"I wanted everyone to see the spirit of Konoha – this is called burning my Will of Fire!!"
Makoto's clear voice waves crashed against the stone walls of the Hokage Tower, bouncing back and buzzing in everyone's eardrums, even making the small blue grass in the corners tremble three times.
Itachi started pondering the meaning of life at age four, so Makoto planned to arm himself with the Will of Fire starting at two and a half.
Danzo's exposed single eye narrowed to a slit.
Makoto wouldn't indulge this old bastard. Others might fear this 'Darkness of Konoha', the 'Shadow Kage', but he wasn't afraid.
His personal principle had always been: rather than wronging himself and internalizing the conflict, find a way to blame others.
At worst, it was just dying once. After he resurrected, he'd develop discreetly outside for a while, and then settle scores fiercely!
With this in mind, Makoto stood on his tiptoes, pointing a finger at Danzo's single eye: "You immediately say I was ordered to do it. Do you think the Will of Fire is fake? Or just empty words to fool idiots?"
"It seems you are the one disloyal to the successive Hokage, unjust to Konoha!"
Makoto's words were rapid-fire, exploding in the ears of the surrounding Shinobi.
"What kind of intentions are you harboring to say such things? What are your true designs for Konoha? Do you have issues with the Shodaime, Nidaime, and Yondaime Hokage?"
The last sentence was shouted especially loud, startling the night birds in the trees into flapping flight, a dark mass blotting out half the sky. The sound of their wings beating was particularly piercing in the dead silence of the open area, like countless small drums beating.
Makoto stood directly atop the moral high ground of the Will of Fire, pointing and gesturing wildly at Danzo.
Danzo's face turned black, darker than the black pots used in the old countryside's house. The fierce light in his covered eye almost burned through the bandages.
He could feel the gazes of the surrounding Shinobi sticking to him: curious, stifling laughter, and the barely concealed mockery from a few bastards in the Uchiha Clan.
He had lived most of his life, killed enough Shinobi to fill two rivers. In this life, besides Hiruzen, no one had ever made him suffer such anger.
Hiruzen, as his close friend, often used his position as Hokage to pressure him, fine.
'But this brat whose hair hasn't even started growing properly, this inherently evil Uchiha little devil!'
'He actually dared to use the Will of Fire to shut me up? Did he really think I, Danzo, was as incapable as Hiruzen?'
His fingers under the black robe were already gripping a kunai, knuckles white like frozen ice. He couldn't help but think inwardly: 'What a sharp-tongued, inherently evil Uchiha brat. This child must not be allowed to live!'
The surrounding Shinobi were all stunned by Makoto.
Who didn't know Danzo was notorious for being petty, vindictive, bearing grudges over the smallest things?
In Konoha, it was better to offend Sandaime than to provoke this 'Darkness of Konoha'… this old codger truly did bad things.
And he was especially sneaky, often crushing people to death. The matter of Konoha's White Fang back in the day, a few here present were privy to it. This was an old, shady character who could use rumors and slander to drive a Kage-level powerhouse to suicide.
But now, this old codger was being rendered speechless by a little kid.
The Uchiha Clan's Great Elder looked at Makoto's back, his turbid eyes gleaming with a shrewd light.
'This kid wasn't just talented, brave, and quick-witted… most importantly, he was eloquent.'
'Our Uchiha Clan had always suffered from not being good with words.'
But at this age, this kid already knew how to use the Will of Fire as both a sword and a shield. He was a hundred times better than Fugaku's rigid personality. We must increase all kinds of resources to nurture him properly.'
Many of the Uchiha hawks stifled their laughter until their shoulders shook. Their crimson Sharingan glowed even brighter, their eyes full of 'serves you right' when looking at Danzo.
Danzo's reputation was poor in Konoha, and even worse within the Uchiha Clan, to the point where he was despised by people and disliked by dogs.
They originally thought they were here to fight, but it looked like it was turning into a laughter-suppression contest.
The smell of gunpowder in the air hadn't dissipated, but now had a hint of absurdity.
A half-grown child pointing at the Hokage Advisor's nose, calling him disloyal and unfilial, using the Will of Fire like a kunai, stabbing fiercely at Danzo's heart.
Making this old, shady figure who could stop children's nightly crying unable to refute him.
"You urinated on the Sandaime Hokage's sculpture…" Shimura Danzo's voice was like polished sheet metal, squeezed through his teeth.
"I'm young!" Makoto immediately interrupted his casting, stating righteously: "Isn't it normal to not be able to hold it in? Have you never wet your pants when you were a child?"
This blocked Danzo so much he almost choked. The blood vessels in his exposed single eye were congested, and he was close to activating the Sharingan. Chakra churned madly under his black robe, the air around him growing several degrees colder.
Seeing Danzo's fierce glare and the cold air around him, Makoto shivered. He really wanted to step up and slap him a few times left and right.
Compared to verbal sparring, he actually preferred using his fists.
But his strength was still a bit weak, and he needed to improve it quickly.
'This old bastard Shimura Danzo dared to intimidate me today, tomorrow he would dare to find an opportunity to kill me.'
