Storm Clouds Over the Shinobi World!

Konoha, before the Memorial Stone.

The sky seemed to sense the village's grief. At some point, a fine rain had begun to fall. Cold water washed over the massive stone carved with names and the dense crowd gathered before it.

Most of the village had come.

Active shinobi, civilians, merchants passing through... Everyone had gathered of their own accord. No one carried an umbrella. Cold rain soaked their black mourning clothes and ran down their cheeks, impossible to distinguish from tears.

Ten-year-old Tsunade stood alone at the very front, her small body trembling in the wind and rain. She stared at the newly erected gravestone as huge tears splashed into the mud. Even her breathing was choked with stifled sobs.

Just then, a tall figure in black silently came to her side.

Kagami Uchiha carried no umbrella. He let the cold rain soak his clothes.

He stood quietly, straight as a pine. Like an unbreachable wall, he shielded the girl beside him from most of the bitter wind and rain.

He lowered his head slightly and looked at Tsunade's narrow shoulders, his eyes flickering with a complicated tenderness and pain. He offered no hollow words of comfort. Instead, he slowly took off his black cloak, still warm from his body, and gently draped it over her shoulders.

At the weight on her shoulders, Tsunade shuddered. She turned and, through her tear-blurred eyes, saw Kagami's calm face, heavy with unspoken feeling.

"Big Brother Kagami..." she called hoarsely, and her tears broke free again.

"I'm here," Kagami said, his voice low and steady, carrying a strength that left no room for doubt.

He said nothing more. He only lowered his head and looked at the great stone before them.

Behind them, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Torifu Akimichi stood in a row.

These disciples, in whom Tobirama had once placed such high hopes, all hung their heads as rain streamed down their pale faces.

A dreadful silence hung over the Memorial Stone. Only the patter of rain on leaves and the occasional strangled sob could be heard.

This funeral buried more than a great Hokage. It buried Konoha's twenty-year era of ideals and passion, an era upheld by the First Hokage and the Second Hokage together.

When the last white wildflower was laid before the Memorial Stone, Tobirama Senju, Konohagakure's Second Hokage, was laid to rest beneath the land he had given his life to protect.

News of Tobirama Senju's death swept across the Shinobi World like a gale, crossing national borders with astonishing speed and reaching every major shinobi village.

The Land of Earth, Iwagakure.

The unbroken mountains lay shrouded in mist that never lifted, and the air carried the cold, harsh scent of rock and dust.

In the Tsuchikage's office, Ōnoki, who had become the Third Tsuchikage only a few years earlier, sat behind a broad desk. Short in stature, he rested his chin on his clasped hands, his deep-set eyes churning with complicated emotions.

"Tobirama Senju... He's dead too."

Ōnoki murmured the words, his voice echoing through the spacious office.

He remembered the First Shinobi World War, when the Second Hokage's blinding speed and forbidden techniques had left Iwagakure helpless and made them suffer bitterly. That man had been an insurmountable mountain, pressing down on all of Iwagakure until they could scarcely breathe.

Now that mountain had finally fallen. Yet Ōnoki felt no satisfaction at an old enemy's death. Instead, he felt a trace of regret for a powerful man's passing and deep unease over the Shinobi World's new balance of power.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.

Heavy thunderclouds encircled the steep peaks that rose into the sky, while the waterfalls of the Valley of Clouds and Lightning roared through the deep ravines.

In the Raikage's Office, A, the Third Raikage, stood quietly at the window. He watched the rolling sea of clouds outside, an uncharacteristically thoughtful look on his rugged face.

"Tobirama Senju..." The Third Raikage spoke the name in a low voice and let out a heavy sigh.

He thought back to the peace treaty they had signed only recently. It might have held while Tobirama lived. Now that the man was dead, he had little confidence in how long it would last.

Just then, an Anbu appeared silently before the desk and knelt on one knee. "Lord Raikage," he reported softly, "word has come from Konoha. Tobirama Senju's funeral is over, and the new Hokage has been chosen."

The Third Raikage did not turn around. He merely raised an eyebrow, his tone assessing. "Oh? After losing Tobirama Senju, who could Konoha possibly choose to hold things together? Hiruzen Sarutobi?"

The Anbu drew a deep breath and lowered his voice further. "Someone from the Uchiha Clan... Kagami Uchiha. The Uchiha who killed Lord Ginkaku on the battlefield."

At the word "Uchiha," the Third Raikage's once-calm gaze sharpened instantly.

"Kagami Uchiha..." He rolled the name over his tongue, and the man's face immediately surfaced in his mind—

A tall, lean young man with stern features. Not even twenty, yet he had killed a veteran Kage Level fighter like Ginkaku. The very man A had seen as a future threat to Kumogakure!

In the Land of Wind, Sunagakure.

Unlike the other shinobi villages that had recently endured the ravages of war, Sunagakure had remained neutral during the First Shinobi World War. It had preserved much of its strength and enjoyed a period of steady development.

In a hidden underground laboratory, Shamon, the Second Kazekage, stood before rows of precision instruments. He had devoted himself to combining Tailed Beasts with the Puppet Technique, hoping to create an ultimate weapon that would make other nations fear Sunagakure.

