After Aburame Shiken rushed to the Hatake residence, he quickly found Hatake Sakumo.
"Sakumo-san, the ninja who framed you has a terminal illness. This is the suicide note he left for you."
Hatake Sakumo: ————
"Mm… mm."
Aburame Shiken forced out two tears with difficulty.
"That ninja actually had a terminal illness. He originally planned to burn out his life for Konoha on his final mission, but because of his own mistake, your mission failed, Sakumo-san, causing losses to the village. So all those harsh words he said to you… were really directed at himself."
After hearing this, Hatake Sakumo was moved to tears, sobbing uncontrollably.
Crack, snap—
The overly talkative Hatake Sakumo in his mind was already tightly bound and tossed into a dark corner.
...
The scene shifts back to the Police Force.
After explaining his plan, Aburame Shiken said excitedly, "So? My plan preserves Sakumo-san's dignity and gives him an airtight explanation. This should work perfectly, right?"
Hatake Kakashi listened carefully to the whole thing.
Although he didn't understand why Aburame started with his father wanting to commit suicide… the plan actually sounded feasible.
"What nonsense. Forget whether Sakumo-san would believe it—what about the ninja who framed him? Kill him? And even if you do, what then? With such a flawless setup, do you think someone as loyal as Sakumo-san wouldn't try to avenge him? Where did the mission fail? The Land of Wind. You want Sakumo-san to charge into the Land of Wind for revenge?"
"The Third Kazekage, Chiyo, Shukaku, and tens of thousands of Sand Village ninja—wouldn't Sakumo-san still end up dead?"
Inuzuka Ryoha stepped forward to refute.
Everyone imagined it—
Sakumo-san reading the letter, charging alone into the Land of Wind with a blade, successfully taking revenge, then being surrounded and killed.
Not just possible—basically guaranteed.
In his mind, the bound Hatake Sakumo struggled desperately: "Mmph! Mmph!"
Having his plan rejected, Aburame Shiken responded sarcastically, "Then what brilliant strategy does our great Ryoha-sama have?"
"If it were me, I'd use this."
Inuzuka Ryoha pulled out another unfamiliar strategy card.
"Provocation beats pleading—stir the flames."
...
The scene shifts again.
Still at the Hatake residence.
Hatake Sakumo was preparing to take his own life.
Bang!
Inuzuka Ryoha kicked the door open and stared at him coldly.
"So you're the one who failed the mission."
"You're the one who caused huge losses for Konoha."
"Why didn't you just die sooner?"
"A ninja who can't complete missions—living wastes air, dying wastes land."
"You think someone will come and stop you from killing yourself?"
"Keep dreaming. Who would care about a sinner who caused such damage to Konoha?"
Crack.
Hatake Sakumo dies.
In his mind, the tightly bound Hatake Sakumo: "Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!"
...
Back at the Police Force.
Halfway through, Inuzuka Ryoha couldn't bring himself to continue.
Kakashi, who had been listening the whole time, glared at him with fury.
"I asked you to save my father, not send him to his death."
"Heh, looks like someone's plan isn't so great either."
Aburame Shiken seized the chance to mock him.
"Uh…"
Inuzuka Ryoha couldn't argue back.
After all… he literally talked someone to death.
"Heh, you guys are all useless. Now watch mine."
Uchiha Kamito pulled out yet another strategy card that definitely didn't exist in Three Kingdoms.
Kakashi's ears perked up instantly.
Even though the first two plans ended horribly… he still wanted to hear this one.
...
The scene shifts again.
Still the Hatake residence.
Hatake Sakumo was once again preparing to kill himself.
This time—
A slap of footsteps.
Uchiha Kamito walked in.
"Kamito, what's going on? Why does it feel like so many people are visiting me today?"
"Sakumo-san, the Hokage has assigned you another mission. This time, it's in the Land of Water. Go get ready."
"Alright, I'll go immediately."
...
Back at the Police Force.
"So? The best way to forget a past relationship is to start a new one. The best way to forget a failed mission is to start a new mission. Makes perfect sense, right?"
Uchiha Kamito said proudly.
The others exchanged glances.
Inuzuka Ryoha gathered blue chakra in his hands and covered Kakashi's ears.
"What comes next… isn't something you should hear."
Senju Hideki covered Kakashi's eyes.
"Why are they teaching lip-reading in first grade at the academy? Such a pain."
With everything prepared—
Uchiha Kamito's natural rival, Hyūga Hiyasu, stepped forward.
"First, missions assigned by the Third Hokage—if someone wanted Sakumo-san dead, it would be someone on his side, right?"
"Second, missions require teammates. Those teammates are assigned by the Hokage, right? The Third Hokage and Danzo are close, so assigning a few Root ninja as Sakumo-san's teammates wouldn't be a problem."
"Third, Root answers to Danzo. Sacrificing their lives is nothing to them, right? So for the sake of framing Sakumo-san, they die, add a bit of scripting, atmosphere, mood… If Sakumo-san doesn't die, then what?"
Three points.
Each one struck straight at Uchiha Kamito's heart.
"Then what do you suggest?!"
Uchiha Kamito snapped back.
"Uh…"
As everyone knows, Hyūga Hiyasu just enjoys arguing and having fun. Solving problems? Not his specialty.
A universal law of the ninja world: the more complicated the problem, the more you should leave it to Senju Hideki.
At that moment, Senju Hideki released Kakashi.
"I mean, why make it so complicated? Sakumo-san wants to commit suicide, right? We just restrain him so he can't. Problem solved."
"That makes sense."
"Very reasonable."
"Extremely reasonable."
"Damn, that makes too much sense."
The four immediately agreed.
In an instant, the five reached a consensus.
Then they all turned to Kakashi.
"To your house."
Kakashi was full of question marks.
He didn't understand—but it didn't sound like a bad thing.
The six of them rushed to the Hatake residence.
They threw open the door—
Hatake Sakumo was holding the White Fang sword.
"Damn it, restrain him!"
"Father, don't!"
"I'll take the left leg!"
"I've got the right leg!"
"I'll grab his arms!"
"I'll find rope!"
"I'll use sealing jutsu!"
Crash, bang, chaos—
...
No longer just in his mind—
At this very moment, Hatake Sakumo was tightly bound.
Amid the bustling room, a perfectly intact red apple fell to the floor.
But no one seemed to notice.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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