The Shackles of Morality, The Seal of Conscience

"Lord Third."

"Hmm... oh? Sakumo? When did you get back... is the situation very bad?"

Deep in the night, within the Third Hokage's estate and head of the Sarutobi Clan.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, working late to approve documents, looked at White Fang who had just returned from a reconnaissance mission with a solemn expression, and his own face instantly turned serious.

"Just as you expected, Lord Third." White Fang pulled a scroll stained with dried blood from his robe and handed it to Hiruzen, "Iwagakure has followed Sunagakure and Kumogakure in tearing up the peace treaty."

Hiruzen opened the scroll, and after reading it for a moment, his gaze grew cold.

The contents of this scroll, bought with the lives of countless Konoha shinobi, were actually quite simple:

Iwagakure had gathered a large number of shinobi heading toward the border of the Land of Earth, and the vanguard force had already crossed Kannabi Bridge, lying in wait secretly in the Land of Grass.

"They're coming straight for Konoha... Sakumo." Hiruzen carefully put the scroll away, his voice already tinged with a hint of murderous intent.

The shinobi hero was not yet old; although he had passed his prime, the lion in the twilight still retained its majesty.

"Only Kirigakure is left. It seems the Third Shinobi World War still couldn't be averted, Lord Third." White Fang replied in a deep voice.

In truth, anyone with a clear eye knew that Kirigakure joining the battlefield was only a matter of time.

Moreover, the direction of their attack would in all probability be the same as the other hidden villages, matching past Shinobi World Wars by heading straight for Konoha.

The gap between Konoha and the other hidden villages was simply too vast...

The First Shinobi World War produced a Professor of Shinobi, and the second produced the White Fang and the Legendary Sannin.

From the First Shinobi World War until now, although each side remained in a state of mutual attrition, Konoha, a perennial cradle of talent, consistently held firmly to the throne of the number one hidden village.

And such an existence that disrupted the balance was not permitted by human nature.

"Kirigakure has already launched an attack." Hiruzen found another scroll, similarly stained with dried blood, and tossed it to White Fang.

White Fang caught it carefully; this was the final respect shown to those heroes who could not even be buried in Konoha.

"Kirigakure has forged seven powerful ninja swords wielded by elite jonin known as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. They possess immense strength and cruel methods, and have already wiped out a small country."

"Right now, they are marching toward Konoha." Hiruzen had already picked up his pipe at some point.

White Fang looked at the intelligence on the scroll while Hiruzen puffed on his pipe. After a cloud of smoke was exhaled, the entire room was shrouded in haze.

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen..." White Fang murmured for a moment, and when he raised his head, his eyes were filled with a sharp, piercing light. "Lord Hokage, I only wonder whose blades are sharper—theirs or my White Fang."

White Fang was brimming with fighting spirit and actively volunteered for the mission, yet he failed to notice the odd look in Hiruzen's eyes.

"You have a more important mission, Sakumo." Hiruzen skillfully deflected White Fang's request, saying, "As for Kirigakure, I have already assigned the Hyuga Clan to take full charge."

"With a large number of Hyuga clansmen, the effectiveness of Kirigakure's Hidden Mist Jutsu will be reduced to a minimum. Victory isn't required, but holding them in check won't be a problem."

Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke and continued, "Compared to Kirigakure, the battlefields of Iwagakure and Kumogakure are where you are needed most, Sakumo."

White Fang's expression froze, and he immediately bowed into a half-kneel. "Understood! Lord Hokage!"

At daybreak, dawn was about to break.

Having finished washing up, Hideki made a decision that violated the teachings of his ancestors—today's breakfast would be instant noodles.

After eating and drinking his fill, Hideki stepped out of his house. Bathed in the starlight of dawn and facing the gentle breeze, his stride was firm.

Today would be his first day clocking in to grow stronger.

Before long, Hideki arrived at Training Ground Three. The old man had not yet arrived, but Hideki was not worried.

