Inside the Hokage's Office, the soft glow of lantern light fell across the desk, its surface buried beneath endless stacks of documents and scrolls.Outside, the night stretched endlessly, black as ink, and silence pressed heavily against the walls of the room.

"Tobirama… Sensei?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's breath caught in his throat. His old eyes widened in disbelief, the pipe slipping slightly from his hand.

He blinked rapidly, rubbed his eyes, but the figure before him did not vanish. The sharp, predatory gaze. The cold, suffocating aura. The stern, unforgiving face carved as though from stone. It was no illusion—no dream.

The Third Hokage's chest tightened. "That damned Orochimaru…" he whispered, teeth grinding together. "He dared to disturb even you… truly unforgivable!"

Tobirama's lips curved, not in warmth but in derision. "Indeed," he said, his voice as cold as a winter stream, "a fine disciple you've raised."

Hiruzen lowered his head, shame burning behind his eyes. He understood the weight of his sensei's words all too clearly. And the truth in them stung deeper than any kunai.

Tobirama stepped forward, his presence dominating the room with a pressure that seemed to press on Hiruzen's very soul. His gaze swept across the desk piled high with paperwork, his expression twisting into scorn.

"You've buried yourself in ink and parchment," Tobirama sneered, "while letting rot fester in the village's heart."

"Sensei, I—"

Hiruzen's protest faltered, his voice collapsing under the weight of his teacher's authority.

Tobirama pressed on without pause."If the Uchiha Clan cannot be controlled, they must be eradicated. Completely. That was always the law of survival. It was true in my era, and it remains true now."

His eyes glinted with cold insight. "Itachi awakened the Mangekyō. Then sooner or later, Sasuke will awaken his own. Bloodline destiny cannot be stopped. And if left unchecked, one of them will eventually reach the Eternal Mangekyō… and that would spell disaster for Konoha."

Tobirama turned his back to the desk and looked out through the darkened window, his tone sharp, yet laced with restrained anger."The Uchiha massacre is done. Regret changes nothing. What's been set in motion, even the fall of the shinobi world itself, cannot be undone. But—"

His head turned slightly, his crimson-lined eyes narrowing."Uchiha Gen. His Mangekyō is already a reality. And yet… where are your preparations? Your intelligence? Your countermeasures? What exactly have you been doing, Sarutobi?"

The Third's lips parted, but no sound came. Words of excuse and defense tangled in his throat and died.

For years, he had balanced, bargained, maintained fragile stability with painstaking care. But against Tobirama's merciless clarity, all his years of compromise and hesitation felt like nothing but cowardice. He realized—he had lacked the decisive steel of his teacher.

At length, Tobirama exhaled through his nose, breaking the silence. His voice softened—barely.

"Enough. This is not the hour for endless scolding. The present demands action."

He turned sharply."Danzō. That wretched man. He is due to return, isn't he?"

Hiruzen blinked in surprise. "Danzō… left the village?"

Tobirama's eyes narrowed to slits, his killing intent crackling faintly in the air like a storm about to break. "Are you the Hokage, or a bystander?" he spat.

"I passed through his so-called Root base on my way here. It was empty. He is gone."

Hiruzen's face darkened. He had known of Danzō's recklessness, of his secret dealings and unsanctioned operations, but to slip out of the village completely… without his knowledge?

Seeing the doubt and conflict war within his student, Tobirama's expression grew harsher. His voice dropped, cold as a blade at the throat."When he returns, summon him here. As Hokage, demand his presence."

Hiruzen's heart lurched. The steel in his teacher's tone, the undercurrent of death in his words—it made him stiffen."Sensei… are you planning to eliminate Danzō?"

Tobirama's chuckle was devoid of humor. "Eliminate? Hmph. What is there to eliminate, when the man you knew died long ago?"

His eyes gleamed like a predator in the dark."Danzō is no longer your companion, Sarutobi. He has long since been poisoned—corrupted by the Uchiha's cursed eyes."

Hiruzen's head snapped up, disbelief widening his gaze. "What… what did you just say?"

Senju Tobirama's voice was cold, each word striking like ice against stone as he revealed the truth."Danzō… has secretly transplanted more than twenty Uchiha Sharingan into his own body."

The air in the office seemed to freeze.

His expression darkened, his tone laced with scorn and fury."Utterly preposterous! To graft that many cursed eyes, to seek strength through the very power we should fear most… what is this, if not asking for trouble?"

