"Water..."
Consciousness is like a submarine that has sunk tens of thousands of meters into the deep sea. After a long period of darkness and suffocation, it finally catches a faint glimmer of light.
Hiruzen Sarutobi struggled to open his heavy eyelids, and what came into view was the familiar white ceiling of the Konoha Hospital's intensive care unit.
My throat felt like it was on fire, and every part of my body ached. Especially my heart; it felt like it was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and every beat was accompanied by excruciating pain.
I'm alive?
He remembered.
The scroll from the Daimyo's mansion, filled with humiliation and accusations; the hysterical arguments among his colleagues; and the news that ultimately broke all his mental defenses—the news that the Uchiha Divine Kingdom was about to form an alliance.
Then, he vomited blood and fainted.
Before he passed out, only one thought filled his mind: It's over, Konoha is finished.
"Lord Third Generation! You're awake!"
The medical-nin standing by the bed let out a surprised scream and immediately rushed over to check on his condition.
"How long have I been unconscious?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was hoarse, like two pieces of dry wood rubbing together.
"Your Excellency, you have been unconscious for two whole days and two nights."
Two days...
Hiruzen Sarutobi struggled to sit up, but was pressed firmly back onto the bed by an overwhelming feeling of weakness.
"How's the situation outside? Koharu and Yan... have they done anything impulsive?"
A chilling premonition rose in his heart. He knew his two old buddies too well; when he fell, they would lose their last line of defense and, in that desperate situation, would undoubtedly make the most reckless and irrational choices.
The joy on the medical-nin's face froze instantly. She lowered her head, her lips moved a few times, but she couldn't utter a single word, and her eyes instantly reddened.
Seeing her reaction, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sudden chill in his heart, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
It's over.
No need to ask, he already knows the answer.
"Tell me everything that has happened these past few days, without missing a single word," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, his eyes closed, in an almost pleading tone.
At Hiruzen Sarutobi's insistence, an Anbu in charge of intelligence was summoned to the hospital room.
After the Anbu finished reporting in the most flat and emotionless tone how Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura used the " Faceless Ones " plan, how they obtained the "top-secret intelligence," how they squeezed Konoha's last bit of strength to build a suicide squad of more than 1,300 people, how they launched that "thunderous attack," and what the final result was, the entire ward fell into a deathly silence.
Hiruzen Sarutobi lay quietly on the bed, his face expressionless, as if he were only hearing a distant story that had nothing to do with him.
After reporting, the Anbu Ninja quietly withdrew.
The medical-nin, seeing the Third Hokage's lifeless state, was extremely worried and whispered, "Third Hokage? Are you... are you alright?"
"Hehe..."
A low, strange laugh suddenly escaped from Hiruzen Sarutobi's throat.
The laughter grew louder and more shrill. As he laughed, two streams of murky tears rolled down his tightly closed eyes.
He laughed, laughing at how ridiculous and pale his lifelong adherence to the Will of Fire was in the face of reality.
He laughed, laughing at his two self-righteous old friends who were being played like monkeys, yet smugly believing they had grasped a lifeline.
He laughed, laughing at himself, laughing at this rotten, decadent, and hopelessly foolish Konoha!
"Help me up." Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped laughing and said in an unquestionable commanding tone.
"But sir, your health..."
Help me up!
Under Hiruzen Sarutobi's chillingly cold gaze, the medical-nin dared not say another word. She and another nurse carefully helped him up and sit against the headboard.
"Open the curtains..."
When the heavy curtains were slowly drawn back, and the appalling scene of a living hell composed of more than 1,300 wooden stakes was laid bare before Hiruzen Sarutobi before him.
Even though he had prepared himself for the worst, his heart was still clenched so tightly that he could hardly breathe.
He saw it.
He saw the faces of the villagers, twisted with anger and fear.
He saw that the eyes that had once held him in such high esteem now held only endless resentment and contempt.
He saw the Hokage Building, a symbol of Konoha's spirit, now stained with countless stones and filth.
He even saw the most vicious curse and mockery written in blood on the Hokage Rock, directed at him and the entire Hidden Konoha.
"Next time, what will be hanging up there is your heads..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's lips moved silently as he uttered those words.
puff.
Another mouthful of blood gushed from his mouth, staining the white bedding in front of him.
But he seemed oblivious to the pain, staring intently out the window. In those once wise and profound eyes, all the light was slowly fading, eventually turning into a bottomless darkness called "deathly silence."
Warmth, waiting, hesitation, compromise...
What have I been persisting in all my life?
If from the very beginning, the most extreme methods had been chosen, regardless of the cost, to completely eliminate the Uchiha before they even left Konoha...
If only I had half the ruthlessness of Danzo...
No.
Thinking about these things now is pointless.
Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly turned his head, no longer looking at the scenery outside the window. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and an unprecedented, chillingly calm expression appeared on his aged face.
He knew that the Will of Fire was dead.
He died five years ago, on the day Uchiha Gen'yō left Konoha.
She died two days ago, at the very moment that Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura decided to launch their suicide attack.
He died this morning, the very second he saw those 1,300-plus desperate wooden stakes.
What Konoha needs right now is not the Will of Fire.
It needs a dignified funeral.
" Koharu, Yan."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was eerily calm.
Having just been rescued from the angry villagers by the Anbu, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, looking disheveled, arrived outside the ward. They were startled and pushed open the door to enter.
They dared not look Hiruzen Sarutobi in the eye.
" Hiruzen, we..."
"No need to say anything more," Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted them. "I already know everything. You are not at fault; I am the one who is."
My mistake was in my weakness, my naivety, and my delusion that I could sit at the negotiating table with that man.
He took a deep breath, as if using the last of his strength.
"At this point, there's not much we can do."
His gaze swept over his two old friends, whose faces were ashen, and his voice was hoarse but unusually firm.
"There's one last thing we can do."
"It's time to go to 'that place'."