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Towering mountains pierced the sky, and deafening thunder echoed around them—this was a common sight in the Land of Lightning. After nearly two months of fierce battle, both the Hidden Leaf (Konoha) and Hidden Cloud (Kumo) villages had suddenly ceased their attacks.
High atop one of the mountains, the Second Hokage sat cross-legged, eyes closed, listening to the rolling thunder around him. No one knew what he was doing. Just then, a tall, lean man stepped out of the mist and slowly approached him.
The Second Hokage opened his eyes and looked at the man emerging from the fog. "You're finally here, Second Raikage."
The man in the mist was indeed the Second Raikage. He approached with a grin and said, "Ha! What's wrong, getting impatient? The view's not too bad here, y'know."
The Second Hokage replied bluntly, "Let's just get straight to the point."
The Second Raikage nodded. "Yeah, I'm not one for empty talk either. I called you here to discuss a peace deal between Kumo and Konoha. What do you think?"
The Second Hokage stood up and looked at him. "Release all Iwa-nin prisoners and sign a non-aggression pact."
The Raikage thought for a moment. "We've captured over a thousand Iwa-nin. They're offering a ransom of 100,000 per head. As for you Leaf folks—we won't demand reparations. We'll agree to a non-aggression clause."
The Hokage replied, "The Land of Frost is a vassal state of the Land of Fire. We're setting up a shinobi village there. That needs to be clearly stated in the treaty: Kumo is forbidden from using military force against it."
The Raikage smirked. "So you want to pull the same move on us that you pulled on Kiri? Fine, I'll agree. We won't touch the Land of Frost—but in return, I want 30% of the missions from both Frost and the Land of Hot Water to go to Kumo. How's that?"
The Hokage nodded. "You can have 20%. Konoha controls 70% of those missions—we can afford to hand over 20 to you."
Suddenly, the Raikage's expression turned cold, and his killing intent surged. He challenged, "Tobirama Senju, to be honest, if those damn Mist shinobi hadn't stirred up trouble in my territory, I would've gone all-in against you. I'd love to see which one of us would come out on top."
Tobirama met his gaze, arms crossed, and responded with his own killing intent, proud and unshaken: "On the battlefield, Konoha shinobi have never lost. Not in the past, not now, and not in the future. I'd love to pit ourselves against the so-called strongest military nation, the Land of Lightning."
They stared each other down, neither backing down. After a long silence, both suddenly burst into laughter.
Tobirama laughed and said, "If we weren't enemies, I'd probably call you a kindred spirit. Hell, we'd probably be sworn brothers."
The Raikage laughed too. "Exactly! If it wasn't for the interests of our nations, I'd have gladly sworn brotherhood with you. I'll personally go to the Land of Fire in three months to sign the non-aggression pact."
Tobirama thought for a moment. "Then I'll personally go to the Hidden Cloud to sign the treaty. I won't let you bear all the burden."
The Raikage smiled. "I've met countless heroes since becoming the Second Raikage, but I've never truly admired anyone—until now. Tobirama, you're thinking about your enemy's comfort. What a shame you're not a hero of Kumo. If you were, I'd admire you the most."
Tobirama replied, "If you were a hero of Konoha, I'd gladly share the title of Hokage with you."
The two looked at each other and laughed once again.
"Why... why did you come here, Grandpa?" Aki stared at the writing on the stone tablet. "How did you survive that battle? How did you sneak past the Second Hokage's sensing abilities to enter Konoha and get in here? And what are you even here for?"
With the Mangekyō Sharingan activated, Aki could now read nearly the entire first half of the tablet as if the words were etched into his mind. But the second half might as well have been gibberish—it was completely incomprehensible.
Aki had been in this secret chamber for almost two months. He kept reading the tablet and wondering why his godlike grandfather had come here. The rest of his time was spent training in the jutsu written on the tablet. Aside from Izanami and Izanagi—both illusions that cost the sight of the Sharingan—Aki had learned every other technique mentioned. He had mastered Tsukuyomi and even Susanoo.
Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. He pulled out a scroll and examined its contents closely. Looking back and forth between the scroll and the tablet, he blurted, stunned, "No way… That's how I learned Amaterasu? I thought I was a genius, but it turns out… Who the hell was that guy with Wood Release? He didn't have a Sharingan, so he couldn't have been Grandpa. And my teacher's long dead. Then who was it?!"
