Hmm... his combat power can basically be described as "indescribable." He'd probably lose to half the Ninja Academy students he encountered, and after sitting in an office for a few years, he wouldn't even be able to beat the other half.
People say that "a fair complexion hides a hundred flaws." In the Ninja World, having power can cover all of one's shortcomings, while without power, it seems everything is a flaw.
This "shunting" mechanism is an inevitable result—a hidden Village that doesn't understand "shunting," like Kirigakure, will never develop.
Ino thought to herself, "Isn't this just the same as the tracking system between high school and vocational school, or junior college and undergraduate? But it makes sense; someone has to do the clerical work. What use is it to have only a bunch of combat-capable Ninjas? The entire intelligence system and mission system of a hidden Village cannot function normally, administration cannot be reasonable and effective, and the economy cannot develop without clerical staff..."
"Kakashi shouldn't be leading a team this year, right? I wonder what Hokage-sama is thinking... Kakashi clearly isn't willing..."
What was the result of Kakashi leading a graduating class? No matter how excellent the graduates were, none could pass Kakashi's test, and all were sent back to the Ninja Academy. The Hokage then had to open the back door for these unlucky souls who returned to the Academy, using his authority as Hokage to find other Jonin teachers—after all, the Village's sprouts couldn't be ruined like that.
So far, and even until "Team 7," not a single Ninja squad would be able to survive Kakashi's hands.
Akimichi Choza said, "He probably wants him to move on from his father's death. It's been so many years, yet he still can't let it go!"
Mission? Companions?
...In fact, it wasn't the issue of "missions" and "companions" that was troubling Kakashi; what troubled Kakashi was his father's death.
Konoha's White Fang committed suicide at home. This incident was like a massive scar branded into Kakashi's heart, unable to heal for a long time.
"That incident... sigh..."
The "White Fang Incident" was indeed a tragedy. The incident itself was caused by a teammate's misunderstanding, but what truly caused things to spiral out of control was the secret activity of Hidden Sand Village spies, who spread the dispute between teammates. The light and dark sides, led by the Hokage and Danzo, intended to wipe out this spy network in one fell swoop, so they let the situation develop—after all, only when the spies became active and did more could they be exposed more.
Danzo's original words were: "Hold our positions for now, wait for all the spies to be exposed, and then wipe them out!"
A giant net was cast over Konoha, waiting for the little bugs to jump out one by one, but an accident happened at this critical juncture—
Sakumo Hatake committed suicide.
Someone had to be responsible for the "mission failure"!
He could not intentionally sacrifice his companions for the sake of a mission. He could sacrifice himself, but he could not sacrifice his companions; this was the most basic human conscience.
A failed mission was a failure, and someone had to take responsibility—and the person responsible should naturally be him, the one who made the decision.
He died—
For Konoha, and for himself.
Konoha's "reputation" was hard-won. A Ninja's mission could fail, but it absolutely could not fail "because of an unwillingness to sacrifice or a fear of sacrifice." He thought very clearly—if Sakumo Hatake lived, the quantity and quality of missions Konoha could accept would flow out in large numbers and be carved up by the other four hidden Villages. This painful scar would be no less than a defeat in war.
After all, a defeat in war was just about "carving up the mission volume" and "redistributing the mission cake." His single mission failure had achieved the same effect as a defeat in war.
This—
How could he live?
...He was a person who was a bit stubborn, with his own awareness and determination... but an ending like suicide was truly lamentable.
When Danzo occasionally mentioned the name "Sakumo Hatake" in private, it was often accompanied by words like "coward" and "stubborn"—
Danzo and Sakumo Hatake had completely different ideas. Danzo believed that as long as Konoha was strong enough and the missions weren't too poorly executed, the missions wouldn't go anywhere. You could choose other Villages that didn't mess up, but I could cause trouble—having power means being willful—you're good, but you're not strong enough, and your mission completion rate is low.
Things like "fair competition" and "bottom lines" were all nonsense... Did they think his Root was just playing house with spies?
Root—especially the cannon fodder and assassins—mostly spent their time intercepting and plundering missions from enemy hidden Villages, acting more like bandits than bandits.
Otherwise, where would Konoha get so many prosperous missions to keep the Hokage busy from before the rooster crows until after the dog sleeps?
The Hokage often felt regret... but—
For Konoha.
Who could say anything more?
...The three adults mentioned the White Fang, and then there was a moment of silence. After a long time, Nara Shikaku asked Ino, "Ino, tell me, which is more important, the mission or the companion?" Ino's answer was unexpected yet reasonable: "Taking a life-threatening mission just for those few bucks, why be so narrow-minded? I wouldn't take it at all..."
Choza cut her off, saying, "That won't do, Ino. Those are Village missions, related to the safety of the Village. No Ninja in the Village can refuse!"
Inoichi Yamanaka also pressured his daughter: "That's right, Ino, would you choose your companion? Or would you choose the mission?"
"Tsk, only children make choices, I want both..." Ino said this, but her heart thought: "If it's a mission related to life and death, then maybe I'll have to sacrifice Choji and Shikamaru. After all, if the Village is gone, where would the Yamanaka Clan go? If the Yamanaka Clan is gone, wouldn't I be all alone?"
Even... when necessary, she could sacrifice herself—for her father and mother who loved her.
Mission or companion—
This isn't a question that can be compared. Because in different situations, the choices made are different.
Inoichi Yamanaka smiled and said, "Cheating doesn't make you a good child!"
"Then, I'll definitely leave Shikamaru behind—he's smart and has a good head on his shoulders, so he might even survive. Choji has to be taken along; he's silly, and he'd definitely be dead if left behind. That's the answer, are you satisfied?"
Shikaku listened with a face full of dark lines. Why was it his son who got left behind? But when Ino mentioned the reason "has a good head on his shoulders," he couldn't help but feel proud.
Shikamaru, his son, the biological kind.
"Hahahaha..." Choza laughed while reaching out to ruffle Ino's hair, "So you mean, for the sake of the mission, you'd abandon your companion?"
Ino struggled but couldn't break free from Choza's large hand, so she could only let him continue to mess with her hair. She bared her teeth and claws at Choza like a little tiger, "Hey, Uncle, you're twisting my words—that's not the same thing at all!"
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