WebNovels

Chapter 13 - The Third’s Decision

Shadows in the Hokage's Office

Location: Hidden Leaf Village – Hokage Tower

The air inside the Hokage's office was heavy. Not with tension—no, that had already cracked hours ago.

This was fallout.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood before his window, pipe cold, arms folded behind his back. Across the room stood Danzo Shimura, calm and composed as ever, flanked by two ROOT agents who blended with the shadows.

> "You deployed Raijin Vertex," Hiruzen said. Not a question—an accusation. "In the middle of the Chūnin Exams. Without authorization."

> "I acted on contingency," Danzo replied smoothly. "Uchiha Kaizen has proven himself a multilevel threat. Jinchūriki of a non-Tailed Beast. In possession of a Kurata-based hybrid bloodline. Wyrmsoul-infected. How long before he becomes another Madara?"

Hiruzen slowly turned. His eyes, often tired, now glinted with fire.

> "And what of the fact your weapon was built using stolen Uchiha and Kurata tissue? Chakra cores sealed with village-prohibited fūinjutsu?"

Danzo didn't blink.

> "The threat required innovation."

---

The Hokage slammed his palm down on the desk, cracking the surface.

> "You endangered every genin in that forest!"

> "And yet Kaizen destroyed the Vertex. Controlled his power. Protected his team. I'd say the boy proved himself far more stable than you ever did when you ordered his erasure."

For the briefest second… even Danzo looked caught off guard by his own words.

---

Hiruzen stepped forward, shadows wrapping around him like a second robe.

> "I will not allow you to treat this village's future like a testing ground for your obsessions. Your reach ends here, Danzo."

> "You can't suppress evolution," Danzo said, voice lowering. "Kaizen is already rewriting the rules of chakra interaction. The Wyrmsoul is older than the Sage himself. You can't ignore that."

> "No," Hiruzen said, eyes sharp. "But I can protect it… from people like you."

---

[Meanwhile – ANBU Dispatch]

Outside the tower, two ANBU agents moved swiftly.

> "Orders from the Third: locate Kaizen. Secure him quietly. No restraints. Full medical priority. He's under Hokage protection now."

> "Understood."

---

🔥 The Forgotten Ember

Location: Forest of Death – Tower Courtyard

Status: Combat Preparation – Crystal Presence Detected

---

I stepped forward.

The genin before me wasn't afraid—he was interested.

Hair black as midnight, a streak of white through the bangs. One Sharingan exposed, spinning lazily… and in the middle of his forehead, a crystalline third eye, softly glowing violet.

> "You're Uchiha," I said. "But I've never seen you at the Academy."

> "Because I was never meant to be seen," he replied. "My clan was locked away long before the Uchiha Massacre… before even the Warring States truce."

> "That crystal in your forehead… what is it?"

He smiled faintly.

> "A gift from the Uchiha-Kagura Convergence. An ancient sealing bloodline. Forgotten. Buried.

Until you lit the world on fire again."

---

He stepped forward, arms loose, confident.

> "I am Uchiha Raiku.

Warden of Memory.

Keeper of the Crystal Eye.

And I'm here not to fight you…"

He crouched into a stance—right foot dragging a fūin seal into the earth with chakra.

> "…but to see if your flame is strong enough to survive what's coming."

---

> "What is coming?" I asked, eyes narrowing.

He smirked.

> "The ones who sealed Bahdrakorr weren't human. And they're waking up."

---

The Crystal Eye on his forehead flashed.

Reality cracked around his feet, and chakra-infused chains spiraled from the ground—each one glowing with fragments of the First Fire War, long erased from memory.

---

> "Come, Uchiha Kaizen," Raiku whispered.

> "Let memory and flame clash—so the world may remember what it tried to forget."

Tensions Mount in the Hokage's Office

The silence between Hiruzen and Danzo was heavy, broken only by the flicker of candlelight. The Third Hokage's eyes burned with a mixture of frustration and sorrow.

"Danzo," Hiruzen finally said, voice quieter but no less firm, "Kaizen's power is unlike anything we've seen. But unchecked power is a double-edged sword. If you push him too far, you risk creating the very monster you fear."

Danzo's expression hardened. "I am prepared to do what must be done. The village's safety outweighs the risk of one boy's anger."

> "And if that boy is the key to a greater threat?" Hiruzen asked. "Have you considered that Kaizen might be the one to save us all?"

Danzo's eyes flickered with something unreadable before he responded, "Hope is a luxury we cannot afford."

Just then, a messenger rushed in with a scroll bearing the seal of the Forest of Death.

Hiruzen broke the seal and read aloud, "Kaizen has reached the tower… but a strange Uchiha with a crystal eye confronts him. We must be prepared for what follows."

Danzo nodded slowly. "Then this game has only just begun."

---

Scene 2: The Confrontation Deepens

Kaizen studied Raiku carefully. The energy emanating from the young genin was unfamiliar—ancient, yet alive with something wild and powerful.

"I don't seek conflict," Kaizen said. "But if you challenge me, I will not hold back."

Raiku's third eye shimmered, casting violet light across his face.

> "Good. Because this is not just a test. It's a warning. The past is rising, and the choices we make now will decide the fate of all Uchiha."

He moved suddenly, chakra chains spiraling from his fingers toward Kaizen.

Kaizen reacted instantly, raising his palm to meet the attack.

> "System, reinforce chakra barrier."

> [Enhancement Activated – Ember Shield: +30% defense]

The chains struck with a shockwave that sent leaves flying, but the shield held firm.

---

> "Tell me, Raiku," Kaizen said, voice steady. "What is this 'past' you speak of? Who are these entities waking beyond the Rift?"

Raiku's eyes darkened.

> "The First Fire War was not just a battle for land or power. It was a war against gods—beings that sealed Bahdrakorr to prevent chaos from consuming all."

He stepped closer, lowering his voice.

> "Now, the seals weaken. The Rift thins. And the Ashen Flame you carry… it may be the only hope, or the final spark that ignites destruction."

---

A low rumble shook the forest.

Both shinobi paused, sensing the rising tension not just between themselves, but in the very fabric of reality.

Kaizen's Sharingan flashed, resolving the path ahead.

> "Then we'll face it together… or not at all."

Raiku nodded solemnly.

> "The Third's decision may shape the fate of us all."

More Chapters