"But at this point, what use is there in talking anymore? Do you really think I'll just let myself be captured?"
"Then let's settle this once and for all! In this final move, I'll stake my life, my will, and everything I have left!"
As Uchiha Yue's voice echoed like thunder, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression instantly darkened. Yet moments later, he steadied himself, his old eyes regaining a glint of determination as he shouted back with force, and the previously waning aura of the Third Hokage surged anew.
Having reached the end of the road, he no longer clung to illusions of redemption. Reputation and power no longer mattered—if he could drag Uchiha Yue down with him, he would pay any price.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, Sarutobi began weaving the hand seals for the Dead Demon Consuming Seal (Shiki Fūjin)—the very same technique he once used to seal Orochimaru's arms during the invasion of Konoha.
However, while Hiruzen's seal work was precise, Uchiha Yue's reaction was faster—far too fast.
Before Hiruzen could even reach the fifth hand sign of the twelve-seal sequence, Yue's figure blurred. In the next instant, he appeared directly before the aged Hokage, and with a brutal twist, both of Hiruzen's wrists were snapped with a crisp click.
"KR…!"
Eyes widening in disbelief, Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to speak, but Yue cut him off with a cold sneer.
"End of the line, old man. You were going to use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, weren't you? But did you really think I'd let you finish it?"
Having long since taken the Scroll of Seals and researched its contents thoroughly, Uchiha Yue had instantly recognized the dangerous sequence Hiruzen had initiated. After all, in the original timeline, the Third Hokage had indeed perished using this very jutsu against Orochimaru, sacrificing his soul to cripple his former student.
Even for Yue, whose strength had soared to near the ceiling of the shinobi world, he dared not risk facing the Shinigami's grasp. The Dead Demon Consuming Seal, which even threatened beings as powerful as Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, was not something he would ever take lightly.
So the moment he identified the technique, he acted with surgical precision to disrupt it.
"I never expected… that while I've spent so long guarding against your time-space techniques, I would fall prey to this level of execution. It seems… your mastery has already surpassed the Fourth Hokage, reaching a realm I can no longer see."
Staring at Yue, Sarutobi's pain and anger gave way to resignation. His voice carried the bitter taste of powerlessness—his pride as Hokage shattered.
"Standing on the shoulders of our forebears, it's only natural we reach farther. Unlike you, I've never sought to suppress others out of fear or cling to power by sowing suspicion."
"Konoha's decay, the Uchiha's fall—everything spiraled from your cowardice and control."
Yue's voice was cold and merciless, filled with scorn for Sarutobi's manipulations.
"Maybe… Maybe I really was too narrow-minded," Sarutobi murmured after a pause. "Always guarding against shadows, suppressing those who threatened my authority… and forgetting to grow stronger myself."
He was silent for a moment longer, his mind drifting back to the days of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama—a time when Konoha's spirit had been pure, its unity genuine. Hashirama, with unmatched strength, had ruled not with fear, but with kindness, compassion, and unshakable power.
It was only because Hashirama could stand alone against the entire shinobi world that he had the freedom to trust freely, to welcome all into Konoha.
But Sarutobi? Weaker than his predecessors, always surrounded by danger and political tension, he had chosen fear over strength, paranoia over unity. Without realizing it, he had become a schemer—a politician more than a shinobi.
And under his reign, Konoha had slowly rotted.
Perhaps, in hindsight, his downfall was already carved into fate from the moment he abandoned Hashirama's ideals.
"Hmph. It seems you've finally seen it clearly. But there's no medicine for regret in this world. You'll still have to pay for your sins."
Yue dismissed Hiruzen's belated enlightenment with a scoff. Then, weaving a complex set of hand signs, he cast a binding sealing jutsu upon Hiruzen's body, completely cutting off his access to chakra and resistance.
After all, Yue had no intention of letting him die easily or nobly. He intended to expose the true face of the "God of Shinobi" to all of Konoha.
Even now, having subdued him, Yue knew the old man would rather take his own life than face public disgrace. Best to take no chances.
"URGH…"
As the seal clamped down on him, Hiruzen gasped in pain. He tried to speak but was silenced. The regret in his eyes deepened. Yue's action had come just in time—Hiruzen had indeed been gathering chakra for one final suicide attempt, hoping to die before Yue could parade him in front of the village.
But his earlier interruption had scrambled his chakra. After casting the Five Elements Great Explosion and enduring a long battle, he no longer had the energy to quickly recover.
He thought he could buy time with words, but Yue had been ruthless and precise—stripping away even that small opportunity.
"It won't be that easy to die and escape judgment. You'll stay alive until the very end, until everything you've done is laid bare."
Reading him like an open book, Uchiha Yue sneered and tossed the immobilized Hiruzen toward several waiting Uchiha shinobi.
"Watch him. Don't let him bite his tongue, rupture his heart, or mold even a sliver of chakra. And kill anyone who tries to rescue him."
With that order, Yue's gaze swept outward.
And instantly, the entire battlefield grew silent.
Civilians and shinobi alike averted their eyes. No one dared meet Yue's stare.
At that moment, his aura alone silenced Konoha. An invisible pressure hung over them all. He stood at the peak of power—undisputed and unopposed.
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