The sky above Konoha was clear, deceptively calm.

43 days remained until the celestial body would descend and shatter the world below.

Outside the village gates, Kakashi Hatake paused.

He inhaled deeply, letting the wind brush across his silver hair. Then his hand moved to his left eye—his Sharingan—now unburdened for the first time in years.

"Hokage..."He muttered quietly."Was that ever really my dream?"

Names echoed in his heart like distant ghosts.

Minato-sensei.

Obito.

Rin.

All gone, leaving only memories... and a single eye that had never stopped watching.

Kakashi wandered to a stream nearby. The surface reflected a face he barely recognized: sharp, tired, haunted. In its eyes, a fog of old convictions slowly cleared.

What replaced it wasn't certainty—it was doubt.

He remembered the Anbu missions. The cloak-and-dagger politics. The quiet corruption.

Although the Hokage was not a person of great evil, he was ultimately getting old...

Hiruzen Sarutobi, once revered, had long since lost the edge of leadership. Behind his warmth lay calculation. And in the ashes of the Uchiha Clan, Hiruzen's faction had carved away resources with silent approval.

Even the missing Sharingan eyes... How many had vanished under his watch?

Kakashi's head throbbed. The Sharingan had long devoured his chakra and clouded his thoughts. But now? Something had changed.

Clarity.

Since the eye regained control—opening and closing at will—he saw things differently. Sharply. Coldly.

He began to wonder if he truly understood the meaning of being Hokage?

Was he truly suited for that position?

And how much unbearable darkness was hidden within the seemingly peaceful Ninja World?

"What if everything I believed in... was never real?"

He looked up at the open sky.

"First... I need to find Jiraiya-sama."

He turned and began walking, unaware that his resolve—and destiny—had already begun to shift.

Inside the Hokage Office…

The silence in the Hokage Office was brittle.

Stacks of urgent scrolls lined the desk, but Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes remained fixed on a single document: a report confirming the unthinkable — a celestial body was on a direct collision course with Earth. Impact in 43 days.

He exhaled slowly, eyes shadowed.

I must inform the Five Kage immediately. There's no time for caution.

He reached for the emergency communication scroll—

The doors slammed open.

Danzo Shimura entered without permission, his cane tapping sharply against the wooden floor.

"Hiruzen," he said curtly, "hold your hand."

Hiruzen looked up. "Danzo. This is no time for one of your power plays."

Danzo stepped forward, expression unreadable. "You intend to send word to the other villages? Now?"

"Of course," Hiruzen snapped. "This isn't a village crisis. It's a world-ending threat. The Kage must be alerted at once—"

Danzo raised a hand. "And hand Konoha's leverage over for free?"

The air chilled.

"Leverage?" Hiruzen echoed, voice darkening. "We're talking about the extinction of the human race. You want to politicize that?"

Danzo's tone was calm, dangerous.

"I want to control the panic. If we alert them now, we expose ourselves. We let them prepare on equal footing. We lose the upper hand before the game even begins."

Hiruzen stood, the weight of his age suddenly forgotten. "This isn't a game, Danzo. Innocents will die—entire nations will be erased!"

Danzo didn't flinch.

"And what of Konoha's future? Shall we die with our principles intact, or survive by using our heads? We gather intel, build shelters, rally the clan heads. While the others hesitate or disbelieve, we prepare."

Hiruzen paced behind his desk, fuming. "You think the other Kage won't notice our sudden movements? Jonin being recalled, civilians rerouted? Rumors are already spreading through the black market!"

Danzo nodded. "Let the world speculate. They'll waste time doubting us, accusing us. And when the truth becomes undeniable, they'll come begging for direction. That is when we reveal the full picture — and decide who stands beside us in the ashes."

Hiruzen clenched his jaw. "You'd let other villages burn to make Konoha a king among ruins."

Danzo's voice dropped, low and cold. "I'd let the system that betrayed us burn. The one that feeds off war and children's blood with no end in sight? You know this world is rotting, Hiruzen. Why save it as it is when we can make it better?"

Hiruzen's gaze faltered. For a brief moment, Danzo's words cut deeper than he wanted to admit.

He sat slowly.

"…We will call a Five Kage Summit," he said at last. "Face to face. I won't risk distorted words over ink. They will hear it directly, from us. And until then, our preparations remain discreet."

Danzo gave a slow nod. "Acceptable. You've bought yourself time. Just don't waste it with empty sentiment."

As he turned to leave, Hiruzen's voice stopped him.

"Danzo, what are you going to do with Uchiha Fugaku's Sharingan?"

Danzo didn't hesitate. "He never awakened the Mangekyō. They're just souvenirs. I'll keep one. You keep the other."

Hiruzen said nothing.

Danzo stepped out into the corridor, his expression hardening.

The old monkey is slipping.

At this critical juncture, he actually extorted a Sharingan from me...

When the skies fall, only I—Danzo Shimura—will guide Konoha to its rightful throne.