Naruto: The Uchiha remnants of the Senju clan!

Chapter 54 Rumors Spread, Kiyoyu's Talk-no-Jutsu with Hatake Sakumo

In the blink of an eye, November has arrived.

The streets of Konoha were covered with fallen leaves, and the morning wind already carried a chill to the bone.

At this time of year, Qingyu would have already wrapped himself up tightly, but this year he was only wearing a thin long-sleeved shirt.

He discovered that since the purity of the Thousand Hands bloodline was increased, the body's tolerance to cold had significantly improved.

Last year, he would rub his hands together to keep warm in the same weather, but this year he only felt cool.

"Qingyu, aren't you cold?"

Jingyin walked beside him, a thick scarf around her neck, her hands tucked into her sleeves, making her look like a little dumpling.

She looked at Qingyu's thin clothes with envy.

"It's okay, I'm not too afraid of the cold."

As soon as Qingyu finished speaking, Nohara Rin turned from another road and jogged up to him, rubbing her hands together.

She was wearing a thick cotton coat, with a scarf wrapped all the way up to her chin, revealing only her bright eyes and her slightly red nose.

"Qingyu is really amazing, she's not cold even though she's wearing so little."

Nohara Rin exhaled a puff of white breath, glanced at Qingyu's thin long-sleeved shirt, and then looked down at her own coat, which was wrapped up like a ball.

"Unlike me, I get freezing cold every winter."

Seeing her adorable face with her nose red from the cold, Qingyu reached out and gently patted her head.

"It might be a matter of physical constitution."

His hands were warm.

Nohara Rin felt that the hand was like a small heater, and she subconsciously nuzzled against it.

But soon, Nohara Rin realized that she was acting somewhat like a cat, which made her cheeks blush slightly, and she quickly took a step back.

Upon seeing this, Qingyu smiled slightly.

As the three of them walked into the school gate together, Qingyu saw Kakashi.

Kakashi leaned against the wall by the classroom door, his hands in his pockets, head down, his silver hair hanging down and covering most of his face.

As Qingyu walked over, Kakashi looked up, his eye, which was exposed outside his mask, was bloodshot.

Qingyu didn't say anything, but waved to Asanohara Rin and Shizune, signaling them to go into the classroom first.

He only spoke when there were only the two of them left:

"What's wrong?"

Kakashi remained silent for a while, then his lips moved, and his voice was much lower than usual.

"My father...failed his mission."

Qingyu nodded, indicating that she was listening.

"He abandoned his mission to save his comrades."

Kakashi's voice became somewhat hoarse.

"Now the whole village is talking badly about him, saying he's not a qualified ninja, and even the person he saved is criticizing him."

Kakashi looked up at Qingyu, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Qingyu, I used to think that ninjas should prioritize missions, and that people who don't follow the rules are useless, and those who don't complete their missions are even worse than useless."

"That's what my father taught me. But he broke the rules himself. Now I really don't know... which is more important, the mission or my companions?"

Upon hearing this, Qingyu immediately knew that the plot had reached its climax.

Sakumo Hatake's tragedy was a significant turning point in Konoha's history.

A top-tier ninja who had completed countless S-rank missions and struck fear into the hearts of enemy ninjas was subjected to online harassment by the entire village after a failed mission, and ultimately chose to commit suicide.

And behind all of this, there is clearly someone stirring things up.

A classified mission like this is not something that can be made public.

This ability to spread rumors reminded Qingyu of Shimura Danzo, since it was Shimura Danzo who spread the news that Naruto was a demon fox in the original work.

"That's right."

Qingyu shook her head.

"No ninja should abandon their comrades. Lord Sakumo did nothing wrong in saving his comrades."

Kakashi suddenly raised his head and looked at Qingyu.

"As for the mission, failure is failure. Lord Sakumo has completed so many S-rank missions, what's the big deal about failing one? No one can guarantee that they will never make a mistake in their lifetime."

"But if he hadn't saved that companion, that companion would have died. The mission can be restarted, but once someone dies, they can't be brought back to life."

Qingyu patted Kakashi on the shoulder.

"I'll talk to Tsunade about this and ask her to intervene. You go back and keep Sakumo company, and tell him to stop listening to the gossip."

"During this time, no matter what anyone says, you only need to remember one thing—your father was a ninja to be proud of."

Upon hearing Qingyu's words, Kakashi's body trembled slightly.

"Kakashi, if it were me, I would make the same choice as Sakumo-sama."

"……I see."

Kakashi nodded.

The confusion in her eyes hadn't completely disappeared, but something else had crept in.

……

When Kakashi returned home, Sakumo Hatake was sitting on the porch. The short sword that had once struck fear into the hearts of countless enemies on the battlefield rested on his lap.

Sakumo Hatake lowered his head, his hands crossed on the scabbard, as if something had been taken away from him.

Kakashi stood behind him for a long time, then walked over and sat down next to him.

"Father, I told Qingyu about this today."

He repeated Qingyu's words to his father, sentence by sentence.

Sakumo Hatake's hand tightened slightly on the scabbard.

Qingyu.

That genius, so calm and collected compared to his peers, actually made the same choice as him.

So he wasn't alone after all.

During this period, almost everyone was criticizing him, making Sakumo Hatake almost feel like an outcast.

Sakumo Hatake took a deep breath and looked up at the withered branches in the yard.

For the past few days, he had been replaying that mission in his mind. He wondered if the mission would have been completed successfully if he hadn't gone to save his comrades, and if Konoha would have avoided the losses caused by his mistake.

He thought of the voices criticizing him, scorning him, and even the companions he had saved saying he was incompetent. He wanted to argue back, but he didn't even have the strength to do so.

Because he himself was also doubting whether he had really done something wrong.

But now, a child's words made him suddenly realize something.

While he was wallowing in self-blame here, his son was outside enduring pressure that he shouldn't have to bear.

Kakashi is so young, yet he has to hear rumors about his father at school and struggle alone in confusion and bewilderment.

Sakumo Hatake turned his head, looked at Kakashi's eyes which were exactly the same as his mother's, and reached out, his rough palm landing on Kakashi's head.

"Sorry, Kakashi."

Kakashi shook his head, took his father's hand down from above his head, and clasped it with both of his own.

"Qingyu said he would ask Lady Tsunade for help."

Sakumo Hatake paused for a moment, then slowly revealed his first smile in days.

"Your friend Qingyu is truly a very good ninja."

"Perhaps one day, Kakashi, you will also encounter such a problem, but I think someone like Kiyoha is a true inheritor of the Will of Fire."

……

Tsunade's family.

Qingyu was flipping through the scrolls of the Great Dragon Fire Technique in his room when a line of text suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Collectible Trait Detected: White Fang Blade]

[Rank C Trait: White Fang Blade]

[Effect: Increases swordsmanship talent by 50%.]

Qingyu closed the scroll, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Kakashi probably relayed those words to Sakumo Hatake.

The fact that Sakumo Hatake has dropped to a C-rank trait indicates that his current mental state is much better than it was at the same stage in the original story.

Even if it had only a slight effect, his persuasive skills were not wasted.

However, Qingyu certainly didn't expect that would be enough; the key was still to rely on political abilities.

After Tsunade returned, Kiyoha went to tell Tsunade, who had been playing around and had no idea that a major event had occurred in the village.