Inside the Hokage's Office, the work of cataloguing the Uchiha Clan's assets was finally drawing to a close. Piles of scrolls and documents stacked upon the desk recorded the clan's vast holdings—land deeds, businesses, armories, secret jutsu archives, even warehouses filled with supplies.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat quietly as he flipped through the final list. His hand trembled slightly, and a long sigh slipped from his lips.
"Uchiha… ah…"
His voice was low, heavy with contradictions. In his heart swirled a storm of conflicting emotions.
The textbooks of Konoha glorified him as the strongest Hokage in history, a man whose wisdom and power safeguarded the village. Yet in truth, Hiruzen's defining trait was not ruthless decisiveness or cunning strategy—but weakness, hesitation, and compromise.
He was forever caught between duty and sentiment.
The massacre of the Uchiha Clan weighed heavily on him. On one hand, he could not deny the cold temptation of their immense wealth and resources, now absorbed into the coffers of Konoha. On the other, regret gnawed at him—regret for the destruction of a clan whose bloodline had once shaken the entire ninja world.
The Uchiha… such a proud, mighty clan.
He remembered the days when Uchiha Madara himself led them into battle. Back then, the Uchiha name alone made nations tremble. Even the Senju, mighty as they were, had struggled to stand against them.
And now?
Reduced to nothing more than an entry in a ledger. A once-glorious clan, now swept away like dust in the wind.
Ultimately, Hiruzen thought bitterly, it all traced back to the beginning. To Hashirama becoming Hokage, while Madara was pushed aside. From that decision forward, the seeds of tragedy had been sown.
The most important things… must always be firmly held in one's grasp.
Before he could sink deeper into his gloomy reflections, the sudden sound of rushing footsteps broke the silence. An urgent scroll was thrust into his hands.
"Itachi's report," the messenger said quickly, before vanishing.
Hiruzen's heart gave a sharp jolt. He wasted no time breaking the seal and scanning the contents.
His pupils constricted.
"Uchiha Gen… awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. His ability mutated—granting him the power of world destruction…"
The Hokage's breath caught. For a moment he thought he had misread. World destruction?
His mind flashed to a conversation weeks earlier with Hyūga Hiashi, who had spoken in hushed tones of a strange and terrifying ability. At the time, Hiruzen had dismissed it as nothing more than rumor, exaggeration, or misunderstanding.
But this… this was different.
This was not gossip. This was a direct report from Uchiha Itachi, a boy who had slaughtered his entire clan with his own hands. If Itachi claimed to have seen it with his own eyes, then it was no illusion.
"Kakashi."
A ripple stirred the air. From the shadows appeared Hatake Kakashi, clad in his ANBU uniform, silver hair catching the dim light of the office.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
"Bring me today's ANBU intelligence collection. Immediately."
"Understood."
In an instant, Kakashi was gone. Only moments later, he reappeared, placing a thick folder of documents onto the desk.
Hiruzen flipped it open. With each page his face grew darker.
Black market informants had reported the same phenomenon—whispers of an Uchiha who could summon cataclysm, who wielded a Mangekyō unlike any other in history. The accounts aligned disturbingly well with Itachi's words. In fact, some reports went even further, detailing sightings of unnatural tremors, collapsing terrain, and strange atmospheric changes.
The Hokage's hands clenched.
The seriousness of the situation… was far beyond anything he had expected.
Just then, the doors slammed open.
Danzo Shimura strode inside, his cane striking the floor sharply, his single eye blazing with accusation.
"Hiruzen! Look at the consequences of your weakness!"
His voice was cold, cutting like steel. He didn't wait for pleasantries.
"I warned you long ago—the Uchiha are a cursed clan. Dangerous, unstable, a blight upon this village. And now, one of them has awakened a Mangekyō capable of annihilating the entire world. This catastrophe lies solely at your feet!"
Hiruzen's jaw tightened.
"…?"
He looked up sharply, anger flaring.
"Danzo! If not for your endless oppression and shadow schemes, if not for the constant pressure you forced upon the Uchiha, would things have reached this point?!"
Danzo sneered. His face was like stone, his tone venomous.
