The moment he heard the voice, Uchiha Kagami instinctively raised his head. At the same time, a slender hand covered the top of his head before casually flinging him away like a chick, instantly piercing through the air and shooting into the mountains.
Hiruzen, Danzō, and the others didn't even have time to react before a figure suddenly appeared before their eyes, black mist swirling and condensing into a massive dark hand that came crashing down from above.
At the critical moment, Tobirama pushed his students away with all his might. The powerful strike plowed through like a giant's hand, sending everyone flying as a violent shockwave erupted.
Hiruzen and the others landed one after another in the nearby thicket, while Tobirama alone was blown in the opposite direction, crashing against a stone wall.
They scrambled to their feet in panic, finally catching sight of the black-clad youth's retreating figure—and the enormous skeletal form materializing from the swirling dark mist!
"Uchiha Kamihane!"
Hiruzen's eyes instantly ignited with fury. In that moment, reason ceased to exist—the only thing in his mind was his father's cold corpse, his chest nearly bursting with rage.
Kamihane strode leisurely toward Tobirama, 'Dew on Autumn Leaves' condensing into a straight longsword. The Susanoo did not follow his movements but instead drifted in the opposite direction, raising its black blade high, aimed directly at Hiruzen and the others.
At that very moment, Uchiha Kagami, his crimson eyes brimming with tears, lunged forward like a sharp arrow. This long-lost brother had presented him with a cruel dilemma the moment they reunited.
Clearly, he had only a fleeting instant to hesitate—there was no time left to save everyone at once.
Whether it was the Mangekyō Sharingan, Wood Release, or the Flying Thunder God Technique that had once dominated battlefields with pride—none of it was of any use against that man.
On one side stood the Second Hokage of Konoha, the current head of the Senju clan, his most respected teacher.
On the other side were his longtime companions, the fresh buds of Konoha, the hope of the future.
Suddenly, he understood the significance of Tobirama's earlier question and finally realized why Tobirama had publicly declared him the Third Hokage.
'Teacher... did he already know my brother would come!?'
As he pondered, he met Tobirama's gaze—those eyes held no fear, no bitterness, only the serenity of one who had seen through life and death, along with a faint trace of encouraging approval.
'If I must make a choice, I will choose the path with more hope. So no matter which one it is, as long as it leads to a brighter future for the village, I will carry it out without hesitation.'
The azure glow of the sword illuminated Tobirama's pale face.
Uchiha Kagami lunged in front of Hiruzen and the others, golden light swelling as wooden sprouts grew. A gleaming golden arm stretched above their heads, layer upon layer of wooden shields stacking into an unyielding wall. Countless branches extended from Kagami's body, tightly entwining the Konoha shinobi.
"Boom!"
The black blade struck the golden skeletal arm without flourish, splattering golden light like ink. It held for less than a second before the condensed black crescent sliced through the bone hand and cleaved into the wooden barrier.
Seizing the moment, Kagami decisively activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, vanishing with everyone in an instant. The last frame of vision showed Kamihane thrusting his sword through Tobirama's chest.
A gentle breeze swept by, causing Tobirama's silver hair to flutter slightly. He looked up at Kamihane, his gaze remaining composed despite the blood trickling from his lips.
Kamihane tilted her head and crouched before him, curiosity lacing her voice. 'Facing death, yet you show no surprise at all?'
Tobirama's eyelids trembled faintly as his life rapidly slipped away. 'Your goal... has always been Kagami, hasn't it? Provoking war, setting up this obvious scheme—all of it was for him, for those eyes, wasn't it?'
'As expected of Lord Tobirama, you're absolutely right.' Kamihane shook her head with a smile. 'But what does it matter? Everything is proceeding exactly as I planned.'
"How... confident. Should I say you're truly Madara's disciple after all?" Tobirama's breathing grew increasingly faint. The resonance between Leaf on Autumn Dew and the sword energy already lingering in his body instantly severed his heart meridians—beyond saving now.
"Kagami... has already become the perfect inheritor of the Will of Fire... As the Third Hokage of Konoha, he wields both Wood Release and the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan... Even for someone like you, stealing those eyes won't be so easy..."
"Is that so?" Kamihane whispered by his ear, eyes glinting coldly. "The overconfident one is you, Lord Tobirama. You place too much faith in this so-called Will of Fire. I saw through Konoha's true face eleven years ago."
Kamihane stood and walked away, his silhouette blurring in the moonlight.
The evening breeze carried a faint voice, the last words that Tobirama heard in his final moments:
"From now on, my grievances with your Senju clan are settled. If your descendants seek revenge, let them come."
When Kagami returned to the scene, it was already deserted, leaving only the cold corpse of Tobirama Senju behind.
Holding Tobirama's lifeless body, he returned to Konoha with a sorrowful and desolate expression.
However, what greeted him was... blatant, undisguised accusations.
"Damn you! Why didn't you save the Hokage first!?"
"Kagami, what were you really thinking? Everyone chose you for the negotiations precisely to rescue the Hokage, didn't they?"
Kagami froze, the tear stains at the corners of his eyes still fresh.
Faced with everyone's confusion, he explained himself full of self-reproach, but instead of gaining their understanding, the voices of condemnation only grew louder.
"We thought you'd live up to everyone's trust, but... sigh..."
"You've completely failed to live up to Lord Tobirama's expectations!"
That night, he lay on the cold bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep till dawn.
As days passed, the Leaf Village's prejudice against Kagami didn't fade but instead grew worse.
Even the comrades he once saved didn't speak up for him, shutting their doors one after another, with Danzo even stepping forward to accuse him:
"You could have saved Lord Tobirama back then! Don't tell me you thought you could become Hokage once he died!?"
"Kagami, you've let us down so much…"
Each word struck Kagami's heart like a dagger.
Days later, under the instigation of certain individuals, the dissatisfaction toward Kagami during the war was finally unleashed:
"Hmph, I always said this guy was up to no good. On the battlefield, he was indecisive—he could have held the position, but instead he just stood by and watched the Cloud ninja invade, fighting without a shred of backbone!"
"What? You're saying he gave up the position to protect us? Ridiculous. We were prepared to sacrifice ourselves—who gave him the right to tarnish our resolve?"
"Speaking of which, if he had just taken out Kinkaku and Ginkaku during that night's 'Decapitation Strike,' the war would have ended right then. We wouldn't have lost so many people for nothing..."
More and more people stepped forward to accuse him; even ordinary villagers would cast looks of disgust when he walked down the street.
As time fermented, the once heroic figure who had risked his life on the battlefield had now become a rat crossing the street—a cowardly good-for-nothing.
Even because of him, the entire Uchiha clan faced ostracism from Konoha.