So now this is being pinned on me?
How did this end up being pinned on me?!
Kagami could feel one sharp gaze after another falling on him. The disappointment in his former teammates' eyes was impossible to miss. Just moments ago, the six of them had still been huddling together for warmth, resisting the enormous pressure Mito was putting on them.
Now that unity had completely fallen apart.
Danzo, Koharu, Homura, and Torifu all seemed to share the same instinct as they moved away from Kagami.
Only Hiruzen remained where he was, looking at Kagami with a complicated expression.
At that moment, Mito's hair had begun to float ever so slightly.
Anyone familiar with Mito would know that she was already on the verge of exploding in rage.
The enormous chakra inside her burst outward. A visible aura of chakra formed around her body, and tiny cracks began spreading across the hard floor beneath her feet. If she exerted even a little more force, the ground would split apart on the spot.
Say something.
I have to say something!!!
Kagami stood there alone under the crushing pressure radiating from Mito. He felt like a tiny boat adrift on a boundless ocean.
Above that ocean, the sky was filled with storm clouds, lightning flashed through the darkness, and towering waves dozens of meters high were crashing toward him.
A deep sense of helplessness flooded Kagami's heart.
Killing intent mixed with all kinds of negative chakra wrapped around his entire body, yet he could not muster even a bit of strength.
Weak.
Kagami had never felt so painfully weak before.
In his memories, the old woman before him had always been kind and gentle, her lips usually carrying a faint smile.
Even so, Kagami had never underestimated her.
Her identity was no secret to the Uchiha, and the clan elders had always spoken highly of her strength.
"That old woman Mito isn't someone easy to deal with. Even I could only fight her to a draw."
That was how one old Uchiha survivor from the Warring States Era had once described her.
...
Now Kagami realized that the nonsense coming out of those old clan relics' mouths was even worse than he had imagined.
He had imagined Mito's strength before and believed that even if he could not defeat her, he should at least be able to put up a fight.
Now it seemed he had been thinking too much.
"It wasn't me. I would never leak confidential information, and I would never casually swear on the Uchiha name either!"
Kagami brought up the Uchiha Clan directly.
He had not fallen so low that he would casually make a vicious oath about the entire Uchiha Clan dying out.
But his defense looked pale and powerless.
All six of them had returned to the village and come straight to the Senju district to report the bad news. Along the way, they had not met anyone else, and after arriving at the Senju district, none of them had gone back out.
Yet by just one afternoon, news of Tobirama's death had already spread through all of Konoha.
And the source of those rumors had come from the Uchiha.
Including Mito, there had only been seven people in total who knew of Tobirama's death.
And out of those seven, Kagami just happened to be Uchiha.
Besides, the Uchiha were hardly lacking in methods for secretly passing information.
Did intelligence really have to be delivered face to face?
Clearly, Kagami's explanation was not enough to convince Mito.
The incident had already happened.
Someone had to step forward and take responsibility for it.
Whether Kagami had personally done it was no longer important in Mito's eyes. The rumors had come from the Uchiha, and that alone made Kagami an accomplice.
Because he was Uchiha.
Mito rose to her feet, killing intent spreading through her gaze.
She could not kill this Uchiha brat before her.
But beating him badly enough that he would have to lie in bed at home for half a year?
That much, she could absolutely do.
"Mito-sama!"
"I believe Uchiha Kagami!!"
Hiruzen shouted those words and stepped in front of Kagami, facing Mito directly.
Everyone present was stunned.
Even at a time like this, Hiruzen still dared to step forward and protect Kagami.
A flicker of surprise appeared on Mito's face, but it vanished in an instant.
She stared at Hiruzen's firm expression for several seconds before speaking.
"Brat, do you even know what you're saying?"
"Trying to play the hero here? Putting on a show?"
"That little trick won't move me."
The pressure Mito had been directing at Kagami shifted and locked onto Hiruzen instead.
Kagami looked at Hiruzen with gratitude, then began gasping heavily for breath.
The feeling of floating at sea, of being drowned at any moment, had finally vanished.
Cold sweat had already soaked through his underclothes. The fabric clung tightly to his skin, leaving a sticky, uncomfortable feeling, but Kagami had no time to care about that now.
"Hiruzen, don't push yourself. No matter what, Uchiha Kagami is still Uchiha!"
Danzo looked at his best friend, who was now standing there alone under all the pressure, protecting the very Uchiha who had leaked the information.
In Danzo's mind, the one who had leaked the news among the six of them had to be the Uchiha.
Teacher Tobirama had always been on guard against the Uchiha. No matter what kind of person Kagami was, he was still a member of the Uchiha Clan. Passing information to the Uchiha was not some impossible thing to imagine.
"Shut up!!"
"Did I tell you to speak?"
Mito turned toward Danzo, clearly furious at his interruption.
Feeling the murderous look in Mito's eyes, Danzo instantly shut his mouth and stood there obediently like a quail.
"Mito-sama, I have no intention of putting on any kind of show."
"I believe Uchiha Kagami is not that kind of person."
Hiruzen spoke with bright, unwavering eyes and not the slightest trace of fear in his voice.
"Then tell me your reason."
Mito pressed.
"Uchiha Kagami is different. He doesn't have the arrogance of the Uchiha, nor that attitude of looking down on everyone else. He is gentle. He is kind."
"He always treats the people around him with warmth. On the battlefield, he is a trustworthy comrade. I can safely entrust my back to him."
"..."
Hiruzen continued speaking slowly.
He spoke of everything he knew about Kagami, from the little details of daily life to the life-and-death moments they had shared on the battlefield.
In Hiruzen's memories, members of the Uchiha Clan were always arrogant.
And those Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan were even more outrageous in their pride.
Thinking back on the Uchiha of his own generation, Hiruzen could remember two exceptions.
One was Kagami, who stood before him now.
The other was Haru.
They were both powerful, yet humble, and even ordinary ninja could joke around with them.
Even when someone accidentally offended them, neither of the two would truly become angry. They would only assume the other person had spoken carelessly, laugh it off, and let it pass.
That was precisely why Tobirama had once considered taking both Kagami and Haru as disciples.
Kagami had accepted.
Haru had refused.
Hiruzen spoke with so much detail that everyone present was moved.
Even Danzo, who had been convinced just moments ago that Kagami was the one who leaked the information, began to wonder whether he had wrongly accused him.
(End of Chapter)
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