Uchiha Keizumi truly had no intention of killing Sarutobi Hiruzen. Although Hiruzen had indulged Danzō, and although he had done quite a few shady things behind the scenes, his crimes did not warrant death. At most, he was simply incompetent while occupying a high position.
If it were up to Keizumi, locking that old man up in Konoha Prison for a few years would be enough.
"Early this morning, the Hyūga clan released a chakra similar to Hyūga Hiashi's from yesterday."
Hiruzen steadied his emotions and shifted to business.
Although the Hyūga clan's Tenseigan did not seem as powerful as Keizumi, after staying up all night reviewing records since Konoha's founding, Hiruzen had already roughly figured out how that Great Tenseigan came into existence.
Since the founding of the village, many Hyūga clan members had died, and their bodies had all been recovered by the clan.
While the Hyūga claimed this was to prevent the Byakugan from leaking, combined with reports from the Anbu—who had handled corpses at the Hyūga compound and found many bodies missing their eyes—Hiruzen had already guessed how that Great Tenseigan had been formed.
Keizumi was undoubtedly powerful, but in Hiruzen's eyes, he was still human. That Great Tenseigan, however, if nothing went wrong, might persist for a hundred years… perhaps even several hundred.
That alone forced Hiruzen to reconsider how he should treat the Hyūga clan moving forward.
"It should be Hyūga Hinata. I noticed before that her appetite is unusually large."
"There has never been any mention of the Hyūga having big appetites. So Hinata's excessive eating is likely because some power is awakening, causing her body to require more energy than usual."
"That chakra from this morning was probably her initial awakening of the Tenseigan."
Keizumi did not mind sharing this information with Hiruzen. As for why he hadn't shared it before—well, Hiruzen hadn't asked.
"Do you think Hinata would attack you?"
Hiruzen fell silent for a moment, recalling that timid little girl from the Hyūga clan.
He wasn't worried about anything else—only that the timid girl might be blinded by hatred and lash out at Keizumi, forcing him to retaliate.
And then…
Not only would the Hyūga clan's hope be cut off, but it would also ignite conflict between the Uchiha and Hyūga clans.
"She… probably wouldn't."
Keizumi paused. Although he had killed Hinata's father, did that mean Hiashi was without fault?
"If—just if—she does attack you, I hope you can spare her once."
"I've been a failure as Hokage, but consider this the last request I make during my tenure…"
Hiruzen looked at Keizumi, hoping for some change in his attitude. But to his disappointment, Keizumi only remained silent. And sometimes, silence was already an answer.
"…Hah."
Hiruzen exhaled a plume of smoke helplessly. He couldn't understand—Keizumi was already this strong, so why couldn't he show even a trace of leniency in the execution of his so-called absolute justice?
"This morning, on the Uchiha side—was that a Kekkei Tōta?"
Hiruzen couldn't help but wonder just how strong Keizumi would have to become before he felt he was strong enough.
Since appealing emotionally had failed, Hiruzen dropped the topic. After retiring, he planned to keep an eye on Hinata himself, to make sure she wouldn't do anything reckless out of despair.
"Yes. I've named it Solar Release. It's a Kekkei Tōta—formed by combining Lava Release and Explosion Release at a higher level."
Keizumi nodded. Unlike most shinobi, he didn't care about leaking information. Or rather, even if it leaked, it didn't matter—he hoped someone would find his weaknesses so he could correct them.
"Lava Release and Explosion Release fused…"
"I recall a report from our spies in Iwagakure. It said that ??noki's Dust Release includes Explosion Release as one of its components. Could you also develop Dust Release?"
Hiruzen perked up. While he might not match Keizumi in creating Kekkei Genkai, he had mastered all five chakra natures and was highly skilled in combining techniques.
After retiring, he felt he could try creating a new Kekkei Genkai himself.
"Dust Release… you mean this?"
A faint white glow lit up at Uchiha Keizumi's fingertip. He hadn't fully decided how to utilize Dust Release yet.
Unlike Solar Release, which could form a chakra mode, Dust Release was an extreme force of atomic-level disintegration. It wasn't suitable for chakra-mode operation—it would simply erase his own body.
But if used normally, it required a short period of charge time.
The only viable method Keizumi could think of was to activate Susanoo and coat its weapon with Dust Release, granting it the power to annihilate anything it touched.
"You actually did it?"
Hiruzen stared wide-eyed at the faint glow on Keizumi's finger. He swore he had only asked out of faint curiosity—yet Keizumi had actually condensed Dust Release!
"It's not that difficult. At least, it's easier than Solar Release."
Keizumi spoke plainly. He had formed Dust Release almost instinctively while in a Kekkei Mōra state. Solar Release, on the other hand—even in that state—had taken some trial and error guided by intuition.
"If that old man ??noki knew you'd mastered his trump card, he'd probably die of anger on the spot!"
Hiruzen finally smiled. After hearing so much bad news, this was the first piece of good news.
He knew very well that ??noki had searched for decades without finding a suitable successor for Dust Release. And now, it had appeared in Konoha. What did that mean?
It meant the Tsuchikage's legacy had ended up in another land!
"After I retire, perhaps we can discuss Kekkei Genkai together more often."
"I've always wondered—if all five chakra natures were fused into a single Kekkei Genkai, what kind of power would emerge? And if Yin Release and Yang Release were added as well… would that become the power of the Sage of Six Paths?"
"Unfortunately, while I possess all five chakra natures, I lack any real talent in developing Kekkei Genkai."
Hiruzen looked at Keizumi. On the surface, he was talking about discussing bloodline abilities after retirement. But beneath that, he was also testing something—whether, after stepping down, he would truly end up accompanying Shimura Danzō… and Utatane Koharu.
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