Naruto: The Witness System

Sakumo returned from his mission, but all five members were injured.

The most severely wounded was already receiving treatment from a medical ninja.

Sakumo leaned against the wall, while another medical ninja treated him.

His face was weary and gloomy, his brow tightly furrowed.

Kakashi rushed to his father's side, anxiously asking: "Father, what's wrong?"

Sakumo seemed to be in a daze and didn't immediately answer him.

So, Kakashi asked again, and Sakumo finally snapped out of it.

"It's nothing..."

Sakumo had the medical ninja stop the treatment and returned to the meeting room, summoning several ninjas.

Although he wasn't summoned, Yasu who wanted to know what had happened, went in on his own.

Since he already knew about the matter, Sakumo Hatake wouldn't mind him listening in.

Shinsuke Nara anxiously asked: "Lord Sakumo, what happened? Were you ambushed?"

Sakumo shook his head, his voice hoarse as he replied: "No, I abandoned the mission..."

Shinsuke Nara and the other ninjas were incredibly shocked.

Abandoned the mission?

What mission was so difficult that even Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, had to abandon it?

Sakumo explained in a deep voice: "The mission was going smoothly. We were just about to obtain the Rock ninjas' scroll, but Tsuga was captured by them, and those Rock bastards used him to create a trap."

"So, for Tsuga's safety, I had to abandon the mission to rescue him, but that trap was a double trap. The explosive tags detonated, severely injuring him..."

The Tsuga that Sakumo mentioned was the sensory ninja he had brought along.

Silence filled the meeting room.

So that was the reason Sakumo abandoned the mission.

Yasu observed the expressions of everyone there.

At this time, everyone seemed quite normal. They didn't feel anything was wrong with Sakumo's actions.

When a comrade is in danger, choosing to save them, no one thought he did wrong.

Sakumo convened this meeting simply to explain the reason for the mission's failure.

Seeing that Sakumo was also tired, everyone let him rest well before leaving.

This incident hasn't caused much of a stir in the camp yet.

Only many ninjas who didn't know the situation learned that Sakumo and his four-man team had returned injured and were curiously asking what had happened.

Kakashi was still quite worried about his father, because he could sense that his spirit and mood wasn't very good.

Just as everyone was gradually forgetting about this matter, the Anbu suddenly arrived.

The Anbu ninjas instructed Sakumo and his four teammates who had carried out the mission with him to go back to Konoha.

Upon learning this, Yasu immediately understood that the higher-ups of Konoha were questioning Sakumo.

Then Sakumo and his four teammates left.

Several days later.

Kakashi, unable to stop worrying about his father, frequently made mistakes during his training.

Yasu said to him: "Stop, there's no point in you continuing to train like this. Go."

Kakashi raised his head and looked at his teacher in confusion.

Yasu explained: "Aren't you worried about your father? Then go back to Konoha."

"But..."

"There's no 'buts'. Since you're worried, then go back and visit him. You must know that he's your father, your only relative, and you're Lord Sakumo's only relative. Nothing is more important than your own family, understand?"

Kakashi took a deep breath and nodded: "Then Teacher Yasu, I'll set off back to the village immediately, and then I'll come find you again."

Kakashi immediately returned to his room to pack his luggage and headed straight for Konoha.

After watching Kakashi leave, Yasu returned to his room and began to write a letter.

The only person to whom he would write a letter was naturally Kushina.

According to the upcoming developments, Sakumo, who abandoned the mission to save his comrade's life, would be verbally criticized by his comrades in the village.

And the last straw that broke him, causing his belief in the Will of Fire to collapse, should be when even the ninja named Tsuga, whom he rescued, blamed him.

Accusations from comrades, accusations from the village's higher-ups, and finally, accusations from the person he saved.

Sakumo Hatake, who believed he was embodying the Will of Fire, would soon suffer severe physical and mental trauma.

Yasu wrote a letter to Kushina, wanting her to help monitor the rumors surrounding Sakumo.

At the same time, to also focus on Tsuga.

If there were any abnormalities, have Kushina notify him in writing in time.

After finishing writing, he summoned a snake to go to Konoha to deliver the letter.

The next day, Yasu, alone, once again embarked on the road to find Karin's mother.

Time flies, and three months pass in the blink of an eye.

Yasu was now beginning to doubt whether his judgment was wrong.

Was Karin's mother really in the land of Grass?

Without Kakashi, his search speed was even faster.

In three months, he had filled in the gaps in the previous map, and almost all of the missed parts had been searched.

But still, he hadn't found even one red-haired woman.

He placed his hand on his right eye and murmured: "In that case, I can only pin my hopes on my Sharingan, and then leave Konoha with Kushina."

At this point in time, defecting from Konoha with Kushina was the worst possible choice.

He, who possessed the Sharingan, and Kushina, who had the special physique of the Uzumaki clan, will be in constant danger in this ninja world that is the verge of chaos.

Not to mention the Witness Points that could be obtained in Konoha, his strength hadn't reached the point where he could fear no danger, let alone protect Kushina.

Just as he perked up, intending to search again.

A snake swam to his body.

Yasu took off the letter tied to the snake's belly and examined it.

His eyes narrowed when he saw the contents of the letter.

In these three months, excluding the time for sending letters, his and Kushina's communication was almost uninterrupted, and several snakes had died from exhaustion. (Poor snakes :< )

Because the public opinion in the village regarding Sakumo was changing drastically every day.

Inexplicably, voices discussing his mission appeared in the village.

Almost everyone knew that Sakumo's mission was to intercept the enemy village's extremely important subsequent strategic plan.

If they could intercept it successfully, the village could seize the initiative and sacrifice fewer people.

However, Sakumo clearly had the opportunity to seize the scroll, but he abandoned the mission for one person.

What appeared first was doubt about his actions, and then it gradually evolved into condemnation of him.

It was believed that Sakumo should bear full responsibility for this matter.

And the higher-ups of Konoha had already dismissed Sakumo from all his positions, and Shinsuke Nara was temporarily serving as the leader of the land of Grass.