"I merely carried out Tobirama-sensei's will. After the Nine-Tails attacked, the Uchiha should have been eradicated. But you, Hiruzen… you hesitated. You clung to compassion, and now the village stands on the brink of destruction because of your indecisiveness!"
His words struck like poison-tipped arrows.
"Shut up!"
Hiruzen slammed his palm onto the desk, the wood cracking under the force.
"Do not forget who is Hokage here. It is not you, Danzo—it is me!"
Danzo did not back down. He leaned forward, his lone eye burning.
"You? A Hokage who cowers behind ideals while the village rots? No, Hiruzen. You are nothing but an incompetent old fool."
The office trembled with the tension between them. For decades, these two men had carried resentment toward one another, their ideological war simmering beneath the surface. Now, at last, it erupted openly.
"Enough!"
Hiruzen closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply, forcing his rage back down. His voice, when he spoke again, was calmer—but edged with steel.
"This is not the time for squabbling. We must confirm the truth. Where is Uchiha Gen's body? Only by examining him directly can we know the reality of this Mangekyō ability."
Danzo's lips curled into a smile that was anything but pleasant.
"It's gone."
"…What!?"
Hiruzen shot to his feet.
"What do you mean gone?!"
"When my men went to secure the corpse, it had already vanished. Along with the body of Uchiha Izumi. Several Root operatives disappeared as well. And the Mangekyō Sharingan? Vanished without a trace."
The Hokage's face went pale. His heart plummeted like a stone.
"You—Danzo! Just how much have you concealed from me!?"
Danzo chuckled bitterly.
"I hide nothing. The truth is simple: your failures have led us here. Uchiha Gen is the monster you allowed to fester."
Hiruzen's hands clenched into fists. He wanted to scream at his old comrade, but there was no time.
"Send every available resource to track Izumi's body. And gather intelligence on this Mangekyō ability—no detail, no matter how small, can be overlooked!"
His command rang with urgency.
Danzo snorted, gave a perfunctory nod, and swept from the room, leaving only silence and tension in his wake.
The Hokage's Office was quiet once more, heavy with gloom.
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair. His gaze fell on the stacks of Uchiha property records, and bitterness welled in his chest.
Yes. Danzo's words stung because they were not entirely false. His hesitation had indeed sown the seeds of today's crisis.
He rubbed at his temples, exhaustion carving deep lines into his face. In this single night, he felt as though he had aged a decade. His eyes, once sharp and commanding, now carried only weariness.
"Kakashi…" he murmured.
The silver-haired ANBU appeared again, silent as a shadow.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen looked at him. For a moment, he saw not just a subordinate, but a student—a boy who had suffered too much, yet who carried Konoha's hopes quietly on his shoulders.
"Please," Hiruzen said softly, "find Jiraiya."
Kakashi blinked. "Jiraiya-sama?"
"Yes. His ties to Mount Myōboku run deep. And the Great Toad Sage… that ancient seer's prophecies have guided this world more than once. If there is truly a disaster looming, if a power capable of summoning meteors threatens to erase us all… perhaps that great sage can offer a path forward."
Kakashi inclined his head. "Understood."
He turned to leave, but paused at the doorway. His voice, usually cool and steady, wavered ever so slightly.
"Hokage-sama… is it true? Will the ninja world… really be destroyed?"
The question hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.
For a long moment, Hiruzen did not answer. His hands trembled faintly upon the desk. Then, slowly, he lifted his head.
His old eyes, weary moments ago, now burned with a familiar fire. The fire of the Will of Konoha.
"No, Kakashi."
His voice was steady, ringing with conviction.
"This world will not end here. Not while I still draw breath. So go. Bring Jiraiya back. No matter what it takes."
Kakashi's single visible eye widened slightly. Then he nodded, sharp and resolute.
"Yes!"
With that, he vanished into the night, leaving Hiruzen alone with his thoughts.
The old Hokage sat in silence. The weight of his failures pressed upon him, but so too did the flame of determination..
For the sake of Konoha. For the sake of the entire ninja world.
He would not let the world be destroyed.
Not now.
Not ever.
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