Sarutobi residence, dining room.
Warm lamplight filled the room, and the aroma of freshly prepared food lingered in the air.
This had once been one of the most enviable families in Konoha.
Biwako Sarutobi, wearing an apron, placed the final dish on the table. When she saw Hiruzen enter—his clothes soaked with blood, his expression vacant—she froze, then hurried over in alarm.
"Old man? What happened to you? Did something go wrong on the front lines again?"
As she spoke, she reached for a towel, trying to wipe the blood from his face.
"…It's nothing."
Hiruzen brushed her hand aside, his voice hoarse. He sat down at the head of the table, picked up his chopsticks, yet made no move to eat.
Just then, the door slid open again.
Shinnosuke Sarutobi and the still-teenage Asuma walked in together, laughing as they talked.
"Dad! I heard there was a huge victory at the front! Lord Tobirama is incredible, isn't he?"
Asuma was brimming with excitement, completely unaware of the oppressive atmosphere in the room.
Shinnosuke, however, sensed something amiss at once. His gaze fell on the bloodstains covering his father, and his brows furrowed.
"Father… what happened?"
Hiruzen said nothing.
He looked at the three people closest to him.
His wife. His sons.
They were his final ties to this world—and the last mercy Tobirama had left him.
To let them live, to keep them from being dragged down by the sin of genocide, he had to complete this final act.
"Eat," Hiruzen said mechanically, lowering his head.
Biwako glanced at him with concern and served rice to the boys. "Let's eat first. Your father must be exhausted."
Asuma had just lifted his bowl—
Puchi!
A cold flash of steel.
Fresh blood sprayed out, staining the white rice before Asuma a vivid red.
"Uh…"
Biwako's eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at the kunai buried in her chest.
The hand holding it belonged to her husband—Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"O-old man… why…"
Before she could finish, the light in her eyes faded. Her body collapsed limply into a pool of blood.
"Mother!"
Asuma and Shinnosuke froze for a heartbeat, then let out screams torn from the depths of their chests.
"Father! What are you doing?!"
Shinnosuke, an elite Anbu, reacted first. He instantly drew the short blade from his back, shielding Asuma as he stared at Hiruzen in horror.
He's gone mad.
Father… killed Mother.
Hiruzen slowly stood up. His face was devoid of emotion, filled only with boundless indifference.
He flicked the blood from the kunai and looked at his two sons.
"Too noisy."
"When eating, be quiet."
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
Asuma's eyes burned red as his reason shattered completely. Chakra condensed into a blade in his hand as he charged forward without hesitation.
"Don't go, Asuma!" Shinnosuke shouted—but it was already too late.
"Too weak."
Hiruzen didn't even turn his head. He casually swung his arm.
Bang!
Before Asuma could get close, a crushing blow slammed into his stomach. His body folded like a bent bow, froth spilling from his mouth as he smashed through the wall and flew into the courtyard.
"Father!"
Shinnosuke clenched his teeth and activated the Body Flicker Technique, trying to strike from the side.
But before the man once hailed as the ninja hero, his movements were riddled with openings.
Crack!
Hiruzen caught Shinnosuke's wrist with one hand and twisted gently.
Then he kicked him squarely in the chest.
Boom!
Shinnosuke was sent flying, landing beside Asuma, blood pouring from his mouth as he lay unable to rise.
In the blink of an eye—
Mother dead. Sons broken.
Hiruzen walked into the courtyard, looking down at the two figures writhing in pain on the ground.
"Why… why…"
Shinnosuke clutched his chest, tears mixed with blood streaming down his face, his eyes filled with confusion and collapse.
"That was Mother… why…"
Hiruzen's expression remained empty, his gaze hollow.
"For the sake of capacity."
"…What?" Shinnosuke froze.
"I have sat in the Hokage's seat for too long," Hiruzen said coldly, as if stating an undeniable truth.
"Bound by so-called family, friendship, and bonds. My strength stagnated. I was even trampled by that junior—Senju Tobirama."
