"Tsk."
Kisame drew closer. "The old man's stalling," he said, looking at Itachi. "Just kill him."
Itachi nodded silently. The shuriken held between his fingers flashed towards Danzō's throat.
CLANG! CLANG-CLANG!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out.
All of Itachi's shuriken were knocked aside.
It wasn't his teacher.
Seeing the attack deflected, Itachi felt a flicker of relief.
"Itachi Uchiha."
A short figure stood before him.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen stood protectively in front of him. Danzō, his mouth full of blood, smiled.
He and Hiruzen had plans to fish by the river at dusk. He'd missed their meeting, so he knew Hiruzen would come looking for him. He had summoned his Baku earlier; Hiruzen would have recognized the sound of that specific summoning and would surely investigate.
Sure enough, Hiruzen had arrived.
Danzō relaxed, leaning heavily against the stone wall behind him.
"Lord Third Hokage," Itachi said, his voice cold.
Hiruzen's expression was complex. His gaze slowly traced the black cloak with red clouds on Itachi's body, moved to the ring on his finger, and finally settled on the Leaf headband on his forehead—the village symbol slashed through.
"Why?"
Hiruzen couldn't understand.
Itachi had such a bright future. Why choose betrayal?
"No reason."
Itachi lowered his gaze, avoiding Hiruzen's pained eyes.
Hiruzen refused to give up. He believed Itachi must have been forced.
"Do you know? Everyone in the village thinks you're dead."
"Only your teacher and comrades refused to believe it!"
"Tsukiha, as the Fifth Hokage, blamed herself. She grieved for you. Do you know that?"
In that moment, Hiruzen was grateful it was he who had arrived, and not Tsukiha witnessing this scene firsthand.
Itachi Uchiha was Tsukiha's proudest student. Tsukiha valued bonds above all. For her, Itachi's betrayal would be an unimaginable nightmare.
Hiruzen knew the pain of a student's betrayal all too well. He knew how much it hurt.
Each word Hiruzen spoke felt like a blade slicing into Itachi's heart.
The pain had long since gone numb.
"Itachi-san, how about we deal with this one first?" Kisame said meaningfully. "We can reminisce about the past with whatever time we have left."
Itachi gave Kisame a deep look but said nothing.
Hiruzen was Tsunade's teacher. Tsunade was Tsukiha's teacher. And Tsukiha was Itachi's teacher.
If he really killed Hiruzen, there would be no going back. Ever.
"Itachi," Hiruzen said earnestly. "Stop now, before this becomes something truly irredeemable."
He didn't want to watch such a talented young man walk down this path. For Tsukiha's sake, he had to try.
"Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"
Kisame launched his attack, leaving Itachi no time to hesitate.
A massive, shark-shaped water bullet forged from chakra shot towards Hiruzen.
"Fire Style: Blazing Flame Technique!"
Hiruzen frowned. A torrent of fierce flame erupted from his mouth. The fire was violent, intense—enough to reduce a man to ashes in an instant.
Yet, when it collided with the shark-shaped water bullet, the fire's chakra was instantly absorbed.
The giant shark grew even larger. Its maw opened wide, snapping at Hiruzen.
"Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"
Hiruzen's fingers flew through a series of seals.
A massive earthen wall rose before him. Earth held an advantage over Water, and given Hiruzen's skill, his Earth Wall far surpassed the normal rank of the technique.
The water bullet slammed into the wall. Mud and slurry exploded in all directions.
Hiruzen's figure blurred.
Kisame's eyes flickered. Five Hiruzens now surrounded him.
"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"
A hand shot from the ground, grasping for Kisame's ankle.
Kisame reacted instantly, leaping away.
"Wind Style: Air Cyclone!"
A sharp gust of wind shot at him from behind.
Kisame gritted his teeth, swinging Samehada behind him to absorb the wind chakra. But in that moment, the other three Hiruzens attacked in unison.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
A raging fire dragon danced, splitting into three—front, left, and right—to encircle Kisame. Samehada was still dealing with the wind attack. He had no hands free.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Roar!"
A sharp spear of lightning shot from Hiruzen's mouth, sweeping the area.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A water dragon raised its head, charging at Kisame.
Trapped. No escape. Kisame could only look towards Itachi Uchiha.
"Itachi-san. Still not planning to move?"
Kisame knew Itachi had to save him. If something happened to him, Itachi, as his partner, would fall under Hanataki's suspicion. And then, the one to suffer would be Itachi's little brother, Sasuke.
Hiruzen also followed Kisame's gaze to Itachi, as if waiting for his final choice.
Finally.
A skeletal giant, cloaked in crimson energy, blocked all the attacks.
Kisame, unharmed, was pulled to safety by Itachi. He cracked a thin smile.
Deep disappointment flashed in Hiruzen's eyes.
"Kill him, Itachi-san," Kisame whispered near Itachi's ear. "A Third Hokage's head is worth far more than Danzō Shimura's."
