A little earlier.
The Third Hokage walked aimlessly through the streets of Konoha.
He was pondering how to handle the matters concerning the Uchiha and the Hyuga.
Having no clue whatsoever, his gaze gradually drifted toward Hokage Rock.
I'll go take a look up there. It's been many years since I last visited...
Whoosh...
With a burst of speed, he leaped toward the mountain range at the peak of Konoha's Hokage Rock.
"This world is cruel, so I want to find a way to achieve true peace..."
As soon as the Third Hokage arrived at his destination, he heard a firm yet distinctly youthful voice.
Are those Shin and Nao? Why are they...
"No, I hope we search for it together. I'm not the kind of arrogant guy who can't tolerate anyone standing behind him..."
The content of their conversation quickly put a stop to the doubts in the Third Hokage's heart.
He had heard words very similar to this more than once in the past.
Back when Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, was still alive, he would often casually chat about past events with him and his teammates.
And this exact phrase had appeared multiple times in Hashirama Senju's memories of Uchiha Madara.
Only the choice of words differed slightly.
Every time Hashirama Senju reached this point in the story, his face would be filled with regret.
He even said that if he had agreed to Madara back then, it wouldn't have driven the man to leave the village.
It seems this kid also knows about this past event. Chiyuki must have told him...
Figuring out the crucial link, the Third Hokage continued to muse: An arrogant guy? That description really does fit Uchiha Madara...
Madara didn't want anyone standing behind him, while Shin doesn't want nobody standing behind him. This kid's dream matches Madara's, but his approach is the exact opposite...
"Who's there?"
Shin had actually noticed long ago that someone was eavesdropping on his conversation with Nao.
He just hadn't known whether the newcomer harbored any malicious intent.
I've been discovered? An Uchiha with a philosophy opposite to Madara's... At that moment, the Third Hokage thought of his long-deceased teammate, Kagami Uchiha.
"I've already found you. If you don't come out, I'm going to attack!" Shin formed hand seals anew, condensing a Great Dragon Fire Technique in his throat.
"Wait, wait, wait! Old bones like mine can't take a hit like that." Discovering that Shin was forming seals, the Third Hokage rapidly appeared before the two children.
He even sighed with emotion. "The Great Dragon Fire Technique... It's been a long time since I last saw an Uchiha clan member use this Fire Release."
"It's Uncle Hokage! I thought you were some child-snfficking human trafficker." Seeing that the newcomer was the Third Hokage, Shin playfully acted up at just the right moment.
After all, at five years old, this was precisely the age for children to be mischievous and act out.
"Cough, cough..." Those words nearly choked the Third Hokage to death.
"Eh? Why is Uncle Hokage here?" Nao questioned the Third Hokage with her mouth, but her gaze cast a sharp, unfriendly glance at a certain someone who had promised no one would discover them.
Feeling the stare beside him, Shin instantly hatched a plot in his mind: "That's right, Uncle Hokage, this is the place where the Uchiha Clan once lived..."
"You wouldn't happen to be here to make trouble for us, would you, Uncle?"
The Third Hokage shook his head in denial. "No, my teammates and I used to come here..."
"Whenever I have anything on my mind, I always come up here to relax my mood."
"I see." Shin's brain rapidly weighed the pros and cons.
He decided to drop a little poison in the man's ear: "Is it Senior Kagami? But it really is a pity. He possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, yet he was still ambushed and killed."
"Child, how do you know about Kagami..." The Third Hokage clamped his mouth shut.
Just because something was top-secret to Konoha didn't mean it was top-secret within the Uchiha.
A moment later, his expression grew slightly agitated. "Ambushed? Who on earth told you that Kagami was ambushed?"
"He's taking the bait..." Shin began to lead him on step by step. "That's what all the clansmen say. If it wasn't an ambush, who could possibly kill Senior Kagami under the gaze of the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"Just looking at the results, the Mangekyō is nothing special after all."
The Third Hokage thought rapidly.
