Page 29
"It's half done. What's missing now is just a real chakra metal sword." Hatake Sakumo was in high spirits, and his proud look had a unique charm.
"Is it... the idea proposed by my brother that I told father about half a year ago?" Kakashi was also shocked, but he was more filled with admiration and joy.
My father is indeed a living legendary ninja!
"Yes, it's almost done. The only thing missing now is metal that has good chakra conductivity. Otherwise, ordinary ninja swords won't be able to withstand the power of the Blood Elimination Sword Technique."
"Bloody Elimination Sword Technique?" Kakashi tilted his head. "What kind of sword technique is this? Can I learn it?"
"Of course, today I plan to..."
The beaming Hatake Sakumo suddenly stopped, and the smile on his face was gradually replaced by coldness.
"It looks like it won't work today. You guys go back to your room and rest. I'm going to go out and meet an old friend."
Hatake Sakumo stood up, opened the door and left without waiting for the two brothers to reply.
Kakashi was a little overwhelmed by the sudden change. After looking at Hatake Akira, he was about to quietly follow him out to take a look, but Hatake Akira held him back.
"Put away your curiosity and believe that father can solve everything." Hatake Akira shook his head, "Come back to the room with me. Father will tell us when he wants to."
"OK then."
Kakashi nodded and followed Hatake Akira back to the bedroom.
Outside the Hatake residence, Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue, ignored Hatake Sakumo's gloomy expression, took a step forward and greeted him with a smile.
"Sakumo, long time no see."
Chapter 44 The causal clues gradually connect.
Hatake Sakumo, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade can be regarded as the backbone of Konoha today.
The four of them have had many interactions whether they were carrying out missions, conquering battlefields, or handling Konoha's internal affairs, and they are very familiar with each other.
Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru have always been casual acquaintances, and the two would only communicate when they were on missions or on the battlefield.
And Hatake Sakumo once said that the person he could not understand the most was Orochimaru.
Since it was impossible to see through it, the personal relationship between the two of them would not be good enough for them to visit the mansion at night.
Then Orochimaru's trip is definitely not a simple reminiscence.
"Long time no see, Orochimaru." Hatake Sakumo nodded as a response, and then asked Orochimaru the purpose of his trip.
"It's not like you to come to my house so late at night."
"It's not my style, but there are exceptions to everything, don't you think? Master Sakumo."
"Don't be polite. It's better for everyone to be frank." Hatake Sakumo had already grabbed the short knife behind him with one hand.
"You're welcome, Sakumo." Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth with interest. "Sure enough, even the purest ninja will know many unknown secrets when he is in a high position."
Orochimaru is not stupid. After seeing Hatake Sakumo's actions, he naturally knew that Hatake Sakumo already knew a lot of things, including the dirty things he did behind his back.
Orochimaru also understood many things. What he did under Konoha's nose could never be foolproof. It was just that some people indulged in it, some people covered it up, and some people didn't want to mention it.
"Although you no longer trust me, it doesn't mean that I no longer trust you." Orochimaru looked deeply at Hatake Sakumo, then turned and walked away, "Sakumo, this is not the place to talk. Do you dare to go out with me alone?"
"Why don't I dare?"
Hatake Sakumo sneered and followed.
He was not afraid of Orochimaru at all, nor did he think that Orochimaru and Danzo behind him would do anything stupid.
For example, despicable things like assassination.
Even if it could be done, it would be impossible inside Konoha Village.
……
Konoha, Orochimaru's secret experimental base.
Hatake Sakumo, who followed Orochimaru here, was trembling all over. He knew that Orochimaru was conducting some secret experiments and had also investigated the case of missing children in the villages near Konoha.
The conclusion naturally points to Orochimaru and Danzo Shimura, but the matter was suppressed by the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.
But knowing it is one thing, witnessing it with your own eyes is another, Hatake Sakumo couldn't accept it.
"Sakumo, I hear that your breathing is not as steady as before. Are you feeling anything?" Orochimaru asked knowingly.
"Look at what you've done!" Hatake Sakumo pointed at the embryo in the culture tank, "You're simply insulting the name of the Three Ninjas!"
"This is tacitly approved by the teacher." Orochimaru chuckled, "You are not even the Hokage yet, so you are meddling too much."
"You...!" Hatake Sakumo was trembling all over, but he couldn't find any words to refute.
"Haha, Sakumo, although it's a bit disrespectful to call you that, it's the truth. You're just a political victim."
"What exactly do you want to say?!" Hatake Sakumo stared at Orochimaru coldly.
"What I want to say is that you should take action." Orochimaru looked directly into Hatake Sakumo's eyes, "Kill Shimura Danzo, force the teacher to abdicate, and then...put all the blame on me."
Hatake Sakumo gradually came to his senses and looked at Orochimaru in disbelief. He did not expect Orochimaru to say or do this.
"Don't be surprised. Just consider this as the last thing I do for Konoha." Orochimaru's expression gradually became crazy. "Konoha's decay is a foregone conclusion. If we don't increase our efforts, we can only treat the symptoms but not the root cause."
"But what is your purpose?"
"My purpose?" Orochimaru pointed at himself, "I don't have a purpose. I just do things according to my own preferences."
