"Because Sakumo Hatake was too strong," Danzo Shimura said, his voice flat and mechanical. "His reputation threatened the Hokage's authority."
"Had he lived, he would have become the Fourth Hokage. Power would have no longer rested solely with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the council... "So he had to be removed."
"What…?"
The words caught in Kakashi Hatake's throat. It felt like something had detonated in his mind—his hearing dulled to a ringing hum as he stared at Hiruzen, his visible eye wide with disbelief.
"What a loyal son," Jie Uchiha said, a faint, mocking smile on his lips. "Do you still think the White Fang's death was just an accident?"
Honestly, Kakashi Hatake was a tragic figure. Calling him someone fated to walk alone wouldn't be much of an exaggeration.
Rumor had it his mother died during childbirth. Then the Great Ninja Wars swept across the land, and the Hatake clan gradually faded on the battlefield. Before Kakashi had even graduated from the Academy, his father—Sakumo Hatake, the famed White Fang—was driven to suicide, crushed under the weight of public scorn.
He barely found his footing again after joining Minato Namikaze's team, but the respite didn't last. The Third Great Ninja War broke out, dragging him back into chaos.
At the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Kakashi watched his teammate, Obito Uchiha, get buried beneath falling rock right in front of him.
Whether Obito had truly died—or what he might become later—didn't matter.
For Kakashi it was hardly a comfort to Kakashi now
Shortly after Obito Uchiha's "death," Kakashi Hatake forced himself to move forward again.
Then, Rin Nohara—the last remaining member of Team Minato—was captured by Kirigakure. They turned her into the Three-Tails' jinchūriki and sent her back as a weapon.
The truth behind it was complicated—manipulation, sacrifice, forces beyond his control. But none of that mattered to Kakashi.
What he remembered… was his own Lightning Blade piercing through her heart.
As if losing his teammates wasn't enough, the war finally ended, and Minato Namikaze rose to become the Fourth Hokage. For a brief moment, it felt like things might finally settle. Yet, those peaceful days were violently cut short...
The Night of the Nine-Tails tore that fragile peace apart. Minato… and Kushina Uzumaki—who had cared for Kakashi like family—both died in the disaster.
To make matters worse, their orphaned son was taken away...Hiruzen slapped a gag order on the entire village, strictly forbidding anyone—especially Kakashi—from making contact with the boy.
After years of going in circles, Kakashi was still utterly alone. His loved ones had either died or fallen to darkness. He was a truly pitiful man.
If Jie Uchiha remembered correctly, even years into the new era, Kakashi Hatake was still on his own. Some people just never seemed to catch a break. Jie shot him a brief, sympathetic glance. 'Maybe read a little more Make-Out Paradise. You've got a long road ahead of you.'
Wait. Jie suddenly remembered that after Jiraiya's death, Make-Out Paradise would cease publication…Yeah. That was rough.
'What a miserably tragic man.'
But Kakashi had no attention to spare for any of it. Danzo Shimura's confession was tearing through him. His father's death hadn't been an accident—it had been deliberate.
And the mastermind pulling the strings was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi—the very man he had respected and faithfully served for years.
The crushing weight of the betrayal tore a choked wail from Kakashi's throat.
Without him realizing it, his forehead protector slipped up. The crimson Sharingan he had inherited from Obito was already morphing. The tomoe spun wildly, bleeding together until they formed the intricate shape of a three-pronged scythe.
Jie ignored Kakashi's breakdown. Instead, he signaled Orochimaru to keep controlling Danzo. The floodgates were already open. He might as well let Tobirama Senju hear exactly what his prized disciples had been doing to his beloved village.
"After the First Hokage died, we needed a way to control the Nine-Tails," Danzo droned on, his voice flat. "We had to prevent the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai from disappearing forever. With Hiruzen's silent approval, I had Orochimaru conduct research on Lord Hashirama's remains."
As Danzo spilled the grim details, the faces of Hashirama and Tobirama Senju darkened like an approaching storm. As apex powerhouses of their era, the two Hokage easily saw the truth. These weren't lies concocted by Orochimaru. These were cold, hard facts.
"We used sixty children for the experiments. In the end, only one survived."
"Hiruzen..." Tobirama's voice was lethal. "Is this how you govern the Hidden Leaf?"
He glared at him with eyes colder than ice, violently suppressing the urge to slaughter him right then and there.
He had sat in the Hokage's seat for over thirty years. Yet, under the crushing weight of his teacher's killing intent, the aging Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his legs give out.
"Tobi... Tobirama-sensei," Hiruzen stammered, slumping under the pressure. "I... I did it all for the village. We couldn't just rely on the Uchiha's Sharingan to control the Tailed Beasts. For the sake of balance, Wood Release had to be brought back. Sensei, everything I did was for the Leaf!"
"For the village again?" Jie scoffed. A mocking sneer tugged at his lips. "What exactly happened to the village? Was it on the brink of destruction? Did it really need you, Lord Hokage, to commit atrocities in its name?"
'For the village.' What a convenient, self-righteous excuse.
"Hiruzen... you have truly disappointed me." Tobirama shook his head, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. He had been praised for his wisdom his entire life, only to make a catastrophic error in choosing his successor.
Now that their dirty secrets were laid bare, Jie decided it was time to hit the Senju brothers with another heavy dose of reality.
"Didn't the Second Hokage want to know why the Uchiha clan orchestrated today's incident?" Jie asked, his tone indifferent. "You'll understand in just a moment."
He gave a dismissive wave.
The Uchiha barricading the training ground immediately parted, opening a wide path....
Within minutes, the major ninja clans who had been anxiously waiting outside flooded the training ground, forming a massive crowd of shinobi.
"Are those... Lord Hashirama, Lord Tobirama, and Minato?" "Aren't they supposed to be dead?" "Is it a Transformation Jutsu? A Genjutsu? An Uchiha secret technique?"
As the crowd murmured in confusion, Hashirama and Tobirama swept their gazes over the assembled clans. Neither Hokage could hide their shock.
"Are these... all the ninja clans in the Hidden Leaf?" Hashirama asked. His thick brows pulled into a tight frown.
"Where is little Tsuna? What about Yuka and Sora? Why hasn't a single Senju ninja shown up?"
Little Tsuna was Tsunade. Yuka and Sora were Hashirama's son and daughter-in-law—Tsunade's parents. After Tobirama's death, Sora had officially become the patriarch of the Senju clan.
So why couldn't they spot a single member of their own bloodline in the crowd?
"I'm afraid we'll have to rely on Lord Tobirama's good disciple, Danzo, to explain that little mystery," Jie said. A dark glint flashed in his eyes. "Furthermore, wasn't the Second Lord wondering why the Uchiha were driven to rebellion?"
Jie let the words hang in the air for a second before delivering the final blow.
"Honestly, if we hadn't rebelled today... I'm afraid Lord Tobirama would be looking for the Uchiha clan in the afterlife."
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