Chapter 73 White Fang, White Fang

The four people who stayed behind were Goku who arrived first, the hotly dressed Yuna, the lame ninja, and the ANBU captain named Kyou Toushi.

Yu Jiu glanced at the three people, chuckled and said: "Actually, being a rebel ninja doesn't seem to be a bad idea."

His words immediately aroused the agreement of several people. Even the Anbu captain Kyo Utoshi, who was always known for his cold-bloodedness and calmness, took off his mask and threw it to the ground, using practical actions to persuade Hatake Sakumo to defect from the village.

Ye Shan sat cross-legged on the corridor, with no expression on his face, quietly watching the few people who were trying to persuade him. With Hatake Sakumo's strength, it would be difficult for him to break out of the village, but it wouldn't be difficult unless someone leaked the plan in advance.

Although the village has strong men like Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo and the three ninjas, Hatake Sakumo has always been known for his swiftness, so if he really chooses to defect, his chances of escaping are great.

But Hatake Sakumo gave up the idea of ​​defecting, or perhaps it could be said that the option of defecting had never occurred to this man.

"Shut up!"

Towards the four people who stayed behind, Hatake Sakumo was no longer as gentle and polite as before. These four were his die-hard ninjas, the most die-hard of them.

"Is it your turn to interrupt what I am going to do? Just do your own thing and remember what I just said. From now on, Ye Shan is the new leader."

Looking at the four people who were hesitant to speak, Hatake Sakumo didn't waste any words and left in an instant.

"Let's go."

After Ye Shan said this lightly, he also formed hand seals and activated the instant body movement technique, but he followed Hatake Sakumo closely.

"well!"

The four sighed for a while, and finally chose to leave. Even though they were used to separation and death in life, they still felt reluctant and sad at this moment.

They were helpless about Hatake Sakumo's choice. Even if they were dissatisfied, they could not vent it. Naturally, they hated the senior management who forced Hatake Sakumo to death.

......

In a room filled with many memorial tablets, Hatake Sakumo was kneeling on the floor, praying with his eyes closed. Ye Shan stood outside the room, folding his arms and watching with narrowed eyes, feeling somewhat amused.

A ninja who was about to commit suicide and leave behind his young son and his family on the verge of destruction was actually offering sacrifices to his ancestors. I wonder what the expressions of the ancestors of the Hatake clan would be when they knew about this.

"You have something more important than life that you need to protect and implement. I won't stop you. On the contrary, I will think you are a real person."

Hayama's calm voice reached Hatake Sakumo's ears, causing him to tremble. Who would choose death if they could live? Dying for the ninja way in their hearts and the village they once loved so much was a worthy death.

"No matter how the ninjas in the village view you, whether they mock your incompetence, lament your untimely death, or even scold you for your cowardice, I will make them all shut up. This is the oath that Baiyun Yeshan made in front of thousands of ancestors of the Hatake clan."

"If I can't do it, I will seek a successor during my lifetime, just like the relationship between you and me, so that he can continue to complete my unfinished work."

Hatake Sakumo said in a hoarse voice: "You know I didn't invite you here for this."

"Of course I know that you, Hatake Sakumo, are a stubborn person, so how could you have such a cunning mind?"

Ye Shan lowered his arms from his chest, took out a kunai from his ninja bag, cut his fingers, felt the pain and felt a sense of clarity, and continued: "In my hometown, there is a saying that a teacher is a father for life, and there is also a saying that a drop of water should be repaid with a spring of water."

"I, Baiyun Yeshan, am a vulgar person, a very vulgar person. What I love most are delicious food, luxury cars, beautiful women, airplanes, tanks, submarines... I like all good things, but I don't like to owe favors to others. Don't worry about that."

Hatake Sakumo turned around, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably, and said, "Yayama, I don't ask you to do anything, just let Kakashi grow up well, even if he can't become a ninja."

Ye Shan looked at the emotional Hatake Sakumo expressionlessly, holding the sharp blade of the kunai in his right hand, and said: "Hatake Sakumo, do you know that I have another name? This name is very rustic, but it is the real me."

"Wang Wang, how is it? Pretty rustic, right?"

The sharp iron cut Ye Shan's palm, blood flowed out, but he did not feel any pain. Not satisfied with this, Ye Shan took out another kunai and stabbed it into his thigh with an expressionless face.

"You know, I have thought about suicide many times, but every time when the kunai was on my throat, the rope was hanging around my neck, and the poison was fed to my mouth, I couldn't do it, because I hadn't reached the moment of complete despair in my heart. Survival is the instinct of living things. Even if there is only a one in a million chance of survival, it is worth it for every creature that longs to see the sun tomorrow to give it a try."

"I admire you for resolutely giving up your life and choosing to die for the sake of the ninja way and the village, but I am free to have disapproval and other negative emotions mixed in with my admiration."

"You see, when people want to speak their mind, no matter how hurt they are, they won't feel any pain. You need it."

Ye Shan pointed at his bleeding palms and thighs and spoke seriously to Hatake Sakumo.

After saying this, Ye Shan looked deeply at Hatake Sakumo, who was kneeling on the mat with a painful expression, as if he wanted to engrave his appearance in his mind.

A moment later, Ye Shan disappeared outside the ancestral hall of the Hatake clan. The once glorious Hatake clan was left with only people with the surname Hatake.

Hatake Sakumo walked out of the ancestral hall and came to the bedroom, put on the Konoha standard vest, sat upright at the table, and in his palm lay a forehead protector that had been with him for many years.

“Why not choose to defect?”

Yes, Ye Shan, a guy who has no sense of honor or rules in his heart, asked it at the first opportunity.

Hatake Sakumo recalled that when he was a child, the Hatake family was at its peak. Even though it was an old mansion with decades of history, the clan members and servants would not allow such damage to appear in the dark.

He remembered his parents holding his hand as they walked through the ancient but still clean corridors and gates, through the streets that had only been built a dozen years earlier and were not very prosperous. He remembered the grand Obon festival within the clan, and the new Konoha that was full of vitality and attracted by the reputation and ideals of the first generation of ninjas who continued to come to join.

He remembered the saying - "Wherever leaves fly, fire will burn."

Hatake Sakumo was born and raised here. Behind this village, the blood of countless Hatake clan members was shed.

This blood has the same temperature as that of the countless Konoha companions who died on the battlefield to defend him from the enemy's swords.

——Yes, Hatake Sakumo, he loves this place, he loves the inspiring [Will of Fire].

A ninja is not anyone's tool. His sacrifice can only be made because he is willing to do so.

——Yes, he was willing to die for the village and for the ninja way in his heart.

Only in this way will the ancestors of the Hatake clan who are buried underground accept and protect him in the Pure Land; only in this way will his son Kakashi be proud of him when he grows up.

Even though the village he loves so much now has a dark side, it still cannot stop his love, nor change the reality for which his ancestors sacrificed their lives.

Hatake Sakumo picked up the short sword that had frightened countless enemies, and gently stroked it. After a long while, he placed the tip of the short sword against his chest, thinking back to what Ye Shan had said, and silently reciting his thoughts in his heart.

"Pfft!"

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh was heard in the bedroom, and Hatake Sakumo slowly fell to the ground. Before he lost consciousness, all he could think of was 'Damn Hayama for lying to me, it still hurts'.

Winter thunder exploded in the sky, as if mourning the death of Hatake Sakumo, and then it started raining again.

Ye Shan stood outside the Hatake clan's territory, looking up at Dong Lei and Yu, letting his wounds bleed.

White teeth, white teeth. From now on, there will be no more white teeth in the world.