rumors?"

"Yes, wasn't Upper-Nin Sakumo supposed to abandon the mission to save someone? The person he saved is now accusing Upper-Nin Sakumo of lacking a sense of the bigger picture, saying he is not fit to be a ninja, and harshly criticizing and humiliating Upper-Nin Sakumo..."

Seeing Ruri's face getting darker, the Security Force member stopped talking.

By this point, Ruri had already understood the situation.

"Where is that person?"

"Couldn't find him. When we went, he had already 'disappeared.'"

He was probably hidden. Ruri sneered inwardly.

"I understand. You can go back to work."

"That's... actually, you don't need to worry too much. Although I'm not close to Upper-Nin Sakumo, his will is very strong. He would just laugh off these rumors."

He knew that his squad leader Ruri was once a member of Sakumo's team and had a good relationship with him. Before leaving, he comforted Ruri.

"Laugh it off?"

Ruri thought back to the visit two days ago when Sakumo was eating ramen with a good mood, completely unaffected by the rumors outside.

This did comfort Ruri. Yes, even if the rumors made him a bit uncomfortable, they wouldn't be a big deal for Sakumo.