The Hidden Leaf Newspaper wasted no time publishing every detail of Hatake Sakumo's story that could be disclosed.
To put it simply, a teammate was accidentally exposed, and Hatake Sakumo chose to save his comrade, resulting in the failure of their undercover mission.
Shimura Danzo was extremely pleased—the Hidden Leaf newspaper established by Uchiha Yato had done him a great favor.
He didn't even need to mobilize much of Root's resources to smear Sakumo's reputation. The public discourse had already centered around Hatake Sakumo, and now Danzo was steering the narrative.
Statements like "This has put Hidden Leaf Village in a passive position" and "A shinobi's priority should always be the mission" were deliberately stoking emotions.
Meanwhile, at this very moment, Uchiha Yato was spending time with the children and Hatake Sakumo's family.
Uchiha Yato asked, "Kakashi, Shisui, who do you think is right or wrong in this situation?"
At just five years old, Kakashi already possessed the skills of a genin. But asking him to make such a judgment was still a bit beyond his capacity.
Shisui answered, "I think what Uncle did wasn't wrong!"
"A mission can fail, but a teammate's life only happens once."
Uchiha Yato was satisfied with Shisui's answer but still spoke in a rigid tone, "You're absolutely right, but the villagers won't listen to that right now."
"Look at how the current discourse is unfavorable toward Uncle Hatake."
"But he genuinely protected his comrade—why is he being criticized like this?"
This was also what Kakashi couldn't understand the most.
His father had failed the mission to save someone—so why were the villagers blaming him?
The two little boys pondered but couldn't come up with an answer.
Hatake Sakumo, somewhat disheartened, finally spoke up, "Because this is a difficult question."
"Is the safety of an entire village more important, or is the life of a single person more important?"
Uchiha Yato, of course, understood the principle—it was the simplest form of the trolley problem.
Seeing the two boys still deep in thought, he explained further.
"Imagine there's a group of people in front of you, and I'm about to kill them all with Fire Release: Great Meteor."
"You have the power to change the outcome. Next to you is another person."
"If you speak up, I'll redirect the Great Meteor toward that one person instead of the group."
"So, do you think saving one person is more important, or saving the group?"
Originally, this shouldn't have been a trolley problem. But due to the manipulation of public opinion, the safety of the entire village had been tied to this single incident, fundamentally altering the nature of the situation.
Kakashi answered, "If it means saving more people, then sacrificing one person should be acceptable, right?"
Uchiha Yato added weight to the dilemma, "But what if that group consists of innocent bystanders, and that one person is someone you love dearly?"
"For example, Nohara Rin, or Uchiha Obito—or even your father."
"Then how would you choose?"
Kakashi, who had been about to argue, immediately fell silent.
Shisui beside him was the same—he couldn't understand why a single question could become so complicated.
Uchiha Yato said, "You've all fallen into a mental trap."
This statement gave all three of them a glimmer of hope.
They looked at him expectantly, waiting for his explanation.
Uchiha Yato continued, "The hypothetical scenario I just presented is simple—why can't you try to think outside the box?"
This left all three of them stunned.
"What if you could kill me, the one casting the jutsu? How would that change the outcome?""Both sides can be preserved, and your conscience won't bear any guilt."
The two little ones still looked somewhat confused, but Hatake Sakumo felt he had grasped something—a fleeting moment of inspiration.
Uchiha Yato explained, "Originally, this matter was simply about whether the mission or the person was more important."
"But now, after being manipulated by certain individuals, it's become about whether the entire village or one person is more important."
"Shouldn't the right approach be to expose the one spreading these rumors and put an end to this farce?"
This made all three of them understand Uchiha Yato's point.
In the shadows, Uchiha Madara, who was watching the situation unfold, shared the same thought.
During the Warring States period, whoever had the strongest fists held the power of speech.
This was an unchanging truth in the shinobi world—as long as one had the ability to overturn the table, they could become the maker of the rules.
Uchiha Yato was subtly conveying a message to Hatake Sakumo.
"The higher-ups in the Hokage's circle are no longer aligned with your previous way of thinking. They want your life!"
After all, they were once comrades in the same village. Before Hatake Sakumo received the Hokage's half-sleeve, his relationship with Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others had been quite good.
Now, however, they had indeed grown increasingly distant.
Uchiha Yato waved his hand dismissively and said, "Alright, let's set these worries aside for now. Spend some quality time with Kakashi."
"Kakashi, don't dwell too much on these questions. You'll understand when you're older."
He turned to Shisui and repeated the same words.
His intention was simply to encourage the two youngsters to develop their own critical thinking, not to let them obsess over such a difficult dilemma.
After sending the two little ones away, Uchiha Yato finally spoke seriously to Hatake Sakumo.
"I won't say much more."
"What I say next, I'll only say once."
"I'll handle the matters that follow. You focus on spending time with Kakashi and fulfilling your responsibilities as the swordsmanship instructor at Uchiha Kindergarten."
Hatake Sakumo felt somewhat grateful to Uchiha Yato—after all, they were former colleagues.
Uchiha Yato was concerned that Sakumo might find it difficult to act, so he took everything upon himself.
Hatake Sakumo didn't say much, only nodding slightly in agreement.
Seeing this, Uchiha Yato flashed a confident smile.
Those familiar with him would know:
When Yato smiles, life and death hang in the balance.
To prevent Shimura Danzo from acting out of desperation, Uchiha Yato still needed to reassure the others.
There was no helping it—with a slacker of a system, if he could truly take bold action and eliminate Shimura Danzo outright, there wouldn't be so much trouble.
...
At the Senju Clan Grounds.
After completing her tasks for the day, Tsunade returned to Uzumaki Mito's home.
There, she happened to see Uchiha Yato chatting with Uzumaki Mito.
Uchiha Yato said, "Granny Mito, I hope you've been well lately."
A note here:
When Uchiha Yato addresses someone formally as "sama," it means he intends to handle matters officially.
When he uses a more casual form of address, it means he has no business today and is purely here to stir things up.
When he uses an affectionate form of address, it means Uchiha Yato is looking to gain something from you.
Understanding Uchiha Yato's habits, Uzumaki Mito smiled and nodded, maintaining her gentle and kindly demeanor.Uchiha Yato said, "Recently, someone in the village has been causing trouble, constantly smearing Hatake's reputation."
"Shouldn't Grandma Mito do something about this?"
This matter was completely irrelevant to what Uchiha Yato was talking about.
Uzumaki Mito had long since stopped handling the village's political affairs. If Uchiha Yato came to her to discuss this, he was clearly approaching the wrong person.
Before Uzumaki Mito could respond,
Tsunade interjected, "Grandmother doesn't deal with these things. Why are you bothering her with this?"
"By the way, what have you been busy with lately?"
Uchiha Yato replied, "Nothing much."
"Just working on awakening my Wood Release!"
Hearing this, the grandmother and granddaughter duo immediately tensed up.
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