Trust!

You're making a mess of things over here?

How did this end up being my problem?!

Uchiha Kagami felt the piercing gazes fixed on him. His former teammates' eyes were filled with disappointment. Just moments ago, the six of them had been huddled together, supporting one another as they resisted the immense pressure Mito Uzumaki brought to bear. Now, they had fallen apart.

Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Torifu Akimichi seemed to share a sudden understanding and moved away from Kagami. Only Hiruzen Sarutobi stayed where he was, watching Kagami with a complicated expression.

Mito Uzumaki's hair was now floating faintly. Anyone who knew her could tell she was on the verge of exploding with rage.

The enormous Chakra inside Mito surged out. Visible clouds of Chakra swirled around her, and fine cracks appeared in the hard floor beneath her feet. If Mito Uzumaki exerted even a little more force, it would shatter.

Say something!

I have to say something!

Uchiha Kagami bore the pressure Mito Uzumaki exerted all by himself. He felt like a tiny boat adrift on an endless sea.

Now, dark clouds covered the sky above that sea. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled as waves dozens of meters high came crashing toward him. An overwhelming sense of helplessness filled Kagami.

Bloodlust and all manner of negative Chakra enveloped him, but his body wouldn't respond.

I'm weak!

Never before had Uchiha Kagami felt so keenly aware of his weakness. In his memories, the old woman before him had been kind and gentle, with a smile always playing on her lips.

Even so, Kagami had never underestimated her. Her identity was no secret to the Uchiha, and the clan elders had always praised her strength.

"That old hag Mito isn't easy to deal with. Even I could only go fifty-fifty against her." An old Uchiha from the Warring States Period had once said that about Mito Uzumaki.

Now Uchiha Kagami understood that the old men in his clan talked far more nonsense than he'd imagined. He'd wondered about Mito Uzumaki's strength and assumed that even if he couldn't beat her, he could at least put up a fight.

It seemed he'd been giving himself too much credit.

"It wasn't me. I would never leak information, and I'd never swear a careless oath on the Uchiha name!"

Kagami invoked the Uchiha clan. He hadn't fallen so low that he'd casually swear an oath that every last member of the Uchiha would die.

But his defense sounded feeble. The six of them had returned to the village and gone straight to the Senju Clan Land to deliver the news. They hadn't seen anyone else along the way, and once they arrived, they hadn't left.

Yet by the afternoon, the news of Tobirama Senju's death had spread throughout Konoha.

The information had come from the Uchiha. Only seven people, including Mito Uzumaki, had known that Tobirama Senju was dead, and Uchiha Kagami happened to be an Uchiha.

It wasn't as if the Uchiha had no way of passing messages in secret. Did they have to meet someone face-to-face to relay information?

Clearly, Kagami's explanation couldn't convince Mito Uzumaki. What had happened had happened, and someone had to step forward and take responsibility.

Whether or not Kagami had done it no longer mattered to Mito Uzumaki. The information had come from the Uchiha, making Kagami an accomplice. After all, he was an Uchiha.

Mito Uzumaki rose to her feet, murderous intent filling her eyes. She couldn't kill the young Uchiha before her, but she could beat him badly enough to keep him in bed for half a year.

"Mito-sama!"

"I believe Uchiha Kagami!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted, then stepped in front of Kagami and fixed his gaze on Mito Uzumaki.

Everyone present was astonished. At a time like this, Hiruzen Sarutobi still dared to step forward and stand up for Kagami.

A flicker of surprise crossed Mito Uzumaki's face, but vanished in an instant. She stared at Hiruzen's resolute expression for a few seconds, then spoke:

"Little monkey, do you know what you're saying?"

"Are you trying to play the hero and put on a show?"

"Cheap tricks like that won't sway me."

The pressure Mito Uzumaki had been directing at Kagami shifted to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Kagami looked at Hiruzen with gratitude, then began taking great, gasping breaths. The feeling of floating on the sea, liable to drown at any moment, had disappeared.

Cold sweat had soaked through his undershirt, which clung tightly to his skin. The sticky feeling was deeply uncomfortable, but Kagami had no time to worry about it.

"Hiruzen, stop trying to be a hero. No matter what, Uchiha Kagami is still an Uchiha!"

Shimura Danzō watched his good friend bear the pressure alone to protect an Uchiha who had leaked the information.

In Danzō's view, the leaker among the six of them had to be an Uchiha.

Teacher Tobirama had always been wary of the Uchiha. Uchiha Kagami was one of them, after all; leaking information to his clan wasn't out of the question.

"Shut up!"

"Did I give you permission to speak?"

Mito Uzumaki glared at Shimura Danzō, displeased by his interruption.

Feeling the murderous look Mito Uzumaki gave him, Danzō immediately shut his mouth and meekly fell silent.

"Mito-sama, I'm not trying to play any tricks."

"I believe Uchiha Kagami isn't that kind of person."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, his eyes bright and his voice utterly unafraid.

"Tell me why."

Mito Uzumaki pressed him.

"Uchiha Kagami is different. He isn't domineering or arrogant like the other Uchiha. He's gentle and kind."

"He's always been kind to the people around him. On the battlefield, he's a dependable comrade. I can trust him with my back."

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke slowly, describing everything he knew about Kagami, from the little details of their everyday lives to the times they had risked their lives for each other on the battlefield.

In Hiruzen's memories, the Uchiha had always been arrogant—especially those who had awakened the Sharingan. They were more conceited than anyone.

Hiruzen thought back to the Uchiha of his generation. Two of them had been different: Uchiha Kagami, whom he knew well, and Uchiha Nan.

They were powerful yet modest, and even ordinary shinobi could joke around with them.

Even if someone occasionally offended them, neither of them would truly get angry. They would just assume the other person had misspoken, smile, and let it go.

That was why Tobirama Senju had tried to take Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Nan as his students.

Kagami had accepted. Uchiha Nan had refused.

Hiruzen spoke in such detail that everyone present was moved. Even Shimura Danzō, who had been convinced Kagami was the one who leaked the information, began to wonder whether he'd wronged him.