Shimura Danzo spoke with confidence, for this matter genuinely had nothing to do with him—at least, not on the surface.
He even suspected that Hiruzen Sarutobi was playing the victim.
After all, the Impure World Reincarnation—Edo Tensei, a forbidden technique—originated in Konoha, created solely by their teacher, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Only Tobirama possessed the brilliance and ruthlessness to design such a jutsu that could defy death itself.
And now, word was spreading that someone in the ninja world had managed to use it.
If it wasn't Konoha behind this, then there was only one explanation.
Someone had stolen the technique.
"Hiruzen," Danzo asked, his tone steely, "who have you shown the Impure World Reincarnation to?"
But this time, Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head firmly. "Impossible, Danzo. I would never entrust such a sinister technique to someone unworthy. Tobirama created that jutsu as a last resort. It should never see the light of day again."
Danzo narrowed his eyes. "Is that so? What about that boy from yesterday?"
"Put away your petty thoughts, Danzo," Hiruzen replied sharply. "Aoba lives in the light. The techniques he chose were standard. I reviewed them myself."
He paused, his voice lowering. "And let me remind you, again: I called this meeting to discuss the Third Raikage, not to implicate a young hero who returned from battle after making sacrifices for this village."
Danzo said nothing more. Silenced, for now.
But before the conversation shifted, Utatane Koharu, seated nearby, spoke up.
"Hiruzen, the matter of the Third Raikage is important, yes. But there's another decision waiting on your desk."
Her voice was calm, but insistent.
"On the Wind Country front, Orochimaru's forces have been engaged far too long. Now that our conflict with Kumogakure has stabilized, why not shift some of our forces west?"
Homura Mitokado nodded. "Minato Namikaze or Jiraiya could turn the tide against Sunagakure. The window is narrow."
Hiruzen fell into silence.
That suggestion was the very dilemma he had hoped to avoid.
Sending Minato to the Wind Country would be a strategic masterstroke—but it would also mean eclipsing Orochimaru, his most brilliant and ambitious student. It could be seen as favoritism… even betrayal.
But if he sent Jiraiya instead, allowing the Sannin to join forces, Orochimaru's prestige might rise even further after the war—and with it, political pressure.
After a long pause, Hiruzen finally spoke, his voice heavy with reluctance.
"Send Minato. His mastery of the Flying Thunder God will let him respond swiftly if Kumogakure stirs again."
Danzo's lips twitched, a shadow of a smirk.
Just as expected.
Hiruzen, you've opened the door for me yourself.
And Danzo already had a plan forming—a way to twist the outcome to his favor.
In his mind, a name flickered.
Kawaki Aoba.
He leaned forward. "Kawaki Aoba."
The three elders turned, surprised.
Danzo rarely involved himself this directly. Was he suggesting Root take over the Wind Country front?
Unlikely. Danzo never committed unless it gave him advantage.
But Danzo continued, tone calm: "That boy… he has a unique ability to suppress tailed beasts, doesn't he? Why not send him with Minato? The Sunagakure shinobi are proving troublesome."
Hiruzen frowned. He didn't fully trust Danzo's sudden benevolence. Especially not after their earlier clash over Aoba.
Still, he found no fault in the logic.
Involving Aoba would steal some of Minato's limelight. And Danzo, ever the strategist, knew it.
Just as Hiruzen hesitated, Danzo pressed further.
"Hiruzen, we all know what you're doing. You're grooming Minato to be the Fourth Hokage. But answer me this—can he stand the pressure? Has he truly proven he can lead?"
Danzo's voice grew colder.
"And isn't Kawaki Aoba the perfect measure of that? He graduated alongside Minato's own student. If Minato can't outshine him… does he truly deserve the title of Hokage?"
The blow landed.
Even Hiruzen couldn't find a counterargument. Not if he wanted to be honest with himself.
Sometimes, fate works in strange ways.
Kawaki Aoba had been training quietly, far from politics. But that peace shattered when the ANBU arrived.
"What? The Hokage wants me to prepare for the Wind Country front? That soon?" Aoba blinked, surprised.
The masked operative bowed. "Lord Aoba, you are to stand by. Hokage-sama has ordered that you deploy with Minato Namikaze once he returns from the forward post."
Aoba's eyes narrowed with realization.
"So, that's what this is. The village is building Minato's reputation."
Still, he nodded.
"Understood. Then I'll play my role."
The Battle of Kikyo Mountain—in the original timeline, Minato Namikaze single-handedly defeated Sunagakure's forces, forcing them to sign a surrender agreement with Konohagakure.
That's right—it wasn't a ceasefire agreement. It was a complete surrender.
And since the signing of that agreement, Sunagakure had effectively become Konoha's subordinate for over a decade.
However, Kawaki Aoba couldn't understand one thing: if Minato alone was enough to overwhelm Sunagakure, why was he also sent to that battlefield?
What Kawaki Aoba didn't realize was that the prestige he enjoyed was entirely due to the behind-the-scenes manipulation of Shimura Danzō—the old fox who was always scheming for the "inevitable" power struggle against Minato.
