The Third Hokage's Warning

As he stepped out of that wooden door, Takuma took a deep breath of the night air.

The Third Hokage walked ahead of him at a steady, unhurried pace. The embers in his pipe flickered in the darkness, and the smoke was torn apart by the night breeze, drifting deep into the alley.

"Follow me."

The Third Hokage did not look back, merely dropping those words. Takuma followed him through the alley and arrived at the rooftop of the Hokage Building.

The Third Hokage walked to the railing, turned his back to Takuma, and smoked his pipe in silence. Takuma stood two paces behind him, not speaking. He could sense that the Third Hokage had something to say, and it would not be a light conversation.

The silence lasted for a long time. Long enough for Takuma to start counting the hairs on the back of the Third Hokage's head to pass the time.

"Your bloodline cannot be hidden for much longer. Although the Senju Clan has hidden itself among ordinary people, it cannot escape those who wish to investigate."

Takuma did not speak. He watched the Third Hokage's back, the white Hokage robe swaying slightly in the night wind. He knew his regenerative abilities would be discovered sooner or later, but he had not expected it to be brought to the table so quickly.

"What would you like me to do?"

The Third Hokage did not answer immediately. He pulled a tobacco pouch from his robes and began to fill his pipe in a leisurely manner, his movements slow, as if he were using the action to think. After filling it, he lit the pipe and took a puff, the smoke spraying from his nostrils and being swept away by the wind.

"It is not about what I want you to do."

"It is about what kind of ninja you want to become."

Takuma was stunned for a moment.

The Third Hokage walked to the edge of the rooftop, leaning against the railing to look down at Konoha Village. The lights of thousands of homes spread out in the night, like a starry sky reflected on the ground. The signs of the hot spring inns, the curtains of Ichiraku Ramen, the display windows of the ninja tool shops, the training posts in the practice fields—these mundane details flickered in the lamplight, forming a living village.

"Your ancestor, Senju Hashirama, was the God of Shinobi who ended the Warring States period." The Third Hokage's voice carried a sense of distance. "He single-handedly founded the Hidden Leaf Village and established the first ninja village system. Before him, ninjas were merely tools for various clans to slaughter one another. Only after him did there come a village, companions, and things worth protecting."

Takuma listened quietly. He had heard stories about the First Hokage since he was a child; they were taught in history class at the ninja academy, recorded in scrolls at bookstores, and his father would occasionally mention them late at night. But coming from the Third Hokage, those stories seemed to carry an extra layer of weight.

"Lord Hashirama believed that people could understand one another."

The Third Hokage turned around and looked at Takuma. The eyes surrounded by wrinkles reflected the firelight of his pipe.

"He founded Konoha not to gather more and stronger ninjas to conquer others. He did it so that children would no longer have to go to the battlefield, so that various clans could lay down their blood feuds, and to end that era where everyone believed war was the only answer."

The Third Hokage paused.

"This belief is more precious than Wood Release."

Takuma felt something in his chest being stirred. He could not clearly define what it was; perhaps it was some resonance remaining in his Senju bloodline, or perhaps he was simply moved by the sincerity in the Third Hokage's tone.

Takuma opened his mouth, only to find he did not know what to say. He wanted to speak of his identity as a transmigrator, of his knowledge of this world, and of the major events he knew were to come.

"I just want to protect the people who are important to me."

The moment those words left his lips, Takuma felt they were more real than any explanation.

The corners of the Third Hokage's mouth lifted slightly.

"That is enough."

The smoke blurred the Third Hokage's face, but Takuma could feel that the old man's expression was gentle at that moment.

"As for Danzo, I will handle him. I am the Third Hokage; he still has to give me that much face. But you must also become stronger as quickly as possible."

The Third Hokage walked up to Takuma and placed a hand on his shoulder. The hand was rough and covered in calluses, but the grip was steady.

"Because protecting others requires strength."

Takuma nodded firmly. The Third Hokage withdrew his hand, put his pipe back in his mouth, and returned to being the lazy-looking old grandfather.

"Alright, go back. Your father must be getting worried."

Takuma left the rooftop and walked through the corridors of the Hokage Building. Most of the torches on either side of the hallway had been extinguished, leaving only a few still lit, casting dancing shadows on the floor. When he reached the corner of the corridor, a figure leaning against the wall made him stop.

The silver-haired Jonin held a book with an orange cover, leaning lazily against the wall, though his gaze was not on the pages. His one visible eye curved into an arc, as if he were smiling.

"The kid from the Senju family?"

Kakashi's voice was as casual as his posture, but Takuma could tell this was no chance encounter.

"Senior Kakashi." Takuma nodded slightly.

Kakashi closed his book and tucked it into his ninja pouch. "Root will not give up easily, but as long as you continue to walk in the light, they cannot touch you."

Takuma digested the meaning of these words. Walking in the light referred to the protection of the Third Hokage. But the moment he stepped outside that range, Root would strike again.

"Thank you, Senior."

"Don't thank me, I'm just a messenger." Kakashi waved his hand and turned to walk in the other direction. After a few steps, he looked back. "By the way, good luck with the Chunin exams. I'm curious to see how far you can go."

Takuma watched as Kakashi's figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, then walked out of the Hokage Building alone.

The night was deep. The streets of Konoha were empty, with only the streetlights faithfully shining. Takuma walked slowly along the path home, his mind turning over the words of the Third Hokage, the words of Danzo, and the warning from Kakashi.

When he reached the entrance of the bookstore, he found the lights inside were still on.

His father, Mori Kazuki, sat behind the counter with an old book spread out before him. Seeing Takuma push the door open, he did not ask where he had been, but simply closed the book and stood up.

"Are you hungry? There is food warming in the kitchen."

Takuma looked at his father and suddenly asked, "Dad, the Senju Clan... why did they disband in the first place?"

Mori Kazuki was silent for a moment.

"Because the 'understanding' that Lord Hashirama believed in requires time to prove. And war does not require time."

Takuma did not ask any further. He nodded and returned to his room. After closing the door, he lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, his mind still spinning with the things the Third Hokage had said.

"What kind of ninja do you want to become."

To protect the people who are important to me. The words he had said to the Third Hokage today were not just a response. From the night he returned from the mission in the Land of Waves, from the moment he knelt before the corpses of Yamada and Sato, those words had become the only answer he was certain of.

He was a transmigrator. He knew the future trajectory of this world. He knew what major events were coming and how many people would die in them. But what he did not know was what he could do, and to what extent he could succeed.

Being a prophet was one thing; having the ability to change things was quite another.