Fourth Hokage's Timeline.
Ever since Kushina got pregnant, Minato Namikaze had been coming home immediately after work every day.
But today had been especially hectic. He didn't want Kushina to see how tired he was, so he stayed in the office to rest a bit before heading home.
Just as he felt well enough and was about to leave, a strange light screen suddenly appeared in the office.
His reaction was much like that of the other Hokage from different timelines—first cautious and skeptical, then watching carefully while staying alert.
"Even though I don't know exactly what this light screen is, it does reveal a lot of useful information."
If nothing else, just the fact that Kakashi would become the Sixth Hokage was already enough to catch Minato's full attention.
[During Kakashi's childhood, the only other family member besides himself was his father, Sakumo Hatake, who was older than even the Legendary Sannin and famously known as the Konoha's White Fang.]
[With such a powerful parent at home, Kakashi grew up like he was drinking energy drinks—his basic abilities were on a whole different level compared to other kids. He was his father's little prodigy.]
[Although young Kakashi lacked motherly love, he wasn't withdrawn yet. He was a proud genius child.]
[That was until one day, his father abandoned a top-secret mission to save his teammates, causing the village to suffer an irreparable loss.]
[Sakumo Hatake couldn't bear the pressure from public opinion. Even the teammates he had saved pushed all the blame onto him.]
[And so, our exhausted and heartbroken brother Sakumo quietly took his own life at home.]
[From some of the clues left behind, it's not hard to see that the Third Hokage and Danzo were involved in stirring up public opinion.]
[Maybe they just wanted to suppress Sakumo Hatake's reputation a little, but it backfired badly.]
[They didn't expect Brother Sakumo's mental strength to be so fragile… and he ended up taking his own life.]
"Was the Third and Danzo involved?"
The Fourth Hokage, Minato, fell silent.
Back then, he had also felt something was off about the whole incident.
Logically speaking, missions that could bring either great harm or great benefit to the village were always classified as top secret.
If the mission succeeded, it could be revealed to boost morale.
But if it failed, then it would absolutely be kept under wraps.
Not only would exposing it hurt morale, but it could also leave a terrible impression on outsiders.
So at the time, he had already started doubting the official explanation behind Sakumo's death.
Unfortunately, back then he was just an ordinary jonin — he wouldn't have had access to any confidential information.
By the time he became Hokage, that matter was already far in the past.
Nowadays, Kakashi had finally started walking out from under that shadow, so Minato never did investigate the truth behind Sakumo Hatake's death.
Besides, while he might've held the title of Hokage, the real power still largely rested in the hands of the old Third.
If he really tried to dig into it...
He wasn't even sure if he'd find anything useful.
"What should I do? Should I tell Kakashi about this?"
"Danzo... that old bastard deserved to die, after all."
"Sasuke, you've really eliminated a huge threat for Konoha."
In the fifth hokage timeline, everyone glanced secretly at Kakashi.
Seeing that his expression hadn't changed at all, they all quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"I didn't do much. Danzo was just asking for death."
Fifth Hokage timeline Sasuke's expression was calm.
Ever since the light screen video started playing, he had maintained that same cold look.
Only when it mentioned him becoming a delinquent and getting all sorts of tattoos did he show a bit of annoyance and curl his lips.
"That bastard Danzo has one more crime added to his name. Don't worry, Kakashi. I'll clear and restore Sakumo-san's name soon."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
Fifth Hokage timeline Kakashi gave a small nod.
When it came to Sakumo Hatake's suicide, the older Kakashi had always held some suspicion toward the Third Hokage.
After all, the public opinion in Konoha at the time was explosive.
As Hokage, the Third couldn't possibly have been unaware.
But instead of stepping forward to clear things up, he chose to stay silent and let the rumors spread—
Which ultimately led to his father's tragedy.
Add to that how he felt the Third mishandled Naruto, the orphan of the Fourth Hokage, and his doubts only grew deeper.
But what could he do? He was just a Jonin.
Even if he found out the truth—so what?
At most, they'd give him a half-hearted apology,
Then give him a long lecture about the Will of Fire and how hard it is to protect the village.
And that would be the end of it.
So when Orochimaru launched the Konoha Crush plan, he didn't even bother saving the Third.
Instead, he dragged that idiot Guy away to help protect other parts of the village.
What surprised him, though, was just how little the Third was loved—
Aside from a few Anbu under the Hokage's direct command giving "commentary" from the rooftop,
No one else went to save him.
After his death, the older generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio appeared, and the Hyuga clan fully joined the battle.
It didn't take long before the invading Sound and Sand ninja were completely defeated.
With a Hokage so unpopular, if he didn't die, who would?
[This incident led to Kakashi becoming an orphan.]
[After the suicide of Sakumo Hatake, Kakashi became somewhat withdrawn.]
[After all, anyone who suffered such a heavy blow would find it hard to recover or might undergo a drastic change in personality.]
[Since someone as skilled as Sakumo Hatake died in such a sudden and "careless" manner, young Kakashi could only blame his father's death on the failure of that mission.]
[From that point on, Kakashi firmly believed in the principle of "the mission above all else," becoming obsessed with rules and completing tasks.]
[His daily life gradually became one of self-isolation at home—cleaning, cooking for himself, and rarely interacting with others.]
[Even though Kakashi always kept his face covered, his cold and lonely aura often attracted boys who tried to strike up conversations with him.]
[Later, after going through some tough training, Kakashi successfully joined Minato's team. His two teammates were Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha.]
[Like many teams when they first come together, their bond was more superficial than real.]
[But through the bell-snatching exercise and a series of small missions, the once-lonely Kakashi began to feel the warmth that still existed in the world.]
[Unfortunately, happy times always fly by like a damn Italian cannon.]
[Just when Kakashi made his debut as a jonin in the center position of his team, Konoha and Iwagakure were locked in intense battle during the Third Great Ninja War.]
[At only twelve years old, Kakashi—Konoha's youngest jonin—was basically thrown into the fire. Ordered by the village's top brass and dragged along by Minato, he was sent to sabotage the enemy's supply route: the Kannabi Bridge.]
"This bridge... you could say it's where all the tragedy began."
In the timeline of the Fifth Hokage, Kakashi, blindfolded, couldn't help but glance at Obito, who was slumped in a chair.
Obito shot back irritably, "Kakashi, why the hell are you looking at me? I'm a damn victim too!"
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