Seisui looked at the utterly serious Asuma Sarutobi, sighed, and instead of answering his question directly, asked in return:
"Asuma-kun, what is it that truly troubles you?"
Seisui sat beneath a boulder and gestured for Asuma to sit beside him. Together, they looked out at bustling Konoha in the distance.
"Your father is the current Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, personally chosen by the Second Hokage as his successor. Having grown up at his side, you should have been steeped in the Will of Fire. Why would you ask such a question?"
Asuma slowly sat down beside Seisui. The prosperity before his eyes seemed so hollow from his perspective.
"Seisui-kun, it is precisely because I am the Third Hokage's son that I have doubts about the Will of Fire..."
Asuma gave a bitter smile and pointed at the Uchiha crest on the hem of Seisui's clothes, speaking self-mockingly:
"Don't laugh at me, Seisui-kun. If you weren't an Uchiha, then even if you understood the Will of Fire so well, I wouldn't have dared come to you."
"If I voiced the doubts I just mentioned to anyone else, my father would know every word I said by the next day. Then he would either harshly reprimand me or beat me up roughly."
Seisui smiled. "You're an honest man, Asuma."
"You're right. The Uchiha Clan is in such an awkward position in Konoha right now that even if I might win your father's favor, I couldn't risk discussing this with him. After all, that would count as driving a wedge between you and your father."
Asuma nodded awkwardly.
Seisui patted his shoulder and stared at him. "This has nothing to do with the Uchiha or Konoha..."
"Asuma, I promise you that no second person will learn what you say today. I swear it upon the honor of the Uchiha."
At that, Asuma immediately became solemn. "Thank you, Seisui-kun."
Swearing upon the honor of one's clan was a highly dependable guarantee for an ancient ninja clan like the Uchiha.
But when Tobirama Senju heard it, he merely snorted.
If it had been any other Uchiha making such a statement, he might have believed three parts out of ten...
But since Seisui was the one swearing it, Tobirama Senju felt its credibility was about the same as if he had sworn upon the honor of the Senju Clan. In short, the bottom line was remarkably flexible.
"Wait, did I just accidentally insult myself..." Tobirama Senju froze, noticing the blind spot.
"Seisui-kun, it is because my father is the Hokage and my brother is the head of the Anbu that I can see and hear things in this village that others cannot..."
Asuma pulled a crumpled cigarette from his pocket. After lighting it with practiced ease, he took a deep drag and spoke with a distant gaze. "Do you know about Root?"
"It is an Anbu subdivision controlled by the Hokage Assistant, Shimura Danzō. I once had several friends, some from civilian backgrounds and some from ninja clans, but they were all selected by Root later on."
Seisui nodded. "Isn't being selected by the Anbu a good thing?"
Asuma Sarutobi exhaled a cloud of smoke:
"A good thing? They vanished from Konoha from that day onward. I asked their elders, but their families said they were already dead. Their eyes flickered with hatred and unwillingness."
"I don't think any of my friends wanted to join this so-called Root. Their dreams had once been to become Hokage..."
Seisui fell silent and slowly nodded.
That was indeed Shimura Danzō's style: abducting talented people he valued and brainwashing them from childhood into becoming tools.
It was not just civilian ninja. Even ninja clans found it difficult to resist Shimura Danzō's demands. Even the Yamanaka Clan, which clung closely to Hiruzen Sarutobi, had to offer their clan's talents to the Hokage Assistant.
Upon hearing Shimura Danzō's name, Tobirama Senju's expression gradually darkened as something stirred in his heart. No one knew what he was thinking.
"More than that, Seisui-kun, as an Uchiha, you should have heard of Wood Release, right?"
Perhaps because he had received Seisui's earnest vow, Asuma's words became bolder:
"Orochimaru, Shimura Danzō, and my father once conducted human experiments in order to recreate the First Hokage's Wood Release for Konoha."
"At first, the project was official and legitimate. Many members of the Senju Clan volunteered and eagerly cooperated with the research. There were even many civilian ninja who joined of their own accord."
Seisui waved a hand and spoke slowly:
"Asuma, there is nothing inherently wrong with human experimentation. The village and your father did it to strengthen the village, and it does not violate the Will of Fire, since it was voluntary."
Asuma slowly shook his head:
"Later, the experiment was shut down. I don't know the exact reason, but I heard the success rate was too low and many ninja died or were injured."
Seisui nodded in understanding. "Effort does not necessarily bring rewards, Asuma."
"The First Hokage's power was so tempting that any Hokage would want to recreate Konoha's former glory. It simply failed. That proves nothing."
Asuma let out a heavy sigh. "Seisui-kun, how could I not understand what you're saying?"
"But after the experiment was shut down, a small number of ninja with Senju bloodlines whom I remembered from before vanished from Konoha for no apparent reason. Where do you think they went...?"
"Did they go to Root, or did they continue sacrificing themselves in that secret experiment? I want to know whether those ninja who vanished afterward went willingly."
"And Root's coercion, the secret continuation of human experimentation—those are only the tip of the iceberg."
"Do all these things conform to the Will of Fire?"
Seisui narrowed his eyes, patted Asuma's shoulder, and said slowly, "So what truly troubles you is..."
"The Will of Fire you learned at the Ninja Academy was so bright and righteous, without the slightest stain or flaw."
"But because of your family and background, you have seen the darkness buried deep within the village. It conflicts with the Will of Fire that most Konoha ninja learn, and it has left you unable to understand what the Will of Fire truly is."
Asuma nodded vigorously. Seisui's summary had struck straight at his heart.
If one had never seen the light, one could endure the darkness.
But Asuma had seen the darkness, and so he harbored heartfelt doubts toward the light before him.
As a youth with independent thoughts, Asuma had his own ideals. Yet his background had given him fragmented and conflicting information, leaving him utterly confused and pained.
"Asuma, give me one..." Seisui did not answer Asuma's question. Instead, he asked him for a cigarette.
Asuma silently nodded, lit one for Seisui, then lit another for himself.
The Son of the Hokage and an Uchiha genius.
This strange pair sat atop the mountain, gazing together at Konoha's bustling streets as they smoked in silence.
At that moment, it seemed that some kind of bond had formed...
Before you continue