At dawn, a thin layer of mist drifted through the Uchiha district.
Kagami walked slowly through it without any clear destination. His eyes were bloodshot.
After leaving the Senju district, he had wandered the streets of Konoha all night. Only when the sky began to brighten had he finally returned to the clan.
His mind was a complete mess.
At first, he had desperately wanted to drag out whoever in the Uchiha had leaked the news of Tobirama-sama's death.
But after calming down a little, Kagami realized that even if he caught that person, what then?
Without the help of the Uchiha Clan itself, there was no way a single person could spread the news of Tobirama-sama's death across all of Konoha in just one afternoon.
And what if the mastermind behind it all was Uchiha Tomita?
As clan head, his suspicion was currently the greatest. In the entire Uchiha Clan, only a few people had the authority to mobilize the clan's力量 so quickly.
Was Kagami really supposed to turn against the clan head for the sake of Hiruzen?
His mind felt dizzy.
He could not believe such a rebellious thought had even entered his head.
But if he simply let it go, then he would have to carry this black pot for no reason at all. He had anger with nowhere to vent it, and no way to face Hiruzen.
"Hey, Kagami, you're back."
A few Uchiha passing by saw that Kagami had returned and greeted him from the side. Their eyes kept drifting over him, and every one of them wore a strange expression.
They had all heard the story that Kagami and the others had abandoned the Hokage and fled back to Konoha.
They had never expected that a genius of the Uchiha like Kagami would do such a thing.
"Captain Haru said you guys abandoned the Hokage and ran back to Konoha. Is that true?"
"Yeah, you're an Uchiha genius. It's hard to believe you'd really do something like that."
"Captain Haru also said Hiruzen is going to become Konoha's Third Hokage?"
"No way, right?"
"..."
All at once, more and more Uchiha seemed to appear around Kagami, talking over one another and asking questions. They all wanted to confirm whether Haru's information was really true.
"Who did you say?"
"Haru??"
Kagami's face filled with disbelief.
The one who leaked the news of Tobirama-sama's death was Haru?
How was that possible?
Among all the people in the clan, the one Kagami had always gotten along with best was Haru.
Haru was an Uchiha personally acknowledged by Teacher Tobirama, an Uchiha who had risen above the clan's lower impulses, an Uchiha who had truly inherited Konoha's Will of Fire.
If Haru could do something like this, then how was he any different from the hawkish Uchiha inside the clan?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible!!
Kagami felt that he must be too tired. Either he was hearing things, or someone had cast a genjutsu on him and was trying to mess with him.
Release!
I release!!
Kagami quickly formed the hand seals for breaking genjutsu, only to find that it did absolutely nothing. The Uchiha around him were still chattering nonstop about Haru.
"Enough!!"
Kagami shouted.
He did not want to waste another second here.
He had to find Haru himself and demand a clear answer.
Why had he done this?
Was he being forced?
It had to be Clan Head Tomita forcing him to take the first step and leak the news of Tobirama-sama's death.
It had to be.
The good image Haru had built in Konoha over sixteen years made it impossible for Kagami to accept this reality.
What kind of Uchiha could pretend to be a good person for sixteen full years and even fool Teacher Tobirama?
That would be terrifying beyond belief.
Kagami was so anxious that he directly used the Body Flicker Technique. In only two or three minutes, he arrived at Haru's house.
"Haru, you don't need to be afraid. Was it the clan head forcing you? Did he deliberately make you take the lead and spread the news of Tobirama-sama's death?"
"..."
Haru was doing his usual daily training routine when he saw Kagami standing there with bloodshot eyes and an almost crazed expression.
The words coming out of Kagami's mouth left Haru completely baffled.
Clan head?
Tomita forcing him?
Tomita had the ability to force him?
If only!
While Tobirama had still been alive, Haru had needed to maintain his image and hide his true intentions.
But now that Tobirama was dead, Haru was already thinking about how to push Tomita aside and become the Uchiha Clan head himself.
The position of Third Hokage was something Haru was absolutely determined to obtain.
He only hoped Tomita would not try to compete with him for it.
Otherwise, Haru would just have to get rid of him first.
"Kagami, the news of Tobirama's death was spread across Konoha by me through the Military Police. Tomita doesn't know shit. He didn't even have that information."
"Kekeke!!!"
Haru curled his lips into a grin.
He spoke with complete indifference toward both Tobirama and Tomita, not even bothering with honorifics anymore.
After all, he was going to lay his cards on the table with Tomita sooner or later anyway.
He was going to become Hokage.
Surely Tomita could not still remain the Uchiha Clan head after Haru became Hokage.
If it was all going to end in a full falling-out anyway, then what was the point in pretending any longer?
While Tobirama had been alive, Haru had already grown tired of pretending.
Step by step, Haru would climb to the very top.
He would become the Uchiha Clan head.
He would become Konoha's Hokage!
"Haru, how did you become like this? You weren't like this before!"
Kagami's voice trembled.
The Haru standing before him felt so unfamiliar, and that unrestrained laughter in his ears sounded unbearably harsh.
At this moment, Haru looked no different from the clan's hawks.
Could it be that Haru's former self had all been an act?
That was too horrifying.
Could someone really pretend to be an inheritor of the Will of Fire for sixteen whole years?
"Tobirama-sama always had high hopes for you. He believed you'd inherited Konoha's Will of Fire. Was the way you acted before all fake?"
"Fake?"
Haru let out a mocking laugh.
Why would he need to fake that?
He was not some illiterate thug.
Basic things like caring for companions, respecting the elderly, and being polite to others were things he had actually learned.
It was just that the Uchiha were too extreme, too proud, too full of themselves. Actions that Haru had always considered perfectly normal had already made him into a freak among the Uchiha.
Greeting Konoha's villagers warmly.
Helping old ladies cross the street.
Using polite words like please when speaking to merchants.
Those were just basic standards for an educated person.
How could proud Uchiha ever do such things?
Later, Haru had simply realized that this style actually worked pretty well.
That little essay he had written in the Ninja Academy about the Will of Fire had even made Tobirama believe Haru really was an Uchiha who had inherited it.
"If that's what you want to think, then sure."
Haru could not be bothered to explain any more than that to Kagami.
Why should he waste words on someone unworthy of hearing them?
"So you came running over here this early in the morning just to say all this to me?"
Looking at Haru's utterly unmasked attitude, Kagami felt his whole body go cold.
The Haru before him was even more terrifying than he had imagined.
Haru really had disguised himself as an inheritor of the Will of Fire and kept up the act until Teacher Tobirama died, only then revealing his true face.
(End of Chapter)
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