When the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju chose to stay behind alone to protect his six disciples and died in the process, Kagami Uchiha had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Then the First Shinobi World War broke out.
Kagami was the only one among those six disciples who died on a mission.
Moreover, his life was cut short.
"That's right, Uncle Hokage, do you know who ambushed Senior Kagami?"
Shin said through gritted teeth, "As a fellow clansman, if I get the chance, I want to avenge him too."
The Third Hokage paused his thoughts. "I don't know either. Anyone capable of ambushing Kagami must have strength far surpassing his own."
"Oh..."
"Then, was the scene in terrible condition? I've heard that top-tier ninja casually throwing attacks will completely wreck the terrain of wherever they are!"
"Hmm?" The Third Hokage looked at Shin with a surprised expression.
He always felt that the words this kid spoke carried a considerable degree of realism.
Perhaps it was just childlike innocence? Or perhaps, because he was an outsider, he could see things more clearly than he could?
"Shin, who is Uchiha Nao?" Not understanding a thing, Nao appropriately displayed her presence. "Judging by what you two are saying, he sounds pretty amazing."
Good assist... Shin was extremely satisfied.
As expected of a good friend, she could pull off an assist like this without a hitch.
Yet Nao felt her scalp tingle under his gaze.
She always felt that he must be up to some bad idea.
"Senior Kagami? I heard from the clansmen that he was the personal disciple of the Second Hokage. Just how strong he was, I don't know either..."
After a brief explanation, Shin introduced: "The old man in my family said that the Mangekyō lies beyond the Sharingan, and that the left and right eyes each possess a different unique ability..."
"They say these two abilities are acquired based on the truest thoughts in one's heart at the moment of awakening."
His innocent and naive appearance kept him from being seen through. "It seems the old man mentioned there's even a third ability, but when I asked, he wouldn't answer."
"Susanoo? It was only after awakening that that Kagami went out to complete missions alone..." The Third Hokage's expression was as if he had been jolted awake.
He continued to ponder inwardly.
The ultimate offense and defense of Susanoo, even a newly awakened skeletal frame, was not something ordinary ninja could easily shatter.
Not easily, which meant that if Kagami had walked into a trap meticulously laid by the enemy, he would not have been without the power to resist.
The Third Hokage recalled his teacher Tobirama Senju's view on the Uchiha.
He seemed to understand something.
"Ah? Both the left and right eyes have some kind of selectable ability?"
"Not a choice, but an ability materialized according to the thoughts in one's heart..."
"For instance, when I awaken the Mangekyō, if I'm thinking about making the enemy fall into my genjutsu, maybe I'll obtain two different genjutsu?"
Shin popularized the knowledge. "But the old man said that just like the ordinary Sharingan, awakening the Mangekyō drastically reduces the consumption of one's own chakra."
"I really envy the Sharingan. It can actually evolve beyond that..." Nao's mood dipped slightly. "Shin, do you think the Byakugan can evolve too?"
"Maybe? After all, since they're both among the Three Great Dōjutsu, it's impossible that only the Sharingan can evolve."
Of course Shin knew that above the Byakugan lay the Tenseigan, which rivaled the Rinnegan.
The Three Great Dōjutsu should actually be considered just two.
The Rinnegan and the Tenseigan were simply the pinnacles of the Sharingan and the Byakugan respectively.
Yet the conditions for awakening them were pitfalls.
Either you needed the chakra of Ōtsutsuki aliens, or you had to fuse a massive number of eyes.
Although the Third Hokage smiled on the surface as he listened to the chat between the two children,
his heart was already churning with monstrous waves.
Given Kagami's Mangekyō abilities, it wouldn't be that easy for anyone to catch him off guard with an ambush.
The terrain at the scene also bore no traces of Susanoo's use.
Nor had the Flying Thunder God leaked out, meaning the culprit could only have been someone familiar to Kagami.
Even...
He didn't dare to think any further, because the conclusion he would reach would terrify him.
So terrified that he would have no face left to confront Uchiha Kagami, who had been dead for many years.
Before you continue