Although Makoto wasn't afraid of death, one couldn't guard against a thief for a thousand days. If he got the chance, he'd definitely find a big bridge to seal him away properly.
'If only the mission reward earlier had been the S-Rank Ninjutsu, Dead Demon Consuming Seal.'
'I could secretly form the hand seals, summon the Shinigami, become the Shinigami's Jinchuriki. Whoever didn't give me respect, he'd directly, fiercely seal them away for eternity, sending them to keep the Yondaime Hokage company.'
Regardless of their strength, whoever, it would be superfluous.
Then Makoto spread his hands and said: "Urinating on Sandaime Hokage's sculpture was indeed my fault. I apologize. But everything else I did was for my Will of Fire!"
"You…" Danzo was about to erupt, but Makoto directly interrupted.
"I've already apologized, what more do you want? Don't be unreasonable!" Makoto raised his eyebrows and continued: "Elderly people should have martial virtue, be more magnanimous."
"I, Uchiha Makoto, take full responsibility for my actions. That urine was mine, I urinated very comfortably. If you think what I did was wrong, you are welcome to come and kill me at any time."
"If the Sandaime Hokage's tolerance is so small that he holds a grudge against me, then I'll just repay him with my life!"
Before the words finished, Makoto pulled out a pre-prepared kunai from his clothes. With a cold glint, he stabbed it towards his own chest without a hint of hesitation.
"Makoto!!"
Itachi's voice cracked. His whole person shot forward like a black shadow, tightly gripping Makoto's wrist the moment the kunai touched his skin.
His knuckles turned white from the force, the veins on the back of his hand throbbing.
The gasps of the surrounding Shinobi rose one after another. Even the Anbu's members' eyes showed astonishment, 'This kid was genuinely prepared to atone with his death just now.'
Hiruzen, holding his pipe, sighed. Smoke rings dispersed before his eyes.
By observing Makoto's actions, he found that he seemed to really just be simply mentally unsound, not valuing his own life, and didn't appear to be acting under anyone's orders.
"Disperse." Hiruzen tapped his pipe, embers falling to the ground. "These are troubled times. Don't crowd here. I will have the Anbu investigate this matter thoroughly later."
As the words fell, Hiruzen reached out to pat Makoto's head, but he slickly dodged it, leaving Hiruzen's hand hanging in mid-air, like holding an invisible stone.
However, he wasn't embarrassed. After decades as Hokage, what scene hadn't he seen?
He cleared his throat and said slowly: "Where tree leaves dance, one shall find flames."
"The fire's shadow will illuminate the village and once again tree leaves shall bud anew. Konoha's future still relies on you..."
Makoto listened, pursing his lips. He was just about to mentally prepare some sarcastic remarks, but turned his head and saw Itachi and Shisui with shining eyes, as if pumped up, their breathing even becoming heavier. The two even subconsciously clenched their fists.
'Seriously, bro? Is this right?' He rolled his eyes, utterly unable to understand their thought processes.
This farce finally came to a temporary end. Before leaving, Makoto suddenly raised his voice, shouting to the full assembly:
"Everyone, if one day I unfortunately 'commit suicide' by getting eighteen kunai in the back..."
"Or fall to my death on stairs, get killed by falling flowers and plants while walking, drown after falling into water, choke to death on water, get choked to death on food, get bitten to death by mosquitoes while sleeping..."
Makoto listed over a hundred ways to die in one breath, making Danzo's face turn green.
"Please don't overthink it. It definitely has nothing to do with the Hokage Advisor's subordinates, and even less to do with the Hokage Advisor himself."
"Of course, it absolutely is not something the Sandaime Hokage tacitly approved."
As the words fell, Makoto suddenly straightened his back, his chest puffed out like a door panel, his expression serious, his voice bright as a ringing bell, his whole body as if wrapped in a layer of golden light:
"I believe the great, just Konoha's leadership will definitely protect this tender sprout, and won't hold a grudge against me because of today's minor incident."
These people couldn't morally blackmail Makoto because he had no morals and wouldn't pretend to have morals.
Whereas Makoto could morally blackmail them because they had to pretend to have morals.
After these words, even a fool would understand what Makoto meant. The surrounding gazes all turned toward Danzo and Hiruzen.
The air congealed like ice, and even breathing became lighter.
Danzo's face was so black you could squeeze ink from it, enough to write with a brush dipped in it. His knuckles clenched until they creaked, as if crushing Makoto's bones.
Even a 'crack' sound was heard as he crushed the kunai in his sleeve. Black fragments fell from the hem of his black robe, rolling several circles on the ground.
The Shinobi in front of the Hokage Tower all noticed this, and many frowned.
The Shinobi around Danzo uniformly took several steps back, afraid Danzo would erupt on the spot and they'd be caught in the crossfire.
Hiruzen held his pipe, smoke obscuring his face completely. No one could see the emotion in his eyes. Only the fingers holding the pipe tightened slightly, tobacco ashes rustling down onto his Hokage Robe...
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FOR EVERY 50 POWER STONES, I'LL UPLOAD ONE CHAPTER