Dawn
A thin layer of mist hung over the Uchiha compound.
Uchiha Kagami walked slowly through it, his steps aimless, his eyes bloodshot.
After leaving the Senju compound, he had wandered the streets of Konoha all night. It wasn't until the sky began to lighten that he finally returned to the clan grounds. His mind was a tangled mess.
At first, he had wanted to drag out the Uchiha who leaked the news of Lord Tobirama's death.
But after calming down, Kagami realized—
even if he found that person, so what?
Without the backing of the Uchiha clan, it was impossible for a single individual to spread news of the Hokage's death across all of Konoha in a single afternoon.
And what if the one behind it all was Uchiha Fugaku?
No—that wasn't right for this era.
What if it was Uchiha Futami?
As clan head, Futami was the most suspicious of all. Only a handful of people in the Uchiha had the authority and ability to mobilize the clan's commercial network so efficiently.
Was Kagami supposed to turn against his own clan head—for Sarutobi Hiruzen's sake?
The thought alone made his head spin.
How did I even come up with something this rebellious?
Yet if he simply let it go, he'd be saddled with an enormous black pot for no reason at all. The anger had nowhere to go—and worse, he wouldn't even know how to face Hiruzen afterward.
"Hey, Kagami. You're back."
A few passing Uchiha greeted him casually, but their eyes kept drifting toward him, their expressions unmistakably strange.
They'd already heard the rumors—about Kagami and the others abandoning the Hokage and fleeing back to Konoha.
No one had expected Uchiha Kagami, the clan's genius, to be capable of something like that.
"Captain Nan said you guys ditched the Hokage and ran back. Is that true?"
"Yeah. You're an Uchiha prodigy—there's no way you'd do something like that, right?"
"And Captain Nan also said Sarutobi Hiruzen is going to be the Third Hokage?"
"That can't be real, can it?"
Voices piled on one after another.
Before Kagami realized it, he was surrounded by fellow clan members, all talking at once, trying to confirm whether what Uchiha Nan had said was true.
"…Who did you say?"
"Uchiha Nan?"
Kagami froze, disbelief written all over his face.
The one who leaked news of Lord Tobirama's death… was Uchiha Nan?
How was that possible?!
Among the Uchiha, the person Kagami got along with best was Nan. He was someone Lord Tobirama himself had acknowledged—an Uchiha who had cast off low impulses and genuinely inherited the Will of Fire.
If he did this, how was he any different from the hawks within the clan?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
Kagami felt dizzy. He had to be too tired. Either his ears were playing tricks on him—or this was genjutsu.
Release!
He formed the hand seals to dispel illusions.
Nothing happened.
The voices around him kept going, all talking about Uchiha Nan.
"Enough!"
Kagami shouted.
He didn't want to waste another second here. He had to confront Nan in person and demand an explanation.
There had to be a reason.
There had to be coercion.
The clan head must've forced him.
Sixteen years.
Sixteen years of Nan's spotless reputation in Konoha made this reality impossible for Kagami to accept.
Could an Uchiha really pretend to be a good person for sixteen straight years—
even fooling Lord Tobirama?
That was terrifying beyond words.
Kagami activated Body Flicker without hesitation. In just a few minutes, he arrived at Nan's residence.
"Nan, don't be afraid," Kagami said urgently.
"Did the clan head force you? Did he make you take the lead and spread the news of Lord Tobirama's death?!"
"…"
Uchiha Nan was in the middle of his usual morning workout—doing a full set of 'The Times Are Calling'—when he saw Kagami standing there, eyes bloodshot, expression on the verge of madness.
The words coming out of Kagami's mouth left Nan completely baffled.
The clan head?
Uchiha Futami forcing him?
Does that guy even have that kind of pull?
If only that were true.
When Tobirama was still alive, Nan had to maintain appearances and restrain himself. Now that Tobirama was dead, Nan was already planning how to push Futami out and take the clan head position for himself.
The seat of Third Hokage—
Nan was determined to claim it.
Hopefully, Futami would be sensible enough not to compete with him.
Otherwise…
He'd simply have to deal with him first.
"Kagami," Nan said calmly, curling his lips into a grin,
"the news of Tobirama's death spreading through Konoha—that was my order to the Police Force."
"Futami doesn't know a damn thing. He doesn't even have access to that level of information."
"Kehehehehe!"
Nan laughed freely, without the slightest respect left in his tone—neither for Tobirama nor for Futami.
There was no need anymore.
Sooner or later, he'd tear the mask off anyway.
After Tobirama's death, what was the point of pretending?
Step by step, he would climb to the very top—
become head of the Uchiha,
and then become Hokage of Konoha.
"Nan… what happened to you?" Kagami's voice trembled.
"You weren't like this before."
The man in front of him felt utterly unfamiliar. That unrestrained laughter grated painfully in his ears. At this moment, Nan was no different from the clan's hawks.
Had everything about Nan in the past been an act?
Could someone really pretend to embody the Will of Fire—for sixteen whole years?
"Lord Tobirama placed such high hopes in you," Kagami said shakily.
"He believed you had inherited the Will of Fire. Was all of that… fake?"
"Fake?"
Nan scoffed.
Did that really require acting?
Basic decency—respecting elders, protecting companions—those were things he'd learned long before this life.
It was just that the Uchiha were too extreme, too arrogant. Things Nan considered normal had somehow made him an anomaly within the clan.
Greeting villagers warmly.
Helping an old woman cross the street.
Saying "please" to shopkeepers.
Just basic human manners.
Which proud Uchiha would ever bother doing such things?
Later, Nan realized just how useful that image was.
Those little essays about the Will of Fire he'd written at the Academy had even convinced Tobirama that he was an Uchiha who truly inherited it.
"If that's how you want to see it," Nan said indifferently,
"then sure. Call it an act."
He had no interest in explaining himself to Kagami.
You're not worth the effort.
"So," Nan continued lazily,
"you came here first thing in the morning just to say all that?"
Kagami felt ice spread through his limbs.
The man before him was far more terrifying than he had ever imagined.
Uchiha Nan had successfully pretended to be a successor of the Will of Fire—
right up until the moment Tobirama died.
Only then had he revealed his true face.
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