Am I Still Under an Illusion?

With a loud bang, the door to the Hokage's office slammed shut as if struck by an invisible force, sending a cloud of dust swirling into the air.

Danzo's figure vanished outside the door, leaving Homura and Koharu of the Konoha F4 behind, exchanging glances filled with helplessness and worry.

They had long been aware of the fiery tempers of their two comrades, and at this moment, they could only shake their heads with a bitter smile.

After a brief silence, Koharu spoke again, her voice tinged with urgency.

"Hokage, the situation is critical. We must handle this kidnapping incident as soon as possible. What do you intend to do?"

Homura followed suit, fixing his gaze on Hiruzen, waiting for his final decision.

Hiruzen turned slowly, a pipe clamped between his teeth, his eyes gazing deeply into the night sky outside the window.

The moonlight was like water, and the Hokage Rock appeared exceptionally solemn under its glow. He stared at the statue of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and pondered to himself: Teacher, if you were still here, how would you handle a situation like this?

The atmosphere in the room grew heavy and silent once more. After a long while, Hiruzen finally spoke, his voice calm yet firm: "We absolutely cannot let this matter slide."

Upon hearing this, Homura and Koharu couldn't help but furrow their brows, their concern evident: "Lord Hokage, please consider this carefully. The village has just emerged from a great war; it cannot withstand any major turmoil right now."

Hiruzen took a few puffs of his pipe and said indifferently, "I didn't say we were declaring war immediately. I mean, we cannot simply swallow this loss."

Hearing this, Homura and Koharu finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't an immediate declaration of war, things were still manageable.

"Tomorrow, I will personally meet with the Daimyo to report this matter truthfully and demand a reasonable explanation and compensation from the Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning," Hiruzen continued. "If they refuse to compensate, I do not rule out the possibility of declaring war."

His words revealed an unquestionable resolve. Indeed, as Danzo had said, to handle this, they had to let the enemy know that their actions would come at a heavy price. Otherwise, the enemy would only infringe upon Konoha's interests with even greater impunity.

Otherwise, if they kept coming to steal people every few days, how could they even function?

Although Konoha had only emerged from a great war a few years ago, its overall combat strength was not something to be trifled with.

"If I cannot even protect my own family and children, then I am not fit to be this Hokage." Hiruzen's voice was resonant and powerful, as if proving his resolve to everyone. "I believe that if Teacher were still here, he would support my decision."

Hearing Hiruzen invoke Tobirama's name, Homura and Koharu said no more. They knew that their Hokage had already made his decision, and they only needed to carry it out.

"Very well, then we shall proceed according to the Hokage's wishes. We will begin preparations for war," Homura said calmly after a moment of thought.

After the two left, Hiruzen sat slowly in his chair, his hands crossed over his chest, his eyes calm and deep, as if contemplating some grave issue.

The next morning, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

Hayato and several other friends met up to head to the Konoha Hospital to visit Asuma.

They followed the nurse on duty to the door of Asuma's room. The two Anbu members standing guard at the door simply nodded at the group without saying a word.

"Asuma, we're here to see you!" Obito's booming voice echoed through the hospital corridor.

"Keep it down, Obito, this is a hospital," Rin quickly gestured for him to be quiet.

The nurse nodded in satisfaction, then turned the doorknob and walked in. Before entering, she looked back at the group and instructed, "The patient needs rest, so don't stay too long."

Everyone nodded to show they understood and followed the nurse into the room.

Asuma was already awake, sipping some liquid food. Hearing the commotion at the door, he stopped eating and turned his head toward the entrance.

Soon, he saw Hayato and the others walk in. Flustered, he quickly hid the bowl, pulled the blanket over himself, and pretended to still be unconscious—he wanted to avoid facing them.

The group walked to Asuma's bedside and looked at each other with helplessness.

Hayato was the first to break the silence: "Alright, Asuma, we saw you wake up. Stop pretending."

There was no help for it; his reaction had been a beat too slow. Asuma had no choice but to open his eyes, sit up, look at everyone, and then close his eyes again: "If you want to laugh at me, just go ahead!"

Everyone was speechless—they had all come to visit him, and he was acting all prickly. Hayato smiled faintly at this: "Haha, your acting is pretty poor. The room smells so strongly of soup, and it's not like we've lost our sense of smell."

Hearing Hayato say this, the others realized what was happening and burst into laughter.

Asuma opened his eyes; he understood that Hayato was giving him a way out—he had assumed they would mock him for accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms yesterday.

"Asuma, it looks like you're in good spirits, so we're relieved," Obito said, sitting down on the edge of the bed and patting his shoulder. "At this rate, you'll be up and running in no time, and you won't fall too far behind in your Ninja Academy lessons."

Listening to their words of concern, a warm current flowed through Asuma's heart, and his eyes grew slightly moist: "Everyone..."

The group chatted for a while longer, mentioning their encounter with the Third Hokage the previous night.

After a while, Hayato checked the time and, feeling it was about right, said, "We just came to check on you; it's good there's nothing serious. It's getting late, so we won't disturb you any longer. Get some rest."

Hearing this, everyone stood up to bid Asuma farewell: "Get well soon, Asuma!" "Come back to the Ninja Academy soon!"...

After leaving the Konoha Hospital, Hayato returned to the Uchiha compound and headed straight for the Grand Elder's house.

"What? You say you've already finished learning the contents of the scroll?" The Grand Elder stared at Hayato in shock, his voice filled with disbelief.

No, it had only been a few days; how could he have finished it already?

When he had given the scroll to Hayato, he had assumed it would take him a year or more to master.

"Yeah, more or less. I've basically memorized everything inside; the rest is just a matter of practice," Hayato said calmly. "Grandpa, is there anything new I can learn?"

Hearing this, the Grand Elder couldn't help but put on a stern face: "Hayato, there is a saying: 'Greed for more leads to poor digestion.' Do you understand?"

"It's fine, Grandpa, I have strong teeth," Hayato said with a grin.

The Grand Elder was choked by his words, then looked at Hayato and said, "Since you claim to have mastered the contents of that scroll, show me."

To be honest, he still didn't quite believe it. After all, the contents of that scroll were not so easily mastered.

Hearing the Grand Elder's skepticism, Hayato understood.

After a slight nod, he looked toward the Grand Elder and immediately activated his Sharingan, serving the Grand Elder a full course of genjutsu.

A moment later, Hayato released the genjutsu.

The Grand Elder regained his senses and stared at Hayato's eyes, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg.

He trembled for a moment, his voice shaky and uncertain, "Am I... am I still under a genjutsu?"

"Grandfather, I have already released it," Hayato said softly.

"Since when? Hayato, when did your Sharingan evolve into a Three-Tomoe?" the Grand Elder asked in astonishment.