Chapter 135: Tobirama's Failing Grade; Isshin's Mangekyō Awakening!
Konoha. The Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat with a cigarette in one hand and a red pen in the other,
squinting through a cloud of smoke as he graded a stack of examination papers.
These were the mid-term essays from the Academy. He had personally written the
prompt:
1. Define the Will of Fire in your own words. 2. Share a personal experience
where you felt the Will of Fire in action. 3. Identify one systemic flaw
currently existing in the village and propose a solution.
The first two questions were Hiruzen's way of conducting a "Sociological Audit"
of the village. He needed to know how the average Leaf shinobi actually
perceived the village's ideology.
A seasoned ninja would just write "Everything is great!" or recite standard
propaganda like 'Where the Leaf flies, the Fire burns' to avoid getting flagged
by the Anbu. But children? Children were honest. They hadn't learned how to
"stack their armor" yet.
The Will of Fire is too vague, Arata mused, leaning back. It lacks a formal
charter. It's an emotional concept, not a legal one.
If we leave it as just 'feelings,' it becomes dangerous. In times of crisis,
vague ideologies are the first thing radicals twist to justify atrocities. I
need to modernize the 'Will' into a systematic behavior code.
Hiruzen flipped through the papers. Most were standard—talk of "sacrifice,"
"protection," and "family." He gave out a few high marks for sincerity.
The problem is that the Will of Fire is currently only half a step ahead of the
old Shinobi Code, Hiruzen analyzed. The Code was cold, but it was consistent.
Everyone knew the rules. The Will of Fire awakened their humanity, but it didn't
give them a framework for when that humanity clashes with mission success.
Without a version update, this village is a powder keg of internal conflict.
He thought of Hiruko and Hizashi. If it weren't for his recent intervention,
both men—sensitive, talented, and feeling "unseen"—would have likely defected or
snapped. Even the Uchiha were a clan of "Hate-Monsters" simply because they
loved too much and had no outlet for the backlash when that love was betrayed.
Hiruzen picked up a paper signed Seisui Uchiha.
Unlike the other students, Seisui (Tobirama) had spent very little time on the
first two questions. He had focused entirely on the third: The Flaws of the
Village.
Hiruzen read the essay and nearly choked on his smoke.
Tobirama had written seven pages of clinical, high-level tactical analysis on
one specific "Tumor": Danzo Shimura and the Root.
He argued that even during Konoha's current "Golden Era" of prosperity, the
village could not afford to ignore its past sins. He framed Danzo's previous
"Root" philosophy—turning ninjas into nameless, unfeeling "batteries" of the
state—as a direct violation of the Will of Fire.
He argued that as the "Second Person" of the village, the Assistant's behavior
reflected directly on the Hokage. If Danzo wasn't held accountable for the
"Darkness" he had cultivated, then the Will of Fire was nothing more than a mask
for hypocrisy.
Tobirama called his proposal "The Great Sanitization."
"Seven pages on Danzo's failures, but only one paragraph on the First Hokage's
legacy?" Hiruzen chuckled, shaking his head. "Master, you really are a petty
man. You're worried I'm being too soft on Danzo, aren't you?"
Hiruzen understood the strategic beauty of the move. By having an Uchiha youth
"impeach" Danzo in an Academy essay, Tobirama was creating a public debate. It
would force the Uchiha and the commoners to rally behind Seisui as a "Voice of
Integrity."
It's a masterclass in political maneuvering, Arata thought. But I need a way to
leak this paper without it looking like I'm the one attacking my own Assistant.
Knock. Knock.
"Speak of the devil," Hiruzen whispered. "Enter!"
Danzo Shimura strode in, looking more "Naturally Evil" than usual. "Hiruzen!
That Uchiha brat, Seisui, is a liability! I've been monitoring him. He has zero
respect for the hierarchy. The moment he graduates, I want him in the Anbu where
I can 'correct' his attitude."
Hiruzen smiled inwardly. Perfect timing, Danzo. Walk right into the trap.
"We'll talk about graduation later, Danzo. For now, I need you to do some
'High-Level Administrative Work' for me."