"I am no longer the same person I used to be. My pursuits have changed. I am no longer bound by a village or a country, and I am no longer obsessed with ten or a hundred years. What I want is eternal life and endless knowledge."
"It's dangerous for you to do this." Hatake Sakumo said in a deep voice.
"Who doesn't live in danger? You can choke to death even when eating. This is the fragility of life. Endless accidents can take everyone's life, including you and me."
Orochimaru was like a philosopher at this time, and what he said made Hatake Sakumo disagree and not really approve of it.
But putting all that aside, Orochimaru's previous proposal still moved Hatake Sakumo.
"What exactly is your plan?"
"I have all the evidence of Shimura Danzo's crimes here, enough to make him die seven or eight times, but the prerequisite is that the teacher is willing to do it." Orochimaru took out a pile of evidence and handed it to Hatake Sakumo, "You just need to take it, then seriously injure me, and then go to the teacher, I believe that the matter will be resolved."
Hatake Sakumo did not reach out to take it, but shook his head.
"There is a 90% chance that the Sandaime Hokage will not take action."
"Of course I know that." Orochimaru's emotions did not fluctuate at all. "But in this case, you have a reason and an opportunity to eradicate Konoha's cancer."
"But this is very risky!" Hatake Sakumo was very calm. He had already anticipated the consequences of his actions.
"It's risky, but does that have anything to do with whether you want to do it or not?"
Orochimaru's words hit the nail on the head, which made Hatake Sakumo stunned. He stared at Orochimaru with a straight look in his eyes.
Try to see some conspiracy in his snake eyes.
……
Hatake Sakumo left with heavy steps, holding in his hand a series of evidence of Shimura Danzo's crimes provided by Orochimaru.
However, Hatake Sakumo did not choose to attack Orochimaru, as he was still undecided.
Besides, Akira Hatake and Kakashi still need time to grow, and he doesn't want to take any risks now.
If it succeeds, it will be fine, but if it fails, the entire Hatake family will be buried along with Hatake Sakumo, and Hatake Akira and Kakashi, who have not yet grown up, will naturally not be able to escape the fate of being buried with them.
He did not dare to underestimate the power in the hands of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo, and he would be crushed to pieces if he was not careful.
Not only that, Hatake Sakumo couldn't believe all of Orochimaru's words, who knows if this is a hole dug for himself by linking up Orochimaru and Shimura Danzo.
With something on his mind, Hatake Sakumo returned home.
But when he entered the door, Hatake Sakumo saw Akira Hatake and Kakashi who were sitting quietly in the living room waiting for his return.
"Father."
The two brothers said in unison, standing up and heading towards Hatake Sakumo.
"Why haven't you slept yet?" Hatake Sakumo glanced at Hatake Akira, with a hint of blame in his words.
"I can't sleep." Hatake Akira saw the information in Hatake Sakumo's hand, "Did father go out to meet someone?"
"Yes, Orochimaru came to me and gave me all the evidence of Shimura Danzo's crimes." Hatake Sakumo put away the information in his hand and explained without any intention of showing it to Hatake Akira.
"It seems that Orochimaru still has some conscience now, and it will take some years before he goes completely crazy." Hatake Akira thought about it for a while and guessed the truth. "Father, does Orochimaru want to use you to kill Shimura Danzo or force the Sandaime to step down?"
"It has to be you, Ming." Hatake Sakumo sighed, "Orochimaru is planning to do this, but I don't want to do it now."
"Father is right to do this. It's not the time yet. After all, the power of the Hatake family is too weak."
Hatake Akira pulled Hatake Sakumo to sit down, "Father, you just need to be aware of these things, and don't get involved for now. There will be a perfect opportunity in the future."
Hatake Akira didn't expect Orochimaru to suddenly attack. Although the trick he used was crude, if Hatake Akira hadn't changed some things, Hatake Sakumo would probably jump into the trap himself.
In other words, Hatake Akira has connected together all the reasons why Hatake Sakumo committed suicide, and understood why such a powerful ninja would choose to end his own life by committing suicide.
Hatake Sakumo was completely forced, and it was impossible for a one-sided public opinion attack to achieve the effect.
Gradually, Hatake Akira's eyes became colder.
Now that we understand the whole story, it’s time to put many things on the agenda.
Chapter 45: Hatake Sakumo risks his life.
The psychological endurance of a ninja is far beyond that of ordinary people.
Before, Hatake Akira was very puzzled as to why a great ninja would collapse his psychological defenses and choose to end his life by suicide because of a seemingly farce of public opinion.
But tonight, Hatake Akira has figured out the whole story.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo, the two men who dominated Konoha, one openly and one secretly, definitely reached a consensus to eliminate Hatake Sakumo because of an unknown incident.
What this is about is 100 percent because of what happened tonight.
It would be fine if people who are not in power didn't know what Orochimaru did in the village, but how could Sarutobi Hiruzen, as the Hokage of the village, not know?
The reason why they knew about it but didn't stop it was naturally because Orochimaru's research would bring more benefits than harm to Konoha.
This is just like the series of forbidden techniques studied by the second generation Senju Tobirama. When studying the forbidden techniques, he definitely did a lot of taboo experiments.
But the benefits are also obvious to all. This allows Konoha's forbidden technique reserves to directly suppress the four hidden villages, allowing Konoha to have more powerful ninjutsu capital.