Tobirama's hand clenched at his side, veins faintly bulging. For all his contempt of the Uchiha, even he had never envisioned such reckless desecration.

As for Danzō's use of Hashirama's cells, Tobirama's lips pressed into a thin line. He did not elaborate, nor did he mention it to Hiruzen. A shadow of discomfort flickered across his gaze—something he, perhaps unconsciously, dismissed. That, after all, was his elder brother's legacy, and he himself could not bring himself to condemn it openly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, was shaken to his core. His face drained of color, his heart pounding violently against his ribs. For decades he had sparred and argued with Danzō, clashing over philosophy, power, and politics—but never, never had he thought his old comrade would fall this far into madness.

And yet… Tobirama's revelations were not complete. For there was something his sensei did not know.

Fugaku's other Sharingan is in my hands.

Hiruzen's thoughts darkened. His fingers twitched faintly on his desk, his eyes flickering with guilt. But he said nothing. That secret remained his alone.

Tobirama's silence lasted only a moment before his voice cut through again, colder and heavier than before."Monkey, now is not the time for hesitation. If Danzō has truly lost control, he will not only endanger you—he will endanger the entire village. He will become a calamity."

Hiruzen inhaled deeply, straightening his back. Though weariness weighed heavily on his shoulders, his gaze grew firm once more."…I understand, Sensei."

Tobirama studied him quietly, and for the briefest of moments, his gaze softened, as though the ghost of his old trust remained. But it quickly hardened back into steel.

"This crisis permits no mistakes."

Then his eyes shifted. Slowly, deliberately, they landed on the bookshelf behind Hiruzen."Bring me all the assignments left by Uchiha Gen during his time at the Ninja Academy."

Hiruzen blinked, caught off guard. He hesitated, visibly uncomfortable."Sensei, those are just… ordinary student essays. Surely there's nothing to—"

"Monkey!"

The reprimand cracked through the air like a whip. Tobirama's voice resounded with sharp contempt."You've grown soft, dulled by your own hesitation. Do you think I'm interested in bureaucratic trifles? I seek truth hidden beneath appearances. You underestimate me!"

With a sigh of resignation, Hiruzen turned to the cabinet, pulling free a neat stack of student files. He carried them over and placed them carefully into Tobirama's waiting hands.

The Second Hokage wasted no time. His sharp eyes scanned page after page, each line devoured with the scrutiny of a seasoned hunter searching for the faintest disturbance in the grass.

And then—his gaze halted.

"Sure enough…" he murmured.

His hands blurred through familiar seals, and from his palms a delicate mist of water chakra seeped forth, drifting across the paper. Under the haze, the neat handwriting wavered, melted, and twisted, as though the words themselves were illusions.

Letters warped into grotesque shapes, fading, before revealing new lines beneath:

[Congratulations. You've seen what I truly wanted to say.

People love lies, so I give them lies.

After all, I'm just a child in the Academy, aren't I?

But I grow tired of the act.

Sometimes I want to show my true self—Open and sincere.

The Uchiha massacre?

It doesn't matter.

Death doesn't matter. Everyone dies.

Maybe… I've already been dead for a long time.]

The office fell into a suffocating silence.

Hiruzen staggered a step back, his breath shallow."This… this is…!"

Tobirama closed the folder slowly, his expression unreadable. His voice, however, carried a note of rare, grudging respect."What astonishing chakra control. Even you, Hokage of Konoha, were deceived outright. At such a young age, this boy has already woven genjutsu and chakra flow into his very writing… like traps hidden in plain sight."

Hiruzen's face darkened with shame, his voice low."…I never noticed."

Tobirama turned his gaze to the window, the night sky reflecting in his eyes, hard and merciless."Uchiha Gen… he is far more dangerous than we imagined. His words reek of despair, detachment, and yet… cunning. He does not think like an ordinary Uchiha. His vision stretches further, his mind sharper. That is what makes him terrifying."

For the first time, a chill traced down Tobirama's spine—not from fear, but from recognition.

"In any case…" His voice sharpened again, decisive as ever. "Danzō must be dealt with first. His Sharingan may already serve as amplifiers for Uchiha Gen's power. If that's the case…"

His words trailed, the unspoken possibility darker than either man wished to say aloud.

Hiruzen lowered his gaze, unease tightening in his chest. In the depths of his memory, a face surfaced: Danzō, offering him Fugaku's eye with grim loyalty. That moment of brotherhood amidst their rivalry.

And now…

He exhaled a long, weary sigh.