Hiruzen pulled Seisui's paper out and mixed it into a smaller stack. He handed
the pile to Danzo.
"The Academy is swamped. I need the Assistant to help me grade the 'Philosophy'
section of the mid-term. I want you to give these kids a lesson in the 'Dark
Reality' of the shinobi world."
Danzo blinked. He wants me to grade papers? Me? The Anbu Commander?
Then he realized: Wait. The Kage is the Principal. By letting me grade the elite
tier of the exams, he's effectively acknowledging me as the co-principal. He's
grooming me for the succession!
"Hmph. Fine. A leader should know the minds of the youth," Danzo said, trying to
sound magnanimous.
He sat across from Hiruzen, produced a red pen, and began to work. He felt like
he had just won another round in his rivalry with Orochimaru. While the Snake is
playing with test tubes, I'm defining the village's ideology!
Hiruzen watched Danzo through the corner of his eye.
Danzo was a harsh grader. He gave Might Guy a 60/100, writing: "Too much
emotion. Lacks tactical focus. Needs more 'Root' discipline."
Then, Danzo reached Seisui's paper.
As he read the seven-page "Impeachment" of his entire career, Danzo's face went
through three different shades of red before settling on a ghostly, murderous
white.
"HE... THIS BRAT...!!"
Danzo slammed the paper onto the desk. The ink bottles rattled. "Hiruzen! This
is treason! This boy is openly attacking the High Council in a school
assignment! He's calling for my head!"
"It's just an essay, Danzo," Hiruzen said, suppressing a grin. "The prompt asked
for 'Village Flaws.' He was just being thorough."
"Thorough?! He called me a 'Spiritual Parasite'! He said my existence makes the
Will of Fire look like a joke!" Danzo waved the paper in the air. "I'm grading
him now. This is a Zero! A complete failure! I'm writing a formal warning on his
permanent record!"
Danzo scribbled a giant, red 0 at the top of the page. Beneath it, he wrote in
jagged, angry kanji: "Grandiosity without substance. High-level cognitive
dissonance. Unfit for service."
He signed his name with a heavy, defiant exclamation point.
"There! Let the village see what happens when a student tries to play judge!"
Hiruzen took the paper back, looking at the signature. Perfect. Danzo just
hand-delivered the evidence of his own bias.
"I'm sure the 'Azure Dragon Study Group' will find this very... educational,"
Hiruzen mused.
The Next Day. The Ninja Academy.
Tobirama (as Seisui) sat in the classroom, watching the teacher distribute the
graded exams.
Suddenly, he felt a familiar, metallic taste in the back of his throat. He
coughed into his hand, seeing a dark red splatter.
The soul-sync is still at 85%, Tobirama analyzed. Forcing that Three-Tomoe
awakening at the shrine was a mistake. I've overtaxed the biological 'hardware.'
Shisui and Obito, sitting on either side of him, saw the blood. Their eyes
widened with horror.
"Brother! You're bleeding again!" Shisui whispered, his voice trembling.
"It's nothing. Just a minor 'Bloodline Friction' from the Grass experiments,"
Seisui lied, wiping his mouth. "Don't make a scene."
But the "scene" was already starting. The teacher placed the exams on the
students' desks.
Asuma Sarutobi looked at his 75/100 and sighed. "Dad is so stingy with points."
Obito cheered at his 65/100. "Passing grade! I'm a genius!"
Then, everyone looked at Seisui.
The paper on Seisui's desk was covered in a massive, bleeding-red 0. The harsh,
insulting comments signed by Danzo Shimura were visible to the entire front row.
The classroom went silent.
The students of the Leaf loved Seisui. He was their hero, the one who protected
them from the "Yellow Demon" and shared the village's best food with them. To
see him given a zero for an essay on "Ideology"—especially by the man he had
criticized—felt like a slap to the entire generation.
"A zero?" Asuma whispered, leaning over. He read Danzo's comments and his face
darkened with Sarutobi-tier rage. "The Assistant graded this? Why?"
"He said my thinking was 'unfit for service,'" Seisui said, his voice sounding
hollow and weak.
