After hearing the rumor about Sakumo Hatake abandoning a mission to save his teammate, Kadoya immediately understood what was happening.
After the Second Great Ninja War, both Sakumo and Kadoya had risen to prominence, hailed as heroes for their contributions that helped secure Konoha's victory. But upon returning to the village, only one of them had their name dragged through the mud.
Kadoya had been painted as a traitor to the Will of Fire.
It wasn't the enemy that tarnished his name; it was his own village. The rumors spread like wildfire, and while Kadoya managed to crush them through sheer intimidation, instilling fear in both the civilians and the higher-ups, the damage was already done.
People feared him. And no one wants a Hokage they fear.
He could still make the village beg him to become Hokage… but there was no need to go that far. Not yet. Minato was still alive, and both he and the Uchiha saw Kadoya as one of their own.
If he ever did decide to take the hat, few would oppose him.
"Tch! What the hell is this crap?" Nobu scoffed from beside him, seated in their shared Modus house. "The civilians are slandering a war hero, and the higher-ups just let it happen?"
Even she saw the massive red flag.
If a village could turn its back on a war hero just because he chose a comrade over a mission… then why would anyone fight for a place that would throw them away the moment they return?
"After the Second Shinobi War, Sakumo and I were both considered heroes," Kadoya said, calmly sipping his tea. "We led battles, made real contributions. Our efforts helped Konoha win."
Nobu nodded, listening closely.
"But after the war... I was labeled a traitor. All because I 'abandoned' a teammate who tried to backstab me mid-mission."
That caught Nobu's attention. Her brow arched.
"Backstab? Oh, you've got to tell me more." Her tone shifted, intrigued.
Kadoya smirked slightly. "They were all wastes. One of them knew a forbidden jutsu and still managed to get himself killed. Their original mission was simple: monitor me from afar, report back if anything happened. But instead, they attacked me. So I killed them."
Nobu nodded again, this time slower, understanding.
If her people pulled something like that, she'd do the same.
"When I submitted my report, I left them out. We weren't even supposed to meet unless something went wrong. But when I came back, the higher-ups used their deaths to paint me as a cold-blooded traitor to the village."
Then a cold smirk spread across his lips.
"So I shut them all up. A flick of my power… no one dared speak after that. But the stain never left. Not that it matters anymore."
He shrugged, taking another sip.
"So… they've pulled this stunt before," Nobu muttered, more to herself than to him.
War heroes, people who fight and bleed for the village, yet this is how they are treated after the war ended.
This disgusted her, making her want to go to the Konoha higher-ups and tear them all down.
But she understands that doing so, especially how the normal civilians view the higher-ups as people who have made a great contribution to the village, won't see them being taken down as a good thing.
Doing so might cause panic and even a civil war in the village, plus if a civil war breaks out, which clans would side with the Uchiha? And which will side with the Hokage?
Suddenly, her eyes widened.
"Wait a sec…" She looked at Kadoya, narrowing her eyes. "How old were you when you joined the Second Shinobi War?"
He looked at her like she'd just asked something obvious.
"Nine." His tone was sharp and mocking. "The village was supposedly built so that children wouldn't have to fight in wars. So the strong could protect the weak. But during the reign of the so-called 'Strongest Hokage', the Third, he sent children to war while he sat comfortably at home."
Nobu: "..."
Damn, not even she is bold enough to send children to war.
As expected of the 'Strongest Hokage', he is so strong that even children have to go to war, and when they come back victorious, he immediately brands them with the title of traitor.
Even a warlord like her couldn't pull off something like that.
"So," she asked, voice low with curiosity, "What are you gonna do now?"
Kadoya looked at her for a moment, then casually replied.
"Well… want to become a parent with me?"
Nobu: "..."
She blinked slowly.
"If you just want to sleep with me, just say so." She shrugged, completely unfazed.
Kadoya: "?"
...
A few more days passed, when Kakashi returned to the village, he suddenly felt a bit strange in the village, and everyone seemed to be secretly staring at him.
"He is the son of White Fang."
"It's a pity, I really don't know how their family will live in the village in the future."
Various discussions similar to this kind of language reached Kakashi's ears, which directly made him frown. He quickly rushed back to his home.
Meanwhile, inside the Hatake estate…
"Yo, long time no see... Sakumo."
