"You old bastard—die!!"
Asuma's eyes were bloodshot. The chakra blade in his hands surged with dense Wind Release chakra, splitting into two indestructible blue arcs as he hacked toward Hiruzen Sarutobi like a madman.
Wind Release: Emerald Gale Slash!
At the same moment, Shinnosuke vanished like a ghost. Reappearing above Hiruzen's head, the former Anbu elite brought his flame-wreathed longsword crashing down.
Uchiha-Style Flowing Sword: Leaping Flames!
Facing the combined assault of his two sons, Hiruzen swung the Vajra Ruyi staff in a wide arc.
Clang—Boom!
The clash of metal rang out thunderously. Though he blocked the strike, the terrifying impact still sent his aged body sliding back more than ten meters, his feet carving deep grooves into the ground.
"Cough—!"
Blood seeped from the corner of Hiruzen's mouth. The webbing of the hand gripping his staff split open.
But inside him, a storm raged.
So strong…
Is this really Asuma and Shinnosuke?
The explosive force and sharpness of Asuma's Wind Release faintly resembled Danzo's old techniques, while Shinnosuke's Body Flicker combined with Fire Release carried the essence of Uchiha-style swordsmanship.
In just six years, under that man's oppressive rule, these two sons—once merely average—had grown to this level.
Is that all?
Hiruzen suppressed his shock, forcing his face back into that twisted, ferocious sneer.
"Didn't you eat? Trash will always be trash! You don't even have the strength to kill your enemy!"
"Shut up!!"
Driven mad with rage, Asuma unleashed another reckless attack.
Flying Swallow—Sky Pierce!
Countless invisible wind blades poured down like a storm.
Hiruzen spun his staff with the mastery born of decades on the battlefield, every swing deflecting a lethal strike.
But he never counterattacked.
He was guiding them.
Using the last moments of his life as a whetstone—sharpening his sons into blades keen enough to survive this brutal new era.
Yes… that's it, Asuma.
Hate me. Rage harder. Only extreme fury will break your limits.
Shinnosuke—don't hesitate. Strike low. That's my weakness.
As he parried, he silently directed them, a warped sense of relief blooming in his long-dead heart.
Even if he was a traitor.
Even if he was a sinner.
If he could die here—die by his sons' hands—
They would stand atop the corpse of Konoha's strongest rogue ninja, the Third Hokage, and become heroes who sacrificed their own blood for the greater good.
This was Hiruzen Sarutobi's final scheme.
…
At the edge of the battlefield, Tobirama stood with his arms crossed, crimson eyes coldly observing everything.
A mocking smile tugged at his lips.
"Old Monkey, I could hear your scheme from hundreds of meters away."
"Staging a self-inflicted injury? Trying to pave the road for your sons with your own life? Giving yourself a self-righteous ending?"
He shook his head, disdain plain in his gaze.
"Naive."
"If I don't agree, who gave you permission to die with dignity?"
…
Pfft!
The battlefield shifted in an instant.
Hiruzen deliberately exposed an opening—and Shinnosuke seized it.
"Die!!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Shinnosuke's blade turned into a streak of black lightning, thrusting straight into Hiruzen's chest.
It missed the heart by an inch.
But it was fatal.
"Hng—!"
Hiruzen froze. The Vajra Ruyi staff slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground.
Then Asuma's attack arrived.
The twin chakra blades crossed in a vicious slash, carving a massive X-shaped wound across Hiruzen's chest. Blood burst forth like a fountain.
Thud.
The man who had ruled Konoha for decades dropped heavily to his knees in a pool of blood.
His life force drained rapidly.
The world before his eyes blurred, fading into gray.
Before him stood his two sons, panting heavily, blades still dripping red.
Their eyes held the exhilaration of revenge—alongside the trembling confusion of men who had just killed their own father.
Hiruzen struggled to lift his head and look at them.
His consciousness began to scatter as memories spun wildly through his mind.
He saw his younger self, proudly following behind the Second Hokage.
He saw the vow he made when he donned the Hokage's hat.
He saw himself lose his way in endless power struggles, compromising again and again.
And finally, the mad decision he made to preserve the Sarutobi bloodline.
It's over…
The path was ugly, and the infamy immense…
But at least… the roots of the Sarutobi clan will survive.
Shinnosuke… Asuma… live on for me…
Hiruzen wanted to smile.
A father's final approval.
He tried to open his mouth, to say "Well done."
But before a single word could leave his lips—
"Ah!!"
"Ghh—!!"
Two piercing screams shattered the moment.
Warm liquid splashed across Hiruzen's face.
Blood.
Hot, scarlet blood.
Hiruzen's pupils dilated violently. His fading consciousness was yanked back by sheer shock.
He stared ahead in disbelief.
Asuma and Shinnosuke—who had stood before him just moments ago—now each bore a gaping, bloody hole through their chests.
Behind them, Tobirama calmly withdrew his hands.
"No… no…"
A guttural wail tore from Hiruzen's throat. "Asuma… Shinnosuke…"
The brothers looked down at the holes in their chests, then back at the Hokage they revered like a god.
"Why… why…?"
Blood spilled from Asuma's mouth, his eyes filled with confusion and despair.
"My lord… we… killed him…"
"Aren't we… heroes…?"
Thud.
Thud.
Their bodies collapsed lifelessly—falling into Hiruzen's arms.
Their blood mingled together, indistinguishable.
Hiruzen's body trembled violently. He tried to raise his blood-soaked hand to touch his sons' faces—
But he couldn't.
Why?
The plan had succeeded.
They had cast aside their own family for the greater good.
Why kill them?
"Why?"
Tobirama seemed to hear the scream in his heart.
He walked over slowly, planting one foot atop Asuma's corpse as he looked down at the dying old man.
Those heterochromatic eyes held no pity—only divine mockery.
"Monkey, you seem to have misunderstood something."
His voice was icy, each word slicing into Hiruzen's soul.
"You thought you could cleanse your family's name with a little self-sacrifice?"
"You thought that once I killed you, I'd spare these two?"
"How laughable."
Tobirama crouched, grabbing Hiruzen's graying hair and forcing his head toward the corpses with their eyes still open.
"To cut weeds, you pull them out by the roots."
"Leaving them alive would only invite trouble. What if they learned the truth about Naruto one day and sought revenge? I'm not afraid—but I dislike inconvenience."
"And besides…"
He leaned in close, whispering like a demon.
"What I hate most is when others try to write the ending for me."
"You wanted a worthy death? You wanted them to be heroes?"
"Sorry. In my script, your entire family are villains."
"And villains don't get graves."
"Pfft—!"
Hearing those words—and staring at the cold, lifeless bodies in his arms—
Hiruzen spat out a mouthful of black blood.
Total despair.
The collapse of everything he believed in.
He had schemed his entire life.
In the end, he died childless, disgraced, and with his eyes wide open.
"Uchiha… Tobirama…"
"You… you are… a devil…"
His fingers clawed weakly at the ground, nails splitting, bloody tears streaming from his eyes.
Engulfed by regret and agony, Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled his final breath.
He died staring at the sky.
Tobirama straightened and flicked the blood from his hands in disgust.
"Now then," he said coldly, "the final battle can truly begin."