Chapter 73 I Should Go (Ch 73)

Sakumo returned to Konoha two days ahead of schedule on a sunny afternoon, carrying two ninja swords on his back. One was weathered and the other was brand new, with even the rope wrapped around the handle being spotless.

When he got home, Naraku and Kakashi were not there. The house was empty, with no one in it.

He must have gone out on a mission.

Sakumo turned around and went to the Hokage Building, ready to check what mission Kakashi and Naraku were currently doing.

With his position, he has full authority to view the mission information of ordinary ninjas.

Kakashi accepted a mission to suppress bandits a week ago and led the team out and has not returned yet, but he should be able to return to Konoha in the next two days.

But when he wanted to check Naraku’s mission, he couldn’t find the relevant materials. He only found the list of Naraku’s last mission settlement ten days ago.

The civilian ninja in charge of assigning tasks was vague about this, either saying that he didn’t know or that he would help check it out later.

Until he was dragged out by the collar and thrown to the ground by Sakumo, ignoring the screams and onlookers around him.

bass–

The sharp blade brushed past the ear and pierced into the ground, reflecting the other person’s terrified expression.

“I know better than anyone what a liar looks like.”

Sakumo’s face, which always had a gentle smile, was now expressionless, and his eyes were terrifying. The ninja even suspected that he would die in his hands in the next moment.

“I said! I said! He was sent to the Rain Country! The information is in the first cabinet on the lower left!”

Sakumo put away his sword, walked directly behind the desk, and took out the task that Naraku had taken over.

The next second, the knife appeared again beside the civilian ninja’s neck.

“This is a mission that should be assigned to the Anbu, why assign it to him!?”

Shuomao gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, and his whole body was filled with power, like an angry beast.

“Where is the signature of the master of remote communication? Regardless of whether the mission succeeded or failed, why didn’t he send back a single message?!”

The civilian ninja was so frightened that he could not speak. It was only then that he realized that he seemed to have gotten into some serious trouble because of his greed for a little profit.

Realizing that the other party didn’t know the deeper reasons, Sakumo pulled the long sword from the ground, put it back into the scabbard, walked out without looking back, went upstairs and knocked on the door of the Hokage’s office.

“Sakumo? What’s wrong?”

When Sarutobi Hiruzen saw Sakumo walk in, his aura had not yet completely subsided, and he was still filled with lingering anger.

“Hokage-sama, I request to leave the village alone.”

Sarutobi Hiruzen wondered, “What happened again?”

Shuomao silently put the information he found on the table without saying a word.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had been handling government affairs for many years and could tell something was wrong at a glance. He sighed and silently recited a person’s name.

–Danzo, why on earth would you go to such lengths?

“You go ahead.”

“Yes, thank you Hokage-sama.”

Sakumo bowed and left the Hokage’s office.

Just as he walked out of the building and was about to head towards the main gate of Konoha, he was stopped by a ninja wearing Root clothing and a mask on his face.

“Hatake Sakumo, I have an S-rank mission for you to carry out.”

Sakumo ignored the other party’s obstruction with a cold face. Just after taking two steps, he heard the ninja’s voice coming from behind.

“You have no right to refuse a mission! This is an order from that master! Refusing a mission is tantamount to betrayal!”

He stopped, and the other party thought he had surrendered and continued to press forward.

“I order you to go to the old site of the Whirlpool Country within three days and find—”

Swish——!

The knife flashed, and the Root Ninja’s mask was cut off in half. A hint of shock and anger gradually emerged on the exposed half of his face.

Sakumo sneered, veins popping out on his arms.

“Don’t think I don’t understand anything.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared from the spot and then reappeared in the distance, getting closer to the gate with each flash of his figure.

——

Kakashi completed the mission of suppressing bandits perfectly, and calculating the date his father had agreed for him to return to the village, it seemed to be just around the corner.

This time when he returns home he should be able to see his father and Naraku at the same time. Just thinking about it, he can’t wait to go back. The whole family can sit together, eat steaming hot dinner, and chat and laugh until late, instead of swallowing the bitter and astringent pills and sitting alone on a tree looking up at the moon.

The layers of trees before my eyes gradually became sparse, sunlight shone through the increasingly larger gaps, and the view became bright and clear.

He could already see the reassuring shape of Konoha where the sky and the ground met.

The pace of progress increased again, and just as Kakashi was about to step into the spacious gate, he saw a very familiar person leaving a shadow in the air, and disappeared into the jungle outside Konoha in the blink of an eye.

–Father?

He threw the scroll of mission report to his teammates, channeled the spirit of Parker, who had just made the contract not long ago, and quickly followed.

“Kakashi, what’s going on all of a sudden? Who are you chasing after?”

The young ninja dog, who had just reached adulthood, was held in Kakashi’s arms, staring at the trees flying by on both sides with a confused look on his face.

“Parker, smell which direction your father is going.”

“……there.”

Although Puck had no idea what was going on, he was able to immediately identify Sakumo’s scent and showed Kakashi the way.

After Kakashi knew which way to go, he explained to Parker as he hurried on his way: “Father looked very strange just now. He has never been like that before. Maybe something happened.”

“But, that’s most likely his mission, right? You won’t be able to help much if you follow him.”

“I know, but…” Kakashi’s eyes became firm, “I don’t know why, but I feel like I should go.”

Parker sensed Kakashi’s determination and stopped trying to persuade him. He focused on identifying the scent left by Sakumo and reminded Kakashi to adjust direction from time to time.

Kakashi had just finished a mission and had not been in any repair yet. He thought that he would most likely not be able to catch up with his father. However, after chasing for a while, he saw the white-haired ninja in front of him slowing down, as if he was really waiting for him.

“Father!”

Putting Puck on his shoulder, Kakashi took a deep breath and sped up again, finally arriving next to Sakumo.

“Did something happen?”

“Kakashi…”

Seeing the stubbornness on his son’s face, Sakumo gave up the idea of ​​persuading him to go back and said solemnly, “Naraku disappeared during the mission in the Rain Country.”

“Varied,”

Kakashi’s voice got stuck in his throat and his heart tightened unconsciously, but because his father was by his side, he still held out some hope.

“…Any clues as to where he might be now?”

“No.”

Sakumo’s denial made Kakashi feel like he was falling into an icy cave.