A figure leaned against the doorway, voice casual but cold, a faint smile playing on his lips. Kadoya's presence filled the silent room like a shadow creeping in, dark and calm. On the tatami floor, Sakumo sat kneeling, eyes closed. His once-proud figure now looked hollow, worn down by silence and shame.
"…Kadoya."
Sakumo's voice was dry, almost brittle. His eyes opened slowly, dull and empty.
"How does it happen?"
"I'm not a god," Sakumo said, managing a small, broken smile. "Isn't it normal... to fail a mission?"
But the smile didn't reach his eyes. It clung to his face like a dying leaf in the wind.
"But the cost of this mission failure is a bit big."
This mission failure has caused a huge loss to the village. To put it bluntly, he can now be regarded as a sinner in the village.
"You remember what I asked you after the war?" Kadoya said, stepping forward. "If the mission conflicts with the life of a teammate, how would you choose?"
He approached Sakumo, looking down at him. Reminding him of the conversation they had years ago.
Sakumo nodded slowly. "I told you… No matter what happens, I will put the life of my teammates first."
"And you did." Kadoya looked down at him. "You stayed true to your way, didn't you? You gave Kakashi an example to follow."
Sakumo forced a nod, as if clinging to the idea like a lifeline. "That's… my ninja way."
"Well said." Kadoya knelt beside him, his tone dropping. "You didn't betray your ninja way, but you're ready to die for it? Ready to vanish because the crowd turned on you? You want to leave Kakashi behind… to learn this lesson through your death?"
He leaned closer, voice low, like a whisper meant for the soul. "Do you care so much about what others think?"
"…I'm not like you, Kadoya." Sakumo's voice trembled. "You… you never cared about what other thinks of you."
"Maybe. Maybe not. But I've been here before."
Kadoya's eyes locked onto Sakumo's. The Sharingan flared, and in that instant, Sakumo saw.
"Even if you taught your son the value of teammates, how do you think he would react upon seeing your corpse on the ground?"
He saw Kakashi returning home, walking through that door, finding his father's lifeless body sprawled on the floor.
He saw the boy's face twist in confusion… then pain… then nothingness.
"Do you really think committing suicide by cutting your belly is something to be proud of?"
The image shifted into Kakashi becoming a cold-hearted ninja, completely opposite to his father, a person who can attack the ninjas in the village in order to complete the task.
"Do you really think that after your death, the higher-ups wouldn't try something on Kakashi?"
The scene shifted again, showing Kakashi being sent out to war. A child thrown into war.
"Who could say that one day he won't be kneeling like you are now, thinking about committing suicide just like his father?"
Lastly, the final image that came to Sakumo's mind was that of his own son, Kakashi, kneeling just like him now, looking down at a small blade.
His hand reached out, holding the blade with both hands, and drove it into his stomach, dying the same way his father did.
Sakumo flinched.
Kadoya's voice returned, quiet but heavy. "Wake up to reality. Stop lying to yourself. You should already know why these civilians know the details of the failure of the mission."
He rose. "Do you want to sacrifice yourself for something this stupid?"
His gaze grew sharper, cruel in its honesty.
"Even if you die, you should die on the battlefield. Is this really how you want your story to end?"
...
At this time in the Hokage office, sitting across from the Third Hokage was none other than his beloved boyfriend, Danzo.
"Danzo, you did a bit too much this time; you shouldn't target Sakumo."
The Third Hokage squinted his eyes and looked at Danzo across from him.
Throughout, Danzo kept his eyes closed, never opening them. As a former teammate of Hiruzen, he knew too well what kind of person the man before him was.
"Isn't this what you wanted to see, Hiruzen?"
Finally, after a while, Danzo opened his eyes and spoke.
"If Sakumo's reputation in the village is not suppressed, neither Orochimaru nor Minato Namikaze, whom you want to support, will be able to become the Fourth Hokage."
Hearing this, the Third Hokage was momentarily at a loss for words.
Although Sakumo has clearly stated that he will not participate in the election for the Fourth Hokage, some things cannot be given up just by saying they are given up.
Even if Sakumo voluntarily gives up the Fourth Hokage, there will still be a group of people who support him, and none of the people he values, Minato and Orochimaru, can reach Sakumo's level in terms of military exploits and reputation.
"And now Sakumo's son has also shown great talent. By the time his son grows up, it will be even harder to suppress Sakumo. You should be very clear that that child can definitely surpass Sakumo in the future."