As a result, the original training plan was cut short, and Minato would not be returning for some time.
During this period, Kawaki Aoba had initially planned to lay low and rest. But then—everything changed, suddenly.
That day, Kawaki Aoba extended his aura perception, primarily monitoring the front near Kirigakure.
His main goal was to locate Might Guy, whom he'd heard had been deployed to the Land of Water front to transport supplies and evacuate the wounded.
Might Guy, too, was reportedly on the same battlefield.
This raised a red flag for Kawaki Aoba.
In the original timeline, Might Guy famously opened all Eight Gates to save his son, Guy, sacrificing himself to take down four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The timing matched too well.
Kawaki Aoba decided to monitor Guy's chakra continuously, preparing to teleport and intervene the moment his aura drastically changed.
But so far, Guy's chakra remained stable. Instead, another familiar signature was beginning to spiral out of control.
Uchiha Fugaku.
This man—who once lost a bet to Aoba and gave him several Uchiha clan jutsu as repayment—now had a chakra signature that was dark, cold, and rapidly fluctuating.
Mangekyō Sharingan?
What Kawaki Aoba sensed was akin to Yin Release, but unmistakably tied to the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He was shocked.
As expected of the Sharingan—a cursed eye.
Fugaku's chakra had grown stronger, but his aura had also changed drastically. Clearly, the Mangekyō had altered his will to some degree. Otherwise, the difference wouldn't be this stark.
Driven by concern and curiosity, Aoba decided to investigate. While he was confident that Fugaku was in no immediate danger, he was eager to observe what might be the only active pair of Mangekyō Sharingan in the current ninja world.
After all, Madara's Mangekyō had already evolved into the Rinnegan and was no longer active in its previous form.
So technically, Fugaku's Mangekyō was now the only awakened pair in existence.
No doubt about it.
With that thought, Kawaki Aoba cast the Transformation Technique, once again donning his Smoker-style coat.
He locked onto Fugaku's chakra signature, raised two fingers to his forehead, and activated Instant Transmission.
In a blink, Aoba vanished—and reappeared on a battlefield thousands of kilometers from Konoha.
But the moment he arrived, a blood-red skeletal arm descended from the sky and struck at him.
It was Susanoo.
Aoba reacted instantly, unleashing all his chakra in a powerful burst. His energy clashed with the skeletal construct, shattering parts of it—and blasting him backward in the process.
A draw.
After stabilizing himself mid-air, Aoba quickly surveyed the battlefield.
There was Fugaku, encased in a half-body, blood-red Susanoo, his body covered in cuts. His flak jacket had been torn open at the chest, blood gushing from a deep wound.
And from his eyes, blood-tears streamed—clear signs of the strain from using the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Fugaku must've activated Susanoo immediately after awakening his Mangekyō, likely indicating that his dōjutsu wasn't specialized for direct combat—or he wouldn't have used such a chakra-intensive defense so soon.
So what about the enemy?
Not far from where Aoba had arrived, a Kirigakure ninja lay crumpled on the ground, barely alive.
It was clear—Aoba had intercepted Fugaku's strike meant to finish him. But even without it, the man wouldn't have survived long.
Then Aoba expanded his perception to the whole battlefield—and gasped.
It was a massacre.
Ninja corpses littered the land, their number easily in the thousands. Among the hundreds of Konoha dead, nearly half bore the Uchiha clan crest.
The Kirigakure ninja were even worse off—especially those near Fugaku. Their bodies were mangled beyond recognition, limbs twisted at unnatural angles, crushed by Susanoo's wrath.
"Cough, cough—" The silence was broken by Fugaku himself, still inside the Susanoo, coughing up blood.
He staggered but did not fall. His blood-soaked eyes locked on Aoba with grim suspicion.
Seeing Fugaku's battered state, Aoba wanted to urge him to tend to his wounds—but wearing Smoker's coat, he couldn't break character. So instead, he said:
> "Mangekyō Sharingan... I didn't expect to see one in this era. Rare indeed. But you're not in great shape. You must've just awakened it."
Meeting Fugaku's cold stare, Aoba added, raising his hand:
> "Relax. I've got no intention of harming you. Well... you don't seem convinced. So I'll just leave."
With that, he turned around and vanished.
Fugaku's eyes dimmed. The fierce light faded.
Once Aoba was completely gone, Fugaku allowed the Susanoo to dissipate.
He slumped to the ground, pulled a medical pill from his pouch, and began treating his wounds.
When he finished, he pushed himself to his feet and looked around.
His gaze swept over the fallen Uchiha—his comrades.
His expression darkened with grief.
He raised a trembling hand to his eyes and murmured:
> "So this is the price of these eyes… As I thought, the Uchiha are truly a cursed clan."
Unbeknownst to Fugaku, Kawaki Aoba hadn't truly left.
He now floated high above the clouds, watching everything unfold.
> Caged Bird Curse Seal: Obtained.
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