"The Third Hokage isn't an easy opponent," Itachi murmured, his lips pressed thin. The chakra inside him was draining rapidly.
The Mangekyō Sharingan was powerful, but the burden it placed on the body was immense. Using it so many times in succession had taken its toll. Blood welled and dripped from the corners of his eyes.
"I believe you can handle it, Itachi-san."
Kisame wanted to seize this chance, to force out all of Itachi's true strength.
"Even if you don't kill him," Kisame added, his tone calm and matter-of-fact, "he won't let us go."
Hiruzen's gaze burned into them. He was right. He could not let them leave.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a mighty roar and a puff of white smoke, the Monkey King Enma appeared before them. Enma's body was nearly as large as the half-formed Susano'o. He raised his Adamantine Staff and brought it down hard.
The pattern in Itachi's eyes spun wildly. More blood flowed.
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames ignited on Enma's back.
A pained roar tore from the monkey king's throat.
"Enma!" Hiruzen cried out in alarm.
He lunged towards the gap in the Susano'o where Itachi and Kisame stood.
"Earth Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Earth and Fire combined. A fire-breathing earth dragon raced towards them.
Itachi stumbled. Kisame caught him.
Kisame still showed no intention of fighting himself.
Itachi clenched his fists. Red veins crawled across the whites of his eyes.
"Tsukuyomi!"
Itachi felt the last of his chakra ripped from him. After casting the genjutsu, darkness swallowed his vision.
Kisame effortlessly hoisted the unconscious Itachi over his shoulder. He glanced at the Third Hokage, frozen and trapped within Itachi's Tsukuyomi.
Now was the perfect time to kill him.
Kisame considered Itachi for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "Itachi-san, I'll leave you a way out."
He held back from killing Hiruzen. Instead, his gaze shifted to where Danzō had fallen.
"Hm?"
Kisame paused.
The spot was empty.
A sudden laugh escaped him. "So he ran away after all!"
"Tsk."
Kisame felt a twinge of annoyance. If Danzō was gone, then Hiruzen would have to do. They couldn't leave completely empty-handed, could they?
A kunai flew from Kisame's hand.
Hiruzen's pupils dilated. A thin red line appeared on his neck.
Then—blood burst forth.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's body collapsed to the ground, raising a small cloud of dust.
Sensing approaching presences, Kisame shifted Itachi on his shoulder and vanished.
By the time others arrived, all that remained was Hiruzen's cold corpse.
"Lord Third Hokage!"
Uchiha Masako arrived with the security forces. She saw the body and sucked in a sharp breath.
The Third Hokage, killed not far from the village gates. It was unthinkable.
Danzō, supported by others and breathing heavily, finally arrived. He stared at Hiruzen's body and froze. He'd only run to get help. He hadn't expected Hiruzen to fall so quickly.
"Itachi Uchiha."
Danzō's face was dark with fury.
"What?" Masako was shocked. "Lord Danzō, don't speak nonsense!"
"Nonsense?" Danzō's eyes were venomous. "Itachi Uchiha defected. He joined hands with Akatsuki renegades to attack me. And now he's killed Hiruzen Sarutobi. I saw it with my own eyes!"
His gaze remained fixed on Hiruzen's body. For a moment, he seemed dazed.
Was Hiruzen really dead?
Masako's mind raced, but her expression remained calm. "Notify the Hokage."
No one else dared touch this. Not the Hokage.
The dead man was the Third Hokage, a former pillar of the village and the teacher of her own teacher. And according to Danzō, his killer was Itachi Uchiha—the Hokage's once-proud student.
"Lord Hokage. The Third Hokage has fallen. At the village gates."
A security ninja appeared suddenly, kneeling. Cold sweat soaked his back. He could feel the storm brewing.
Tsukiha sat at the Hokage's desk, dealing with paperwork. The pen in her hand stopped. She looked up. "What did you say?"
Nara Sōsai, standing beside her, paled. He thought he'd misheard. The Third Hokage spent his days fishing, playing with children, and peeking at pretty women. How could he have fallen?
The reporting ninja kept his head down, teeth gritted. "According to Lord Danzō, he was attacked by the renegade Itachi Uchiha and Akatsuki. The Third went to his aid… and was killed by Itachi Uchiha."
The pen in Tsukiha's hand snapped in two. "Impossible!"
Nara Sōsai quickly motioned for the ninja to leave. "Lord Hokage, please, remain calm!"
Tsukiha didn't answer. In the next second, she vanished from the office.
Nara Sōsai rubbed his temples. A headache was coming on.
He couldn't shake the feeling that this was all like a puppet show. That some unseen hand was in the shadows, pulling strings, guiding events towards a predetermined end.
The thought was terrifying. And impossible.
Who could possibly manipulate so many people, control the flow of events from the darkness?
Sōsai shook his head, rushing towards the village gates.
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