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The night wind howled.
Inside the pavilion, silence ruled.
Minato had already left.
Hiruzen sat in the pavilion, not saying a word.
Across from him was the daimyo, staring hard at him.
Clatter.
The pipe in his hand slipped, shattering into pieces on the solid city wall.
He didn't look down.
The night wind blew across the high wall, ruffling his clothes and bringing the chill of early winter.
Yet he felt no cold at all.
Instead, a warm current surged through his body, from his chest straight to the top of his head, making his limbs tremble.
"Third Hokage," Shin's voice rang out again, "this matter, you know, I know."
Hiruzen stiffly turned around, meeting the daimyo's eyes.
He wanted to speak.
He wanted to question why.
He wanted to roar in refusal.
But all these questions were stuck in his throat. Not a single word could be spoken.
He understood.
There was no killing intent on Shin's face, no emotion.
Only an indifference to all things.
An indifference that viewed all things as straw dogs, and all living beings as chess pieces.
Those eyes told him that the lives of three thousand Kumogakure shinobi, and even his own life and honor as Hiruzen, were at the whim of the other party.
In the end, Hiruzen, whose back had been straight his entire life, bent down.
He bowed his head deeply and spoke a single, difficult word. "Yes."
That single word drained all his strength.
"Very good." Shin finally showed a satisfied smile.
Then he turned, sat back in front of the shogi board, and calmly tidied the scattered pieces.
As if the conversation that had just decided the lives of three thousand people and the honor of a Hokage was merely casual chatter after a meal.
"Go back and rest, Third Hokage." Shin said without looking up as he tidied the pieces. "Escorting prisoners is a tough job. You need to get enough rest."
Hiruzen stood there for a long time.
Finally, he didn't even glance at the shattered pipe.
He turned and walked down the high wall, step by step.
The moonlight stretched his shadow long.
Bent.
Lonely.
After going down the high wall, Hiruzen did not go straight home.
Instead, he slowly wandered the streets of Konoha, much like a lost soul.
The war was over.
The village was still under curfew. The streets were empty, with only dark figures silently moving across the rooftops.
Those were the patrolling Anbu.
When they saw Hiruzen, they would stop, salute, and then quickly disappear into the darkness.
No one came up to disturb the former Hokage.
Hiruzen walked very slowly.
His steps were heavy.
Each step was like walking in shackles.
So heavy that he dared not stride.
He passed Ichiraku Ramen, Yamanaka Flower Shop, and those familiar shops with closed doors.
In his mind, however, the conversation in the pavilion kept replaying.
That conversation, known only to heaven, earth, him, and the daimyo.
"Third Hokage, do you think these three thousand Kumogakure prisoners are an achievement or a problem?"
This was the first question the daimyo asked him.
He remembered answering, "They are an achievement, and even more, a bargaining chip to scare the shinobi world."
Now, looking back, how ridiculous, how naive.
The daimyo had immediately rejected his answer.
"No."
"They are not bargaining chips. They are a root of disaster."
"They are three thousand explosive tags buried next to the Land of Fire, ready to go off at any moment."
"Do you think letting them go is showing kindness?"
At the time, the daimyo's voice was calm, but it sent a chill down his spine, a chilling sensation that made his heart pound.
The daimyo said, "That is not kindness!"
"That is cruelty to the countless people who might be sacrificed in the future of the Land of Fire."
"Third Hokage, tell me."
"If we release the tiger back to the mountains today, and Kumogakure starts another war tomorrow, how many of our shinobi will these three thousand elites we released today kill?"
"How much more blood of the Land of Fire's citizens will stain their hands again?"
"At that time, who will be responsible for those lives that shouldn't have been lost?"
"You? Or Minato?"
The daimyo's words were piercing, leaving him speechless.
He asked the daimyo what should be done then?
"Deal with them."
This was the daimyo's answer to him.
What a light and easy answer!
He only remembered that his mind buzzed at that moment, as if an explosive tag had gone off.
Deal with them?
Three thousand prisoners who had already laid down their weapons and completely surrendered?
This was not war!
This was a massacre!
He practically roared it out.
"Daimyo-sama! Absolutely not!"
"This is an unjust act!"
"If Konoha commits such terrible acts, its reputation will be ruined, and it will become an enemy of the entire shinobi world!"
The daimyo smiled then.
There was a hint of pity in that smile, as if looking at an ignorant child.
"So Konoha cannot be the one to kill them."
"Minato cannot be the one to give the order."
"But this world precisely needs drastic measures to maintain order."
"Kindness is something to consider only when there are no worries."
The daimyo walked up to him and gently patted his shoulder.
It wasn't heavy, yet it was heavy!
"Third Hokage, do you understand?"
At that moment, even before the daimyo finished speaking, he understood everything.
The Hokage cannot be dirtied.
The daimyo even less so.
Then who would bear this sin, this terrible act, this eternal infamy?
It could only be him.
It could only be him, this former Hokage who had already retired, had one foot in the grave, and was enjoying supreme honor in Konoha.
The public display was just a play for all the world to see.
From the Land of Fire to the Land of Hot Water.
The journey was long, the mountains high and waters dangerous. No one could say what accidents might happen.
For example, the prisoners, unwilling to suffer shame, might plot a riot.
And he, responsible for the escort, for the safety of Konoha and his subordinates, would be forced to kill them on the spot.
What a perfect script!
He could even imagine that afterwards, the daimyo would surely be furious, severely scolding him, and even stripping him of all his honors.
It would surely happen!
He wanted to argue, to refuse.
But he couldn't find any reason.
Because the daimyo was right.
Temporary kindness might lead to a hundred times more bloodshed in the future.
So they had to die.
And they had to die in a reasonable and justified way.
They had to die in a way that left Konoha and the daimyo clean and innocent.
"This matter, heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know."
"Minato will not know."
"The entire village of Konoha will not know."
"The world will only know that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, underwent a drastic change in personality and personally killed three thousand Kumogakure prisoners during the escort."
"You will become the sinner hated by the shinobi world."
"But the Land of Fire will gain long-lasting peace because of your sin."
"Your sacrifice, your reputation, I will remember it."
"Heh."
On the empty street, Hiruzen let out a bitter laugh.
Sacrifice.
In his life, for Konoha, he sacrificed his teacher, sacrificed his student, sacrificed his family.
In the end, even his last bit of reputation had to be sacrificed as well.
Sacrificed to that young ruler.
Sacrificed to the new era, which he no longer understood, spoken of by the ruler.
Without realizing it, he had walked to the entrance of the Sarutobi clan's residence.
Looking at the familiar clan emblem, he felt a wave of strangeness.
Sarutobi!
This surname would be disgraced because of him.
He pushed open the door.
The courtyard was silent.
Only a lamp was still lit under the eaves of the main hall.
His wife was sitting under the lamp, quietly waiting for him to return.