A Misaligned Life! Itachi Sarutobi! The Opposite Path!

Late at night, at the Sarutobi Clan Compound in Konoha.

The moon was dark, the wind was high—a night made for murder.

The entire Sarutobi Clan Compound was silent, broken only by the occasional bark of a dog.

The clansmen were still asleep, perhaps dreaming of the Sarutobi Clan returning to its peak and continuing to hold Konoha's power in its grasp.

Unbeknownst to them, hundreds of Uchiha Clan elites had activated their Sharingan in the shadows around the compound. Like a starving pack of wolves, they had silently completed their encirclement.

The Barrier Team had long since set up a barrier that blocked sound and chakra.

Tonight, even if this place exploded, no one outside would know.

Sarutobi Residence, study.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had not yet gone to sleep.

He sat beneath the dim light, puffing away at his pipe. Smoke curled through the room, unable to conceal the anxiety on his face.

He was waiting.

Waiting for good news from the Feudal Lord's envoy, waiting for reports from the resistance at the front.

As long as the Feudal Lord issued a decree of condemnation, as long as the external pressure was great enough, he would have a chance to join forces with Danzo and use public opinion to force Tobirama Uchiha from office.

"I am doing this for Konoha..."

Hiruzen muttered to himself as if brainwashing himself. "Tobirama is too radical. At this rate, he will destroy the village... Only I can bring peace."

Just then.

Buzz!

The space within the study suddenly twisted, forming a bizarre vortex.

Hiruzen's pupils contracted sharply. Years of combat instinct made him toss away his pipe at once, several shuriken appearing in his hand.

"Who is it?"

The vortex dispersed.

A familiar figure clad in a Hokage Cloak appeared out of thin air in the chair opposite him.

"What? Still awake at this hour? Waiting for that envoy named Takehiko Inoue?"

Tobirama Uchiha crossed one leg over the other, a mocking curve on his lips.

"To... Tobirama?"

Hiruzen's entire body stiffened, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

Space-time ninjutsu?

And not Flying Thunder God, but spatial movement capable of passing directly through walls?

Just how many trump cards did this guy have?!

"Looks like you're surprised."

"Unfortunately, that envoy of yours is probably confessing to the Death God right now."

"As for the Feudal Lord? Heh, I'll deal with that piece of trash myself. From now on, there will no longer be anything as disgusting as a Feudal Lord in the Land of Fire."

"You..."

Hiruzen's face turned deathly pale, and his final shred of wishful thinking was completely shattered.

The plan had been exposed.

"Tobirama Uchiha! You are pushing Konoha into the abyss!"

Hiruzen shot to his feet, chakra erupting as he attempted one final desperate struggle.

"I am the Third Hokage! Even if you are the Second... no, even if you are stronger, you cannot..."

"Sit down."

Tobirama merely spoke two words indifferently.

A terrifying ocular power instantly descended upon Hiruzen.

Hiruzen felt as though his brain had been smashed by a heavy hammer. The chakra he had just gathered instantly scattered, and he collapsed back into his chair beyond his control.

He gasped heavily, like a fish out of water.

"Still want to fight, Monkey?"

Tobirama looked at him, his eyes filled with pity and mockery.

"As you are now, you do not even have a chance to form hand seals before me."

Hiruzen despaired.

He lowered his head, gripping the armrests with both hands until his knuckles turned white.

"What... do you want? To kill me?"

"The victor is king, the loser is prey. Since I have lost, I have nothing to say. Do it."

He closed his eyes, assuming the posture of one awaiting execution.

Yet the anticipated attack never came.

"Kill you?"

Tobirama chuckled, rose to his feet, and slowly walked behind Hiruzen, placing both hands on his shoulders.

"Killing you would be letting you off too easily. Besides, directly killing an old man who devoted his life to the village would damage my image among the villagers. As Hokage, how could I do that?"

"Then what exactly do you want?" Hiruzen opened his eyes, an ominous feeling rising in his heart.

Tobirama lowered his head, leaned close to Hiruzen's ear, and spoke in a seductive voice.

"Hiruzen, don't you love talking about the Will of Fire?"

"Aren't you the best at sacrificing the small self for the greater good?"

"Now, it is time to prove your resolve."

Hiruzen's body trembled. "What do you mean?"

"You also know what the usual precedent is for a failed coup like this."

Tobirama's voice turned cold enough to pierce bone.

"Not just you, but also your dear friends Danzo, Adviser Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu."

"Your four families, thousands of people in total, including newborn infants..."

"Tonight, they all have to die."

Hiruzen spun around, his eyes splitting with rage. "You dare! You innately evil Uchiha, I will—!"

"Of course I dare."

Tobirama smiled, but his gaze was colder than ice.

"However... I am a merciful man."

"I will give you a way to live. Or rather, I will leave a seed behind for the Sarutobi Clan."

Hiruzen panted harshly, staring at Tobirama. "What... way?"