Danzo had thought about taking Kakashi into the root department, but he could only think about it and couldn't take any actual action. After all, Sakumo was not easy to provoke, and he would never send his children to the root.
"I know what you are worried about, Hiruzen, so I won't ask you to participate in this matter; you just need to watch from the side, no need to intervene."
After saying that, Danzo planned to turn around and leave.
"Don't go too far, Danzo, after all, Sakumo is still very useful to the village."
Hearing this, Danzo's figure paused slightly, seemingly expressing a sense of understanding, and then left without looking back.
"I'm sorry, Sakumo." The Third Hokage could only express his apology to Hatake Sakumo in his heart.
As time passed, the matter of Hatake Sakumo's mission failure not only did not gradually fade away with the passage of time, but instead had a trend of escalating. Even the ninja who had been saved by Sakumo in the mission also began to condemn Sakumo.
And this ninja's condemnation became the last straw that crushed the camel. Sakumo could accept the condemnation of ordinary people, but he could not accept the condemnation of the ninja he had saved.
Although he knew that there were people behind this matter who were fanning the flames, this had already caused a great loss to his reputation. If he didn't do something to make up for his reputation, then his son, Kakashi, would also be affected.
"I'm sorry." He said before closing his eyes.
By the time Kakashi returned home, the thing that he found was his father's cold body lying on the floor.
...
Hatake Sakumo's suicide caused a huge uproar in the ninja world. Everyone was surprised that the famous White Fang of Konoha chose to end his life by suicide.
Sakumo's funeral was held three days later. All the prominent figures in Konoha attended, including the Third Hokage, Danzo Shimura, Minato Namikaze, Nawaki Senju, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the heads of other families.
Even many villagers came spontaneously to send off Sakumo.
Today, on the streets of Konoha, apart from black clothes, no other colors of clothes can be seen.
Kakashi just stood there, staring blankly at his father's grave.
Once the ceremony was over and the crowd began to disperse, the Third Hokage approached. He carried the air of someone who had come to offer comfort, but he was late.
Someone else had arrived first.
"Hey, kid."
The voice was low and calm, but it broke through the silence like a whisper in a storm. Kakashi turned, slowly, and saw a figure standing behind him.
Black hair and eyes. A red and white fan on the back.
"Kadoya-aniki…" He whispered.
Kadoya walked forward, kneeling to meet the boy's eye.
"Long time no see."
There was no pity in his voice, only calm finality.
"Your father," Kadoya said, "was a great man. He entrusted your future to me." His hand extended. "He asked me to take care of you… to raise you as my own. So... come with me, son."
The word struck like lightning.
A stir rippled through the crowd. Whispers turned to protests. The Hokage and his advisors shifted uneasily. The idea of the Uchiha gaining custody of Kakashi Hatake, of raising the White Fang's son, was dangerous.
Too dangerous.
But Kadoya remained unbothered. He reached up, plucked his ahoge, and let it fall.
A malicious dark aura was released, the pressure was so strong that it silenced everyone.
Even Kakashi took a step back.
Yet the man before him said nothing more. He waited, still kneeling, eyes steady.
Kakashi stared at the offered hand. He trembled, his own hand trembled, as he reached out.
Their fingers met.
And in that quiet moment, the course of history shifted.
The crowd watched, powerless, as Kadoya and Kakashi walked away, toward the Uchiha Compound.
Kadoya Alter's present was much stronger than regular Kadoya. The moment he steps into the Uchiha territory, the street is empty except for the Uchiha shinobi; the civilians are not allowed to step outside.
Unless they wanted to faint from the pressure alone.
The two walk before heading toward a small traditional house, which looks no different from the other houses.
However, there was a man standing outside, waiting.
The moment Kakashi looks at the man, his eyes widen as the image of his deceased father flashes through his mind. The man's face and body structure are identical to his father's, the only difference being his short black hair.
"You are fast, aren't you afraid that your own son won't recognize you?" The pressure eased up a bit as Kadoya joked before reaching toward one of his eyes.
"Ka- I mean Clan Head... Thank you." The man bowed lightly, making Kadoya chuckle as he took off his one contact lens, revealing a pale, blind eye.
Kakashi's breath stopped.
"Hatake Sakumo. Or…" Kadoya glanced at the man. "Should I say… Hatake Uchiha now?"