"You'll regret this, Monkey!"
"Call me Hokage!"
Bang!
Inside the Hokage Office Building, Shimura Danzō violently shoved the door open and strode out.
The cane in his hand felt strangely out of place at this moment.
Heavy.
Absurdly heavy.
Inside the building.
Koharu Utatane hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly:
"Hiruzen… could we have made a mistake? Maybe Danzō really didn't touch that Kumogakure envoy?"
Her voice was quiet.
Clearly, even she herself lacked confidence in what she was saying.
Tap.
Tap.
The Third Hokage didn't reply, only puffed steadily on the pipe in his hand.
If anger could take physical form, flames three meters high would already be shooting out of his head.
Furious.
Finally, after filling the entire office with smoke, he stood up and walked to the window by the door.
Looking down at Danzō's retreating figure below—
His expression darkened further, and in the end, he couldn't help calling out:
"Danzō!"
Downstairs.
Danzō stopped, his back to the window, but did not turn around.
The Third Hokage sighed, then leapt down.
Tap.
He landed beside Danzō and spoke quietly:
"You should understand—
this kind of thing will likely face backlash as early as tomorrow."
"The ceasefire agreement between Kumogakure and Konoha is imminent. How can we allow internal problems like this right now?"
There was a note of weariness—almost decay—in his voice.
That tone made Danzō's heart stir slightly.
Thinking of his old friend's age, he sighed and finally softened, no longer stubborn.
Turning around, he said flatly:
"Problems? What problems?"
"They can't even find the body. If the man went missing on his own, what does that have to do with Konoha?"
"Those muscleheads full of lightning—what gives them the right to sit at the same table as Konoha?"
His face looked terrible.
Almost iron-blue.
If his current authority weren't limited, he would have pushed to go to war long ago!
Kumogakure daring to take advantage of chaos?
Did they really think Konoha had no one left?!
Unfortunately, his old friend Hiruzen was a peace-lover.
Unwilling to let the village sink back into war.
Looking at Hiruzen's aged back, the once-smooth forehead now covered in wrinkles after just two short years—
Wrinkles piled so densely they nearly obscured Hiruzen's original features.
"Sigh…"
For a moment, Danzō couldn't tell whether he felt pity or impulse. He quickened his pace and said,
"Hiruzen, if you really can't handle it, then hand over the Hokage position. You're too tired."
So there it is.
Still coveting the seat.
At those words, whatever flicker of emotion had just risen in Hiruzen's heart vanished completely.
He merely flicked his sleeve and snorted coldly.
"So it really was you who destroyed the corpse?"
Danzō: "????"
"Otherwise, how would you know the body hasn't been found? Only I knew that!"
The Third Hokage's wrinkles tightened as he lifted his eyelids and looked over.
In his murky eyes appeared a rare trace of scrutiny.
"You—!"
Two veins bulged on Danzō's forehead.
He almost wanted to point at Hiruzen's nose and shout: Are you a pig?!
But—
He couldn't expose the fact that he had ROOT monitoring the Hokage.
If that came to light, it would be another massive explosion.
So in the end, he could only swallow this silent loss.
Grinding his teeth, swallowing blood.
Bang!
He turned around and stormed off, slamming his cane against the ground.
If he stayed any longer, he feared he'd really smash Hiruzen with it.
Behind him.
The Third Hokage shook his head, then finally shifted his gaze toward the Hyūga clan compound.
A calculating look flashed through his eyes.
Danzō was still useful to him—for now.
He couldn't just hand him over.
Which meant—
The blame would have to be dumped on the Hyūga clan.
"Let's just hope Kumogakure doesn't go too far…"
And just like that—before Kumogakure even confirmed the cause, before any formal negotiations—
The Third Hokage had already decided who would carry the blame.
As for whether this would harm Konoha in the long run?
The incident happened after the visit to the Hyūga clan.
The clan's young lady had even gone missing!
Naturally, whatever consequences arose would be borne by the Hyūga alone.
What did that have to do with him, the Third Hokage?
…
Uchiha Clan Compound.
Sasuke rubbed his sleepy eyes and pushed open his bedroom door.
When he saw the figure standing outside, he instinctively ran over.
Stretching out his arms, he mumbled:
"Brother? Why aren't you asleep yet…"
Still half-asleep, he hugged the figure.
But the moment he did, something felt wrong.
This height… wasn't right.
And the reaction wasn't right either.
Normally, Big Brother Itachi would bend down and pick him up.
Sasuke rubbed his eyes and looked more carefully.
"Yo, my foolish little otōto~"
The person in front of him smiled, lightly tapping Sasuke on the forehead.
White teeth glinted faintly in the moonlight.
"Uchiha Arata?!"
"It's you?! Pah, pah, pah!"
Once Sasuke realized who it was, his mindset instantly exploded.
He flashed backward, then frantically wiped his arms and wrists, brushing at his clothes.
Disgust written all over his face.
"You actually pretended to be big brother just to get a hug?!"
"Hmph! Uchiha Arata, you're the worst!"
So strong were his emotions that after a few swats, he suddenly swung a punch straight out!
Bang!
It hit!
A triumphant smile appeared on Sasuke's face.
That earlier act of disgust had just been a feint.
His real goal had always been this retaliatory punch.
Boom!
But before his smile could fully bloom, it froze.
Right in front of him—
Uchiha Arata, his dear second brother—
Boom!—just exploded and vanished!
"E-exploded?"
"I… I punched my second brother to death?!"
Sasuke was dumbfounded.
His pupils felt like they'd just gone through an earthquake of the century.
A faint crimson even began to appear!
He was—
about to awaken?!
But just as his eyes were on the verge of opening—
The door to the neighboring bedroom suddenly swung open.
Whoosh.
"Sasuke, what are you—huh?"
Hearing the commotion, Itachi stepped out.
The moment he saw the strange change in Sasuke's eyes, his figure vanished.
When he reappeared, his hands were already on Sasuke's forehead.
He barked sharply:
"Sasuke, what's wrong with you?!"
Inside, confusion churned.
That had looked like the verge of awakening, hadn't it?
Was it interrupted… or just not enough grief?
But in the middle of the night, what could possibly have stimulated Sasuke?
A nightmare?
But… since when could nightmares awaken the Sharingan?
If that were the case, Father would've become a nightmare master long ago…
While he was puzzling over it, Sasuke suddenly snapped back to his senses.
Like he'd found a savior, he burst into tears:
"Waaah… Onii-san! I just—just—accidentally punched Second Brother to death!"
"…Huh?"
"You're saying you punched Jin to death?"
Itachi froze.
The next second, he doubled over laughing.
"Sasuke, you really think too highly of yourself—
ahem, I mean… are you sure you didn't see wrong?"
Jin's strength—Itachi didn't fully understand it, but it definitely wasn't something Sasuke could even dream of touching.
At most, Jin would solve Sasuke with a single slap.
Hearing that, Sasuke also came back to his senses.
His flushed little face reddened even more in embarrassment.
Seeing this, Itachi shook his head and said with a smile:
"That was a clone. He uses it to fool Mom."
"A clone… the Three Basic Techniques?!"
At those words, Sasuke was even more shocked.
"When did that guy ever learn it?!"
To Sasuke, clones were far from simple.
Training the Three Basic Techniques was extremely tedious and time-consuming—
Especially for young children.
It often took months of continuous practice.
"But that guy's always in the clan either sunbathing or dragging people into chats!"
"When did he ever practice the Three Basic Techniques?"
"…Don't tell me he learned it instantly?