"You've lost your mind," Hiruzen said with a barely steady voice. "This is madness."
"Maybe," Shin replied. "But sanity is overrated when soone hurts the people you care about. I want to watch you crumble piece by piece, knowing exactly what's coming but being powerless to stop it. I want to see if you can maintain that dignified facade when everything falls apart around you. And when the ti cos for you to face your teacher again, I'm curious whether you'll still be able to look him in the eye."
"No... please..." Hiruzen's composure finally cracked completely. "There's been a misunderstanding. Don't you rember? I was the one who ended your surveillance. I gave you your freedom. I was the one who—"
"Stop," Shin said coldly. "Are you going to tell you bought dinner too? Maybe even that you tucked in at night? I've spent the last year investigating everything. Tobirama never ordered surveillance on . He never commanded my expulsion from the Uchiha clan. All he said was that I should live as an ordinary person. But you? You took it upon yourself to interpret those words however suited your agenda. You orchestrated my removal from the Academy. You conspired with Kagami to have expelled from my own clan. You ordered the constant watching, the restrictions, the isolation. And over the years, you and your council have discussed eliminating more tis than I can count. Don't deny it."
Hiruzen's face went white. "How could you possibly—"
"I've been planning this much longer than you realize," Shin interrupted. "The day I regained my sight was the day everything changed. Even that conflict with the Land of Whirlpools, that was just a test run, and it nearly broke you completely. Tell , how does it feel knowing you've been dancing to my tune this entire ti? You never once suspected you were just another piece on my board."
"If you're going to kill , do it now," Hiruzen said, trying to summon what remained of his dignity. "Don't drag this out any longer."
The thought of everything Shin had described was worse than death itself. He had always valued his legacy above his life. If destruction was inevitable, better to die with so semblance of honor intact.
"Kill you?" Shin laughed softly. "That would be rciful. And rcy isn't what you've earned. The ga has already started, Hiruzen. You have no choice but to play along until the very end."
"Then you've miscalculated," Hiruzen said viciously. "If you don't kill tonight, you won't get another chance. I'll use everything at my disposal to destroy you, and Tsunade won't be spared either."
Shin's expression didn't change, but the temperature in the room seed to drop further. "And what exactly do you think you can do to ? What makes you believe you have any power left in this equation? You were supposed to simply watch everything unfold, but now you've annoyed . So I'll have to accelerate the tiline. Sweet dreams. I'm giving you a gift. You'll love it!"
---
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen suddenly jolted awake from where he'd been sleeping at his desk, eyes wide with panic. Cold sweat poured from his body, soaking him in an instant.
Seeing that the office was exactly the sa as before he fell asleep, even the crystal ball used for the Telescope Technique was still in front of him, he finally began to calm down a little. He slumped back in the chair, panting heavily, still shaken.
What happened? Was that just a nightmare?
But why can't I rember anything?
He looked around again to confirm nothing was out of place, then tried to recall the dream. But every ti he thought he had a fragnt, a splitting headache would hit, unbearable in intensity.
Reluctantly, he gave up trying to rember and focused on calming his thoughts, only for a pair of crimson Mangekyō Sharingan to flash across his mind, vanishing in an instant.
He leapt to his feet, cold sweat breaking out again.
What's going on? Why did Mangekyō Sharingan appear in my mind?
And those eyes… they were clearly different from Madara's.
Who was it?
Fukuyama?
Or… Shin?
No. I have to investigate this. I won't be at peace otherwise.
---
Back at ho, Shin imdiately re-bandaged his eyes and quickly healed them.
That's right, everything that had just happened in the Hokage's office was an illusion. After all, Hiruzen wasn't so diocre ninja; ordinary genjutsu wouldn't work on him. So he went all-in and used his strongest illusion technique to date, Nightmare.
If it had been in the real world, he still wouldn't have been able to achieve that level of control over Hiruzen, whose strength was no joke.
As he was still evolving, Shin could handle average ninja with that genjutsu, but to toy with a Kage-level opponent at will, he'd need more ti. Still, with genjutsu, he made Hiruzen ntally experience the entirety of his upcoming plans and planted an anchor deep within his subconscious. Once that anchor was triggered, Hiruzen will witness a terrifying glimpse of the future, just like he had prophetic foresight.
And worst of all, what he saw would definitely co true.
That feeling, of knowing sothing terrible was coming but being completely powerless to stop it, would tornt him to the brink of madness. Eventually, when every "prophecy" beca reality, he would co to believe in it completely, becoming utterly controlled by Shin.
For Shin at his current level, using genjutsu of this intensity was indeed a great burden. But his mood was excellent. The ga was finally about to begin.
Of course, aside from the genjutsu, he had also left behind a few other "precautions" on Hiruzen. From now on, there would be no more secrets between them.
Incidents like today's, where he lacked intel and was forced into a passive position, would never happen again. So now, all that remained was to play them all to death, step by step.
After a long nap, Tsunade's emotions had cald significantly, and she was now completely composed.
And the first thing she did upon regaining her composure was to comfort Shin. "I'm feeling much better now. And I think I understand what happened. It was all a deliberate provocation by Kumo, wasn't it?"
Shin felt warmth in his heart.
He knew she was trying to comfort him, well, actually to stop him from acting recklessly. So he also returned to his usual gentleness, nodded, and said, "Kumo wants to stir up internal conflict in Konoha and cause division."
"What should I do then?" Tsunade asked, frowning deeply.
"Play right into their hands, internal conflict it is."
Without infighting, how can the show begin? I still want to et Tobirama in the most entertaining way possible.
"Shin…" Hearing his decision to proceed with internal strife, worry filled her face.
"Don't worry. I may be angry, but I haven't lost my mind," Shin said as he gently stroked her cheek.
"Kumo is trying to weaken us through division, to hinder our developnt and use our fall to fuel their rise. But what they don't understand is that science and technology are the ultimate productive forces. With Orochimaru and here, the Konoha you lead will only grow stronger and stronger. I'll ensure its developnt outpaces every other ninja village. By then, the Konoha in your hands will be sothing they can only dream of catching up to."
"Mm!" Tsunade nodded vigorously, then after a pause, asked, "What should I do next?"
"Hiruzen has already made his move, we can't just sit back." Shin replied, "So next, you need to do this and that…"
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