Boom!
Buildings crumbled into dust beneath the feet of the Susanoo.
The Sandaime Hokage vanished from his spot in an instant, reappearing on another high vantage point.
The facade of benevolence on his face finally showed a crack.
His mouth twitched, and his peripheral vision swept across the Shinobi watching from the surroundings.
He cannot be allowed to continue speaking…
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought.
The truth about the Uchiha cannot be exposed on such an occasion.
Tianti knows too much, and he has said too much.
If he is allowed to continue, what will the other clans in the Village think?
How will they view the Hokage faction?
How will they view him, Hiruzen Sarutobi?
“Fool! What are you trying to do?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi barked, the gentleness in his voice completely gone, replaced by authority and reprimand.
“What am I trying to do? Naturally, it is…”
Tianti grinned:
“To destroy Konoha!”
“Do not continue to make mistakes!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s voice rose a few notches, yet he still struggled to maintain the tolerant posture expected of an elder.
“It is not too late to turn back! Do not be impulsive; that will lead to irreversible consequences!”
“Let us sit down and talk properly! I will strive to ensure the Village does not hold your impulsiveness against you.”
“Continuing like this will only make things worse! Have you forgotten Uchiha Shisui’s vision? Have you forgotten the true meaning of the Will of Fire!?”
Hurry up and surrender, I beg you…
Hiruzen Sarutobi monologued silently in his heart.
Hurry up and let me subdue you, or at least stall you.
Once Danzō finishes closing the net, and once the remnants of the Uchiha are cleared out, I have plenty of ways to make you accept reality “calmly.”
Tianti did not speak.
He suddenly burst into laughter.
The laughter emanated from the Susanoo, amplified by Chakra, shaking the surrounding buildings and causing the Anbu Shinobi to instinctively take a step back.
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s brows knitted even tighter.
This laughter was too grating, too contrary to the rules.
On such an occasion, and in a situation where he, as the Hokage, had already offered a way out, the opponent should have taken the opportunity to descend and at least shown some hesitation.
This was the politics he had been familiar with for decades, the reaction a young person who needed to consider the big picture should have. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Tianti looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi’s sincere yet weary old face, at every wrinkle on that face that was a testament to superb acting, and at the perfect regret and compassion in those eyes.
How many people had once believed this face?
Had once thought Hiruzen Sarutobi truly wanted to help the Uchiha, but was simply unable to do so?
This world has no truth, but if it did…
Truth… lies beneath the sword of my own Susanoo!
“Old dog.”
Tianti spoke, his voice tyrannical.
“Die for me!”
The Susanoo’s right arm suddenly raised!
Tianti’s Mangekyō Sharingan spun suddenly!
The Chakra flames transformed into a giant burning arrow, coalescing in the Susanoo’s hand before being fired!
“Doton: Multiple Earth-Style Wall!!!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi formed hand seals rapidly, and three thick walls of earth rose from the ground!
However, the giant arrow pierced directly through them; the earthen walls were consumed as if they were made of paper!
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s pupils constricted sharply.
He erupted with all his Chakra beneath his feet, dodging to the side with the narrowest of margins.
The giant arrow grazed his left shoulder, leaving behind a charred burn mark, before slamming into the ground behind him, blasting a deep crater into the earth!
“Lord Sandaime Hokage!”
The Anbu Shinobi swarmed forward.
Hiruzen Sarutobi clutched his scorched left shoulder, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
He finally understood that the young man before him was no longer a pawn that could be manipulated at will.
He was here to fight for his life!
And someone who is fighting for their life does not fall for any rhetoric.
“Tianti…”
Hiruzen Sarutobi’s voice lowered, and a flicker of genuine complexity flashed in his eyes.
“Do you think I wanted the Uchiha to be annihilated? Do you think I… am not heartbroken?”
When he said this, there was a weariness in his voice.
It was like a person carrying too much, finally revealing a hint of the burden in their heart inadvertently.
“I watched Uchiha Itachi grow up. I watched Uchiha Shisui grow up. Kagami was my comrade-in-arms, a fellow disciple closer than a blood brother.”
“Do you think I was indifferent watching the Uchiha reach this point today?”
His voice grew hoarse.
Yet deep down, he was thinking:
Brother, it is time to come out and take the blame…
“I failed to stop Danzō, I failed to fulfill my promise to Uchiha Shisui; I am not a good Hokage.”
“But is the tragedy of the Uchiha entirely because of Konoha? Your clan’s arrogance and isolation, your obsession with power, your internal divisions… were those caused by me as well?”
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at Tianti, his eyes reddening.
“What has happened has happened. No matter how many people you kill, those who have died will not come back to life.”
“But there are still living Uchiha. They still have a chance. As long as you stop, I promise… I promise their safety, I promise the Uchiha will not be exterminated.”
“We can start over. The Uchiha and Konoha can start over.”
His voice was not loud, but it was very sincere.
So sincere that many Shinobi present silently lowered their heads; so sincere that even members of other clans who had not attacked wore complex expressions.
Tianti also fell silent.
For a full three seconds.
Then he laughed, a light laugh, as if he had suddenly been amused by a joke that wasn’t funny.
“Start over?”
He chewed on those four words, the smile on his face devoid of any warmth.
“Those Uchiha people, in order to cover for the elderly and children, stuck explosive tags to themselves. Did you hear that? You did not.”
“Why couldn’t they wait for your ‘start over’?”
“You want to buy my silence?”
“You want to use a few survivors to buy the lives of thirteen hundred Uchiha?”
“Do you think I am an idiot like Uchiha Itachi, so easy to fool?”
After a pause, the smile on Tianti’s face froze completely.
He amplified his voice, intending for everyone to hear, for the clan Shinobi observing from the shadows to hear.
“Old man, if I were not here tonight, if I did not reveal the Susanoo, if I did not expose your tricks, what would the Will of Fire say?”
His voice suddenly became soft, like a respectful junior reviewing the teachings of an elder.
“The evil Uchiha demon—Uchiha Itachi—was the one who slaughtered the whole clan. The Will of Fire cannot coexist with evil; pursue the rogue Shinobi Uchiha Itachi… That is the script, isn’t it?”
“Oh, but at this moment, it has been disrupted by me, a variable. Hmm, you will change to a few other excuses.”
“The Uchiha Clan attempted to stage a rebellion, fortunately discovered by Konoha and eliminated in time. Isn’t that right?”
“It is an unfortunate tragedy, but we must look forward. Isn’t that right?”
“Uchiha Shisui committed suicide, and it has nothing to do with the Village. Isn’t that right?”