After fighting that mysterious man, Aki had been tossed this scroll as the man left. Back at the Temple of Fire, Aki had once opened it out of boredom. It had some notes on space techniques and a bizarre jutsu he couldn't perform at the time. He figured it was some prank, but the space jutsu was usable, so he practiced it anyway.
But when he awakened the Mangekyō during the battle with the Second Raikage, he realized that strange jutsu was actually the starting form of Amaterasu. And since his Mangekyō enhanced both space and fire techniques, Aki had never imagined that he'd already learned Amaterasu long before unlocking his eyes.
Now he felt like he was on the verge of something huge. It was like he was in a maze—if he could just break through, he'd uncover the connection between that mysterious man and his grandfather, and what they were scheming.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Uchiha Onizuka's voice called from outside the chamber. Aki allowed him to enter.
Onizuka rushed in and reported, "Sir! The Second Hokage has just formed an alliance with the Hidden Cloud!"
Aki's hand, still resting on the stone tablet, froze. The scroll slipped from his grasp and hit the floor. A mouthful of blood burst from his lips, splattering across the tablet.
Seeing this, Onizuka cried out in concern, "Sir, are you alright?!"
Aki grabbed the stone for support, barely staying upright. "I'm fine. When the Second Hokage returns to the village, call me again. For now, get out."
Onizuka hesitated, wanting to say more, but Aki shouted, "I said get out!" Onizuka bowed and quickly left.
Alone again, Aki sat down slowly to regulate his breath. He muttered to himself, "I already knew this would happen… but hearing it with my own ears still hits hard."
He had known ever since returning to Konoha that the Fire and Lightning countries would definitely form an alliance. It was obvious—Aki had seen this kind of move countless times in his past life in the business world. Two enemies fight, and a third party swoops in to reap the benefits. He'd seen it again and again. But even knowing all that, when he heard it confirmed, rage and hatred still surged in his chest. He couldn't help spitting out blood.
Sitting cross-legged in front of the stone tablet, Aki stared at it and thought, If I hadn't reincarnated, if I were just another Uchiha kid under ten years old, I'd probably hate Konoha too…
After a long silence, he looked down at the floor, Mangekyō spinning in his eyes. He whispered to himself, "Understanding isn't the same as acceptance. Even if they've allied… I'm still taking the Second Raikage's head."
Back in the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the Second Hokage handle paperwork. "Sensei… what do we do about Aki?"
Tobirama continued working as he answered, "The village's interests come first. As much as I'd like to help Aki, the current situation means we can't go to war with Kumo."
Sarutobi hesitated. "So you're not even going to meet him? I heard Aki tried to see you right away, but you refused."
Tobirama looked up. "What would be the point? To apologize? To try and make him understand? The kid stirred up a damn hornet's nest—me not punishing him is already doing him a favor. Look at what he's done to Konoha. The paperwork is stacked sky-high. And this whole 'regional official election' mess? Did I approve that?! I don't have time for him right now."
Sarutobi tried to speak again, but Tobirama finished a document and tossed it at him. "Go check on him at the Uchiha compound. Give him this. The head of the Hyūga clan will take over as director of the Konoha Security Department. Tell Aki I've reviewed his plans. All prisons in the Fire Country will be handed over to the Anbu. The Security Department becomes a subordinate unit called the Surveillance Division, managed by the Hyūga. The department maintaining law and order inside Konoha will be renamed the Konoha Public Safety Bureau and handled by the Uchiha.
In major emergencies, the Security Department can request Anbu assistance. If Anbu gets involved, the Hokage must personally authorize it—no exceptions. Anbu isn't allowed to interfere without direct orders. As for public safety outside the village, we'll follow Aki's plan. The Security Department retains authority to supervise and issue commands, but everything else will be handled by local clans."
Sarutobi blinked in surprise. "Sensei, what is this?"
Tobirama sighed, then chuckled. "Back when I created the Security Department, it was to stabilize the Uchiha. I didn't expect that kid to dismantle the entire setup in less than ten days. Think about what that means. I never imagined Aki had such political instincts—he's even more ruthless than me! And after pulling it off, he immediately teamed up with the Hyūga, your Sarutobi clan, and a bunch of smaller families to split up the department's power. He boosted their influence while also helping me weaken the major clans. Giving him this concession over Anbu's authority is my way of paying him back."
"....."