"Teacher." A clear voice sounded behind him.

Shamon turned. A young man with blue-and-white hair stood quietly in the doorway. He held himself straight, his eyes steady and sharp beyond his years. This was Shamon's disciple, Sajie, the future Third Kazekage.

"News of Tobirama Senju's death has spread throughout the Shinobi World," Sajie said calmly as he walked over to Shamon.

Shamon nodded slightly and turned his attention back to the instruments. "Merely the end of an era."

"Come to think of it, I'm the only one of the villages' second-generation leaders still alive..." His voice sank as he spoke, tinged with emotion.

The Land of Water, Kirigakure, a village forever shrouded in thick mist.

The Third Mizukage sat in his dim office and listened to the Anbu's report without expression. He showed neither joy nor sorrow, merely waving a hand to dismiss the Anbu.

"Hozuki Gengetsu lost his mind. He took the village's elite all the way to the Land of Earth to get themselves killed, and left this mess behind..."

"Lord Byakuren, I will protect the Kirigakure you left behind." He turned toward the portraits of the Mizukage on the wall and murmured the promise.

The Mountain Graveyard.

Deep within the desolate underground caverns lay a dark cave.

At its far end, Madara Uchiha sat against a stone chair, his hair completely white and his body wasted to skin and bone. His eyes were closed as though he were dozing, and his breathing was faint.

Only a massive Shinigami's Scythe and a Gunbai taller than a man stood beside him, silent reminders of his former glory.

"Tobirama Senju... is dead." A White Zetsu emerged from the ground and delivered the news from Konoha.

Madara Uchiha slowly opened his eyes. There was no joy on his deeply lined face, only bottomless loneliness.

"So you're finally gone too, you scheming bastard." Madara's voice was low and hoarse, laden with the loneliness of a man standing above everyone else.

"Now this tedious world doesn't even have one opponent left who can hold my interest."

He listened idly as White Zetsu reported Konoha's latest developments, a glint of amusement entering his eyes.

"Kagami..." Madara murmured the name, an inscrutable sneer curling his lips. "Tobirama, you handed the village to an Uchiha before you died? What an... interesting choice."

As Tobirama Senju's funeral ended, the crowd dispersed in twos and threes.

Kagami Uchiha did not leave immediately. He stood quietly before the Memorial Stone until darkness had fallen completely.

Then he turned and walked alone toward the Hokage Building, his steps measured and steady.

At the Hokage Office, he pushed open the heavy wooden door. The room beyond was dark.

Outside, the clouds parted. Pale moonlight poured through the broad glass windows, sharply outlining the desk.

Kagami Uchiha walked up to the broad mahogany desk and stood there for a long time.

He reached out and brushed his fingertips across the scrolls and documents piled high upon it. The faint rustle of paper sounded remarkably clear in the silent office.

This desk had borne witness to Konoha's trials and triumphs over twenty years. It also held the life's work of that man.

Now it belonged to him.

Kagami Uchiha drew a deep breath and buried his grief and memories deep in his heart.

When he raised his head again, not a trace of weakness or uncertainty remained in his dark eyes. In their place was a cold, emotionless resolve.

He pulled out the broad leather chair and slowly sat down.

Kagami Uchiha clasped his hands, planted his elbows on the desk, and rested his chin lightly against the backs of his hands. He sat motionless in the dark, like a dormant demon of war.

From this moment on, he was no longer the Shadow Guard behind Tobirama, nor an ordinary member of the Uchiha Clan.

He was Konoha's Third Hokage.

Change would begin here!

After a long while, he parted his lips.

"Someone, come in." His voice was quiet, his tone steady and composed.

Knock, knock.

Two carefully restrained knocks came from outside. Then an Anbu wearing a white porcelain mask silently opened the door and knelt on one knee before the desk.

This Anbu was clearly a rigorously trained elite. Yet as he knelt before the broad desk, his back stiffened against his will.

He did not dare look up at the man's face in the darkness.

He could clearly sense that the presence emanating from behind the desk was nothing like that of the decisive, commanding Second Hokage.

The new Hokage seated there... His presence was like an invisible net spreading silently across the room, making even breathing difficult.

"At your command." The Anbu bowed his head deeply. His voice was barely above a whisper, edged with awe and tension.

Kagami Uchiha did not speak at once.

He simply watched the Anbu kneeling before the desk. His cold gaze pierced the dimness as though it could see straight through the mask to the face beneath.

The Anbu's scalp prickled, and cold sweat broke out down his back.

"Bring Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō here."

Kagami Uchiha finally spoke.

His voice remained utterly devoid of emotion. But that absolute calm carried a pressure that sent a chill down the spine.

"Tell them I want to see them in the Hokage Office within fifteen minutes."

"Yes!" The Anbu bowed sharply, as though granted a reprieve. He rose at once, withdrew from the office, and carefully closed the door behind him.

With a soft click of the door, the Hokage Office fell deathly silent again.

Kagami Uchiha remained seated in the darkness, unmoving.

From this moment, his era had officially begun.