"Unfit?" Obito roared, standing up. "He's the one who's unfit! You're the best
of us, Seisui-nii!"
Tobirama saw the look on his "brothers'" faces. He realized that this was the
perfect moment to "Anchor" the empathy of the youth.
He didn't just cough this time. He used a internal chakra-vortex to burst a
minor capillary in his throat.
SPLAT.
A spray of fresh, hot blood hit the examination paper, drenching the red 0 in a
darker, more visceral crimson.
Seisui collapsed forward, his head hitting the desk with a heavy thud.
"BROTHER!!" Shisui and Obito screamed in unison.
The classroom exploded into chaos. The "Azure Dragon Study Group" rushed the
stage, while the Mist "exchange students" watched in stunned awe.
Kisame Hoshigaki gripped the edge of his desk. He's dying for his beliefs? He
criticized his own leadership and they broke his spirit until he coughed blood?
For the first time, Kisame didn't see Konoha as a "Paradise." He saw it as a
tragedy. And in the Ninja World, a tragedy was the only thing a warrior truly
respected.
The Uchiha Estate. One Hour Later.
Shisui and Obito burst into the compound, their eyes red from crying. They found
Elder Isshin in his garden, napping in the sun.
"Elder! Come quickly! Seisui is... he's in a coma!"
Isshin bolted upright. "What? He was fine this morning! Was it an assassin? Did
the Cloud strike?"
"No! It was the Assistant!" Obito sobbed. "Danzo gave him a zero on his exam! He
said Seisui was a failure! Brother was so upset he vomited blood all over the
room!"
Isshin's face turned into a mask of ice. "A zero? For an Uchiha?"
He sprinted toward Shisui's home, ignoring the rotation guards.
He burst into Seisui's bedroom. The boy lay in bed, looking pale and
translucent. A medical-nin (one of Hiruko's assistants) was applying a cooling
seal to his forehead.
"He's exhausted, Elder," the medic reported. "It's a severe case of
Spirit-Vessel Exhaustion. It's as if he's been pouring every drop of his
life-force into his work without rest."
Isshin walked over to Seisui's desk. It was covered in a mountain of scrolls.
He began to read.
Uchiha Fire Style: The Optimization of Heat. The History of the Police Force: A
Path to Reconciliation. The Welfare of the Elderly: A Clan Debt.
Scroll after scroll of detailed, visionary plans for the clan's future. Tobirama
had written them all in his spare time, using his decades of Kage-level
management experience to solve the Uchiha's problems.
Isshin's hands began to shake.
He was dying for us, Isshin realized. He was found in a cage, rescued by the
village, and instead of being bitter, he spent every waking second trying to
save a clan that didn't even know he existed.
And the village gave him a zero.
Danzo Shimura... you 'Naturally Evil' bastard.
Isshin looked at the boy's peaceful, sleeping face. He saw Izuna's features. He
saw the "Savior" the clan had been praying for, broken by the petty spite of a
bureaucrat.
A surge of overwhelming grief, rage, and self-loathing hit Isshin.
I am the Clan Head! I am a High Commissioner! Why am I so helpless to protect my
own son?!
The three black tomoe in Isshin's eyes began to spin with a frantic, blurring
speed. The spiritual pressure in the room spiked, making the windows rattle in
their frames.
The dots didn't just spin; they began to stretch and merge, forming three
intersecting, serrated blades around the pupil.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
Isshin Uchiha had finally awakened the eyes of the legend—not through hatred for
an enemy, but through the agony of failing a "Blessed Son."
"Danzo..." Isshin whispered, his voice sounding like a curse from the grave.
"You wanted to see the 'Uchiha Darkness'? I'll show you a darkness that will
swallow the moon."
A Hundred Meters Above.
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the awakening through his crystal ball. He took a long,
slow drag of his pipe.
"Checkmate," Arata whispered.
"The Uchiha have their Mangekyō. My Master has the clan's heart. And Danzo...
Danzo is officially the most hated man in the Land of Fire."
"Everything is moving exactly as planned."
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