Hearth and Affection in the Study, and the Fine Manipulation of Breaking an Illusion from Afar

Hokage's Office.

The crisp, slightly sweet fragrance of premium Gyokuro tea filled the air, strangely mingling with the faint scent of blood drifting from the Forest of Death outside, filtered and diluted by the Giant Clam's vapor.

Baishi half reclined in the spacious Hokage's chair, his eyes slightly narrowed and his expression languid.

Mikoto Uchiha knelt beside him, her delicate hands pressing lightly against his temples with just the right amount of force. A trace of lingering worry colored her gentle features, and her gaze repeatedly swept toward the Chakra Water Mirror floating in midair, completely obscured by thick white mist.

"Baishi... are things on the front line really all right? The Hyuga Clan seems to have already..." Mikoto's voice was as soft as a feather's touch, as though she feared disturbing the man's rest.

She could sense the terrible slaughter unfolding within that seemingly harmless white mist.

Baishi did not open his eyes. He simply enjoyed that rare moment of warmth, a faint, almost imperceptible smile even touching the corners of his mouth.

"All right? Of course they're all right. How could an unpolished piece of jade become the sharpest blade in my hand without being tempered by blood and fire?"

To him, the Hyuga Clan's casualties were merely an insignificant cost required to temper this "blade."

Just then, an imperceptible mental fluctuation that only he could sense surged wildly into his mind, following a silver Chakra thread extending from his fingertip and disappearing into the void.

"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama! Requesting instructions!"

It was Hiashi's voice, filled with unprecedented terror, despair, and hoarse desperation on the verge of collapse.

"The genjutsu can't be broken! Our Byakugan vision has been completely contaminated! We're killing each other! The enemy... the enemy is Hozuki Gengetsu! Requesting a tactical retreat! Requesting reinforcements!"

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