Tobirama raised one finger.

"Tonight, you will do it yourself."

"You will kill every member of the Sarutobi Clan, along with the members of Danzo, Mitokado, and Utatane's three families."

"Leave no one alive."

"If you do it cleanly, I can spare your eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, as well as that brat called Asuma."

"I can even allow you to flee Konoha as an S-Rank Rogue Ninja, living on with the crime of exterminating your clan on your back."

Boom!

His eyes widened as he stared at Tobirama in disbelief.

Tobirama wanted him to slaughter his own clan? To slaughter the families of his old friends? Then become a rogue ninja?

"No! Absolutely impossible!"

Hiruzen roared hysterically, his entire body shaking.

"Even a vicious tiger does not eat its cubs! How could I lay hands on my own blood and kin? Tobirama Uchiha, kill me! If you have the guts, kill every last one of us!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is this your Will of Fire?"

Tobirama was not angered. Instead, he shook his head with a mocking expression.

"Think carefully, Hiruzen."

"If you refuse, I will give the order right now. The Uchiha forces outside will immediately charge in."

"When that happens, it will not only be you. Your sons, your grandsons, your nephew who has only just turned a month old... all of them will have their heads cut off and hung at Konoha's gates for public display."

"That boy Asuma is still at the Ninja Academy, right? I hear he is quite talented. What a pity. Tonight, his life will be cut short."

"And our righteous and upright Third Hokage, along with the beloved Sarutobi Clan, will be disgraced by charges such as treason."

At the mention of Asuma, Hiruzen's pupils shrank violently.

That was his most beloved youngest son.

And the future of the Sarutobi Clan.

"If I do not act, everyone dies."

"If I act, then at least... two sparks can still be preserved."

"And the Sarutobi Clan's honor and reputation can still remain..."

Tobirama's voice continued to echo in his ear.

"This is what they call righteousness, Hiruzen."

"For the village's stability, every sacrifice is worthwhile."

"Why is it impossible once it is your turn?"

"Double standards are not a good habit."

Hiruzen clutched his head in agony, his fingers digging deep into his graying hair.

His heart was undergoing a torment as hellish as Hell itself.

If he refused, his entire clan would be exterminated, leaving him without descendants.

If he accepted, he would become a butcher worse than a beast, carrying eternal infamy.

Time passed second by second.

The air in the study was so oppressive it was suffocating.

Tobirama did not rush him. He simply watched in silence.

Finally.

Ten minutes later.

Hiruzen stopped trembling.

He slowly raised his head. That once-kind face was now twisted and vicious, tears streaming down his aged cheeks.

"...Promise me."

"You will spare Shinnosuke and Asuma."

"You will... leave descendants for the Sarutobi Clan."

"I, Tobirama Uchiha, never break my word."

Tobirama shrugged.

"As long as you kill cleanly enough, those two boys will happen to be rescued by reinforcements tonight and escape disaster."

"Good... good..."

Hiruzen staggered to his feet and picked up his weapon.

These weapons that had once accompanied him through battles across the Ninja World now felt so heavy that he could barely lift them.

"I... will do it."

The moment those two words left his mouth, it was as if all life had been drained from Hiruzen.

The Third Hokage known as the Ninja Hero had died.

What remained was merely a pitiful old man forced to become Shura in order to continue his bloodline.

"That's more like it."

Tobirama clapped his hands in satisfaction.

"To test your mettle, tonight's moonlight is just right."

"Go on. Those three old fools are still waiting at home for your good news."

"Give them a surprise."

Hiruzen clenched his fists, his nails digging into his flesh as blood dripped down.

He turned and walked into the darkness, his back as desolate as a ghost's.

At the doorway, he stopped and looked back at Tobirama, his eyes bloodshot.

"...There are too many of them. I cannot kill them all alone."

"And Danzo has clan ninjas he has trained. I need... assistance."

Since he had already chosen to become a demon, he would see it through completely.

He did not want Tobirama to change his mind because he killed too slowly and drag Asuma down with him.

"A reasonable request."

Tobirama snapped his fingers.

"I will maintain the barrier outside for you."

"As for those trash guards, my Shadow Clones will clear them out for you."

"You only need to be responsible for cutting off Danzo's head and the heads of those other two old fools, as well as... personally sending your clansmen on their way."

"Go on, Uchiha... Oh, no. Itachi Sarutobi."

An utterly malicious smile curled across Tobirama's lips.

Hiruzen paused, but did not respond.

The next second.

He vanished into the night.

A moment later.

The first scream rang out within the Sarutobi Clan Compound.

Immediately afterward, flames soared into the sky.

Tobirama stood by the window, watching the raging fire and listening to the faint cries drifting over, his expression indifferent.

The debt from the original story was finally repaid today.

Next came the misaligned life. Let me see what kind of outcome this misaligned life would bring!

This kind of dog-eat-dog show really was far more satisfying than killing people myself.