--------------------------------------------------
"Don't feed me that self-pitying crap." Manji frowned at Sakumo. "You're not a criminal. You're a piece Danzō sacrificed on his political chessboard."
"He gave you two teammates who couldn't get anything done. He leaked critical intelligence. He never intended for that mission to succeed."
"Did none of that ever feel wrong to you?" Manji asked.
Sakumo shuddered.
The doubts he had pushed aside because of all the public hatred suddenly returned. Still, guilt gripped his heart tightly.
"I know your reputation matters to you," Manji continued in an even voice. "You think losing face for Konoha means you can't keep living."
"Well, reputation is something the living earn. It isn't something you take to the grave."
"If you kill yourself now, you'll be remembered as a traitor forever. No one will remember how many times you bled for Konoha or how many people you saved. Every bit of filth will get dumped on your name, and that'll be the end of it."
Sakumo could not answer.
"Think about your wife. Think about Kakashi. If you die, what kind of life do you think they'll have?" Manji said quietly.
"But everyone in the village is cursing me…" Sakumo said bitterly.
"That's just the loud crowd. Most of it is paid shills and people repeating what they heard. The silent majority hasn't had a chance to speak yet."
"Give it time. Let the story keep spreading. Public opinion will turn around."
Sakumo hesitated.
"You're missing one thing: patience," Manji said. "Hang on. Wait for the situation to change. And stop letting every little thing get under your skin while you're at it."
By then, Sakumo's urge to kill himself had faded completely.
"Could you get me a basin of ice water?" Sakumo asked from his knees on the tatami.
"Already did," Manji replied, somehow producing one from nowhere.
The next second, he dumped the entire basin over Sakumo's head.
"Pfft!"
Ice water soaked Sakumo from head to toe.
As Manji reached for a second basin, Sakumo stared at him in total confusion.
"Uh… I only wanted to wash my face."
Manji froze.
"Why didn't you say that sooner?"
"Still, that definitely woke me up." Sakumo stood, looking far more alert than before. "Let me change clothes. Then we're going out to eat."
After changing, the two of them headed into the village.
The people on the street looked surprised when they spotted Sakumo. At first, he struggled to meet their eyes.
Then he remembered Manji telling him not to let other people's words get to him.
So he kept walking.
A villager suddenly ran toward him. Sakumo braced himself for another insult.
Instead, the man bowed deeply.
"Sakumo-sama! I support what you did!" he said with open respect.
Sakumo blinked.
That one voice broke the dam. More villagers stepped forward, expressing their agreement.
"I support you too! You gave up the mission to save your comrades!"
"You didn't do anything wrong!"
"Saving your teammates was the right choice!"
The villagers believed Sakumo had done the right thing.
He stared at them, shocked. The media in Konoha was controlled, so regular people had no real way to speak up. Sakumo had always thought the newspapers showed what the village believed.
They never had.
"MAKE WAY! MOVE, MOVE!" A black-haired boy wearing goggles shoved through the crowd, nearly tripping as he forced his way to the front.
Uchiha Obito panted twice, then looked up at Sakumo with eyes burning bright. His little fist tightened against his chest.
"Sakumo-sama! I have something to say!" Obito shouted.
"In the shinobi world, people who break the rules are trash. But people who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!"
"I think the Konoha White Fang is a real hero!"
Manji's expression shifted, surprise and approval flashing across his face.
The words hit Sakumo like a bucket of cold water. Every last trace of doubt clouding his mind broke apart.
He crouched to meet Obito's eyes. Light returned to the White Fang's face for the first time in months.
"Thank you, Obito. I'll remember what you said," Sakumo said, rubbing the boy's spiky hair.
——————————
Later, surrounded by villagers, Sakumo and Manji ate at an open-air food stall.
Meanwhile, Danzō waited in the Hokage's office for the news that Sakumo had finally cracked under the pressure and killed himself.
Based on Danzō's judgment, Sakumo cared too much about his honor and his name as a shinobi. He should have been unable to endure the pressure.
"What's Sakumo doing?" Danzō asked one of his confidants.
When the man delivered the latest report, Danzō nearly lost it.
"WHAT? HE'S EATING AT A FOOD STALL?"
"Yes, Lord Hokage. It's not far downstairs. You should be able to see it from the window," the ANBU operative answered respectfully.
"WHAT THE HELL?" Danzō shot to his feet and looked out the window.
Not far from the Hokage Building, an outdoor food stall was packed wall to wall with people. Sakumo Hatake sat right in the middle of it, happily drinking beer, eating grilled skewers, and getting grease all over his mouth.
He did not look like Konoha's supposed criminal in the slightest.
"How can someone be this shameless?"
Danzō had nothing left to say.
"Send someone down there. I don't want a food stall operating right beneath the Hokage Building. Have it cleared out immediately," Danzō ordered.
"Lord Hokage, that stall belongs to Ichiraku Ramen." The operative looked troubled. "The First Hokage approved it personally, and the Second Hokage, Lord Hashirama, named it a model charity business. We…"
"Fine. Fine!" Danzō snapped, too annoyed to listen.
He still did not understand why the First Hokage had allowed a ramen shop right in front of the Hokage Building. Government offices and commercial towers were all around, but the ramen shop stayed in the middle as if it belonged there.
Had the First not thought it looked ridiculous?
Unfortunately, the First had approved the shop's license for one hundred years. Konoha could not force Ichiraku Ramen to relocate before then.
"Forget it," Danzō muttered at last.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
~ 15 Advanced Chapters Now Available on Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)