Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

The next morning, early dawn.

As someone stepped into the classroom, cheers instantly echoed across the campus.

"Woah! It's Mizuki!"

"Mizuki's back! Our second-year squad is finally whole again!"

Looking at all the bright and smiling faces around him, Mizuki felt no great emotion. He thought to himself, "If I'm too cold, it'll make things hard for Seiki. But what should I do now? What would Seiki do in my place?"

Thinking this, Mizuki forced a smile onto his face. "U-um... thank you, everyone!"

Witnessing this scene, everyone was shocked.

"Eh? Mizuki smiled! He can actually smile?"

"Haha, Mizuki's changed quite a bit!"

"His smile's kinda weirdly unsettling, but hey—at least it's not that icy stare anymore!"

"Hey Mizuki, tell us how you got cured!"

Mizuki had already been feeling tired, but upon hearing this, he suddenly perked up. "You probably don't know just how much Seiki did for me..."

"Oh! Wow!"

"He turned into a frog? That's totally wild!"

Hearing wave after wave of exclamations, Asuma couldn't help but feel slightly jealous, giving Seiki a resentful glance. "That's not fair! Why'd you leave me behind?"

Ibiki, as always, spoke harshly. "What are we gonna do with you anyway? Let doctors use you as test subjects?"

Shizune's eyes sparkled with admiration. "Seiki really is something else—actually pulling off such an incredibly difficult operation!"

But Seiki looked rather helpless. "It was still too risky. If it weren't for Mizuki insisting, I really wanted to wait until I was more confident before doing the surgery."

Kurenai softly bit her lip and sighed. "Mizuki just doesn't want to fall too far behind us."

Leaning back in his chair, Seiki happily stretched lazily. "Whatever the case, at least everything ended well!"

However, just at that moment, Takaya Ryoji—the class 'human newsflash'—burst through the door shouting wildly, "Big news! Big news! First-year Kakashi Hatake has requested graduation! And he specifically called out the Class Rep again—he wants another match!"

Upon hearing this, the entire class exploded into chaos.

"Graduating again *and* issuing challenges? What exactly does that 'one-second guy' want now?"

"Is he saying last time's humiliation wasn't enough?"

At this moment, Takaya Ryoji shook his head with mixed feelings. "You guys still don't know. Last night, Kakashi Hatake's father—the White Fang—committed suicide at home!"

...

In Root's underground chamber.

"So he actually killed himself?" Danzo raised one eyebrow, then sneered, "Such a weakling. How could someone like the White Fang even qualify as a ninja?"

Danzo's black-robed companion, Tatsuma Aburame, coldly echoed, "Perhaps the gap between being a hero and becoming a criminal was simply too much for him."

"That's precisely why I say Sarutobi's soft policies are nothing but poison spreading endlessly!" Danzo contemptuously said, "True ninjas should never be burdened by unnecessary feelings. Even if misunderstood by everyone, they must firmly walk their own Ninja Way!"

Tatsuma Aburame's usually emotionless gaze flashed with rare intensity. "Ninjas were never meant to appear under sunlight. Only Root—the organization under Lord Danzo—is the true path for every ninja!"

Danzo accepted the praise without hesitation and turned toward the deeper darkness. "Recall the Root personnel temporarily. From what I know of Sarutobi, that hypocrite will soon use this as an excuse to move against us!"

...

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.

An Anbu agent wearing a mask, known as Shō, was reporting to The Third.

The Third's expression grew sorrowful. "Sigh... I'm the one who doomed Sakumo!"

Shō spoke with some excitement. "Hokage-sama, please don't blame yourself too much. Sakumo's death was entirely due to his own weakness of will!"

The Third smiled bitterly. "Weakness of will? This is how you see him?"

Shō nodded firmly. "Rumors are merely malicious gossip not worth worrying about. Besides, when someone does make a mistake, they should do their best to make amends. Anyone who escapes their responsibilities through suicide isn't worthy of being called a ninja, let alone deserving of your grief, Hokage-sama!"

The Third took a puff of his pipe and sighed. "He wasn't lacking in strength or courage—he had more of both than most people!"

Shō exclaimed in surprise. "Hokage-sama, you..."

The Third folded his hands behind his back and gazed out the window. "He was far too clever, yet also far too kind. With his intellect, he certainly recognized Danzō's deliberate trap. However, for the sake of those comrades who sought to harm him, he willingly walked into the snare."

"Those who wanted to harm him..." Shō felt a jolt within, then quickly understood. "Indeed, given his strength as the Legend of the White Fang, his chances would have been much higher had he undertaken missions alone. Until now, I assumed it was so the village could have him mentor new recruits!"

The Third shook his head. "Mentoring new recruits wouldn't involve assigning excessively dangerous tasks!"

Shō gasped again. "No wonder he returned injured nearly every time from missions over the past two months—it was because he used his formidable strength to compensate and ensure mission success despite the burden!"

The Third exhaled thick smoke. "Even a powerful ninja like him couldn't succeed every time while constantly dragging others along."

"I understand now," Shō sighed regretfully, his eyes full of pity. "Yet even after this mission failed, those very ninja he rescued continued slandering him, leaving him utterly hopeless..."

"You still don't get it, Shō! The reason he took his own life... it was actually my fault!"

"What? How could it possibly be your fault?"

"You've surely heard the rumors—that I intended for Sakumo to become the Fourth Hokage."

"Yes, we've heard that you favored both him and Orochimaru-sama."

"In fact, initially, I supported Sakumo more strongly." The Third sighed once more. "But Danzō's provocation made me realize one crucial thing—Sakumo was simply too kind-hearted!"

Instinctively nodding, Shō realized even he, an impartial observer, thought Sakumo overly compassionate.

"Now, I'm not saying that's a bad trait per se," the Hokage continued, "but not for the Hokage role. The Hokage carries the fate of the entire village. Excessive kindness might lead to terrible decisions at critical moments!"

"For the sake of the village, I could only stand by as he committed his transgression, and then let him vanish from everyone's sight!"

Shō nodded. Many villagers deeply believed in Sakumo. If not for Sakumo's own transgressions, even the Hokage would have been hard-pressed to voice an opinion.

"But if Sakumo is truly that kind-hearted, wouldn't he understand your intentions? Why would he take such an extreme action?"

A shadow of sadness flickered across the Third's face. "If I'm not mistaken, he must have thought both me and Danzo were suppressing him. He made this decision to stop his supporters from turning against the village."

"Is the truth really like that?" Shō sighed regretfully. "If only he had come directly to you, the Hokage, for clarification, this misunderstanding wouldn't have happened!"

"He won't come to me," the Third replied with a bitter smile. "Because Orochimaru was involved too."

"Eh? What did you say?"

The Third's expression remained grim. "He must've believed Orochimaru was acting on my behalf—that everything I did was setting the stage for him."

Shō seemed barely able to believe it. "How could Orochimaru do something like this..."

"Very ironic, isn't it? Even one of my own disciples no longer sees me as his master."

Shō said nothing.

The Third waved his hand listlessly. "Go now. Silence those rumors—at least let Sakumo die as a hero."

Shō nodded and turned to leave when the Third spoke again from behind him.

"Oh, and tell Root to stay quiet for now!"

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