Cracks, the Previous Hokage's Entrustment

"Hey, do you guys know what the Police Force is doing? Why are so many people putting up such a huge stage?"

"Come on, bro, how can you not know? The Police Force posted an announcement three days ago."

"Yeah, yeah. I heard they're holding this celebration to summarize and report the results of the Police Force's reforms."

"That's right. Oh, and I got word from my cousin's wife's brother's younger brother's wife that after the celebration, everyone at Akimichi's BBQ Restaurant eats and drinks for free tonight! The Police Force is covering the whole bill!"

"Is that... younger brother's wife of yours reliable?"

"Of course! My cousin's wife's brother's younger brother's wife has already joined the Police Force's Forty-Ninth Squad. This is insider information!"

The three villagers stood not far from the entrance to the Police Force.

Every member of the Police Force at the entrance was busy setting up a new stage.

It was not just those three villagers. Other villagers had also gathered in twos and threes with people they knew, all coming to attend today's Uchiha celebration.

Inside the Hokage Building.

"Hiruzen! How could you allow the Uchiha clan to do something like this? Do you not know how dangerous the Uchiha clan is!?"

Danzo stormed into the Hokage's office in a fury, his cane striking the floor heavily and making an irritating sound.

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his pipe, took a deep drag, and exhaled smoke.

"Danzo, you are overthinking it. I approved this Uchiha celebration myself. Every matter was reported to me, and I have already sent Anbu to keep watch. What danger could there be?"

Seeing Hiruzen looking so confident, Danzo grew even more displeased as he recalled that night.

Damn it! It was all because of one moment of hesitation on my part. I should have been the one to become Hokage!

Naturally, Danzo did not dare say that to Hiruzen's face. He only dared mutter it to himself inwardly.

"What use is there in the Police Force holding such meaningless celebrations? Isn't it just wasting the village's financial allocations? Root's training budget is already insufficient. Since when has Konoha become so wealthy?"

Hiruzen took another draw from his pipe, his expression beginning to darken.

"Danzo, this Uchiha Police Force celebration is being funded by the Uchiha themselves. Moreover, I have reviewed every matter. Everything has been properly handled."

"How do you still have the nerve to talk to me about Root's funding? Did you think I did not know that you recently went to several major clans and forcibly took their children back to Root? You even dared forge my Hokage directive!"

Hiruzen slammed the pipe in his hand against the desk, his brows tightly furrowed.

"I will let the other clans pass, but you must return Neji Hyuga. You should know that his father, Hizashi Hyuga, already gave his life for the village! How could you abduct him!"

Danzo sneered, his face full of mockery and ridicule.

"Humph!"

"Hiruzen, it is too late. Every child has already been branded with the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. It is too late now—there is no undoing it. They will never leave Root for the rest of their lives."

Hiruzen abruptly rose to his feet, sending the dark brown chair crashing to the floor. He stood there, pointing at Danzo.

"How could you treat these children this way! You! Danzo, you have gone too far this time. No matter what, the children must be sent back!"

To Danzo, Hiruzen's words sounded like meaningless groaning, because it was already impossible. Once the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal had been planted, it could never be undone unless either the caster or the recipient died.

The recipients could never reveal the information designated by the caster for the rest of their lives. Even their lives and deaths rested on the caster's whim.

"What, do you want me to kill myself to undo the seals on these children? I am the village's Root. Where there is light, there must be shadow; where there are trees, there must be roots. Hiruzen, you cannot do without me!"

Danzo believed he had Hiruzen firmly in his grasp. After all, after decades together, the two had long become inseparable, and Danzo understood Hiruzen's personality inside and out.

And just as Danzo expected, Hiruzen merely sighed. He knew it was all too late. It was through his repeated indulgence of Danzo that Danzo had become what he was today.

"Let it go this time. Root's funding for next year will be cut in half."

"What! How can you cut Root's funding? Why!"

"The reduced funds will be used to clean up the mess you made this time! To compensate those clans!"

Only then did Danzo stop. Both hands rested on his cane as it struck the floor once more.

"Hiruzen, do not forget our teacher's will. The Uchiha will always be an unstable element! Everything I have done is our teacher's will! The Uchiha are a clan born evil!"

Hiruzen lifted the chair, sat down, and took several more puffs from his pipe. In his heart, he recalled words his teacher had once told him.

"Monkey, although the Uchiha are a clan born evil and dangerous, their love is more sincere than that of any other clan. You must handle the Uchiha properly. When you can finally pacify them, you will be a qualified Hokage."

Those were the words Senju Tobirama had spoken privately to Hiruzen Sarutobi before leaving—a final entrustment from the Second Hokage to the Third Hokage.

Hiruzen opened his eyes, and the sharpness he had once possessed as the Ninja Hero returned to his gaze.

"Danzo, no matter what, the Uchiha have always been members of the village. The Uchiha of the past forced us to use special measures against them, but now they show signs of integrating into the village. I will never allow you to make another move against the Uchiha!"

"Remember this, Danzo! I am the Hokage!"

Hearing Hiruzen say those words again, countless grievances and resentments surged up in Danzo's heart.

"Hiruzen! You will regret this!"

After leaving behind that threat, he slammed the door and left.

After Danzo departed, Hiruzen turned his chair and looked toward the Police Force outside the window. The stage for the celebration had already been completed; even from this distance, he could see it.

A smile unconsciously appeared on Hiruzen's face, and he slowly closed his eyes.

The words Hashirama Senju and Senju Tobirama had once spoken to him began to surface endlessly from his memories.

"Hahaha, Monkey, you cannot become as addicted to gambling as I am in the future."

"Monkey! Your hand seals for ninjutsu are too slow! Your Chakra is still too chaotic! Go climb the tree ten more times and keep practicing!"

"Monkey... in the future, you must train properly with Tobirama... You are Konoha's future..."

"Monkey! From today onward, you are Konoha's Hokage! As the village's Kage, protecting the next generation is my responsibility! Go, all of you!"

"Tobirama... I failed Madara... You must take good care of the Uchiha. Monkey, you too. If possible, I really wish I could see how prosperous the village will become in the future..."

"Monkey, I failed to properly resolve the Uchiha issue. Though it has not erupted for now, in ten or twenty years, the conflicts within the Police Force will surely break out. You must resolve them properly. That is also why I took Kagami Uchiha as my disciple. I hoped he could become a bridge... I failed to fulfill my elder brother's final wish. From now on, I entrust it to you, the Third Hokage!"

He slowly opened his eyes. They were no longer the dark black eyes of his youth; they had become grayish-white and clouded, having long lost their former clarity.

Yet they shone brilliantly once more, regaining their spirit as he raised his head to gaze at the white clouds in the sky...

"First Hokage, Teacher Tobirama..."

"Have I finally been able to fulfill your wishes..."

"Can I still be called a ninja who possesses the Will of Fire..."

A clear tear overflowed from his clouded eyes and ran down Hiruzen's aged, weathered, wrinkled yellow-brown skin.