He found a spot on his own and began refining chakra, while in his mind he simulated the operational pathway of his new ninjutsu.

Compared to last night's wandering thoughts and restlessness, Hideki appeared exceptionally focused at this moment.

Living a second life, his worldview had changed, but his values had not.

It was merely that the method of striving had shifted from 996 to fighting and killing.

Finally, as the cloud stole away the moon, the morning sun on the horizon was eager to burst forth.

The old man's figure finally appeared.

"Yo!" Seeing Hideki, the old man originally intended to tease him with a line like "You're here pretty early," but upon seeing Hideki's serious little face, the old man gradually grew serious as well.

"You..."

"I'm ready. Let's begin."

"..." Hideki's enthusiasm caught the old man slightly off guard, yet somehow he felt that this was truly the little fellow's real appearance.

Just like those people back in the day...

"Hit me." The old man dropped a startling statement.

Yet Hideki remained unmoved. He stood in place, staring straight at the old man, his eyes carrying more than a little confusion.

"Just imagine me to be the person you hate the most. Hurry up and make a move, don't drag your feet," the old man urged impatiently.

However, Hideki shook his head, looking as though he were bound by morality and sealed by conscience.

The old man grew even more impatient. "You..."

"My point is, there's no need to imagine."

Buzz—

With a Rasengan in his left hand and another in his right, Hideki charged straight at the old man!

In his past life, Hideki had read plenty of novels, and he understood the process: only by going all out could the old man clearly understand everything about him!

"Hmm?" The old man watched Hideki charge over, and this time it was his turn to be confused.

"No need to imagine... You bastard! You stinky brat are—hmm?"

The old man, who should have entered a state of fiery rage, suddenly froze, and immediately the corner of his mouth hooked upward.

"Is this also one of your ways of attacking? I really don't know who you take after." Muttering a sentence under his breath, the old man's eyes were filled with gratification.

Yet all of this happened in the flash of a spark.

The old man raised two fingers, effectively forming a seal, and majestic chakra instantly took command of the surrounding earth!

"Your momentum is decent, but your speed lacks, and your intent is far too obvious. This isn't a street fight, brat." The old man mobilized his chakra.

He intended to bury Hideki straight into the ground and then make him start over from scratch.

This would be Hideki's first lesson—what the Headhunter Jutsu truly was.

Yet at that moment.

"Don't think you can trap me with the same trick twice, you old geezer!"

Accompanied by a loud roar from Hideki, one of his hands slammed fiercely into the ground. The Rasengan on his palm burst forth with chakra, and that rampaging force directly blasted a crater into the ground!

Destroying the turf was secondary; most importantly, the chakra the old man had buried deep beneath the earth was also blasted apart and scattered.

Meanwhile, Hideki's momentum did not wane; his speed increased as his remaining Rasengan pointed straight at the old man, and his free hand began spinning yet another one right up!

During this period, Hideki had actually discovered this issue.

Without natural recovery and without actively refining chakra, Obito could use three Great Fireballs in a day—that was his limit.

Yet he, under the exact same conditions, could churn out over five Rasengans in a single day!

Discounting the possibility that his Rasengan was a miniature, chick-sized Rasengan like Boruto's, Hideki had arrived at a conclusion.

His own chakra volume apparently far exceeded that of a normal person!

And right now, facing this Senju-monster old man, Hideki actually already had a bold hypothesis forming in his heart.

Could there be a possibility?

The reason he had no surname wasn't because he was part of some Orochimaru or Jiraiya lineage.

Might he possibly be walking Tsunade's path?

This hypothesis was extremely bold, almost on par with an impossible dream.

Yet precisely because of that, Hideki instead felt it wasn't entirely out of the question, and even harbored a sense of anticipation.

Besides, even if he had overthought it, he wouldn't lose anything, right?

Furthermore, as for dreams—what if they actually came true?