Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi received the report. "Is that so? Senju Gō has awakened?"
"Yes, Lord Hokage," the Anbu said. "Apparently, he has completely mastered Sage Mode and can activate it even in his normal state!"
"How powerful... Senju Gō." Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.
He looked out at the sky.
He felt deeply exhausted.
There were far too many uncontrollable factors.
Including that damned war.
Had Hiruzen Sarutobi not wished for the boys and girls to stay safely at home?
But.
For the sake of the village, and to win that damned, brutal war, they had reached the point where they had no choice but to sacrifice them.
This was not something Hiruzen Sarutobi had deliberately caused.
He was helpless.
But it was a helpless measure.
Although Konoha had been founded on the ideal of protecting children so they could grow up strong, the village was in danger now. The old men also had more important things to do, such as command the battlefield and protect the village from surprise attacks.
"Where has Senju Gō gone?"
"He first returned to the Senju Clan Compound. After that, he should have gone to find Namikaze Minato."
"Minato... Yes, Minato..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was calm, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Uchiha Clan cemetery.
The stone slabs gleamed beneath the rain.
Several withered leaves clung to a gravestone carved with the clan's fan crest.
Aoi stood before two freshly raised graves.
Her long black hair was soaked through and plastered against her pale cheeks.
The girl's trembling fingertips straightened the white chrysanthemums—the flowers her father had loved most in life, though her mother had always teased him: "A shinobi who kills without batting an eye on the battlefield actually likes such plain, delicate things."
"...Father, Mother... You said you'd watch