"I understand now."
"To obtain power beyond mortals, all bonds must be severed."
"Clan members are burdens. A wife is a burden."
"And you… are burdens as well."
"J-just… for that?" Asuma lifted his head, trembling, his eyes filled with despair he could not comprehend.
To grow stronger… he killed his wife and children?
Was this still the father who taught him the Will of Fire?
"That's right."
Hiruzen looked down at them. A trace of pain flickered deep in his eyes—then vanished.
He raised the kunai, aiming it at Shinnosuke's throat.
"I originally intended to kill you as well. To completely sever all bonds."
"But—"
Hiruzen stopped, a sneer of utter contempt appearing on his face.
"You are too weak."
"So weak that I don't even feel like killing you."
"Killing you now wouldn't prove my capacity. It would only stain my hands."
"Foolish sons."
A terrifying killing intent erupted from Hiruzen's body.
"Do you want to kill me?"
"Then hate me. Loathe me."
"Live on in disgrace. Keep running. Keep struggling to survive."
"When you gain power equal to mine, come and face me again."
As his words fell, Hiruzen swiftly formed hand seals.
"…!"
Before either of them could scream, Shinnosuke and Asuma's eyes rolled back, and they collapsed unconscious.
Hiruzen looked at his sons lying on the ground.
The indifference in his eyes shattered instantly.
He lifted his hand, wanting to touch Asuma's face—then stopped midair.
"Live…"
"Live on with your hatred for me."
He turned away, never looking back.
His figure vanished into the darkness.
Outside Konoha, deep within the forest.
Senju Tobirama leaned against a massive tree, watching as Hiruzen Sarutobi emerged from the shadows.
Hiruzen was no longer wearing the Hokage's ceremonial robes. He was dressed in standard combat gear, a Konoha forehead protector—slashed through—resting on his head.
A chilling aura of death clung to him.
"Done?" Tobirama raised an eyebrow.
Hiruzen stopped and fixed his gaze on Tobirama.
It was the look of a wounded lone wolf—ready to tear out the hunter's throat at any moment.
"Senju Tobirama," Hiruzen said, his voice sounding as though it rose from hell itself.
"I did it. Clan, wife, reputation—everything is gone."
"Now it's your turn to keep your promise."
"If you dare touch a single hair on Shinnosuke or Asuma…"
"No matter how strong you are, no matter where you hide—even if I become a vengeful ghost, I will crawl out of hell and tear your throat apart!"
This was the final madness of a man who had lost everything.
Tobirama shrugged, utterly indifferent to the threat.
"Relax."
"I said it before—I have no interest in the weak."
"As long as they don't seek death themselves, I'll arrange identities for them as Sarutobi orphans and let them live properly in Konoha."
The tension in Hiruzen's body eased slightly.
"However—"
Tobirama changed the subject and tossed him a scroll.
"Since you're already a rogue ninja, squeeze out whatever value you have left."
Hiruzen caught the scroll, frowning. "What is this?"
"Go to the Earth–Lightning–Konoha Joint Resistance Army."
Tobirama's lips curved into a playful smile.
"That useless Danzo already made contact with them. As his accomplice, it'll be perfectly reasonable for you to defect, won't it?"
"Go undercover."
"Find their bases, personnel lists, and funding sources."
"When the time is right, I'll contact you."
"Then we'll wipe out those rats from inside and out."
Hiruzen clenched the scroll tightly, humiliation flashing through his eyes.
Forced to slaughter his own family—and now reduced to being used as a disposable spy.
This man intended to drain every last drop of his worth.
But he had no right to refuse.
"…I understand."
Hiruzen cast Tobirama one final, icy glance.
"I hope you keep your promise."
Swoosh!
The Body Flicker Technique activated.
The former Third Hokage vanished into the endless night.
From that day on, Konoha lost a ninja hero—
And gained an S-rank rogue ninja.
Tobirama watched the direction he disappeared, then stretched lazily.
"Done."
--------------Author---------------
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