Under the hostile stares of the villagers, Tōshirō arrived at a certain building—the Hokage's office.
Tōshirō was a bit confused.Shouldn't they be taking him to wherever the Jinchūriki is supposed to live from now on?
With that doubt in mind, he followed the attendant into the Hokage's office and saw one of the village's big shots—the Third Hokage.
Once Tōshirō was brought in, the attendant tactfully took their leave.
Seeing Tōshirō had arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi greeted him just like usual—without any airs, his face wearing that seemingly warm, but ultimately deceptive smile.To anyone unfamiliar with him, that kind expression could easily fool them.
Tōshirō responded with polite indifference."Hokage-sama, what did you call me here for?"
"Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to hear how you're feeling."
"What feelings could I possibly have? It's not like anything good came out of this."
Hiruzen glanced at the injuries on Tōshirō's face and used that as a segue."Looks like you had a rough time getting here."
Tōshirō let out a long sigh."After everything that happened, I can understand it. If this is what it takes to ease the minds of the villagers, then I have no regrets."
Hiruzen raised Tōshirō up with praise, saying,"You've learned to put yourself in others' shoes. It seems you've matured quite a bit—you're even starting to think like a Hokage. That's rare and admirable."
Think like a Hokage?Tōshirō instantly went on alert.He kept a modest tone:"Thinking like a Hokage? Hokage-sama, surely you're exaggerating."
"Thinking like a Hokage" my ass.
Tōshirō couldn't help but suspect that in the original story, Uchiha Itachi got suckered by this exact line just because he was still young.
On the surface, "thinking like a Hokage" sounds like a compliment.
But when you really think about it—it's terrifying.
What does it mean to think like a Hokage? It means viewing everything from the Hokage's perspective.And what does that perspective look like?
Even though the Uchiha clan made great sacrifices for the village…Even though the village treated them unfairly…Even though the village suppressed them…Even though the village constantly suspected them…
If the Uchiha developed resentment, then it's the Uchiha's fault.
A mentally unprepared Itachi got suckered by that kind of logic, and in the name of some so-called "greater good," ended up exterminating his entire clan.When you look at it like that, it makes sense.
"I'm not exaggerating at all," Hiruzen said, slowly shaking his head before continuing,"But don't think you have to carry everything by yourself. One person's power has limits. You should learn to rely on your comrades from time to time."
This guy didn't drag him all the way to the Hokage's office just to say these empty platitudes, right?
Tōshirō pretended to be listening earnestly, putting on a thoughtful expression.
Hiruzen seemed fairly satisfied with Tōshirō's attitude. He hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to bring something up.
Tōshirō could tell he was waiting for him to ask, so he played along:"What is it, Hokage-sama? Is there something you want to tell me?"
After a moment of hesitation, Hiruzen finally spoke:"To be honest, I wasn't planning on telling you this. I didn't want to cause any unnecessary misunderstandings.But… at this point, I have no choice."
"What is it?"
Hiruzen said slowly,"It's about the death of Uchiha Itachi."
Tōshirō's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"It's a long story," Hiruzen began."To understand it, we have to go back to the battle between Uchiha Madara and the First Hokage…"
Hiruzen went on at length, and Tōshirō quietly listened, summarizing the key point in his mind:
The First Hokage overused his body during the battle with Madara, causing excessive cell division, which shortened his lifespan and led indirectly to his death.Because of this, the village began to harbor resentment toward the Uchiha clan.
Someone noticed the underlying tension and planned to exploit that crack—tear it wide open and sabotage the relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan from within. So, someone disguised themselves as a member of the Uchiha and triggered the Five-Tails incident in Iwagakure. Naturally, Iwagakure came to Konoha and gave them two options: either hand over the most respected member of the Uchiha clan… or prepare for war.
When the village learned of this, they informed Elder Itachi. Elder Itachi chose to sacrifice himself rather than let a full-scale war break out with Iwagakure—that kind of conflict would've had too great an impact.
After saying all that, Hiruzen Sarutobi added one more thing:
"I believe that whoever summoned the Five-Tails wasn't just trying to cause destruction in the village. Their main goal was to rip apart the relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan, thus initiating internal sabotage."
From an outsider's perspective, Iwagakure unleashing a tailed beast on the village looked like a straightforward act of revenge—pointing the finger once again at the Uchiha.
But from the Uchiha's perspective, the story looked very different.Their clansmen fought and died for the village on the battlefield. Yet somehow, one of them ended up having a tailed beast implanted in their body and caused harm to the village. Rather than showing sympathy, the village turned on them with hostility. Naturally, this only deepened the Uchiha's resentment toward the village.
Tōshirō nodded in understanding.
At a glance, it looked like Iwagakure attacked with the tailed beast out of revenge.But peel back the layers, and the true goal becomes clear: drive a wedge between Konoha and the Uchiha clan.
And anyone who discovered this "truth" might easily believe it—unaware that there was yet another layer of manipulation behind it.
Tōshirō had slightly more intel than Hiruzen Sarutobi, so he could see a bit further.
On the surface, there was no obvious way to tell what the Uchiha's goal was.
But when he connected it with Madara Uchiha's arc in the original story, and remembered what the Five-Tails had recently told him—it didn't take much imagination to piece things together.
The sequence of events became clearer:
Someone would kill Tsunade right in front of him. Then, two things would happen:
The tailed beast inside him would go berserk.
He'd awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
If he were a native of this world, at that moment he'd fall into despair with the world.Then Madara Uchiha would make his grand entrance and begin sweet-talking him—selling him on the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan. He'd say it was written on a stone tablet, passed down through generations of the Uchiha, and therefore absolutely trustworthy.
Oh, and in that dream world?You'd get to see Tsunade again, the person you love most.Tell me—would you do it or not?
…Wait.A stone tablet?
Tōshirō suddenly remembered—didn't Elder Itachi leave him a stone tablet among his belongings before he died?
With that memory, Tōshirō's thoughts spiraled deeper.
In the original story, before Madara manipulated Obito, he first "coincidentally" encountered him, then lured him into awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan—only then did the real manipulation begin.
If that whole setup were applied to Tōshirō, and Madara only showed up after his Mangekyō awakened, it would come off as way too deliberate.
In other words, Madara had likely already begun manipulating him.And that stone tablet was the bait.On the surface, it looked like Tōshirō was pursuing Madara's trail.In reality, Madara had left those clues intentionally, waiting for him to follow them.
And who had handed him that clue?
Following the pattern of manipulation stories—anyone who proactively gives you a clue is usually part of the setup.Though it pained him to think this way, the person who gave him that intel—Elder Itachi—was highly suspicious…
And now, in this mission where things went so horribly wrong, the leader of the rogue ninja group they encountered was none other than Uchiha Aka, one of Elder Itachi's people…
It's hard not to let your imagination run wild at this point.
What if…What if Itachi's cause of death hadn't been something Sarutobi Hiruzen admitted to him?What if he'd been the one to discover it?
Then from Madara Uchiha's perspective, Tōshirō—as a "native"—would be filled with overwhelming conflict toward the village.
And adding to that, almost no one even knew he had a Sharingan—he almost never used it.Besides Tsunade, the only one who knew… was Elder Itachi.
That realization sent a chill down Tōshirō's spine.
Damn it!Elder Itachi…
No—
Madara Uchiha, you old bastard…You played with my feelings!!!
(End of Chapter)
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