Smoke wreathed the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk. His once fairly straight back looked somewhat hunched now.
Two old friends stood before him, their faces equally grim: Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
"Hiruzen, are you really going to just let the Uchiha leave?"
Mitokado Homura slammed a hand onto the desk, his voice thick with resentment.
"That's over a hundred pairs of Sharingan! They're Konoha's strongest fighting force!"
"If they really go to Iwagakure, the Land of Fire's borders will never know peace again!"
Utatane Koharu added shrilly, "Exactly! And that's not even mentioning Uchiha Gen'yō. That space-time dōjutsu he displayed practically makes him a second Yellow Flash-even more dangerous!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer immediately. He merely took the last few shreds of tobacco from his tobacco box with trembling hands.
How could he not know all this?
But he knew even better that the strength Gen'yō had displayed last night had already surpassed the realm of a Kage.
That was power on the level of rules themselves.
"If we don't let them leave, are we really going to war?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, his gaze frighteningly deep.
"If war breaks out, how many people will Konoha have left, even if we win?"
"Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure-which of them isn't eyeing us like a juicy piece of meat?"
A deathly silence immediately fell over the room.
Just then, the office door was flung open.
Shimura Danzō walked in with a grim expression. Bandages covered one of his eyes, and his whole being exuded an air of decay and madness.
"If we can't act openly, then we'll act in the shadows."
Danzo's voice was hoarse and certain.
"The Uchiha aren't a united front."
"That Shisui Uchiha, and that Uchiha Itachi-they have the Will of Fire in their hearts."
"As long as we make them understand that one person's sacrifice can buy peace for the entire village, they'll know what to do."
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned.
"Gen'yō already has Shisui and Itachi under close surveillance. Do you think there's still a chance?"
"Everyone has a weakness."
Danzo sneered. "Shisui's weakness is his gentleness. Itachi's weakness is his younger brother."
"As long as we get a grip on those, they'll have no choice but to comply."
Meanwhile, within the Uchiha Clan Compound, a more direct contest was taking place.
Uchiha Gen'yō was sitting in his courtyard, leisurely lecturing a few Uchiha children who wanted to practice ninjutsu in secret.
"Remember, ninjutsu is only a tool. Your brain is what matters."
"Have more children and plant more trees. That's the true path to lasting peace and stability."
As he spoke, two figures silently appeared behind him.
They were none other than Shisui and Itachi, whom Danzo had been talking about.
"Big Brother Gen'yō, the Third Lord Hokage wants to see you."
Shisui wore a complicated expression. He held a letter bearing the Hokage's wax seal.
"He invited you to meet him in an hour at the Memorial Stone in the hills behind Konoha. He said it would be just the two of you."
Itachi added, "Big Brother, I think it might be a trap. Don't go."
Gen'yō took the letter and casually squeezed it. The letter turned to ash amid a distortion in space.
"I'm going. Why wouldn't I?"
An amused smile curled Gen'yō's lips.
"If I don't give that old fox one last chance to put on a show, how will he give up?"
"Besides, I want to see just how black a heart lies beneath that mask of loving the people like his own children."
An hour later, at the Memorial Stone.
This was where Konoha's heroes through the generations were buried. An air of solemnity and sorrow hung over the place.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood alone before the stone in his Hokage robes, looking particularly forlorn.
Hearing footsteps, he did not turn around. He merely let out a long sigh.
"Gen'yō, look at these inscriptions."
"How many of those resting here were forebears of your Uchiha Clan?"
"They shed their last drop of blood for Konoha. Can you really bear to lead their descendants into the arms of their former sworn enemies?"
Gen'yō walked up beside him and looked at the densely packed names, his gaze utterly untroubled.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, if you called me here just to recite the names of the dead, then I think we can part ways."
"Our forebears shed their blood so their descendants could live with dignity, not so you could herd them like sheep into some forgotten corner of the village and watch them like thieves."
"Does this Will of Fire you speak of mean sending the descendants of those who served with distinction to their deaths so you can sleep soundly?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around, his aged face filled with sorrow.
"It was for the greater good! Gen'yō, you have to understand. There was a great deal of resentment in the village after the Nine-Tails' Attack."
"So you directed all that resentment at the Uchiha?"
Gen'yō cut him off coldly. "Don't talk to me about the greater good. My greater good is the rise and fall of the Uchiha Clan."
"If Konoha's greater good has no room for the Uchiha, what's wrong with choosing a different one?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared fixedly at Gen'yō. The kindness in his eyes gradually vanished, replaced by the cold ruthlessness of a Kage.
"It seems there really is nothing left to discuss."
"Nothing left to discuss." Gen'yō met his gaze directly. "There are two days left of the three-day deadline. If I don't see the supplies by then, I'll take them myself."
Just then, Gen'yō suddenly sensed faint chakra fluctuations coming from the surrounding grass.
He scoffed.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, is this what you call meeting alone?"
"With so many elite Anbu and Root operatives lying in ambush, why bother wearing that hypocritical mask?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed and slowly raised his pipe.
"For Konoha's stability, Gen'yō, I have no choice but to keep you here."
In an instant, dozens of masked elite Anbu burst from the shadows to attack.
Countless kunai and explosive tags rained down.
At the same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi focused his gaze, his hands rapidly forming hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
He actually intended to act personally, joining the Anbu to surround and capture Gen'yō.
Yet faced with this airtight assault, Gen'yō merely spat out a contemptuous word.
"Trash."
In his right eye, the Mangekyo spun wildly.
"Kamui Intangibility!"
Every attack passed straight through his body without so much as touching the hem of his clothes.
Gen'yō's figure, meanwhile, appeared like a phantom behind an Anbu operative, his fingers resting lightly on the operative's head.
"The game has begun."
Just as Gen'yō was about to begin his slaughter, a massive explosion in the distance made Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression change drastically.
That was the direction of the Hokage building!
Had the Uchiha already begun to act?